RDS Tough Guy Tour II: The Court Date - Red Dragons Skateboarders

Thrasher Magazine, Jan, 2002 by Scott Pommier

Last fall the Red Dragons hit the road. They journeyed from Vancouver, British Columbia to Edmonton, Alberta via Calgary. They dubbed the trek the Tough Guy Tour. During their travels they ran into a few complications with locals who reckoned that they were even tougher guys. Suffice to say that scuffles ensued, police were involved, and notices to appear in court were served. As it would turn out the court date fell on the anniversary of the Tough Guy Tour. Since one of the accused was the team filmer, it made sense among all concerned to follow him to his trial and make an article out of the whole sordid affair.

Here's a list of the people (*) who came:

Joosef "Moses" ltkonen

Paul "The Mack" Machnau

Ryan "Muffin Head" Smith

Mike "The Hastie" Hastie

Sean "Sir Isaac" Hayes

Glenn "Sug Life" Suggitt

Russ "The Ruska" Milligan

Gailea "hop-along" Momolu

Jeremy "Commander Death Lens" Pettit

(*) Some of the above nicknames are fictitious; nobody really calls Sean Hayes "Sir Isaac" for example. Oddly enough "Muffin Head" is legit

NATURE'S BROOM

There is a plum tree right outside the front door to Ryan's basement suite, so just prior to departure Moses climbed the tree in order to lob the fruit down to me. I caught (most of) the fruit and bagged it. By the time we were done we had a good 12 pounds of plums. By the end of the first night the bag had been emptied of its contents. Needless to say there was a mad dash for the washrooms when we finally arrived at the hotel.

MISSION

Since Moses spends a lot of time travelling, he doesn't get to see his folks too often. We made a short stop so he could visit his childhood home in Mission, BC. Everyone was treated to some fresh baked buns and some hearty soup. The stop left most of us baffled as to where Moses' fiery temper comes from since his parents were so kind and gentle.

THE BEST CDIOWN

Moses brought a CD that Syd Clark (RDS North Van store manager) had given him. The CD was a home-made dub and had the words "This is the best CD I own" written in marker on its surface. This little bootlegged gem contained some downright bizarre remixes of both popular and obscure songs. The Best CD I Own became something of an anthem for the journey and before long nearly everyone was singing either "Dust in the Wind" or "Like a Prayer," which prompted more than one member of the group to purchase a Madonna CD. Why no one was inspired to pick up whichever Bruce Hornsby and the Range album it is that features "That's Just the Way it is" remains a mystery.

THE COURT DATE

The Fallout from last year's brouhaha and the event around which this year's trip was planned was Ryan and Jeremy's day in court. Each of the boys had their own lawyer, and in fact there were separate hearings for each of their cases. Ryan's lawyer advised him to go for the gusto with a trial (which is set for six months from now) while Jeremy decided to throw himself on the mercy of the court. For his part he was given some community service hours and a few meetings with a probation officer. Hardly the high drama of an episode of Law and Order.

HEAVEN ON EARTH

Words cannot do Kelowna's Ben Lee skateboard park justice; it must be experienced first hand. Let's hope that whoever was responsible for the design and construction of this park wins every skatepark contract there is, because this place is as close to perfect as any of us had ever seen. Some of us were even getting up at 8:30 in the morning to skate (this may not sound shocking to those of you who attend school or hold down traditional jobs, but let me assure you--this is not standard fare for professional skateboarders.)

The Kelowna Park was also the home of the only official demo the team put on. You see, since Moses is a veteran of the professional circuit, he's been on many a skateboard trip where the demo schedule is so taxing that street skating becomes a chore, so when he sets up tours up he keeps the obligations light. The team responded by kicking it into overdrive at Ben Lee.

A few locals joined in the fun without coming off like hometown heroes. Sheldon Meleshinsky is damn good. Moses worked the long ledge down the double-dubsy; Russ and Gailea got busy on a bank to high ledge. Hastie blasted kickflip melons over a platform. Ryan hit up the metal bench. Paul was biding his time. Hayes was chatting up the ladies and Jeremy was running around like a chicken with its head cut off, trying to videotape all the action. I shirked my photo obligations for a bit to get a little skating in myself. I was off in a corner when I heard the crowd starting to cheer more loudly than they had been. I skated over to the full-scale kinked rail and witnessed Paul gap out to a below-sea-level lipslide. It was at this point that I realized I was blowing it. I scrambled to find the keys to the truck, then raced to get my gear. I made it back to the kinker just fractions of a second after Paul made a gap to Smith. I quickly set up, hoping I could sheepishly talk Paul into a repeat. He told me he had othe r plans. A few tries later and he was rolling away from an incredible gap to nosegrind. The crowd was suitably amazed. After an extended autograph signing and even a hug from a local mom we were off to the hotel for showers, hottubbin,' and Veggie Burgers.