Trip to Eastern in Wilmington, NC Article at Skatepark of Tampa

Trip to Eastern in Wilmington, NC

Posted on Sunday, April 30, 2006 by Barak

Trip to Eastern in Wilmington, NC
Words and Photos by Barak Wiser

Will Campbell, the Vans Merchandiser for the East Coast, and I drove up to Wilmington, NC on Friday in the Vans' Company van. We went up there to attend the Eastern Skateboard Supply Open House. Reggie, Eastern's owner, has hosted this event for about three years now and this one was the best to date. It’s an event where shop owners get a discount on merchandise, local skaters come to rip, and company reps come to show off their new stuff.

When we arrived Friday night, we hit up Bob Reynolds, the Fallen rep for the mid-Atlantic, for the haps for the evening. He instructed us to hit up The Skate Barn, just outside of Wilmington. We got there in the late evening and it was packed! So we skated, drank beer, and ate some fine southern BBQ. There’s something to be said for southern hospitality. Everyone is so nice up there. I love it. Then we went out to some bar on the beach called Red Dog. It’s a local hot spot. We hung there for awhile, saw some familiar faces in the industry, drank some more...you know the routine.

Saturday morning we got up kind of early and headed to Eastern. The place was packed. I took a tour and it was pretty amazing. They have a very solid system there. As the day went on, I was asked to be a line judge for a Game of SKATE, along with Felix. This Game turned out to be a "Texas Death Match" Game of SKATE. There was no order to it at all. In the end, the kid who ripped the most won. $1,000 was awarded to a very surprised Sturgil Horn, who I think was a local ripper.

The outside skate set-up got rained out, but it seemed pretty good for pre-fab ramps. Will and I found a spot on the way up there and hit it on the way back. It was super-ill - especially if you rip. We had a busted little digi cam so the video is as hurting as our skating. Thanks to Vans and Will for taking me up there. I’m ready to do it again next year.

Video footage: 2mb Windows Media video footage of a spot we found in NC...

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