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| Stubbs |
 Posted: Wed Nov 22, 2006 1:45 pm |
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Joined: 10 Jun 2003
Posts: 10621
Location: GROG-land, TEXAS
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A few weeks back I get a call from Skip at SMA saying he wanted to send out some of his riders for the EZ-7 Turkey Jam in Houston. Harada, Jesse Martinez, Tuma and some of the young guns on the team as well. Due to money crunches, etc. it turned out that Harada was the only one able to make it. Initially I was to pick up Bennett at D/FW airport here in Dallas on Friday night before the jam in Houston but Bennett missed his flight Friday so I picked him up on Saturday and we made the 3.5 hour trek southward to H-town. We missed out on the actual contest which hosted about 65 kids from the area. Tons of prizes were handed out and kids were stoked. Bennett and I arrived just as dark fell over the ditch and the generator and lights kicked on. Mike Money and the crew from Houston always put on a great jam and this year was no exception. Mike himself even got in on the action with a f/s rock on the extension......
As the skating ensued Bennett started hitting everything in sight with his slash style. Grinds on all the parking curbs, ollies over the hip into the small channel, ollies over the channel (Yes, the one Gonz kickflipped it in 1987) and back out again and this killer f/s grind........
He was all over the coping....
Mike Money said "This ditch has never been skated in that manner and no one has ever ripped this place like that!"
At some point I dropped my board and it rolled out of the ditch into the main ditch that was flowing with about 2 feet of nasty Houston run-off water. I tried to reach for it laying on my stomach but ended up with my upper body from waist up in the drink. Some kid downstream ended up fishing it out and earned himself a new AFROMAN deck. After much ditch skating and beer drinking the night wound down and we partied into the night.
The next day we trekked north to a super top secret, Grindline built backyarder of my friend NOVAK. He has the sweetest set-up and Mike Money takes advantage of the place often...
Bennett was going OFF!
I too got in on the action....
After this session we headed back to Dallas and arrived late in the evening. Next morning I took Bennett to the Beast, a massive ditch that is eerily remeniscent of the old P.O.P. pier in Dogtown. Bennett was more than stoked remarking "This is better than any skatepark I have ever been to!!! And it's a ditch!!!!"
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v25...EASTcenterTOP.jpg
We were up against the clock as Bennett's flight time was nearing so we rolled over to Allen and skated the Allen Station skatepark where he proceded to roll over and destroy every obstacle the park has to offer. We were skating the big bowl and I'm watching Bennett talking to a 12 year old. He's telling me he lives about an hour and a half from the skatepark and only gets to skate there 5 or 6 times a year. About that time he turns around and sees Bennett and exclaims "HEY! I know who that guy is!! Thats...thats....thats....uh....uh...." and I helped him out "BENNETT...." and he finishes "HARADA!!!!!" I've seen him on TV and in the mags!!!" Ha! It was pretty cool to have this kid from backwoods Texas run into Dogtown ripper Bennett Harada at his local park.
I took Bennett to the airport after that and sent him back to Cali craving more Texas terrain. He said he'd be back and he's bringing everyone next time. YIKES.
(More pics later if I get around to it. All pics by G. Scott and Paul Davis). |
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| strohsbro2 |
| Posted: Wed Nov 22, 2006 2:57 pm |
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Joined: 07 Jan 2003
Posts: 9196
Location: Indiana
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| Great pics! |
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I Need these Tony Hawk boards: Powell OG, Powell scratch prototype, Birdhouse scratched graphic slick
Also looking for a MINT red dipped Hawk claw with forest background. |
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| Stubbs |
| Posted: Wed Nov 22, 2006 3:21 pm |
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Joined: 10 Jun 2003
Posts: 10621
Location: GROG-land, TEXAS
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strohsbro2 wrote: Great pics!
G. Scott and Paul Davis, two fine Texas skaters and lensmen. |
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| claywheels |
| Posted: Wed Nov 22, 2006 3:36 pm |
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Joined: 02 May 2005
Posts: 1312
Location: Orange County, Cal
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Damn! What a great couple of days! Nice pics!
I wanna party with you  |
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| beton hurlant |
| Posted: Wed Nov 22, 2006 6:18 pm |
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Joined: 10 Sep 2003
Posts: 923
Location: Bordeaux, France
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| great story and great pics, thanx for sharing !! |
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FLICKR |
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| slob-air |
| Posted: Wed Nov 22, 2006 6:38 pm |
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Site Admin
Joined: 28 Oct 2001
Posts: 41993
Location: S&B HQ
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| Awesome! Thanks for that, Greg. Bennett is the style master of style masters. |
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>>>>>Get your S&B Stickers here<<<<< |
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| SkateRags |
| Posted: Wed Nov 22, 2006 7:25 pm |
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ORDER OF THE SKULL
Joined: 02 May 2003
Posts: 3835
Location: San Antonio TX
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| Hey Stubbs did you skate with Shredward, he said he skated with Bennett at the Louis Bowl. Is that the same one in the pics? |
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| Stubbs |
| Posted: Wed Nov 22, 2006 8:16 pm |
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Joined: 10 Jun 2003
Posts: 10621
Location: GROG-land, TEXAS
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@ Slob and everyone else - Bennett is one great human and equally great skateboarder with some of the surfiest style on the planet. A joy to watch and learn from. Another highlight I recall: At the skatepark Bennett is rolling around on a big, square tailed board and we roll over to the flow area. Lots of pyramid hips, rounded mogul hips, metal coping and corners to carve in the flow area, including some banks up to a 1.5' high flat top upon which the kiddos love to try their ollie kickflips to manuals and such. Bennett takes off and ollie-kickflips up onto this pad and nose manuals across to ollie off.....on an SMA pig. Kids stop skating and start watching. Bennett's clinic lasted about 10 more minutes and then we started skating the bowls.
@Skaterags - Skated with and hung out with Shred-Ed all weekend. I think you can see him in the background of one of those pics up there. It was all the same session Sunday afternoon. (check the Harada f/s air pic. Ed is sitting on the deck by the hip) |
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| Dodo |
| Posted: Wed Nov 22, 2006 10:47 pm |
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Joined: 15 Oct 2003
Posts: 675
Location: Dover UK
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| Great stuff, Bennett rocks..... |
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| Slim |
| Posted: Wed Nov 22, 2006 11:29 pm |
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Joined: 07 Sep 2003
Posts: 2955
Location: pedro point, nor cal
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| Awesome Stubbs. I was so seriously underwhelmed by Bennett's skating at Pacifica that though he certainly was a nice guy with great style, I questioned how the hell he ever got a "pro" model. But from your account it's clear he rips and must have just been taking it way easy when he was here. Hope I get to skate with him again someday and see him do all that rad stuff! |
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the pen is weak. skateboarding is as deadly as all hell - gonz |
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| BillyBonebrake |
| Posted: Fri Nov 24, 2006 1:56 am |
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ORDER OF THE SKULL
Joined: 10 Jul 2003
Posts: 7513
Location: The Institute
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Wow. Cool pics of what sounds like a great time. The beast looks like it needs some old shopping carts and a TV set in it just for aesthetics & all.
How you liking those wheels, Stubbs?
I have a set on the way. They sure look GREEN. |
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| Stubbs |
| Posted: Mon Nov 27, 2006 1:13 pm |
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Joined: 10 Jun 2003
Posts: 10621
Location: GROG-land, TEXAS
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@ Slim - IMO, Bennett is more than deserving to be pro with his own model. He has a bag full of modern tech tricks blended with speed and style. He's an all terrain skateboarder, not limiting himself to stairs, rails and ledges.
@ BBB - Green is good. Still loving mine. |
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| Grumpy Ol' Bastard |
| Posted: Mon Nov 27, 2006 2:16 pm |
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.ORDER OF THE SKULL.
Joined: 04 Jul 2003
Posts: 9869
Location: In a good place...
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I talked to Money on Saturday...he totally agreed with Stubbs' assessment of Bennet.
I thought Novaks deal was built by that guy in Austin...the dude that did Smithville? |
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The Artist soon to be known as MMS... |
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| lush702 |
| Posted: Mon Nov 27, 2006 3:24 pm |
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Joined: 21 May 2002
Posts: 2195
Location: Gnashville TN
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Stubbs is my hero.
that in itself is scary...
Thanks for the 411 and the pics --- |
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Aunt Bea swallowed. |
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| Stubbs |
| Posted: Thu Nov 30, 2006 2:26 pm |
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Joined: 10 Jun 2003
Posts: 10621
Location: GROG-land, TEXAS
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Got another pic emailed to me last night......
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