The streetstyle setup – at the 2012 SF stop of the Dew Tour – was one of the raddest things I’ve ever skated. Who’d have thought? Mountain Dew, killing it. Omar Salazar had a hand in designing the course.
I’d been thinking something like this would be super fun for a while now. In my version there’s a couple of wooden driveway bumps and a slalom course leading to some banks with ledges then a gap with a hubba and then a quarterpipe at the end. My version is in a forest where sunlight dances through a wild and verdant canopy. It’s all a little reminiscent of the brilliant short piece Spike Jonze made with Rick Howard in Mouse.
Anyway, the Dew setup was like my imaginary version only not as leafy or pussyish.
3 blocks of Harrison Street in downtown SF barricaded off in order for Dew officials to set up a variety of ‘shit to potentially fuck oneself up on as fast as one can skate’.
When I arrived there and suggested that this wasn’t a course for 30 somethings Chris Miller told me I was full of shit. He didn’t say, “John you’re full of shit” exactly, but he did say, “What? I want to skate this. This is a manly course, your wisdom and experience should be shining on a course like this.” This inspired me to stop whining and get on with what Lord Byron referred to as “the eloquence of action” (ie shut up and skate). Here’s the event from Thrasher Magazine‘s world-class journalistic p.o.v.
When you’re 35 years old and the bulk of your sponsors have been forced out of business or revised their marketing structure it becomes practically impossible to get your remaining sponsors to pay for your travel to one of these televised events, it’s just not worth it for them, there’s no financial return (I imagine). So you sulk for a while and then pull yourself together and pay your own way thinking that if you place well enough you might break even on travel costs (it’s tough to avoid thinking about this midlife shit when you have a wife and bills and you’re, well, midlife). The following video is the view from my cellphone’s journey to the contest. The tune is exactly what it sounds like in my mind when I think about the Harrison Street Dew setup. A broader picture of life on earth in 2012 is provided by the presence of the National Guard recruitment tent. Young participants in ‘action’ sports are well suited to military employment. “They’re calculated risk takers” says the creepy marketing psychologist.
Thanks to Chris Ortiz for the invite and for taking this picture of Chris Miller and I.
Hope to get a chance to take part next time.
This was the best contest I have seen and it was suprising coming from such a money driven group of organizers. All I can say is hats off to all that were involved in making this happen. It was a stressful hour or so watching this and I can only imagine what it was like barreling down that insane course at full speed. I am sure it would have been easy to just say, "Nah, not worth it" but just stepping up to this is a serious achievement. Hats off to you and all that rolled down this course, you're in a league of your own.
looks fast ! hope you broke even. Lets get a beer when you return to pdx.
This is Rad.
I've dreamt about this in the past, setting up a slightly downhill road with a billion things to do, but in my dream, when you get the bottom of the hill, you realize you already got to the top again and you can just start all over again.
I wish i could have skated this.
It was the most legitimate street course I\’ve experienced. Hope they do it again. Thanks for commenting.