VISION
STREET
WEAR
mercials, the kickbacks, the payoffs and the
perks is a deep seated craving for radical
skate action. In other words, is anybody really
keeping score out there?
Head to Head to Hoof 'n Mouth
If by chance you were planning to keep
score at this event, all that was needed was
half a dozen number 2 pencils, several legal
pads, a pocket calculator, a stop watch and
maybe a laptop. Although there was nothing
tricky about following Saturday's forty-skater
elimination round, which was done in four
10-man heats, Sunday's elaborate 8-man
head to head final eliminations was a bit
more involved, (and did, indeed, eventually
blow out the NSA's computer.)
Many of the seats at the Bren Center (at
UC Irvine) were filled for Saturday's skate off.
After three hours of eliminations on Satur-
day, the 16-skater cut had been made with
pre-contest odds on faves Tony Hawk, Tony
Magnusson and Christian Hosoi in the 1, 2,
3 slots, respectively. Veterans Mike McGill,
Lester Kasai, Craig Johnson, Micke Alba ►
In The Beginning
Don Hoffman had a vision, er, was hired by Vision Street Wear, to take
charge of choreographing the Vision Skate Escape. Officially sanctioned
by the NSA as their final event of the 1987 NSA pro vertical series, the con-
test was somewhat anticlimactic since it was held well into the new year,
on March 19 & 20th, 1988.
Don's master plan for the basic flow of events went something like this:
Saturday-6 p.m. - Doors open. The giant, custom built ramp is subtly lit
and steaming. Skate videos dance across a giant screen.
6:45 p.m. - MC's for the weekend, Gerry "Potatohead" Hurtado and the Poor-
man, an L.A. DJ type, begin warming up the crowd with announcements
and chatter.
7 p.m. - Forty skaters begin the long process of elimination to the 16 cut.
9:15 p.m. A revolutionary 3-D video complete with appropriate eyewear
is shown.
9:30 p.m. The Red Hot Chili Peppers take the stage while the top sixteen
skaters rock, skate and roll on the ramp.
Sunday - In Don's words: "Hey, head to head finals, followed by hors de
ouvres and a private post-contest party featuring Odd Man Out." Sound
easy? No prob? Right? Read on. Don: "Basically i was thinking of the kid
who was paying $13.50 at the door, and putting together a worthwhile show.
And by the climax of the whole extravaganza that kid was messing his pants."
Don did his best to please everybody by picking the brains of skaters and
skate industrialists in the weeks prior to the event. The final ramp design
was the standard dimension, competition-sized half-pipe attached to a
shallow end-style mini ramp by a common lip between the two. A roll-in ramp
led from the mini down into the large ramp
for high speed transfers. Schmitt scribe
Chuck Hultz and handyman Tim Payne took
charge, preparing the final plan and con-
structing the whole mess, then dismantled
the beast for re-construction in the arena two
days before showtime. Experienced
stagehands Lenny and Arab lent invaluable
assistance designing an additional stage
area for a rock and roll skate show.
Behind the scenes, Don's crew had con-
tacted skate bandoleers TSOL along with
Street Wearing popsters INXS. Even Devo
had expressed genuine interest before the
gritty, funky Peppers got the billing.
Let the Skating Begin
Oh yes, the fans, they know. The kids, the
skaters, they know. They skate and they know
what they like. National standings and con-
stest results don't mean squat to the average
street wheeler. Beyond placings, points and
percentages, there lies a deeper draw.
Beyond board sales, skate stars, super
graphics, t-shirts, stickers and autographs,
there's something more. Behind the com-
AO
Opposite Page: Monty Nolder earned the #13 spot
by manhandling the ramp. This Page, Above: Christ
and Malba do a doubles run during the practice
session on the first day of competition. Malba's
stunning performance earned him a well deserved
fourth place seating. Right: Tony Magnusson put on
a dizzying, high altitude. performance-360° air
followed by gay twist, followed by McTwist, etc.-
and clinched third place.
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