Super Bowl Party! Part IV: The Afterparty

Well, I hope everybody enjoyed their weekends; I'm happy to report that my good friend's annual "Pro-Tec Pool Party...Party" was, again, a success. Those of you who got a chance to watch the contest are fully aware that it was, indeed, a sight to behold. Those of you who were unable to watch, however, allow me to break down my personal highlights (and lowlights):

The Masters' Division:

The Masters', as always, was a treat to watch. It was really cool this year to see 75% of the original Bones Brigade vert stars (Tony Hawk, Steve Caballero, Lance Mountain) skating a contest together for the first time in a couple of decades. Tony, who I had assumed was going to be a shoo-in for first, wound up placing fourth behind Chris Miller, Cab, and Lance respectively. In hindsight, this isn't entirely surprising, given Tony was a last-minute entrant. Granted, Tony had his 540s on lock the entire night (as did both Tony Mag and Sluggo, neither of whom made the finals), but his technical use of the bowl was simply not on par with the three guys who bested him. Regardless, Tony seemed to have had a good time, and his runs were entirely entertaining to watch, namely his circa 1985 Rage at the Badlands 360 slide and roll through the square corner. It's genuinely difficult to pinpoint a favourite part of the Masters' contest, though Chris Miller's zero-gravity high speed frontside air transfer into the round bowl will forever be tattooed into my psyche. Notable disappointments include a lack of Hosoi for Tony's big return to the combi, and a distinct lack of Jeff Grosso....



Well, except for this commercial, which incited a good laugh every time it aired between heats.

 The Pro Division:

I genuinely feel for the judges on this one. Even in spite of Bucky not being present to throw nollie flip madonnas alongside mceggs and flying vs, the pros put on a show that had everybody out of their seats and up on their feet (author excluded, broken ankle and whatnot). As expected, Pedro Barros mimicked the recent shuttle launch with his straight airs, and tossed more 540 variations than most of the other pros combined. Andy MacDonald, who deserves way more recognition than he has ever received as a professional, mixed in the new and the old, added a heaping helping of consistency, and managed third place behind Pedro and Rune Glifberg respectively, with a particular standout being his repeated attempts at a FREAKING BACKFLIP BACKSIDE BONELESS TRANSFER ACROSS THE PENINSULA!!! God, I wish he'd made that one....
Ben Raybourne was a noticeable absence from this year, though it seemed that Tony Trujillo was put in place last minute to fill that "padless and unplanned" niche, though to be honest, I think Raybourne would have skated a bit better (no offense, Tony).

End of the day, I cannot say enough good things about the Party this year, but you really need to see it for yourself....

For a full archive of the entire 2011 Pro-Tec Pool Party, head to Vans' official site.

For a more abridged summation, check out the edits over at the Thrasher site.

What's In a Name?

Welcome back, all.

First order of business: broken ankle.
Yep, stepped out of  a backside 50-50 going entirely too fast last Wednesday, shattered and dislocated my left ankle. Got out of surgery today, and the prognosis was standard enough, though it may be another six months or so before I feel well enough to skate.

Yup, my foot was wrenched 90 degrees counter-clockwise. Never underestimate the speed of new metal coping...


Now then, enough about me, on to business.

It's  no secret, except maybe among snowboarders and kids who grew up with Tony Hawk's Pro Skater, that grabs in skateboarding have different names depending on the direction in which they're rotate, and are therefore different maneuvers. In fact, this is such common knowledge that, you, the reader, are probably wondering why I'm wasting your all-to-precious time for the sake of telling you what ought to be a cardinal truth among skateboarders. Indeed, at this rate I'd be better off to say "Class Dismissed", pack up early, and let my pain meds sing me a chemically-induced lullaby.
Or would I?

I feel that the nomenclature of aerials is a very worthy topic, for a couple of reasons:

1) While I had mentioned earlier in this post that the proper nomenclature of grab tricks in skateboarding is, more or less, common knowledge among skateboarders, this is, sadly, not the case. That being said I feel obliged to rifle off the proper names of every grab maneuver, depending on whether or not it's performed spinning frontside or backside. Odds are you know the name of at least one of the two variations, and if not, feel free to leave a comment in which I'll specify the details of it.

• Frontside Air/Indy Air
• Benihanna/Benibongo
• Lein/Backside
• Lein to Tail/Body Jar
•  Lein Judo/ Judo
• Lein Method/Method
• Madonna/Frigid (not to tail), Sean Penn (to tail)
• Slob/Mute
• Slob Japan/Japan
• Stalefish/Backside Stalefish
• Tailgrab/ Backside Tailgrab

 This list happens to lead me to the reason I was inspired to write this article in the first place.

2)There is no proper name for certain aerial maneuvers. The two main perpetrators of this are, as mentioned on the above list, Backside Stalefish and Bakcside Tailgrab. Both of these tricks have been done frequently enough to warrant being given their own names separate from their frontside counterparts.

....Okay, so maybe Holmes doesn't need another trick named after himself....

Alright, I am willing to concede that there would be no sense in calling a Backside Tailgrab anything but. however I firmly stand by my claim that the Backside Stale needs a name all its own, and I've even gone to the trouble of choosing one.
This, oh loyal reader whom I am amazed is still reading this, brings me to the very reason I felt compelled to write this whole post in the first place.

This is Pedro Barros, one of, if not the hottest new vertical rider coming up. He's performing a Backside Stalefish. He does this trick at every contest I've seen him skate, and he makes it look ridiculously stylish. Anyone who has ever tried a stalefish will tell you that it's an awkward trick frontside, and yet here is young Mr. Barros performing the probably triply awkward backside variation consistently, and with the kind of ease that most people wish they had just pushing down the street....

.....Barr Air, anyone? I think the kid's earned it.