June 20th marks the beginning of summer for us here in the U.S. of A. This means the days get longer, the nights get shorter, and the heat gets hotter. This also means that the following day, June 21st, is National Go Skateboarding Day! A day to be celebrated with barbecues, contests, friends, and lots of skateboarding. This year we strayed away from the traditional "Go Skate Day Contest" theme and celebrated the day with smaller challenges; Launch ramp longest ollie, launch ramp best trick, and a switch push race. Things heated up quite quick with our own Giovanni Taylor blasting a 13 foot, 8 inch long ollie off of the ramp to take the cake. It really is something to watch a bunch of kids push their hearts out toward a sketchy wooden ramp and hope for the best. The Best Trick portion pushed the little whippersnappers to reach deep into their bag of tricks and best their friends. Our personal favorite challenge was the switch push race due to the carnage that it instantly produced. There were still people on the first turn by the time our winner crossed the finish line, a true testament to his ability to push and ride in the opposite stance.
Alongside our silly little challenges and day of celebration was also the two year anniversary of our beloved local Skate Zine, Adult Skateboarding. While it may not be of the highest grade, the Adult Zine is a labor of love and it is always a pleasure to flip through the pages and look at all the rippers that live in Auburn. If you get a chance then we definitely recommend getting your hands on a copy or even submitting some content yourself.
Once the "contests" concluded, it was time for some serious grilling and chilling. With music blasting and flames roaring, it's pretty hard to not have a good time. The session continued to go off while laughter and cheer echoed amongst the walls of the skatepark. Our good friend Jason Darneal came equipped with his camera and snapped some great shots all throughout the evening. Scroll through them below and get excited for next year. Thank you to all who came through and made the night a fun one. We have something big planned for next year, so get ready!
Above: Giovanni Taylor - Stalefish
Above: Justin Barrett - Hurricane Grind
Above: Giovanni Taylor - Going the distance with a 164 inches ollie
Above: The gang gathers around the grill master himself, Jason Watson