Thursday, April 4

Weekly Grind - 04/04/02

By Sean Mulligan
EXPN.com

"I can feel it, coming in the air tonight."
-Phil Collins

Yes..it's coming…the skating season is heating up with plenty of videos on the way and the big contests right on the horizon. It all starts off with the Tampa Pro though, and at The Spot it was Koston…Koston…Koston.

Eric took the title in Florida with Baker ripper Andrew Reynolds close behind. No photos right now, but from what I've heard, there was plenty of action and a plethora of stickers all over the place.

The eS team was there in full force, with Koston taking first, recently turned pro Paul Rodriguez in fifth and Rodrigo TX two spots behind him.

Not in the top ten this time was Rick McCrank, but that's ok, cause his new shop in Vancouver, Anti-Social is now open for business. If you are in Canada looking for a good time stop by:

2425 Main Street
Vancouver BC, Canada
V5T3E1
tel: 604-708-5678
fax: 604-708-5678

Speaking of Vancouver and large comps, it's only a month or so until Slam City Jam and everyone who is anyone is going to be there as usual. So far the line-up looks like a punk rock convention with Greco, Reynolds and Truillo among others waiting to put it down. Oh yeah, there's also some new kid named Bastien in there too. I heard he was decent but we'll have to wait and see. The contest is scheduled for May 3-5 and it looks like NBC will be supplying a little TV time as well.

Following "The Jam" all of the best ams and probably a few pros as well will be heading a bit south to Seattle for this year's edition of "The Sound and the Fury". This year's comp will be in the same huge warehouse as it was last year, the weekend after Slam City. Expect plenty of competition and some great bands.

Moving on to news within the industry itself. Seems like everyone is going for theirs in the world of skateboarding, with new brands popping up weekly. Alien Workshop heavy hitters Josh Kalis and Rob Dyrdek have teamed up with now ex-Girl rider Colin McKay to form Seek Skateboards. The new venture stays under the Alien spaceship, so you know the graphics are going to be tight and the team so far pretty much says it all. Florentin Marfaing is also going to be the first am on the team. Check out www.seek-skateboards.com for all the info.

Also going out on his own is Mike Vallely. Mike, fresh from winning Best Trick in Tampa, has decided to leave Black Label and go for a DIY deck company of his own. Vallely Skateboards is being formed and Mike is working on a team now.

It's been awhile…but it's time for some Bam news. Mr. Margera is busy finishing up "Haggard" a full-length movie where he does it all. All of the CKY crew is in it as well as special appearances by Tony Hawk, Bucky Lasek and Jason Ellis.

Bam also has his new CKY model shoe coming out through Adio this week, so watch out for that.

In other Element team news, Tosh Townend is now pro for them and his boards should be out as you read this. Once he recovers from ankle surgery, he'll be loose on the streets and filming like mad.

Congratulations go out to Billy Pepper, who is celebrating 10 years with Element. Down since day one, Billy is indeed Element for life.

Another guy who has been there since…well…forever is Ed Templeton. Now through Emerica you can own a hand spray-painted pair of Ed's shoes! Ed and the Emerica team sat down and painted 600 pairs of Templeton 2 shoes gold and are shipping them to "core stores only" so exit Mr. Rags and the mall immediately and seek these out. Only 600 pairs…in the world…that's all.

In between the painting sesh, Ed will be taking the new Toy Machine team out on tour. Taking part will be Ed, Diego Bucchieri, Caswell Berry, Austin Stephens and members of the flow team. The Sucking the Life Tour begins in May, here are the dates:

Fri. May 17 - Cowtown, Phoenix, AZ
Mon. May 20 - Fast Forward, Oklahoma City, OK
Tues. May 21 - Fast Forward, Ft. Worth, TX
Fri. May 24 - XXX Sports, Nashville, TN
Sat. May 25 - Ambush Atlanta, GA
Mon. May 27 - Vertical Urge, Raleigh, NC
Tues. May 28 - Evolve, Annapolis, MD
Thur. May 30 - Theory, Springfield, MA
Fri. May 31 - Red Alert Rye, NH
Sat. June 1 - Krudco, Rochester, NY
Mon. June 3 - Sunsports, Columbus, OH
Tue. June 4 - Rise, Indianapolis, IN
Wed. June 5 - RQ, Naperville, IL
Fri. June 7 - Rampage, Davenport, IA
Sat. June 8 - BBB, Omaha, NE
Mon. June 10 - Brothers Boards, Aurora, CO

And now…Results

Tampa Pro
Street Finals
1. Eric Koston
2. Andrew Reynolds
3. Caine Gayle
4. Kerry Getz
5. Paul Rodriguez

Street Best Trick
1. Mike Vallely
2. Chany Jeanguenin
3. Aaron Suski
4. Dan Drehobl
5. Patrick Melcher

Vert Finals
1. Sandros Dias
2. Pierre-Luc Gagnon
3. Mathias Ringstrom
4. Mike Crum
5. Neal Hendrix

Vert Best Trick
1. Jake Brown
2. Mizael Simao
3. Mike Frazier
4. Matt Dove
5. Darren Navarrette

Why only the top five in each you ask? Cause The Man wouldn't let you have the full deal.