Back in March 2015, we picked out some of the world’s finest freestylers, both professional and amateur, that we expected to do big things over the coming months. Sure enough, amongst our picks we saw two national champions, three major team moves and more than a handful of epic video parts.
Before we made our “one to watch” picks for 2016, here’s a bit more info about how our 2015 picks got on.
Denham Hill
In addition to releasing one of our favourite video parts in 2015, Denham Hill had a great year in skateboarding, performing in several demos across the UK, taking part in the UK Round Up and Paderborn freestyle contests and securing a job with Sk8Safe, a UK-based skateboarding charity, allowing him to share the joys of skateboarding (particularly freestyle) with the younger generation. For all his efforts, Denham also secured a spot on the newly developed Moonshine freestyle team.
Tomo Koyano
Throughout 2015, Tomo made his way to three national contests across Japan, putting together his finest performance at the Wai Wai Contest in December with one of the highest scoring runs of the day. Additionally, Tomo also released one of our top favourite video parts from the year and attended several jams with Japan’s finest freestylers.
Marcio Torres
A real up and comer from Brazil, Marcio had a strong year in the competitive freestyle circuit, taking 2nd place in the beginners class of the Campeonato Brasileiro De Freestyle Skate 2015 and 1st place in the beginners class of the 2 Etapa do Brasileiro de Freestyle Skateboard 2015 – also winning the overall best trick contest at the latter. Additionally, Marcio also nailed a perfect and rarely (never before?) seen cross handed rail handstand flip.
Dillanger Kane
After a strong performance at the 2014 World Round Up, Dillanger returned in 2015 with an even more solid and technically complex run, earning 5th place in the amateur contest, also nailing three consecutive handstand tricks in the handstand best trick contest. As the year drew to a close, Dillanger also earned himself a spot on the Moonshine amateur freestyle team.
A compilation of skate footage from 2015
Posted by Dillanger Kane on Friday, 27 November 2015
Tony Gale
As anticipated, Tony burst back onto the competitive scene, taking 2nd place at the Paderborn contest and 1st in the inaugural UK Round Up. Along with joining the Moonshine professional freestyle team, Tony contributed to Broken Fingers and the Freestyle Podcast, arranging jams and demos throughout the year to support the growth of the freestyle scene, as well as dropping a few ridiculous tricks along the way.
So, as the 2016 contest season is just on the horizon, we’ll be looking to the future and making our picks for the freestylers to watch this year. We’re always excited to hear about your picks for up and coming freestylers in the months and years to come, so join the discussion on the LateTricks Facebook page or tweet us @FSLateTricks.
