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Posts Tagged ‘vert’

Dew Tour 2010 Vert Videos From Portland

August 20th, 2010 / No Comments » / by Jonathan Young

Dew Tour 2010 Vert Videos From Portland

The Dew Tour is one of those big contest series which brings together masses of people and splits the opinions between many. What ever you think about it, the skateboard vert contest is always a feast for the eyes so if you’re a vert lover like I am, take the time to enjoy these video clips.

Final Results Skateboard Vert:

1 Shaun White
2 Bucky Lasek
3 Pierre-Luc Gagnon
4 Andy Macdonald
5 Alex Perelson

See More Dew Tour Videos at AlliSports.com Dew Tour Videos at AlliSports.com

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See More Dew Tour Videos at AlliSports.com Posted in Skateboard Contests And Events, United States, Videos and Media, halfpipe | No Comments »

Checking In With Fred Olande – Interview With Europeskate

June 17th, 2010 / 2 Comments » / by Jonathan Young

A couple of weeks ago I received an email from one Fred Olande letting me know that I had spelled his name wrong in one of the articles I had written a while back. No big deal so I checked it out.

Wait a second I said – the same Fred Olande from way back in the 90’s? Oh yeah, the vert rat who rode for companies like H-Street and New Deal Skateboards which left a huge impression on skateboarding, paving the way to where we are today. Fred had some serious skills which he put to the test especially in halfpipes and I can bet that some of these tricks haven’t been done in a while by any pro, that’s how tough some of his tricks were.

After getting the spelling right with Fred’s name, he even answered some questions for us. Sorry for the lack of pictures in this interview – can you guess who he’s hanging out with in the picture above? Make sure you watch the video so you can see how good he was already 20 years ago!

Fred, give us a little history lesson about yourself. When did you get started with skateboarding and when did you skate for which companies?

I started skating after I seen the first bones brigade video in 86 and just like everyone else I just skated with friends and decided to build a ramp. I called a few companies to get sponsored and then I talked to George Wilson of Z Boyz and I told them I had a ramp and the next weekend most of their team came down from LA and they just wanted to ride my ramp but ended up liking the way I skated so after that I was on their team and that was in 87. After I was a Z boy I rode for Blockhead and then Santa Cruz and then H-Street and my last team was The New Deal.

Who were you skating with back then and who were the big names for you?

I skated with Danny Way and Peter Hewitt quite a bit. Peter would come down to my ramp in Imperial Beach and we would skate all weekend long when we were in High School. In 1987 we had a little contest in my backyard and that is when I met Danny Way. He won the contest in the backyard and I took 3rd out of 5 people and from then on we became friends. As far as later on the next few years the big names were Jordan Richter, Brent Schneider, Alphonso Rawls, Matt Moffett, Sean Andrew, Derek Williams, Bucky Laskek, So many people to name.

Traveling and skateboarding go hand in hand – where did you get to go and what was one the most memorable experiences?

When I first was on Z when I was 15 it seemed like we drove to every contest. Every week we were in Arizona, Nevada, Northern California etc going to amateur contest. Later on when I turned pro for New Deal I traveled to England, Dominican Republic, Mexico City all the states etc. I been to a lot of places and met a lot of good people but I would say my most memorable trip is when we went to the Domincan Republic to do a demo back in 91. It was me Mike Vallely, Ed Templeton, John Montesi and Neal Hendrix. That was a crazy demo and the people were crazy rocking the van we were in and just the overall environment. I would love to go there now I heard it is a really beautiful place.

I never got to see the world when I traveled because most of the time you would fly to a demo or contest and then go do the demo and then stay in your hotel and leave the next morning, I never really got to sight see and do the things I would do now as an older person. I guess when I was young I didn’t care though. If I could do it again I would be a full on tourist. We did get to see England because we were there for awhile and that is a great place.

Were you a contest skater or did you like the normal sessions more?

I always like to compete and love the adrenaline of contest so I wasn’t the type of person that didn’t want to do contest but having a normal session with all your friends is something that you will always remember. I guess you will remember if you did well in a contest too but there was nothing like skating all day with your friends and learning new tricks and just having fun with no stress.

What are the biggest differences you see between the contests today and back in the 90’s?

Obviously the money and all the different places where they have all the contest. My first pro contest was in Jacksonville and I remember it cost like a 1000 bucks or more to get there and first place was a 1000 bucks and second place was like 500 bucks. That was when skating vert was basically dead and now they have The Maloof, Rob Dydreks series, X-Games, Dew. We had NSA (National Skateboarding Assoc.) and that was it. Skateboarding is so big now.

San Jose skatepark 1991 – Fred Olande first skater

How are you still involved in skateboarding and with the topic skate parks?

One of my friends asked me to help them get a skatepark in my city of Imperial beach,CA so I guess I am on a skateboard committee that gives ideas to the city etc. Other than that I skate once in awhile and also more of a spectator now.

Ever dreamed of riding the Mega Ramp?

I think to myself if I still skated everyday and than I could do it but I guess all’s it would be now is only a dream for me to do something like that.

Skateboarding itself has moved from the semi-underground movement to a multi-million (if not billion) dollar industry around the world. What do you think about this massive development, is it all good?

I guess it is good for the people putting on the contest and the owners of the different companies. Also the people who are consistently placing in the top 10 of these huge contest but it seems to me if you only have a board sponser and are professional than you still have to have a job to live in this economy to make ends meet. But I am glad its making more kids skate because of all the attention. I don’t know if its all good though.

You are a family man with three children – I heard you have a mini ramp in your backyard (from the Joe Doe Zine Blog Talk interview). How is it like to teach your own son how to skate?

My son loves skateboarding and all sports. He wanted a ramp in the backyard so I built him one. I started taking him to all the parks and he caught on fast. He goes in and out of playing baseball and then skating, playing football and then skating etc. He could be good because he is not afraid, he falls hard sometimes and although he is only 6 he brushes it off and then gets back on it. It should say I try to teach him but I think he learns more when he sees kids his age that are better than him and then he goes balls out to learn a trick

Which skaters are catching your attention these days and why?

I always want to see what Bucky is doing next. Also P.Rod, Lutzka, Schekler, and of course my good friend Peter Hewitt. I am glad he never slowed down and I am proud of him.

Any final words for us?

First off thanks for the questions I really appreciate it. And thanks to all my friends past/present who I met throughout my skating days. Thanks to all the people who sponsored me and thanks to Alphonzo Rawls and Sal Barbier for being my good friends to this day. Stay Gold Ponyboy!!

» New Deal Demo @ 1991 Birmingham, Alabama : pictures on the Team Ping website

Posted in Skateboarders, Videos and Media, interview | 2 Comments »

Oakley Vert Series 2010 – Battle at the Bay footage

April 21st, 2010 / No Comments » / by Jonathan Young

Oakley Vert Series 2010 - Battle at the Bay footage

I realized that I’ve been slacking heavily on my vert skills lately – I haven’t hit the vert ramp for over a month! And then on top of that I miss out on posting the news and footage from the Oakley Vert Series 2010 which just kicked off in Great Britain. Time to get my stuff together – dive in to catch up with me on the madness that went down this past weekend with the so strong vert riders representing Great Britain (and the mad Finn dude thrown in there as well…) – it’s getting quite insane! Read more…

Posted in Great Britain, Skateboard Contests And Events, Videos and Media, halfpipe, vert | No Comments »

Vert Skateboarding Flashback – Houston 1991

December 23rd, 2009 / 1 Comment » / by Jonathan Young

This one is for all of you vert skaters out there – looking back in the past is always a fun thing to do, especially with skateboading as it has changed, been redefined and has attracted new skaters to ride the ever growing vert ramps besides the old school skaters. Here’s a bunch of videos from back in 1991 at the SUAS in Houston, Texas with Lance Mountain, Mike Frazier, Bod Boyle, Darren Menditto, Omar Hassan, Dave Le Roux, Remy Stratton, Tony Hawk, Bod Boyle, Darren Menditto, Omar Hassan, Remy Stratton, Buster Halterman, Chris Gentry, Eric Nash, Chris Miller and many others ripping it back when some of you guys out there didn’t even know how to spell skateboard

I just love watching these runs which aren’t packed with flip tricks and 540s (nothing against those tricks, but I just like a good mix!). There are three more videos after the jump, don’t miss them!

Win 2 Tickets For The T-Mobile Extreme Playgrounds in Berlin, Germany

December 1st, 2009 / No Comments » / by Jonathan Young

T-Mobile Extreme Playgrounds December 6th 2009 in Berlin, Germany

You want to be there? Win 2 tickets for all of the action? Nothing easier than that: simply send a mail with your complete name and complete address with the subject “I want tickets” to the following email address by December 3rd, 2009 – 12 o’clock noon GMT: freestuff@europeskate.com

Rounding the year 2009 up is one of the biggest events in Germany taking place in Berlin, Germany on December 6th at the Berliner Velodrom – the T-Mobile Extreme Playgrounds. It is the final of the 2009 World Cup Of Skateboarding World Tour in both street and vert competitions and the list of top skaters from around the world is more than mad (Axel Cruysberghs, Rodolfo Ramos, Alex Mizurov, Adam Dyet, Chris Haslam, Bastien Salabanzi, Pierre-Luc Gagnon, Sam Beckett, Jürgen Horrwarth, Alex Perelson, Danny Mayer and loads more!)

On top of the skating there’s the BMX street and vert competitions which are more than fun to watch and the bands which will get the crowd dancing for sure this year (German killer band Deichkind, Blumentopf from Munich and the Puppetmastaz).

And if you don’t win you can get tickets at all German ticket agencies and on www.t-mobile-playgrounds.de

Posted in Germany, Skateboard Contests And Events | No Comments »

Lyn-Z Adams Hawkins Spins A 540 McTwist

November 23rd, 2009 / 3 Comments » / by Jonathan Young

Lyn-Z Adams Hawkins Spins A 540 McTwist

Lyn-Z Adams Hawkins is the first female in the history of skateboarding to land a 540 McTwist! It happened this past weekend at the Quiksilver Tony Hawk show in Paris, France which featured top skaters ripping the vert ramp. Tony threw in a beautiful 900er as well, but I have to day I am damn impressed with Lyn-Z McTwist make – looking really good. Congrats! Check out the video to see it happen.

Posted in France, vert | 3 Comments »

Vert Attack IV in Malmö Sweden – January 30th 2010

November 13th, 2009 / No Comments » / by Jonathan Young

As the vert fever continues to rage in my body and mind, great news out of Sweden has been announced: the Vert Attack halfpipe contest series will continue in 2010 with the fourth annual contest being held January 30th at the Bryggeriet Skatepark with 1000 Euros up for grabs – the money is definitely not any reason for being their, I expect to see loads of vert skaters from all over Europe turning up!

Watch the action from last year’s event after the jump below – over 36 minutes of vert skating!

Vert Attack IV in Malmö Sweden - January 30th 2010

Vert Session at the Stockholm Skatepark

November 11th, 2009 / 1 Comment » / by Jonathan Young

The guys over on vert.nu are always busy getting the visual proof of what they’ve been up to online nice and fast. Last night after my vert fun I popped on over to their website and flipped through a bunch of nice pics documenting a good looking vert session this past Monday, November 09th, at the Stockholm Skatepark. For all of the pictures from *drumroll* I don’t know – who took these pics guys? Well, just click on the picture below for the entire gallery!

Posted in Skateboard Photography, Skatespots Sweden | 1 Comment »

Vert Attack 3 – Fläsk TV Documentary Clip

October 23rd, 2009 / No Comments » / by Jonathan Young

If you haven’t noticed yet, I admit that I tend to try and add in news/videos/whatever about vert and bowl riding a bit more than the usual street clips – just personal preference and it always gets my blood cooking for more when I see where vert skating is headed.

For the past three years, the skateboard city of Malmö in Sweden has rounded up vert skaters from around Europe to let the world see that vert skating is very much alive. Fläsk TV recently put their short documentary of the Vert Attack III from January 2009 online – here it is, making me hungry for more!

Posted in Skateboard Contests And Events, Sweden, halfpipe, vert | No Comments »

Juergen Horrwarths Change Of Guard 2009

October 20th, 2009 / No Comments » / by Jonathan Young

Juergen Horrwarths Change Of Guard 2009

Juergen Horrwarth is currently THE vert representation for Germany in the world of high flying skateboarders. Recently he set up the Change Of Guard 2009 event which goal was to get a group of vert skaters from around Germany together in the Berlin skatepark with one of Germany’s largest vert ramps for a weekend of exchanging trick ideas, learning new tricks and basically having a blast (pardon the pun!).

A great idea to support vert riders which allowed these skaters to be in the same session with guys like Jürgen himself, Renton Miller, Sandro Dias, Sam Bosworth and Sam Beckett.

Posted in Germany, Videos and Media, halfpipe, vert | No Comments »