No contest

Thrasher Magazine, Sept, 2003 by Joe Hammeke

FROM A WRITER/PHOTOGRAPHER PERSPECTIVE, the European Bowlrider contests can't be beat. The locations are highly luxurious-the first contest took place in the Austrian Alps, and the second in the South of France. Both locations would make your parents wish they were going along for a second honeymoon. Plus these contests take place outside, so no photo problems of dimly-lit auditoriums and boring course layouts. The other perk is the promoters treat everyone involved (including everyone entered and the media covering the event) with hotel accommodations and food for the duration. Etnies even chartered a bus to take everyone--whether they rode for Etnies or not--from Austria to Marseille and to stop at several skate parks along the way. The hotels we stayed in were top-notch. No Tampa roach motels or nine people to a room, either. Each of us had a room with a view.

The first contest of the two part series took place in Brixlegg/Rattenburg, Austria. Not a lot of American pros made it to this portion, and excuses ranged from "I was on another tour" to "I just spaced it 'til it was too late." So my duties here weren't too excessive, which freed me up to get to know some of the European skaters a little better. This is one of the beauties of skateboarding. It allows you to see the world and meet new people easier than probably any other method. I know a lot of people who have made it overseas with little to no plans when leaving the states; just a skateboard and a map to a few skate spots. Once they get there the locals help them out with places to skate, perform as interpreters, and often offer floor space.

These are a few of the European skaters I got to know a little better.

MANUEL PALACIOS

I guess way back in 1990 Manuel came to the United States and spent a few weeks in Nebraska, where I was living at the time. I must have skated with him then because we talked about a few events that both of us were at. He still lives in Spain, and helps manage the Quiksilver Europe team. He even won the contest in Austria with spontaneous tricks that he hadn't even tried in practice. Crailslide at the Cradle Skate Park.

MARC HAZIZA

Last year Al Partanen, Ben Krahn and I stayed at Marc's apartment in Paris for a few days after the Marseille contest. He took us to all the famous Paris spots. Most of them are only a few blocks from his house. This year Marc came through with the goods when we got to Lugano, Switzerland. The park was a mirror-image of Marseille, except the construction pretty much sucked. Poor transitions with kinks didn't stop him from getting his stalefish over the hip

DAVID MARTELLEUR

David is from Belgium and just happens to be my favorite Euro skater. Each night he was the last one at the party, and each morning he was always up skating hours before any of the other partying skaters showed up. Jose Noro told me that he went to visit David in Belgium and David was 86ed from every bar they tried to go to. He stuck this varial lien over the hip at Annecy within three tries after I offered up a six-pack if he made it.

OMAR vs PATCH

On qualifying day, Omar Hassan and Brian Patch were placed in the same heat. This had Omar a little concerned. At lunch he mentioned it, but once the heat got under way we really got to witness it. Actually it was quite amusing, and gave more than a few of us something to make fun of while watching it unfold. See, these two have similar styles and both are pretty competitive when it comes to this contest. Since everyone in a heat skates at the same time, it can get tough to know what your competition is up to. Most skaters are not really concerned with what the others are doing and just concentrate on doing their best. But for guys like Omar--who can win a contest without necessarily pulling out all the stops--it's important for him to know what he's up against. When Patch would skate a different area of the park, Omar was soon to follow. Patch did an air over the hip. Omar would follow it up with a bigger one. Patch transferred to the big bowl, Omar was soon to follow. This went on for the entire 10-minute h eat. Oblow and I laughed the entire time. Thanks guys.

TONY vs TONY

That night there was another contest, this time at the bar. I wasn't there so I had to get the story second hand, but this is what I could gather from my sources. Tony Miorana, AKA Two Beer Tony, AKA Tony Moron-o, was heckling Tony Alva pretty hard. Pretty much in an effort to piss him off enough to fight him, or in this case just beat him up pretty good. I guess this went on for a while until Alva had heard enough shit talking about himself, his friends, and his former teammates. After tossing Miorana across several tables (all the while Miorana still talking it up), Alva punched Miorana in the face, knocking his two front teeth loose. I saw Miorana the next morning and although he didn't look too good he was claiming victory. Not too sure of what he meant, I asked him to explain. "You see, I remained calm. Alva was the one who lost control and started hitting me. Besides, do you win a fight if the other guy doesn't fight back?" I guess he had a point because when I went to Alva to get his side of the story he was still worked up about the whole thing.