Copenhagen Pro 2007

Words by Ryan Clements
Photos and Captions by Rob Meronek

Adam Taylor - lien melon 540

Bastien Salabanzi - backside flip. He later double backside flipped this in the jam

Bastien Salabanzi - cab flip front board fakie

Steve Berra - backside heelflip

Steve Berra - fakie flip

Chico Brenes - nollie big heel

Chris Pfanner - backside flip melon grab

Jani Laitiala - nollie heelflip backside 360

Jani Laitiala - switch 360 flip

Klaus Bohms - kickflip frontside crooked grind

Rune Glifberg - backside nosegrind

Sandro Dias - not sure what this madness is

Wagner Ramos - nollie flip 360

Wagner Ramos - switch frontside heelflip

Jani Laitiala - backside noseblunt

Wagner Ramos - kickflip

Bastien Salabanzi - half cab flip

Eero Antilla - hard flip

Kerry Getz - frontside flip

Steve Berra - backside flip

Kerry Getz - kickflip

Kerry Getz - 360 flip

Neal Hendrix - heelflip frontside

Matias Ringstrom - backside tailgrab with Hellraiser background props

Rune Glifberg - frontside tailgrab. Hellraiser got a much better photo

Thomas Kring - frontside lipslide

Pontus Bjorn - kickflip melon

Nicky Guerrero - madonna

Sandro Dias - 540

Nicky Guerrero - crailslide

I stayed at Juergen Horrwarth's house last year in Berlin. I wonder if he wouldn't mind a crew of sweaty dudes posting up again this year when we go to Berlin on Sunday

Eero Antilla - switch flip

David Gravette can't skate the Contest because he's am, but he was still ripping all weekend

Wagner Ramos - kickflip

Bastien Salabanzi - half cab flip

Jani Laitiala - frontside crooked grind

It was another beautiful day at Copenhagen Skatepark. The beers were flowing by noon and the gigantic pot of chili kept everyone well-fed. We started the Street Qualifiers about an hour late because honestly, everything is so chill here in Denmark that it really didn’t matter.

The skating was top notch and the attitudes were on point. There were tons of Brazilians in the house and a few Euro pros that I’ve never heard of before either. Instead of the standard two runs deal, we mixed it up a bit with the format. We split the skaters into four-man jams. Each rider got a one-minute intro run and then it was an all-out, anything goes, eight-minute jam. This really brought out the best talent and makes for an amazing Finals.

Speaking of the Finals, since you’re going to read below about who made the cut to the Finals, there’s no need to talk about those guys. So here are a couple of guys that I was hyped on that didn’t make it:

• Paul Shier – if you’ve seen his part in Josh Stewart’s “Static II,” then you know who I’m talking about. This smile-toting, extra-friendly British fellow is just one of those people that you’re stoked to be around. Bummer that he didn’t land a damn thing!
• Kristian Bomholt – one of the local Danish pros that seriously looks like he wants to kill someone, but underneath the mean-muggin’ is a really nice guy and very talented skateboarder

The results were announced and it was straight to the Vert Comp…and let me tell you…what a Contest! The entire time was pure excitement. The Danes love their vert and it was seriously just the best environment for a vert contest that I’ve even been to. The decks and balconies surrounding the ramp were packed with people screaming for literally everything and anything. The pros were hyped and pushing boundaries with every run they took.

Once again we switched up the Format. The 17 entrants were cut down to a 10-man Final by breaking them into four separate heats. Each skater got one, 45-second intro run followed by a 10-minute jam. The skating in the Qualifiers was so gnarly that we thought that there was no way that anyone was going to top it in the Finals. Here’s how the Finals ended up:

• 10th - $400 - Andy Scott – back from the day when Flip first came over to the States, Andy still has a mean fs tailslide shove-it
• 9th - $500 - Terence Bougdour – huge airs and 720’s coming from the little man from France
• 8th - $600 - Nicky Guerrero – Copenhagen’s living-legend and class-act pro, Nicky still has a bag of tricks and proper style
• 7th - $700 - Adam Taylor – an amazing showing for the 17-year-old’s third pro event. He’s got lien melon 540’s and 720’s
• 6th - $ 800 - Neal Hendrix – a true veteran and world-class professional. Neal’s got his tricks on lock better than anyone
• 5th - $900 - Matias Ringstrom – fs noseblunt slides in your run? Damn. Matias had the kf bs melon 540 after time, too
• 4th - $1000 - Juergen Horrwarth – ATV has skills on all terrain, but this destroyer from Berlin is exceptional on the vert pipe
• 3rd - $1500 - Renton Millar – 360 flips and bs flips over the channel, nosegrab 540’s, and 5’ bs ollies, Renton killed it and got everyone stoked
• 2nd - $2000 - Sandro Dias – no one currently goes higher and farther. Sandro had the crowd going ape $h!t as his board actually touched one of the lights that is about 12’ above the deck
• 1st - $2500 - Rune Glifberg – being from Copenhagen, the fairy tale came true with the hometown hero coming in first. Rune was absolutely on fire and skated like he was possessed…a true pleasure to witness

I know that when I type this it really doesn’t get the point across, but you really had to be there to feel the energy. It was seriously and amazing…just off the charts.

Keeping track of time here is a bit more difficult than at home based on how late it stays light out at night. After the Vert was done, it was still light out and after 10pm! We grabbed some dinner and ended up chilling in the hotel lobby with a few Carlsberg’s to enhance the discussion of the current state of the skateboarding industry amongst friends. So, in other words, I missed Party #2, but I’m sure Rob was there to capture every moment!

When I say that Copenhagen is chill, I really mean that it’s super-chill. I guess since the bars pretty much stay open until the last person is done drinking and the sun comes up, no one really gets up early to get anything done on Sunday mornings. For that reason the Street Finals didn’t start until 3pm!

The sun was shining through the skylights, the crowd was ready, and it was on. And once again, the beers were flowing because that’s how they do it in CPH. It was definitely the most relaxed environment of any contest I’ve ever been to. I swear, if we gave skaters in America that much freedom to drink and smoke I think they’d tear down Skatepark of Tampa.

The 12 skaters were separated into three, four-man heats. Each rider got one, one-minute run and then skated in a 10-minute jam. The format really brought out the best skating in everybody. Here’s how it broke down:

• 13th - $400 – Rodil Jr – the Brazilians were out in force, but unfortunately Rodil hurt his foot at the end of Saturday and was unable to skate in the Finals – he’s heading back to Brazil
• 12th - $500 – Roberto Aleman – Consolidated’s favorite pro from Spain has the skills to skate everything
• 11th - $600 – Steve Forstner – the Registration Sheet claimed that he was from Reno, NV, but upon investigation I heard that he stayed there for a stint a while back. Berra was like, “That guy is so Euro that it’s not even funny!”
• 10th - $700 – Ricardo Oliveira Assis – I love giving the Brazilians money…they appreciate it more than anyone. Ricardo is one of the nicest guys and has all of the moves, including one of the most consistent 360 flips that I’ve ever seen
• 9th - $800 – Klaus Bohms – our new favorite from Brazil with the most buttery style. This guy actually didn’t qualify, but since Rodil got hurt we let him in to witness his kf fs krooked grinds
• 8th - $900 – Willian Seco – it was like Willian was just waiting for the jam because he just started checking the tricks off his list immediately. He’s got nollie and switch pop for days
• 7th - $1000 – Chris Pfanner – another one of our new favorites from Austria, Chris can do bs ollie late shove-its and he’s got the bs kickflip melon as his go-to move
• 6th – $1250 – Jani Laitiala – I have so much trouble saying Jani’s last name that I just gave up and simply call him by his first name exclusively. He’s one of those guys that I never really paid too much attention to in the past, but after seeing him firsthand for an entire weekend, I’m a huge fan
• 5th - $1500 – Eero Antilla – Jani’s Finnish mate skates ultra-smooth and 100% completely under control. His moves are calculated and defined and he has nollie and fakie tre’s on lock
• 4th - $1750 – Daniel Viera – another one of the Brazilian crew that is highly skilled and comes to Europe every summer to skate in all of the contests…it’s just so rad handing these guys money
• 3rd – $2000 – Kerry Getz – how sick is it to see Kerry ripping in person? He gets so mad after missing one single trick that it scares the crap out of me, but don’t be misled because Getz is one of the coolest, most mellow guys out there. Rothmeyer thought that he was going to take it at one point
• 2nd - $2500 – Wagner Ramos – I may be mistaken, but I don’t believe that Wagner even has a board sponsor. That’s a crazy thought because the dude absolutely rips and it seriously seems like he can do whatever he wants on a skateboard. Did anyone say switch tre flip to switch noseslide?
• 1st - $5000 – Bastien Salabanzi – who? I was like, “Wow, is that Bastien?” when I first saw him. We might not have heard from him in about a year, but it’s like he didn’t miss a beat. There was no denying that he won, but my personal favorite was his cab kickflip to fs boardslide fakie on the flat bar on the bank-to-bank

Immediately following the Street Finals was the Best Trick. To keep the options open for all contestants, we hosted it on the entire center-piece obstacle:

• 5th - $100 – Rafael Rodrigo – gap to bs lipslide on the handrail
• 4th - $100 – Ricardo Oliveira Assis – switch kickflip bs lipslide on the handrail
• 3rd - $250 – Willian Seco – switch fs bluntslide shove-it out on the handrail
• 2nd - $500 – Klaus Bohms – bs 180 kickflip nosegrind on the hubba
• 1st - $1000 – Kerry Getz – kickflip fs nosegrind all the way across and down the hubba

Giving out the results and throwing some product to the kids was the best. It’s rad when people are so appreciative. We hung out at the Park for a bit and then headed for some grub. After seeing the pics from others’ experiences, I had to go get myself a “dirty beer.” Sorry, but I can’t tell you what it’s all about – all I can say is that it cost me 200 kroners (about $33) for one beer; however, if you email me at ryan@skateparkoftampa.com I’ll tell you what’s up and will send you a picture.

I neglected to pick up directions to the After-Party, so I wandered around aimlessly until making it back to the hotel. The train ride to the airport this morning was a cool experience and now I’m sitting here in the airport typing this as I wait for my flight back to Newark and then ultimately to Tampa.

I’m actually sitting on the floor because the older, American couple in front of me is taking up the only available seat with their luggage. It’s the simple, thoughtless moves like that for which we are hated world-wide. I was no farther than three feet from them and they just sat and stared at me like I was some Euro-freak.

I’m a bit bummed to be heading home while Brian, Rob, and the rest of the crew will be on European Vacation for the next couple of weeks, but I still do miss home and SPoT. I would like to express our sincere gratitude to all of our Danish friends that made our stay so enjoyable. William, Annika, Camilla, Simon, and the rest of the Copenhagen Skatepark staff…you guys were just the best and truly made us feel at home.

Also, thanks to “Mattieu DVS,” Gabe Clement, and our friends at DVS Europe for kicking down enough scrilla to cover the purse.

I know that I’m forgetting a bunch of people, but you get the point. Can’t wait to go back next year and once again experience CPH. See you in Amsterdam in a few weeks for AmsterDamn Am!

Ryan