Ed Templeton, Steve Caballero, J.J.
Rogers. Number of skaters from each
sani-final heat who would advance to
the finals: 5. Ten finalists in order
frem 10-1, for a one-run showdown
by last name: Caballero, Evass, Con-
klin, Rogers (Jason), Hosol, Hassan,
Speyer, Gonzales, Dressen, Hawk
Honorable mentions: JJ. Rogers who
burned up and deminated the course
all weekend: George Watanabe, who
gets style points for his ollie-to-tall
grab off the roll-in death drop. Ed
Templeton, who had the best street
run in a vertically inclined, so-called
street contest. Outdoor Temperature
just before finals: 71. Indoor temper-
ature just before finals: "about 90"."
Description of top ten final runs
Steve Cabellero was up for rock-n-
rall shuffles-to-takie coming off 6' of
vertical (sequence at right. Stalefish
over channel gap into the pool wall.
Finished with a toey frentside railslide
down the curved bannister but
couldn't hold it to pull it. Cab moved
into a respectable sith place and
was pumped.
Max Evans committed a serious
ollie-to-backside disaster along the
simulated picnic table, five-o's-to-tail
slide, giant-sized ellie grab-to-fake
backside Smith down a handrail,
ollie-to-nose wheelin on a random
botacle. Max then lost the alley-oop
backside air grab over the roll-in hip
and fell to seventh
Lance Conklin started with a tail
grab nase tap on the pool wall then
an ollie-to-nose blant but he dabbed
his foot. One-fated tall grab over the
pyramid, then missed some crazy
shove-it, then made some crazy
shove-it on the vertical wall then
cursed his board as he didn't quite
make an olle impossible over a cor-
ner of the pyramid and his fellows
placed him in seventh
Jason Rogers performed injured but
well with a very nice 180 Japan grab
over the pyramid island, landing at
speed in a fakie, (that's backwards
for those of you who can't grasp how
difficult that is). Then a nose boisk
atop the bank bowl before redirecting
a rock-n-roll slide atop the vert pool
wall into a waride to the bank below.
A frentside air-to-disaster, then a
180 olie-to-nese blunt-to-shuffle
out of it and closed off his run with a
360° varial attempt that didn't work.
All that got him ninth
Christian Hosoi burst out of the hall
into a giant frontside tail grab over a
small hip swell, then moved across
the floor at speed into a big frontside
air, nase wheelie over the pyramid
and a backside olie over the gap inte
the pool wall whereupon he Wilsoned
(back foot left the tail for about the
fifth time that day Christian skidded
back into the hallway for a blasted
Indy air over the hip, then an olle
shifty over the pyramid to a 350°
shave on the big vert and ended up
sliding out on his butt into third
42 THRASHER MAGAZINE
Omar Hassan came out with a fast-
plant high on the tall wall, the
ellied-to-boardside up the rail per-
formed a five-o wheelie grind-to-
fakie, got knocked off his line into a
one-footed alie, then a 180-to-50/50
and then pulled off an ollie-to-axle
stall 180 back in that Tommy Guer-
reno called a leman meringue. Then,
an incredible olie-to-wheelie grind
over the fun platform down the short
rail, and slipped confidently into
fourth place
Wade Speyer launched into the
arena at fall speed for assorted one-
footed and 180° alles, traveling
faster than most skaters will ever go
down the street. Then an allie-to-nose
bone off the pool wall into side-to-
side mode, backside olie-to-fake
over a hip then bailed an alie-to-five-
o down the bannister but still locked
onte fifth
Mark Gonzales had ripped incredi-
bly all weekend, moving around the
course, hitting unthinkable ines that
no one else would even attempt. Other
skaters and most spectators planned
their lunch breaks around Gonz's
practice and qualifying times so they
wouldn't miss his skating. But when
the chips (and the Porsche) were on
the
line, Gosz's ran weet from disas
ter to DISASTER as he missed the
frontside hanger on the vert wall
three times before giving in and way-
ing
off the rest of his run. He did stop
at one point telling the crowd that he
would do a trick that he "likes to do"
and launched into a huge backside
ollie shifty over the pyramid, then
shat his board like a tracer ballet inte
Rocco's ankle. Gonz then did a few
more of his faverite tricks before
sauntering off to a standing ovation
frem skaters and spectators. Mark's
eighth place finish doesn't reflect
that his skating over the whole week-
end will be the one thing remembered
about this contest in the future.
Eric Dressen started with a back-
side D on the high wall, then
launched an ollie-to-backside grab
over the pyramid, elled from the bank
into the peol wall the tough may
bailed once, hit the high speed slider
off the pool wall to bank then reverted
it, came back and slashed a frontside
grind on the same wall, then lost a
frontside tail grab-to-nose grind over
the fan box. Eric had enough nemen-
tum throughout the weekend to take
all, but he fell on the last critical run.
Tony Hawk was on his final ran of
the day with a frontside olie tail
grab-to-nose grind, ollies that carried
three ramps worth of distance, a
shove it tail grab over the pyramid,
allie-to-nose blant which he then pi-
ated in off the front truck, frontside
beardslide, half Cab-to-frantside rock
rall Just as we thought Tony was in
the midst of a winning run, he fell on
a routine alie-to-grind trick. Then as
we were thinking he might have lost,
Hawk launched a frontside olie off a
smell transition, across a large gap
and into the sucked out pool wall and
over-rotated into a revert as he land-
ed. you blinked, you missed it. Tony
thren ap his arms in disbelief and
skated away with the victory. A victory
given to him by his fellow skaters who
each by their own admission had
bowed down before him, one by one
taking themselves out and leaving
the door open. When you leave the
doar open for Tony Hawk he's going to
slam it shut behind him
In fairness to those who got
burned, this was a judging format
where friends voted for friends, para-
noid skaters voted against their main
competition, and skaters/judges
missed runs altogether while laying
flat on their backs recovering from
their own runs. It was a system more
suited for a friendly, local backyard
event rather than a corporate, cut-
throat, national pro backyard event.
RELATED QUOTES:
On the success of Knight's party
"Who would have a party the night
before a pro skate contest if they
didn't want their house wracked."
-Ivan Hosoi
On his promise to give Mark Gonzales
his Porsche if he ranked in the top
three "I'd like to see the Gone get the
car,
I don't even care."-Steve Rocce
On Gonz's qualifying ran" had to
clean my pants-Sean Mortimer
On skating and the big picture
There's something a little stale
about street skating right now. It's a
general atmosphere. It's not working
anymore, we've maxed out on this
thing. It's too repetitive. It's just more
of the same and there aren't enough
surprises."-Stacy Peralta.
On judging "It's hard to remember
all the falls-it's the killer tricks that
stick in your head-Eric Nash.
"It's always good to by a new regi-
ment of methods, but it's dirty any
way. It's just a matter of what kind of
dirt you want to eat,-Mark Anthony
"if you don't vote then your not
allowed to complain about politics or
politicians. Mark Gonzales
On his try for a third Masters win in a
row "I'm going down, it's a big ramp
That's my main competition."-Marty
Jimenez (Mark Partain won)
"Stacy said we could play." -LA.
rockers Pablo Diaz after showing up
unannounced.
"OK"-im Fitzpatrick, coordinator,
stage hand and liaison to the talent.
On the lack of music during the
power outage "The waird thing was
I could hear the flat spot on my
wheel."-Steve Caballero.
"Maybe they could get somebody to
sing or something-Omar Hassan
After thinking about it "It's just not
what kids are doing today...I hope
Gonz doesn't win my car."-Steve
Results on page 158)
NORTH
of
NO
Staying on the trail of
the NSA's Summer Pro
Schedule proves to be
a difficult mission.
especially when the
road to Rosarito ends
in a warehouse in
Santa Ana,
by M. Fo
Pitted against the elements, last minute re-arrangements, floating shit, strapless
betties, mindless funk, a totally lost weekend, dreaded ramp dust, and the ever-so-
charming Orange County smog death, a handful of handpicked ne'er-do-wells,
begrudgingly trudge across the tarmac of an airport near a border villa. They
trod just a few klicks from the sleepy country of Mexico, where you can find
some pretty good cheap women, huaraches made from old tire treads,