King of HHHHWHAT??

Aug 1,2012 / By Hippie Mike / No Comment

Ohhhhhhh, Sam Hampton… What did you do?

I saw a new entry to Show Up Mike yesterday from Sam Hampton, but I didn’t watch it till tonight, and it was very impressive. A couple tricks you wouldn’t see anyone do any where, let alone at Walnut Grove, the worst constructed skate park in the Lower Mainland. It’s sad because I absolutely love the design of this park, all the quarter pipes are oversized in height and most are curved to. You fly in from anywhere and blast huge. But the people that built it didn’t know what they were doing and there’s speed bumps in the middle of the tranny’s on the quarters, the ground is super choppy and it’s just plain slow materials. What a shame.

So I watch this video of Sam and then afterwards the selection of related vids comes up on Youtube and there’s one there called “King of Walnut Grove 2012.” I remember Jay Mykyte calling me out of the blue a couple months ago telling me about this and we had a great laugh that there was gonna be a contest there. I wanted to go bad too, but I ended up having to be somewhere else so I missed it. Of course I had to watch this video though. I can’t believe how many people showed up for this and they were all thrashing. It shows how bad this place deserves a facelift if there’s this much interest there. I know that New Line and Coastal Riders are working on a plan to make that facelift happen someday, so you never know.

Well, the contest happened, July 7^th, 2012.

It’s a sick video, you gotta watch it.

I’m not going to spoil it and tell you who the King was, but I think you probably have a strong guess…

Tsawwassen Skateboard Competition

Jul 31,2012 / By Hippie Mike / No Comment

Alright this Sunday is the annual Skateboard Contest at Tsawwassen as part of the Tsawwassen Sun Festival. Hosted by young Michael Ray it’s always a good show. Great music, great people and a super friendly atmosphere. And we’re pretty guaranteed it will be sunny.

Tsawwassen is one of my Top 5 favorite parks to shred at, definitely my number one for street styles. I’ve done my share of flip tricks and manuals at that place. I skated there so much when it was first built that even Craig Williams thought I lived in Tsawwassen.

Nope, Surrey all the way fellas, and we’ll be there on Sunday to represent. It’s great to see all these young locals keepin’ the standards high at that park – Cole and Luke Thodus, Dima, Ryan Lapore, Andrew Classon, Mick Bey, Shadd Trepp, Michael Ray and so many more.

Team Protest will be there for sure to rip it up with you guys.

Who knows, maybe Cisco can win some more money…

Check out the vid from last year

[vimeo id=”27670689″ width=”620″ height=”360″]

For more info about the Sun Festival click here.

White Rock Bowl Series 2012

Jul 31,2012 / By Hippie Mike / No Comment

So far, we’ve only had 2 competitions this year for Bowl Series, even though White Rock is always the 3^rd stop. Griffin got rained out twice already and will be happening on August 12^th. So we all showed up to Sunny White Rock, which is actually called South Surrey Skate Park – even the skate park has the syndrome where everyone says they live in White Rock but it still says Surrey on their mail. It’s Surrey people – love it!!

July 29^th, 2012, a beautiful sunny day. I love this stop on the Series because every year it’s a whole different crowd of people hangin’ out and competing. Usually at Seylynn, Griffin and Whistler, you know who will be there, but you never know about White Rock till the day of. I remember one year when Ryan and Scott Decenzo, John Hanlon and Magnus Hansen all showed up. We had to teach them how to hit the speed line which I thought was hilarious, but within a few rips around it Ryan Decenzo was already busting kickflip melons over the tit. Some years you get the old White Rock Crew like Spike Jones, Brad Sheppard, Alien and Swell, and other years you get all the NV Loc longboarders. You never know till the day of. But one thing you can count on is that me and Andy Anderson will be there killin’ it.

All the kids had a blast in the Beginner and Intermediate categories, and Carrie and Lea owned the bowl for 5 minutes or so for the ladies comp, but it was all about Advanced. Adam Hopkins showed up, hung over of course after hanging out with the infamous Tony Hawk the past couple of days, and started dropping in and out of the bowl. I could tell Adam hadn’t been there before and showed him a couple quick lines to get him in the right places to bust huge airs. Adam had the bowl figured out in a few minutes and we all knew he would be a challenge to beat. He even ollied a gap that I’ve only ever seen done once – off the side of the tit over the flatbottom to the ditch wall while going up the bowl. Sick!

Giver was on the mic, and I was giving him a tough time all day. He put us all into Teams for our heats and said that the winning team would take all, but when it came time to announce the winners he forgot to mention that Team Protest won and just gave out prizes to the Top 4 competitors. We know how it is, and we know that Surrey represented hard, like always.

Team Protest consisted of myself “Hippie Mike”, Andy Anderson, Brad Muscat [Fighter], Jordan Strong and a recruited Damon Kerr. Damon’s wheel fell off, Brad ollied into the bowl, I landed as much as I could, and Andy shredded like Andy knows how finishing the heat off by blasting a massive melon grab over my head out of the deep end.

We all know that Team Protest won, but I guess Team Misfit and Team China Creek threatened Giver behind the scenes…

As soon as the Video from Rolling Bones Podcast is out, we’ll let it speak for itself

1^st place – Adam Hopkins

2^nd – Giet Rolan

3^rd – Andy Anderson

4^th – Eve Feaver

Hippie Mike’s Tour de Surrey 2012 Stop 2 – Fleetwood

Jul 31,2012 / By Hippie Mike / No Comment

Another beautiful Saturday in the land of Skateboarding. We started the day off early with the contest beginning at 10am so that people could try to get to Hastings Park in time for the Tony Hawk Birdhouse Demo. Still lots of kids showed up for the contest, and of course they were all ready to rip it. The 3 block is the big obstacle at Fleetwood Skate Park and tons of tricks go down over it every contest. It got ollied in Mini, Kickflipped in Beginner, Benihana’d in Advanced, and Bigspin Heelflipped in the Best Trick. Kids are crazy.

The Mini’s were flying all over the park, launching out of the quarter pipe and up the step up, and Aiden represented the tranny skills with some sweet rock fakies.

The Beginners were also “Out For Justice” as they laid down trick after trick. Crooked Grinds on the ledges, Kickflips and Pop Shovits up the step and over the hip, and Big Airs out of the quarter launch. Rob Schrack stomped a kickflip over the 3 block to seal down his victory.

The Ladies Category was just Carrie and Heloise who both skate totally different. Carrie turned the tables from Kwantlen and displayed her skills and experience at Hippie Mike’s Tour de Surrey landing everything she tried and taking first place.

The Intermediates were also tight. The Hawthorne Brothers were pretty much battling each other for silver since Mathew McCauley showed up just as Intermediate was nearing the end of their runs, registers and walks up the 3 block to turn around and effortlessly kick flip over it perfectly. Matt laid down an amazing double length run hitting up all the ledges, rails and gaps to undoubtedly take home 1^st.

Then came Advanced. Lots of tough names in this category, Andy Anderson, Jay Mykyte, Fighter, The Dominator, but the unstoppable one was Dallas Gauthier who came down from Vernon to toss out everything he had. This kid is insane and lands everything solid. Frontside Bigspin Heelflip over the pyramid one try in his run, along with some serious 3 block action. It was tight between him, Andy, Dominic and Brad, but Dallas deserved first place for the technical showcase he brought with him. He also finished the day off right by winning the Best Trick Contest over the 3 block – Frontside Bigspin Heelflip & Nollie Inward Heelflip.

Good job Dallas!!

Results:

Mini: 1. Jon Schrack; 2. Justin Fiorante; 3. Aiden Eastman; 4. Parker Sherwin; 5. Luca Braico

Beginner: 1.Rob Schrack; 2. Matthew Major; 3. David Martin; 4. JR Barron; 5. Riley Allen; 6. Nick Bachmeier; 7. Evan Way; 8. Buddy Cadman; 9. Ethan Seemann

Ladies: 1. Carrie Williams; 2. Heloise Wathelet

Intermediate: 1. Mathew McCauley; 2. Tanner Hawthorne; 3. Jackson Hawthorne; 4. Duncan Lee; 5. Kory Laan; 6. Jacob Drescher; 7. Zack; 8. Justin James

Advanced: 1. Dallas Gauthier; 2. Andy Anderson; 3. Dominic Devries; 4. Brad Muscat [Fighter]; 5. Derek Mayer; 6. Jordan Strong, Andre Bissonnette, Allen Handley; 9. Jigga Jay Mykyte

Best Trick: Dallas Gauthier

See you next time at

Guildford – August 11^th

Extreme Sports Skateboarding

Tony Hawk Rips Hastings

Jul 30,2012 / By Hippie Mike / 1 Comment

Well I rearranged everything on Saturday in order to make it out to Hastings Park on time to see the Birdman, Tony Hawk tear up Hastings again, but I showed up just as the demo ended. I think a lot of people were disappointed that the demo barely lasted 1 hour, and most expected a lot more out of the Birdhouse Team, but I’m sure they were tired and sore from the rest of this “Left Coast Tour” they just completed, and sometimes when you see a mega crowd like the one that showed up to Hastings Skate Park this July 28^th, 2012, the best thing to do is run for your life and hide in your Tour Bus.

Tony Hawk has been representing on a skateboard his entire life, strongly since around the time he hit puberty. He has invented some amazing tricks over his time on both street and transitional obstacles. He helped keep skateboarding alive through the toughest of times at the end of the ‘80’s and then somehow brought it into the mainstream of the planet with his Video Game Series – Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater, and at 44 years old he proves that he can still shred a concrete bowl.

I may have missed the demo, but thanks to Parker Sherwin and his Dad Brad, I got some very special items signed (including my VHS copy of Ravers, the original Birdhouse Video) at an exclusive signing they got to go to in the morning at Boulevard Skate Shop in Vancouver.

Quote Brad Sherwin – “He signed Parker’s handboard first, then the shirts, and I asked if he could sign one more thing. When I took the tape out of the bag, he wasn’t sure what it was. When he saw the top label, he said “You gotta be kidding!” He signed it, and asked if he could take a photo with it, to which I said of course. He pulled his phone out of his pocket, turned to one of the other guys on his team and asked them to take a shot for him. The other guys from Boulevard Skate Shop even said “Is that Ravers?”, and they got excited as well. Tony took the tape, made it look like he was biting it and got his shot. This shot was just after his was taken. He was excited to see it.”

Thanks Guys!!

Here are some clips I found on Youtube of the demo…

Vans Underworld BBQ At Chuck Bailey

Jul 28,2012 / By Hippie Mike / No Comment

Jorden Murray approached me in June about having a BBQ and Sk8 Hockey Tournament at Chuck Bailey Skate Park. I was all for it, and it was set up for July 14^th. Unfortunately, no one had any hockey sticks, but they all had their skateboards. Food got eaten, tricks went down and prizes were tossed. A good night.

Here’s a video recapping the event from “116^th productions” and www.bcskateparks.com.

Watch for my main man, Andy Anderson clogging up the screen

[youtube id=”gmK3HEVyuQk” width=”620″ height=”360″]

“Big Hair, Big Air and a Bigger Heart” – The Surrey Now

Jul 26,2012 / By Hippie Mike / No Comment

With Hippie Mike’s Tour de Surrey being such a popular and long running event I usually get approached by at least one local media outlet each year to discuss it. Last year I was on “Gen Y” which is a segment on the Shaw Cable show The Express. This year, The Surrey Now requested an interview. I was all for it, it’s a great way to let people know about the acceptance of skateboarding into our society now, and to promote the event in a positive way for those who might not know about it.

Here’s the article

http://www.thenownewspaper.com/sports/hair+bigger+heart/6991540/story.html

Don’t forget to come out to Fleetwood Park this Saturday, July 28^th to check out the event. This one starts early – 10am

Show Up Mike – Park Addition!! New Richmond Park

Jul 24,2012 / By Hippie Mike / No Comment

[youtube id=”N1gMcegVUDk” width=”620″ height=”360″]

Located on Granville Ave near No. 2 rd, beside the Thompson Community Centre, it opened on Go Skateboard Day, June 21^st, and although I wasn’t that hyped on it when I saw it, I figured I should film my 5 tricks there and add it into the mix for Show Up Mike. You can tell a new skatepark isn’t that awesome when you show up on a Friday afternoon 2 weeks after it opens and the only people in the park are 25 Asian Seniors doing the Cha Cha to Ricky Martin…

Either way, here’s my 5 tricks there – now go Show me UP!

Still 2 more months to enter your videos.

Hippie Mike’s Tour de Surrey – Fleetwood reminder (Change of Start Time)

Jul 23,2012 / By Hippie Mike / No Comment

Just a quick reminder about Fleetwood Contest this upcoming Saturday, July 28^th. I have decided to start the contest 2 hours early in order to be able to go to the Birdhouse Demo featuring Tony Hawk and Team at Hastings Park the same afternoon. The demo is scheduled for 2pm so if we get started early enough and go a little quicker through the runs, people will be able to make it out there.

Therefore, Fleetwood Contest will start at 10am!!

Registration 9:30am

Info on Birdhouse Demo presented by Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater:

Element Skateboards – Make it Count – Surrey 2012

Jul 22,2012 / By Hippie Mike / No Comment

Another stellar event put on at Chuck Bailey Skate Park in Surrey, BC.

July 21, 2012 Chad Albert and some of the Element Skaters showed up to bring the “Make it Count Contest” to Surrey. The categories are 13 and under & 14 and up, and it just chaotic Jam Format on specific obstacles. All the winners get Prize Bags and the Overall Winner of the older category wins a paid trip to the next level of the contest where all the winners from around the world compete at Element YMCA Camp for a chance to be sponsored by Element Skateboards – pretty sick!!

The talent that was displayed in the 13 & under was amazing of course, but was pretty much dominated by the Tsawwassen Brothers – Cole and Luke Thodus, each of them winning 1 of the 2 obstacles. Are these guys the next Decenzo Brothers?? I mean they’re already unstoppable and with the amount of parks and contests out here, they have the potential to get noticed. Plus they live in Delta, just like Scott and Ryan Decenzo did… Either way, they killed it, and took home all the prizes in their division.

In the older Category, it was complete insanity on the obstacles. The first one was the ledge that runs along the bank and there were people coming from both directions right at each other. Dallas stomped a 5-0 kickflip out right in between 2 other people at one point. Someone got there face split open right above the eye by an elbow and everything. It was crazy. But so many tricks went down by so many people – Dominic Devries, Matt Cook, Calvin Dignard, etc. I have no idea what he landed, but Sam Hampton won that part.

The next part was on the 3 block section and of course that was ridiculous. Dominic laid down about a dozen tricks including a perfect bigspin flip front board, Sam Hampton was landing everything he tried, someone double heelflipped the set first try, and Brendan Nielsen was trying to hardflip back lip the rail. But there was no match for John Purcell and his switch tricks. Switch Back Lip on the out rail, Damn!

John Purcell won that section and then was announced as Overall Winner to continue on to Step 2 of Make it Count. Way to go dude.

Thanks to Element for coming out and creating another awesome event for skaters across the world. And great job to everyone that showed up and displayed their talents in Surrey.

Category : Skateboarding