The end, or very near to it...
Posted 10/14/2007 04:28:00 by i am vans
Building the "world's biggest" anything seems like an exercise in futility, of course sooner or later, some jealous fool will decide that he wants your crown, and will ultimately endeavor to remove it from your head. This has been the case since the beginning of time across all walks of life. We could launch into a whole dialogue about why bigger may or may not be better, but in the interest of keeping it legitimate, that ain't happening. All you need to know is that several years ago, the Swank legions at FOSKCO designed and built a gigantic novelty skateboard, and it has been around ever since. Apparently it was recently unseated and no longer is the biggest, although it is most likely still the best "second biggest" skateboard on the planet.
I halfway expected the object in question to be deconstructed and turned into something else, with it's former prominence reduced to "second best". Hardly the case though, it simply created a vaulting platform high atop a massive double bank in and out, accompanied by it's similarly scaled counterpart, the "world's biggest" parking block. With the height of the platform being well over 4 feet above the launch lip, it was daunting to say the least. The thing you need to understand though, is that skateboarders of the professional variety these days aren't put off by challenges, they just meet them and move on to the next one. Black Label's Shuriken Shannon kickflipping up onto this monstrosity? Yes. REAL's JT Aultz nose manual over? indeed. Creature's David Gravette getting up there to 180 frontside into the lander or just clearing the whole landing zone altogether. Done, and done.
This year, the Foundation "Former World's Biggest Skateboard" obstacle was the equivalent of last year's Girl "Mini-Mega" structure. The big finale, with a lot on the line, cash being a portion of the equation, along with some high risk high jinks. Rick McCrank excelled on the "Mini Mega" last year and was loaded for bear once again. Nose slide fakie's in, 5-0's and some seriously launched out transfers were good enough for 3rd place. Johnny Layton had been going full tilt all day and night and I might have called him into the money in two of the previous events. Big Johhny kickflipped up and over, nailed the nosegrind and basically annihilated the obstacle entirely. Johnny came up on 2nd place and deserved every bit of it and then some. Tommy Sandoval put it all together at the end of the night. Every time this youngster came down the kicker, he had something new up his sleeve. Krooks, nose grinds, tailslides, insanity, pure and simple. The only thing wilder than Tommy's arsenal of stunts might be the amazing crop of hair that he has been farming for quite a while upstairs. A well-deserved and hard-earned 1st place finish was his for the taking.
At the conclusion of the 4th and final foray, the crowd fidgeted and wondered about the results. The natives were restless, as last call for alcohol had come and gone quite a while earlier. After much wrangling Schaefer and Clements held the results and the presentations were about to get underway. It was at this moment that Omar returned from the hospital with 27 or so staples in his scalp and a large bandage on his head, all smiles. Everyone was elated to see that Omar was okay and quite alive, and the crowd renewed it's fervor. Here are your final results for the day's events:
Creature’s The Darkest Passage into the Depths of Doom and Despair > 1. Tyler Mumma (Black Label) - $2,500 > 2. Tony Cervantes (Zero) - $1,500 > 3. Al Partanen (Creature) - $1,000
> Girl’s Girl Gonz Wild > 1. Billy Marks (Toy Machine) - $2,500 > 2. Mike Mo Capaldi (Girl) - $1,500 > 3. Sean Malto (Girl) - $1,000
> Real’s Sacto Rebate - > 1. Rick McCrank (Girl) - $2,500 > 2. Alex Olson (Girl) - $1,500 > 3. John Rattray (Zero) - $1,000
> Top Am Performance – Alex Olson (Girl) - $5,000
> Top Pro Performance – Rick McCrank (Girl) - $10,000
> Overall Team Winner – Zero ($30,000), Toy Machine 2nd ($15,000), Girl 3rd ($5,000).
We'll be back with all of the photos, and some final words before the curtain comes down. In the meantime, in case you missed it, check out the archived webcast for all of the action right here on Vans.com
-BLKPRJKT
I halfway expected the object in question to be deconstructed and turned into something else, with it's former prominence reduced to "second best". Hardly the case though, it simply created a vaulting platform high atop a massive double bank in and out, accompanied by it's similarly scaled counterpart, the "world's biggest" parking block. With the height of the platform being well over 4 feet above the launch lip, it was daunting to say the least. The thing you need to understand though, is that skateboarders of the professional variety these days aren't put off by challenges, they just meet them and move on to the next one. Black Label's Shuriken Shannon kickflipping up onto this monstrosity? Yes. REAL's JT Aultz nose manual over? indeed. Creature's David Gravette getting up there to 180 frontside into the lander or just clearing the whole landing zone altogether. Done, and done.
This year, the Foundation "Former World's Biggest Skateboard" obstacle was the equivalent of last year's Girl "Mini-Mega" structure. The big finale, with a lot on the line, cash being a portion of the equation, along with some high risk high jinks. Rick McCrank excelled on the "Mini Mega" last year and was loaded for bear once again. Nose slide fakie's in, 5-0's and some seriously launched out transfers were good enough for 3rd place. Johnny Layton had been going full tilt all day and night and I might have called him into the money in two of the previous events. Big Johhny kickflipped up and over, nailed the nosegrind and basically annihilated the obstacle entirely. Johnny came up on 2nd place and deserved every bit of it and then some. Tommy Sandoval put it all together at the end of the night. Every time this youngster came down the kicker, he had something new up his sleeve. Krooks, nose grinds, tailslides, insanity, pure and simple. The only thing wilder than Tommy's arsenal of stunts might be the amazing crop of hair that he has been farming for quite a while upstairs. A well-deserved and hard-earned 1st place finish was his for the taking.
At the conclusion of the 4th and final foray, the crowd fidgeted and wondered about the results. The natives were restless, as last call for alcohol had come and gone quite a while earlier. After much wrangling Schaefer and Clements held the results and the presentations were about to get underway. It was at this moment that Omar returned from the hospital with 27 or so staples in his scalp and a large bandage on his head, all smiles. Everyone was elated to see that Omar was okay and quite alive, and the crowd renewed it's fervor. Here are your final results for the day's events:
Creature’s The Darkest Passage into the Depths of Doom and Despair > 1. Tyler Mumma (Black Label) - $2,500 > 2. Tony Cervantes (Zero) - $1,500 > 3. Al Partanen (Creature) - $1,000
> Girl’s Girl Gonz Wild > 1. Billy Marks (Toy Machine) - $2,500 > 2. Mike Mo Capaldi (Girl) - $1,500 > 3. Sean Malto (Girl) - $1,000
> Real’s Sacto Rebate - > 1. Rick McCrank (Girl) - $2,500 > 2. Alex Olson (Girl) - $1,500 > 3. John Rattray (Zero) - $1,000
> Top Am Performance – Alex Olson (Girl) - $5,000
> Top Pro Performance – Rick McCrank (Girl) - $10,000
> Overall Team Winner – Zero ($30,000), Toy Machine 2nd ($15,000), Girl 3rd ($5,000).
We'll be back with all of the photos, and some final words before the curtain comes down. In the meantime, in case you missed it, check out the archived webcast for all of the action right here on Vans.com
-BLKPRJKT