Phoenix Am 2010

Words by Jorge Angel @porpe (follow me)
Photos by Jorge Angel @porpe (follow me)

Waking up to catch a 5:30am flight is a challenge, especially for me. This was my first time to Phoenix Am and I wanted to be sure that I was on point. I did not want to pull any stupid moves like I did last year. I don’t know if you remember Rob’s post from last year’s Phoenix Am, but I booked 16-year-old Jereme’s and Dylan’s flight a day before Rob was supposed to arrive. Long story short – they were stuck out there with no ride from the airport to the hotel.

I arrived at TIA at 4:45am and both Jereme Knibbs and Raymond Feaste were waiting with their boarding passes printed out. I mistook my seat number for the terminal number and lead us to the wrong gate. When we finally get to the proper terminal, the suckurity line was unusually long. Jereme looks at me and says, “We better not miss our flight.”

By this time it was 5:05am, giving us 25 minutes to get through suckurity and on to our gate to board the plane. Everything was going smoothly until Raymond couldn’t find his bag after the x-ray machine. Ray Ray was unaware of the rules with toiletries and was forced to throw away his cocoa butter lotion, mouthwash, toothpaste, and face wash. Finally, when the guards were done looking through Ray Ray’s bag, it was 5:25am and we booked it to our gate.

We were the last ones on and I was that guy who was taking stuff out of my bag to be able to fit it in the overhead compartment. After all was said and done we took our seats, the plane took off through the Florida rain, and we were off to the dry desert land of Arizona.

Here are the photos and captions telling you how the weekend went. Enjoy...

With Rob in the Galapagos Islands, I was in charge of documenting PHX AM. I had to give myself a crash course in photography.

Cameo Wilson didn’t know I am all about going green. After a spirit walk in the Arizona desert he now knows. Ollie from the deck into the tranny. Skater Profile: Cameo Wilson

Felipe was killing practice, but I guess he blew it in his jam because I didn’t see him in the semi-finals. This is a switch kickflip back tail. Skater Profile: Felipe Gustavo

This back lip on the picnic table by Kyle Walker is at the Tempe park, which is about 30-minutes away from site of the Contest. He also did a backside noseblunt on it. Skater Profile: Kyle Walker

By the look of Daniel Luther’s shirt, he is all about going green. This is him doing a front blunt. Skater Profile: Daniel Lutheran

Jereme Knibbs manhandled that bull like a matador. This is him properly catching a frontside flip. Too bad he didn’t do it during his jam because he saw someone else do it first. Skater Profile: Jereme Knibbs

Curren Caples qualified first on Saturday, putting him straight into the finals. I swear his bones are made of elastic. That would explain how he is able to tweak this tuck knee over the channel so properly. Skater Profile: Curren Caples

Curren also must have magnets in his shoes because that would explain how he caught this kickflip over the channel so smoothly. Skater Profile: Curren Caples

I was pleasantly surprised to see Clyde Singleton announcing the Contest again this year. Florida was well represented. Skater Profile: Clyde Singleton

I say Florida was well represented because here we have Evan Smith who definitely won practice. These next two sequences you are about to see will tell you why I felt that way. Skater Profile: Evan Smith

Evan Smith – nollie heelflip crooks. Skater Profile: Evan Smith

Evan Smith – kickflip back tail fakie. Skater Profile: Evan Smith

Follow Chase Webb on twitter, @Chase_Webb, and while you are at it follow me, too: @porpe. Noseblunt across the picnic table during the semi-finals. Skater Profile: Chase Webb

Here I spy a kid that is way too young to have lip piercings, a girl who is too young to be smoking, a guy who wishes he was in Hawaii, and a girl with a sun on her back. Like there isn’t enough sun in Phoenix. Geez.

Manny Santiago is a crowd favorite. Here he is doing a kickflip crooks. Skater Profile: Manny Santiago

Usually it works the other way around and guys are the ones walking around with puppies to get chicks.

Raymond Feaste a.k.a. RayRay skated Phoenix Am for the first time this year. This is a fakie frontside noseslide to regular. Skater Profile: Raymond Feaste aka RayRay

Ray Ray is probably not going to be hyped on the fact that I used this sequence. He is one harsh critic. Switch crook to regular. Skater Profile: Raymond Feaste aka RayRay

David Loy killed it in the qualifiers and made it to the semi-finals with these lein air nose grabs over the diving board, but I think he was raging too hard at the Bad Brains show, which kept him out of the finals. Skater Profile: David Loy

Shawn Hale is ridiculous when it comes to trick selection, doing some of the hardest tricks with total ease. Here he wallie bluntslides the massive hubba. Skater Profile: Shawn Hale

This kid was skating through every single jam trying this kickflip front blunt. Clyde Singleton eventually got fed up and stopped everything to call him out. He gave it one more chance and this was the result. Skater Profile: Who Dat?

Rob, I took this photo for you. It’s your favorite style of photo, you know, the ones that reporters always use for the “news your dad reads.” If only he was doing a meron grab...

Everybody be liking him and I know why. He is a class act on and off the skateboard. This is a perfectly executed kickflip backside nosegrind. Right after he landed this, Theotis backside 180 heeled and frontside flipped the giant stairs, both first try. Skater Profile: Theotis Beasley

After Jereme and RayRay were done skating, we went exploring through downtown Phoenix. What do you got on this double set? Jereme ollied it with the quickness. Skater Profile: Jereme Knibbs

When you see me around at contests, don’t be shy. Come talk to me. I just might give you some gift cards to our online store.

This year the course was themed “Junk Jam.” Aaron “Jaws” Homoki was taking advantage of the new obstacles in his hometown park. Here he has a backside boneless off the hockey dude. Skater Profile: Aaron Jaws Homoki

I was a bit surprised Jaws only got 4th place. He won it in my book. Here he is taking advantage of the diving board obstacle with a kickflip Indy over it. Skater Profile: Aaron Jaws Homoki

Deathwish and the Shake Junt crew was in full effect. Here’s Moose doing his staple backside 360 down the stair set during the finals. Skater Profile: Louis Moose De Los Reyes

Florida Ripper CJ Dixon killed it, getting 3rd place and doing one of the most difficult tricks of the weekend, a bigspin frontside lip down the handrail. Skater Profile: CJ Dixon

Curren Caples made it straight to the finals since he qualified 1st. 360 flip during the finals. Skater Profile: Curren Caples

Fred Gall was kicking it in Fred Gall fashion all weekend long. That cut you see on his nose was from him jumping on stage during The Goat’s performance, which resulted with him getting tackled by a gang of suckurity guards. This triggered the insanity that went down during the Bad Brains performance. Skater Profile: Fred Gall

Jereme did this kickflip up the car quick foot backside 180 off first try during best trick. Then he popped a perfect backside 360 kickflip over the whole car but bailed. The very next try he rolled his ankle. Skater Profile: Jereme Knibbs

If Rob would have seen Gilbert Crokett’s kit, Negative Nancy wouldn’t have been able to resist. I don’t blame Gilbert for his choice of attire; it is hot in Phoenix. Skater Profile: Gilbert Crockett

This double kickflip on a long board is what won best trick. Skater Profile: Jeremy Peckham

Yeah CJ, 3rd place, some cash thanks to Vans, and a styling Nixon watch. Skater Profile: CJ Dixon

Clyde showing some brotherly love to Ishod Wair, who won the whole damn thing. Skater Profile: Ishod Wair

No hard feelings between Curren who got 2nd place and Ishod who got 1st. Skater Profile: Curren Caples

After contest interview is mandatory for the winner. Here we have Arizona’s own Andrew Cannon asking the questions for FUEL TV. Skater Profile: Ishod Wair