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Twenty-five Feet Over Richmond
Skate Vert Finals Recap
By Eric Kirkwood
The skateboarding finals at the Action Sports World Tour was nothing short of an airborne extravaganza . . . with extra GANZA!
Right from the start, the tension was obvious, each skater knowing the importance of staying on and pulling out a little more than the last. Mathias Ringstrom was the first to get the proverbial ball rolling. He tweaked sweet japan airs and methods like a boneless chicken; he flipped his board into his hands this way and that and finally went through a rolodex of blunt and nose blunt variations that would make Philly (home of the blunt!) proud.
Anthony Furlong is so textbook with his smooth consistency that if you superimposed his three runs over each other, it would probably look like the exact same run (maybe just slightly misregistered). Anthony was skating solidly and in his best run, ended off with a fakie 540 . . . good stuff.
Tas Pappas pulled out some real zingers on his quest for the top of the heap. Varial flip mute backside 360 is a description of TWO tricks . . . unless it’s in a Tas run. This trick is as involved and daredevilish as it sounds, and to witness it first hand was a definite treat. I should also mention that, like in the prelims, he threw down a 720 for good measure.
There is a man in skateboarding who is almost sure to deliver the goods. His tag is PLG and yes he came through on his third run after the first two efforts ended up short. Pierre skated up to his reputation with stylish airs, backside 540s, rodeo 540s, many flip/grab variations and liptricks like halfcab nosegrinds and even a switch backside nosegrind . . . delivering the goods once again.
Now we come to the grand finale, none other than our local astronaut Sandro Dias. Sandro set the ramp on fire with such fast, furious and frantic antics that the first row of screaming fans melted like butter. Sandro looked like a superhero in leprechaun boots flying double head high across the ramp, sliding and grinding it end-to-end, throwing bionic 540s and ending with the coup de grace: the gnarjar, a 540 to bodyjar . . . believe it!
Good times in Richmond thanks to all the skaters who went all out for the crowd including Chris Gentry, Danny Mayer, Jean Postec, Jake Brown and Phil Hajal. Next up: Amsterdam, stay tuned!
