Hi. I'm Hippie Mike!

Hippie Mike is a man of many talents, many skills and many creations. A master of construction, Mike loves to build and create unique and custom projects, but he also takes the same mind frame to everything else he does.

Jun 3,2016 / By Hippie Mike / No Comment

There was a new feature added to the 2016 World Round-Up Freestyle Skateboard Championships called “Pro for a Day” where kids 10 years or younger can enter to be a special guest at the World Round-Up. As this special guest they get to hang out with all the competitors, have fun at the fair, and also do some freestyle demos for the crowds during the competition getting the feeling of being a true Pro.

6 ½ year old Kaelen Faux was the lucky kid who got to set the precedence of this new addition, and he made sure that everyone was stoked. Sponsored by Protest Movement, a company who believes in creating opportunities to assist in positive growth of our next generations, Kaelen was treated like a true Pro all weekend long. He left his home in Sunshine Valley, BC with nothing but smiles on his face and excitement in his voice and put on 2 solid performances for the audience each day of the competition. He was truly appreciated and respected by all competitors and lots of them took time to teach Kaelen some more awesome tricks. Finishing the weekend off with a fun day at the Fair, Kaelen had a blast playing games, riding ponies, winning prizes and even getting on some of those terrifying rides. He even got to ride the Tilt a Whirl with 13 year old Isamu Yamamoto from Japan who placed 2^nd in the Pro division. It was a great time and a memorable experience for Kaelen Faux, one that we are sure he will never forget. Now the only question is: Do you want to be Pro for a Day??

And keep watch on The World Round-Up website www.theworldroundup.com for more information on how you can enter to be Pro for a Day in 2017.

The 2016 World Round-Up

May 28,2016 / By Hippie Mike / No Comment

The 5th year of The World Round-Up Freestyle Skateboarding Championships, hosted in Surrey, BC Canada by legends Kevin Harris and Monty Little, has come to a close. It was an amazing milestone to make it to year 5 and it was great to see so many of the faces of people who have been there every single year.

The Freestyle World is pretty tight considering how small it really is and how spread out around the globe everyone is, competitors came from 11 different countries, including Marius Constantin from Romania making his first trip to this Canadian contest. There were a bunch of new faces this year, everyone was stoked to be there and all competitors brought huge bags of flow and tech tricks to showcase all weekend long to keep each other, and all the crowds of spectators pumped up.

In the Amateur division local boy Andy Anderson was looking to repeat his win from last year, and with smooth style and perfectly executed choreographed to the music runs, he managed to pull through and somehow defeat the 2 young Brazilians Diego Pires and Kaue Araujo. Both of them came out with a vengeance to take the title and it was a close call between all 3. These guys are really good.

In the Pro division there was serious competition and a bunch of guys that hadn’t been to the round-up before which definitely makes it more interesting for those of us who have been to all 5 years and know the top guys and where they usually place. Young 13 year old Isamu Yamamoto from Japan was fresh off a 1st place finish in Pro at Big Rio and wanted to take his first 1st in Canada. He fearlessly led the competition all weekend and blew minds with all 3 of his runs in the semi-finals, but he slipped up a tiny bit in the finals which means a lot with the calibur of competitors that were skating. Dudes from Spain, England, Brazil, Japan, Sweden, Australia, Germany and more flying into Canada to win this thing and it was anyone’s game. The usual guys that are tough to beat were on their game like usual. Guenter Mokulys, Mike Osterman, Per Canguru, Stefan “Lillis” Akesson…. All legends of Freestyle, but this year belonged to American newcomer Connor Burke as he came out with his 2nd run in the finals and laid down a fast, furious and flawless performance beating out Isamu by 2 points. It was awesome!

The World Round-Up isn’t just about who wins the competition though, it’s really more about having fun and putting smiles on kid’s faces and this year it did just that. A new feature was added to the event called “Pro for a Day” where a kid under 10 gets to be included in the contest by hanging out with all the pros all weekend and even performing demos for the crowds 2-3 times a day. This year the little dude was 6 year old Kaelen Faux from Sunshine Valley, British Columbia. He shredded for the crowd every time and totally progressed each day to the next. It was great to see him smiling and having fun living the life of a pro, watch for a video coming soon recapping Kaelen’s awesome experience being Pro for a Day. And be ready to promote it for anyone you think should try and be the Pro for a Day next year.

As the weekend wound down and the bones of all the competitors began to ache it was time to call it a day for the 5th annual World Round-Up. Once again everyone came out to have fun and that’s what they did. It’s a great family. Enjoy this recap video and feel like you were there!

See you in 2017

World Round Up

2016 Winners at The World Round-Up Freestyle Skateboard Championship

May 23,2016 / By Hippie Mike / 1 Comment

Another amazing event at the 5^th annual World Round-Up where Freestyle skateboarders from all around the globe show up in Canada to try to earn the title of “Best in the World” in either Amateur or Pro Division. 14 countries were represented and it looked like the competitors were all trying to take the title home with them. The Amateur division was super tight with 3 Brazilians and 2 Canadians in the Top 5 positions. Andy Anderson was defending his title from last year while Kaue Araujo was determined not to place 2^nd for the 3^rd straight year. All 5 of these guys laid down at least 1 flawless run in the finals but it came down to that hypnotic choreography that Andy puts in his runs along with some technical awesomeness and he luckily pulled through in first place for the second straight year.

In the Pro division the nerves were extra high this year, there were a few slip-ups but everyone was still amazing to watch and Mike Osterman really wanted to repeat his win from 2015. All eyes were on 13 year old Isamu Yamamoto who had owned the contest the first 2 days but stamina can be an issue in those young legs. The top 5 were all pretty even to judge but newcomer to this event Connor Burke from USA threw down a perfect, flawless and fast paced final run which overtook young Isamu for the win. Everyone was stoked!

Top 3 in each category were as follows:

Amateur Pro

1. Andy Anderson 1. Connor Burke

2. Diego Pires Afonso 2. Isamu Yamamoto

3. Kaue Araujo 3. Mike Osterman

Check out these winning runs from this year’s champions Andy Anderson and Connor Burke.

World Round Up

Who will be the champ?

May 23,2016 / By Hippie Mike / No Comment

The 2016 World Round-Up Freestyle Skateboarding Championships are well underway and being the 5^th year for this annual competition there is more desire for people to get onto the podium. But super-phenom 13 year old Isamu Yamamoto from Japan is definitely the one to beat in the Pro division. With 3 completely flawless and mind-blowing runs in the semi-finals the crowd went crazy for young Isamu, but the test will be: can he hold his position in the Finals? So much talent to compete with and multiple people had amazing and flawless runs in the semi’s, but it could be anyone’s game in the Finals on Sunday.

Whether Professional or Amateur this is a competition, and it’s always a roll of the dice in Freestyle. The judges are looking for technical tricks landed solid and with style, creative routines that go well to the music, and of course constant flow on the board during and between tricks.

Who will be this year’s Champs? Nobody knows. I’ve said it before and I’m not afraid to repeat myself – it all comes down to the Finals…

So Sunday will be judgement day, but until then enjoy these flawless, mind-blowing runs that young Isamu finished off the semi’s with.

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Hippie Mike’s Super Tour 2015 – Vancouver Skate Plaza

Sep 4,2015 / By Protest Skateboards / No Comment

Waking up to a torrential rain storm the competition was initially cancelled and postponed until the next day, but the sun popped out around 9:30am and Hippie Mike changed his mind and decided to run the event and risk the weather issues coming back. Ironically there ended up being a massive wind storm throughout the Lower Mainland knocking down trees and poles and leaving tons of people without power for days. But down at The Vancouver Skate Plaza the crowd of eager skateboarders were somehow protected by all the surrounding buildings and the Finale of Hippie Mike’s Super Tour 2015 began and finished in style….

Starting about an hour behind schedule the contest got underway with a small group of Mini’s that all wanted to win a special Plaque. Little 7 year old Presley Huska stepped up the game right away as he tried to ollie the big 7 stair over and over landing it every time and just slipping out. He rode away in the finals jam and the crowd was pumped up for the day. 5 year old Kaelen Faux shredded the whole park in Mini with style and skill, and 10 year old Aidan Eastman took advantage of his final time competing in Mini by throwing down everything he had on the table and taking home another 1^st place plaque for his collection.

The Beginners had to skate hard after seeing the Minis. Everybody came out flying but the first runs were owned by Olek Khrystoyev as he kickflipped and varial flipped everything in site but in the Finals Fletcher Chan took it to another level with huge gaps and solid landings. No one could keep up with the Park Local though who even had a shirt saying PLAZA across the chest – Joey Livingston as he destroyed the park and lit up the crowd. At the end of the finals he gapped over the big 3 block and all the loc’s went wild – 1^st place all the way Joe!

Intermediates came out next and had a small rain delay between runs 1 & 2, but that just created a little extra warm up time for them. Soren Terra, James Graham, Adam McPhee, Josh Lewis all made it into the finals and all made it tough on the judges to do their jobs. But JR Barron owned 1^st place all the way. JR has been localizing Hippie Mike contests since he was 5 years old and has a collection of plaques and prizes from over the years, he played it safe and landed everything he tried in both runs, and then kept the consistency alive in the finals. Great job everyone, Intermediate was solid!

Finally getting into Advanced there was a strong list of shredders and it could have been anyone’s game. Run 1 was intense as every competitor showed how good they were, then 4 guys into the 2^nd run it started raining again. After a 10 minute wait Hippie Mike called it over knowing the rain was here to stay and told the judges to figure it out just off run1. The winner was pretty obvious but every position down from there was a serious decision to make. 4^th place tied with Gabe DiNorscio and Jacob Drescher so you know the top 3 threw down. Local boy Trevor Greig aka DGK Trev wasn’t even going to enter but Hippie Mike put him in the contest anyway and he ended up taking 3^rd place, finishing his run in style with a hat transfer through the legs while he ollied the 7 stair. Everyday Local Ty Koeller laid it down like he always does with huge frontside flips, 180 nosegrinds, perfect noseslide bigspins and more and took 2^nd place earning his first ever Hippie Mike Plaque. Along with that he won $30 in a 50/50 draw! But the winner of the day was definitely Noah Eastwood. He came out flying with a vengeance, aired over the big pyramid to flat, hit every square inch of the park with speed and finished his run with some rocket madonna trick down the 7 stair that no one should ever attempt. Killed it buddy!
To top it all off Noah Eastwood was also named the 2015 Hippie Mike’s Super King and was even more stoked. 1^st place at Plaza, 1^st place at Queensborough and 6^th at Chuck Bailey Noah put his body on the line at every contest and showed all competitors, judges and spectators that he has no fear. This kid could go far in life.

Another great summer of events, Great job to all who came out to the 2^nd year of Hippie Mike’s Super Tour, next year we will be hitting 4 different parks so be ready, go out and practice, and remember to have fun – that is what skateboarding is really all about….

Results:

Mini: 1. Aidan Eastman; 2. Presley Huska; 3. Kaelen Faux; 4. Tyrus Manlig

Beginner: 1. Joey Livingston; 2. Fletcher Chan; 3. Olek Khrystoyev; 4. Austin MacBeth; 5. Sean Loney & Isaiah

Intermediate: 1. JR Barron; 2. Adam McPhee; 3. Soren Terra; 4. James Graham; 5. Josh Lewis

Advanced: 1. Noah Eastwood; 2. Ty Koeller; 3. Trevor Greig; 4. Gabe Di Norscio & Jacob Drescher; other competitors: Travis Davie, Chadd Sinclair, Kalib Morin, Grant Faithful, Doogie Lester, Riley Antonicic, Jordan Repin

Best New Competitor: Fletcher Chan

Most Improved Skater: Kaelen Faux

2015 Super King: Noah Eastwood

Thanks to all sponsors:

Protest Skateboards

Authentic Board Supply

Skate Centric

Vulcan Bolts

DC Shoes

Burn Bros. Wax

Fury Trucks

Mobile Bandit

Emerica

Altamont

Grizzly Grip

Bones Wheels

Diamond Supply Co.

Chance Skateboards

Kitsch Skateboards

HUF

Youth Unlimited

Kr3W

Spitfire Wheels

Cliche

Almost Skateboards

Lakai

Happy Hour Shades

Shake Junt

The Hundreds

Monke Skateboards

RDS

Independent Trucks

Girl Skateboards

Baker Skateboards

Toy Machine

InStance Socks

Supra Footwear

Deathwish Skateboards

Folk Skateboards

Vans Off the Wall

Fallen Footwear

New Line Skate Parks

Spectrum Skate Parks

Concrete Skateboarding Magazine

Concrete Wave Magazine

King Shit Mag

The Dry Spot Indoor Skate Park

Auto Repairs R Wee

Woodsmith Custom Cabinets

Contest Results Contests Extreme Sports Skateboarding

All Hail King Merrick

Aug 18,2015 / By Protest Skateboards / No Comment

Another amazing and historic year for Bowl Series has come to a close, but it seemed this year was so much more crazy. Maybe because we have reached the 3^rd decade? Who knows, but what we do know is that it is one of the best things happening in Skateboarding.

To watch kids as young as 5 years old travel around to bowls made in the 1980’s and early 90’s is amazing enough, but to see them competing in beginner and being so stoked on riding for 5 minutes in front of a huge crowd and progressing at every contest is tear jerking. This is what we live for as old school skaters, we helped set the bar high for skateboarding over many lost decades of discrimination and through our determination have seen success in the world and now have confidence that skateboarding will live on forever. Thanks kids for being the next generation of awesomeness.

And speaking of kids, let’s talk about our new King of the Bowls – Merrick Orr. Merrick started coming out to Bowl Series in year 19, only 2 years ago, and this year made an impact that will never be forgotten. At 15 years old he took 1^st place at Seylynn Bowl popping all the big gaps, ones that had been done before and some that hadn’t. Griffin Bowl he blew minds when he ollied off the smallest part of the virus to the outside of the bowl, and White Rock he flew with style and flow to take another first place. It was Squamish Beef Under the Chief contest where all eyes were opened wider as they got to see Merrick rip coping, and even though it wasn’t really a Bowl Series jam, Merrick fought to the top 3 by finding every gap possible and crushing the bowl with insane speed and furiousity. But it was Whistler Bowl that everyone was waiting for, where the King would be crowned and Merrick wanted to prove his holiness. He shredded the entire bowl, once again finding impossible and deadly gaps and making them look easy. With long hair blowing, shades on tight and fierceness in his face he battled the best of the best of Whistler and took 3^rd Place. As he ollied over the deepend of the bowl into the other side Renee Renee stopped him in his tracks to let him know he needed to prove no more and 15 year old Merrick Orr was crowned the 2015 King of the Bowls in the unforgettable Bowl Series #21.

Until next year, when we ask the question again

– Who will be King….

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Hippie Mike’s Super Tour 2015 – Tsawwassen Recap

Aug 4,2015 / By Protest Skateboards / No Comment

One of Hippie Mike’s favorite skate parks the Tsawwassen Skate Park is a great place for competitions. With a wide area full of ledges, rails, manual tables and hip to hips there’s plenty of room for lots of people to have fun together. And that’s what happened on August 2^nd at the 3^rd stop of the 2015 Hippie Mike’s Super Tour.

Kicking things off with the Beginners and Minis, lots of parents and other family members were keep the noise level high as they cheered on the young competitors. In Mini there were some new kids which is always great to see, but Aidan Eastman is a tough kid to beat. He conquered through to win another one. The Beginners was a tough category as all of them were skilled and were landing their stuff. Austin MacBeth showed everyone that he’s not just a Bowl skater and landed in 3^rd place, while Cody Mo and Fletcher Chan battled each other hard for the win, Fletcher took 1^st this time sealing the deal with a big frontside 180 down the 3-block.

The Intermediates stepped up the skill level by adding in the rail and ledge game into their runs. Austin Doquiatan was putting on a show in the qualifiers but ended in 5^th in the finals. All the intermediates skated really solid but the day belonged to the young buck from White Rock Jon Schrack. Way to hold it down Jon!

Advanced started off with an insane run by Jake Johnson from the island, who in height looks like he could be in the Mini category. He came out fierce and landed everything he tried setting the standard super high. Merrick Orr, also from the island, took that as a challenge and put on a serious demo in his runs, and Local boys Mick Bey and Aleka Lang used their long legs to look lazy as they landed a ton of tricks around the whole park, but it was tough for either of them the stay caught up to Bryce Aspinall as he shredded around with speed and style. Top 3 came down to Bryce, Merrick and little Jake but 1^st place went to Merrick who even after a face to face collision with Bryce in the start of the finals pushed through to transfer every gap he could find, kick flip front board the blue rail, crooked grind the red rail, and pretty much just destroy the entire park. It was a great show and a solid contest, thanks to everyone who showed up.

Results:

Mini: 1. Aidan Eastman; 2. Kingston Bird; 3. Dave McGough; 4. Kaelen Faux; 5. Lola Paller

Beginner: 1. Fletcher Chan; 2. Cody Mo; 3. Austin MacBeth; 4. Connor Farren; 5. Sebastian Manlig

Intermediate: 1. Jon Schrack; 2. Paul Abraham; 3. Devin Petry; 4. Colton Wilkinson 5. Austin Doquiatan; 6. Robert Wylie

Girls: 1. Jayna Clarke; 2. Rebecca; 3. Katie Wojtun

Advanced: 1. Merrick Orr; 2. Bryce Aspinall; 3. Jake Johnson; 4. Doogie Lester, Jay Mykyte, Aleka Lang, Riley Allen

Next Stop – Grand Finale

August 29^th – Vancouver Skate Plaza

See you there

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Hippie Mike’s Super Tour 2015 – Queensborough

Jul 23,2015 / By Hippie Mike / No Comment

Another sweet summer day in British Columbia, Canada, and a perfect day to run a skateboard competition. Hippie Mike came out strong for this one handing out about 100 free t-shirts while Wee Wong from Auto Repairs ‘R Wee gave out a bunch of chip bags and water bottles. Queensborough Skate Park the new park in New Westminster and has a solid design with a bank style bowl surrounded by street obstacles so anyone could participate but in order to win you would need to be good at everything.

Getting started right on time with the Minis, the contest was awesome right from the start. 8 minis 10 years old or less and they were all giving it everything they had. Aidan Eastman came out with skills in his final year as a mini and took home 1^st place on this one but don’t think it was a runaway. The Beginner category was a bit tougher with 10 kids that all knew how to shred. Top 5 made it into a Finals Jam where they had to skate for 5 minutes together and land as much as they could. Sydney Chalmers tossed himself over the quarter pipe time after time trying to hit the biggest gap while Cody Mo and Jack Blain utilized the whole park. But no one could catch up to Fletcher Chan as he skated every obstacle with ease and landed pretty much everything he tried. By the look of the Beginner category the rest of this contest was going to amazing.

Intermediates was a lot busier with over 20 people with ages ranging from 10 to over 30 years old, and all of them were good. Only6 competitors moved into the Finals and through all the ledge and rail thrashing from JR Barron, Austin Doquiatan and the others, little Rylee Wong destroyed to bowl with confidence, style and skill to beat out everyone and take 1^st place.

The Advanced category got even more intense, and the sun was shining super hot. Over 20 people in this one too, and once again all of them were shredders. A lot of top name locals were trying to make finals but it only came down to 5 guys – Kyler Hale, Noah Eastwood, Allen Handley, Dylan Lundgren and Penny Board skater Hugo Bedard. The Finals were intense and only lasted 6 minutes but everybody was killin’ it. Allen was destroying the bowl and Hugo was lighting up every obstacle on his Penny board, but Noah Eastwood took home the gold by skating everything and displaying how good he is all around. Everybody skated really solid all day.

After all prizes were handed out it was time for a best trick contest off the big hip launcher for a wall hanger Almost deck which Hugo Bedard somehow stomped down an overturn backside 360 on his penny to win.

Great contest, thanks to all who came out.

Results

Mini – 1. Aidan Eastman; 2. Dave McGough; 3. Presley Huska; 4. Elijah Williamson; 5. Kaelen Faux

Beginner – 1. Fletcher Chan; Jack Blain; 3. Cody Mo; 4. Sydney Chalmers; 5. Braeden Nerpio

Girls – 1. Katie Wojtan; 2. Erica Hardy

Intermediate – 1. Rylee Wong; 2. Austin Doquiatan; 3. JR Barron; 4. Yoshe Durston; 5. Rory White; 6. Stefan Bakker

Advanced – 1. Noah Eastwood; 2. Hugo Bedard; 3. Dylan Lundgren; 4. Allen Handley; 5. Kyler Hale

Best Trick – Hugo Bedard

Next stop – Tsawwassen Skate Park – August 2^nd (Sunday)

Contest Results Extreme Sports Skateboarding

Andy Anderson Wins at Griffin

Jul 13,2015 / By Protest Skateboards / No Comment

What a great weekend filled with great skating and great people. The day after The Van Doren Invitational everyone got straight back to skating in the 2^nd stop of the Bowl Series #21 at Griffin Bowl in West Van. Griffin is the place where you get there and don’t know what’s going down that day, sometimes it stays super mellow, and sometimes it gets wild. This year was awesome.

After a little rain delay and the bowl was forced to dry up the Beginners did their thing. All of them shredded the bathtub but little 5 year old Kaelen Faux used the whole bowl, and the obstacles on the outside to take his first ever 1^st place. That was cool.

Intermediates and ladies all shredded and the crowd was pumped but it was Advanced they were waiting for. With over 25 people in the jam it was gonna be tough but Eve Feaver, Andy Anderson, Merrick Orr and Cam MacGregor made it easier to pick the winners as they ripped the place up. Merrick and Cam both hit up insane gaps that had never been done before and Eve and Andy literally skated the entire park and laid down hundred of tricks each. Cam MacGregor finished it off with a humungous transfer ollie into the deepend from the bottom of the Virus roller but it wasn’t enough to take the win. Andy Anderson reminded everyone why he was King of the Bowls at age 15 as he flew through to victory.

Another great day of summer 2015, thanks everyone

Andy Anderson
Merrick Orr
Cam MacGregor
Eve Feaver

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The Van Doren Invitational – What a Blast!

Jul 12,2015 / By Hippie Mike / No Comment

It’s crazy how someone cracking their head open and knocking themself out over the biggest gap in the bowl gets the crowd more stoked…. That’s the Vancouver Skate Scene for ya. Nice try Raney Beres!

This was the first big Pro contest in many years since the infamous Slam City Jam competitions shut down and the excitement was in the air. Bleachers and grand stands were set up to surround one side of Hastings Bowl and there wasn’t an empty seat in the house for the Finals. Guys from all over North America came out to show their skills, Tom Schaar, Omar Hassan, Mason Merlino, Brad McClain and many others came to try to beat out the local talents of Adam Hopkins, James Clarke and the legend Rob Sluggo Boyce. All 3 of these guys skated well in prelims on Friday and all made the Semi-finals, but only Hopkins got into the Top 6 for the final Finals. He ended in 6^th place and that was definitely respectable.

The highlights of both days were focused on Sluggo doing backflips to fakie in the deepend both days which amazingly are the only ones he ever landed on concrete. The crowd will remember those forever. A great guy to watch was Riley Stevens, he came out to have fun and that is what he did, best trick had to be popping out of the 9 foot to smith pick on the fence and back into disaster for the ride out. Dude had a smile on his face the whole weekend and the feeling spread. Tom Schaar killed it vert style tossing a couple different 540’s around the bowl and a few kickflip indy’s but he didn’t quite make Top 3. Brad McClain reminded the crowd who skates the fastest, Raven Tershy showed who could hang in the air the longest of every hit and Alex Sorgente just plain laid it down all over the bowl to take 1^st place.

The contest was great, it was well set up, well managed, and the weather was amazing. Thanks to Vans and Kevin Kelly for working together to make it happen. I’m sure that we will be seeing more of these types of events in the near future, but until then the Vancouver crowd has lots to reminisce…

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