Element Celebrates Go Skateboarding Day With Jam, Premiere
Jun 22 2007 / Orange County, CA
|
Throngs of young skaters descended upon the Active skate shop starting around 2 p.m., where members of the Element skate team, including Nyjah Huston, Tony Taye, Chad Muska, Levi Brown and Chad Tim Tim were on hand to skate and sign autographs. An outdoor course was set up in the parking lot next to Active's building with a variety of rails, blocks and ramps and everyone took part in the jam, ranging from kids barely as tall as the ramps to Element Skateboards founder and president Johnny Schillereff.
|
||||||||||
Most of the pro skaters were able to make a run or two, but fans weren't disappointed as everyone took as much time as needed to sign every poster, deck, shirt, shoe, short, hat and cell phone that was put in front of them. Huston, who skipped the opening date of the AST Dew Tour to make the appearance, was arguably the most popular with fans, though Muska definitely drew a constant crowd.
For those hoping to see Huston on the tour this season, Adeyemi Huston, Nyjah's dad, said he might hit a contest as long as it didn't conflict with other obligations.
A best trick contest started around 3:30 p.m. and drew the largest crowd. Dozens of skaters hit the mini ramp trying to win one of a few special Element decks or wheels being handed out. The pros acted as judges, handing out the decks when they saw a trick they thought deserved it. During the contest Muska took his place with the other skaters, showing how it should be done.
The best trick contest wrapped a little after 4 p.m., but kids were happy to keep celebrating Go Skateboarding Day as long as possible, though some left to find their way to Newport Beach for the special screening of "This is My Element."
Kids started to line up at the historic Lido Theater around 6 p.m.. There were two screenings of the video, with the first one open to the public for a small fee (any money paid went to Element's non-profit organization Elemental Awareness, which hosted both events). Many skaters showed up early to sign more autographs, including Muska, who played the crowd, taking pictures that he planned to upload to his own website, TheMuska.com
In the first screening, a near-capacity crowd was treated first to a short introduction by Schillereff, who thanked fans for their support and for being part of the biggest premiere ever for a skateboarding video (taking into account the 350+ worldwide locations showing the video the same day). He also referenced those who were there at the earlier event.
"I was the old fart skating today," he joked. "I can barely ollie."
He then introduced the full Element team -- almost all of whom had parts in the new video. A couple of skaters were absent, but on hand were plenty of others, including Huston, Muska, Tim Tim, Tave, Brown, Darrell Stanton, Brent Atchley, Tosh Townend, Vanessa Torres and local phenom Collin Provost (winner of the 2007 Phoenix AM).. Each skater was given a special Element deck to commemorate their support to the team.Once the decks were handed out, skaters joined the fans to watch the video for the first time. The lights went down and the crowd was treated to nearly an hour of trick after trick after trick -- many of which elicited cheers and applause. Huston's part led off the video, and his reception was among the best. His part was also the longest, with just about every trick in his arsenal coming out, including the backside 180, frontside hurricane and a kickflip to feeble grind for good measure.
The video's title, "This is My Element," also describes the theme of it -- trying to catch each skateboarder in their element. For some like Huntington Beach's Tosh Townend and Portland's Brent Atchley, this meant literally seeing them on their hometown's streets. For others, like Bam Margera, it meant capturing a scene where he is pulled over by a motorcycle officer for various offenses. That's immediately followed by a series of insane moments from his life (so well captured in Viva Le Bam and Jackass) like driving a quad on a half pipe, driving a car into a swimming pool and jumping off a trampoline onto his board and down the ramp.
Levi Brown and Collin Provost also both got nice receptions from the fans.
After the fist screening, some of the pros and fans weighed in with their thoughts about who or what was best about the video.
"Look out for Levi Brown," Stanton told Lat34. His sentiment echoed many of the pros, who counted Brown as one of their faves.
For his part, Brown told Lat34 he liked everyone, though he noted Stanton, Brent and Huston were amazing.
Huston was a favorite of the fans, as well.
"Nyjah was pretty good," said Connor Richard of Huntington Beach, who was at both the skate jam and screening.
"It was sick," added his brother, Jake. "It could be a little longer"
For his part, Nyjah smiled when asked about the video, saying it was "good."
After the first screening a special VIP screening brought in people from within the industry and other skateboarders, including recent Best Rookie TWS Awards nominee Jake Duncombe . The reception was similar -- Huston received the most applause, but Brown got his share of cheers. All riders got some love from the crowd, though.
After the screening, many in the crowd headed down the street to an after-party at Rudy's Bar, where an Element-themed bar menu served up drinks like The Muska on the Wagon (bottled water); The Bam Hammer (Kamikaze); Nyjah's Natural (Cranberry & OJ mix); and Brent's Margarita Meltdown (Margarita on the rocks, no salt).
The Muska set up behind the dual turntables, plugged in his Mac and went to work, spinning tunes and keeping the capacity crowd rocking . It was a great way to close out Go Skateboarding Day -- and there wasn't a skateboard in sight...
- Greg Baerg
