Just under a year ago, we picked out 5 up and coming freestylers that we thought we go on to do big things in 2014. Now that a year has passed, we take a look back at our chosen freestylers and see just what they’ve been up to over the past 12 months
Marius Constantin
Having taken 2nd place in the 2013 Amateur Freestyle World Championships, Marius only continued to develop and push his skating in 2014. Having unlocked a wealth of technical tricks, including the carousel and rail handstand flip, Marius returned to Paderborn and took 1st place in the Amateur contest. Marius also found the time to put together demonstrations and competitions supporting Romanian freestyle skateboarding: all whilst being one of the most cheerful freestylers you’ll ever meet!
John Hanson
Having sustained an injury at the NASS Festival in the Summer of 2013, John spent most of the first half of 2014 off his board. By the time summer rolled around, John was back with a vengeance, returning to NASS and skating solidly for three days of incredible demos. Amongst many NBDs from John this year, his stand-out trick has to be the rolling triple fingerflip on flat.
Isamu Yamamoto
You don’t need to be a freestyler to know that Isamu has had an amazing year: footage of this incredibly talented youngster has been popping up all over the internet! Amongst his achievements this year, Isamu took 1st place in the JFSA Championship Amateur contest and 1st place in the amateur division of the World Round Up – 2014’s largest and most hotly contested competition. Isamu isn’t just good for his age; he’s just good. Very very good!
Bert Mathieson
Having also suffered from injuries, Bert missed out on several competitions in 2014. However, this didn’t stop him from banging out some mind-blowing never-been-done technical handstand combinations across several video parts.
Rodney Mullen
So, 2014 may not have been the year of the next Rodney Mullen video part, but we were treated to some fresh freestyle footage courtesy of the Ride Channel. Despite his ongoing injuries from years of dedication and hard work, Rodney can still throw down some pretty nifty moves; look no further than his perfect Casper 360 bigflip to rail! Hopefully, 2015 will see a new Rodney Mullen video part, but if not, we’re happy enough just to know Rodney’s still on his board and still enjoying skating.
2014 was a fantastic year for freestyle, and there’s no reason that 2015 can’t be as well. Make sure to check back in the next few weeks for our Ones to Watch in 2015, and don’t forget, you can join the discussion on our Facebook Page or via Twitter @FSLateTricks.
