Thursday, December 4th @ 7PM
Fort Worth, TX
Vans Store @ Hulen Mall
817-346-0756

Saturday, December 6th @ 6PM
San Antonio, TX
Vans Store @ Northstar Mall
210-541-6952

Sunday, December 7th @ 1PM
Austin, TX
Vans Store @ Barton Creek Square
512-306-0738

Where would you be without today’s skate shoe?  Today’s skate shoe encompasses some of the most advanced technology you can find in any sneaker today.  Maybe except for the Roller Shoe.  Where would you be without the added stronger fibrous layers of a Nike SB.  Or the multidensity rubber and gel pocketed sole of a DC shoe?  And supposed you didn’t have the hidden pocket within the tongue where you can hide little baggies full of things like, you know Skittles. 

Well without yesterday’s skate sneaker, none of this would be supporting your feet now.  You would probably be wearing $15 ghetto boots from Wal-Mart, which aren’t that bad except they fall apart fast. 

Well Sneaker Freaker as usual is there to drop some knowledge on you with the History Of The Skate Shoe.  This first segment takes a comprehensive look at how it all started between the years of 1960 to 1985.  Most of you may not have even been born yet and if you were alive, you were probably still a zit-faced virgin.  Regardless, you should still read it.

The Vans Downtown Showdown

But if you’re not invited, don’t worry because you to can be part of the action, not in person, but in spirit.  And online.  Vans want you to log on and fill out your information on the Vans Site for a chance to win a Les Paul Guitar.  Meant for you hip-hop rappers out there.  Tune in to Vans.com to see the winner on the Webcast on Saturday.  Read below for more info. 

Who: The top teams in skateboarding including Deathwish, Foundation, Toy Machine, Girl, Real, Element, Habitat, Creature, Black Label and Blind.

What: Each team will session four unique, custom-made obstacles in a round-robin format with awards going out for top team, best pro, top am and best performance by obstacle.

When: Saturday, October 11 at 5 pm (doors open at 4 pm)

Where: Paramount Studios Back Lot

Prize Purse: $85,000 in cash and prizes for individual and team winners

It’s true; I think you can tell a lot about a person based on their footwear.  I consider myself a good, no great judge of people especially from their shoes even without looking at who they are above the ankle.  For instance, I was at the beach the other day and while staring at the ground because of my depression, I saw a pair of Birkenstocks walk past my frame of vision.  Without even looking up, I figured because we’re by the beach, Hermosa Beach specifically, the dude must have been a 205 lb body builder from Austria.  When I did look up, the guy must have weighed at least 255 lbs with a blond flat top and a muscle t-shirt.  I knew it!  Well I come across these situations all the time and I’m never surprised how correct I am 80% of the time.

Well it looks like I’m not the only shoe expert here.  After reading this amazing article in the New York Times about skaters and their sneakers, it looks like I might have some competition.  The article features the relationship between skaters and their sneakers and how unlike most sport related footwear; skaters seem to prefer style before function.  I myself would have to agree.  Although unrelated to skating, I prefer the color of my Soaps before I check the detail of the shoe’s buttery sole.

Anyway, check out the article in the New York Times.  You might find out like I did from reading it that I may be a little shallower than I thought.  I mean, I would never use a gray colored Soap.  Are you kidding me!?

Chad Muska is taking time out of his busy DJ’ing career and time away from entertaining the nu-rave hipsters of Los Angeles for you.  Mike Vallely is taking time out of his busy band schedule looking scary on stage to be here for you.  And Bam Margera has to reschedule beating up on his dad and bumping his head senselessly on drywall to be here for you.  Where’s “here” you may ask?  The Vans skatepark in Orange County, that’s where.

The threesome will be doing a skate demo and autograph signing to entertain the kids of the O.C. and greater Los Angeles area on August 19th from 1PM – 3PM.  These guys are psyched to be there for you despite their crazy schedules.  Check it out.

Were Gallery parties hot a decade ago as they are now?  I’m not sure.  Maybe it’s because I wasn’t invited to them a decade ago but now they seem to be everywhere.  Some of you not from a big city may be thinking, “Why the hell would I want to hang out with a bunch of artsy fartsys?”  Let me tell you why.

Where would most kids hang out at night if not for Art Gallery parties?  Where else would they be able to drink with their favorite skaters, look cool images, and meet hot drunk chicks?  Have I sold you yet?  Good because Altamont in affiliation with Vans shoes is throwing a nice little party featuring Neckface at the New Image Gallery in Santa Monica on August 16th from 7PM to 10pm.

Of course these art parties wouldn’t have worked a decade ago because they have evolved into something cool and fun so if you’re in the area, you should check it out.  Especially since Altamont is co-hosting.

Many of you who felt the record-breaking heat this weekend in the greater Los Angeles region probably like me, were forced to resort to cooler means. Some of you probably went to the beach, but because of recent shark attacks in the headlines, I made sure to stay away from any waves. But if I really wanted waves, there was the option of going to Raging Waters in San Dimas because they have an artificial wave pool. But about 15 years ago when I was a kid, I had a nightmare of an experience while in the wave pool, I dove down to the bottom to grab something I saw from the surface. When I picked up this mysterious object, it turned out to be a turd. I was extremely grossed out and never stepped foot at Raging Waters again.

So instead, I heard about the huge pool party thrown by Vans. I decided last minute to attend because I figured that Vans usually tends to attract girls from skateboarding, snowboarding, and surf. So I was pretty psyched. But when I arrived, the hot steamy sausage fest presented itself to me. No water, and hardly any chicks. But I decided to stay anyway and check out the skateboarding. A lot of the O.G. guys were there and the guys at Vital Skate were thoughtful enough to share their footage. It was dope, Chris Miller, Omar Hassan, Bucky Lasek, Rune Glifberg and other skateboarding gods were at the Vans Protec Pool Party 2008.

We’ll have more photos soon — meanwhile, be secure in the knowledge that you can catch the rebroadcast of the webcast on Tuesday in its very long entirety.

Here’s the Vans site should you feel like visiting…

PS -here’s a photo of the podium from So Cal Skateparks — feel free to check out last year’s photo gallery, too.

FULL RESULTS

THRASHER/VANS Longest Boardslide Contest Results:
1st STEVE CABALLERO 18 blocks $1800
2nd (tie) EDDIE REATEGUI 15 1/4 blocks
2nd (tie) STEVE STEADHAM 15 1/4 blocks

LADIES RESULTS:
1. Mimi Knoop 29 Chesapeake, VA USA 88.50 $4,000
2. Julie Kindstrand Santa Ana, CA USA 87.00 $2,500
3. Lyn-z Adams Hawkins Cardiff by the Sea, CA USA 83.00 $1,000
4. Allysha Bergado Montclair, CA USA 83.00 $650
5. Amelia Brodka Linden, NJ USA 80.00 $350
6. Elise Dabby 28 Del Mar, CA USA 77.25 $100
7. Holly Lyons Walnut Creek, CA USA 75.75 $100
8. Lea Taylor 12 Cocoa Beach, FL USA 75.13 $100
9. Cressey Rice Phoenix, AZ USA 73.25 $100
10. Heidi Fitzgerald Arlington, TX USA 66.50 $100

MASTERS RESULTS:
1. Chris Miller 40 Del Mar, CA USA $10,000
2. Steve Caballero 40 Campbell, CA USA $6,000
3. Nicky Guerrero 40 Copenhagen, DEN $3,000
4. Eric Nash 39 Arcadia, CA USA $1,000
5. Lester Kasai 41 Anaheim, CA USA $500
6. Pat Ngoho 44 Venice, CA USA $200
7. Steve Steadham 45 Las Vegas, NV USA $200
8. Tony Mag 44 San Diego, CA USA $200
9. Buck Smith 40 Atlantic Beach , FL USA $200
10. Ben Schroeder 39 Monrovia, CA USA $200

PRO RESULTS:
1. Rune Glifberg 33 Copenhagen, DEN $25,000
2. Omar Hassan 34 Costa Mesa, CA USA $15,000
3. Bucky Lasek 35 Baltimore, MD USA $7,500
4. Bob Burnquist 31 Rio de Janeiro, BRA $3,000
5. Benji Galloway 30 North Augusta, SC USA $2,000
6. Sergie Ventura 37 Virginia Beach, VA USA $1,500
7. Bruno Passos 34 Rio de Janiero, BRA $1,000
8. Joshua Borden 19 Orange, CA USA $700
9. Nolan Munroe 15 Rindge, NH USA $500
10. Adam Taylor 18 Cocoa Beach, FL USA $300

It’s a short clip — you should check it out. And then you should check out the live webcast on Vans.com. Also, for a good retrospective check out this post on Vans and our photo gallery from last year.

[See post to watch QuickTime movie]

Just last week I was talking crap about how skate teams never travel the east coast. How the west gets all the love. It probably has a lot to due with the weather and horrible terrain but another region that doesn’t get much love either is the south, also known as the “Dirty South”. And who wouldn’t love the Dirty South? Land of crunk, crunkville, Lil John, Hotlanta, Cash Money, bling, Da Nolia’s, and my favorite rapper from that region, Juvenile.

At least the Vans skate team appreciates all that and made an appearance at Humidity Skateshop in New Orleans (Go Hornets!) last weekend and will be rolling through several other southern cities. On the tour Van Wastell, Ray Barbee, Johnny Layton, and Massimo Cavedoni will be there for the entire trip but other team members will join up along the way. Check out the flyer below for all the info and check out the Vans site for updates on the tour.