All the girls go ga-ga over Guettler. © 2005 Bo Bridges
Steve's Denver Dew Blogathon
Jul 13 2006 / DenverUpdate 7/16/06
Here we are at the last day of the Denver Dew Tour. I'm hanging out in the Lat34 media room watching the FMX Finals on live TV. It's funny to be watching the show on TV when it's going on just a few hundred yards away. I'll have to get out there in a minute... Oh my god... I just saw Nate Adams pull off a lazyboy backflip!!!! What is that? Nobody does that. Not even Kenny or Travis. Holy smokes.
Seriously, The Denver stop of the Dew Tour has been just amazing. Biggest moments for me:
Mike Clark pulled off two double backflips.
Ryan Nyquist showed off his new barspin 720 in BMX Dirt.
Dennis McCoy landed a 900 in BMX Vert - probably the oldest rider to do so in competition.
Keith McElhinney pulled off the first-ever front flip flair in BMX Vert. That one is so amazing I have to repeat it.
Shaun White won the Skate Vert Finals beating out Bucky, Bob, Andy and the rest.
Eric Koston showed up to the Skate Park Finals rocking out a 5th place finish.
Jereme Rogers edged out Nyjah and Sheckler to become points leader in Skate Park.
Plus too many other amazing moments to mention. It's been a great weekend. I'm signing off. Thanks for reading Lat34's coverage of the Right Guard Open in Denver. We'll see you in Portland at the Vans Invitational in August. Adios amigos.
Update 7/15/06
I ran into the Slim Jim Fairy Snapmother in the elevator earlier. Whoa, is that guy freaky or what? You know how the Slim Jim TV commercials with him are pretty off the wall? Well, I don't think he's putting on an act. He's got that funny look in his eyes that just says, "I'm loco en la cabeza!" Anyway, I'm walking right behind him into the elevator here at the Pepsi Center and he turns around and hits me in the face with his fairy wings. Pretty tight in the elevator, you know. He turns around and says, "What the hell you doing to my wings?" I started to answer and he goes, "Oh sorry, I thought you were someone else. I was going to say something bad." Then he started looking at my courier bag that's got a seat belt buckle holding the arm strap together. He looks at the buckle and says, "Is that a seat belt buckle?" I said it was and he turned to his entourage of Slim Jim peeps and says, "We gotta get some of those at this event, you know, to carry things around with." See what I mean? Loco. Funny. But, loco. Check out the Fairy Snapmother commercials here.
Update 7/15/06
So, earlier today I went to report on the Skate Vert Finals. I was psyched to see Bucky, Bob, Sandro, Rune and the rest put the smack down on the giant 80 foot halfpipe. It's pretty sweet because down in the media area you get to be all up-close and personal with the pros. Pretty cool, huh? That's what I thought at first. But, then I noticed that I couldn't view the big screen to see the instant replays and I couldn't hear the announcers very well because the speakers faced the audience.
So, I thought I'd check out the audience perspective for a while and I found out that the audience has a really good view of the show. I mean really good. Perfect view of the ramp. Perfect view of the big screen. And the sound was great up there. Again, I'm impressed with these Dew Tour peeps. They're putting on a great show. And if the decibal level of cheering is any indication of spectator approval, then I think the show is big success.
Update 7/14/06
I was hanging out at the skate vert open qualifier earlier today when what (or who) to my wondering eyes should appear? Gary Ream, president and co-founder of legendary Camp Woodward. I stopped him to get some insight into his vision for the future of action sports. He gladly took the time to answer my questions:
SL: How have skateparks affected the progression of skateboarding and BMX?
GR: Well, of course, kids are progressing much quicker than they would without resources like Camp Woodward. They would progress anyway, but the camps help them progress quicker. "Quicker" is the key word there.
SL: Tell me about how you've seen these sports evolve over the years.
GR: Well, I've been doing this since '78. Back then the camp was gymnastics. We learned a lot from that. And what not to do. And then in the early 80's we started doing skateboarding. Groups like us were able to take action sports to a really high level - and without much organization.
SL: And that's the nature of these sports. The athletes require a lot of freedom.
GR: Right. Too much organization stifles their creativity.
SL: So, what do see for the future of action sports?
GR: Well, what's been done so far is world class. Everyone has done a phenomenal job promoting these sports. Although, these sports really sell themselves. I think we need just a little more organization - a little more collaboration in the industry. Just a little. Things like judging in competitions can always be improved.
SL: Why have you become such a strong advocate for action sports? What's your motivation?
GR: It's been a long process. It's been fun. It's great seeing these kids grow up and become adult professional athletes. That's the payoff.
Update 7/14/06
Here we are at the last day of the Denver Dew Tour. I'm hanging out in the Lat34 media room watching the FMX Finals on live TV. It's funny to be watching the show on TV when it's going on just a few hundred yards away. I'll have to get out there in a minute... Oh my god... I just saw Nate Adams pull off a lazyboy backflip!!!! What is that? Nobody does that. Not even Kenny or Travis. Holy smokes.
Seriously, The Denver stop of the Dew Tour has been just amazing. Biggest moments for me:
Mike Clark pulled off two double backflips.
Ryan Nyquist showed off his new barspin 720 in BMX Dirt.
Dennis McCoy landed a 900 in BMX Vert - probably the oldest rider to do so in competition.
Keith McElhinney pulled off the first-ever front flip flair in BMX Vert. That one is so amazing I have to repeat it.
Shaun White won the Skate Vert Finals beating out Bucky, Bob, Andy and the rest.
Eric Koston showed up to the Skate Park Finals rocking out a 5th place finish.
Jereme Rogers edged out Nyjah and Sheckler to become points leader in Skate Park.
Plus too many other amazing moments to mention. It's been a great weekend. I'm signing off. Thanks for reading Lat34's coverage of the Right Guard Open in Denver. We'll see you in Portland at the Vans Invitational in August. Adios amigos.
Update 7/15/06
I ran into the Slim Jim Fairy Snapmother in the elevator earlier. Whoa, is that guy freaky or what? You know how the Slim Jim TV commercials with him are pretty off the wall? Well, I don't think he's putting on an act. He's got that funny look in his eyes that just says, "I'm loco en la cabeza!" Anyway, I'm walking right behind him into the elevator here at the Pepsi Center and he turns around and hits me in the face with his fairy wings. Pretty tight in the elevator, you know. He turns around and says, "What the hell you doing to my wings?" I started to answer and he goes, "Oh sorry, I thought you were someone else. I was going to say something bad." Then he started looking at my courier bag that's got a seat belt buckle holding the arm strap together. He looks at the buckle and says, "Is that a seat belt buckle?" I said it was and he turned to his entourage of Slim Jim peeps and says, "We gotta get some of those at this event, you know, to carry things around with." See what I mean? Loco. Funny. But, loco. Check out the Fairy Snapmother commercials here.
Update 7/15/06
So, earlier today I went to report on the Skate Vert Finals. I was psyched to see Bucky, Bob, Sandro, Rune and the rest put the smack down on the giant 80 foot halfpipe. It's pretty sweet because down in the media area you get to be all up-close and personal with the pros. Pretty cool, huh? That's what I thought at first. But, then I noticed that I couldn't view the big screen to see the instant replays and I couldn't hear the announcers very well because the speakers faced the audience.
So, I thought I'd check out the audience perspective for a while and I found out that the audience has a really good view of the show. I mean really good. Perfect view of the ramp. Perfect view of the big screen. And the sound was great up there. Again, I'm impressed with these Dew Tour peeps. They're putting on a great show. And if the decibal level of cheering is any indication of spectator approval, then I think the show is big success.
Update 7/14/06
I was hanging out at the skate vert open qualifier earlier today when what (or who) to my wondering eyes should appear? Gary Ream, president and co-founder of legendary Camp Woodward. I stopped him to get some insight into his vision for the future of action sports. He gladly took the time to answer my questions:
SL: How have skateparks affected the progression of skateboarding and BMX?
GR: Well, of course, kids are progressing much quicker than they would without resources like Camp Woodward. They would progress anyway, but the camps help them progress quicker. "Quicker" is the key word there.
SL: Tell me about how you've seen these sports evolve over the years.
GR: Well, I've been doing this since '78. Back then the camp was gymnastics. We learned a lot from that. And what not to do. And then in the early 80's we started doing skateboarding. Groups like us were able to take action sports to a really high level - and without much organization.
SL: And that's the nature of these sports. The athletes require a lot of freedom.
GR: Right. Too much organization stifles their creativity.
SL: So, what do see for the future of action sports?
GR: Well, what's been done so far is world class. Everyone has done a phenomenal job promoting these sports. Although, these sports really sell themselves. I think we need just a little more organization - a little more collaboration in the industry. Just a little. Things like judging in competitions can always be improved.
SL: Why have you become such a strong advocate for action sports? What's your motivation?
GR: It's been a long process. It's been fun. It's great seeing these kids grow up and become adult professional athletes. That's the payoff.
- Steve
Update 7/14/06
Ran into Ryan Guettler at the BMX dirt prelims yesterday. Few people get the crowd going more than this Aussie. And the girls... the girls go absolutely wild over him. No news there, but I still had to laugh a bit when I saw a girl with an autograph on her neck from Ryan that read "I love Ryan Guettler." Anyway, I asked him a few questions after his runs.
SL: How are you feeling since the knockout in Louisville?
RG: I feel good. I mean, I've been getting a lot of sleep since Louisville. Trying to rest up.
SL: How was the street practice session for you today versus dirt?
RG: Again, I felt good. In street, I feel like I can try anything and everything. I mean, I've been knocked out like five times. I'm not afraid of park. But when I come out here to dirt I look at these jumps and... Dirt is easier than street because you only have three tricks to focus on. But they're the scariest tricks of your life. Street's more difficult, but I'm more comfortable there.
SL: So, if you have to choose one or the other to focus on in the future, will you choose street?
RG: Yeah. At some point I'll probably concentrate on street only.
SL: What's the biggest difference between the Louisville and Denver Dew Tours?
RG: The crowds. There are so many more people here in Denver than Louisville. I'm spending so much time signing autographs and shaking hands in between runs here. It's crazy. I think there are more people here at the Denver prelims than there were at the Louisville finals.
SL: How's the competition here compared to Louisville?
RG: Same. No one's holding anything back. It's tough. It was the same in Louisville.
SL: Cool. Well, good luck the rest of the weekend and thanks for the time.
RG: Yeah, no problem. Cheers.
- Steve
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7/13/06
Here we are. Second stop on the Dew Tour at Right Guard Open in the Pepsi Center in Denver. The Mile-High City. Elevation 5280 feet. Latitude 39 degrees (just a little higher than our offices in L.A. On one end of the spectrum, this is home of the Denver Donkeys (as locals call the Broncos). And on the other end of the spectrum, this is the birthing ground for beat poets Jack Kerouac and William S. Burroughs, and gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson.
It’s sunny and hot. A few clouds are patching up the sky. Definitely not as hot as it was in Louisville. The result is the perfect start of a long weekend that’s getting ready to fuel a super excited crowd. With a local population of 2.5 million people, it looks like about half of them are here banging down the doors to get in to the event to see the likes of Ryan Sheckler, Bucky Lasek, Ryan Cranmer, Jamie Bestwick, Travis Pastrana, Kenny Bartram and the rest of the all-stars as they battle it out.
But the pros are not alone. The cool thing about the Right Guard Open is that it’s open to any local who dares step foot on these giant ramps. So that means the podium could see absolutely anyone with the cajones and skills to make it up there. And things are totally crackling with energy at the open practice sessions. The BMX park is packed. And over at the skate park, crowd favorites Nyjah and Sheckler are looking smooth and relaxed. This is going to be a good one!
Well, I can hear the chanting outside. Dew Tour! Dew Tour! The games have begun. I better get crackin’.
- Steve
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