Matt Houghton's Column

Billabong Damn Am 2009

bmatt — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 01:03:00 GMT

If a skate contest in Vancouver without rain is considered a victory, then day one of the Billabong Damn Am was a downright triumph. The sun shone, hot dogs were grilled, and plenty of gnarliness went down at the Bonsor skatepark. A big crowd formed by mid-afternoon, with a who's-who of Van City skaters and industry heads skating and lurking at the park. It was pretty damn cool to see vets like Tony Fergusson and Judah Oakes working up a sweat on the street course and skating like they were 16 years old; not guys who work day jobs.

Adam Hopkins, wall transfer. Forsythe photo.

With Brian Schaeffer and the SPOT crew in town, a wad of $20 bills was gathered to reward the best tricks in the Push.ca Bowl Contest. Schaeffer was on the mic, and served notice to anyone attempting tricks that they'd better damn well land them if the wanted to earn a bill or two. A dozen or so guys skated for 30 minutes, with plenty of cash dispensed for worthy moves. Actually, Schaeffer even gave $20 to a girl who walked by with a massive purple Mohawk, and slipped local legend Alex Chalmers $20, "just for being there." So as you can appreciate, it was a loose affair without any real rules: just the way a skate contest should go down.

The $20 mohawk. Forsythe photo.

Adam Hopkins ripped the entire session, transferring up and over the wall-ride spine both ways and nearly landing a McTwist (no, I am not making that up). Chalmers got in for a few runs, and slid an insane frontside tailslide around the bowl's corner, which he later said was the first time he'd done that trick there. Nate Lacoste was on fire (not literally, of course), with backside Smith grinds, frontside flips, and a Half-Cab stalefish. Chris Connelly also ripped some hurricane grinds, and Mike Kilnkhammer shredded the entire bowl with style.

Caissie photo.

Alex Chalmers, rock 'n' roll. Forsythe photo.

Caissie photo.

A real standout, however, was an unknown kid with completely shredded shoes (one of which was held together by a mere strand of suede over his toes) who was maybe 15 years old at the most, but skated like he was twice his age. He landed huge frontside airs about five feet to six feet above the coping, and did several frontside grinds that stretched the length of an entire wall. At Schaffer's urging, the kid even took one of the grinds all the way through the corner, earning huge cheers and a quick payout.

[Insert generic "The bar was set" caption here] Forsythe photo.

When the all the cash was gone, the contest moved to the street course for the Ollie Pop High Ollie Contest. A bar was set up to ollie over, and skaters were eliminated as the bar was raised. By the time it reached 40 inches high (which is no joke, trust me), serious olliers like Jon Hanlon and Joe Buffalo were eliminated, and it came down to Chad Dickson and Jeff Marshal.

Caissie photo.

Chad, moments after making it into the final round. Forsythe photo.

Jeff Marshal, high marking for the judges. Forsythe photo.

Dickson and Marshal battled it out, back and forth and back and forth, but neither could quite stick a landing above the 40-inch mark. When it was finally declared a draw, and the prize money was split between them, Dickson took one more crack at it and actually landed an ollie. The irony! I think Dickson was just stoked to have done it, and earned a case of beer and pack of smokes courtesy of his DC team manager, Trevn Sharpe (who obviously knows how to provide extra motivation in a white-knuckle situation like this).

With all hot dogs eaten and the sun beginning to set, it was time to wrap the day up. Check back for full coverage and more photos from day two tomorrow, when the street contest goes down.

Something to look forward to tomorrow: Matt Berger, backside 180 fakie 5-0. Caissie sequence.

Day 1 video:
(Please visit the site to view this media)

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Day 2:

In spite of a rotten weather forecast, the second day of the Billabong Damn Am was even better than the first: nothing but sun all day, until the product toss and awards began, when a light mist came down. But at the point, the dark clouds and minor rain shower were actually a welcome reprieve from the heat. And with a big crowd at Bonsor skatepark, hungry once again for free hot dogs, Monster energy drinks and sick skating, the day seemed predestined to be a banger.

Billabong's Risto Scott manning the 'q himself. Forsythe photo.

What's a contest without encouraging a fight for free product? Forsythe photo.

The morning began with qualifiers, with multiple sessions of skaters competing jam-style for a spot in the finals. Brian Schaefer and the SPOT crew were back in fine form on the mics, and kept the day flowing in an entertaining fashion. Actually, I'm going to claim they provided some of the best announcing I've ever heard at a skate contest, factoring in both jokes and accuracy of trick calling. And their habit of comparing everyone to an American skater was pretty damn funny (at the end of the day when Push.ca got a "thanks for nothing" award, which the SPOT guys gave out to sponsors and various helpers, I was referred to as the "Canadian Chet Thomas").

Good crowd out on a perfect day. Forsythe photo.

TJ Rogers, switch bigspin. Caissie sequence.

When the qualifiers ended, 12 skaters advanced to the finals, with three skaters per heat skating for seven minutes. Heat one saw TJ Rogers face off against Cory Wilson and Desmond Hoostie. TJ stood out with a nollie flip and tre flip down the big stairs, and a sick big spin front blunt on the rail, while Hoostie stuck a nollie big spin down the big stairs. Heat two consisted of Will and Jeff Marshall (no relation) and Arte Lew. Jeff, one of the few Americans in the contest, landed a back Smith and kickflip back lip on the rail. Will skated with good consistency and landed a sick front blunt shove-it on the rail, while Arte stuck a switch flip down the stairs and a slick switch shove-it to nosegrind on a ledge.

Caissie photo.

Heat three was stacked, with Micky Papa, Adam Fontaine, and Ontario's Brandon del Bianco. Brandon was on fire, with a switch backside flip and nollie flip down the stairs, and Micky landed a nice kickflip crooks on the small rail. Adam owned the large rail, with a front feeble and a front Smith. It's obviously a cliché to say the best was saved for last, but it certainly seemed that way with Will Cristafaro, Magnus Hanson and Matt Berger all skating in heat four. At first Magnus was oddly silent, staying on the sidelines and not skating much at all (he was reportedly dealing with a sore back). This left plenty of space for Berger to unleash a barrage of tricks, including an unreal frontside hurricane on the big rail, a front blunt on the big rail, and a kickflip backside tail slide on the small rail. To his credit, Will landed plenty of solid tricks too, including a kickflip front board on the rail. But once Magnus started to skate, he quickly proved how damn consistent he is by knocking off banger after banger, including a big spin boardslide on the rail, a kickflip front board on the big rail, and a backside 50-50 up the big rail's hubba ledge. At that point, there was no doubt both Magnus and Berger would be at the top of the results.

Magnus Hanson, wallie 50-50. Caissie sequence.

Caissie photo.

Before the winners were announced, the best trick contest went down on the big rail staircase, which included the hubbas on each side and a weird gap-to-rock feature. Since it was open to anyone who entered, not just the finalists, the session was fast and - dare I say - furious for a solid 30 minutes. Bryan Wherry repeatedly attempted to tre flip onto the rock ride, and came within inches of landing over and over again, until he finally stomped one at the very end. Brandon ripped with a switch varial flip and switch tre flip, and Dustin Montie landed a rare (and super cool looking) frontside shove-it to back lip to fakie. In the end, former Torontonian Dallas Ives took first place, with a crazy switch frontside 360 ollie over the rail, earning a $500 travel voucher for his persistence.

Caissie photo.

Bryan Wherry, 360 flip to rock ride. Caissie sequence.

After a somewhat civilized product toss, the SPOT crew recognized the top five best trick skaters (see the end of the article for full results), and gave out the Zumiez Destroyer award to Brandon del Bianco for tearing shit up all day; Brandon got a custom sawzal, one of the best contest prizes I've ever seen, so he can de-cap skate spots and rails whenever he likes. All 12 of the finalists earned entry into the Tampa Am, with the top two skaters going directly into the semi-finals and winning $1,000 in cash and a $500 travel voucher. And no surprise, Matt Berger took first place, with Magnus Hanson in second and Jeff Marshall in third.

Caissie photo.

Apparently just over one point separated Magnus and Berger's scores, and with both Paul Machnau and Alex Chalmers on the judging panel, you know the results were accurate; not to mention extremely close. And with all of the prizes dispensed, the crowd dispersed to rest up for the after-party at Shine tonight. So if you're in Vancouver and reading this before 10 PM on Saturday, September 19th, we'll see you there.

Best Trick:
1. Dallas Ives, switch frontside 360 ollie over the rail
2. Brandon del Bianco, switch varial heelflip
3. Jeff Marshall, backside nose blunt
4. Tyler Gosher, kickflip crooked grind
5. Dustin Montie, frontside shove-it to back lip to fakie

Dallas Ives, Best Trick 1st place. Forsythe photo.

Zumiez Destroyer Award:
Brandon del Bianco

Brandon del Bianco, Zumiez Destroyer Award. Forsythe photo.

Street:
1. Matt Berger
2. Magnus Hanson
3. Jeff Marshall
4. Brandon del Bianco
5. Will Cristofaro
6. Arte Lew
7. Micky Papa
8. Desmond Hootsie
9. TJ Rogers
10. Will Marshall
11. Cory Wilson
12. Adam Fontaine

2nd place Magnus Hanson (left) slays his new axe, while Matt Berger (right) takes in his win. Forsythe photo.

Building a Better Skatepark with Jim Barnum

bmatt — Fri, 08 May 2009 19:28:00 GMT

You'll find few people with more genuine love for skating than Jim Barnum. Of course you'll also find few people willing to admit to seeing the movie Marley and Me, let alone saying it caused them to question their accomplishments in life... but that's what makes Barnum so damn cool: he's the real deal, through and through, and is sincere to a fault when anything up for discussion connects back to skateboarding.

Barnum, who's been skating for the past 24 years, founded Spectrum Sk8park Creations in 1997. Based in North Vancouver, BC, Spectrum is proudly 100% skater owned and operated, and offers start-to-finish skatepark services, ranging from planning and design, to final construction and park maintenance and everything in between. The first park that Barnum and Spectrum designed was in Whistler, but the company has since been responsible for skateparks across Canada (including my current favourite park in the Toronto area, at Warden and Ellsemere, not to mention the much-loved Vanderhoof).

Jim Barnum. George Faulkner photo.

Spectrum's mission statement, found on its website, sums up Barnum's design philosophy nicely: "We believe that skateparks should be accessible, fluid, and dynamic arenas that inspire skaters of all ages and styles to become well-rounded riders and people. With creativity, a knowledge of skateboarding's past, a commitment to progressive skatepark design, and a deep understanding of the timeless ideas of balance, fluidity, and continuity in design, Spectrum is creating an enduring legacy for skateboarding's future."

I caught up with Jim with a more specific goal in mind: to find out where skatepark design is heading, and what his favourite park features are, both as a skater and designer. I just never thought (spoiler alert) that his answer would reference alligators and pits full of spikes.

So Jim, what is the most frequent design request you get these days?
Here's what's awesome: that's a hard question to answer these days because design requests are all over the place now. A few years ago, it would have been way easier to say, "Oh yeah, the most common request we get is just for a six-set with hubbas and a rail." Today though, it's not an easy answer because we are getting such a huge variety of requests, even for stuff that's completely out of the blue, and has never been in a park before.

So for us, a skatepark company that places huge importance on creativity, not just pumping out stock parks, this situation rules! It makes designing -- and of course the end product, the skatepark -- so much more fun. It seems like skateboarding is past its adolescent years of being really close-minded and judgmental...now it seems like everyone is down to skate everything, or at least to respect all types of skating. To me it feels like we're back to real skateboarding, the real culture of freedom and creativity that drew me to it in the first place.

Anyway, if I had to narrow it down to the most frequent design request, I'll name a few: we still get the decked out six-set, actually. Step-ups are still really popular. Manual pads, flat bars... It's still the staple elements that are asked for the most. So in spite of the fact that we get tons of different requests these days; the staples are still the foundation of our parks, which is as it should be. That stuff is staple for a reason.

Millenium Park, Calgary, AB. Brendan Sohar photo.

How do you balance our a design that is "of the moment" but will have a lasting quality, so that people will still want to skate it in 10 to 20 years?
That's a really complex question with a lot of ways to answer it, but one of the most fundamental ways to ensure that a park will always be fun to skate is to focus heavily on lines and flow. So long as a skater can experience flow, and really get the feeling of shredding, a park will always be fun.

The feeling of flow, whether it's flowing through the streets hitting whatever you see in your path, or on some luscious bowl trannies, is one of the things that everyone who skates loves. I think that the experience of flow accesses something really deep inside us, something that connects us to our true nature: energetic, effortless, totally free, powerful... experiencing flow while skating can help connect us to our true nature.

What was the question? Oh yeah, ensuring that our parks have great flow is how we create timeless skateparks. Another great thing about skating is that skaters can adapt to almost any terrain; that's part of the creative aspect of it. I think that skating and skaters have developed to this certain point, and become sophisticated enough, to where anything that we create today that is truly killer, will also be super fun to skate 20 years from now. By "truly killer" I mean something that really works, with flow being a key part of that working or function.

Markham, Ontario. Jim Barnum photo.

As a skater, what is your favourite style of park?
I'll just say this: I love skateboarding. I mean, I am crazy over it, totally obsessed with it, I can't stop thinking about it, and honestly, not many things rank higher in importance to me. I went and saw the movie Marley and Me with my girlfriend recently, and there's a point in the movie when the main male character turns 40. He's sitting on the beach with his dog Marley and says something like, "So, how does it feel knowing that your best years are behind you? Did you do everything you wanted to?" And that really affected me! Pretty funny to be doing a life-reality check in a dog movie, but that's how it goes... Anyway, it made me ask those big questions of myself, which is pretty intense! And honestly, to me, the biggest things that I haven't done yet are almost all in skating. I've lived a great life and done a lot of good living, so it felt like one of the only things I would regret not doing later in life would be not reaching my full potential as a skater. I am literally just as happy shredding a two-sided curb in a dank parkade in the middle of winter, as I am riding a mind-blowing bowl in the summer sun. The most honest answer to "what's my favourite type of terrain", is whatever is in front of me when you ask.

North Van Plaza, Vancouver, BC. Mark Vaughan photo.

On the other side, as a designer, what is your favourite type of feature to design and build right now?
I have the most fun with plazas right now. Skaters have become highly discerning; really knowledgeable, sophisticated and very demanding of perfection in plazas. So there's a lot of pressure to do great things, which forces us to go off.

And there's loads of room for creativity in plazas. Of course the skate-able elements themselves can get really crazy and unique...really sculptural and complex when you start looking at crazy spots and sculptures and architecture all over Europe and all over the world for inspiration. But then there's even room for massive creativity in the layers of detailing that make the place look and feel legit, like a real street skating experience. So I mean, thinking more like an architect and using a more holistic design perspective, and using lots of different materials like tiles, brick, granite, acid-etched and stamped concrete, steel, plants and whatever else we find.

As any skater knows, plazas are about a lot more than just replicating street elements in their functional form, or coming up with creative new Euro-inspired spots. Plazas are also hugely about the feeling, really making the plaza come alive. One of our design team members, Derek DeLand, wrote something like: "The key is that street skating is as much about creativity and urbanism as it is about sport, with the skateboarder using their board as a tool to read and re-read multiple alternate meanings from the fabric of the city, a creative cultural act as much as an athletic one. Thus the identity of the plaza as readily identifiable ‘urban space' is central to the meaning of the act of street skating in such a plaza, and thus the success of any such facility." So clearly, with an idea as vast and true to skating as that, plazas are freaking insane amounts of fun to design.

Commons Skatepark, Halifax, NS.

That being said, where can we skate a Spectrum-designed plaza?
You'll have to wait and see, ‘cause most of our newest plazas aren't built yet, but start by checking out the new Hamilton plaza, or our Brampton park which actually just won an architectural award -- and Grant Patterson said it was one of this top three reasons he missed Brampton in an issue of SBC Skateboard, which is amazing to hear -- and Ashbridges Bay in Toronto... if it ever gets built! When Ashbridges is done, I want people to remember that we designed that park in 2005 -- four years ago -- and it'll still be cutting edge when it's finally done.

Where do you think skatepark design heading? What do you predict for the future?
We're working with a team of theoretical physicists to develop the bottomless pit. It's a pretty complex physics and math situation... Seriously, though, maybe this is the answer to the first question about what skaters are requesting most these days. There's almost always some kid who asks for a bottomless pit to gap. You wouldn't believe how much that comes up. It's that or a pit full of spikes. Or alligators. That's the answer to that question about our most common request: Alligators.

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Related:
In The Park: Vancouver Plaza
In The Park: Leeside
In The Park: Mapleridge, BC

Scott Pommier: Start with a Healthy Breakfast

bmatt — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 06:12:00 GMT

[Disclaimer: For this who read a previous blog post I wrote on Push about Scott, this introduction may sound eerily familiar. And it should: I've cribbed the entire thing from my own blog. So if you've already read it, scroll down to the Q&A.]

I've had the pleasure -- as cliche as it may sound -- of knowing Scott Pommier for a long time. Back when I was a young pup and lucked into my first media job in the mid-'90s, editing the free-circulation Canadian skateboard magazine called Vehicle, Scott was transitioning from sponsored skater to skate photographer. Scott and his brother Andrew, now a highly-regarded artist, were from the Northern Ontario town of Sudbury, but had made their way south to the big city of Toronto. Scott was, and still is, an amazing skater, but I believe an injury prompted him to pick up a camera and start shooting his friends in the local scene.

Scott was a steady contributor to Vehicle, and since I knew nothing about editing magazines at the time, I quickly came to appreciate his strong opinions and submissions. A year later Vehicle was but a memory, a victim of rising paper prices and questionable financing, but Scott continued to grow in prominence as an integral documenter of the Canadian skate scene. Two years after that, I began working at SBC Media, editing Snowboard Canada Magazine. A year into my job there, we hired Ryan Allan and launched SBC Skateboard. After the first volume of Ryan and I struggling to release four issues on our own, we got the go-ahead to hire a third staffer and Scott was our first and only choice. Scott became an important early influence on the magazine, helping to shape its identity and build relationships with both the emerging ams and high-profile pros at the time.

The lure of full-time photography proved too strong for Scott to continue working at a desk, so he broke free after two volumes, but remained (and remains to this day) an important contributor to the magazine. He broadened his focus at that point, shooting with just about every big-name pro skater you can think of, and locking down an editorial job at Transworld Skateboarding for an important period in the mag's history: he produced some of my favourite articles, covers and photo features during that time. You see, not only is Scott an ace photographer -- creative and committed like few others -- he also has a great "voice" as a writer. He's funny and clever, and I can vividly recall specific stories he wrote to this day.

Scott eventually settled down after many years on the road, buying a house in Vancouver to establish a home-base, but continued to shoot extensively. His interests evolved over time, specifically to include riding and shooting motorcycles, but skateboarding has remained an important focus and I am always stoked to see his shots in print and online. I checked in with Scott for a chat, not so much to catch up on old times, but to find out what he's been doing lately. Read on to find out.

Ryan Smith by Scott Pommier.

What's an average day like in the life of Scott Pommier? How does that day compare to, say, 10 years ago?
I guess I have a few variations of the average day. There's the average shoot day, and the average office day. Either way I'm starting off with an-email check and a healthy breakfast, which is probably unchanged in the last 10 years. 10 years ago however, there were no real office days. Back then, if I wasn't out shooting I was probably skating flatland on my street. I'm much less lethal in a game of s-k-a-t-e in 2009.

What's on your radar these days? What's interesting to you, in terms of your photography and what you're working on?
I'm working on a few things... I'm trying to get a book of motorcycle photos finished; I think I'm ready to start shopping it around to publishers. I'm shooting skateboarding for SBC, and I'm trying to pursue some commercial jobs.

When you see a skate spot, what is your first instinct? To skate it, or to shoot someone else skating it?
Well, I'm 30-plus now, so it depends entirely on the spot. A bank-to-curb, I'm thinking, 'where's my board.' A double-kink rail, I'm thinking, ‘what time of day does this get the best light?'

What was the last skate photo you shot?
Just yesterday I was out with a group of young ‘borders. I shot a photo of Paul Trepanier. I still shoot film largely, so I'm itching to drop the roll off to be developed at the lab.

If you had never started skateboarding, would you still be a photographer now?
I really don't know... I started skateboarding more than 20 years ago, and I think skateboarding, more than most sports or activities, really defines you and is really sort of all-consuming. I mean, if you're really into soccer, or really into baseball as a kid, I don't think the difference is necessarily all that profound. But if you're a skateboarder it really shapes you. Maybe less so now, but I started in the'80s, when being a skateboarder really set you apart: The clothes, the music, everything... just how you saw yourself fitting into the world. I really just can't imagine my life without all the experiences that went along with starting to skateboard. It's like trying to imagine what your life would have been like if you lived in the 19th century.

That said, I think there are things about my personality that really fit with photography, but I'm not sure what the hook would have been. I definitely picked up a camera to shoot skateboarding, and my motivation for getting good was that I wanted to be able to capture action the way I had seen it captured in skateboarding magazines. I might have discovered photography, but it might have been a little later on. As it was, for a long time I was very much just a skate photographer; I didn't think of myself as real photographer. I was making my living shooting photos, but when someone would ask me -- say a friend of my parents or something -- what I did for a living, I always choked on saying, "I'm a photographer" and would always follow it up with, "I shoot photos for a bunch of skateboarding magazines."

That being said, do you ever wish you'd taken a more traditional path to photography, such as gong to school and grinding it out by assisting?
Yes, when I'm on my own set and I'm the only one who doesn't know what it means to, "fly in an 8-by, silk".

It's sort of a toss-up, because when you're shooting a bigger job and you've got assistants and producers and clients and a stylist, there are a lot of relationships to manage, and there's a lot of protocol to know. And you're working with people who live and work in this world, and they're really familiar with it,

Whose call will you take without hesitation to go shooting?
There are a bunch, of course. And I'm not much of a call screener... tough to answer this one without name-dropping a bit... I really like shooting with Rick McCrank, but it's far more likely that I would be calling him, truth be told. I would drop just about anything to go shoot something with Geoff Rowley. One time we drove from his place in Huntington all night, just to skate a ditch in Tucson at 5:30 in the morning.

You're one of the first people I know who had their own website and essentially "blogged" before anyone knew what it was. Does it still interest you? What do you make of the online world these days?
Do you mean the 184 Quebec Ave, website? [Note: at the time, Scott and his roommates ran a website about their apartment.] Yeah, thankfully that word didn't exist back then, it was just sort of an "online journal". None of us really had the discipline to keep it up. I don't have any interest in blogging, really. I don't have the time and I don't have the interest. I also feel like the photography is enough of an outlet; I don't feel like I need to share my thoughts and opinions with the world, not without someone asking anyways. Of course I have a website to keep up with, photos to e-mail out, correspondence to keep up with, photos to scan and clean, and organize... I'm really not looking for more computer related activities. Back then it was really fun; I just looked at it like making a 'zine. In a week you could have this whole project up and finished.

What about how online is impacting photography? Is it creating opportunities for photographers or is it decreasing quality and standards?
I don't know if I can answer this honestly without coming across a little snobby. Maybe I'll save that one for my blog...

Check out Scott's gallery with commentary.

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Related:
Rich Odam: His Favourite Shots
The Ryan Allan Timeline
Geoff Andruik: From Film To Digital (snow)
Jeff Patterson: His Favourite Shots (snow)
The Dano Portfolio (snow)

Mini-Ramp To Go

bmatt — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 20:16:00 GMT

Have you ever shown up at a skate contest, event or party, seen a mini-ramp that seemingly appeared from thin air, and wondered just where in hell it came from? Probably not: you likely just skated it, or watched someone else skate it, and thought nothing more of it. But for those in the events business, there's a hard way and an easy way to transport and set up mini-ramps. The hard way? Assemble and disassemble the same ramp, over and over again, until its beat to shit. The easy way? Do what Ontario's eventSing has done, and fabricate a seemingly magical mini-ramp that can be set up and torn down in less than 60 minutes with minimal wear-and-tear.

A rendering of the Hide-N-Go-Skate.

"The idea came from having too many events too close together, meaning that our wooden ramps were constantly being pulled apart and shipped, shortening the life span and breaking our backs," explains Jimmy Brace from JBR Designs, who co-owns the ramp with eventSing's Andrew Singleton.

The concept of placing the ramp on a trailer wasn't unique - Brace sites Dan Mavry from Axis skate shop in Quebec as someone with a similar trailer-ramp hybrid whom they looked to for advice and input - but eventSing aspired to create a ramp that would be easy to transport, but also skate well. To make the ramp as legit as possible, they surfaced it in Skatelite, gave it smooth transitions, and made it a generous 20-feet wide. And of course, since it's on a trailer, it had to be safe and legal in the eyes of the law.

"The design itself was not too hard as we had experience building both trailers and ramps," Brace acknowledges. "The toughest part was definitely making sure that our final product would be legal on the roads. There are so many regulations with size and weights that we spent more time researching that than actually designing the ramp."

When eventSing arrives on site with the ramp -- fittingly dubbed the "Hide-N-Go-Skate" -- setting it up is a breeze.

"Set-up is fairly simple," says Brace. "There are two hoisting towers that have a winch and cable system that lowers the ramps into place. We designed the ramp to be supported by screw jacks which give us versatility in different locations. As the ramp is lowering, the jacks are set up and levelled. Once the ramp is in place you insert the transition. We usually transport it with my truck or Singleton's truck. They are both 2500 diesels and the trailer is a gooseneck configuration that makes puling it a breeze."

The Hide-N-Go-Skate ramp is in strong demand and has been used at plenty of events, including the Grey Cup, West 49's Go Skateboard Day with Much Music, a Coors Light Maxim golf tournament, the Canada Day festival in Ottawa, Hustler's Beaver Has Landed contest and the Oakville Waterfront Festival. And if you went for a session at the Polson Pier skatepark in Toronto last winter, you may have already skated it - it was actually incorporated into the park, although you'd never know since the trailer was completely hidden.

"It feels like you're skating on a stage because you are raised four feet, which is the height of the flatbed trailer, above the crowd," comments Singleton. "And the general public loves watching the ramp, because you can see it from the back of a crowd. They probably think its solid wood, as we always have the entire ramp skirted so no one can see the frame."

With a seemingly perfect ramp, is there anything eventSing would change to the design?

"Well, an all-aluminum frame would be nice," Brace laughs. "It is a little bit heavy."

Rich Odam: His Favourite Shots

bmatt — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 20:52:00 GMT

Originally from Peru, photographer Rich Odam and his family moved to Toronto, Ontario, when he was a teenager. He picked up a camera and began shooting skateboarding and snowboarding nine years ago, and earned a photography diploma from Humber College after graduating from high school - no doubt a challenging task, considering he did so speaking English, the second language to his native Spanish.

Odam had his first skate shot published -- of Wes Loates in SBC Skateboard -- after only one year of shooting, but his photography career didn't catch serious fire until he relocated to Vancouver, BC, four years ago.

"It was a move I wish I would've done a lot sooner, but I had to take care of things before I came, and it's worked out really well for me," comments Odam. "Vancouver is the Mecca for skateboarding in Canada; it's where the industry is mainly based for the country and due to the extreme weather everywhere else in Canada, it's the obvious choice for skaters."

Odam now shoots with a diverse crew of skaters on the regular, but says his "usual suspects" tend to be guys like Dan Redmond, Spencer Hamilton, Ryan Bonnell and Hayden Kelly. His shots appear in skate mags around the world, and yes, he still shoots snowboarding (don't hate) but says he'll take a warmer skate session over a frigid winter snowboard shoot any day. Must be the Peruvian blood, eh?

"Well, usually the weather is better with skating," he laughs. "I'm a city guy myself, so traveling with skateboarding and seeing other cities and their architecture is something I love. I think it's why I'd rather shoot rails and urban snowboarding than go out to the backcountry."

Push.ca secured a gallery of Rich's favourite shots, hand-picked by the Peruvian Prince himself, complete with his own captions to give us the inside scoop on what went down in the shot and why it's one of his faves. Enjoy.

Ryan Decenzo, nollie
"This was my first time shooting with Ryan. I don't think I knew where we were going until we got there an hour later. Once I saw this spot it was pretty intimidating; not the place you want to blow an image on. Wouldn't be a very good first impression!"

Jordan Hoffart portrait
"I can't actually remember what we shot this for, but Jordan sprayed his whole head and face with this white Halloween paint for it... it was pretty funny. He's always so down to do stuff like this."

Mike Hastie, kickflip over the fence
"Hastie called me one day and said he needed a photo for a Darkstar ad and he had something in mind, then we go to this gnarly, rough-ass bank over a fence. He had already landed this and filmed it, so basically we just needed to get a still. If you go to this spot you probably won't believe that he actually cleared the sidewalk and landed on the street. If I hadn't been there shooting I probably wouldn't believe it myself."

Ryan Bonnell, backside fakie nosegrind
"Ryan's my homie. He's good times to roll with. Ryan does tricks other people don't usually do, which makes him unique to shoot with. I was really stoked when I got this shot back from the lab because he put so much steez into the trick."

Toronto City Hall Polaroids
"Toronto is where I got started shooting photos, and the place I still call my hometown, and I'm proud of it. I love walking around the city shooting pics of the architecture and surroundings; it never gets old for me, ever. I was walking this one day with my Polaroid camera shooting away, when I ended up at the Old City Hall water fountain. I can't remember where I got the inspiration for this, but I really like how two separate images together can create one; it's something I'd like to work with more."

Truck in the woods
"This truck is located tucked deep in the woods behind my friend Hayden's place; not sure how it would've got there, but there it is. I'm not a car guy myself, but I love these trucks. They have so much character in them, especially when they are in bad condition."

Alex Chalmers, wallride
"So far every cover I've shot has been when I first shot with that person; not sure why, but it's an interesting fact and this was no exception. I'd been to this spot before. This time I was there with the Vox guys who came to Vancouver to do some demos and film for their video. Alex started hitting this thing and I thought if I positioned my flashes the right way, I could avoid getting the glare off the fresh paint. Alex was going huge and sticking this every time with very minimal run-up."

Jordan Hoffart, frontside flip
"Jordan told me there was this new skate plaza being built out in Maple Ridge, which is about an hours drive out of Vancouver. He said he knew the guys building it, and they wanted him to skate around and test the fresh spots. This thing they built looks like a big moustache monument; it's so sick. We were the first ones to ever skate and shoot it, and that felt pretty amazing. Hoffart destroyed this thing in different ways, including flying a massive tuck-knee off the middle spine and landing in the roll-in, something the guys that built the park didn't think was possible. Hoffart made believers out of everyone present. Black and white film was the obvious choice for me on this one; nothing but concrete, skater and sky. Nice and simple."

Skate4Cancer Crosses Canada

bmatt — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 21:25:00 GMT

Regular visitors to Push have no doubt noticed, and ideally read, the blog from Skate4Cancer founder Rob Dyer. Dyer founded Skate4Cancer at the mere age of 15, when he first dreamt up the idea of skating from Los Angeles, California, to Toronto, Ontario, to raise awareness for cancer prevention. Since then Dyer has tirelessly promoted Skate4Cancer, earning support from both the skate industry and the mainstream media, and reaching out to countless skaters and teenagers with his message.

Dyer, along with a dedicated support crew, started another skate journey this spring. He's skating from Vancouver, BC, to Halifax, Nova Scotia; an estimated 7,000-plus kilometer journey that will be accomplished one push at a time. Having just passed through Toronto, we felt it was time to check in with Rob to get a status report on the tour and gain some insight into just how road-weary he might be.

Photographer Erin Hogue, who's been providing all of the images in Rob's blog on Push, volunteered to interview Rob for us. Since she's been on the tour since it began, we figured there was no one better for the job.

Erin Hogue: The first time I heard about Skate4Cancer was 6 years ago, in high school. You casually mentioned that you were thinking about skateboarding from L.A. to Toronto. I was stoked to be able to see, first hand, your ridiculous dream actually happen. Since then Skate4Cancer has really grown and evolved. Why now, after all these years, have you decide to do another skate?

Rob Dyer: Skate4cancer was started by a skateboard marathon, and we have grown and have taken part in many different things now, and we have finally found our focus and mission that is "The Cure is Knowledge." Now that we've found our focus, we've decided to bring Skate4Cancer back to where it started and to really shine a light on what we have learned. We want to open people's eyes to show them where Skate4Cancer is headed and to emphasize this new message; "The Cure is Knowledge."

What is "The Cure is Knowledge" and why was this change necessary?
Basically, the focus is education that leads to cancer prevention. We just noticed that the demographic that we were targeting was young people, so it made more sense to educate their young minds than ask them to donate money. Young people don't necessarily have money or what not, but they have a mind that is growing every day, and hopefully we can help mold that mind to believe that their actual physical contribution means much more than money. Whether it's through educating their mind, or by getting involved -- kind of like the way that we did with Skate4Cancer -- by physically using something that you really love doing, to help out.

So right now you are using skateboarding, something you really love, to get people to listen and pay attention. How do people generally react when they see just you, skateboarding down a major highway?
I think it is just something that they have not seen before, so they react like it is something they haven't seen before. They just act shocked and I think a lot of it is that skateboarding is looked at in a certain way, and I think anyone who has skateboarded in public gets it. I think that they see a skateboard on the highway and think, "why is he doing that here? That's why we built the skate park."

If you could have one-person skate with you, on the highway, for one day, who would it be?
Ha! That would be rad! You know what? It's a tie of between three people. One would be Jon Roth, because he can grow the best mustache in the world, and he is the most calm, nice person in the world. You could talk to him about anything and he would understand.

Second would be Chris Hammell, for a crazy amount of reasons. But I think it would be more so because he is basically like a brother or a father figure, and he has played that kind of role a bit in my life. He's older and wiser, and he always comes up with the most ridiculous nicknames for me.

Then the third would be Brad Pitt because it would be funny: it's Brad Pitt! People would drive by and would be, like, look at those two guys skateboarding down the highway...oh wait, is that Brad Pitt?!? Brad Pitt is skateboarding down the highway? It would be hilarious... and I would hope that he talked in the third person the whole time!

We are living in a van that is basically a moving Skate4Cancer billboard. People are constantly approaching the van offering donations. When we tell them that we do not accept donations, their jaw always drops. Why doesn't Skate4Cancer accept donations?
We just do not feel like it is our place, because first off, I just believe that there are better places that you can put your money. There are places that actually need funding to be able to do research and for equipment and what not. Skate4Cancer is not that place.

It's kind of hard for people to understand and comprehend, and we struggle just to get by as a group, as an organization, but it's one of those things. I don't think it would be hugely different [if we accepted donations], you know what I mean? The result would be the same.

Also, our focus is prevention and so if people give us money, they feel like they have done something, and a big part of Skate4Cancer is to leave people with a feeling of, I still need to do something, they didn't take my money so I can't help them that way, well, how can I support what they are doing? That is exactly how we want to leave people, with the sense of them wanting to do something, and wanting to contribute somehow.

Last week, towards the end of the day some new friends of ours came and brought us dinner. We were all just hanging out, joking around, and watching the sunset over Lake Superior when an older gentleman approached us. Can you elaborate on this?
He was driving a truck from Toronto to BC, and he took a stop to look at the beautiful sunset, like we were. I guess he noticed the van and he walked over to us and said, "This is great, this is really great." We got talking a little bit, well, it was mostly him just talking, it seemed like he wanted to tell us something... His wife was passing away from cancer. She was very sick with what started out as *** cancer, but it was not caught early enough and spread throughout her whole body. Just talking to him about it, and actually feeling a little bit of what he was feeling, by how much emotion he had inside of him, was just really overwhelming.

He was talking about what his wife was going through and what not... I catch myself constantly, like we all do... we get trapped inside of our bubble, inside of our own little worlds and what not, and we all tend to think about our problems and our issues. Just listening to this man and what he's going through -- like the hardest thing in his life -- and his focus was not himself at all, it was just his wife. It was really cool, that when you really love somebody and really care for somebody, you don't matter: they are the only one who matters. It was very inspiring.

You have said that the day after this incident was a really big day. What caused the day after to be different than any other?
I think that it was a really big day just because the past, like three or four days, I have not felt good at all skateboarding; actually I have felt like really horrible. And the next day I felt super good. I don't know if it can 100% be because of what happened yesterday, but I think it is. Just with those two friends of ours and that older gentleman, I don't know... it's really amazing that as people we can share stories with each other and it inspires us to live our life better or work harder. You just can't take things for granted and it is cool that just a simple conversation with somebody can do that. It's wired, it's almost like, I don't know, an artist painting a painting, we talked about this once, the things that change society the most aren't money or power driven, it's almost like they are... passion driven. I think the worst things in this world, like the biggest tragedies, can lead to the greatest things, too.

You are interviewed constantly, from television to newspapers to school projects, and the same couple of questions come up again and again. But what is one thing about Skate4Cancer that tends to get overlooked and you wish that it wasn't?
It seems like, a lot of things overshadow why we are doing what we are doing. Whether it be the extreme idea of us skateboarding across the country or what not, it sometimes takes over the actual issue of what we are trying to get across, which is the "Cure is Knowledge."

It is one thing that I wish people in interviews would focus on a little bit more, but it's hard for them. It's a big, touchy subject. I guess a lot of people look at cancer prevention as things like smoking and what-not and people don't want to be told how to live their life

The only thing you can do is sit down and talk to them and explain to them. Say like, "listen, I lost my father to lung cancer, and I don't want your kid to have to deal with what I had to deal with, growing up without a father." As soon as you put it like that, their attitude changes. As soon as you put it in that light people are more prone to change. That is the one thing that I love about people, is the fact that we are more prone to care about another human before ourselves any day.

Anytime you flip it [preventing cancer] around like that, you explain to them that they could be harming someone they love; they will put that cigarette out a lot quicker then if you say their harming themselves. If you try to explain it in the right light to somebody about cancer prevention then it works a lot better. Prevention is the one thing, the main thing.

Skate4Cancer has really grown and changed a lot since you completed the first skate seven years ago. After you finish the cross-Canada skate, where do you see Skate4Cancer going next?
I see Skate4Cancer going more in the direction that it's in right now; focusing on the "Cure is Knowledge." The Cure is Knowledge tour that we do every year is more focused on cancer prevention and educating youth. I see Skate4Cancer as kind of a youth movement. It is up to the youth of today to take what I have initiated and grow it into something bigger than myself.

The Ryan Allan Timeline

bmatt — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 19:30:00 GMT

Disclaimer: Ryan Allan is a friend of mine. From one perspective, this makes me biased. From another perspective, this gives me unique and personal insight into who he is. Feeling journalistically torn in this situation (and perhaps a little lazy), I decided to give Ryan direct control of this article by asking him to write a timeline of his life and experiences with skateboarding. Why a timeline? Ryan has had a personal journey like few others I know, rising from roots in rural Hamilton to big city life in Toronto, then ultimately finding his destiny-as so many others dream of-in Southern California.

The two constants in Ryan's journey have been his skateboard and a camera. As a highly respected photographer, he's had pivotal roles in three Canadian skateboard magazines and helped skaters like Mark Appleyard and Andrew Gordon gain international recognition (among many others). After moving south, he worked with the Circa footwear team during the Muska era and made key connections in the US skate media. He returned to Toronto and became an important influence on the local skate scene, providing wisdom and coverage to the emerging local talent. He's now back in California, happily married and exploring new avenues in the photography world.

As long as I've known Ryan, his passion-and sense of protection-for pure skateboarding has never faded. His opinions are staunch and strong, and he never fails to speak up or offer advice, often when others are afraid to do so. For Ryan, skateboarding has always come first, and I have no doubt this will continue, even as this timeline progresses into the future.

And, of course, you can count on seeing many more incredible photographs along the way.

Ryan Allan's Website
Ryan Allan at work (video)

Ryan Allan.

1986
Location: Grimsby, Ontario
Jobs and Projects: Fell in love with skateboarding after watching the Curb Dogs skate video. Ditched my BMX and never looked back.
Highlights: Suddenly became the freak skater kid of my hick town school.

1990
Location: Grimsby, Ontario
Jobs and Projects: Took up photography to document my friends skating, and because my father had tons of photo equipment around.
Highlights: Studied skate mags religiously; figuring out what makes a good skate photo and what makes a good skateboard magazine.

1993
Location: Oakville, Ontario
Jobs and Projects: Enrolled in Sheridan College's Applied Photography course.
Learned the ins and outs of commercial photography. Became friends with Derek Kettella, an already established photographer in the Ontario skate and snowboard scene.
Highlights: Signed out photo gear and went to skate events. Shot my first fisheye skate photo of Justin Atkins. Had it published in Vehicle Magazine.

1994
Location: Toronto, Ontario
Jobs and Projects: Took on a small job with Vehicle magazine helping out around the office. Got my first look at magazine production.
Highlights: Became good friends with Vehicle editor Matt Houghton.

1994 to ‘98
Location: Grimsby and Hamilton, Ontario
Jobs and Projects: Spent my time shooting the posse at Beasley skatepark. Became friends with the OOPS skate shop and the DMBC skate shop teams. Mark Appleyard would be my focus.
Highlights: Seeing young Mark Appleyard take his first steps towards his now famous career.

1998
Location: Hamilton, Ontario
Jobs and Projects: While shooting in Hamilton I met Derek Oldschool. He was running a Hamilton ‘zine called Nomads. I began helping with that magazine, and when Derek had other obligations I was offered the job as editor. I began telling Matt Houghton, who was now the editor of Snowboard Canada, about the Nomads job and he suggested we pitch a new magazine to SBC Media chief Steve Jarrett.
Highlights: Going from local skate dirt to pitching national magazines.

1999
Location: Toronto, Ontario
Jobs and Projects: Steve Jarrett liked the idea and I suddenly found myself in front of a new Mac, laying out a full color, national skate magazine.
Highlights: Talking with people all across the Canadian skate scene and joining forces to give Canadian skaters a voice and outlet. Using the magazine to highlight the talents of so many amazing skaters, like Mark Appleyard, Ryan Smith, Paul Machnau, Gailea Momolu, Mike Hastie, Grant Patterson, Keegan Sauder and so many others.

2000
Location: Toronto, Ontario
Jobs and Projects: While working with SBC, I was also working hard with my band Sectorseven. National tours and many local gigs, as well as putting out SBC, began to wear me out.
Highlights: Touring Canada and the US, meeting so many amazing kids in rural areas of Canada, and skating all along the way. Doing the Canadian dates of the Warped Tour. Skating with Steve Cab and Salba, and then getting on stage and playing in front of thousands. Pretty cool.

2001
Location: Huntington Beach, California
Jobs and Projects: After watching the Circa shoes demo at Shell park in Oakville, Jesse Landen and I hopped in my car and made our move to the skate promise land of Huntington Beach, CA. We rented an apartment on Warner Ave and Mark Appleyard moved in shortly after.
Highlights: Living the skate dream; this mainly consists of a shitty apartment and no food or hygiene to speak of.

2001
Location: Huntington Beach, California
Jobs and Projects: Took a job as senior designer/photographer for Circa shoes; one of the best experiences of my life. Getting to help in the look of a team, which was one of the most epic at the time.
Highlights: Working alongside Jamie Thomas, Muska, Colt Cannon, Mark Appleyard and others. My boss, Dennet Oyengurren, had a great vision for the brand and we shot some of the coolest campaigns ever.

2002
Location: Aliso Viejo, California
Jobs and Projects: Things at Circa went a bit south. Dennet left to form Fallen Shoes with Jamie, and I felt like Circa wasn't heading in a good direction. We parted ways. I was living with Colt Cannon at the time, so I focused on shooting with him and our crew, which included Dennis Durrant, Windsor James and Tony Tave.
Highlights: Shooting for fun again and not just a 9 to 5.

2004
Location: Toronto, Ontario
Jobs and Projects: I became burnt out on California and, without my ful-time gig at Circa, I wasn't legally allowed to stay. Back to Toronto I went. Moved in to the now infamous Adrift house with Lyndsey Westfall and Aiden Johnston.
Highlights: Adrift parties and shooting with the amazing Adrift locals, Mortal, Aiden, Cephas Benson, Nathan Olokun, Morgan Smith and Jesse Landen.

2005
Location: Toronto, Ontario
Jobs and Projects: Shooting in Toronto is tough, as the talent is there but the ad support is not. Shooting in California I can shoot ads for big companies. Shooting in Toronto is mostly editorial, so it's hard to make a living. I brought lots of tours up to Toronto so I could make some money. One tour I was on was the Flip Feast tour. Mark Appleyard and I drove in Mark's car to avoid tour burn-out. Geoff Rowley joined us and Geoff and I became solid friends. A couple weeks later, Geoff invited me to his place in Arizona to work on an article for Thrasher.
Highlights: Skating with some of the best in the business. Skating and shooting in the Arizona desert; it's amazing out there.

2006
Location: Huntington Beach, California
Jobs and Projects: After shooting Geoff's place in Arizona, I stayed in Huntington with him. About a week into that trip I met my future wife.
Highlights:Meeting someone that can put up with my insanity and constant skate trip lifestyle.

2007
Location: Oceanside, California
Jobs and Projects: Moved to California again. Began shooting with all the Flip big guns on the regular. 2007 was a big year: Bought a house, got married and shot more than I have in all my years shooting.
Highlights: Marrying the woman I love with my crew of motley skaters in attendance. Thanks Geoff, Arto, Ewan and Colt for making the wedding hilarious!

2008
Location: Oceanside, California
Jobs and Projects: I have begun to shoot more editorial outside of skateboarding this year, such as shooting bands and influential people for non-skate media. Spending more time working on my house, and shooting with my close friends as opposed to hustling with hungry ams.
Highlights: Slowing down to enjoy things and rather than shoot quantity, shoot quality.