AMpa
topams
rip the
S.RO.T.
Although he didn't do
too well in the contest,
Sam Hitz was ripping
all weekend. Tall lien
up in the rafters.
"Please bring your tray-tables and
seats to an upright and locked position
and stow all baggage in preparation for
take-off." I was twisting my body into
pretzels, trying to get comfortable as the
stewardess' voice came over the inter-
com. I finally settled into my cramped
seat and dozed off for a little while. I was
having a nice dream where everything
was upside down, and I was dropping in
on the dome of a capital building, while
security guards watched in horror. I was
awoken by the person next to me when
he got up and squished past me on his
way to the bathroom. Once I was awake.
of course I couldn't get comfortable any-
more, so I pulled a Thrasher out of my bag
and started reading I heard a voice call to
me from across the aisle. "Excuse me..."
I thought to myself, "Shit, I hate when
people try to talk to me on the airplane.
Once they start talking, they always feel
compelled to keep the conversation going
until we're back on the ground, even if
there's nothing to talk about." I looked
over, and there was a kid sitting there.
wearing a Think T-shirt. I thought.
"Maybe it wouldn't be so bad talking to
this guy." He asked me if I skated, and I
told him that I did and was on my way
back from a sponsored ams contest at the
Skatepark of Tampa.
"Oh, shit, are you sponsored?"
"No, I was just watching. It was
fucking sick, though."
"Who was there?"
"Lots of dope skaters: John Comer,
Richard Kirby, Sam Hitz. But it was cool,
because it wasn't just big names, there
were a bunch of skaters I had never
heard of, but who were super-good. They
even let some shop-sponsored kids com-
pete. It was cool, because it was the first
contest I've been to where women
skaters were competing against the guys:
Ellissa Steamer was in the street con-
test, and Jodi McDonald and Jen O'Brien
skated the vert."
"Did you get to skate?"
"Yeah, Friday was open practice all
day. I got there around noon, and not
many people had arrived yet, so I skated
First place winner Judd Hertzler.
brought the pain over to the
kink-wall. Frontside alley-oop ollie off
the quarterpipe to frontside wallride.