Thursday, November 8

Weekly Grind - 11.08.01

By Sean Mulligan
EXPN.com

Up above...aliens hover...making home movies...for the folks back home.
-Radiohead

They haven't shot any footage yet, but you can expect Alien Workshop to be putting the new video wheels in motion since it has assimilated Steve Berra and Heath Kirchart into its team. The two left Birdhouse several weeks ago to pursue their own company but after some negotiations they hopped on the Alien team. Both sides are excited about the move and you can expect their new boards to be in shops soon.

Speaking of team jumping, pretty much everyone except Ed Templeton has left Toy Machine. The rebuilding process is underway with the addition of ams Austin Stephens and Caswell Berry. Former Toy machine Pro, Brian Anderson has moved on and is now on the already impressive Girl team, expect some new boards from him soon.

Elissa Steamer has found a new home with her Baker posse at the newly formed Bootleg Skateboards. This is an off-shoot of Baker and all hardgoods will be distributed exclusively through NHS. The team so far consists of Anthony Mosely, Elissa Steamer, and Alex 'Trainwreck' Gall. Be on the watch for ads in Thrasher and boards in late November.

Congratulations go out to Adam Alfaro, Ben Gilley, Anthony "Ragdoll" Scalamare and Patrick Melcher have all been pulled out of their am stauts with Black Label. Board graphics are now being worked on for their pro models.

On to video news...yesterday was the day that quite a few people have been waiting for, the premier of "Chomp On This". The new vid premiered last night in Hollywood. No word yet as to how it all went down, 'cause I wasn't able to be there! There is little doubt though that after the hype and the teasers that it is a video you are going to rush out and buy when it comes out in the next few weeks. Check out crailtap.com for some extra info.

Eric Koston has been busy besides the Chomp project, working with Tony Hawk and DC's Colin McKay on Tony Hawk's Trick Tips, Volume 2. Colin covers the basics of ramp skating with Tony and Eric lends a hand on the street side of things. Check out your local shop for a copy.

Deca's new video, 2nd to None is finished up and should be available as you read this.

Daewon Song is still busy filming though, this time for the new DVS flick.

On the Blind side of things, Josh Kasper has been seen around the Los Angeles and Long Beach area doing In-stores and filming for upcoming Blind and Osiris videos

James Craig is pretty much healed up now. He says he's "feeling 100%" but needs to wait cause of Doctors orders. What do doctors know anyway?

Also on the injured reserve is Kyle Berard who was in a pretty nasty car wreck not too long ago. He broke his femur and is recovering slowly but surely but probably won't be fully ready to ride for a few more weeks.

About two weeks ago the Championships of the Damn Am series went down at the Volcom Warehouse. The winners of the Vert and Street portions received a direct berth into the finals of the Tampa Am. Here are the results.

Street

1. Dylan Rieder -- Quicksilver, PTS, Smith, Ninja, Webb, K-5
2. Sven Kilchenmann -- Monkey Stix
3. Austen Seaholm -- Etnies, Illenium, Oakley
4. Jon Newport -- 510 Skateshop, Satori, Venture
5. Dennis Busenitz -- Deluxe

Best Trick Contest -- on the pyramid flat-bar

1. Gailea Momolu -- nollie heelflip lipslide
2. Chris Trembly -- ollie over to noseblunt slide
3. Doug Desautels -- kickflip 180 nosegrind
4. Greg Lutzka -- kickflip backside lipslide
5. Prat Emeric -- 360 flip lipslide

Vert Results

1. Ruda Lopes -- Fuct, Smith, Scabs, Connextion
2. Shaun White -- Volcom
3. Jeff Thrush -- Hurley, Arnette, 187
4. Craig Whitehead -- Natural Koncept, Smith, Aera, Gouge
5. Rob Lorifice -- Redsand, Pro Design, Active, Osiris