The Pro Tec Pool party at the Vans Combi pool in Orange county is kind of like your favorite skate video. Whether it is Fully Flared, Welcome to Hell or The Serch for Animal Chin; you were blown away when you first daw it and return to watch it over and over. Now in it’s fourth year the hype has died down a little from when it was the best contest of all time. It is still the best contest; with the legends and top current vert dogs. The players are basically the same and except for the top 5 pros, the tricks are kind of the same and everybody loves it. It is not only the action but the seeing of old friends and skating with the best skaters in the world!
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Mimi Knoop stepped it up and won the girls pro event. Good for her she deserves it - frontside boneless in the square
Mimi again with a man sized frontside invert
Lyn-Z Adams put in a good showing despite the fact that she had to leave to go to prom - for real. Tweaked mute air towards second place
Jeff Grosso, Neal Hendrix, Salba and Lance Mountain - you think these guys can find lines in a pool?
Julie Kindstrand is coming on strong in the girls division, she had crazy lines in the pool - second place
Two terrors from Copenhagen - Rune Glifberg and Nicky Guerrero
You gotta pay to play - Bucky Lasek and Salba do something to reduce the swelling
Tony Magnussen prior to his collision with Buck Smith and the shoulder dislocation that resulted. Tony was so gnarly that he jumped back into the session straight off and dislocated his shoulder again
Josh Nelson maybe has the loudest grinds in the history of skateboarding
Ben Schroeder does a backside boneless on the hip. When Ben drops - get outta the way
Steve Caballero should be an inspiration to all - still ripping after all these years and one of the nicest guys, he got 2nd in the Masters division and 1st in the longest boardslide event
To see Chris Miller skate this event defies description, Chris made it a 4 peat and is again Pro Tecc Masters champion
You may remember Nicky Guerrero from his GnS days in the 80’s, Nicky got 3rd in the masters
Nolan Monroe, how many 15 years olds can throw varial to liens over the hip in the combi?
Brazilian hell man Bruno Passos, Bruno is super nice but his skating is from hell or maybe heaven
Chris Miller and the Pool party logo which is Peter Hewitt from a photo that I took
Tim Johnson did hands down the biggest corner air of the event, this stalefish was insane
Jake Piasecki is 100% skateboarder, the dude is at every transition event
Benji Galloway did about every pool trick in the book, one of the days he will get a podium at the Pro Tec Pool Party today he was stoked to get 5th
This shot of Cookiehead is a bail shot but what the heck Darin “Cookiehed” Jenkins is gnarly so we ran it anyway
Jimmy The Greek was going the no pads route, which is pretty crazy considering how fast you can go in the combi
Bucky Lasek looked like the sure winner in the qualifiers but ended up in third in the finals - frontside gay twist
Bucky again with a Guy Ritchie which is a nollie flip to Madonna
Rune Glifberg turned on the heat in the finals, tricks lick switch kickflips, back tail through the corner to shove it, insane moves everywhere in the pool and big airs like this tail grab helped. Rune is super intense when he skates, he means business
Rune throws in a backside tailgrab on his way to victory
Vans rider Josh Borden throws a kickflip down
Steve Reeves was another rider going the no pads route
Nolan Johnson, not only does this look crazy but it is alley oop too
Bob Burnquist surveys
If you went to Mars and found life, it may be Bob Burnquists dna because he is an allien.
Cab won the boardslide contest with 18+ blocks. Grosso said he did 27 in practice but hurt his back and was not in the contest
One of the original Daggers - Eddie Reatagui. The Daggers where the gang in the movie Thrashin
Chris Miller transfers via backside air
Thrasher photographer Mike Burnett watches Steve Steadham get fully upside down on this frontside invert
Ron Allen gives cograts to Chris Miller for a ripping run
Sergie Ventura with the move of the contest - a crazy transfer from the square to the round which has never been done before, until now, He did it in practice and not his run so it was not scored but it was an accomplishment none the less
Sergie gets congrats from Jeff Grosso
Rune Glifbergs riding had a light to it - ollie to truck bash
Omar Hasan had a run that was like 1 1/2 minutes long. Omar got second
Benji Galloway inverts the hip
Josh Borden and Sergie Ventura collide, Sergie rode out of it
Rune Glifberg flips to Indy alley oop over the hip, he won
Cab was stoked to win the Thrasher longest boardslide contest
Girls podium, l-r, Mimi Knoop, Julie Kindtstred 11 year old Allysha. Allysha got 4th but Lyn-z went to prom so Allysha was excited to fill in for her place
Masters podium, l-r, Nicky Geurrero, Chris Miller and Steve Caballero
Bucky Lasek, Rune GLifberg and Omar. It must have been very hard for the judges. Duncan said some judges had one guy in first and others had another guy in first but this was the end result
Results
Women
1 Mimi Knoop $4,000
2 Julie Kindstrand $2,500
3 Lyn-z Adams Hawkins $1,000
4 Allysha Bergado $650
5 Amelia Brodka $350
Masters
1 Chris Miller $10,000
2 Steve Caballero $6,000
3 Nicky Guerrero $3,000
4 Eric Nash $1,000
5 Lester Kasai $500
6 Pat Ngoho $200
7 Steve Steadham $200
8 Tony Mag $200
9 Buck Smith $200
10 Ben Schroeder $200
Pro
1 Rune Glifberg $25,000
2 Omar Hassan $15,000
3 Bucky Lasek $7,500
4 Bob Burnquist $3,000
5 Benji Galloway $2,000
6 Sergie Ventura $1,500
7 Bruno Passos $1,000
8 Josh Borden $800
9 Nolan Monroe $500
10 Adam Taylor $300
Longest boardslide
Steve Caballero – 18 blocks - $1,800
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