Clash of the Crews 2007 at MIA Skatepark
Posted on Monday, November 12, 2007 by Ryan
Words by Ryan Clements
Photos by Rob Meronek and Mike Derewenko
Captions by Rob Meronek
This time I did it a bit differently though. Instead of rolling with the crew, I decided to take the lady and a couple of friends. We turned it into a mini-vacation on South Beach while the boys had sufficient accommodations at the La Quinta closest to MIA Skatepark, just outside of Miami.
Since you don’t want to hear about the couple’s vacation and I don’t want to read the lame comments that you’re going to leave, let me just tell you this…South Beach is rad. You can take people-watching to an all new level at that place. It’s like the “New York City of Florida.” The only thing is that things are slightly expensive there. You’ve really got to watch your money closely or you’re going to run through it very quickly.
So when I wasn’t spending time walking the strip, browsing over-priced boutiques, and looking at T&A, I made it over to MIA Skatepark to watch one of Florida’s finest annual events…the Clash of the Crews.
Upon pulling up, I noticed that the entire parking lot had that “look.” I know that it sounds stupid to put it into words, but you could just tell that there were a lot of legit skateboarders there, ready to represent their respective shops.
The format of the Clash is pretty simple. You get six guys from your Shop/Park and they get around 15-minutes to skate the course. There were 10 teams that skated on Saturday and then 10 teams on Sunday. I purposely watched only a very small amount of the skating. I’m overly-competitive as it is, so I didn’t want to be like that this weekend. I wanted it to just be all about fun…and that’s exactly what the Skatepark of Tampa Team displayed.
We were actually the last team to skate on Saturday afternoon, just after 5pm. The chosen ones were Lehman, Giles, Levi, T4Prez, DMFP, and Abdias, who changed his ticket and jumped off of the Circa Tour to join us. Instead of saying how rad I thought we were I’ll just leave it at this…I think that the guys skated like they do on a normal session. On any given day you can see that same exact crew at Skatepark of Tampa doing the same exact thing. Nothing special…just skating with your friends. That’s the vibe that I got and I couldn’t have been more stoked.
Immediately after ripping the Clash, we filled Lehman with water, Red Bull, and MGD and sent him over to the mini-ramp to represent and skate in a 30-minute all-out-jam. It was a winner-take-all $500 prize, but I think that the judging was completely on point because it ended up in a tie, $250 to Lehman and $250 to Evan Smith of Mesh Skatepark. Lehman had the most tricks and the gnar factor, but Evan got tech with bigspin and noseblunt variations.
The next hour or so was spent having a tailgate party and messing around in the parking lot. There was an After-Party in downtown featuring Jeru tha Damaja, but I got stuck in South Beach once again.
I got a few phone calls from the SPoT Team and they wanted to hit some other spots and get the hell out of Miami. The plan was made and our crew headed out, so basically we had very little Skatepark of Tampa representation at MIA on Sunday. Next time we’re definitely staying longer. I gave Cantor a call when I arrived home at 8pm to find out the Results. Here you go…
I don’t know what he was doing on the mic, but Vern Laird was pretty funny up there. Thanks to the entire Skatepark of Tampa Team for representing properly…and to all of our friends that we got to hang out with, both old and new.
Ryan
Photos by Rob Meronek and Mike Derewenko
Captions by Rob Meronek
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
Since you don’t want to hear about the couple’s vacation and I don’t want to read the lame comments that you’re going to leave, let me just tell you this…South Beach is rad. You can take people-watching to an all new level at that place. It’s like the “New York City of Florida.” The only thing is that things are slightly expensive there. You’ve really got to watch your money closely or you’re going to run through it very quickly.
So when I wasn’t spending time walking the strip, browsing over-priced boutiques, and looking at T&A, I made it over to MIA Skatepark to watch one of Florida’s finest annual events…the Clash of the Crews.
The Skating
Day 1
MIA is one of the few skate parks around the country that I truly feel at home. There are tons of private facilities with great stuff to skate, but the bottom line is that it really doesn’t matter what obstacles you have to offer; the true meaning of a good skate park is how you run the facility. A proper skate park has to know how to make real skateboarders feel at home, and with guys like Ed Selego, Chris Williams, and Matt Cantor behind the helm, MIA does just that.
Upon pulling up, I noticed that the entire parking lot had that “look.” I know that it sounds stupid to put it into words, but you could just tell that there were a lot of legit skateboarders there, ready to represent their respective shops.
The format of the Clash is pretty simple. You get six guys from your Shop/Park and they get around 15-minutes to skate the course. There were 10 teams that skated on Saturday and then 10 teams on Sunday. I purposely watched only a very small amount of the skating. I’m overly-competitive as it is, so I didn’t want to be like that this weekend. I wanted it to just be all about fun…and that’s exactly what the Skatepark of Tampa Team displayed.
We were actually the last team to skate on Saturday afternoon, just after 5pm. The chosen ones were Lehman, Giles, Levi, T4Prez, DMFP, and Abdias, who changed his ticket and jumped off of the Circa Tour to join us. Instead of saying how rad I thought we were I’ll just leave it at this…I think that the guys skated like they do on a normal session. On any given day you can see that same exact crew at Skatepark of Tampa doing the same exact thing. Nothing special…just skating with your friends. That’s the vibe that I got and I couldn’t have been more stoked.
Immediately after ripping the Clash, we filled Lehman with water, Red Bull, and MGD and sent him over to the mini-ramp to represent and skate in a 30-minute all-out-jam. It was a winner-take-all $500 prize, but I think that the judging was completely on point because it ended up in a tie, $250 to Lehman and $250 to Evan Smith of Mesh Skatepark. Lehman had the most tricks and the gnar factor, but Evan got tech with bigspin and noseblunt variations.
The next hour or so was spent having a tailgate party and messing around in the parking lot. There was an After-Party in downtown featuring Jeru tha Damaja, but I got stuck in South Beach once again.
Day 2
Okay, I had every intention of making it back over to MIA, but South Beach was just so damn nice that we (the couples, not the Team) rented bicycles and just cruised South Beach. Good, relaxing times were had.
I got a few phone calls from the SPoT Team and they wanted to hit some other spots and get the hell out of Miami. The plan was made and our crew headed out, so basically we had very little Skatepark of Tampa representation at MIA on Sunday. Next time we’re definitely staying longer. I gave Cantor a call when I arrived home at 8pm to find out the Results. Here you go…
- 1st – Shred Shed – how did they do it again? Manny Santiago rides for them now?
- 2nd – Skatepark of Tampa – like I said, I couldn’t be more stoked
- 3rd – Mesh Skatepark – Evan Smith is the killa’
Thanks
At the risk of kissing too much ass, I want to once again thank MIA for putting on such a proper event. It was a great feeling to be a part of something like that…and actually not having to work. I can speak for the entire Skatepark Team by saying that good times were had by all.
I don’t know what he was doing on the mic, but Vern Laird was pretty funny up there. Thanks to the entire Skatepark of Tampa Team for representing properly…and to all of our friends that we got to hang out with, both old and new.
Ryan
Rob's Chill Cam Video Footage
Here's Pat Stiener getting stuck, DMFP 50-50ing, and Goonie Giles getting a car wash from five stories up...Comments
Article Archive by Category
- All Ages Contests
- Anniversary Parties
- Art Shows
- Awards Ceremonies
- Boards for Bros
- Booze Cruise
- Celebrity Sightings
- Chill Cam Dumps
- Christmas
- Clash of the Crews
- Coastal Carnage
- Comedy
- Cons Triple C's
- Contest and Event Coverage
- Copenhagen Pro
- Course Construction
- Damn Am
- DC King of Series
- Demos at SPoT
- Digital Product Toss
- EOTM Parties
- Event Schedules and Details
- Franks for Nothing
- Go Skateboarding Day
- Heat Sheets and Skater Lists
- Industry Event Coverage
- Information About SPoT
- Make-A-Wish Contests
- Maloof Money Cup
- Nerdsday Thursday
- News and Press Releases
- Parties
- Product Watch
- Red Bull Events
- Road Trips
- Shoe Releases
- Shop Tours
- Skate Bid'niss
- Skate Missions
- SPoT Skate Shop Ybor
- Tampa Am
- Tampa Pro
- The Bricks
- Throwback Thursday
- Tourist Missions
- Toys for Tatas
- Trade Shows
- Vans Downtown Showdown
- Video Premieres
- Warped Tour
- Zaturdays
Shop
- Accessories
- Backpacks/ Bags
- Beanies
- Bearings
- Belts
- Complete Skateboards
- Decks and Boards
- DVD's
- Girls Gear
- Griptape
- Hardware
- Hats
- Headphones
- Jackets
- Jerseys
- Kids Shoes
- Long Sleeve Shirts
- Magazines/ Books
- Pads and Helmets
- Pants/ Jeans
- Sale/ Closeout
- Shoes
- Shorts
- Socks
- Stickers
- Sunglasses
- Sweaters/ Hoodies
- Tank Tops
- T Shirts
- Trucks
- Wallets
- Watches
- Wheels
- Woven/ Polo/ Knit Shirts