DANNY WAY IS INDUCTED INTO THE SKATEBOARDING HALL OF FAME Four Skateboarders from Four Decades
October 26, 2009 – Vista, CA – DC’s Danny Way was honored and inducted into the Skateboarding Hall of Fame at the International Association of Skateboard Companies (IASC) first annual ceremony and fundraiser on October 24 with fellow skateboarding icons: Bruce Logan, Tony Alva and Tony Hawk from four decades of the world’s best. “Danny has been with DC since its inception in 1993 and has been an integral part of shaping the brand,” said Kelly Magrath, DC Vice President of Marketing. “He is truly an icon and has single handedly redefined the boundaries of vert skateboarding by taking it to the next level with his creation and domination of the Mega Ramp. We are very proud of his induction into the Hall of Fame and honored to have him in the DC family.” Way’s skateboarding accomplishments are endless. The DC Video which was released in 2003 featured Way skating a never before seen vert ramp adaptation, the Mega Ramp that would forever change the limits of vert skateboarding. In July of 2005 DC and Way later took the Mega Ramp to China where Danny became the first person ever to jump the Great Wall on a skateboard. In his years of skating, Way has achieved seven world records in total, including longest distance on a skateboard, height out of a ramp and highest air on a skateboard, which are featured in the Guinness Book of World Records. Outside of these records, Way has had numerous industry honors bestowed on him. To date, he stands as the only person to receive Thrasher’s highly coveted Skater of the Year Award twice, once in 1991 and again in 2004. Way continues to progress skateboarding with his tireless dedication and passion for the sport. Proceeds from the IASC event ticket sales and auction items benefited the Go Skateboarding Foundation. The non-profit organization provides positive educational experiences, career-minded programming, and scholarships for skateboarders. The foundation also donates to various skateboard-related charities, including: The Tony Hawk Foundation, Ray Underhill, the Johnny Romano Foundation, and the Patrick Kerr Foundation. In addition to a live musical performance at the ceremony, hundreds of guests from the skate community had the opportunity to bid on a large selection of invaluable memorabilia at both a silent and live auction. If you still want to participate by making a donation, please contact Laurie Bergthold at laurie@skateboardiasc.org. To learn more, please visit www.skateboardiasc.org.
Red Bull Manny Mania was a hit, 5000+ fans flocked to watch an AM contest that should have been more like a pro. The top guys were heavy hitters, as legend judges like Ronnie Creager were impressed to say the least. In all the rain held off for a beautiful night manny jam, and was a banger of a time.
Phoenix Results -
1st Place – Ryan Lay (Mesa)
2nd Place – John Rob (Glendale)
3rd Place – Jahir Carbajal (Phoenix)
Skateboarder Magazine Best Trick: John Motta, Manny to feeble, 270 out
If you would like to make someone’s day, email them this video. This is just one where the good guys win.While there is no way of knowing the exact circumstances as to what went on here, it appears that a couple of kids were skateboarding when all of a sudden a gang member-looking fellow pulls what appears to be a gun on one of the skateboarders.The skateboarder immediately backs down, but the suspect keeps pushing him.
Bam Margera has found a more effective way of dealing with his marital problems than going on a four day bender: Marriage counseling and meds.
The “Jackass” star, who was recently hospitalized with “dehydration” after a drinking binge, says he’s been trying to work it out with wife Missy — and she’s forced them into couples counseling twice a week.
Bam also tells us Missy “thinks I have a split personality, like Jekyll and Hyde” and he has been taking the antidepressant Lexapro to control his “mood swings.”
As Ryan Sheckler was announced as the winner of the Dew Tour Skate Open park competition last night, the female-laden crowd at TD Garden erupted in exultation. It was a fitting conclusion to a weekend of Sheckler-mania in Boston.
Sheckler, the 19-year-old sensation who has a large female fan base thanks to his good looks and MTV show “Life of Ryan,” also captured the inaugural International Skateboarding Federation world championship with the victory.
“It’s cool,” Sheckler said of his accomplishments. “Like I said earlier, I’m not the world champion – that’s crazy, that’s crazy talk. These guys out here are absolutely amazing on a skateboard. . . . It’s anyone’s day. You come out and someone could be on, someone could be off. Today was my day.”
In the vert event, skate legend Bucky Lasek pulled off an eggplant variation called the McEgg at the end of his first run, putting him firmly in first for the rest of the competition.
The 36-year-old Lasek reveled in the notion that he’s at the very top of his game. “It’s an honor. I set my goals high today and I had fun reaching them,” Lasek said. “Just to know the amount of fans that showed up just for skateboarding, it’s seriously . . . a pretty good feeling.”
Boston native Andy Macdonald’s stellar second run put him in third place in the vert, one spot behind Pierre-Luc Gagnon.
“It means the world to me to come out and skate in front of my hometown and to be able to do well,” Macdonald said. “All these thousands of people were here to support skateboarding.”
Sheckler gave those people a thrill earlier but was pretty excited about the experience, too. “I totally didn’t think I won, but I guess I landed the tricks that I needed to land,” Sheckler said. “I’m very lucky, very blessed and I love skateboarding. I’ll never stop skateboarding, ever.”
Although the rest of the field included stars like Paul Rodriguez, Greg Lutzka and Chaz Ortiz, second place in the park event went to a relative unknown. Ryan Decenzo, 23, earned runner-up status after a first run that left everyone speechless.
“Oh my goodness, Decenzo,” gushed third-place finisher Chris Cole. “It was like he had no clue that it was worth as much as it was, so he just went and skated. I can’t believe the stuff he did.”
Jordan Hoffart won the Transworld Skateboarding Big Trick contest.
Rune Glifberg competes in the ‘vert prelims,’ at the Skateboarding World Championships at the TD Garden, Saturday.
Sixteen-year-old Leticia Bufoni of Brazil competes in the ‘women’s park final.’
Chaz Ortiz warms up for the ‘men’s park final.’
Ryan Sheckler warms up for the ‘men’s park final.’
SKATEBOARDS.COM TV got invited to Red Bull Manny Mania in San Francisco on Saturday July 25th and we readily agreed to show up. I grabbed B-Lo Brando (of the SKATEBOARDS.COM TV the B-Lo Brando Show), Micah Szoke and Canada and we loaded up in the SKATEBOARDS.COM team van and made a beeline for the city we love…San Francisco. We showed up to blow up and set up…what…sorry after hanging with Del the Funky Homosapien I get a bit lyrical. SKATEBOARDS.COM TV set up to stream and our skaters primed themselves on the course..it was time to get down to biznass. Red Bull Manny Mania San Francisco was about to jump off city style and SKATEBOARDS.COM TV was there to capture it all. High noon and Red Bull Manny Mania San Francisco was off the a whitehot start, the weather was great we had a smooth course, chicks were everywhere and the beats kept every ones heads dipping and bobbing all day. After 4 plus hours of skating and an insane performance by Del the Funky Homosapien the winners were declared and given their loot including the coveted Red Bull Manny Mania gold medallion. Here is a post from the Red Bull Manny Mania Site…WINNERS
1st Place – Dane Vaughan (Oceanside, CA)
2nd Place – Ryan Guiso (Tracy, CA)
3rd Place – Dwayne Galloway (San Francisco, CA)
Check these photo’s of the day and make sure to check the footage on SKATEBOARDS.COM TV
After Red Bull Manny Mania it was off to LIVE105 and on air with White Menace to discuss the days events and interview Josh from Rebel8 clothing. Overall it was a great skate day and I didn’t leave the city until after midnight.
P.S. before the event started I saw Jake Phelps of Thrasher Magazine cruising the scene and he informed me that San Francisco was on track to build a legit skatepark at Waller St enclosure, thanks for the tip and looking forward to skating another new park!
We just spoke to Bam Margera who said he was rushed to the hospital Sunday after a four day drinking binge — not because of a possible drug overdose.
The “Jackass” star blames the “4-day bender” on marital problems, telling us “I may get a divorce … booze helps.”
TMZ also spoke to Bam’s mother — who told us Bam’s wife Missy called 911 because she was worried about his health after learning that he popped an Ambien during the drinking bender.
Margera says his kidney and leg muscles were a mess from not eating or drinking enough water — but the hospital flushed out his system and he was released to his home after speaking to a psychiatrist.
Now, Bam claims he’s in good health and he even sent us this photo — taken after he was released from the hospital — to prove it.
In an op-ed in Friday’s New York Times, on the eve of President Obama’s first official trip to Africa, Bono highlighted that opportunity is indeed on the rise in Africa, while simultaneously cautioning that assistance is still needed:
“Amid poverty and disease are opportunities for investment and growth — investment and growth that won’t eliminate overnight the need for assistance … but that in time can build roads, schools and power grids and propel commerce to the point where aid is replaced by trade pacts, business deals and home-grown income.”
In addition to the need for assistance in building the infrastructure, many African countries will undoubtedly continue to require assistance in fighting the HIV/AIDS and Malaria epidemics. That’s just what Bono’s RED Campaign continues to provide by raising money and awareness for The Global Fund. RED has been extremely successful since Bono founded it with Bobby Shriver in 2004, with more than $130 million contributed to The Global Fund to date. In part due to this ongoing contribution, according to the website, The Global Fund has reached 62 million people with HIV counseling and testing, provided 3.2 million AIDS orphans with basic care and support, reached 91 million people with community outreach services for one or several of the three diseases, and trained 7.6 million health or community workers to deliver service.
RED is a smart combination of philanthropy and consumerism. Brands involved thus far include American Express, Apple, Dell, Starbucks and Girl Skateboards, who introduced their first contribution to the Product(RED) line in 2007 with a pair of skateboard decks designed by Girl Art Director Andy Jenkins. Says Jenkins:
“I think with skateboarding, like with any other subculture, if you’re in or around it long enough you have a tendency to kind of get insulated in that little world that you’re in. … With the RED project it helps us to reach outside of our own little world without really changing what we really do.”
The formula of the Girl/RED partnership is a smart, simple pairing of great design (based on original paintings by Jenkins) and a great cause, making it easy for people to raise awareness for Africans in need. Skaters are already buying decks (lots of them: More than 5 million sold in 2004) and Girl is donating more than half the profits directly to The Global Fund. I spoke with Girl co-founder Megan Baltimore about the partnership.
How did the RED/Girl partnership form back in 2007 when you launched the first set of decks?
MB: I had read several articles about RED and the philosophy and was really impressed with the idea. Spike [Jonze] got in touch with Bono and we went from there.
Is this a limited edition or will you manufacture additional decks if the demand presents itself?
We want to make as many decks as we can sell. We want to raise the awareness for such a great effort that is RED.
I love that some of my friends collect decks as pieces of art and often display them prominently as such. Do you find that people are actually skating with the decks or saving them as art? Who designed this year’s set?
People are definitely collecting them. Andy Jenkins has designed both sets of decks so far and his art is always pretty special.
Was there any concern about partnering with RED based on the criticisms about the lack of transparency, and some estimates the campaign has spent upwards of $100 million on advertising, marketing, events and salaries?
We’re proud of our partnership. In a perfect world, you could generate funds for a cause with no press and attention but this is something that is working.
TP: What has been the response from the skating community?
The skateboard community has given us great feedback. For me, the skaters that are so happy to be part of the partnership is really great.
Is Girl involved in other charitable projects that you’d like to highlight for our audience?
Right now, RED is the only project like this we are involved in.
Where can we send people interested in purchasing the decks?
If you go to any of our websites, it will take you to a list of shops that carry our product. Or you can call us at 800 948 SKATE and we will help you find the shop in your area.
Bam Margera has found a more effective way of dealing with his marital problems than going on a four day bender: Marriage counseling and meds.
We want to make as many decks as we can sell. We want to raise the awareness for such a great effort that is RED.