While you and the rest of the country are about to freeze your arses off because winter is just around the corner, the people of Sao Paulo Brazil (and Los Angeles) are living it up with some of the most beautiful weather around.  You may not have known this but them Sao Pauloins held the epic Oi! MegaRamp contest this past weekend and Oi! has a great website up for it.  Results as follows.

Final Results
1. Bob Burnquist
2. Jake Brown
3. Andy MacDonald
4. Buster Halterman
5. Rob Loriface
6. Adam Taylor

Best Trick
Bob Burnquist

Highest Air
Jake Brown

Go over to the OiMegaRamp website for fully loaded coverage with great photos, videos, and foreign language journalism.  Now I bet you wish you paid more attention in your Portuguese classes. 

To see Danny Way’s unfortunate injury due to a mega ramp slam, go HERE. 
 

As you can see in the video below, Way didn’t land cleanly after clearing the gap, sliding down the landing in obvious pain.  Way was reportedly taken to the hospital and diagnosed with two broken vertebrae, though he has subsequently been released.

Sandro Dias is scheduled to replace Way in the contest and another skater is sought to replace Pierre-Luc Gagnon, who did not make the trip.

Read more here (on through Google’s translator).

Skateboarding which is a multi billion-dollar business and requires finite recourses needs to evolve its industry if it wants to be ahead of the game.  While sports like snowboarding, and surfing, and HEELY, are taking advantage of today’s innovative technology, skateboarding is content with using the same old boring wood using the same old boring techniques.  We’re living in the age of “Green”!  Let’s experiment here.  Maybe we can develop a material that can help us ollie higher.  Or how about SANDALS built into the deck so that we can get a smoother ride?  I’ll have to continue dreaming I guess. 

But in the meantime, skateboarder’s Jeff King and Paul Schmitt got together for an eco-friendly episode of Built to Shred on FUEL TV.  Today’s modern skater demands immediate satisfaction.  When they see a something kind of skateable on the streets, they work there and then to make it skateable by any means.  By utilizing solar panels to feed power tools, the pair is able to build skateboards and share good times at Bob’s ramp and Paul’s personal backyard bowl.  Not to mention they make a skateboard out of bamboo, hemp: material that will grow quick and efficiently.  And sometimes smoke.  

Through using the sun and their solar panels, they find creative ways to harvest power from the sun, recycle use materials, and improve their skate session. Guest appearances inlcude: Pat Duffy, Nilton Neves, Patrick Melcher, Bob Burnquist, and Bruno Passos. Check out other Built to Shred episodes on Fuel TV on Sundays at 8pm ET/PT.

Check out the episode HERE.

Just look at the case of Bob Burnquist surfer friend Valter Vale from Brazil.  Shred Or Die has a magnificent video featuring the surfer taking on the Mega Ramp that Bob built.  What you are about to see is an amazing display of a natural ability to ride a skateboard.  What you are about to see would take months before other skaters grew the balls and the skills to pull off what he did. All the other Mega Ramp skaters are fortunate that Valter won’t take up skateboarding full time otherwise he would be taking home all the X Games medals.  The dude at end of the video floored by the performance is Bob.  Check it!

It was supposed to be easy for Bucky — he was first in the points standing and needed a first or second-place finish (depending on where everyone else placed) to win his third Dew Cup.  Instead, he fell and ended up in last place, opening the contest up to Bob Burnquist, Andy Macdonald and Pierre-Luc Gagnon, who trailed him in the Dew Cup standings.

PLG took advantage by winning the contest with a huge 96.00 run — Andy Mac finished in second for the contest (and  only 13 points behind PLG in the Dew Cup race) and Danny Mayer came in third.  Burnquist ended up in sixth-place.

For PLG, the win comes three years after coming close to getting the Dew Cup in 2005 (he lost it when Lasek won it in the final contest).  PLG’s season has been a remarkable one outside the AST Dew Tour, with wins at the X Games and the Maloof Money Cup.  And while he has won at the Dew Tour before, this was his first win of the season (he had three second-place finishes).

Skate Vert Final Results – PlayStation Pro
October 18, 2008 – Orlando, FL
1. Pierre-Luc Gagnon, Canada, 96.00
2. Andy Macdonald, Boston, 87.00
3. Danny Mayer, Omaha, Neb., 86.00
4. Sandro Dias, Brazil, 85.25
5. Adam Taylor, Cocoa Beach, Fla., 81.00
6. Bob Burnquist, Brazil, 80.75
7. Anthony Furlong, Tampa, Fla., 79.50
8. Buster Halterman, Wellsville, Calif., 75.25
9. Jean Postec, France, 71.75
10. Bucky Lasek, Baltimore, 45.75

When Bob Burnquist was sitting down over a decade ago watching Danny Way and Colin McCay as wet behind the ears teenagers on Plan B’s very influential first video “The Questionable Video”, I highly doubt he ever imagined he would be in a band with one of his idols. I’m sure he knew in the back of his mind he would be skating with these guys with the level of talent he has, but definitely not playing music.

Well almost two decades later and with a more refined and outstanding citizen in Danny Way (I don’t think he throws cake at innocent bystanders anymore), the two have collaborated to create Escalera. Escalera is a six-man jam piece that has an eclectic style that no existing genre can be attached.

The band was founded when Danny and Bob put their competitiveness aside to create music whenever they weren’t skating the Mega Ramp. I’m sure being in the air that long inspires some good jams in their head. They are now touring and have a neat Myspace page. Check out the press release below and check out the video as well.

PRESS RELEASE
Escalera began when Danny Way and Bob Burnquist put their competition spirits aside and found they were playing music whenever they weren’t skating the MegaRamp together. Escalera can be described as an eclectic blend of laid back feel-good rhythms infused with raw metallic riffs.

Escalera have previously played live with Ziggy Marley, Switchfoot, Jason Mraz, Nickel Creek, Timmy Curran, Juliette Lewis and the Licks, A Fine Frenzy, Tom Curren, Rey Fresco, Musket and Todd Hannigan

Escalera Band Members:
Ananda -vocals/guitar, Bob Burnquist-percussion. Danny Way-guitar, Casey Gee- guitar/vocals, Jason Mueller-bass, and Joey Max Piro-drums

The Northern California tour is as follows:

September, 25 2008 08:00 PM – SoHo
1221 State Street, Santa Barbara, – $8 Adv $10 Day Of

Along with performances by Todd Hannigan and Stripes and Lines. For additional information please call 805-962-7776 or www.sohosb.com

September, 26 2008 08:00 PM – Fishlips
1517 18th St., Bakersfield, California – $5
Along with performances by Todd Hannigan and Stripes and Lines. For additional information please call 661-324-2557 or www.fishlips.org 21+over

September, 27 2008 08:00 PM – Rock-It-Room
406 Clement Street, San Francisco, California – $8
Along with performances by Todd Hannigan and Stripes and Lines. For additional information please call 415.387.6343 or www.rock-it-room.com 21+over

It took four years but Andy Macdonald has finally won an AST Dew Tour event, taking the Skate Vert finals at the Toyota Challenge in SLC on Sunday.

Macdonald edged Pierre-Luc Gagnon by a quarter-point to take the win, throwing a monkey wrench into the Dew Cup standings with one event left.  Each Dew Tour event has been won by a different skateboarder and only Shaun White, who competed only in the Right Guard Open, is out of the race for the Dew Cup.

Bucky Lasek (winner of the Panasonic Open) currently holds a slim 5-point lead over Bob Burnquist (who won last month’s Wendy’s Invitational).  Macdonald is in third, 15 points behind, while PLG is fourth, 17 points behind.

If Lasek wins next month’s PlayStation Pro, he is in line to win his third AST Dew Cup.  He can still take home the cup by coming in second (if PLG or Macdonald wins — depending on a tiebreaker).  Burnquist can take home the cup with a win or a significantly better finish than Macdonald and Lasek.  Even PLG has a shot, though he would have to win outright and hope for some strange results coming after him.

It is not known at this time if Shaun White will be competiting at the PlayStation Pro, though he is out of the running for the Dew Cup.  White won it last year.

Check out the full results below.

Skate Vert Final Results – Toyota Challenge
September 14, 2008 – Salt Lake City, UT

1st – Macdonald, Andy – 90.50
2nd – Gagnon, Pierre-Luc – 90.25
3rd – Burnquist, Bob – 88.25
4th – Taylor, Adam – 87.75
5th – Lasek, Bucky – 87.00
6th – Dias, Sandro – 82.75
7th – Bastos, Marcelo – 77.00
8th – Hendrix, Neal – 75.50
9th – Halterman, Buster – 68.75
10th – Perelson, Alex – 51.50

Skate Vert Prelim Results – Toyota Challenge
September 12, 2008 – Salt Lake City, UT

1st – Macdonald, Andy – 85.75
2nd – Dias, Sandro – 84.25
3rd – Perelson, Alex – 82.50
4th – Taylor, Adam – 79.75
5th – Bastos, Marcelo – 77.25
6th – Halterman, Buster – 75.75
7th – Hendrix, Neal – 73.25
8th – Millar, Renton – 71.00
9th – Stafford, Josh – 70.25
10th – Sloan, Elliot – 70.25
11th – Mayer, Danny – 64.75
12th – Furlong, Anthony – 64.25
13th – Ueda, Lincoln – 63.25
14th – Postec, Jean – 52.00
15th – Glifberg, Rune – 48.00
16th – Lorifice, Rob – 45.00

Pierre-Luc Gagnon found some redemption Saturday at the Wendy’s Invitational in Portland OR, after a tough showing last month in Cleveland’s Right Guard Open but it was veteran Bob Burnquist who ended up taking the top spot.  AST Dew Cup points leader Bucky Lasek had a tough day, coming in third while Sandro Dias, the top qualifier, finished fouth.

PLG won at the X Games earlier this month and also took the top prize at the Maloof Money Cup last month, but he’s been unable to secure a win at the Dew Tour.  He currently ranks third in the Dew Cup standings, within reach of leader Lasek and second-place skater Burnquist.  Shaun White, last month’s first-place winner at the Right Guard Open, did not participate in the contest and is out of the running for the Dew Cup championship, which he won last year.  Lasek won it in 2005 and 2006.

Due to NBC’s Olympic coverage, the event was not broadcast live and instead will be shown in one week on August 30th starting at 4 p.m. ET.

Here are the final results and keep reading for an official release from today’s action.

Skate Vert Final Results – Wendy’s Invitational
August 23, 2008 – Portland, OR

1st – Burnquist, Bob – 91.25
2nd – Gagnon, Pierre-Luc – 89.75
3rd – Lasek, Bucky – 86.50
4th – Dias, Sandro – 86.25
5th – Macdonald, Andy – 86.25
6th – Halterman, Buster – 85.25
7th – Taylor, Adam – 78.25
8th – Perelson, Alex – 77.00
9th – Lorifice, Rob – 73.00
10th – Stafford, Josh – 73.00

Veteran Vert Skaters Fighting Assault Of Young Guns In Race For Dew Cup

NEW YORK – Aug. 23, 2008 – Rising stars Adam Taylor, Alex Perelson, Rob Lorifice and Josh Stafford, all under the age of 20, may be the future of Vert, but the past and present kingpins are proving in the race for the 2008 Dew Cup that they aren’t quite ready to pass the torch yet. After Saturday’s Vert Finals at Portland’s Wendy’s Invitational, experienced veterans Bucky Lasek and Bob Burnquist are still holding down the top two spots in the vert standings.

With only two stops to go in the ‘08 season, the race for the cup is tight with the top four spots dominated by seasoned skaters separated by just 50 points.  With a third-place finish on Saturday, Lasek is still holding on to the top spot with 260 points.  But with his first victory of the season, Burnquist is stalking Lasek and trailing but by just 15 points.  Pierre-Luc Gagnon (PLG) trails Burnquist by only 22 points and perennial contender Andy Macdonald sits just 13 points behind PLG.

The 35-year-old Lasek, of Baltimore, Md., is not comfortable with his slim lead over the competition and knows he needs to skate his best in Salt Lake City and Orlando if he wants to win back the Dew Cup that he earned in ‘05 and ’06.

“I can’t believe how good I was skating in practice but how bad I skated when it counted,” Lasek said.  “I guess this gives me that extra little motivation to skate better on the next two stops if I want to win this thing.  I’m stoked for Bob, but it’s going to be a good race from here on out.”

The victory was what Burnquist, 31, of Brazil, needed to stay in the running with Lasek, Gangon and the rest of the field.  The experienced vert legend, who had put together a string of solid runs this week during practice, finally got it to click in his third and final chance in Portland.

“I knew I had to put together a great third run,” Burnquist said.  “I don’t really know what happened, but I pulled everything off and I’m stoked.

“I can’t believe I’m up on the podium with Bucky and PLG.  These guys are heavy hitters.  It was a great competition and I’m thrilled with the victory.”

The youngest rider in the top four spots but still a seasoned veteran, Gagnon, 28, of Montreal, Canada, came into Saturday’s finals ranked second in the race for the cup but was bumped to third with his second place finish behind Burnquist.

“I kind of played it safe in the second run and tried to break it out in the third,” Gagnon said.  “Bob just came out swinging and I’m superpsyched for him.”

Gagnon captured first last year in Salt Lake City and a victory this year in Utah could possibly catapult him to first place in the standings.  For that to happen, Lasek and Burnquist would have to fail to make the podium, a rare occurrence that doesn’t seem likely the way the legendary skaters are competing this season.

Macdonald, 35, of Boston, Mass., was disappointed with his showing in the finals but is still in the race sitting just 50 points behind the leader.

“I have to skate better than I did today if I want to be in the race for the Cup,” Macdonald said.  “I’d like to be in the top three and I need to skate more consistently than I did in this stop.”

With only two competitions remaining in the ’08 season, the Toyota Challenge in Salt Lake and the PlayStation Pro in Orlando, the race for the cup is heating up and the veterans are proving that experience truly is a key to success in vert.

Currently in its fourth year, the AST Dew Tour is the most watched and attended action sports property in the world.  Attendance for the 2007 AST Dew Tour totaled 280,000 and an average of 41 million viewers tuned in via NBC and USA each year. The top athletes in the world will take part in this year’s Tour, all competing for the highly coveted Dew Cup that will be awarded in Orlando at season’s end to champions in each of the six disciplines. The 2007 Dew Cup winners include Nate Adams (Freestyle Motocross), Jamie Bestwick (BMX Vert), Ryan Nyquist (BMX Dirt), Daniel Dhers (BMX Park), Shaun White (Skateboard Vert) and Ryan Sheckler (Skateboard Park).

The complete 2008 AST Dew Tour schedule is as follows:

Event                           Date                             Location
Panasonic Open            June 19-22                    Baltimore, Md.—Camden Yards Sports Complex
Right Guard Open          July 17-20                     Cleveland, OH—North Coast Harbor
Wendy’s Invitational       Aug. 21-24                    Portland, Ore.—Rose Quarter
Toyota Challenge           Sept. 11-14                   Salt Lake City, UT—EnergySolutions Arena
PlayStation® Pro            Oct. 16-19                     Orlando, Fla.—Amway Arena

The beginning of the night was not promising, as most of the field of six couldn’t have a clean landing on the megaramp, but that all changed all in the third set of runs (out of five).  Way was first, returning after a massive fall of his own, to land a sick backflip over the gap on the way to a 90.33 and first place.  Interviewed immediately after, Way mused his foot might even be broken from the fall.  But moments later Brown brought the crowd to its feet with a huge backside no-grab 360 leading into a mctwist for a 91.33 — a score that looked like it would hold up.  But Bob Burnquist, the top qualifier, had different plans.  He dropped in switch with a kickflip mute over the 70-foot gap and moments later it was a rae as he had the top spot with a 93.33.

At that moment the contest came down to those three, with the other competitors nowhere near the top of the pack.  The fourth runs didn’t change things at all as Brown tried and missed for the legendary 720 (the trick he landed before his quarterpipe fall last year) and Way fell again, appearing to be unconciouss for a few moments before leaving the floor with assistance.

It came down to the fifth run.  Brown again tried for his 720 and when he missed, the bronze was his to keep.  Then came Danny Way.  Bruised and battered after two falls, there was no way he was expected to come out with anything bigger than he had already shown, but this is Danny Way, after all.  Way landed a perfect backflip over the gap into a frontside 540 on the quarterpipe.  The crowd exploded and Way celebrated what looked to be a first-place run.  It was, with Way scoring a 94.00 and putting Burnquist on the spot.

Last year, Burnquist was in a similar position after Brown’s fall but this was different.  He was up against Danny Way, the man who invented the megaramp and who won every gold medal in the event until missing last year’s competition with an injury.

So Burnquist took a deep breath and then dropped in to a switch backside ollie to an indy 360.  The crowd went crazy again and the Brazillain reacted to what could be the run of his life.  But it wasn’t until the score came in, a 96.00, that the dream was realized.  Burnquist won the gold medal in ’07 but Danny Way wasn’t there.  Now, he had won it without any conditions.  It was bound to happen eventually, after all.  Burnquist has the only working megaramp in his backyard and hasn’t put in the years of slams that Way has on the massive structure.  But it wasn’t official until now.

There were other competitors, but they weren’tpart of the story.  Andy Macdonald, on his 35th birthday, had clean runs but was a distant fourth while 18-year-old Adam Taylor was unable to land cleanly on the quarterpipe.  Finally, Pierre-Luc Gagnon, last year’s bronze medalist, had a terrible night and was unable to land anything, finishing with a 1.0.

“I had this Indy 3 in my mind,” Burnquist said when it was all said and done.  “I had to go for it.”

Way congratulated his friend and didn’t seem to mind if his best wasn’t good enough.

“First or last…  it doesn’t matter to me as long as I get an opportunity to come out and skate with my friends,” Way said.

It was Bob Burnquist’s night, and no one could take that away.

Read the official press release below for another take on the night’s action.

Burnquist Steps Up the Skateboard Big Air Final and Takes Gold
Brazilian Claims Title with a Switch Backside Ollie to Indy 360

LOS ANGELES- It was an emotional rollercoaster in the STAPLES Center this evening as close friends Danny Way and Bob Burnquist battled each other for the Skateboard Big Air gold medal. In the end it was Burnquist who dropped in for a switch backside ollie over the 70-foot gap, to indy 360 on the quarterpipe earning him a first place finish with a score of 96.00.

Danny Way kept the crowd on the edge of their seats as he came back from two crashes on the quarterpipe, eventually sticking a backflip over the gap to a frontside 540 on the quarterpipe, bringing the crowd to its feet. Danny’s triumphant last run earned him a score of 94.00, enough to take second place.

Jake Brown made a remarkable showing with a backside no-grab 360 to an 18-feet-eight-inch high mctwist on the quarterpipe, ending him with a score of 91.33 for the bronze.

The skaters fed off each others’ energy and pushed each other’s limits throughout the final.

“It’s all about pedal to the metal with this event. That’s what Danny Way is all about and that’s what Jake Brown is all about, so I had no choice but to push it,” said gold medalist Bob Burnquist.

“That was full throttle. That was the craziest competition I’ve ever seen,” Jake replied to Bob’s statement.

Highest landed quarterpipe air of the night goes to Andy Macdonald, who celebrated his 35th birthday with a 22-foot-two-inch air above the coping.

The skateboard action continues tomorrow during the Men’s and Women’s Street Finals starting at 3 p.m. PT.

Danny Way falls on his fourth run…  | cr. Eric Lars Bakke / ESPN Images

SKATEBOARD BIG AIR FINAL
Results from ESPN X GAMES 14 at The STAPLES Center in LOS ANGELES on Thursday, July 31, 2008. (Final Standings)

Name / Hometown / Score

1. Bob Burnquist / Sao Paulo, Brazil / 96.00
2. Danny Way / San Diego, Calif. / 94.00
3. Jake Brown / Carlsbad, Calif. / 91.33
4. Andy Macdonald / San Diego, Calif. / 83.33
5. Adam Taylor / Cocoa Beach, Fla. / 34.66
6. Pierre-Luc Gagnon / Carlsbad, Calif. / 1.00

Results – Skate Big Air Elims

Rank – Name – Run 1 – Run 2 – Run 3 – Run 4 – Score
1. Andy Macdonald – 81.33 – 83.33 – 80.66 – 85.00 – 84.00
2. Adam Taylor – 74.33 – 80.33 – 1.00 – 36.00 – 80.33
3. Buster Halterman – 79.00 – 80.00 – 1.00 – 1.00 – 80.00
4. Rob Lorifice – 39.33 – 76.66 – 78.66 – 40.00 – 78.66
5. Edgard Pereira – 36.00 – 1.00 – 1.00 – 77.66 – 77.66
6. Lincoln Ueda – 32.66 – 32.00 – 1.00 – 31.66 – 32.66
7. Digo Menezes – 1.00 – 1.00 – 1.00 – 1.00 – 1.00

 Shaun White | cr. AST

Shaun White followed up a strong second-place finish at last week’s Maloof Money Cup with a win today at the 2008 Right Guard Open in Cleveland, the second stop of the AST Dew Tour.

White fell on his first run but scored a 90.25 on his second run, which would have still been enough for a win, before scoring a 92.00 on his third and final run.  White was skating fourth from last so three skateboarders (Bob Burnquist, Pierre-Luc Gagnon and Bucky Lasek) all had chances to catch up but all had their share of bad luck.

Lasek’s second-place 88.25 was his first run’s score and falls on his last two runs kept him from reaching White.  Meanwhile, PLG was uncharacteristically sloppy and fell on all three of his runs, dealing his hopes for his first-ever Dew Cup a blow by landing in eighth-place.  Burnquist had one solid run to give himself an 83.00 which was good for fourth.

Andy Macdonald found himself in third with a strong 87.25.

White missed the opening stop of the AST and is expected to miss next month’s stop so at this point Bucky Lasek is in the driver’s seat for his third Dew Cup championship if he can remain consistent.

Skate Vert Finals – 2008 Right Guard Open
July 19, 2008, Cleveland OH

1st – White, Shaun – 92.00
2nd – Lasek, Bucky – 88.25
3rd – Macdonald, Andy – 87.25
4th – Burnquist, Bob – 83.00
5th – Taylor, Adam – 78.25
6th – Millar, Renton – 75.75
7th – Stafford, Josh – 74.75
8th – Gagnon, Pierre-Luc – 62.75
9th – Menezes, Rodrigo – 51.50
10th – Halterman, Buster – 50.75