As some of you might have heard, my Canon Rebel T3i went MIA at the South Surrey Contest last Saturday, not really the way I had hoped to finish off the year of Hippie Mike’s Tour de Surrey. I’m a little pissed about it, since I work so hard to do so much for so many people and this is what I get in return. Luckily it was just the camera with the standard lens, none of my accessories. If anyone learns any info as to who’s hands it ended up in, please let me know.
Since my business revolves around photos and filming I had to replace the camera pretty quick, so I worked out a solid deal with an old friend and upgraded to the Canon Rebel T4i. Then my partner in crime Jaden Easton-Ellett and I had to give it a test drive, so we hit the ramp for an hour last night and busted out some “Protest Style” tricks for ya.
Every year the City of Surrey celebrates the next generation of young adults with Youth Fest at the Guildford Recreation Centre. Lots of exiting stuff will be happening from 4-10pm this Saturday, September 22nd, including Band performances, indoor and outdoor games, the Teen Dance, Breakdance Competitions, Ryan Brynelson Freestyle Demos, and of course the Skateboard vs. BMX Demo in the Bowl – hosted by myself Hippie Mike and featuring Andy Anderson and James Van de Kamp. This will be the final event at Guildford Bowl as it will be shut down and demolished in October due to the beginning of the construction for the new Lap Pool being built on to the Rec Centre. The street section will remain open and untouched but the bowl has to be removed and eventually will be replaced with some new features in the future…
3 solid months the Show Up Mike contest ran for, and there was definitely times where a lot of people were on the site to vote. September 11th, ironically, was Judgement Day and the man with the most votes at 305, was Sean Lowe.
Sean only entered the one video filmed at Kensington Skate Park, but it was all he needed. With some super technical talents he wowed the voters into checking out his vid and pushing the Thumb’s Up button. I met up with Sean on a busy street corner to hand over the prize money and get his opinion of how the contest went and what winning the $500 felt like.
Hippie Mike: First off Sean, congratulations! How does it feel to finally win the Grand Prize after all this time of wondering?
Sean Lowe: Feels good, have to have a little celebration tonight.
HM: What did you think about the Show Up Mike Contest overall?
Sean: I thought it was cool, I liked the concept of it. I don’t know, it’s a fun way to have a competition where it’s not like Head to Head but it’s more people voting on it. I thought it was cool like that, I liked that concept.
HM: How did you hear about the contest and what made you enter?
Sean: Well I saw you at Centre Distribution when I was picking some stuff up there, and I don’t know, who doesn’t like money, really? So that’s pretty much how it went down.
HM: If there was another version next year, would you enter it again?
Sean: Yeah I’d be down for sure, yeah it was fun. I enjoyed it, got to hang out for a day and skate, that’s always fun. And yeah for sure I think I’d do it again.
HM: Well thanks for entering this year Sean and Congratulations again and have fun with that 500 bucks
It was just like old times, the way we used to party in our yard, except there was a full on Ramp Contest happening. The weather was a little shafty so all the people that said they were coming who had never been to my house before must have thought it would be cancelled, when in reality, the whole point of the contest was to raise money for new masonite and another new tarp to keep us dry all winter. The beauty of my ramp is we float the tarps like a false roof and skate hard when it rains out here. So as soon as the drizzle started the tarp went up for the rest of the day.
There was only about 50-60 people that showed up to party, some of the usuals, and some that even I hadn’t seen in a long time – Russia, LegenBarry, Homer and the Pimpin’ Kings to name a few, so I already knew it was gonna rock. We started warm up around noon, and threw the best trick early because that obstacle wasn’t covered from the potential rain. It was a normal Hippie Mike obstacle, just a straight up nasty tombstone built out of a fridge and a monster truck tire, no big deal…
This thing was tough to skate, maybe the toughest obstacle built in the yard so far. I tried filming on it on Friday and only hit 2 tricks, and they would be considered basic on anything else. Eve struggled for rock & rolls the whole time, Jigga Jay stuck down a couple for him. Cisco did a frontside rock but had to grab it in and Andy landed the most but still couldn’t get on top with trucks. Russia went hard at it the first attempt and actually shot himself over the whole fridge into the tree roots, but he came right back and kept givin’er. He was the only one who was getting’ trucks on this thing. Russia battled it out hard and finally won with a feeble stall. That’s how god damn hard this thing was to skate. Good efforts form everyone there, Russia took home a complete new outfit donated by legendary Moses Itkonen – DVS Shirt, Fallen Pants, Shoes and RDS Hat. Not bad for a guy that hadn’t stepped on a skateboard for about a year and a half.
We let the dudes warm it back up on the fresh masonite mini while the Pimpin’ Kings rocked out hard for almost an hour on my roof. I’ve had these guys play at so many of my contests and I always say the same thing afterward – “Best Small-Man Band I’ve heard”. And I’m not saying their midgets, they just only have 2 band members, Chris Burnstad on Drums and Chad Whittingham on Guitar, but they threw in a sick Bass player named Mike Currie to bring extra power and sounded awesome. Every time someone drove down my street they would stop and stick their head out of the window to get a good taste of the tunes. Sick set boys, glad I could reunite you for a banger show, everyone loved it.
The keg was getting emptier and the burgers were getting scarce so it was time to start the Ramp Contest. Only 9 entries, but they were all destroyers. I split it into 2 heats and each heat got 3 minute rounds for the guys to throw down as much as possible and try to make it into the finals. It made good cause for lots of snaking and barging from everybody to try and get more time in the ramp, especially in Round 3. There were a few times where I saw 3 people on one piece of coping at once, no mercy. 49 year old Barry Blatter was the Barge Master for sure never losing a battle that he dropped in for and even smashing his face fully off the flatbottom at one point and just getting up, licking off the blood dripping from his nose and dropping right in again for more. Andy Anderson was crowd favorite of course completely annihilating the entire ramp like he knows how with a zillion tricks. Jeff Cole was another one who throws down the tricks you’ve heard of before but never seen, and he was showing them to ya, Fighter did every Judo Blunt combination imaginable, Eve Feaver put his 40 year old bones on line with handplants, nosepicks and huge airs over the hip, and Giver even Gaver, hitting up the whole ramp fast and frontside and even bonelessing in off the side rails. It was insanity.
The judges, Jay White and Brad Milburn did not want to be judges anymore, but I fed them more 311 Lager and we went over by the wood shed to discuss who was making finals.
Cisco Gooding did a lot of switch and techy tricks but didn’t pull through to Finals. Allen Handley threw down a bunch of dirty manoeuvres that others do not understand, but didn’t make the Finals. And Fighter did not make the Finals…
That left the infamous 5 – Andy Anderson, Jay Mykyte, Eve Feaver, Jeff Cole and Giver (Michael James), plus Barry who got the buy in for being the most hardcore without a doubt. It was a 20 minute, straight up, Battle – for $200. Shit went down, chaos everywhere. Jeff, Giver and Eve were all missionning hard throwing every trick they knew how with pure old school styles and skills, and Andy was in his usual “I can land anything I try” mode, but the eyes were on the Jigga, Jay Mykyte. Big Flip tricks, fast grinds and solid tech tricks left right and centre. Every one of them was touch every square inch of the ramp, the hip, the inner kink the decks, the rails, everything. And the more time that ran down the more snaking that went on. Finally right near the end of time, Jay climbed up onto the top railing behind the platform and tried to Tail Ollie over the deck into the ramp. Like true skaters, everyone kept skating but giving him the opportunity to try again and he stuck it down 4th try. Contest over. Jigga wins the cash!!
It was an insane event, and it wasn’t over yet. Nothing ends retardedness like a Barefoot Best Trick Contest. Only Cisco, Fighter, Allen and Ryan Barron wanted in. Cisco had it right from the start with a frontside 50-50 around the inner kink to nollie 270 in, only to have it stolen from him by Allen at during the final minute with a tailstall fingerflip disaster. Took home a pair of Fallen Shoes, some funky Shorts, and a Protest Deck. If we had known Cisco had already drank 12 beers at that point we might have let him have that win, damn.
Thanks to all that came out, we raised lots of funds and had a great time. Thanks to my Chef Bogdan, my Bartender Deena Z, to everyone that came out and supported, and of course DJ Cuzo. Until next year, that’s the Jam…
Alright, last but not least, The Protest Skateboards version of the Battle at Hastings 3 is finally released. Filmed by Jordan Strong and Hippie Mike, it has the same dudes in it as everyone else’s video – Chris Steggles, Adam Hopkins, Mason Merlino, James Clarke, Stu Benoit, and many more. It was an amazing day of skating, and there were so many people filming it was awesome. But there’s actually some tricks that weren’t in the other vids so you should give it a watch.
And here’s a sequence of Chris Steggle’s 360 over the fence – Tiiiiight!
Back in August we a few of us from the Team packed into the truck and headed over to the Island to skate the Victoria Parks with the Posse from Tsawwassen. Jaden Easton-Ellett, Cisco Gooding, Andy Anderson, myself and Fighter (Brad Muscat) loaded up early and got to the Ferry just in time to miss it. A little skating went down at the Terminal while we waited and of course, Brad rolled his ankle 180ing some gap. Good start to the day, right? We got across an hour later than the other boys and drove right past them as they were shredding the Sydney Skate Park, hooking up at Gordon Head Skate Park. This park is lots of fun, especially if you were around during the era that it was considered to be amazing. Lots of sick tricks went down there, tons of kids were stoked, and of course some random lady from the local paper showed up and was bugging Mike for photos, I don’t mind, it’s always a Hippie Mike Show. We hooked up every kid there with a free Protest T-shirt, held a Best Trick Contest for a Protest Deck, and then headed over to Esquimalt – Vic West Skate Park.
Andy just started annihilating the place, while the rest of us just basically skated the one hip. The place was packed and all people there were having fun, lots of dudes commenting on Andy’s styles. We got shut down early because of this insane thunderstorm that swept over us and poured so hard that the raindrops were bouncing knee high off the ground. Posse out, we went back to the place where the Tsawwassen Crew were staying, had a quick BBQ and headed back to the Ferry for the 9:00 Boat. A good day. Shadd Trepp, Graeme Betts, Michael Ray, Andrew Classon, Tyler Burke and some other rippers all hung out for the rest of the week hitting up some sweet Island Skate Parks. Wish we could’ve stayed, next time, we’ll try to stay longer.
If you don’t know what BCP stands for then you definitely were not there during the eras of destruction at Surrey’s own Bear Creek Park. Back in the day, even before my time there, some serious tricks used to go down. Back when Clint Proulx used to be skinny and knew how to fly, blasting Benihana’s over the big volcano – everybody would go huge there. People always say that Bear Creek was a bike park, that’s ‘cause they don’t understand how to ride those obstacles properly. Clint Proulx, Chris Bone, Scotty MacIntosh, Ben Wheeler and others all created what that place was about in the ‘90’s. Then came the era when people stopped airing so much and tricks were getting more tech, Jay Mykyte, Stu Benoit, Drew Boyle, Joel Chamberlayne and myself set the standard for the young bucks in the new millenium. And then kids like Scotty Tyson just learned everything. BCP was an amazing park to be a local at, and still today lives on as one of the most unique skate parks I’ve ever skated. So many tricks I can think of that I need to go to Bear Creek to do, because that obstacle doesn’t exist anywhere else. That’s awesome.
Just to reminisce the old days, Jordan Strong and I hit up one of my fav parks so I could toss down some memories…
Welcome to Episode 3 of GLORY DAZE with Hippie Mike. We’re hangin’ out all day today with one of the most consistent skaters in the Fraser Region. He was named “King of the Bowls” and “King of Surrey” last year in 2011 at the raw age of 15. His sponsors include Protest Skateboards, Vans Shoes, Kilian Clothing, Monke Hardware and Pd’s Hot Shop. Give it up for Andy Anderson!!
Andy Anderson: How you doin’ Mike?
Hippie Mike: Good, Andy, we’re gonna get right into this, your only 16 years old but how long have you been skateboarding?
Andy Anderson: I’ve been skateboarding for 12 years, so since I was 4
HM: Wow. Can you explain how you first met me and what influence I had on you at that time
Andy: Well, I met you at a Cloverdale Hippie Mike’s Competition. I came in 3rd in Beginner or something, back when you didn’t have Mini. And all I remember is this way too big yellow Substance T-Shirt that I won. I wore it around my house for like 2 weeks, man
HM: So we’re here at the White Rock Bowl/South Surrey Skate Park where you have been training at for the majority of your lifetime, do you think this park has made you the skateboarder that you are today?
Andy: Definitely, because of the various obstacles here. Nothing is actually made for skateboarding, at least that’s how it feels, but I don’t know, White Rock teaches you how to be a Well-rounded Skateboarder – tranny; difficult street
HM: What do you think would be different if you had grown up somewhere else?
Andy: I’d be more based upon one style of skateboarding I think. Also, you’re pretty excluded out here, like it’s the other side of the world for North Van, you know, so I don’t really get to watch that many people unless they’re locals
HM: In the past few years you have consistently placed Top 3 in the majority of competitions that you entered. Is there added pressure in your mind to always win because of that?
Andy: Well that has started recently, but not really, I try to keep that all out. I always fall; I always get extremely hurt whenever I feel slight stress and my mind gets all scrambled. But as long as I’m not worried about winning, I always do good
HM: What was the best contest you ever won?
Andy: King of the Bowls (Big Smiles), Whistler… Ah man, that was awesome. That bowl just like, the park makes the competition because the park is so great, and then they host such a great competition at such a classic bowl. I don’t know…
HM: Well Whistler’s a great bowl though, and Whistler has 3 different parks in reality you can skate so there’s all different kinds of styles
Andy: Yeah!
HM: I referred to you as one of the most consistent skaters in the Lower Mainland/Fraser Region, and it’s true, especially in contest runs. How does it make you feel when you know that everyone else at the contest is sitting there hoping you screw up during your runs so they have a chance to win?
Andy: (Laughs) Uhhh, I’ve never thought of it like that. I just always try to block out everything else
HM: Do you think that they have that thought in their brain or are they actually routing for you to win, again?
Andy: That has legitimately never crossed my mind (Laughs)
HM: Okay, tell the world about the support that your parents have given you and are still giving you in your ventures as a skateboarder
Andy: Oh Man my parents are great. They help me out with everything. They bought me stuff when I needed stuff, you know, that was a big thing, and like I don’t know what to say about them…. Dad drives me out to Victoria every year for like a week and we just go skateboarding. He would take time off, like a fuckin’ week, to go skateboarding. And he doesn’t even skateboard. It was awesome
HM: Name your 3 favorite Skate Parks
Andy: White Rock, Leeside… Oh man, this 3rd one’s gonna be hard to hit…. I’m gonna say Hastings
HM: Name your 3 favorite Skate Spots
Andy: Oh man, Cooper’s Park for sure (under the Cambie Street Bridge), uhhhhh, can you count Bear Creek as a Skate Spot?
HM: Sure
Andy: Okay Bear Creek Park! And, ummm, Georgia Banks
HM: Name your 3 favorite Skate Companies
Andy: Oh like legitimately? Vans, Skull Skates, Protest
HM: Name your 3 favorite people to skate with
Andy: (Deep Breath) I do a lot of skating by myself, but….
HM: Are you one of your favorites to skate with?
Andy: (Laughs) Okay yeah, myself. You (Hippie Mike) always push me to do shit, because like nobody pushes me, there all just like kind of sittin’ back yellin’ “Do it! Do it!” getting me really hurt all the time. So you’re definitely not in the Top 3 (laughs), no you’re up there. I don’t know.. Who else do I skate with, Joe Buffalo
HM: Joe Buffalooooo!! Tell us about your favorite Skateboard Experience ever
Andy: King of Bowls, King of Bowls
HM: Last year in 2011, you won 2 huge titles in this region: “King of Surrey” – for placing in the Top 3 the most times in Hippie Mike’s Tour de Surrey & “King of the Bowls” – for the same status in the Bowl Series. Right around the same time, you got put on Team Protest, and had a video part in the latest edition of The Protest Profile on the Ear Goggles DVD. What was it like to be 15 years old and have all of this happening at that time?
Andy: Phew, dude. Skateboarding is like my complete life right? So when skateboarding works out it’s just my whole life is working out. It was great. It was the peak so far
HM: In May of this year, 2012, you showed up to the World Round-Up Freestyle Skateboarding Contest hosted by Kevin Harris and asked if you could enter. How come?
Andy: Well, my girlfriend wanted me to go to the Rodeo, and I wasn’t super stoked on it, but I heard there was this skateboarding thing going on so I thought I’d show up and I thought it would be a bunch of guys doing Tre Flips on flat or something, but it ended up being a full-fledged Freestyle Competition
HM: During the Finals, legendary photographer Jim Goodrich came over to where we were sitting and complimented you in front of your parents saying how nice you were, how talented you were, and how you were the one pushing the rest of the group to try harder. How did that make you feel?
Andy: I didn’t know Jim, but really like, how popular is a photographer?? But afterwards I looked at some of his photos and they’re just some of the most classic stuff, like Jay Adams, and like, oh my gosh… so that felt amazing. Jim’s a really nice guy
HM: You ended up placing 5th in the Amateur Category out of about 16 people from around the globe. Did that change your life in any way?
Andy: (Laughing) I didn’t realize that I was that good at Freestyle
HM: (Laughs) So you’ve always practised Freestyle? Are you some sort of “hide in your room” guy at night just doing primo tricks?
Andy: Well I was for like 1 winter. I just got super into like Truck Stands and Primos and stuff, but I always do Manuals and Shovits when I’m skating and that’s a big part of Freestyle, I didn’t realize that
HM: Are you stoked to have a legend like Kevin Harris invite you to perform Freestyle Demos with him?
Andy: Yes, that is amazing. Kevin Harris is an amazing guy, and he’s got me doing some amazing stuff
HM: So far, you have mastered all types of transitional skating like old bowls, new bowls, mini-ramps, barricades and pools, you can lay down tons of ledge and rail tricks wherever and whenever you want to, and you made a name for yourself in the Freestyle World, what the hell can we expect next from Andy Anderson?
Andy: Hopefully some flip tricks
HM: (Laughs) Alright, I want to thank you for being on GLORY DAZE with Hippie Mike. I have known you and taught you skateboarding skills since you were 7 years old.
I saw your potential right away to be an amazing skateboarder and an amazing person, and I’m glad I got to be there to help encourage you all these years. You are one of the nicest kids out there on the skate scene, you keep it humble, not cocky, and you truly are living in your Glory Daze right now, and I think it’s still gonna get better though…
Andy: Glory Daze…
HM: You make me very proud buddy – Andy Anderson everybody…..
A few of us Chuck Bailey Locs went to peep out the new Skate Park in Coquitlam, Mackin Park last Friday. Luckily there weren’t too many kids there because it’s tiny and you can see in the video how much they get in the way. I had my back brace on so I could skate, and everyone had a good time. I found a lot of the obstacles hard to get speed for, and others tough to go slow enough. I’m not the most excited about these small back and forth parks when they come out but I’m sure I will give it a shred every now and then. It was me, Cisco Gooding, Jordan Strong, Fighter and a few friends, Calvin killed it…
Another amazing season of Old Bowl Skateboarding comes to a close with historic style. Every year, I itch for Canada Day just for the Seylynn Bowl Contest. To me it’s not at all about going out and competing to win, but just the chance to go skate with a huge crew of people that are all related in one way – Bowl Series. Seylynn, Griffin, White Rock, Squamish and Whistler, 5 great places to hang out and skate. These 4 “copingless” parks were all constructed in the 70’s and 80’s and are still the best parks for anyone who likes to go fast. If there’s one thing that skate parks are missing now a days, it’s Gravitron Speed Lines. If you don’t know what a Gravitron is, then I find it difficult to refer to you as a skateboarder. All the old bowls were created in a snake format and built on a downhill slope from top to bottom, but skateboarders being crazy figured out that if they fast enough down the outside of the bowl and shoot into the deepend in a u-turn could actually make it back up to the top through the bowl – Gravitron. The weightless feeling of transferring from vertical to horizontal as you tear into the bowl at dangerous speeds – Gravitron. A whole different world…
Skateboarding has changed so much over the last 3 decades, the kids now a days are just obsessed with tricks on obstacles, and a lot of them don’t know how to actually skate. They don’t know how to run onto their boards as fast as they can and push as hard as possible down the street into a downhill. They don’t know how to forget about tricks and just cruz. And that’s why I love the Bowl Series, because people of all ages that just love to skate are the ones that come out. I was astonished at Squamish by the amount of super young kids in the Beginner Category all skating tranny. There must have been over a dozen little dudes ranging in age from 4 years old to 13. They were all having the time of their lives just skating. And even in the Advanced Sections you have super young guys like Andy Anderson and Giet Rolan in their mid-teens coming out and competing against bowl legends in their 30’s and 40’s like Stevie D, Eve Feaver, Don Bushman, and myself, and beating us. It’s amazing.
Year # 18 was a very special year. Adam Hopkins is on what some would call a Glory Path this year winning pretty much any and every contest he enters, and he enters a lot of contests. He took Seylynn no problem, won it in White Rock on his first time ever there, wowed the crowd at Griffin for the gold, annihilated the competition at Squamish, and finished it all off with style, and huge airs, at Whistler. Adam Hopkins won all 5 stops, and is actually only the second King of the Bowls to win all 5, tying with Alex Chalmers who actually did it 2 years in a row back in 1997, ’98. But back then the 5th park was New West, not Squamish. Maybe Hopkins can follow in Alex’s footsteps and go for the undefeated repeat next year. Either way, you can tell that Adam is on his way to stardom and he has a huge posse of friends backing him up. Way to go dude!
Squamish was tight, Don Bushman was definitely present and showing off that this was his home park. Bushman is the only person that will always barge me out of the bowl, he’s big, goes super fast and charges lines that are impossible to read. He had these mega airs in the corner pocket of the vert wall over the loveseat that were just plain crazy and would stomp every one. Steve Denham showed off the fact that he also lives in Squamish now with smooth transfers all over the bowl and sick disasters on the vert wall. Eve Feaver was killin’ the loveseat and even Giver was skating good again. But no one was stopping Adam Hopkins with his inverts, judo airs and even a stomped 540 McTwist in the vert. He even melon transferred over the island in his run. A windy, but awesome day in Squamish, it even got topped off by Fighter doing the gap out to the parking lot. Protest represent buddy!
After the rowdy night everyone staggered into the old Whistler Park for the Finals. Same Beginners showed up from Squamish, but surprisingly had a tougher time skating a bowl without coping. I was on the mic giving them a hard time and they all represented. The Ladies were seriously picking out the speed lines and showing their fearless styles by going fast. There was a Best Trick out of the Slayer Hit for a Protest Cruiser Deck and dudes were going huge. Andy Anderson hit some sick tricks Sal Flips, Mute to Melon Hand Varial, and Bigspin Melon, Adam Hopkins was doing methods about 8 feet high and 10 feet long into the steep landing, but Danny Hagge took the win for going bigger. I’m not sure how fair that is though since Danny is about a foot and half taller than everyone else. Still sick though.
The Advanced was insane of course. My favs to watch were Eve Feaver, Turbo, Benny Stoddard, Stevie D and Hopkins. There were a lot of competitors in this category as always and it was tough to only choose a few for the Finals. I got hurt early in the day, throwing out my lower back and ended up MCing the entire event which was an honour for me. I was super hyped for the Finals and wouldn’t let them end. I think we played 4 long songs for them to skate to and everyone looked ready to pass out by the end. From Andy Anderson at age 16 to Eve Feaver shredding at 40 it was tight. Benny had the speed lines and tech tricks, Stevie and Danny had the huge transfers both ways in the bowl and sick barrier tricks, Andy demoed on the barricade and Eve skated like he skates at every event – fast, furious and styley. But obviously no one was catching Adam Hopkins, tossing 360’s, kickflip grabs and anything else he felt like puttin’ down. Huge props go out to Mike Strato for organizing and running all the events this year with the help of Giver. I know how much work behind the scenes goes into setting up a Series like this and it is definitely appreciated. 18 years of love.
