The story of the good old “American dream” is more like a surreal fairy tale, but the modern version of the story could be the life of the Pabich family which is very real.
We have met both, Roman & Cedric on several Vans Park Series events throughout the years and those guys are going for it and are very fun to watch. Knowing all of this now makes it so much cooler that they are successful and accepted in the world of skateboarding.
Another great short film by Patrick O’Dell.
You might have noticed that the banners are up, the first test runs are being made and this week it will be decided who will win the Vans Park Series stop in Paris. But first, we would like to share with you one of the best VPS best trick sessions we have ever seen.
As always the skaters went big, the money was flowing as was the beer at the Montréal landmark spot the “BIG O”!
If you don’t know the “O” Watch the Canadian episode of the loveletters if you don’t know about this landmark but either way enjoy this close up and personal view of what went down that day.
After the party is the after-party and after that is probably the hotel lobby but in Montréal we got the after-party on the first day of the contest. “The Big O” is a legendary Canadian skate spot that was host to some serious destruction during this VPS.
Text by Roland Hoogwater.
Photos by Conny Mirbach.
You might have seen Jake Wooten blazing through it on our Instagram but trust us when we say many…many more tricks did go down during this wild onslaught in and around the Big O.
And before we spoil you with the moving images of the Park Series we figured the stills tell their very own story of what happened at this staple spot.
Check out Part One of our coverage here.
Special thanks go out to Vans for the support.
When we flew to China we arrived at Shanghai airport as two tourists, my travel companion had been to the “People’s Republic of China” before but it was my first time in Asia. I didn’t know what we were in for but I was down to experience it all, we both wanted to see as much as possible.
We had brought along the perfect tool for that, an old Digital 8 “tourist style” handy cam. Armed with both the “handy cam” and our boards we chose to visit not only the Vans Park Series but everything else that Suzhou, Jiangsu and the Chinese people had to offer us.
First off, I have some information for you, “the internet” is not the same in the PRC, no Facebook, Instagram or even Google! This was at times a big plus because instead of looking down to our devices we looked up into the somewhat smog-filled part of the world we were in.
Secondly, we didn’t want to spend all our time at the hotel or at the event. “When in Rome” you don’t just want to stay inside the Coliseum, right? So one-day Oski (bless his heart) managed to get us some free (complimentary) bikes and we were off into the weird wilderness of China’s concrete jungle.
Now, we were two white guys. Normally that is not a big deal but we were in a part of China that did not have many westerners in it. This Caused us to become somewhat of a circus show at times. People wanted to skype their families together with us, stared without shame, took “secret” pictures and the biggest bonus, they allowed us to go and see and do everything. Nobody told us no! We went into temples, factories, sweatshops and “fake supreme shops” all with our “tourist camera” in hand.
That brings me to my second to last point:
Environmental groups are not completely against dams. We approve of appropriate development.
Ma Jun, Chinese environmentalist.
Now after reading this quote you might be confused about the link to the Vans Park Series right? Well, there is no link other than that we put a large percentage of “random” quotes in this video. Not normal quotes (spoken ones) but quotes printed on various pieces of clothing.
We found these quotes (in a store that sold fakes) that seemed random and were often badly spelled and connected them to our experiences in Suzhou. So instead of trying to make sense of the quote at the top of this article just know it is a random quote we found and used, in a similar way as all the others you will see in our video.
Finally, if that didn’t convince you to watch the video let me assure you that we have included some great moves by people like Romand Pabich, Oskar (Oski) Rozenberg-Hallberg, Brighton Zeuner, Kokona Hiraki and a dancing, screaming but overall ripping Pedro Barros. Press play and enjoy the ride!
Welcome Skateboards went to Berlin and they managed to skate the Soviet War Memorial in Berlin between the police patrol. Also, they left some pretty brutal marks on some spots in the Netherlands, feat.: Will Blaty, Ryan Lay, Ryan Townley, Aaron Goure, Daniel Vargas, Roman Pabich, Rick Fabro & Dakota Hunt.
Next to loads of transition ripping, Jordan Sanchez brings you some wizardry on crusty spots, Will Blaty comes through with some early grab madness and Ryan Lay’s nollie game is on another level. Available for a limited only, watch Welcome Skateboards’ new full-length video “Fetish” now.
Featuring: Nora Vasconcellos, Ryan Lay, Aaron Goure, Jordan Sanchez, Will Blaty, Daniel Vargas, Ryan Townley, Rick Fabro, Roman Pabich & Jason Salillas.