The Sound And The Fury - skateboarding contest in Seattle, Washington - Brief Article

Thrasher Magazine, August, 2001 by Joe Hammeke

What was supposed to happen:

The best ams in the country converged on the city of Seattle, Washington for the biggest amateur contest of the year. A weekend filled with the best skateboarding, hip hop, and punk rock. Every skater that you've seen in the magazines the past few months was there. Zeke and Mudhoney tore through the all-time favorites while hundreds of fans went nuts demanding more.

The nightlife was off the hook. The local skatepark threw parties each night of the event with free admission to competitors and six kegs of Budweiser. One night was hip hop and the next was punk rock. If you weren't too drunk you could skate the park after hours with your favorite pros until 2 a.m.

What really happened:

Over 300 skaters competed throughout the weekend, of which 125 were factory-sponsored ams. Out of this 125, unless you are from Seattle, you have probably heard of less than one quarter of them. The caliber of skating at any given moment was equivalent to the quality of music coming from the stage, which meant if you were getting bored you would have to be content with being bored until the next heat. Zeke played during the best trick contest which didn't make them too happy, as the majority of the crowd could have cared less what was happening on stage when they wanted to see skateboarding at its best. Supposedly the crowd's lack of enthusiasm for Zeke--which could be attributed to the overzealous security--resulted in Mudhoney deciding not to play.

The nightlife was a bunch of hype. The owner of the skatepark was stressing hard at the people drinking and hanging out in his parking lot, Plus, the rumored kegs were nowhere in site. The bands were there but so was a $10 cover, which was paid before realizing that there would be no kegs. If your favorite pro is Ed Templeton, you were happy to watch him skate throughout the weekend.

The Results

I didn't bother to write any info down, and everyone I talked to afterwards could only tell me who they thought should have won. But I do know that the top five consisted of Josh Falk, Greg Lutzka, Austin Seaholm, another guy named Josh from Spokane, and I think the 11-year-old kid who kickflipped the car. JT Aultz took the best trick contest with a switch tailslide to switch flip out on the picnic table. Ruben Garcia had too many tricks over the car, and the best trick of all would have to go to Josh Falk for being the first to make the 16-foot-plus transfer from the quarterpipe over and onto the pyramid hip.

SEATTLE HIGHLIGHTS

* Gailea Momulu sticking a 360 flip lipsilde over the box, then running over a sleeping toddler.

* Dude dropping in on the seven-foot quarter pipe and colliding with one of the overzealous security guards at the bottom.

* No vert competition.

* Members of the Burnside crew getting into a minor bar brawl. On the way back to the hotel they ran out of gas. Shorty and Lil' Jon start boxing in the street until the cops come and tell them to carry on. (Check the black eye.)

* Dude getting kicked out of the street course for having too much fun.