CULTURE

Scene Building: Jake Jonson to Open Shop in Hometown

Published

2 years ago

July 9, 2021

Skate Newswire

Heads up Jake Johnson fans: The Quasi and Converse pro is opening a shop in State College, PA. Located at 118 S. Pugh St., IQ is slated for a soft opening in August, and a grand opening in September when Penn State students return to campus. Johnson breaks down his vision in an article that ran in the latest edition of The Centre County Gazette.

“Really, we are just trying to help the local scene. Have a place for the kids to basically hide out and hang out and have some community,” Johnson said.

“I have traveled all over for skating and skate shops sort of tie you in. So, if you are out there, and you know that there is a shop, you are going to meet locals.”

The shop can be a community for new and experienced skaters, he said.

“They are going to show you around,” Johnson said. “I grew up in State College and I didn’t know what it was like to have a shop like that. So, what I want to do is bring that experience to town, so if kids are growing up here, I want them to know that there are skate shops all over … there is a community all over.

“I want to sort of bring in that kind of culture.”

With High Point Park skatepark in the planning stages, it sounds like this the beginning of a healthy scene. Read the full article here.

Image Via Vincent Corso

CONTESTS

IOC Announces Winners of First Let’s Move Street Challenge

Published

2 weeks ago

November 15, 2023

Skate Newswire

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has revealed the first-ever winners of the Let’s Move Street Challenge – the unique online competition supported by Worldwide Olympic Partner Samsung, inviting BMX, Breaking and Skateboarding enthusiasts to showcase their best moves and creative skills.

Twenty-one winners from 13 countries have been selected by the judges from thousands of entries, unlocking an all-access trip to watch some of the best athletes competing for their ticket to Paris 2024 at the first Olympic Qualifier Series in Shanghai.

LET’S MOVE STREET CHALLENGE WINNERS

BMX Freestyle Park
Melville Smith (United States of America)
Ozawa “Miharu” Miharu (Japan)

BMX Real Street
Andres “Mickey” Michael (New Zealand)
Eleonora (Greece)

BMX Dirt
Tommy Crail (United States of America)
Michelle Neuner (Switzerland)

Skateboarding Park
Eddie Acres (Australia)
Malgorzata Burkacka (Poland)

Skateboarding Real Street
Carlos Burgos (Cuba)
Guadalupe Aime (Argentina)

Skateboarding Street Park
James Huntley (New Zealand)
Keily Frank

Breaking Best Round
Penny “Penny” Deng (People’s Republic of China)
“Vinilla” Yelyzaveta Ovcharova (Ukraine)

Breaking Power Move
Pisani “Arthur” Alves de Silva Arthur (Brazil)
Bgirl Small (People’s Republic of China)

Breaking Footwork
Keith Jennings “Ghost”
Adejoke “Cruxy” Victoria Akinbogym (Nigeria)

Street culture
Jonatan Mineiro “Ze pequeno BMX” (Brazil)

Best produced
Maxime Castillon (France)

Most surprising video
Higor Cruz “Higorcruzb” Balthazar (Brazil)

These 21 award winners selected by the judges will now have the opportunity to experience first-hand the athletes’ Road to Paris 2024, with an-all access trip to an Olympic qualifying event in Shanghai in May 2024.

The new Olympic Qualifier Series is a four-part event series that will bring together the best athletes in one urban park for a festival-style event and will serve as the ultimate qualification stage for BMX Freestyle, Breaking, Skateboarding and Sport Climbing.

At least half of the qualification spots for Paris 2024 will be allocated through the Olympic Qualifier Series, with 464 athletes set to compete.

The winners were revealed during a one-off, 60-minute show streamed on Olympics.com, bringing together participants, fans and athletes from across the three sports to celebrate the competition and the sports and communities surrounding them.

It was hosted by BMX rider Darryl Nau, and featured judges Christie Hughes (BMX), Suzanne Reekers (Skateboard), BBOY Spin (Breaking) and Little Shao (Creative).

Fans were also able to join a live chat to share their reactions to the winners and interact with each other and had the chance to win exclusive Let’s Move Street Challenge merchandise.

The Let’s Move Street Challenge, supported by Worldwide Olympic Partner Samsung, is a new Olympic initiative from the IOC. It is a unique digital competition that invited people from around the world to showcase their sporting and creative talent in BMX, Breaking and Skateboarding.

With the vision of being open, accessible and inclusive and providing inspiration to practise sport, competitors were invited to enter the challenge by submitting a 30-second video of themselves performing their best move.

All the Olympic Street Challenge entries are available to watch now on Olympics.com.

CULTURE

Tony Hawk and More at When We Were Young Fest

Published

2 weeks ago

November 13, 2023

Skate Newswire

Punk rock and skateboarding collide at When We Were Young Fest held last month! Tony Hawk, Bucky Lasek, Jason Ellis, Jimmy Wilkins and more showed up to skate and mosh.

The two-day event featured performances by top artists of the 2000s, including Avril Lavigne, the singer of Sk8er Boi.

Tony Hawk also had a surprise performance on the stage with the Gold Finger.

CULTURE

Carlisle Aikens Shows What It’s Really Like to Be a Pro Skateboarder

Published

3 weeks ago

November 5, 2023

Skate Newswire

Carlisle Aikens never imagined that he would become a professional skater or a model. In the most recent episode of Hypebeast’s “Diaries” the skater and model reflects on his career while already considering “what’s next?”

Aikens became a part of Next Management just over two years ago, solidifying his dedication to modeling and contributing to a larger amalgamation of the skate world with the high-fashion.