Damn Am at Minneapolis 2007 Sunday

Words by Ryan Clements
Photos and Captions by Rob Meronek

Evan Smith - frontside noseblunt slide

Chris Mendes - nollie heelflip backside 360

Shane Browning had some big snaps over the pyramid. This is a switch frontside heeflip

Chris Mendes almost made this kickflip backside noseblunt slide on the back of the Zumiez Couch during Best Trick. He had no problem with them on the bump to flat bar, though

After this weekend, I'm a big fan of Curren Caples. He's got those melon grabs looking good

Who dat? 360 flip on the bank to bank. UPDATE: it's Matt Berger

Shane Browning - switch frontside flip

Tabari Cook - frontside nollie

Rodney Johnson from Billabong did the interviews for the live webcast during intermissions. That's Vern Laird from Listen filming and Emeric Pratt getting interviewed

Only two girls in the dunk tank? Next year we are going to have to hire some professionals

Can't remember her name (UPDATE: it's Fred), but this is one of the girls that refer to themselves as "Montreal Skate Bitches"

Kenny Anderson - thanks for coming

Meanwhile Curren Caples is still ripping the bowl

Shane Browning - 360 flip

David Loy - frontside ollie from the bank to wall into the quarter

Anthony Schultz - nollie bluntslide

Kechaud Johnson - blunt fakie

Cody Davis - kickflip back smith

Collin Provost - frontside noseblunt slide

David Loy - crailslide

DMFP - bsoc

Miami Jackson and The Deal with some corn fed mid-west locals. The boots - I like those

Nate Compher - switch back smith

Jamiel Nowparvar - switch 360 flip manual

Nate Compher - that is one giant switch flip

The Trog and MRod kept the social lubricant flowing all day

This was our last minute idea for trophies

Nate Compher won Best Trick

They both had perfect first runs in the Finals. DMFP and Anthony Schultz

Miami Jackson looks right at home in this Fiero we found

DMFP and pops who came to pick him up at the airport. Must be awesome to have normal parents

This is the best day of any event. Hell, if it wasn’t a Damn Am this is the only day I would have even watched the damn Contest! We got started right on time at 11:30am…and we had to be especially on point due to the live webcast. If you were watching, then THANKS for tuning in. I heard that it turned out cool, which is good because we have plans to bring the live webcast to every single one of our events in the near future!

Back to the action: The top 30 from the Qualifiers once again got two, one-minute runs and we took the top 10 straight to the Finals. The weather was beautiful, the vibe was great, and DJ Wade kept the proper tunes blaring all day. Just before the Finals began it was time for a Dunk Tank Intermission. The talent was limited, but still good viewing. Then it was back into the Park for some Final skateboarding action.

The first few guys took their runs and it was still anyone’s game, but once Anthony Schultz skated there was no denying that he took it. Here’s how the top dogs ended up:

• 12th – Kechaud Johnson – riding for Mike Crum’s shop and hailing from Texas, we met Kechaud from a sponsor-me tape a couple of contests ago and now he’s making the Finals
• 11th – Dustin Blauvelt – he qualified 2nd, but repeating a run like that is not an easy task. In addition, a bum ankle prohibiting him from doing any flip tricks didn’t make things easier. However, we’ll be seeing Dustin and his perfect bs 360 ollies in Amsterdam!
• 10th – Collin Provost – his runs were great, but he couldn’t nail a flawless one, so that’s what kept him out of the top spots. He had fs flip disasters on the bank-to-wall in practice, but couldn’t land it during his runs
• 9th – Chris Gregson – I think that Chris did more tricks than anyone in his runs and they were flawless, but the difficultly level wasn’t as high as some of the guys that placed higher than him
• 8th – Chris Troy – this was really his first time skating after nursing a broken ankle for the past couple of months, but it certainly didn’t look like it. Chris can do kickflip fs boardslides 270 out on the flat bar on command and like Schaefer said, “He’s got it…on and off the board.”
• 7th – Cesar Fernandez – I heard one of the judges say, “I wouldn’t mind if this guy took it.” Our Florida homie skated well and it was nice to finally see him in the Finals. He was one bs tailslide bigspin out away from placing higher
• 6th – David Loy – it has become David’s M.O. to pick the biggest thing and ollie it at every event, so this time he picked the gap from the street course right into the bowl…too bad we couldn’t see it from the announcing area. David skated full-speed-ahead and put together solid runs
• 5th – Taylor Smith – once he grows up a bit and gets some muscle on those little-kid bones, Taylor is going to be quite a contender. He’s got tons of moves with great lines and all of the flips mixed in
• 4th – Chazz Ortiz – a couple of years ago Chazz came out like Sheckler did with full pads and little kid style, but since then he’s turned into a little man that skates with authority. The kickflip fs feeble on the flat bar was amazing
• 3rd – Cody Davis – once again another little guy that kills it. Give him a couple more years and some height and this kid is going to destroy with his kf bs smiths on the small rail and 360 flips over the huge pyramid
• 2nd – Dylan MF Perry! – everyone from Tampa is SO hyped on Dylan. His first run sealed the deal, but even if he had landed the kickflip to fs 50-50 over the huge gap, there was no beating Schultz. Dylan was on it and it showed…nice job
• 1st – Anthony Schultz – three-peat! I know that he only won the Street and the Bowl, but getting first in the Qualifiers is like winning an additional Contest. Anthony is full-on pro material and is truly a pleasure to watch…couldn’t have gone to a more deserved guy

Zumiez stepped it up and funded the Best Trick obstacle along with some great prizes – travel vouchers for top placers in Street, Best Trick, and the Bowl Jam. The obstacle was a replica of Zumiez’ gimmick, the Couch from The Couch Tour (with a coffee table added in), and was placed atop one of the bank ramps. We did a 20-minute Jam and saw some great skating. Here’s how it broke down:

• 5th – Jamiel Nowparvar – MN and Listen’s finest had a switch 360 flip to manny on the Coffee Table
• 4th – Ryan Reyes – never met this kid before, but he was a pleasure to watch with his smith grind kickflip out on the Couch
• 3rd – Solomon Mosley – this is my boy that sent me a sponsor-me tape a couple of years ago for Tampa Am. It was rad to see that his nollie bigspin bs lipslide on the Couch earned him 3rd place
• 2nd – Chris Mendes – so damn close to the kickflip bs noseblunt, but the regular ol’ bs noseblunt is what got him his spot
• 1st – Nate Compher – he switch flipped the whole damn Coffee Table! Best switch flips and one of the coolest guys around

Thanks for nothing? That’s usually the Damn Am motto, but we would like to extend our ‘thanks’ to all of the good people in Golden Valley at 3rd Lair SkatePark, the skaters that came from all over the States to ride in Damn Am, the supportive parents, Bam and friends for visiting, Adio, Billabong, Zumiez, and the amazing weather that we got to experience during our stay. Fun times were had by all and I’m already looking forward to next year.

Ryan