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Ben Birk currently lives on the Right Coast. However he is moving to Mid-Left Coast if you will... somewhere in the deep and remote mountains of the Sierra Nevada's. Here is an ecletic sampling for your relaxation. Check out www.benbirkphoto.com for more goodness.
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Cricket Campus Rail Jam Tour - RECAP U of A!
The University of Arizona sticks out like a rollerblader at Burnside as it rests awkwardly in the middle of Arizona wasteland. Chock full of college coeds, an assortment of dirty transients, aggressive police, and kids that are way to good at skateboarding, the U of A also boasts a few shredders. The Elevation Ski and Snowboard club asked the Galvanic Design crew to make the trek out there for the first stop of the Cricket Campus Rail Jam Tour, and they couldn’t let them down.
The giant margarita makerA quick disclaimer; the Tucson shreds may not be the next Zac Marbens or Tom Wallischs, but one thing that is for certain is that those kids have got heart! This was definitely the one of the most carnage-filled rail events to ever take place. But the riders didn’t seem to mind their repeated brushes with death as they picked themselves up time and time again on their quest for rail destruction.
UA classrooms were emptyPartners in crime, deejay Kid Couture, and MC Chimpy T got the locals (also referred to as “T-locs”) hyped as the 25 tons of cubed ice was crushed and sprayed onto the brand new three-feature setup. With the setup primped and ready for action, heat one got underway and local shred crew “Booyah” quickly made themselves known as members Loren Brinton, Cale Flaherty, and Johnny Bernard came out swinging with an arsenal of solid presses, 180 degree intros and outros, and big smiles. It was hard to tell if the crowd of over 3,000 stunned students were more impressed by the Booyah crew’s tech trickery, or the all out slaughtering of many of the other competitors. Either way, everyone was stoked. Stoked to be riding, stoked to be crashing, stoked to be watching.
Eric Singer – frontboardHeat two played out in similar fashion as the first, with a select few riders dominating the metal masses as the crowd watched in excitement and….confusion. The Tour’s own Shaun Daley, Andrae Cameron, and Eric Singer took the spotlight and stole the crowd’s heart as they plummeted down the setup prepared for battle with childrens’ toy shields and swords. Don’t expect any chivalry when it comes to those boys though. They pillaged the rails and plundered the competition of any hope of reaching the finals. Emily Astiz held it down as one of the two girl riders, throwing down serious boardslides on the intimidating Red Bull “Tall Boy” box. Skiers Nathan Johnson and Shawn DeVerse also joined in the fun and managed to push two planks through the kink.
Shaun and Eric - Prepared for battleWith the snow disappearing fast, the finals began as the sun reached its highest point, bearing down on Tucson with temperatures of over 80 degrees! Falling never seems as bad when it means a quick cool down from the desert heat. The final 30 minute duel served as a faceoff between the Galvanic crew and local Booyah homeboys. Competitors started utilizing the sidebars and gap options in an effort to impress the judges and of course, the hundreds of Tucson honeydips. In the end it was Booyah member, Loren Brinton’s backlips and 5-0s that sealed the deal for the win and a brand new Omatic snowboard. Galvanic team rider, Eric Singer scooped up a second place spot with smooth front and back 360’s off the kink. Johnny Bernard rounded up the pack in third with his assorted pretzels. Emily Astiz’s confident boardslides on the handrail and Red Bull box earned her the “W” for the ladies division, and some serious respect from competitors as she did it all with a broken arm. Skier Nathan Johnson came out on top for the two plankers and walked away with a fresh pair of Boone skis after throwing down stylie switch slides on the Red Bull box . Shawn DeVerse followed closely in second and was rewarded for his efforts with some sick new Spyder outerwear.
Loren Brinton frontboards into first place
(L-R) 3rd place – Johnny Bernard, 1st place – Loren Brinton, 2nd - place Eric Singer
(L-R) 1st place – Nathan Johnson, 2nd place – Shawn DeVerse
1st place – Emily AstizAs the competition came to a close, the crowd refused to disperse as many took the opportunity to create a free, custom t-shirt from Cricket Wireless, or to simply play in the snow. With the first event in the books, the Galvanic crew packed up the semi, waved goodbye to new amigos and is headed towards Tempe for the second event of the Cricket Campus Rail Jam Tour to take place at Arizona State University. The rail jam will be the main attraction of “Devilpalooza” on none other than Friday the 13th. Be sure to hit up www.campusrailjamtour.com to apply to ride and for more info on the tour.
What's New in Vegas
The last year in Vegas was a good one! Here's a re-cap of some of the crazyness, look for more in the nex issue of AllUs dropping in March!
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Vail Snow Daze Rail Jam
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Ricky Rodriguez
Tommy Van Geffen
Joe Otremba
Joe Otremba
Nicccceeeeeeee, back lipper
Ricky Rodriguez
The judges and DCP
Andrew Steward
James "Heath" McCouter
Andrew Steward
Vail Valley loc dawg, Andrew Steward took home 1st place and $3,000 in prize money by winning the Vail Snow Daze Rail Jam. What do you call a local with $3000??? Big ups to the CO loc, Andrew Steward.
*photography by Mike Hardaker
Nate Chismar
photo: Zach Hill
photo: Brad Jameson - Durango
photo: Adam Koch - Taos
photo: Adam Koch - Taos
Stephan Babler
Sponsors Include:
Volcom
Lib Tech
BC Surf and Sport
photo: Matt Berglund
photo: Josh Columbo
Throwin' the dirty bird...
Throwin' the horns...
Off the Map - Steamboat
Photos: Jeff Bernhard
