Less than 3 weeks away, Time to get hot!
Posted 09/26/2007 09:42:00 by i am vans
Yes indeed, prowlers, the event is going down once again, for the third year running.The format remains the same, in case you were wondering, 4 skate labels with deep pro and am rosters designing 4 obstacles in ultimate secrecy and seclusion. Any attempt to disseminate detailed design information about these objects is most likely punishable by death. Last year this author was treated to series of non-answers courtesy on Don Fisher from 4Down Ramp Builders, the foreman of the crew contracted to construct the obstacles from hell. After numerous attempts to bribe Fish for even the most minimal of details I decided to wait it out until the day before the event when I was able to slip unnoticed onto the Paramount back lots and skate the 4 obstacles myself. The best of these in my opinion were Real's Hella Hyphy Bank, and the Girl Mini-Mega. These ramps also produced some of the most satisfying skateboarding performances of the event.
On contest day, the Real and Girl Objets d'art lived up to the expectations I had and well surpassed them. When things got hot on the Hella Hyphy last year, Toy Machine upstart Josh Harmony handled business to take top honors and cash. Hot on his heels were rock god Mike V, and Corey Duffel rounding out the top 3. At the end of the night the battle rounded out on the Girl Mini Mega, and under heavy flashbulb artillery flak, drag racer and soon to be rookie pro, Nick Dompierre took everyone out with his mastery of the gap and rainbow rail combo. Rick McCrank was on fire and was barely edged out by Nick, and Mike V clocked a number 3 spot in Mini-Dannyland. A special mention goes out to Mr. Dustin Dollin who performed on par with Johnny Thunders with his rib cage collapser and crowd soiling antics. Well done Spawn!
It would be hard to discount the Enjoi "Dick Gauntlet" entirely, as this smallish, 3-sided, quick tranny monster would test even the heartiest street dogs perhaps more than any other obstacle. After all, it was limited in scale and scope and it demanded high levels of creativity. Louie Barletta and Jerry Hsu laid down the law on the Gauntlet and provided the stage on which Rick McCrank would blow minds and take the money. Fleet-footed Dennis Busenitz took second and the demon seed of Steve Olson's loins, Alex Olson handily gripped up on third place cash. Lastly, Element's submission was coined later by some as the "Element Carcass Toss". I think the heads at Element kind of missed the point of the Showdown design submission entirely. They had the ability to design ANYTHING they wanted, but perhaps they took that to mean design anything that can already be found in any urban city in America. Single set with hubbas becomes double set with same hubbas and a railing. The most refreshing thing was that Foundation's post-punk destroyer Corey Duffel took everyone to the mat, including Element's young phenom Nyjah Huston, and took home 2500 clams for his trouble. Nyjah switch-flipped his small frame into second and Once again Josh Harmony found himself in a top three spot, helping to boost Toy Machine's overall standing in the event.
If you watched last year's webcast, or were lucky enough to witness the Showdown firsthand, you should not be surprised by Nick Dompierre taking the top am honors nor should you be shocked by Rick McCrank's walloping of all pro comers for the top spot in the overall performer rankings. These guys annihilated everything they laid their wheels, trucks and decks to last year and deserved their respective 5 and 10 grand purses. The Girl team snagged the top team prize and just like that it was a done deal.
This year the Zero, Toy Machine, Real, Girl, Element, Alien Workshop, Foundation, Creature, and Black Label crews will be locked in a mortal battle for terrain adaptation superiority. I would strongly advise that you not miss it. And with that, if you're looking forward to this year's event, you won't have too much longer to wait. The Downtown Showdown goes off on October 13th at Paramount Studios in Hollywood, California. As far as pre-event action, peep out the DTS2007 design your own obstacle contest, and send in your dream obstacle for a chance to have it constructed for you, and see the competition you're up against. And keep it right here at Vans.com on October 13th for the live webcast and all of the creative carnage, and stay tuned for updates before, during, and after the event. We'll try not to burn the studios to the ground, but with this kind of chaos, and creativity, anything is possible.
Get Hot!
-BLKPRJKT
On contest day, the Real and Girl Objets d'art lived up to the expectations I had and well surpassed them. When things got hot on the Hella Hyphy last year, Toy Machine upstart Josh Harmony handled business to take top honors and cash. Hot on his heels were rock god Mike V, and Corey Duffel rounding out the top 3. At the end of the night the battle rounded out on the Girl Mini Mega, and under heavy flashbulb artillery flak, drag racer and soon to be rookie pro, Nick Dompierre took everyone out with his mastery of the gap and rainbow rail combo. Rick McCrank was on fire and was barely edged out by Nick, and Mike V clocked a number 3 spot in Mini-Dannyland. A special mention goes out to Mr. Dustin Dollin who performed on par with Johnny Thunders with his rib cage collapser and crowd soiling antics. Well done Spawn!
It would be hard to discount the Enjoi "Dick Gauntlet" entirely, as this smallish, 3-sided, quick tranny monster would test even the heartiest street dogs perhaps more than any other obstacle. After all, it was limited in scale and scope and it demanded high levels of creativity. Louie Barletta and Jerry Hsu laid down the law on the Gauntlet and provided the stage on which Rick McCrank would blow minds and take the money. Fleet-footed Dennis Busenitz took second and the demon seed of Steve Olson's loins, Alex Olson handily gripped up on third place cash. Lastly, Element's submission was coined later by some as the "Element Carcass Toss". I think the heads at Element kind of missed the point of the Showdown design submission entirely. They had the ability to design ANYTHING they wanted, but perhaps they took that to mean design anything that can already be found in any urban city in America. Single set with hubbas becomes double set with same hubbas and a railing. The most refreshing thing was that Foundation's post-punk destroyer Corey Duffel took everyone to the mat, including Element's young phenom Nyjah Huston, and took home 2500 clams for his trouble. Nyjah switch-flipped his small frame into second and Once again Josh Harmony found himself in a top three spot, helping to boost Toy Machine's overall standing in the event.
If you watched last year's webcast, or were lucky enough to witness the Showdown firsthand, you should not be surprised by Nick Dompierre taking the top am honors nor should you be shocked by Rick McCrank's walloping of all pro comers for the top spot in the overall performer rankings. These guys annihilated everything they laid their wheels, trucks and decks to last year and deserved their respective 5 and 10 grand purses. The Girl team snagged the top team prize and just like that it was a done deal.
This year the Zero, Toy Machine, Real, Girl, Element, Alien Workshop, Foundation, Creature, and Black Label crews will be locked in a mortal battle for terrain adaptation superiority. I would strongly advise that you not miss it. And with that, if you're looking forward to this year's event, you won't have too much longer to wait. The Downtown Showdown goes off on October 13th at Paramount Studios in Hollywood, California. As far as pre-event action, peep out the DTS2007 design your own obstacle contest, and send in your dream obstacle for a chance to have it constructed for you, and see the competition you're up against. And keep it right here at Vans.com on October 13th for the live webcast and all of the creative carnage, and stay tuned for updates before, during, and after the event. We'll try not to burn the studios to the ground, but with this kind of chaos, and creativity, anything is possible.
Get Hot!
-BLKPRJKT