On Saturday, September 25th, 2010, Tom Wood Scion hosted another "May Tay" skatepark jam [contest, really]. Considering that the skaters of Indianapolis are still at risk of losing Major Taylor forever, and that this could quite possibly be the last event to be held there, I decided to go check it out. If only for old times' sake.
The event flyer.
Brandon Wetherell came in from Boards-Inc [in Richmond, Indiana] to enter the contest, and he dominated all day long with massive aerial attacks all over the park. He's a real pleasure to shoot photos with... very professional, very cool, and just a clean, class act all the way around. Good kid. He's got a long and prosperous future ahead of him.
The crowd was on the small side for a "typical" Major Taylor event... but, still pretty significant. As the day went on, and we got closer to the advanced divisions, the crowd grew pretty quickly.
Bryan Apolskis, the event man-in-charge. The whole thing was pretty organized, and went off without a hitch, so he clearly did a damn good job putting it all together.
Tom Wood Scion, being the title sponsor, was out in force with their new 2011 lineup. I have a soft spot in my heart for Scions anyway, but I thought this new tC looked particularly badass.
The one thing that I didn't see, was a whole lot of presence from any of the local skateshops. Besides Jason's wife from Straight Up (Sorry, but I'm totally sucky with names!), who stopped in to show some support and cheer everybody on... all of the rest of our local shops were totally MIA. Rise perpetually flakes out on these things, while Zumiez' absence was actually a bit of a surprise.
The Old Indy Skaters were out, representing old-school skating in Indianapolis. Skating a bit, keeping it real, checking out the action, supporting the next generation, and cracking a few cold ones along the way. That's what they do...
Dalton Stacy, bluntslide on the 6' quarter. Not "blunt", but "bluntslide"! I wish I'd filmed it, because the pop-out was smooth as butter.
Brett Reed was a force to be dealt with in the advanced division. Like a lot of Indy skaters, his style is a mash-up of a bunch of different eras, attitudes, and sensibilities. In short? Dude can do it all.
Jeff Holcomb, frontside ollie on the six. This kid busts some screeching-ass backside tails on this wall, but I never seem to be at the right place at the right time to snatch one with my soul-stealer. Bummer.
Now, this is what I'm talkin' about...! A happy man, spatula in hand, flippin' some beef around... man, what a sight for sore eyes. Smelled great, too! Any time you say "BBQ", I say "I'm there, broski!"
OIS always reps well at the lunch line: Happy faces mean a successful event.
The Solitary Life has made it our mission to support girls' skateboarding whenever and wherever we can. This young lady was hanging out outside the gate, working on her flatland skills with her friends. We're seeing more and more girls skating around these days, and I think that's fuckin' rad. Keep it up!
Being a "girl skater" doesn't have to mean doing all of the latest and greatest on a skateboard. I saw this gal walking her dog around the parking lot on a skateboard, and I thought that was great! Warren Bolster would've been proud of this one. If you don't know who "Warren Bolster" was, or what he contributed to skateboarding... Google that shit, and get to learnin'.
"Jody Wiegle". Need I really say more...?!
The judges: JJ Mace, Michael Gage, Kiley Kelly, and Bart Kelly. Tim Devlin was there, too. And, the announcer was f'n hysterical. Something like a mix between a sportcaster, and an auctioneer. Dudeman was pretty funny on the mic.
In the absence of local shop support, our local reps stepped up to donate some swag. Michael gage is the perpetual Madrid rep for Indianapolis and vicinity, while Bart does the ad campaigns and sales outreach for Unity Skateboards. JJ Mace is turning pro for Unity at the end of the month... so basically, Madrid and Unity get the bulk of the props for supporting this shindig (as far as skate-companies go).
Looking over Bart's shoulder as he tabulates the advanced finalists. Jordan Mourning was basically an unstoppable force all day long with a crazy bag of tricks, a smooth flow, and virtually no falls all day long... I don't think there was a whole lot of argument over who the "winner" was.
The Champ collects his bounty: Jordan Mourning collecting his swag and cash.
The Legends (from left): Michael Gage, Michael Leines, and Spitfire Rob. Gage won it... but really, these guys are all true champs in my book.
