This past weekend, the 15th Annual Phoenix Am contest fired away with its usual insanity. This year’s weather was a bit cooler than usual (high 80s, Fahrenheit), but the talent was hot as hell. The am contest in Phoenix, AZ each year is hard to predict and difficult to control, but it never seems to disappoint. This year’s podium consisted of Dashawn Jordan in 3rd place, Yoshi Tanenbaum in 2nd, and Zion Wright taking the overall win! Congrats to them, all the finalists, and every skater who threw down in their heat.
As you probably know, big contest weekends like this are not only about contest results. They are some of the best reasons for friends to reunite, celebrations to be had, and the industry to gather around some of the nation’s best up-and-comers. One great thing that’s special to Phoenix Am is the unique and positive skate scene of Phoenix and Arizona as a whole. These guys are inclusive, hyped on skating, and eternally ripping! So what better time to release a top-notch local video than on Phoenix Am weekend!’
Intro: “Distant Mind Terrain”…
Pyramid Country is one of the best examples of the local homie crew that got big-time rep from the skate world at large. The homies of Pyramid Country hold it down in their own unique way and put out some of the weirdest pieces of cinema skaters can find. (And that’s saying a lot.) Some of the real pioneers of trippy VX-only footage mixed to outer space b-roll and crude public behavior, Pyramid Country made sure that its most recent release did not disappoint.
Distant Mind Terrain starts with a shinner, something all of us skaters are much too familiar with. A slightly awkward pause and then to a slow and low bass beat to banger clips to open up the film. Intro starts it off right to lead in to the first full part – Tyler Franz. Tyler’s one of the original fixtures to Pyramid Country and rips in his part here to prove it!
As the video progresses, we watch an indecipherable amount of shredding from all the guys, including: the new-age smooth of Eric Dowswell, the hesh master Aric Blattner, the proper flipping Kevin Skutnik, the blunted Shaun Gregoire, the techgnar player Chase McIntyre, Life Extension’s Blue Headey, ATV ripper Jonathan Pierce, Welcome’s own Aaron Goure, the ditch-skating prowess of Justin Modica, Late Night Link, the legend Dave Engerer, and our ender Kevin Braun.
Kevin, although not new to the Arizona scene, is new to the Santa Cruz am team. His smooth style and difficult bag of tricks made it a no-brainer for the NHS camp to pick him up. He deserved the ender to this video and his new official board sponsor based out of Santa Cruz, CA. Congrats, Kevin!
The overall vibe of Distant Mind Terrain was on point. The talent was incredible. The build up to and around the Pyramid Country brand was not a disappointment. Even given the ridiculous amount of skateboarding media coming out online these days, this 18-minute edit is one you don’t want to miss any of! So brew some coffee, pop some corn kernels, and get comfortable. Because you’re gonna get your mind blown like DMT.
Welcome to Pyramid Country.