Tuesday, July 1
Boost Mobile Pro: Skateboarding Hits The Strip
By Rob Brink
EXPN.com


  • Full Contest Results
  • Day One Recap
  • Day Two Recap

    All good things come to an end. The Boost Mobile Pro capped off a weekend of heat, havoc and high rollin' with the Vert contest and more spice than Channel 99. The evening was windy, which irked the pros, but they adjusted and put on one sick show for the Vegas crowd.

    After three rounds of impressive skating, Bucky Lasek and Pierre Luc Gagnon were the only remaining riders headed to the final jam. Before their runs, they secretly decided to pool their winnings and split the cash down the middle -- $30,000 each ($40,000 for first and $20,000 for second). They felt that, pressure off, this would ensure the crowd would get a damn good show.

    Pierre skated hard and pulled some amazing tricks, but in the end, it was Bucky who triumphed, taking first. Or, was it Pierre who really won out? I mean, come on, $10,000 is $10,000 ... right?

    Bucky Lasek never misses the frontside 540s. Switch or regular.

  • During Darren Navarrette's first run, the DJ played 50 Cent's "In Da Club" at which point Darren stopped skating in protest of the music selection. He waited until Motley Crue's "Girls Girls Girls" blared through the course and dropped in to commence ripping.

  • Peter Hewitt dropped out of the contest because he "wasn't feeling good," which gave Mike Crum, who was supposed to skate against him, a free ride to the semifinals. Peter isn't much of a contest guy, but some fans were lucky and saw him skating during practice.

  • In the only "near injury" of the weekend, Omar Hassan ate it during his run in the semis when it seemed as if his board hit him in the neck, silencing the crowd. After a few moments of lying motionless, Omar got up and skated it off.

  • The semifinal runs were nail biters. Rune vs. Gagnon had everyone wondering who would advance. And Bob Burnquist vs. Bucky promised to be close until the last minute, when Bucky came on really strong: switch and regular frontside 540s easy as apple pie.

    Pierre and Bucky after their final runs ... ready to hit the casinos and lose their winnings.

  • Shaun White. Yes, the pro snowboarder. He surfs too, you know. Mr. White is a child prodigy who showed up in Vegas and killed it. He's consistent, not afraid to flip his board, and goes big. Most people were pleasantly surprised. It was a cool change of pace to see him there. Unfortunately, he lost in the first round to Sandro Dias.

  • Max Schaaf was granted the $7,500 "Over the Top" award from Oakley. He had the smoothest backside tailslides of the weekend. Max sat down and dropped in from the roll-in on his Oakley "bomb" trophy.

  • Just previous to Max's "bomb drop," Australian street punk Dustin Dollin snaked Shaun White's board and tried to kickflip off the deck, over the channel and into the transition. Surprisingly, Dustin actually committed to it, the board connected to his feet and he slammed, hit his head and laughed as he slid down the ramp, only to be greeted by Mic-E Reyes, who laid on top of him in a sexually suggestive manner. What was Dustin thinking? Let's just say he had to put his can of beer down to try the trick.

    Mic-E showing Dustin Dollin some love after his "kickflip over the channel into the vert on someone else's board" attempt.

  • After his run in the finals, Pierre Luc picked up a handheld voting device from the ramp and threw it into the crowd. What he didn't realize was how hard he clocked a Mr. Clean look-alike in the forehead. Mr. Clean tried to laugh it off, but he was obviously hurting.

  • Pink and her boyfriend, motocross star Carey Hart, were seen lurking around the V.I.P. section. This gives Pink street cred, especially because action sports and motocross fanatics respect her boyfriend's talent. And street cred translates into album sales.

  • Rumor has it the puking trend crept into the Vert circuit. If I wasn't so busy sneaking around evading security to get photos, I would be able to tell you which pro vomited over the side of the ramp. Just know that Vert riders puke during contests, too.

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    --------------------------- ALSO SEE


    Boost Mobile Pro: Day One
    Day one of the richest comp in skateboarding history.

    Boost Mobile Pro: Day Two
    Street in the heat, puking pros and 40 grand.

    Boost Mobile Pro: Full Results
    Check out who went home $40,000 richer ... without hitting the craps tables.

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