Grind for Life Benifit 2008 Cocoa Beach Skatepark

Yeah young and old had a great time, Andy Mac showing all the groms how to skate the park. Everyone had a great time. Big thank you to all the parents!! More chill photos in the Gallery.

Americas Bowl Riders Cup

More Photos of World Skin Cancer Foundation Skateboard & BMX Contest

See more chill shots, photos and results of the winners in the Gallery....

Adam Taylor 6th place Megarampa in Brazil 2008

http://megaramp.com/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I19URFEMBrM

Adam Taylor 2nd place in Berlin Gemany T-Mobile Play Grounds

Adam skating head to head against PLG in the final. Two perfect runs, but PLG the best Vert Skateboarder in the World took it to the wire.The super tech rider winning another contest. Congratulations Adam!!

World Skin Cancer Foundation Skateboard & BMX Contest Cocoa Beach Florida 2008

Art Show Skate Park of Tampa 2008

Adambomb.tv

PLG

Buster Halterman

PLG

Bob Burnquist

6th Annual Grind For Life 2008

Just like her big brothers, Carmel Valley’s skateboarding Lea Taylor is doin’ the DEW Tour at the ripe old age of 12

By Lee Schoenbart
Dudes! Skateboarder girlz are way better
interviewees than the guys – even when they’re as
young as 12-year-old Lea Taylor of Carmel Valley.
She’s totally composed. She’s also articulate and
genuinely modest.
Lea’s advice to her youthful sisterhood wanting
to roll along: “Keep trying,” said the Solana
Pacific sixth-grader. “No matter what the boys say
and no matter how good you see the boys doing,
just remember that you’re a girl and it’s going to
take more time to do it. But you just have to learn
and be able to not be afraid to compete against the
guys.”
And most of all, Lea said, in a word, maybe two,
“have fun.”

She’s the third of three siblings to be skateboarding nearly since the
time they could walk. A fact not disputed by Lea’s dad, Toby Taylor, during
a conversation from the garage of the family’s home one recent
evening.

“The growth of girls skateboarding is still very raw,” said Taylor, who
oversees his offsprings’ skateboard enterprise under the auspices of Timelineskateboards.
com. “You’re seeing more and more girls now being
attracted to skating the concrete parks and bowls.”
Taylor said having all three of his children involved in skateboarding
is “exciting” and “sometimes it’s a little dangerous.” But he said it’s no
more dangerous than driving from San Diego County into Orange County
for competitions and navigating the merging traffic of the I-5 and I-405
freeways. “Sometimes it’s convenient because they all go to the same
events.”
And when they are afforded the opportunity to sit down to share a
meal, Taylor said, “it’s always common interests at the dinner table.”
But, he lamented, “Now that Adam’s a pro we don’t see him a lot. He’s
traveling around the world.
Just like her big brothers, Carmel Valley’s skateboarding
Lea Taylor is doin’ the DEW Tour at the ripe old age of 12

“Dylan, my other son, 14,” Taylor said proudly, “he’s coming up to be
one of the tops and in the pro ranks I would say in the next couple of years.”
Adam is currently ranked fifth on the AST Dew Tour with 257 points
after finishing 2007 in 12th place with 143 points. Coincidentally, Adam
just celebrated his 19th birthday on Sept. 25.
According to her father, Lea had the distinction of being the only
female skater on the AST Dew Tour riding the vert ramp at every stop as
part of the Dew Tour’s Grom Demos featuring up-and-coming skaters
from the 12-and-under set. AST stands for “Action Sports Tour” and Grom
Demos is skateboarder (and surfer) speak for newbie/youngster demonstration.
In her very young career, Lea placed eighth at the Soul Bowl Women’s
Contest; fourth in the Oregon Trifecta 2007 at Pier Park in Portland; third
during April Foolishness at the Factory Skatepark in the Newnan, Ga., Vert.
14 & under ’07; second in the Grind for Life Contest at West Palm Beach,
Fl., Mini-Ramp Contest Girls ’06 with first-place wins in the Factory
Nationals Newnan, Ga., Girls Open ’05 and at the All Girl Skate Jam Open
AM San Diego CA ’05.

Lea takes it all in stride when she said, “I grew up in a skateboarding
family. I noticed there weren’t that many girls when I first started.


“I was really young when I started,” she sweetly recalled, “but maybe
if I started, I could be a really good skateboarder and be one of the best of
all the girls.”
Now, at the ripe old age of 12, Lea said her biggest thrill is “whenever
I’m skating and I see little girls at the skate park and they always look
up to me. I like to go help them and they’re really shy because they’re so
amazed to see another girl.”
As the skateboarding season winds down for the autumn and winter,
Lea plays goalie for the Carmel Valley Manchester Soccer Club. She’s also
a BMX racer who enjoys surfing and snowboarding.
In addition to all the subjects typical sixth-grade girls are immersed in,
Lea said she adores extra-curricular activities including music, art and
singing.

And while wanting to learn to play guitar might seem typical, her
tastes in music are rather atypical.

“I like the blues,” Lea said. “I love mellow like Jack Johnson.” Johnson’s
music, it should be noted, would seem a bit too ethereal and sophisticated
for most 12 year olds to wrap their heads around. But then again,
not for a fearless girl who sees the most challenging part of a blossoming
skateboarding career as “learning new tricks on the vert, wanting to go
down bigger ramps and to try harder and harder stuff,” even though it
scares the heck out of her mom. Fearless, Lea said, “depends on what I’m
trying. Sometimes I don’t even care. Sometimes I just do whatever. Sometimes
I have a reason to be afraid, but most of the time it’s do whatever.”
As for doin’ the Dew when the 2009 touring kicks in, Lea said, “I like
going to the Dew Tours because it’s fun being one of the only girls, but it’s
also fun doing full contests with all the other girls.”
To learn more, visit www.carmelvalleyskatepark.com and
www.ast.com

All the right moves / Brevard County's Taylor, Knuth garnering national attention

Adam Taylor says he's been getting noticed a lot lately -- especially by girls.

That's a good thing, especially when you've just turned 19 and you're enjoying life as one of the world's top skateboarders.
"It's not celebrity status at all," he laughs.
Timmy Knuth, meanwhile, is on the verge of basking in the national spotlight.
"I'm just trying to have fun out there," he said.
Both Brevard County skaters will compete in this week's PlayStation Pro, the fifth and final stop on the AST Dew Tour, at Orlando's Amway Arena.
For Taylor, a vert skater who grew up in Cocoa Beach, it's a chance to solidify his remarkable fifth-place ranking behind some of the sport's superstars, such as Bucky Lasek, Bob Burnquist, Andy Macdonald and Pierre-Luc Gagnon.
"I know I'm not as good as those guys, but I'm working on it," said Taylor, who has moved to San Diego, where he practices -- and impresses -- those same legends at the now-famous YMCA ramp.
"For sure, they're surprised I'm doing so well, but obviously they've been helping my career. I'm always learning something new. To me, they're not superstars, they're just like my friends. We're all rooting for each other."
A year ago in Orlando, Taylor qualified for his first Dew Tour finals, finishing seventh in his rookie pro season. It gave him momentum. He finished third in an event in China, was invited to the X Games this summer and has never missed qualifying for a Dew Tour final, finishing between fourth and seventh.
Skating indoors in the air-conditioned arena will be to his liking.
"We don't like skating outside very much, because there could be wind, or the sun could be on the wrong side," he said. "Plus, it's cooler."
Taylor has an expanding array of maneuvers for his 45-second rides on the half-pipe, including several 540-degree variations, 720s, McTwists and technical flip tricks.
He's also proven to be fearless. This summer, he launched from the rafters of the Staples Center in Los Angeles for the Mega Ramp contest at the X Games.
"I'm super-stoked to be ranked fifth," said Taylor, who will try to qualify at 7:30 tonight for Saturday's finals. "I'm just surprised that I'm doing consistently well."
Four different skaters have won the four vert contests on the tour this season: Lasek in Baltimore; Shaun White in Cleveland; Burnquist in Portland, Ore.; and Macdonald in Salt Lake City, where Taylor was fourth.
Taylor, who also competes in China, Germany, Brazil and Denmark, has been getting a lot of attention from NBC's telecasts of the Dew Tour, ESPN's X Games and interviews on the Fuel TV network.
A lot of the attention in the street skate portion of the four-day contest will be on Knuth, who will be making his first appearance in a Dew Tour event after winning the Free Flow national qualifier in Salt Lake City. He will be the only Florida resident in the street skate.
The 17-year-old Eau Gallie High senior not only beat out 200 regional skaters in Jacksonville, but then won the national amateur event.
"It's amazing how far I've come," said Knuth.
He's been skating for eight years and already owns some impressive credentials.
Earlier this year, Knuth won the 14-and-up national skateboarding championship at the PlayStation AM JAM finals in Pennsylvania, won the Best Trick contest at the Damn Am contest in Minneapolis in June and placed fifth in the national Back to the Banks Skate Contest under New York's Brooklyn Bridge.
This time, Knuth will be skating against highly regarded Ryan Sheckler, the Dew Tour points leader, as well as his closest pursuers, 14-year-old Chaz Ortiz (last year's Free Flow Tour amateur skate park champion) and Paul "P-Rod" Rodriguez.
Worried?
"I don't think so," he said.
During the 1-minute run and 6-minute jam session, Knuth will hope to showcase his strongest points -- rails and gaps -- as well as his overall ability in today's 4:30 p.m. trials for Sunday's finals.
He's gathered a lot of knowledge from his daily grinds at Palm Bay's Graffiti Skate Park, about a 20-minute ride from his Melbourne home.
Like the others in the event, Knuth will have just one day of practice to get acclimated to the challenging skate park course the Dew Tour will set up inside the arena. But he should be able to pick it up. Knuth is constantly working with Hatcher to change the layout of the jumps at Graffiti.
Knuth and Taylor, who often skated together at the Cocoa Beach Skate Park, both admire each other's talents. But they realize they're on their own now.
"It's kind of like, go and do it yourself," Taylor said. "There's no coaching out here. But I'm pretty well-motivated."
Contact Grossman at 242-3676 or hgrossma16@yahoo.com

Taylor finishes fifth

At 19, Cocoa Beach's Adam Taylor still has plenty of good years remaining as a vert skater. But when will the "old" regime slow down?
"I don't see any of them slowing down," said Taylor's father, Toby, after watching his son finish fifth behind the sport's superstars Saturday night in the PlayStation Pro, before a near-capacity crowd at Orlando's Amway Arena.
It was Taylor's third fifth-place finish this season in the final stop on this year's AST Dew Tour to go with a fourth- and seventh-place effort, and it sealed his fifth-place overall standing in the Dew Cup points rankings.
"I'm very satisfied," said Taylor, in his second season on the world-class circuit. "I pretty much always looked up to those other guys."
Canada's Pierre-Luc Gagnon won Saturday night's event, and in the process wrapped up the points title. His 408 points beat out Andy Macdonald (395), Bob Burnquist (381), Bucky Lasek (370) and Taylor (322).
Gagnon won the PlayStation Pro with 96 points to beat out Macdonald (86), Danny Mayer (86), Sandro Dias (85.25) and Taylor (37.75).
Taylor made his first 45-second run, but fell on his 540s during his next two runs as he tried to raise the amplitude and technicality to stay in contention.
"I had a pretty good score on my first run, so I had a chance to do something bigger," Taylor said.
"Even if he makes those runs, maybe he gets fourth," Toby said. "He knows he's not the best skater out there, with guys like Bucky and Bob -- who he beat by staying on his board -- but those guys are at a different level."
Next up for Taylor this coming weekend will be an ASA event in Seattle before taking the Mega Ramp in Sao Paulo, Brazil. By finishing fifth, he also automatically qualifies for next year's Dew Tour.
"He's living his dream," Toby said.
At 4 p.m. today, Melbourne amateur Timmy Knuth, 17, will continue his improbable run in his first major pro event in the street park skate, which will be televised on NBC.

Knuth, Taylor advance

Timmy Knuth will be missing his English test today at Eau Gallie High. He's probably too excited to study, anyway

Thursday afternoon at the PlayStation Pro at Orlando's Amway Arena, the 17-year-old Eau Gallie High senior put his nerves aside and skated to a remarkable second-place finish in the street park prelims to easily qualify for Sunday's 4 p.m. finals.
"I just tried some harder tricks and somehow landed them," said Knuth, who will be making up the test on Monday. "I'm so excited because I now get to skate with the pros."
Knuth, an amateur in his first AST Dew Tour appearance, had qualified for the event by winning the national Free Flow contest in Salt Lake City, Utah, after defeating nearly 200 regional qualifiers in Jacksonville.
With Ryan Sheckler, Chaz Ortiz and Paul Rodriguez -- the top three points leaders -- already assured a spot in the 12-man finals, Knuth needed to only place among the top nine qualifiers, and he did it with ease.
"I'm really stoked for him," said his coach, Dan Hatcher, who operates Graffiti Skate Park in Palm Bay. "He was fifth after the first round, but he switched it up a little and pulled off some big bangers -- just two perfect runs."
It's also shaping up to be a great weekend for Cocoa Beach native Adam Taylor, 19, who showed his consistency on the vert ramp, easily advancing to Saturday night's finals.
Skating before a packed crowd at the AST Dew Tour's fifth and final contest of the season, Taylor finished fourth in the skate vert prelims with an 80.25 total, behind Brazil's Sandro Dias (85.25), Canada's Pierre-Luc Gagnon (82.25) and Taylor's agent, Buster Halterman of California (80.50).
"It went good," Taylor said, "but it was close. Now I can focus on a lot harder tricks (in the final)."
The only home-grown Floridian in the field had a big fan base from Brevard County.
"It was cool," he said. "I could hear them well."
Taylor, ranked fifth all season on the pro circuit, qualified for his sixth consecutive Dew Tour finals, a stretch that began in Orlando as a rookie a year ago.
"Making the finals again -- it's really cool," said Taylor's father, Toby. "He and Timmy were supporting each other all night."
The skate vert finals, with Taylor, will be shown on USA network midnight Saturday. The skate park finals are live on NBC from 4-5:30 p.m. Sunday.
Jimmy Walker won the BMX vert prelims, while Jeremy Lusk won the FMX prelims with the Orlando skyline as the backdrop.
Tonight's audience at Amway Arena will be treated to a special concert by "Boys Like Girls," an MTV favorite from Taunton, Mass.