Marseille? OK!

Thrasher Magazine, Sept, 2002 by Michael Burnett

TruJiLLO KiCKS ASS, PLaNS Dates

MARSEILLE IS NOTORIOUSLY SKETCHY, though I've shaken the sweaty hand of petty crime far more times in Barcelona than in this slightly filthy jewel of the Mediterranean. A port town, it's alleged that ships bring in ne'er-do-wells from all over the globe, though Morocco is the oft-cited source (I doubt the Moroccans see it that way). Aside from a really round-about cab ride, I can't provide any anecdotes of contravention. I did, however, hear a real good one from Hellrides-past, relayed to me through Ethan Fowler.

It seems the Hellriders landed at the Marseille train station (marked as a dangerous spot, even in the most liberal Euro-travel guides) and were approached by a group of toughs who immediately began grabbing up the crew's bags like free samples. The Riders jumped up, snatched them back indignantly and prepared for whatever the Frogs had next. At this point, their assailants changed approach and decided to engage the boys in a little Q and A.

"So what do you think of France?" one of them demanded.

Cardiel narrowed his gaze, squinted and stared him straight in the eyes. "I think it smells like shit!"

They hated this answer. Absolutely hated it. They instantly whipped out knives.

"Luckily, it was a Hellride, so we all had knives too," Ethan told me.

A nerve-wrenching show-down ensued, shanks gleaming in the sun. Luckily the boys were able to get out, un-cut, and continued their vacation unmolested.

You'd think this story would already be a part of skate lore. It would, except for the fact that asking a Hellrider to sit down to a word processor is tantamount to asking him to carry a purse.

Nothing this exciting has ever happened to me in Marseille, but it's good to know the possibilities.

Shit-can Loaded.

There was a real camaraderie among the media at this contest. No one was trying to outdo one another with fancy equipment or by actually getting down into the bowls to get better angles. It was like we were all well-paid company men, offering to get beers for one another and comparing our guts while firing long-lens rounds from the comfort of the shade tree. If there are any 19-year-old photographers Out there looking to get in the game, now would be a good time because the current press corps is pathetic.

As in years past, they gave out free Fosters beer in the oil-can containers. Every day I tried to shoot something early before the inevitable time when my hands would be too full to operate the trigger. Getting drunk in the afternoon is a bad idea, especially if you re more accustomed to a get-drunk-and-go-to-bed schedule of binge drinking. Sobering up in the hottest part of the day gives you a glimpse of what malaria must feel like. Nevertheless, I was mid-day drunk in the blazing sun five days in a row--might as well have been at Lake Havasu with my shirt off. Spring break forever!!!!

Bros in the bowls

A competent crew had assembled, though past placers Cardiel, Chalmers, Ryan Johnson, Jereme Dadlin, Speyer, Zattoni, and Hewitt were all MIA. Here are some of the dudes who showed and what they did:

Pat Smith: Miller flip the spine, fakie rock, Elguerial back over the spine

Steve Bailey: Surf style, shades, nearly nude

Abdul Qatbi: Hot eggs, big airs in the seven-foot bowl

Christian Brox: Kickflip tweakers over the hips

Alain Goikoetkea: Speedy backside tailslides, tank top

Ben Colen: Sunburn comp winner. Looked practically purple

Roman Kackl: Alley-oop kickflip melons over the hip about 10 times. Ignored by judges in best trick

Ben Krahn: Frontside Cabs in the deep end with radically sleepy style

Brewce Martin: Showboated through deck-barging roll-outs, layback air varials, Andrechts, frontside handplants, and lots of bizarre variations where he slid down the surface of the bowls with his hands dragging. Pushed me into the bowl twice

Manuel Palacios: Super smooth with a deep bag of tricks

John Ponts: Aka John Pants. Went bonkers all weekend with severe sunburn, high transfers and a kickflip grab attempt over the Cardiel gap that ended with a separated shoulder

Alan Petersen: Enormous alley-oop backside airs and frontside and backside ollies over the main hip. Hippy-twisted the Cardiel gap with his signature nose grip

Sam Hitz: Paul Zitzer told me when he was a child, a friend at the Turf skatepark pointed to Sam Hitz and told him, "See that kid, that's Sam Hitz. He takes CO-caine!" Sweet deep-end action with mutes over the hips, 5-0 and tailslide reverts and the full Nelson across the entire spanse of the seven-foot bowl. There was no cocaine involved

Neil Heddings: Just plain reckless! Alley-oop frontside airs covering 16 feet--regs or with a kickflip, waist-high kickflip to frontside pivot and enormous bowl-to-bowl jumps in the spine zone. He skipped his runs in the finals, which is appropriate in an underground hero-type situation

Omar Hassan: The returning champ heelflip indy'd over the Cardiel gap, heelflipped to frontside air in the deep and ollied to lipslide revert from the tear drop to the spine. I think he might have even done a McTwist. Total rippage