Vert Lives Encinitas YMCA Event

AM Time, Pro's are in Portland for the AST/ Dew Tour

Getting started with the ladies, Lyn-z coming off the roll -in as Lea wanting to be next.
More little Groms coming into Vert.

20 ft Roll-in Grom Training


Lynz Adams Hawkins pushing and progressing the ladies!

Zack Derad


Dylan

Sam Becket


Dylan


Sam Becket

Chris & Dylan

Dylan Taylor working the whole ramp..

Chris O making his way around the big ramp....

More Photos of X-Games...

Pat Noho

Everyone loves it when mike drops in, getting the session going.

Rune wanted the Super Park Gold, spent all of his time there, getting the Gold.

Lester Kasai in the Bowl,.

Just not Super enough for me to call it a Super Park.

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendID=72912752

Lester Kasai grew up in Anaheim, California and was one of the original "Badlands" team riders. Lester and his cousin Terrence Yoshizawa, began skating at a young age. Lester was one of the top Pro Skaters that dominated the Skate City Skatepark, in Whittier, California for many years. Lester was one of the super stylish big air innovators of the 80's. The Sims "Lester" board was immensely popular.

Rob Lorifice in the Super Park.

No one was fooled by the name, great concept cool format. EXPN calling the shots, using money and leverage to try and kill Vert. I guess they were not at Maloof! Cutting out Vert in Mex-X and Dubai, keeping it very quite. Maybe we need more special events, like the PLG Invitational, Or The Tony Hawk World Championships, The Bucky Bash. Let ESPN have the Motor Sports. Vert is far from Dead, AM scene just not interested in ESPN or EXPN opinions. Skateboarding and Skateboarders need to come together as one, call yourself a skateboarder without classifying yourself. X-Games could have an all round Medal event, King of the Park format, best skateboarder on the planet. Street, Super Park(Bowl), Vert....Leave Big Air on its own. Make that the Rock Star Event. Oh well, everyone trying to be so cool and core, pads or no pads, helmets or Energy Drink Hats. Skateboarding is about being yourself with no judgements. Go skate and rip, where your Mamas shoes, maybe one day you can skate in the legends session padded up.

Bucky got style and having Fun at the X-Games.Riding the back to the basics, save money Vert Ramp.

Is that Becky Lasek? Bucky crashing the Ladies Practice at X-Games. Bucky keeping it fun!






Mini Biography
Bucky Lasek was discovered by Stacy Peralta in Baltimore, Maryland. Bucky progressed as an am for Powell-Peralta skateboards and has continued pushing vert skating to its limits. He took home the gold medals in the 1999 and 2000 ESPN X-Games.

Steaz Bowl Jam at Skatepark Of Tampa August 8th 2008

Steaz Team at SPOT

Dalton, Alex,Josue, Cason

Hot Steaz Bowl Jam, great turn out, SPOT putting on the event with Ryan on the mic. All the Kids and Adults drinking Free Steaz on the Deck.

Dalton 3rd place

The Prize

Dalton & Dylan

Wendys Invitational / Portland

New FTK...

Adam Taylor

Timeline still in the East Coast # 1 Free Mag.....Checkout the Ad, look for the new Wood coming out in 2008

Some Soul Bowl 2008

Sandra Diaz

Josh Bordan

Big 540s from Sandra.

1. Sandro Dias 2. Omar Hassan 3. Brian Patch 4. Cristiano Mateus 5. Marcelo Bastos6. Joshua Borden 7. Mizael Simao 8. Matt Boyster 9. Chris Gentry 10. Otavio Neto

Best Trick 1. Sandro Dias – Nar Jar 2. Marcelo Bastos – N. H. 360 3. Matt Boyster – Footplant off the fence

One Man in one Man out sometimes 3 to 4 in, but not for long when Omar or Sandra are in.

Sandra Diaz blasting overhead..

Christiano Mateus

Omar is the King of Huntington Beach. Getting all the Media. Deck was so crowed, you just want to get as close as you can!

Adam Big Air Photo!!!

That's Big stuff for an 18yo!!! Adam bringing it on, skating with the big boys.

X-Games Vert AM / Dylan Taylor 5th place in the Final

Very cool Dudes, best hair at X-Games for sure..

Ron Allen.....http://www.skateboardingmagazine.com/blog/2008/04/25/h-street-skateboards-ron-allen/ Fabrizio Santos ....http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-zZ-A4dyK7Y

Crowd for the AM Vert Contest....Nice Article on EXPN.com

http://expn.go.com/expn/blog/xgames14/skate?post=3517414

A New Vert Order?
August 3, 2008, 3:29 PM
Josh Brooks back again with an update from the Vert Ams contest here on the final day of X Games 14. All sorts of famous names popped up in the amateur finals. The name Miller reared its head as well, in the manner of Chris Miller's son Zach, who ripped the ramp, but didn't get into the finals. He was a favorite to watch. Lesser known ams, like Ben Hatchel, brothers Sam and Dylan Taylor, Navarro, Sam Beckett, and Chris O'Reilly were new faces flying all over the place. One of my favorites went to Dylan Taylor who actually used the coping (I'm guessing not touching the coping was made popular by the Flying Tomato).But, the most famous name was Ronaldo. Did you know that it's one of the most common names in Brazil? Apparently, in a frenzy, all the expecting parents named their children after the famous Brazilian soccer star, which is probably why one of the new vert amateurs is named Ronaldo Gomez. He doesn't really look like Ronaldo, though. Actually, he looks more like a miniature Bob Burnquist. He has those clear Oakley glasses and, to top it all off, the embroidered pants that people in Latin America love. Also, he's really good at vert, like Bob.Gomez, Dylan Taylor and Beckett ended up in the finals. But, if vert continues to be as popular in Brazil as it is now, the finals line up will one day be a whole list of guys named Bob in those glasses and embroidered jeans.

Pedro, Sam and Ben

AM Vert went down, one of the most exciting contests I have seen in sometime. One 30 sec intro run a 20 min in order jam, best three runs count and added up. Highest score wins. No holding back with a safety run, full blown progression with a huge crowd and industry Icons. Dylan placed 5th , two days before the contest he took a heavy hit to the head, sat out the two days and made it to the final. After watching Danny Way take a slam, hard to find an excuse.

http://www.concretedisciples.com/skate_photos/details.php?image_id=7024&sessionid=hfcpr6tlshofs7k2l8ktt3kok0

Great Slide of the AM Contest on skateboard.com http://www.skateboard.com/photos/v/20080805/x_games_08_am_vert_gallery-15948.html;jsessionid=3ACD2607420729EBB7B64505DDA18E64?photo=15937

Dylan Taylor Maloof Cup---http://www.concretedisciples.com/skate_photos/details.php?image_id=7271&sessionid=at7uf985k0eba6pn48652p61c6

Mike Rodgers is always there for the kids and skateboarding.

Adam at the ARF Booth signing Autographs.....Supporting fellow Action Sports Athletes...All about the brotherhood....http://www.athleterecoveryfund.com/

Dalton Dern in LA for the X-games(First alternate)

Girls Ride Too...Karen Jones LZ Adams & Mimi

The Official Groundbreaking Ceremony for the New Smyrna Beach Skate Park is this Thursday, August 7th at 5pm

The Official Groundbreaking Ceremony for the New Smyrna Beach Skate Park is this Thursday, August 7th at 5pm. The Mayor is coming out with her gold shovel and the press will be there in full effect. Come on out and show your support if you are nearby. Team Pain is coming soon!!!! Official press release below.

Kelly Lynn
http://nsbskate.com

Steaz in the can correction at Stone Edge Skatepark

Looks like I made a huge mistake with the Stone Edge Locals on who had the first Steaz in the Can. Many apologizes for that one! Stone Edge the First Action Sports account in the World to sell Steaz Green Tea Soda in the can....Thanks For the support. Thank You Doug!http://www.dkramps.com/

Mike King Pasees away......

Michael Arthur King, 54, passed away suddenly on Saturday, July 26, 2008. He suffered a heart attack while driving home from a game of golf in his hometown of Palm Bay, Florida. Mike was able to pull to the side of the road but was gone by the time medical help arrived.

A native Floridian, Mike began skateboarding in the late 1960's and became one of the east coast's early pioneers of the sport. He made his mark in skateboarding in the early 1970's skating the infamous Haulover underpass in North Miami Beach. Mike later became a member of the Walker Skateboard Team and competed regularly in contests, routinely driving the Walker team van around the state, ferrying teammates like Rodney Mullen and Jim McCall to contests and demos. As one of the sport's elders, Mike's advice and coaching of the team was an extra bonus to sponsor Bruce Walker. "Mike King was an original. He was such a benefit to have along when we traveled because he kept our teamriders out of trouble by keeping them on track and focused. He was well known for his upbeat, positive attitude and he effected those around him in a very positive way." recalled Walker. "He will be sorely missed."

In 2002, Mike King was nominated for induction into the Florida Skateboard Hall of Fame. While he has not yet been formally inducted, Mike's name has continuously appeared on the nominee list and will again be in consideration for the upcoming induction ceremony, scheduled for January 2009 at Surf Expo in Orlando, Florida.

Mike King is survived by his wife Maria, sons Chris, Richard, and Patrick, and daughter Michelle. His funeral service was held on Friday, August 1, 2008 at St. Joseph's Catholic Church in Palm Bay. In lieu of flowers, an education fund has been set up. Donations can be made out to Patrick S. King c/o Riverside National Bank, 4625 Babcock St.NE, Palm Bay, FL 32905.

Florida Today Article

Buster Halterman, with the boy's and Lea, missing the cut by one, a true legend and inspiration to skatboarding.

Adam Taylor rolling with legends in the Big Air at X-Games. Getting advise from Danny Way. Adam riding his own Timeline Skateboard living the dream, taking his line around the world.
Getting ready to roll.....

http://www.floridatoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080731/SPORTS/807310335/1002/SPORTS

Getting vertical
Cocoa Beach's Adam Taylor one of world's top Vert skaters
BY HILLARD GROSSMAN • FLORIDA TODAY • July 31
-- Bolts of lightning sparkle around Adam Taylor like paparazzi flash bulbs flicker off of Paris Hilton's eyes. It's Taylor's only day back home for the summer, and the thunderbolts, ironically, coincide with Taylor's meteoric rise in the tempest of professional skateboarding.
Like a bolt out of the blue, the 18-year-old has become one of the top five Vert skaters in the world, a long, lofty ascent from the old, wooden ramps in his driveway.
He's been to China, Copenhagen and Haiti -- and that's just this year. Tonight, as X Games 14 opens, he will barrel down the 293-foot long Mega ramp from the rafters in Los Angeles' Staples Center.
"Scared? No way," he says. "You can't be -- it's part of it."
Taylor is part daredevil, yet still part kid, one of the youngest pros on any of the circuits, from street skating to BMX dirt bikes.
"It's cool to skate all over the world -- and get paid for it," he says, "but it didn't really come out of nowhere. It took a lot of work, a lot of practice, and doing well as an amateur and getting better each time. It wasn't even my goal a couple of years ago. I just wanted to skate to have fun. But I'm still skating for fun, so it's awesome."
The price to have "fun" has included a broken leg, a broken elbow, a fractured wrist and a split of a small bone in his back.
"I've seen some horrific falls," says his father, Toby. "But all these kids, I see them in a cast, then I see it in their faces that they're depressed, just dying to get back out there.
"Adam has fun with it, though. In the heat of battle, he's got his game face on, but after the competition, he's smiling."
Inspired by Hawk
Like his father, Adam started surfing off of 4th Street North, now renamed Slater Way in honor of eight-time world surfing champion Kelly Slater.
"I was surfing a lot, so it kind of led to skating," Adam said.
His skateboarding motivation took place when he was 10, while watching legendary Tony Hawk put on a skating demo at Merritt Island's FunPlex Skate Park.
"Before that, I'd only seen it in movies," Adam said, "but this way I could see how they actually did it."
Before long, he was traveling to the Satellite Beach Skate Park, "23 minutes from home." Then, his dad built him some wooden ramps in the front and back yard, for Adam, his brother Dylan, 14 (now one of the country's top amateur Vert skaters) and Lea, 12 (now one of the top pro female bowl riders).
"You'd see kids skate and you don't pay much attention to most of them, but Adam just kept rippin' -- just like the rest of his family," said neighbor Tony Sasso, now the District 32 seat in Florida's House of Representatives. "It was a pleasure to watch him grow up and turn into a world-class skater. It's kind of neat seeing another pro come out of Cocoa Beach. He's the next phenom from here."
Others began noticing, too.
"When he was 13 or 14, some other skaters said he had a special talent," Toby said, "and they kept asking me, 'When are you going to move him out to California?' So, when he was 14, we found a little place (in San Diego) and moved the kids and their mom out there. Now, he's surrounded by all that talent, and his skating has flourished with guys like Shaun White, Buster Halterman, Bucky Lasek and Tony Hawk, and now he's riding the Mega ramp with Bob Burnquist."
"There are skate parks everywhere," said Adam, whose "home" now is the Encinitas YMCA.
Adam also has become a celebrity in his 18 months as a pro.
In the past three events on the AST Dew Tour -- starting with the PlayStation Pro in Orlando late last year -- he has qualified for the televised finals on NBC (which, together with the USA Network replays, have averaged 41 million viewers for the first three seasons of telecasts). This season, he finished fifth in both the Panasonic Open in Baltimore and the Right Guard Open in Cleveland (this year's Orlando stop will be Oct. 16-19).
"It's a pretty good accomplishment," he said. "But, me a celebrity? I don't think so."
Dangerous event
Tonight's Big Air event on ESPN will feature a hand-picked field of 12 superstars, including Burnquist (the defending champion), Macdonald, Danny Way, Pierre Luc-Gagnon -- and, of course, Taylor.
"Adam is on Cloud 9," Toby said, laughing.
A ride on the Mega ramp begins by taking the arena elevator to the top floor. From there, riders can plunge down at 30 mph either on a 60- or 80-foot roll-in that resembles a ski-jumping ramp, which launches them over either a 50- or 70-foot gap. After landing, they ride up a 27-foot tall quarter-pipe ramp that sends them soaring as high as 50 feet.
Runs are judged on execution of tricks done over both jumps. A year ago, Jake Brown fell more than 45 feet during his fifth and final run.
"I did my first one when I was 16," Adam said. "That one scared me."
"It is one of the most dangerous things in our sport," said Cocoa Beach's Mike Rogers, 42, the nation's 15th-ranked pro freestyle skateboarder in the World Cup Bowl Series. "But, as a vert skater, not everyone can do what Adam does. He has the drive, ambition and dedication, and he's learning tricks not everybody has."
From fakies to Ollies, from 540s to 720s, Adam does have a special gift. Being just 5-foot-6 and 130 pounds also helps keep him airborne.
On the Dew Tour, each vert "run" lasts 45 seconds, meaning each skater must accomplish 17 tricks (on 17 walls) without slipping off his board.
"It's the hardest thing to do," Adam said. "But it's not the most glamorous part of our sport. No way."
White, a converted snowboarder, is the series' defending champion. Many of the veterans have a litany of big-name sponsors and advertisement deals.
"Some of these guys are millionaires," Adam said.
The sport is starting to reap benefits. Earlier this month, in Costa Mesa, Calif., Gagnon won $75,000 and a tricked-up SUV at the $450,000 Maloof Cup, and Winter X Games champions each received $50,000 this past year.
World traveler
Adam now runs his family's skateboard company, called "Timeline" (manufactured in California and Mexico) and designs each of the colorful maple models.
"I wanted him to learn about money and responsibility," Toby said, "and this also gives him a creative outlet."
Adam also has several sponsors, including Steaz energy drink, based in Newtown, Pa.
Toby discovered the vegan drink about five years ago, after his son got sick drinking soda.
"I contacted them, and soon they were giving me samples to take to skate parks, and they'd all be gone in a minute," Toby said.
Not only did Steaz provide Taylor with a sponsor, but Toby now is the director of marketing and travels in a colorful Dodge van with Steaz skating murals.
So far, it's been a wild ride for Adam.
This spring, he finished third in the AST's (Action Sports Tour) first international event in Beijing, China.
"It was a coliseum built for bullfighting, but never used," Adam said. "A couple of thousand people were there. We got close to the Wall, but it was smoggy."
Haiti was a different situation. Adam was among three skateboarders and a biker to perform a demo in front of about 300 kids in Port-Au-Prince.
"They took us in an armored car with security guards and guns," he said. "It was dangerous. Just a super Third World country."
Coming back home to Cocoa Beach is always relaxing for Adam, and skating at the Cocoa Beach Skate Park -- the one he helped design -- is still a thrill.
"It's cool to skate all over the world, but it started right here in Cocoa Beach," he said.
Now, he just wants to focus on a blossoming pro career.
"I did a lot to get to this point," he said. "I'm still doing it for fun -- it's not a job. I'll keep it that way for as long as I can.
"Skating's my love. I just let the judges figure out the rest of it."
Contact Grossman at 242-3676 or hgrossma16@yahoo.com

X-Games, Adam 5th place X-Games Big Air

Adam Taylor

Andy Mac

Jake Brown First Run X-Games 2008