March 7, 2010
Damn Am of The Year: Luan de Oliveira
Words: Rob Brink
The Skateboard Mag April 2010
“I can only imagine being one of the other skaters who made the finals at Tampa Am ‘08” says SPoT’s Ryan Clements, “I would be thinking, ‘Fuck, well, at least I can shoot for second place.’”
And that might just be the simplest and most effective way to sum up why Luan de Oliveira was singled out by the SPoT crew as 2009’s Damn Am of the Year. It’s the type of sentiment you often hear out of many pro’s mouths prior to entering contests against Chris Cole or P-Rod.
And like Cole and Paul, Luan is blessed with the gift of seemingly being able to win a contest at any given time, assuming he chooses to. What adds insult to injury (or possibly just adds envy) is that huge-ass grin on his face the whole time he’s doing it.
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March 3, 2010
Festivus: Johnny Romano Skate Jam for Make-A-Wish
Words: Rob Brink
The Skateboard Mag, April 2010
If Johnny Romano were here and writing this article, he probably wouldn’t waste time coming up with a clever title or theme for it. He probably wouldn’t sit in front of a blank computer screen for days, toiling over how to write it from a unique perspective or give it a good “hook.” He probably wouldn’t worry about who the audience is and how to attempt to give them something they’ve never read before. He wouldn’t worry about if readers would make it through the entire article or not before flipping the page. In fact … he probably wouldn’t worry at all, because in skateboarding, at 11 years old—or any age for that matter—what’s really to worry about?
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March 2, 2010
3 Minutes With Tyler Bledsoe
etnies.com, Jan 2010
Top three places to eat in Portland:
1. Taste Tickler
2. Burgerville
3. Cadillac Cafe
Top three best cheeseburgers:
1. In-N-Out
2. The Habit
3. Burgerville
Top three reasons to not leave Portland:
1. Friends
2. Scenery
3. Family
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January 25, 2010
Year's Best Am 2009: Tyler Bledsoe
Words: Rob Brink
The Skateboard Mag, March 2010
Ask anyone who knows Tyler Bledsoe and they’ll tell you that on the rare occasions he actually does speak, it’s usually the funniest, most epic utterance of the day. They’ll also tell you how gifted of a skateboarder he is… which is no bullshit. In fact, despite it’s complimentary nature, is still probably an understatement.
Tyler is a simple young lad who is wise beyond his years… both in life and in skateboarding, which is something that could serve us all a little better, should we be able to achieve such an enlightened state of being. Since we have him being a little chatty for once, lets just get to it, shall we? Ladies and gentleman, we present to you, The Skateboard Mag’s 2009 Year’s Best Am… Mr. Tyler Bledsoe.
Tyler! Whatcha doing?
I’m just chilling at home… a little sick.
Swine Flu!
No, not yet.
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January 25, 2010
Festivus: Tampa Am ‘09
Words: Rob Brink
The Skateboard Mag, March 2010
This year’s Tampa Am contest may have been the most incredible Tampa Am ever … seriously. “Why?” you ask. Well duh! Obviously because all sorts of history was made!
As you all know, Luan Oliveira won. And that makes him the first person to ever win Tampa Am twice! History in the making! You should be excited. One might assume that after two Tampa Am wins, he won’t be am too much longer, eh? Or maybe he’ll win next year as well! Three-peat history! Luan beautifully flipped his board really fast and high and spun around a lot. That kid sure has one hell of a pre-trick windup. Hit pause next time you are watching his footage and check it out.
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January 21, 2010
Rick McCrank: Behind the Ad
Words: Rob Brink
esfootwear.com, December 2009
Didn’t anyone ever tell you that regular belts are out and you’re supposed to be wearing a shoelace around your waist?
I wore a shoelace belt for a while. It kept digging in to my side and it looked like a G-string so I went traditional again. Chocolate makes a nice belt. I've been wearing it forever.
Do you feel weird about the amount of underwear showing in your ad?
Yeah that's a bummer. That ledge has a nice sized drop off of it. I guess I caught the wind.
Where do you buy your boxers?
I don't need to buy boxers because Matix makes really good ones.
How about those chicks in the upper left corner? Were they checking you out?
I don't know? They were there for a really long time. I think one of our dudes was chatting them up and got a number.
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January 7, 2010
Festivus: Damn Am Costa Mesa ‘09
Words: Rob Brink
The Skateboard Mag, February 2009
On October 24, 2009, a landmark event occurred: the Skateboarding Hall of Fame was created.
Breathtaking.
Democracy reigned supreme and four dudes were inducted—one from each decade of skateboarding’s existence thus far. You might have heard of some of them… but we’re only gonna discuss one. His name is Tony Alva and he is the Skateboarding Hall of Fame inductee for the 1970s. Congrats, Tony.
But this isn’t about the Skateboarding Hall of Fame or Tony Alva. It’s about something waaaaaay bigger. I simply told you that story so I could tell you this one: On October 25th, the 8th annual Damn Am contest was held at Volcom headquarters in Costa Mesa. As the finals commenced… some leathery-skinned dude in a red shirt and fedora, carrying a brand new Alva cruiser board, complete with colorful and authentic-looking Alva logo griptape, arose from the crowd.
He chugged from his liquor-filled sippy cup while weeble wobbling back and forth before belligerently “not giving a fuck” and stumbling onto the street course… all the while proudly waving his Alva board in the air… as if to say, “I’m here to let you know what elements of skateboarding’s history resonate with me! All hail Tony Alva! Inductee into the all-new Skateboarding Hall of Fame! King of 1970s skateboarding!”
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January 7, 2010
Flick: Strange World
Words: Rob Brink
The Skateboard Mag, February 2009
Despite the fairly common “I’m so cool and I don’t give a fuck” exterior and attitude of skateboarders these days—many of them, believe it or not, frequently get just as warm and fuzzy and sensitive and sappy as your mom, grandma, great aunt or girlfriend do.
For skateboarders, though, it takes something a little different than say, a dozen roses, pictures of you as a baby with a bowl cut and birthday cake frosting on your face, a box of chocolates, a teddy bear, a moonlit walk on the beach or a platinum-set 5.98-carat oval-cut diamond ring for the butterflies to start twitterpating in their tummies.
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January 7, 2010
Storefront: Push X-Change
Words: Rob Brink
The Skateboard Mag, February 2009
On August 15, 2009, Craig Glover decided to put his livelihood in fate’s hands and open up a skateboard shop in Santa Clarita, California… smack dab in the middle of the sketchiest economic climate of our lifetime thus far. Of course, having a brand new 40,000 square foot skatepark less than five miles from the shop helps out a bit… but still. As if that’s not enough of a feat… the shop’s construction… to opening day, complete with ordering inventory, took less than 30 days.
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December 12, 2009
Nick Trapasso
Words: Rob Brink
November 2008
This was the original 2008 Year's Best Am Nick Trapasso interview for The Skateboard Mag. When all was said and done, Nick asked that the interview be redone with someone he knew better and it ended up being assigned to Mike Sinclair. No hard feelings or anything like that. It's not drama. It just is. Nick's amazing. I'm a fan. Enjoy.
“I wish I knew Nick.”
-Ed Templeton
“Nick has been one of my favorite skaters since Suffer the Joy. It always confused me that I won Years Best Am last year when Nick should have easily got the award. If he didn't win this year I’d whoop someone’s ass! Well deserved. Congratulations, Nick.”
-Sean Malto
“Nick stands out from the herd because of how original he is. He's not a new version of this guy or an amalgamation of these two types of skaters or part of some skate trend movement—he's just Nick. Skaters, young and old, pick up on this refreshing originality and relish it.”
-Kevin Barnett
Nick Trapasso is a quiet fellow who doesn’t seem to trouble himself worrying (or caring, for that matter) about much in life. He doesn’t have answers to many of the questions presented to him… not because he’s clueless, but because he seemingly knows that none of it really fuckin’ matters in the grand scheme of things—which is somewhat admirable actually. It’s apparent he’d rather be kickin’ it with his crew or out skating than sitting on the phone talking about himself. Which is just fine, because in the last year or two, his skating’s been speaking volumes anyway. So make Nick proud: Grab a beer or twist one up and enjoy a glimpse into the modest world of 2008’s Year’s Best Am… “fo’ sho’.”
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