What a summer it’s been. Freestyle skateboarders from all over the globe have been throwing down some truly incredible skating in an impressive array of contests, demonstrations and epic video parts. Meanwhile, the freestyle industry has grown exponentially, as more and more mainstream companies and figureheads are beginning to notice that freestyle is more than just a fad and isn’t going anywhere! Take a look at this issue’s LateNews and find out more about what’s been going on.
Freestyle Contest News
World Round Up 2015
The World Round Up in Cloverdale, Vancouver, is always an incredible event to behold. With the biggest prize purse in freestyle, the event attracts freestylers from all over the world and is beamed out live online for the viewing pleasure of anyone who cannot make it out there.
In this year’s Pro contest, it was a closely fought battle between the Top 10, with any rider in a position to take the top spot. Isamu Yamamoto wowed the crowd, putting together a perfect run and taking 4th in his first international Pro contest and Rene Shigueto powered his way to 3rd place with perfectly executed tricks at speed. In the end, Gunter Mokulys took the top spot, narrowly edging out 2014 champion Mike Osterman with a flawless, varied run.
With the 2014 Amateur champion moving into the Pro division, this contest was blown wide open. Diego Pires Afonso impressed the judges, taking 3rd place in his first World Round Up and 2014 Amateur Runner up Kaue Araujo took 2nd place once more. Ultimately, the victory went to Protest Skateshop’s local rider Andy Anderson, with a perfect run.
Lynn Cooper won the Legends contest, followed by Bert Mathieson and Russ Howell, Stefan Albert took the “Skate 4 Fun award”, Jesse Whalen won best trick with some incredible rail-flippery, Derek Elliott won best handstand trick with the Jawbreaker, Gunter Moklys won the 360 spin contest and Diego Pires Afonso won the longest coco wheelie contest with an incredible 80 foot long wheelie!
Campeonato Brasileiro De Freestyle Skate 2015
The Brazilian freestylers have an incredible scene, punctuated with contests and demos throughout the year. At the second Brazilian contest of the year, Vinicius Mandu took first place in the Pro Contest, followed by Matheus Navarro and Renan Pererira.
In the Amateur Contest, Diego Pires came out on top, closely followed by Gustavo Kennedy and Kelsey Maximiano. Paulo Folha Citrangulo took the win in the Grand Masters division, with Rogerio Antigo and Edmar Marroca in 2nd and 3rd respectively.
Paderborn BBQ Skateboard Contest 2015
Having started back in 2001, the Paderborn freestyle contest is by far the longest running contest in the freestyle world. This year, Paderborn welcomed riders from across the world, including a crew of 7 UK freestylers and 1 American Legend, whose journey can be watched in The Road to Paderborn: The Doubleflip Tour of Europe.
In a hard fought professional contest, Marco Sassi’s smooth style and complex technical tricks gained him the 3rd place spot. Spurred on by the English crew, Tony Gale powered his way into 2nd place with a fast and furious, trick-packed run. However, it was Gunter Mokulys who took the top spot with another spectacular run, taking his third consecutive contest run of the year.
In the amateur division, Marius Constantin took the victory for Romania in his final amateur contest run. He was closely followed by the brilliant Robert Wagner in 2nd and Erwin Shuvit in 3rd. The legends category saw spectcular runs from Yoyo Schulz and Bob Loftin, with Yoyo taking the top spot.
Fusion Jam 2015 – Tillburg
Competitive freestyle returned to the Netherlands with a brand new freestyle contest at the Fusion Jam in Tillburg. In a Pro/Am Contest, Erwin Shuvit’s perfect run gained him 3rd place, Skull Skates’ Christian Heise took 2nd and Gunter Mokulys placed 1st, taking his 2015 contest victory tally up to 4. The freestylers then took to the streets and performed in a series of demos for excitable extreme sports fans.
UK Round Up 2015
In no way affiliated with the World Round Up, the UK Round Up was a far sillier affair. With the introduction of the Overkill Deathmatch format (Two back to back 1 minute runs), Tony Gale reclaimed his title as UK Freestyle champion, followed by Stefan “Lillis” Akesson in 2nd and Erwin Shuvit in 3rd.
Denham Hill took the best trick with a varial triple railflip to cross foot rail, Lillis won the “LateTricks Best Trick” with a never-ending one-wheel wheelie and Tony Gale took first in the world’s first offline Instagram Grand Slam; a 15 second run format. You can still vote for your favourite Instagram run on our new Instagram page until September 30th 2015.
Full Results available here
What were your favourite freestyle moments this summer? What are you looking forward to in the next few months? Make sure to let us know on the LateTricks facebook page, or tweet us @Fslatetricks. Read Part 2 – General Freestyle News
Read Part 3 – Freestyle Video Highlights
