True Skateboard Mag is working on our 3rd video that will be dropping in 2012. If your interested in being in the new video. Send us couple clips of you shredding your city. You can post it on our fan page or you can email it to us ( trueskateboardmag@gmail.com ). We support what we love “SKATEBOARDING“!
Show Class 2012 Calendar Release
Whew, just a week after Tampa and now THIS!!! Skate life is a great life.
Now it’s not too often that the Circus Bowl is open to the public. Even fewer and far between is a good Bike Show.
Combine those two and you’re really in for a great time. Ask anyone!
Tim Ruggles held it down in the front office.
As per usual the ultra good homey Tim Ruggles was holding it down in the front office. The Grill was hot, all kinds of drinks on hand and merch from all
of the sponsors available courtesy of FLATSPOT BOARD SHOP
The weather was gorgeous and the slight threat of rain was long past by the time I escaped my family to join the festivities!
Daren was shredding already
Inside the bowl, Daren was already tearing the place down.
There’s also an amazing photo of Tim getting some tail block on the vert wall… somewhere*
the scene outside was legit
Classic whips were all below sea level.
The whole event was supposed to center around the Show Class homies passing through, but these two beauties had to make it into the post. Here come a whole bunch of bike shots… so no worries. k?
the left side/
Bay 20
1
Some love for DLXSF and the Locos
Thrasher and DLXSF were two of the main crossover themes found on boards and bikes alike. It’s a comforting feeling to have some things in common with the guys that roll with Show Class.
Good assortment of well liked gentlemen and scoundrels
The session was epic and yet, astonishingly mellow. Even though all the troops were on site, the bikes and victory curls outside were just too good to stand around on the deck for all day… Some skating definitely got done tho. Dont get me wrong.
Wall ride
five oski
Some lines in the bowl eventually lead out of the bowl and onto the walls. This is supported by the members and unanimously cheered.
Man Down
Need one of these.
damn
unreal
killer headlamp
badass
fucking tough hangers
View from outside - Thank you to Cullen and Red Bull for the support vehicle.
looking crowded? nah. onelove!
Masters Division
this thing... wow
another angel of that beast
Samantha was on-hand and killing it.
Cody Lucas was there
Derek Loomis was shredding gnar
Until Next time...
Dawn of the AM!
Finally, my favorite event and weekend of the year was here. Tampa AM 2011 is the total experience. “SPOT LIFE” pretty much says it all. Ha ha ha. We had the immense pleasure of being a small part of the machine that is the skateboarding industry. We began our humble ascent to where we are today by joining part of the 2010 Tampa AM as a “spur of the moment” decision to help the good homey Anthony come down when his plans didn’t quite work out. That marked his addition to the team, and turned many heads… including my own. SO we went from one rider (one helluva rider thanks Anthony) to six riders this year, it was quite a sign of our growth and progress. Im still in awe. Anthony has since gone pro, and we did our best to find some of the brightest skaters out to fill his spot.
Always my first stop at the park!
Always my first stop when I reach the park, the groms were ripping it. Myles and Tyler were getting warmed up for the days to follow. Watching them rip gets me hyped. That day was no exception. Looking at the younger set ripping, and knowing all of the talent to take in over the weekend was just building and building anticipation.
Tyler competed this year, and I saw his first run. Very impressive.
Practice
Inside the Park things were getting HEATED. The amount of skaters was hard comprehend, and everyone was trying to get their time in the new course and shred the layout as much as possible.
It was a very different take on the streetcourse in comparison to last years plaza course. Team Pain really out-did themselves. The new course has many features found in the streets, and uses transitions to create a very diverse array of lines around the park. They added quite a few manny opportunities as well as did away with the fly box that was right in front of the judging area. The Independent brick gap seemed to be a favorite among the competitors.
D'andre signing up for some ink
Everywhere outside people were gettting tatted, skating and having a great time. There were all kinds of people from all over the country and world tucked into every corner of the vert ramp, beginner street course, bowl and patio. The food was smelling good already too. Before I knew it I had get out of there, all I could think about was skating and getting some new ink. Maybe next year.
It was right around that time that all eyes went to the sky above the vert ramp. Raven Tershy was going big padless. Always a crowd pleaser! He ran down some gnarly misses, and eventually got some massive grabs goin. (See the featured pic.)
Shawn Turner and D'Andre Pendergrass were there
Pictured on right: Shawn Turners fresh Skate and Destroy tatt.   and D’Andre repping our limited edition shirt for that weekend.
After the days skating it was time for the NIKE video premier.
Next on the agenda, the Nike Chronicles Premier. There was quite a bit of hype surrounding this video, especially with the heated debate regarding this years Skater of the Year (S.o.t.Y) and how much of a shoe in Mr Grant Taylor is, or was… lol. Everyone in the video was killing it. G.T. was announced as the honored recipient and the crowd pretty much went ballistic.
Moster sized screen. Good Looks Nike!!!
The park filled up with heads
From this…
madness
to this… and more…
Carrie and Anthony from KUSH POPS
The entire park, almost the whole weekend was buzzing with energy surrounding a young couple out of the Sac. area. Two of the nicest people I met all weekend, Anthony and Carrie of Kush Pop’s were all but forced into seclusion by the attention their product surmounted in the short time they were in town.The entire contest decended on the Bricks, thanks to everyone that pulled double duty out there that night… Saturday? ha ha. I heard great stories of street sessions, contest NBD’s and managed to only drink a couple beers. The Semi’s would be much easier to watch in a non hungover mindset. yay. ^_^
Shawn Turner approved of Ybor nightlife.
Shawn Turner is new to the Alchemy populace. Yet in fact, we’re almost ‘old buddies’ I won’t get into the long version, but we’re super happy to have him on board and representing Alchemy. Thank you as well to his shop sponsor  Smalltown Skateshop in Dekalb Il.for putting up the airfare to bring him in. He definitely gave some all of his sponsors that major R.O.I.
The first piece of footage I saw of Shawn was so heavy it landed him a spot on a major foot-ware brand off of one cold email. H e a v y. Well, in person and four or more years later… Shawn is tearing it apart.
Day 2 Semi's and Finals
Day two brought even more excitement… Earlier in the Year Schultzy and I were pretty much crippled by alcohol’s effects by this point, or more accurately much later in the day when we scrapped ourselves up.
Old Man Bowl Jam
Bro Bowl
Early start in the back was the Old Man Bowl Jam. I had every intention to skate it too. But even sober – I didn’t have my shit together as much as the older Old Men. Ha ha ha. It was an amazing event tho. I should mention that Paul Zitzer of the Skateboard Mag’s hillarious, “Backslash” was on the mic. here and in the main course all weekend. Super funny. I tried to compliment him and it got totally wierd. Love ya anyway. I just don’t know how to talk.
I watched quite a bit of the practice and I couldn’t take it any more I had to break out and GO SKATE. So I tried to rally the gang but only managed to gather S.T. and the good homey Carl from Portland to film. It’s was a perfect day to skate. We were trying to make it quick to some more of the semi’s BUT some busted ass detours got the best of me. Way to lag iPhone map.
the last few t's
I love to think that I prepare well for an even, but on the second day in town I was already out of stickers, Large T’s and business cards. Unreal. For the Pro in March I just may bring a pack animal or a camel to carry all that swag. either that or we’re limiting give a ways to buttons. =) Juskee.
Moat Race finish was out.
Things were already to go for the infamous MOAT RACE. After last years go I wasn’t too keen on being anywhere around it! But somehow you know I had to watch. Just a word of advice, the ones who bring eggs, bags of flour and or bags of bodily fluids… are just hyjinx enough to not care about aim or accuracy. You’d do best to watch from the finish or well after.
spectacle
It’s quite a sight.
dipped
Im almost running out of words for this. The whole weekend is just awesome piled on top of awesome. I think I saw quite a few television cameras around for the weekend, if there was to be aTV show about SPoT that would be an entertaining weekend to have captured.
Dusk setting in around 4:30/
The Finals went off. The golden ticket recipients and the finalists from Damn AM’s and the weekend qualifiers just shredded the entire course. I got to say hello to all of my amazing friends and extended family. Andrew Cannon, one of my favorite guys ever. David Loy came through with all of the humor and C-lo I could take… So great to see you G. Many thanks to all of the Alchemists who competed: Anthony Garcia, Felipe Gouveia, D’Andre Pendergrass, David Loy, Shawn Turner and Chris Blake. You guys are the Gold Standard. Keep doing what you do.
Back to Ybor!
After dark the crowd again descended on Ybor City. The Damn AM awards ceremony was about to go down at the Bricks. Soon after taking these last two pics my phone battery went dead. Probably not a bad thing. I can sum it up in just a few words. Crowds, no fights, police, Chet3000, moshpit, dj Wade, Kush Pop’s, and some flat-ground tricks in the streets.
Epic on Epic.
Cant wait to do it again next year! Thanks for reading.
~Mike
Alchemy
Life .·. Love .·. Will .·. Art
PS we talked to a few potential new riders and made some interesting connections, stay tuned for more details.
the Bricks DUHTampa AM
Epic
There are very few things that can equal the feeling of being a part of something, however small a roll you play, like the ongoing Birdhouse East Coast Tour. Presented by Quicksilver and powered by Tech Deck.
My day began in a semi-empty pool. Under the hot sun with six or so buckets, bailing out the deep end #skatelife.
pool water
It got much better, quickly. I left post haste to meet up with a friend at the Birdhouse MIA to NYC opening stop. In Kendell? yerp!
MIA
check out the highlights here!
tattoo party
The after demo signing went way over the top. This guy had all, or close to all, of the team actually tattoo their own names onto him. They ACTUALLY all tattooed this guy. Tony, Riley (who’s got some real skill on the irons) David, Willy, Jaws, Clint and more. Freaky!
the scene outside
Outside, the fans were all satisfied as the Birdhouse team endured the Miami heat to sign as many autographs as possible.
David Loy wouldn't give in,
David Loy signed autographs and hung with the fans until the very last minute. I even saw him teach a fan how to drop in. That lil guy was on cloud nine. Thanks David!!! MIA appreciated it very much.
two legends on the deck
On the way to Tampa immediately following the demo, we headed over to “OllieWood” Alan Gelfands private facility. Wowzers, that place is huge! The vert savvy guys were killing it. ME, I should have left my board in the car… Tony was blasting 540′s so high he hit the ceiling. Not just a little clip, like full on body check. Amazing. Kevin Staab, Riley Hawk, David Loy and Shawn Hale all took turns dialing in the massive transitions. It was a sight to behold.
Lo and Behold! here is a video (click phrase below)
As things heated up, Tony started going for this huge fastplant/boneless off of the OllieWood sign on the far wall. So Gnar. You know he got it.
Hawk!
Long drive to Tampa
The next day, the crazy schedule commenced. There’s not much down time at all for these guys. Demo 1 and 2 were only 24 hrs apart. The guys pushed it hard at OllieWood too. Taking plenty of slams, sleeping on a bus or in a van and then skating a full day with a demo! Obvious why these guys are pros.
Shawn Hale post demo, Skatepark of Tampa. Signing and chilling with his fans.
The scene under the vert ramp Skatepark of Tampa
With so much ripping the night before, the Tampa demo was incredible. Tony held court on the vert ramp almost all day. Blasting double with Kevin Staab, the crowd got an amazing show. The whole team really lit the entire park on fire. Heavy tricks went down on the 7, the rails, in the bowl and all over. There were so many people from all over, some amazing early model Powell and other boards were all around. The scene was intoxicating. Aaron Homoki was going ham all day. Landed a 540 on the vert and the previous night stuck his first front invert! It was another flawless Skatepark of Tampa event. Notably absent of some of the regular crew who were away in Shanghi for the first Am event ever.
Painted Sunset over Skatepark of Tampa
It was an experience I didn’t want to end, but the breakneck schedule had to keep on. The guys soon departed for Kona! Another legendary stop in the sunshine state. Drive safe guys! Come back soon… – DeCamp
The Dross Matter - Alchemy
Im here today speaking with the Alchemist himself Mike De Camp. We’re speaking candidly regarding the Alchemy Fall Catalog that just dropped Saturday night at midnight.
Merkaba - the Divine Light Body
Skate Death #121º the Helmelt
Skate Death #4 flat 4
I’ve never taken this particular plunge. But I can imagine. And that’s what we’re doing here. Yes? Ha ha. bloodbath ensues.
My spelling is bad too. who cares! GO SKATE.
Skate Death #64
Have you ever lost a wheel while rolling? It’s happened to me. But the worst is when it happens just as you compress to snap your tail…
strip 2
Good Friday to you! Here’s another installment of JtoD ( Just the other Day… ) a continuation of the exploits of the impossible spot by my house. Hope your all in for a great weekend. Don’t forget to wish Tommie the Bigga Figga a happy birthday!
Another episode of Skate Death up soon!
- thanks for the comment! the 80′s are super buttery! Im riding some Spit 92Duro’s and they are pretty all around. What’s the diameter?
I welcome all commenters and promise to reply*
Does anyone enter contests anymore?
