ARTY
Unashat
in
The
East
PULASKI PARK PIT STOP
Sunday afternoon at Pulaski Park in Wash-
ington DC seemed to be more of a gathering
than your typical boring contest, which was
quite alright with the crowd.
Other than the high-powered skating, the
afternoon's events included a rollerblader
busting his face and leaving in an ambulance
and a crazy chick on a unicycle doing a ballet-
type routine through all the skaters.
Around two o'clock, two wedge ramps, a
small platform and a sound system arrived.
Sessions erupted on the obstacles instantly.
After a photo-documented bailfest and a
large wedge-to-wedge gap clearance head-
lined by Vallely and Cab, the contest slowly
began. Few entered while most took a seat.
Near the end of the competition, a "Gaps
For Bucks" session started which took all
attention from the contest to a few guys try-
ing to ollie the steps and sidewalk onto Penn-
sylvania Avenue during rush-hour traffic.
All in all, the Pulaski "Contest" was a good
get-together on one of the first nice days
after a long hard winter.
-Chad Kramer
Clockwise,
from opposite left: At Pulaski Park, Mike
Vallely took control of the launchfest and shiftied to a wooden touchdown.
Coco Santiago was all-out tearing and staying on, second place with the
toey frontside noseblunt deal. Willy Santos may have got lucky when
he beat Loc, but this kickflip is money in the bank. Couches are the
hydrants of the nineties, and Harold Hunter is high and dry.
Chernobyl Dan Drehobl, backside 180 over the zinger.
NEWBURGH, NEW YORK
Friday, March 19th, Kelly Ryan, Adam
Wallacavage and myself pack into a car. Our
destination is Newburgh, New York, the site
of a pro street contest at the Hudson Valley
Skatepark. We arrive mid-snowstorm to find
a handful of pros and ams already dialing
the course. The park is situated inside an old
roller disco. Unfortunately, the strobe lights
and disco balls no longer adorn the ceiling.
The course was well-stocked with a variety
of quarter-pipes, bank ramps, a bowled cor-
ner with a spine into a seven foot deep rect-
angular bowl, and hips outlining the perime
ter with a pyramid in the center.
The turn-out of pros for the contest was a
surprise. Rumors and negative talk had been
flying on how the contest was going to be a
joke. Obviously, most people ignored the
hot air and simply made
themselves known. Not an
overabundance of pros,
(about twenty-five), but
crucial ones to make a tall
order of stiff competition
(it's not too often you see
results with two-way ties
for placings). Yes, riders
from across the continent
(even Europe) showed up.
Wade Speyer fucked shit
up all-terrain style. He was
viewed doing frontside nol-
lie heelflips to tail on the
eight foot sketchy quarter-pipe that most
only used to get speed for the pyramid,
switch backside ollies two feet out in the
bowl, and 5-0s to fakie at a thousand mph,
covering great distances. Unfortunately, a
backside kickflip got tangled up in his feet
and he suffered a hairline ankle fracture.
Willy Santos, winner and all-around nice
guy, rode the contest with a smile: Kickflip
over the pyramid caught like a fly-ball, fakie
360 flip on the big bank, backside 360° nol-
lie over the pyramid hip and backside blunt
on the small quarter-pipe. Precision skate-
boarding on command.
Coco Santiago threw down for the second
place slot, sticking noseblunt slides on the
wide quarter-pipe, using the whole facewall,
bruising switch frontside 180' kickflips over
the hip, backside shifties and haulin' ass
heelflips over the pyramid.
Throw the Slayers!
Tying a knot for third place
was Englishman Carl Ship-
man and newly-turned pro
Matt Reason.
Carl Shipman has a stick of
dynamite for every trick:
360° flip on the big bank two
feet high and frontside kick-
flip over the pyramid. Pow!
Matt Reason stuck with his
board on the consistent tip
with switch 360 flips on the
big bank, (continued on page 58)
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