Copenhagen Pro 2008 Day One

Words by Ryan Clements
Photos and Captions by Rob Meronek

Neal Hendrix and Schaefer were just next to me talking about the Vert Contest format and how we should run it. As a joke, I suggested they consult Brandon Biebel on that. Neal's reply was, "Well he seems like kind of a jock so he'd probably be hyped on vert." Ha! Per Schaefer's orders, I'm not allowed to make vert jokes anymore, but he didn't say I can't repeat what the vert skaters say to me. Thanks for the laugh, Neal. I bet Biebel could do this long nosegrind on vert

Jani Laitiala - pop shuv crooked grind to fakie into the stair set bank

Yep, that ledge is greased up. Danny Cerezini - nollie noseblunt slide all the way across and into the bank

This is my room in the Fox Motel I'm sharing with Roberto Aleman. I can't remember the artist that did this room. We both wish those were real women

We have been cruising the streets of Copenhagen quite a bit. We have actually been skating a lot more than I expected. I'm not used to that. Look at that McDonald's. Ronald is everywhere. Let's go get a Fish Filet meal

I'm not really the gambling type, but if I'm around someone like that, I sort of become one. Kenny Hughes and I both have never done a backside noseblunt coming in regular. It's easier on that trick to come in backside revert. So, we put $200USD down on the first one to make a regular back nose blunt on this tiny quarter. After about 50 tries each, Kenny finally made one. So, I get the Take a Poop for this session. That's one expensive poop

Nice! Terry Kennedy just showed up at the spot we were at yesterday

So the ring of fire thing went down yesterday. Some kid sailed some gross looking stink bugs through that thing

This crazy dude hauled Mongolian pushing ass straight at the ring of fire and ended up catching his back on fire. He didn't even come close

Yeah it looks real safe setting up the ring of fire

Who dat? This kid ollied through it. Not many were trying it. Rune Glifberg did it with a beer in his hand

While skating through the streets last night, there was a full blown fireworks show. Silver mullets and fireworks - makes me feel like I'm right back in America again

There's a skate shop right next door to the Fox Hotel where we're staying. Thanks for promoting our skateboard shindig

If you're old as the sun like me, you'll remember Cabbage Patch Kids. There's one right there on the right staring right at me in this photo of Danny Cerezini switch flipping the grass gap

Torey Pudwill is here with the DVS crew. Check the snap on that kickflip. Cabbage Patch Kid is blowing it on the photos

Terry Kennedy - frontside crooked grind like he's on the cover of Thrasher

Please quit bringing my fries out with mayo. Thanks

I was convinced to try a shot of whatever this sketchy Fisk stuff is. Felt like I just brushed my teeth after that

In America, you'd rather eat dirt than 7-11 food. Here they have a 7-11 on every corner and they got some damn good snacks. Those things on the right are the best chicken sticks on Earth

Last night Schaefer took us to some dive bar he found earlier in the week. Furlong is making friends with the locals in the street that can't stand up anymore. What a nice guy

We fit right in with the locals when we bust out our big ass map in the dive bar

I bet they love wasted Americans wrecking the traffic in their bike lanes. Schaefer and Roberto Aleman should get a BUI for this

Holy crap, how are you going to go in public wearing those pants? So many girls here have the most busted gear it's amazing. I've seen at least five pairs of tight turquoise pants, too. I don't think Roberto cares

I had to take a foot fetish with Roberto's chick friends. They have to start lacing up their shoes the day before when they want to wear these gladiator boots. Man, I still can't belive how terrible those damn pants are

It's so great running into friends that you didn't know were in town. We randomly ran into Clint Peterson riding his rented bike around. He's hurt so he might not be skating in the Contest tomorrow

Coke is not "diet" here, it's "light." I don't know, it weighs the same to me. Coffee and other hot drinks are served in glasses with no handle. Real convenient

There's an Italian place down the street that we eat at every day. Look at the size of those calzones. They're made to order just like almost everything here

John Rattray, thanks for coming to our skateboard shindig. It's going to be an amazing weeking of ripping skateboarding. Make sure to check out the live webcast

Here’s what went down on Day 1:

• 09:00 – Arrived at Copenhagen Airport after an eight-hour flight from Atlanta, GA
• 11:00 – Met up with Schaefer, Kenny Hughes, and Rothmeyer at the Fox Hotel
• 13:00 – Drove over the North Sea into Sweden, where there are no Customs or Immigration officials at the border
• 14:00 – Skated some little park that is still under construction in Malmo. Everything was really small, but there were tons of lines and nooks and crannies to explore
• 15:00 – Made the trek over to the Malmo skate park that they do the Bowlriders Series at. That place is huge and super-fun…no rules and tons of lines
• 17:00 – Chilled at the hotel back in Denmark and tried to feel somewhat normal, although the jet-lag was really setting in
• 18:00 – Took the bus to yet another skate park where there was a ripping session with tons of locals and a “ring of fire” (see Rob’s photo for the explanation on that one)
• 22:00 – Pushed a few miles on our skateboards back the hotel and the sun was finally setting
• 01:00 – After some schwarmas (food) and Tuborgs (beer) it was time to hit the sack. I didn’t realize that it was already the next day since the sun sets so damn late. Some of the other guys stayed up and said that the sun came back up at 04:00

The next morning I was feeling somewhat normal after a good night’s rest. We made our way over to Copenhagen Skatepark, the site of the PRO, and got our act together with finalizing the format and such. The new set-up at the Park looked great and there were already the likes of John Rattray, Chico Brenes, and Kerry Getz getting their lines dialed.

After many hours of hanging out, gossiping, and watching some great skating, there was a less-than-serious Bowl Jam in the tiny bowl in the back of the Park. Eric Koston, Matt Beach, and a few locals that were compelled to drop in on 7’ of vert with 3’ of tranny kept us entertained as a punk-rock polka band played the tunes.

As the Bowl Jam fizzled out, the party got started out back. Beer started flowing more (it was already flowing all day), the roast pig was just about done, and everyone was getting loose. The scene in CPH is really fun…the locals are friendly and know how to party. Once again I got misled on how late it was because the sun caught me off guard and set at about 10:30pm. That’s when the Rush Energy Drink Girls started dancing on the table tops. Sarah, can we get the Red Bull Girls to do that back home in Tampa? I was entertained for a bit and then took a taxi back to the Fox. Good night.

Other random thinks I noticed about Copenhagen, Denmark:

• Getting into the country is very easy. Upon exiting the airport they take a quick look at your passport and that’s pretty much it
• The girls are big. Not in a bad way, but they’re just big girls…like tall, blonde Vikings that can out-drink you and your friends
• The cars are small. But they will be just as small in the good ol’ USA if gas prices stay at the current highs
• It’s a bit chilly and seems to rain pretty regularly, like daily for hours on end