So many Flat Spotters

Jun 1,2013 / By Hippie Mike / No Comment

Hippie Mike and some of the crew rolled into the Flatspot Longboard Shop the other night for the Bowl Contest they were hosting. This bowl is tiny and tight, with home-made pool coping throughout it, a very skinny and mean extension, narrow decks and and weird capsule style wallride corner. It was a very unique bowl and would’ve been a great one to have had a few practice sessions before the contest when it wasn’t so packed, but we all made it work.

Brad “Fighter” Muscat, Eve Feaver, Jeff Cole, Andy Anderson and Hippie Mike represented Protest Skateboards in the bowl while Jordan Strong repped outside with Ryan Barron displaying their ability to shotgun way too many beers. Allen Handley, Dylan Dombroski and Dennis Reagan also came with the crew.

So many people were ripping the bowl and anyone who woke up the next day without sore toes and shins was definitely not standing on the deck. The deck is not deep enough for anyone to stand while people are skating and there were times when 15-20 guys were in the bowl and shit was going down. Fighter was dropping his signature Judo Blunts on the 20” wide extension every try, Eve Nosepicked it and stomped a couple inverts on it too. Justin Readings showed his skills and experience there with the most flow of anyone, and Dave Helmer almost lost some teeth a couple times, but was definitely killin’ it. A lot of good talent all packed into a tiny area and there was like 75-100 more people just hanging out watching and drinking. The place was packed.

The contest didn’t even start until after 10:30pm when the infamous BanjoMan was done playing. Thanks to Mischa Chandler and Justin Readings for setting it up and Andy Anderson for taking on the main judging role. There was about 12 people that entered putting $120 up for grabs along with some product. Everyone had a bunch of runs to prove themselves and try and make the finals. The top 5 made the finals and the Protest/Surrey crew was dominating it – Hippie Mike, Jeff Cole, Allen Handley and Dylan Dombroski all made it in there along with another Dreadlock Shredder Kyle Wein. He threw down in the finals though and really killed it as time was running out by gapping over the doorway channel and sticking a sick lipslide around the whole corner. It was sick and he ended in 2^nd Place. Dylan Dombroski was dominating the bowl the whole night with fearless ambition hitting tricks on top of the wallride and airing off the extension to the lower trannys and just always staying on his board no matter how squirrely he would get. Dylan won hands down. Jeff Cole was killing it with old school and new school tricks and sticking everything he tried all night and continued to reign in the finals, Allen Handley skated the same and there were so many tricks going down from both of these guys it was crazy, and lots of tricks that no one there was used to seeing. But somehow, Hippie Mike pulled through and beat them both taking 3^rd Place. Then he shut down the session with a fastplant off the wall back into the corner of the bowl.

Blunts, Switch tricks, Wallbangs and Fastplants, Inverts, Nosepicks, Beer, and lots of hard crashes. For a 2 foot high bowl, this contest was pretty crazy…

Watch for video footage coming soon.

Congratulations again to Dylan Dombroski for winning $100 and some fancy product!

Happy Birthday Cisco!

May 28,2013 / By Hippie Mike / No Comment

It was around the end of 1999 when this shrimpy little skinny 14 year old kid started trying to talk to me all the time at Confederation Skate Park in Burnaby. Maya Credico introduced us because she always hung out with me and Carrie and knew the kid from school and the park. She told me his name was Cisco, and I was like, “Hey, what’s up Siskel?” He tried to correct me but it was said on purpose so that wasn’t happening. Cisco was one of those kids that just went for it all the time and tried to learn whatever tricks he was seeing in the videos. I remember him bouncing switch kickflips and frontside flips over the elbow hip at the park and it would baffle me how he would commit to them, but I still wasn’t all that nice to the little guy. Then one day, Gene Siskel died and when I was at the park I looked over at Cisco and said, “Well, I guess I can’t call you Siskel anymore…” and he said, “I guess not…” and somehow, that started this awesome friendship that we still have today.

Cisco Gooding grew up mentoring me and Jeff Cole, Jon Irvine, Steve Burden and a few others that were in our clique. But the whole time he would be learning from us, he was teaching us too. Cisco was always good at skateboarding and as he grew, to become 6′ 4” out of nowhere one day, his style arrived and his tricks got even better. We skated together every day for the rest of the years I lived in North Burnaby, and the large gap in age meant nothing to either of us. When Carrie and I moved to Surrey, Cisco would continue to come skate with us almost every night at Bear Creek Park and would stay over most weekends. He was a great kid.

Cisco has definitely grown into a man of his own opinions since those days and we are still very close friends and Cisco will always be one of my favourite people to skateboard with, or to just hang out with. I am proud of how far he has taken his career in studying Physics, being a T/A, earning his PHD, and living for free on paid scholarships to many Universities such as Langara, Simon Fraser and UBC. I know that I had a big influence on Cisco as he grew through his teenage years, and he has also influenced me and the others of our group of friends to be who we are today.

Happy 28^th Birthday to Cisco Gooding, we all love you budd!

World Round Up 2013 Winners

May 21,2013 / By Hippie Mike / No Comment

Once again, Wow! What a weekend of insanity. Being a skateboarder for over a quarter century I have seen a lot of amazing talent and have been to and organized many skateboard events, small and big, but this one was at the top of the list for awesomeness. Not since Slam City Jam have I seen so many unbelievable skaters in one room in the Lower Mainland. These guys know how to put on a show….

Big thanks to Monty Little and Kevin Harris for putting in the hours of labour to set this Freestyle Championship up, and also to house contestants from all over the world. I had the pleasure of being the main Videographer for this event and I will be releasing a short video/interview for each contestant as well as a 15 minute Recap Video of the entire event. I got to meet everyone that was there on a more personal level and really enjoyed my time with each of them. And to top it off I was honoured by Monty and Kevin with a Kevin Harris/Skull Skates Deck signed by everyone and a Bob Marley Freedom Flag – so stoked!! Be ready for all the videos to come out throughout the next week.

As for the results, it was tough in both Categories. The Amateurs had some serious battles going on and people jumped positions between the Semi-Finals and Finals. I am Proud to announce that 2 of our Protest Riders made Top 3 and you know who they are – Andy Anderson took 3^rd Place, which is huge considering that he just really got into Freestyle on a serious note one year ago at last year’s World Round Up. Then it came down to Ryan Brynelson and Kaue Arouja for 1^st and 2^nd. They both had flawless, consistent and insane runs in the Finals and somehow Ryan Brynelson accomplished his goal and is now the #1 Ranked Amateur Freestyle Skateboarder in the World. Give it up for the Protest Kids!!!

In the Pro’s it was tight and I mean tiiiiiiiiight. So tight that the Top 5 were all scored within 1 point of each other. One of the competitors was really pushing for me to hook him up with sponsorship and he is definitely deserving so we have added him onto the Protest Team. Lucio Flavio Simas de Lima from Brazil is now sponsored by Protest Skateboards and finished in 7^th Place in the Pro Division. He is stoked!!

I gotta give it up to all the Pros, this was a difficult competition and even though they all love each other like family, everyone was there with the same goal to win. Per Canguru from Brazil went into the Finals in 2^nd Place but had some difficulty in his runs and ended up in 5^th. Masahiro Fujii from Japan destroyed the place and had the crowd going crazy all day every day and ended up in 4^th Place. Mike Osterman from USA is one of the most solid skateboarders I’ve ever seen, he stomps every trick with more power than he uses to pop them and he pulled through for a 3^rd Place finish. The biggest surprise of the contest was Seya Nakano from Japan who is not a sponsored Pro but entered into the Pro Category in hopes of success that would help make that sponsorship happen, and I think his chances of it happen are very high now since he put on an amazing Demo of how good he is and ended up in 2^nd Place. So good!!

The winner was almost inevitable right from Day 1 – Guenter Mokulys from Berlin, Germany has been skating Freestyle for decades and when he’s on his game, he is almost untouchable. He dominated the entire weekend right from the get-go and proved himself once again to be the champ by winning 1^st Place at The World Round Up Freestyle Championship 2013. This was huge piece of history as this was Guenter’s 10^th big win and he is now a 10-Time Freestyle World Champion.

Give it up for Guenter Mokulys!!!

This event was soooooo awesome. I asked so many competitors in their interviews the same question “What will be your biggest memory from this event?” and the majority had the same answer – to see all their friends from around the world who they share a special and unique passion with, and the feeling that filled the atmosphere which was so positive. It felt like a huge Family Reunion and I can’t believe how so many people who speak completely different languages can all come together in unity and be as one in this little space. That is the beauty of acceptance.

Cheers to everyone who came out, and understand that the love shared throughout the arena was made possible by riding a piece of wood with some wheels bolted on to it.

Skateboard for Life….Skateboard for Love

– Hippie Mike

World Round Up 2013 Results

Amateur

Ryan Brynelson – Canada
Kaue Arouja – Brazil
Andy Anderson – Canada
Jacob Whitt – USA
Thomas Nascimento – Brazil
Felix “Fleppo” Jonsson – Sweden
Daniel Trujillo – USA
Mic Murayama – Japan
Alejandro C Finy – Costa Rica
Adam Flood – Canada

Professional

Guenter Mokulys – Germany
Seya Nakano – Japan
Mike Osterman – USA
Masahiro Fujii – Japan
Per Canguru – Brazil
Stefan “Lillis” Akesson –Sweden
Lucio Lima – Brazil
Rene Shigueto – Brazil
Jesse Whalen – USA
Albert Kuncz – Hungary/Slovakia

Other Competitors not in Top 10

Amateur

Rickey Rodriguez – USA AJ Kohn – USA
Sam McKinlay – Canada Bert Mathieson – USA
Yuta Miyatake – Japan Christian Heise – Germany

Professional

Dan Garb – USA
Darryl Grogan – USA
Lucas Gomes – Brazil
Lynn Cooper – USA
Stefan Albert – Germany
Tai Tai – Brazil
Takashi Suzuki – Japan
Tomo Koyano – Japan
Toshiaki Fujii – Japan
Photos from Day 4

World Round Up Finals – WOW!!

May 20,2013 / By Hippie Mike / 1 Comment

It all comes down to that 1 word – WOW!!

This event has been something else, every time your blink your eyes some other mind-blowing tricks gets stomped down. I have never seen so many handstands in my life, and all of these guys can flip out of them and land perfect every time, some can even double flips. The footage I have been capturing will change your outlook on skateboarding completely when you see it – Primos, Truck Stands, 1 foot spins and Cocunut Wheelies, there is no limit. One of the best tricks I filmed so far was a moving handstand with a bunny hop ollie still in handstand and then kickflip out by the Dr. Bert Mathieson, who is in his 50’s.

That was another crazy thing, out of the Pro’s that were in the Finals, 6 out of 10 of them are in there 40’s, that’s why they’re so hard to beat because of how experienced they are.

The Amateur Category was even more crazy than Saturday’s Semi-Finals with Ryan Brynelson, Kaue Arouja, Andy Anderson and Jacob Whitt all throwing down flawless and unreal runs. The technicality and consistency of these 4 made them all look like Pros and I would hate to have to judge between them.

The real Pros were just as tough of course with Guenter Mokulys ruling the floor again, Per Canguru, Rene Shigueto, Seya Nakano, Mike Osterman and others trying there hardest to beat him but it is so, so difficult. We won’t know any of the results until the Awards Ceremony at 3pm to close down the contest.

All I have to say is this entire weekend has been packed full of smiling faces, heart to heart conversations, amazing people and historic memories. Great skating from everyone who showed up and good luck to those trying to win prizes.

Photos from the Finals

B-Rad at the Lad

May 14,2013 / By Hippie Mike / No Comment

Fighter (Brad Muscat) disappears to the mountains all winter every winter, but when he comes back to the skateboard world each Spring he has new confidence and ambition to go big. As you might have seen from that Benihana Photo we posted for his birthday last week.

Brad is a true “Fighter” and does not like to give up. This kid will lie on the ground for 10 minutes writhing in pain and then get up and try the trick again. I’ve seen him skate in full arm casts and even a full leg brace. He skates hard and has lots of skill, and he does a lot of tricks that others don’t do, and even a bunch that he created himself. Addicted to Judo Blunts, Crooks and Benihanas, Brad sets the bar high on scary obstacles. I love the fact that he does the most hated trick of all time in so many different places, not too many people can Benihana a 9 stair first try in their contest runs.

So Brad went to Ladner Skate Park a couple weeks ago on a broken board and couldn’t stop talking about it afterwards – “Gotta go back to Ladner and film. Gotta go back to Ladner Bowl…” So on Friday when I asked him what he wanted to do, it was obvious what his answer would be. We skated for about an hour and the Fighter threw down a bunch of tricks that most people wouldn’t even try, including a piece of history.

Have you ever seen someone Benihana Transfer straight over a spine before?? You have now…

Lip Bank Love

May 2,2013 / By Hippie Mike / No Comment

Growing up a street skater you spend your life searching for so many different types of spots, there are the ones that you are only ever going to go to once just for a trick or two for your video, and then there are the ones that you hunt out as spots you can chill out at for hours and just have a good time with your friends. Some of these spots are available all day and others might be businesses that you need to wait until they’re closed, but either way these are your spots.

We discovered this spot which I simply named “The Lip Bank” about 9 years ago now and we have had many many sessions there and perfected a lot of technical tranny tricks. It’s perfect for weekends and late nights when you just want to hang with your buddies and not be bothered. The Lip Bank isn’t the biggest, coolest obstacle in the world, but it is still dangerous and definitely challenging to skate. I personally consider this my favourite skate spot just for the fact that most people can’t figure it out. It looks easy but it’s so not.

Check out this quick session with Jaden Easton-Ellett, Justin James and me – Hippie Mike – and live the love…

New UBC Skate Park – Love it or Hate it

Apr 30,2013 / By Hippie Mike / No Comment

Hippie Mike and Cisco Gooding hit up the new UBC Park today to see what it’s actually like. There have been many comments leaning in both directions about whether this skate park was a waste of space, or is simply amazing. Some people love every inch of it, while others won’t even bother going there.

That’s skateboarding for ya… We had fun there.

The street obstacles are all funky and good for learning on. The stack of books obstacle is probably the main eye catcher of the park, and can be very intimidating, but we’re sure to expect some serious bangers to go down on these floating ledges. The bowl is small and mellow but that’s okay too, it works good for grinds, and people who aren’t as experienced gotta learn on it so at least this way they will. The barrier on the bank is totally sweet so I think that could be an attraction. It may not be the most amazing park ever built, but it’s something new in a secluded area that could benefit from it. I don’t think there any reason for negativity towards it, plus we have definitely seen some awesome videos come out of it already and it’s hardly been open for 2 weeks. In the world of the Lower Mainland of British Columbia, the skateboarders are overly spoiled to the point that all of us moan and wine about every park that pops up now a days – oh there’s too much tranny, oh the bowl isn’t deep enough, or oh these ledges aren’t high enough or have the wrong coping. We’re spoiled in the fact that we forget how hard it used to be to skateboard without being kicked out everywhere you go, we forget that there never used to be 8 skate parks in one city, there was hardly one per municipality, and we take for granted the fact that if we don’t like a particular park, we can choose not to go there and still go to another one right close by. Not every city has these luxuries, or gets to pick and choose what Skate Park they are going to skate that day, and what one tomorrow. And each community that is lucky enough to get a skateboard park has people that live there that are going to appreciate it for what it is no matter what, and make the best of it.

Check out this video that was just filmed in Barrie Ontario. This skate park was built in 1999 and is still the only one they have. It’s not laid out that good, the ground is weathered and rough, and the obstacles are all the old chunky style. But you don’t hear these boys complaining, you just hear them stomping every trick they try out of appreciation that they have a skate park at all….

Respect that.

Eve Feaver Extreme Sports Skateboarding

Protest Welcomes Bushman and Eve Feaver

Apr 24,2013 / By Hippie Mike / No Comment

Being a skateboarder for close to 30 years, I have a different level of recognition than today’s generation and one thing that has always impressed me is a True Lifetime Skateboarder. They’re hard to find, understandably, since skateboarding basically ruins your entire body to a point that is sucks to walk around on a normal day, but some guys are just naturals, and they will ride their boards forever.

When I originally started Protest Skateboards over 10 years ago, it wasn’t about trying to create an empire, it was about creating a Family, a Team of Skaters that loved to hang out, and loved to Skateboard, and had some hidden talent that maybe needed to be displayed a little more for all to see. We’ve always had a solid Team, and the Team was already pretty big, but I decided recently that I wanted to add 2 more – 2 that I consider to be 2 of the all-time best. If you’ve never been to a Bowl Series Contest then you might not have any idea who these guys are, but if you grew up a skateboarder through the 80’s or 90’s in North Van, West Van, East Van or Burnaby, you would know for sure…

Don Wilson, known simply as “Bushman” is reaching that 45 year old mark this year, and has been shredding on a skateboard since 1976. Seylynn Bowl was built in 1978 and Don helped to create most of the lines that you see people do there today. He is the only person that I know that everyone gets out of the way of no matter what, raging up and down the snake run like a Freight Train. He is definitely a legend of skateboarding, and one of the original NV Locs, influencing many other skaters to go as hard as they do, like Dave 57, Stevie D, Alex Chalmers, and many more. And still to the day, he pushes himself to be better than he needs to be at his age, slashing coping at Squamish, and carving hard wherever he goes.

The other is someone who learned a lot from Bushman, and that’s Eve Feaver. Eve turned 40 years old last year and it definitely did not slow him down. Placing in the Top 3 at almost all of the Bowl Series Contests last summer, Eve proved himself to still be a champion that can keep up with kids like Andy Anderson and Adam Hopkins. His style is amazing, his tricks are expressive, and his landings are always as solid as it gets. I have always watched Eve in awe for many years while he skates, no matter where we go, and he never ceases to amaze me. The funny part is, he amazes himself at the same time. Probably the most humble skateboarder around, Eve Feaver is a true legend – from Seylynn to White Rock, Griffin and Whistler, Eve can demo at all the old Bowls, but don’t be afraid to put him on some coping too.

Both of these guys grew up as Skateboarders, the same as I did, and we are all still growing up as skateboarders.

They are legends, they are mentors to many, they both hold King of the Bowl Titles, and they are now a part of Protest Skateboards –

Eve Feaver & Don “Bushman” Wilson

Welcome to the Team boys….

Andy Anderson turns 17!

Apr 13,2013 / By Hippie Mike / No Comment

It amazes me in so many ways the relationship I have built with this kid over the years, and it baffles me that it has now been almost 10 years that I have known Andy Anderson and he is just turning 17 today. I still remember having his big sister Alex Anderson in one of the first skateboard camps I ever taught for the City of Surrey at the South Surrey/White Rock Skate Park and their Mom coming over and asking if it would be possible to let her younger son into the next camp. She said he was only 7 (the minimum age was 9) but assured me that he was already experienced on a skateboard and wouldn’t slow down the class. I allowed it of course. Every kid deserves a chance to learn.

Little did I expect, this little tiny kid shows up fully padded and just starts riding through the bowl and launching out the end. Not only did 7 year old Andy Anderson not slow down the class, but he was instantly pushing the older kids to step it up. This kid was a natural and I took the opportunity to mold him into an awesome little skater-kid. Andy picked up everything so quick and I would just show him a trick and tell him how to do it and he would stick it no problem. This relationship continued like this for years and Andy started getting really good. He began coming out to my Hippie Mike’s Tour de Surrey Contests at age 8 and was blowing minds. He started winning in Beginner right away and it sparked an extra stoke in the young skateboard master.

I treated Andy like he was my own kid and every chance we had to skate together I would make the most of it and push him to go bigger and get better. Now at age 17 years old, Andy has made a serious name for himself in the local skateboard world. He’s won more than his fair share of prizes, trophies and cash, and he is just at the beginning still. Having Andy Anderson on the Protest Skateboards Team was like a dream brought to reality for both of us and I am so proud of him every day. He is so good at skateboarding in every aspect and it separates him from every other skater I know – he can destroy transition of any shape or size and always gets a crowd stoked; he has no fear in the streets launching huge gaps, grinding nasty handrails, and utilizing any obstacle he sees skateable; and he even proved himself to be an amazing Freestyle Skater last year and got put on a Demo Team consisting of him, Ryan Brynelson and Kevin Harris – it’s unreal. And what I love about Andy the most is that he is not a follower, and he doesn’t care what the rest of the population is doing, he does what he believes in and lives his life his way, like a real man. Andy skates his old school style decks wherever he skates, and however he skates, and he rocks a helmet whenever riding on his 4 wheels. Most kids would bow down to the peer pressure to take that helmet off by now, especially when out street skating with the big boys, but Andy says Fuck That and does what he believes in, without giving two shits about how he’s judged. Let his skating defend him, and it’s definitely hard to argue that when you sit and watch him.

When I was young I was very much the same in the stubborn way of living life my way and making the world change to accept me, instead of me changing to be accepted by the world. That is the sign of a true man and there aren’t that many of them out there.

10 years later, and many more to come, I believe that Andy Anderson and Hippie Mike will be friends and teammates forever, one way or another. I love this kid like I love my son, and in a way he is my son as a skater. Praise him, respect him, understand him, and believe in him – he will be a legend to many.

Proudly riding for Protest Skateboards, Skull Skates, Monke Hardware, Kilian Clothing & Vans, expect to see a lot more of this kid –

Happy 17^th Birthday Andy Anderson!

Check out this flashback from last September as I featured Andy in the 3^rd episode of Glory Daze with Hippie Mike

http://www.protestskateboards.com/hippie-mikes-messed-up-mind/glory-daze-episode-3-andy-anderson-its-good-to-be-king/

Andy in Atlanta

Apr 10,2013 / By Protest Skateboards / No Comment

Andy Anderson is our superstar Protest Team Rider at age 16 and is going for attempt #2 this weekend to qualify at Damn Am – this time in Atlanta. Andy hit up the contest last month in California and represented beautifully, laying down flawless and creative runs and making friends with some of the best Am’s out there, like Curren Caples and Louie Lopez who ended up in 1^st and 2^nd place. He got interviewed by Nigel Alexander and all in all had an amazing experience. Unfortunately Andy didn’t make Finals, but that’s okay. We all know how stiff the competition was in Costa Mesa.

I think this contest might be a little different since half the skateboard population doesn’t flock to Atlanta for the winter so maybe there won’t be such a reign of shredders to try to beat. But in today’s world, no matter where you go you know the skaters are gonna be sick. We wish Andy the best of luck and hope he makes it through, but either way we know he will be the crowd pleaser as he is everywhere he goes. And the best part is, it’s actually Andy Anderson’s 17^th birthday on Saturday April 13^th, when he will most likely be skating his runs.

So make some noise for the little Local Boy that rips tranny, street and any obstacle you put in front of him – and all on his custom shaped Old School style deck built specially for him by Folk Skateboards.

Protest Represent!!

Every day this week we will be posting up fresh photos of Andy skating lately on the site’s Facebook, so if you haven’t joined the site yet, it’s time to push that LIKE button.

Category : Team Riders