April Fools Jam April 5, 2009 -- San Luis Obispo, CA
Wow what a weekend. Jonny is for sure the host with the most. He goes all out -- with the help of his local CCMF crew -- to make sure everyone who visits the Toyland Ranch has the most fun possible -- on the skateboard and off. I call it "skateboard disneyland" (with more edge) -- complete with Thriller's homegrown skatepark, live bands on the roof, raging bonfire, camping on site, bbq & breakfast cookouts and max stoke.
Classic Toyland Fun (this time last year) Jonny supervises while the kids play -- John O is the jumper and the jumpees include Richy C, Jay LaPalm & the Pappas bros.
Our host -- Jonny Miller -- in his element
All this and racing on some killer terrain too! Richy said -- it was one of the most fun GS races ever.
Bird's eye view of the hill -- Richy Carrasco warming up the GS course -- Finished 2nd place in the Pro division
Jonny scoped out the local hills which are pretty much like La Costa Nor Cal -- future fame house development sites -- with all the access roads in place but no building yet. We set out to the secret hills in the designated vehicles stealth style according to Jonny's covert plan -- which went off perfectly.
Jonny's "rich uncle" arrives with trusty sidekick in tow
There were 3-4 possible hills we could have raced on -- including a back up hill in another location laying in wait in case we needed it. We got to race on the first choice hill though -- nice surface, pitch & speed -- and an uphill runout. So we just rolled up and rolled out Jonny's killer new ramp that basically flows right out of the bed of his truck. The truck bed is the launch platform -- ingenious and quick set up too!
Being up in the big grassy hills, high above San Luis Obispo makes for scenery that is hard to beat -- especially at this time of the year. You could even see the ocean from up there! Skating this hill may have been a once in a lifetime opportunity -- and we're stoked we didn't miss it.
Thriller Miller is a true innovator in the sport -- last year unveiling his Thunder Dome giant launch ramp -- this year the mobile truck ramp!
Great to see everyone -- especially the newlyweds Jay and Ronda. Much love to you both.
Funniest comment of the weekend -- " I didn't know "Criddle" was an actual person!" . . .
Well, just left racer x on the road, hes on his way back 2 Colorado, The sick nes is on his way to surf the canyon,what a weekend.
Just want to say thanks to Khiro and SK8 KING for stepping it up for us this year. 3 days of non stop skating.
Friday afternoon, Hell fadell and racer x showed up at Toyland with team F agee, Mike K was on fire, Mitch and the boys tore up the TOYLAND park, That night the jam room went off,Hell,mitch,Mike,Brian, Jay, and Miller rocked the music into the night.
The next morning ranch style breakfast, and off to the hill, we had 2 vans, one for the heave's, and the other 4 the mellow heads, the hill was fast, with many heavy turns and corners, the weather was perfect.the hill was almost mile long with a run out,we had just 6 guys who wanted to run from the top, we had some great runs through the switch back corners. Racer X 1st, Hell Fadell 2nd, fly n jay 3rd, Brandon headland 4th.
GreenSkate is a grassroots event that started from a simple idea:
Celebrate and encourage the low impact of longboard skateboards on our environment as a form of effective transportation.
On Earth Day 2007 Calgary Alberta Canada was the host to the first GreenSkate Event. It may come as a surprise that a community of longboarders surrounded by the Calgarian oil and gas industry would feel sympathetic to any green cause; however the Speedboard and Longboard Association of Calgary couldn't be any more ambitious.
A new bar has been set for varsity sports at school district level. The announcements came out the school’s speakers sluggishly on a sunny Friday morning. The monotonous voice of the principal’s assistant read the routine highlights for the week, but today it was different. Out it came, for the first time ever anywhere, something that excited the senses and the imagination of the most athletic students in L.M. Rivera Junior High. Today the School’s Downhill Fest was announced, inviting all students at the schools to participate and to entice other schools in the district to participate. The announcement of this first ever downhill race was repeated throughout the Arecibo School’s District schools along the North Shore of the Island of Puerto Rico. The event echoed across the land like the announcement of an invading horde… Here comes the downhillers again… But this time it was different; this time the sport of downhill skateboarding took center stage in varsity sports, right along side traditional team sports and activities such as basketball, baseball and football.
The Fillmore skatepark opening had been on our calendar for a while, we rolled up to LA then the next day headed to Fillmore. For those of you not aware of the area it is primarily agriculture and is nestled into rolling hills. The ride in alone was worth the drive but as we rolled into the parking lot we knew it was going to be an epic event. There were tents lining the park and even at the early hour we got there the crowd was deep and the park was very active. Riders taking their runs and lined up all across the park.
The park was designed by Jeff Tatum and and built by California Skate Park Jeff did a solid job making sure the park was a fulfilling expirience for both new riders and seasoned shredders, great use was made of the area and the park was full of little terrain aspects that enabled skaters to have every run as varied as they wanted. The park is sure to draw a crowd for years to come and does a great job of making Fillmore a skate destination. The overall vibe on the sides was very friendly and all of the skaters were rocking their own styles, going big and sharing the stoke.
There were many skate luminaries in attendance but more on that a bit later. I just wanted to share a few personal expiriences. Seeing BE rock the park was just epic, dude always has a massive smile. Meeting Per was cool, I've heard so much about him and know how deeply he has influenced the sport. Just cool to meet him. Watching the boys man the tent was hilarity, they tossed out so much swag, so quick. Tony was in attendance and got to snap some shots and watch him sign autographs, cool of him to come. Breamo doing drive by's on the tent with swag and getting to hang with JT, Chaput and Mike from Honey. Watching Dante from USL skate SHRED my airport setup.
Overall the biggest positive I took away was how a focused community can come together to make something happen, and I have to say I think a great deal of that respect should fall on Steve Conaway. He did an amazing job not only of developing an amazing park but also throwing off an event that pulled in so many riders and sponsors. What he accomplished was amazing and should be an inspiration to anyone that wants to do something for not only the skate community but their entire community as a whole.
Good Job Steve...
Read on for pictorial coverage of the event and also a list of facts and details about the even Steve put together.
Events & Coverage 
