HIPPIE MIKE’S TOUR DE SURREY 2012 Stop 1 – Kwantlen Park

Jul 15,2012 / By Hippie Mike / 1 Comment

It’s the 9^th year for this series of skateboard competitions and I love that I still see a bunch of the same faces as the first year. I kicked off the Tour for 2012 at Kwantlen Park. It’s a tough park for lines, but always a good park for contests. It seems like everybody lands so much in their runs at this park, maybe because the obstacles are basic and small, not sure why. But either way, it worked out great.

The sun was blazin’ hot and the humidity was definitely hanging around, but it was still bearable enough to skate. Surprisingly for the first time in many, many years, there were more Advanced riders that Beginners. I assume because it was Kwantlen. When I started seeing some of the faces showing up for the Advanced Category, I knew it was gonna be a good show, and a tough contest to judge. With Surrey Locals like Calvin Dignard, Jay Mykyte, Andy Anderson, Jordan Strong, Brad Muscat and Ryan Barron, they were all in the running. But they would have to beat the guys that travelled there, like Ryan Prasad, Lil’ G and of course, “The Dominator” – Dominic Devries.

It was anyone’s guess who was going to come through on this one, only time would tell.

Only 4 kids in Mini this time around, but I knew that JR Barron was pushing hard for this win, since it was his final Mini Contest ever. He turns 11 years old next Sunday, so time to move up buddy! He took advantage of his skills and tore up the park landing almost everything he tried, including the only kickflip in the Mini Category. Parker Sherwin was right on JR’s heels though with a huge bag of tricks of his own and tried really hard to not let JR win. It was a close call…

The Beginner Category was just as tough with Kai Searle on board. This kid has some serious talent for his young age and lands a lot of tough tricks, with style. There was actually a 3 way tie for 4^th place, just to tell you how close this competition was. The surprise of the day though was Dante Gullickson who came out strong in his first run and then blew the crowd away with a flawless second run which was one long consistent line. Awesome!! That doesn’t happen often in Beginner. He almost won but Kai’s tricks were just too good and scored way bigger points. It was tight.

The Intermediates wasn’t so tight. Tyler Olson killed it all day during warm up, I can’t even think of a time a looked over at him when he didn’t land a trick, and was trying some pretty technical tricks. But sometimes when the helmet goes on for your run and the pressure of having the park to yourself happens, people choke. I think the rest of the category was happy Tyler had trouble, because I thought he was gonna win it for sure after watching him in warm-ups. But the prize went to 12 year old Mathew McCauley who landed a ton of rail tricks and gap tricks wherever he could squeeze them in. This kid knows how to skate hard, and takes it very seriously. He can bust tricks down huge gaps at any time, but also has a pocket full of tech tricks too. It was a blow-out win for him.

The ladies were hyped up too, Brianna Palmer is just starting out in the contest world so I’m sure she was nervous when she saw the competition that she was about to face. Carrie Williams is finally back in Contest Mode after a few years of missing out, so she brought out all her shovit and 180 skills and landed a ton of tricks. And then Heloise Wathelet showed up with Lil’ G, she’s visiting for the summer from Belgium. This chick’s got some serious talents and it looks like they might take her somewhere. Flip Tricks and Ledge Skills. Check out this video I found of her on Youtube.

[youtube id=”7oj6XHc2PSY” width=”620″ height=”360″]

It was close but Heloise took first. Hopefully we see her at a couple more of these events.

Then came Advanced. Like I said earlier, it was anyone’s contest to win. Really depended on who landed what. It was very close between the Top 5 except for how obvious it was that Dominic won. This kid has constant flow combined with super solid style and lots of hard tricks. I’ve said it before and I’ll continue to say it over and over, watch for him in the big leagues in the future. I’m gonna be hosting a segment of Glory Daze with Hippie Mike on Dominic soon.

My favorite tricks that went down in Advanced were Calvin Dignard’s nollie tailslide 270 on the flat ledge, Andy Anderson’s bluntslide fakie on the down rail of the pyramid, Ryan Barron’s feeble 180 up the same rail, Fighter’s Benny Hanna over the quarter pipe and of course anything that Ryan Prasad landed. There’s another name to watch for in the near future. Sick skater!! Cisco Gooding came out and had 2 solid runs too, but they weren’t of his usual “Flawless Run style” so he didn’t make Top 3, and the surprise of this category was that Jay Mykyte didn’t place at Kwantlen Park. I guess there is a first time for everything. Better luck next time Jigga…

We did have a Best Trick Contest on the big pyramid rail and it was a 3 way tie all going up the rail – Ryan Barron Feeble 180, Andy Anderson Bluntslide and Dominic Devries with a frontside tailslide fakie. Sick. Ryan was close to taking it all with a Boardslide to Feeble, but just couldn’t quite put it down. RBS…

Results:

Mini: 1. JR Barron; 2. Parker Sherwin; 3. Aiden Eastman; 4. Ry Forrester

Beginner: 1. Kai Searle; 2. Dante Gullickson; 3. Riley Allen; 4. Nick Bachmeier, Weston Huchkinson, Matthew Major; 7. Bishop Rosie; 8. Patrick Jonas; 9. Andrew Goodlet; 10. Ethan Tessier; 11. Ben Walsh; 12. Cameron Nelson

Intermediate: 1. Mathew McCauley; 2. Andre Bissonnette; 3. Eric Pedersson; 4. Malek Salem; 5. Tyler Olson

Girls: 1. Heloise Wathelet; 2. Carrie Williams; 3. Brianna Palmer

Advanced: 1. Dominic Devries; 2. Calvin Dignard; 3. Brad Muscat (Fighter); 4. Andy Anderson; 5. Cisco Gooding; 6. Jordan Strong; 7. Allen Handley; 8. Ryan Barron, Sean Cuddeford (Lil’ G); 10. Alexander Savage; 11. Jay Mykyte; 12. Shadd Trepp

Best Trick: 3 way tie – Ryan Barron, Andy Anderson, Dominic Devries

See you next time at

Fleetwood – July 28^th 2012

Contests Extreme Sports Skateboarding

Kwantlen Park Reminder

Jul 12,2012 / By Hippie Mike / No Comment

Saturday, July 14^th is rapidly approaching which means the 9^th Annual Hippie Mike’s Tour de Surrey is about to begin. This year I’m kicking off at Kwantlen Park in the heart of Whalley. Kwantlen Park is one of those places you show up at for the first time and just stand there wondering – “what the hell happened when they built this place??”

The ground was never graded level so you’re always going either uphill or downhill, some of the obstacles are movable, the pyramids are either too small or too big, and the park itself is about the same size as a tennis court, maybe… But the manual tables are nice.

It wasn’t the best plan, and the people that built it were not even close to today’s standards of New Line Skate Parks, but it happened, and it is a skate park. The thing I love about Kwantlen Skate Park is how even though it is not the best park out there, at one time it used to be busy every single day. So there’s all these kids that have a million tricks there, and when I run a contest there, everyone lands everything. Kwantlen Park is one of my top favorite places for a contest because of this. The judging is always so difficult because there’s always flawless runs from so many different people. We know Jay Mykyte is gonna show up and put on a Kwantlen Demo like he always does, but maybe someone could beat him this time. It’s going to be a beautiful day on Saturday, hot and sunny, a great day for a contest. The only thing I’m disappointed about is that I didn’t have Kwantlen on the Tour last year, and I put it first this year just for Kory Laan since he’s probably the only person that you could call a Local there now, and he went away camping or something. Bummed out…. But that’s okay, it will still be a great day.

And afterwards, head over to Chuck Bailey Skate Park and join in the fun with Jorden Murray, representing for Vans and Underworld. They’ll be holding a BBQ, putting on some sort of small Demo, and having a Skate Hockey Tournament in the Sports Box.

Starts around 5pm.

Check out the rest of Hippie Mike’s Tour de Surrey 2012

Canada Day Bowl Series 2012 – Seylynn Bowl

Jul 3,2012 / By Hippie Mike / 1 Comment

I speak of it as my Christmas – July 1^st. Every year we go to Seylynn Bowl and hang out with the massive family of skateboarders we have grown up with in this Lower Mainland over the 14 years we have lived here. It used to be the biggest party of the year, but has mellowed down a bit. There’s still a large group of people hanging out and having a good time, but not nearly as many as the past used to see. I remember 350 person Canada Days… I would say about 100-120 this year. The weather could have been a factor on that note since it looked like it was going to pour rain at any given moment for the first couple hours of the day, and it had rained that morning, but I think a lot of people stopped coming out after the incident with Don Hartley in the bowl in 2009. A large part of the crowd seemed to have dies along with Don, and although his spirit lives on every year at on Canada Day, the atmosphere that he helped to create over the years will never be the same.

It was a great day for the event. Tons of people of all ages skating and having a blast together. If you’ve never been to Seylynn you need to go check it out, it is not the easiest place to skate, unless of course you frequently go there. Some of the best skateboarders in the world would just sit there if they showed up to avoid having to learn the lines in front of so many people. This was the first year I can remember in a long time where there was a large group of Beginners in the contest. I think that’s cool. After 18 years for a series you want to see new young faces showing interest. That way it shows initiative that the Bowl Series will continue on and on. It was also the first year in a long time that there was a Long Board Division. And we actually got to have a Beer Relay for once.

A great day, filled with lots of smiles, positive attitudes and tasty drinks. With the likes of Dave Boyce, Andy Anderson, Adam Hopkins, Steve Lange, Jamie Sherratt, Stevie Denham, Dave Priest, Eve Feaver, Hippo, myself, and many more all ripping the bowl all day it just makes for great memories. I’ll add those memories into the bank in my brain containing all the Canada Days of the past.

For those that want to know:

Adam Hopkins 1^st place

Steve Denham 2^nd Place

Andy Anderson 3^rd Place

See you at the next stages of the Bowl Series 2012

Griffin July 15^th

White Rock July 29^th

Squamish August 18^th

Whistler August 19^th

Another Online Video Contest

Jun 27,2012 / By Hippie Mike / No Comment

This looks like a really fun experience for anyone to participate in, just make a skate video maximum 3 minutes long, upload to Youtube and submit to Lucky. Simple.

You have from July 1^st – July 31^st to submit which is plenty of time to film a 3 minute part. Majority of the kids around here now a days could film a 3 minute part in 3 minutes…

I like that it’s called Canada’s First Online Contest, but it’s unfortunately not. But that’s okay, this is going to be one of the new styles we are all going to see constantly popping up in the future. I like the online contest versions because it gives everyone a fair chance to get some exposure.

I guess we’ll be getting some of the same competitors entering this one as “Show Up Mike”. I think I’ll even be entering a video myself.

Better start filming.

Visit

www.luckysurfandskate.com

for more details.

Go Skateboard Day 2012

Jun 26,2012 / By Hippie Mike / No Comment

It was a beautiful day outside, especially first thing in the morning. Super sunny and just the perfect day to go out for a skate. A lucky coincidence that it was Go Skateboard Day on this day since the weather has not been the friendliest lately in the Vancouver Region. To prove how lucky it was, we got pissed on hard the very next day.

I got down to the Skate Plaza at about 10am to be greeted by hundreds of people of all ages skating their hearts out already. There was a huge line up for “Waffles on a Stick” formed on the side road and the crew was in full effect. Hosted by Vans and Underworld, along with DC, RDS and many others, MC Cyrus was ready to take control of the mob any time he felt like it. I skated around a bit and threw down some tricks on the Wally Ledges around the pillar and then started shooting photos. The best trick contest down the 7 stair was tight. Cody (GhettoBird) from Bonsor hardflipped over the rail, Ryan Prasad and Graham Bohn threw down multiple flip tricks to perfection, Dominic Devries showed up with a backside flip, and then kickflip front boarded the rail – the list went on and on. Cyrus was just handing out boards like Trick or Treat on Halloween. The kids skated the stairs, the hubba, the ledge over the grate, and the hip, and all 4 got demoed…

The mob moved out around 1:30pm to Cambie Bridge, followed by a couple street spots and then made their traffic disrupting way over the Georgia Viaduct towards Strathcona Park. I think there were more people at Strathcona at that one moment than there normally would be in an entire year. The place got destroyed, in a good way. I left early to head to Hastings Park for a BBQ, but not until after Ryan Prasad laid down a Heelflip Nose Manual Nollie Bigspin on the long ledge – solid buddy!!

Watch out for this kid, he is sick.

We headed out to Hastings and were met by the Local Crew, Surrey Stu Benoit, Timmers, McCallum, Adam Hopkins, and so on. Rob Boyce was there too, one of my favorites to watch. The beers definitely came out at Hastings, like usual. And everyone who knew how to rip bowl, did just that. The tricks were insane, huge airs all over the place, and Frontside Kid was going so fast on his grinds I think he may have melted the coping. Out of all, I think Adam Hopkins was the man to watch. Big airs left, right and centre, tailslides, smith grinds, handplants and more. He even blew the crowd away at one point by tossing out a drunken 540 McTwist in the deep end first try – no pads. I thought that was pretty much gonna shut it down, but then Andy Anderson rolled in just as the sun was dimming – Protest Represent!!

Andy had the crowd wowed in the matter of 30 seconds in his first run to warm up. 2 runs to get the legs going and then straight to the Indy Transfer over the gap from the hip to the other quater pipe that I made him learn last time we were there. Andy kills it, and proved it once again. Jeff Cole called him out on a trick he’d never tried before – Frontside 5-0 transfer fakie over the spine, and Andy laid ‘er down 2 tries. The night slowly came to an end and people finally disbursed. It was a great day for skateboarding, and just plain hanging out. It’s a great vibe in this City where all skaters come together in harmony, and it makes me glad to be a part of it.

Happy Go Sk8 Day!

June 21^st – every damn year…

Here’s all the photos:

Contest Results

NYJAH HUSTON GETS A SECOND AMAZING WIN AT STREET LEAGUE

Jun 18,2012 / By Hippie Mike / No Comment

Nyjah Huston has proven time and time again that he is the man when it comes to Street League. He won 3 out of 4 last year, and is now already 2 for 2 in 2012. It still blows me away when I watch the Street League series because almost every trick that goes down is what used to be a closing banger for a video part. These guys are tossing insanity first try, every try. Tricks that should take a week to land once, just getting pulled out of people’s back pockets and displayed perfectly for the world to see.

I don’t know what to say, except it’s Nyjah versus the world right now… and he’s definitely winning.

Contests Extreme Sports Skateboarding

Locks For Leukemia Skate Demo

Jun 10,2012 / By Hippie Mike / 1 Comment

[vimeo id=”43712730″ width=”620″ height=”360″]

We kept you in the loop regarding this story about young Nolan McLeod’s unfortunate diagnosis with Leukemia in May. There was a big fundraiser in Nolan’s behalf at the Tsawwassen Rec Centre on June 2^nd which raised close to $25,000 for the B.C. Children’s Hospital. A bunch of skate companies and skaters themselves supported the event by donating prizes and showing up to skate. Everyone had a great time, the people from the event came to check out the skating, and there were a couple Best Trick Contests for the kids. Here’s some footage from that day filmed and edited by park local Antosh Cimoszko.

SHOW UP MIKE – The Countdown Is On!!

Jun 10,2012 / By Hippie Mike / No Comment

[youtube id=”h9NULEYqjHY” width=”620″ height=”360″]

The dates have been set:

Video Submissions and voting begin on June 21^st, 2012

You will have 2 months to submit as many videos as possible, with the cut off deadline date at midnight – August 21^st.

Voting will continue until September 11^th

Winners will be announced at Hippie Mike’s Tour de Surrey’s Grand Finale at South Surrey Youth Park

September 15^th

GRAND PRIZE of

$500

** There will also be 1 winner for each skate park included that will win a Protest Skateboards T-shirt **

Don’t miss out…

Click the promo flyer in the bottom right corner for more details

Contests Extreme Sports Skateboarding

Go Skateboard – With West49

Jun 8,2012 / By Hippie Mike / No Comment

So majority of true skaters know that June 21^st is “Go Skateboard Day”, hopefully they know it’s the first day of summer as well. There will be a ton of events around the province of British Columbia, and of course the usual mass of people meeting up at the Vancouver Skate Plaza in the early afternoon to roam the downtown streets together in a mega-posse hitting up random spots and competing for sweet prizes.

We’ll see you there.

West 49 does things a little differently by setting up small venues at local skate parks to give all those unfortunate kids that couldn’t make it downtown a chance to score some gear too. They will be coming to a park near you.

See below for where and what time –

JOIN WEST 49 FOR GO SKATEBOARDING DAY 2012

VISIT YOUR LOCAL WEST 49 STORE FOR MORE DETAILS ON THE EVENTS.

CHILLIWACK • Chilliwack Landing SHOW MAP

3:00 PM – 6:00 PM

Our GSD2012 will be all about hanging out and skating. We will have games of S.K.A.T.E. and Best Trick and will be giving out prizes for winners. Trick Tips will also be provided by our in-house skate guru, John. We want to get lots of smaller prizes so that no one feels left out. We also will be using our West 49 banners and giving away all the Ele-ment GWP posters. Basically, it is just going to be an awesome day at the park. 9145 Corbould Street.West 49 Cottonwood Mall

KAMLOOPS • Macarthur Island Skatepark SHOW MAP

10:00 AM – 6:00 PM

Go Skate Day! We will be setting up a tent and table displaying some prizes and promoting our shop. We will be holding some contests, having a few draws and giving away some freebies in order to stoke every skater from all ages! Island Parkway West 49 Aberdeen Mall

KELOWNA • Ben Lee Skatepark SHOW MAP

2:00 PM – 6:00 PM.

West 49’s Go Skateboarding Day is a super fun day of skating for all ages and abilities at Ben Lee Skatepark! West 49’s skateboarding staff and flow team will be on hand to share their trick tips. Come on out and play a game of S.K.A.T.E. or take home a prize just for landing a sick trick. Plus bonus mystery prizes that anyone can win! Bring your piggy bank for our hotdog BBQ, proceeds will go to a local charity. ‘On Leathead Rd. between McPhee St and Franklyn Rd. West 49 Orchard Park Mall

NANAIMO • Pioneer Skatepark SHOW MAP

3:00 PM – 6:00 PM

Giving out a ton of prizes! Will have mini skate comps to win, all age and experience levels welcome. behind the Canadian Tire at 6900 Island Highway North West 49 Woodgrove Centre

PORT COQUITLAM • Railside Skatepark ? SHOW MAP

12:00 PM

GoSkate day contests and a BBQ! 2850 Shaughnessy Street West 49 Place D’Orleans

PRINCE GEORGE • Rotary Skatepark SHOW MAP

12:00 PM

Do you love to skateboard? Skaters of all ages and levels, come down to Rotary Skatepark and have an all-around great time with the West 49 team! Massey Drive. West 49 Pine Centre

Burnaby • Bonsor SHOW MAP

12:00 PM – 4:00 PM

BBQ hot dogs, hamburgers, veggie burgers. Skate raffle, best trick contests, giveaways. 6609-6789 Jubilee Avenue.West 49 Woodgrove Centre

SOUTH SURREY • Cloverdale Youth Skatepark SHOW MAP

3:00 PM – 6:00 PM.

Fun day full of skating, prizes, and games of S.K.A.T.E. 17848 64th Avenue. West 49 Willowbrook Shopping Centre

VANCOUVER • Seylynn Bowl SHOW MAP

1:00 PM.

Will be handing out posters and lanyards, and holding a S.K.A.T.E competition. Behind Seylynn Hall, 625 Mountain Highway North. West 49 Park Royal

VERNON • Polson Skatepark SHOW MAP

5:00 PM – 8:00 PM.

Best trick competitions at three skill levels. At the main intersection of Highway 6 and 97. West 49 Village Green

VICTORIA • Gordon Head Skatepark SHOW MAP

12:00 PM

Best trick competitions and giveaways! 4100 Lambrick Way West 49 Mayfair Mall

FIND EVENTS IN YOUR AREA:

Locks For Leukemia Fundraiser

Jun 5,2012 / By Hippie Mike / No Comment

A couple of us from The Protest Team went out to support the cause at Nolan McLeod’s Fundraiser held at the Tsawwassen Rec Centre on Saturday where there was a huge gathering of people. Some were there to skate the park, some were there to help raise funds, and some were there to cut their hair… and no, Hippie Mike did not shave his head.

When we pulled up at 11am, there was a full crowd of people hanging out beside the centre, music was playing, 50-50 draws, hot dogs; it seemed pretty chill. Nolan was not present, understandably, but you could see how many people cared for the cause. Shadd Trepp had called me up a few weeks ago to request a couple of us to come and skate the park just to give the crowd somewhere to wander off to, and something to watch, and also to help raise some extra funds to donate. Myself, Jaden Easton-Ellett and Andy Anderson were there representing for Protest Skateboards, and other rippers included Andrew Klassen, Graeme Betts, Lanny Deboer and Paul Machnau, along with a couple local rippers. We all just skated and had a good time, Shadd put on some Best Trick Contests with some donated prizing and there was a Highest Ollie Contest that Andy Klassen won.

I believe the skateboarders donated a couple hundred bucks for the cause, but all in all the total amount raised for the BC Children’s Hospital Foundation was close to

$25,000!!

Great job to all who came out, and all who helped to raise funds, but we all know that there is never enough – so if you still want to make a donation please contact Kasie

Kasie@ebmcan.com

Keep pushin’ strong Nolan, and know that lots of people are here to support you…

Note: All proceeds raised will go directly to the BC Children’s Hospital Foundation and you can download the pledge form by clicking here.

Category : Contests