Street League at X Games Los Angeles is in the books… Nyjah Huston popped back into the top spot; among the season’s other winners, Chris Cole got his billionth second place, and P-Rod fell to un-Paul-like sixth. Luan once again looked like the man to beat… Until Nyjah beat him. It’ll be interesting to see how things shape up at the Super Crown. Also, a big congratulations to Ryan Decenzo and Manny Santiago on rising up from the Select Series to be the next two SLS pros. Let’s get it!
PAUL
The buzz around Paul Rodriguez over the past couple of weeks on the internet was undeniable. Anyone that follows skateboarding noticed Paul’s gold board that he he’s been skating in that last couple of contests and the removal of Plan B from his list of sponsors on his personal website. Paul’s next move with regards to a board sponsor is anyone’s guess. Until he clues us in, we’ll just have to be patient. P-Rod dropped quite a few clips online this week, including a few quick clips from the Nike SB TF and Part 1 of a lengthy interview that breaks down his past and how he looks at skating and his career. Could all of this be leading up to a big announcement in the near future? We’ll just have to wait and see.
Paul Rodriguez Junkie Interview Part 1 from Junkie Monkeys on Vimeo.
PAUL, MALTO, ISHOD, SHANE, LUAN
P-Rod also published an amazing edit of himself and the rest of the Nike SB SLS dudes (Sean Malto, Shane O’Neill, Ishod Wair, and Luan Oliveira) ripping the Street League LA course.
TOREY, P-ROD & POSSE
Torey was on point in LA—too bad he didn’t put down that huge laser flip in the event. T-Puds checks into The Wrap this week with a couple of choice clips as well. He, Paul, and their homies threw down in a new edit from Primitive in Paul’s TF. LIKE WHOA, there’s some amazing skating in this clip. Torey also demonstrates a textbook kickflip backside lipslide on the ledge at The Berrics in this week’s Trickipedia Tuesday. Anyone that’s ever done a lipslide on a ledge knows that it can get pretty sticky and hard to hold—so the fact that he’s sliding as far as he does is impressive. It’s safe to say that’s Torey’s trick.
MIKEY
Mikey Taylor is making moves on some serious ventures outside of skateboarding. He’s partnered with Paul Rodriguez, Sean Malto, Shane O’Neill, Eric Koston, and few other notable people in Saint Archer’s Brewery in San Diego and they released their Ambassador Project Volume 1 this week featuring Mikey. It’s an inspirational piece that gives you sense of what Mikey’s life is like on and off the board. Mikey also checks in this week with P-Rod and others in Flip Trick Fridays on The Berrics, which challenges Mikey to work on some tricks that have been giving him trouble lately.
The Ambassador Project Vol. 1 from Saint Archer Brewery on Vimeo.
PETER / DYLAN / AUSTYN
Peter Ramondetta, Austyn Gillette, and Dylan Rieder all departed from the last stop to join the HUF crew on their European tour. Naturally, the Dirt Bag Crew started off in Amsterdam, and video shot by a filmer out their surfaced on the internet that will have you saying #WAITWHAT. We’ll be on the look out for a full recap video when the tour is over, but it’s safe to assume that these guys will deliver more bangers.
COLE
Chris Cole has been on fire since he notched his first SLS win in Munich. If you’re wondering what makes Cole tick, this new trailer from The Motivation gives you a peek inside his outlook on skating. The guy is a workhorse that holds himself to really high standards, and that shows when he’s skating the contest and in every video part that he’s put out. This clip also provides insight into how his competitors view Cole—Nyjah even cites him as his favorite skater.