Tuesday, May 14

Sound & Fury '02

By Sean Mulligan
EXPN.com

With am competitions, you usually get a mixed bag when you walk in the door. You have some guys who are clearly above the rest of the crew and you have the younger sect who are making their way up and trying to establish themselves. It was no different at this year's Sound and the Fury, held in Seattle.

As skating continues to progress at an almost incredible pace, there is a rift forming between those who are taking things to the next level and those who still are one (or several) years off the pace. But has skateboarding ever really been about contests and all that? No, which is why The Sound and the Fury is such a great "event". You have a bunch of kids who are stoked to skate, some Djs throwing down drum & bass and hip-hop and then toss in The Pharcyde? You get a recipe that mom can't even come close to, even on Mother's Day.

The ATM team hanging out between sessions.

Yes, there was a competition and the Lib Tech am known as Alien won the factory final. This day was more about just having some fun with friends though. Teams were out in force, with several members of the Savier team there as well as the ATM team and a good showing from the Illennium crew. Returning for the pro demo were last year's second and third place finishers, Austen Seaholm and Greg Lutzka. With that said, let's get one thing clear, Greg Lutzka is a guy who will be taking skating to the next level in a few short years.

Greg is one of those kids who honestly just enjoys skating, there are no politics with this guy. He's like Koston, always smiling and just a down to earth guy, that and the fact that he can pretty much call out any trick he wants and land it in about three or four tries. A perfect example took place on the "big pinky" rail which was set-up at the end of the course. During the pro demo and factory practice people were lining up to hit it, a boardslide here, tailslide there, lots of bails. Then "The Lutzka" finds his way to the roll in, after conquering the picnic table, and both sides of "big pinky" are instantly crammed with photographers and video guys.

Greg Lutzka: "What, me worry?" Not about this backside lipslide.

Frontside board…smith grind…tailslide…kickflip to boardslide, kick flip on the roll-in 10 feet ahead and THEN kickflip to boardslide. What are we supposed to do with this kid? Yes, he did bail several times...but just like that he had blown out the rail and was off to do 360 flips from a big deck to a little tranny. What was left? Well, Gailea Momolu was up for it, going for 360 flips to a smith grind but he couldn't nail it down.

The great thing about all of this is that as it is going on, everyone is chilling and cheering for each other, keeping up the energy level for everyone. All of this was a perfect lead into the factory finals, which showed just how much skateboarding is progressing. If you can't hit flip tricks into slides and grinds these days (and sometimes out of them as well), you are going to be leaving with a much smaller check than the rest of the people there. You know how at one point you thought all the combo tricks you could do in Tony Hawk's Pro Skater were just out of control? Welcome to the new world of skating, but you knew this already.

The factory final was a preview of some up-and-coming rippers. Third place went to ATM rider Jesse Jenkins who threw out a wide variety of tricks and stomped everything on his final run. Apparently it wasn't enough though. Several of the Foundation ams were in attendance, with stylin' Corey Duffel taking second place behind Alien. Corey threw down some nice tricks, f/s boardsliding the pink rail, a kickflip over the car and a 5-0 here and there, flowing all the way. The kid known as Alien was on a mission though, and on his last run he nailed down his line for good. Hitting the car right away with a b/s noseblunt across the roof then moving to the next rail to front board down it. 5-0 the picnic table then tail sliding the pink rail with ease. After that it was one last shot at the car, and he threaded the needle, hopping of the board as it cruised through the open window and out the driver's side, right under his feet. He had been trying it all day and this was the only time that he landed it.

Alien drops in for a b/s noseblunt across the car.

After that it was a short break for The Pharcyde and then time for the Best Trick competition. At almost any comp, Best Trick is what it is about. There is very little pressure and everyone is there to contribute to the progression of the sport. The rail was the center of attention as the shred fest went on, but in the end it was Billy Marks who went home with $200 for a host of big tricks topped off by flipping to feeble grind on the big pink rail. Again, in Best Trick if you weren't doing flip tricks into rails, you might as well go to the mini ramp and kick it cause it's a whole new ballgame out there.

Tyler Bledsoe had more sponsors than anyone else in the competition and has the skills to back it up. Kickflip over the car.

So another Sound and Fury is in the books and Alien is on his way to the Tampa Am next year to hold it down for his hometown of Vancouver. If last year's top three were any indication of how large this competition is getting and how sponsors look at it, you are going to be seeing a lot of this kid soon.

Related Photos:
Sound and the Fury '02