2014 Vans Pool Party

Posted on Thursday, May 22, 2014 by Chris

Words and photos by Leonard Trubia.

When you build a replica of a combi-pool poured in Upland CA, summer of 77’ things start to get a little creepy. Cue the black crow and the cemetery backdrop. Whispers from the depths of somewhere. Anywhere. Tossing and turning for years in parks with Hubbas and Stairs blocking speed lines. Precious fossils of an era awake from a restless nap. Punching through pine coffins. Clawing their way through six feet of dirt and rock. Searching for pad bags. Taping up old wounds, making their way to Vans at the Block. Eventually, the annual Vans Pro-Tec Pool Party.

Legends category, Masters division, Pro. All showcased in one exhausting session. Summoning talent from the chains of responsibilities, to create a contest of divine intervention. After a decade of tile hums at the Block (erected in 1998) and years of camaraderie, Vans brings you the party of timeless bowl shredding. Concrete jammers wouldn’t miss this meeting for all the knee surgeries in Southern California. May 17, 2014, it’s on.

Too many to name: Ffeg, El Gato, Salba, Ben Shroeder, Nicky Guerrero, Cab, Grosso, Chris Miller, Brian Patch, Justin Lynch, Eric Nash, Navs, Hosoi, Sergie Ventura, Cookie Head, Lester Kasai, Bryan Pennington, and Pat Ngoho, just some of the people on deck.

And the younger tranny addicts with fresh knees, and their uninhibited thirst for vices of generations past. Texas Plants, Bonelesses, Sweepers, Smith grinds, soft Handplants, and an overhead display that could make a WWII vet smile. Flipping and spinning with a tireless grip. Nix the airbags. It’s concrete Christmas.

Stay tuned for Salba’s interview.