The Maloof Money Cup released the first set of 24 skaters invited to compete at the New York and DC stops with some skateboarding legends headlining, but also some very notable names left off the list. 

Since Rob Dyrdek announced last month they were having skaters sign an exclusive compete contract to only skate in Street League and X Games, the questioned remained which skaters were going to choose which contest.

The first invite list from MMC includes legends like Geoff Rowley, Andrew Reynolds, Dennis Busenitz accompanied by a rich pool of young talent. No shortage of talented skaters will be on display in New York and DC.

But what will be missing from the Maloof Money Cup are mainstream names like Ryan Sheckler, Paul Rodriquez, Chas Ortiz, Sean Malto, and Eric Koston who all appear to be competing in Street League.

The biggest surprise to this list has to be the absence of Chris Cole, a defending three-time winner of the MMC 100,000 prize purse. One would assume his loyalties would be with the Maloofs, after all, the contest has definitely been good to him.

Last year as the rumors about the exclusive contract began to make news; Joe Maloof offered a $1 million bonus to any skater who won four straight Maloof Money Cup contests. That was an obvious statement toward Cole who has won the past three contests.

Dyrdek the founder of Street League as since come out and said, Cole will be the exception, he'll be allowed to compete in NYC at the Maloof Money cup for a shot at four in a row and the million dollar bonus. "We're not going to stop Chris Cole from getting a million dollars, and then he's right back in Street League, and all the other skaters are for it," Dyrdek said.

After glancing over the initial list of riders for both contests, the real winners are the fans. The sport continues to grow and we are all benefiting from it. We now have the chance to watch two different contests with different skaters with different formats all push their skateboarding for huge prize purses.

Sounds like a step in the right direction.

Here's a list of the first 24 invited skaters:

Alex Olson
Andrew Reynolds
Anthony Van Engelen
Arto Saari
Austyn Gillette
Bastien Salabanzi
Brandon Westgate
Brian Anderson
Bryan Herman
Chris Haslam
Chris Pfanner
David Gravette
Dennis Busenitz
Garrett Hill
Geoff Rowley
Grant Taylor
Greg Lutzka
Justin Brock
Leo Romero
Lizard King
Sierra Fellers
Tom Asta
Tony Trujillo
Vincent Alvarez

Our new web feature simply called Straight to the Internet because that's what it is. Get footage and put it up on the internet as fast as we can. And our friend Ryan Sheckler stopped by the local San Clemente park to start off this new feature and tore shit up for us. Also along for the session: Stevie Perez, Yaje Popson, Tony Pancini and Cyril Jackson to get in on the action.



Straight to the Internet: Ryan Sheckler from Skateboarder Magazine on Vimeo.

Check out Skateboard Mag for more "Straight to the Internet" features.

Ryan Sheckler always has something up his sleeve. Whether he's stomping new tricks at Street League, giving back to those in need with the Sheckler Foundation, or making young girls heartthrob with a glimpse into The Life of Ryan- the 21 year old is always working on fresh, positive projects.

The California native is driven, passionate and appreciative of his current position and plans to continue his elevated presence in the skate world through philanthropic adventures and by skating the best that he can.

With so many new projects always in the mix, we caught up with Sheckler to talk about his growth with Oakley, plans for a video part this season, his thoughts on the exclusivity of Street League and what in the world the megastar has going on next.

How's it going Ryan?

I'm just cruising. Getting ready to go to the Oakley Store opening in Times Square. Things are good, I just got done doing a show on Sirius Radio and it's been a pretty interesting day already.

Sounds like you've been busy-

That's how New York is. I'm never here for more than 24 hours, but I have 36 hours of stuff to do. It's cool though, I like being on the run.

You're headed to the opening of the Oakley Store in Times Square, can you tell us about it?

I haven't been in the store yet, but I've ridden for Oakley for years and It's about time they open a store like that in NYC.

You've been with Oakley since you were 7 years old and now you're 21. How have you grown with the company?

My growth with the company has been a gradual understanding between Oakley and myself. Right now I have two pro signature glasses that we've done and it's more like a family to me these days. It doesn't really feel like I'm sponsored by them- but more that I'm apart of them.

What is the best part about being a member of the Oakley family?

The best part about being with Oakley is definitely always having the freshest shades! They are really down to help their athletes with so many different things. If you come to them with a trip you want to do, a proposal you want to do, or even idea of a film project to do, they are always down to help you out. Now they have the RED camera and also the Phantom camera which are two cameras that haven't really been tapped into in the skate world yet and we've gotten to start using them now, which is great because it's basically bringing cinematic footage into the skate world.

Speaking of footage, we hear you are working on a new film project and are dedicating a portion of your skate season to work on it. Can you talk about the film and if you will be using Oakley's cameras for it?

I'm working on my part for the Plan B movie and thats basically the only thing that I'm really focusing on now. We're scheduled for an end of year release, and basically it's been a couple of years since I've put a video part out, so this is where my heart is going. I'm just trying to make sure that this is the best that it can be.

We recently used the one of the Oakley cameras for a Plan B skate ad that I'm doing and that was actually the first time that I got to use the Phantom camera, it's a 1000 frames per second so it looks really good. We get to use the RED camera quite a bit which also turns out really well.

Are there plans to donate the proceeds from the video to charities and will the Sheckler Foundation be involved?

We are still trying to figure that all out. It might be something where the money will go to foundations that kids vote on for where it should go to. Or maybe (it will go) to another foundation that we feel really needs the money.

As far as the Sheckler Foundation, we started about three years ago and it was just an idea to give back to fans and athletes that I kept seeing get injured.

There were a bunch of catastrophic injuries that happened in the action sports world in the last couple of years and injuries like that seem pretty consistent.

The Sheckler Foundation is a way to make people aware that these athletes can get severely injured and we only do it because it's a lot of fun but also for the fans that want to see what we are doing- so when you do get hurt, it is a major set back. I think the Sheckler Foundation is just a way to help athletes get back on their feet and keep doing what they love.

There's talk that you are unofficially trying to make the best skate video part to date, is this true?

I'm not trying to back any records, or do anything crazy, or claim that I'm putting out the best video part ever because there are so many people that are so insane in the sport that I'm involved with.

But you are taking time off some competitions to film it. Will you be popping up in any contests this season?

I'm skating in Street League and X Games this year.

There's some controversy about having to sign the exclusivity contract in order to compete in Street League, what are your thoughts on that?

The exclusivity thing is more-so just the fact that Rob wanted to start a league. And you have to put your time in and you have to be truly apart of it to be in the league. You have to be a street skater and I don't know exactly how he did it, but the way that it's working so far is that some of the other contest series are a little bummed out on the whole exclusivity thing, but at the end of the day it's what the riders need and its what going to elevate the sport to new and higher levels. It's actually good because it gives me time to focus on my video part and other stuff that's going on. The contest season takes up a lot of time and you have to mentally prepare to compete and it can be stressful, so actually it's nice.

You were recently in Costa Rica to help plant the first trees in the etnies Rain Forest- What was that experience like?

It was actually my first time in Costa Rica and it was an amazing experience. I was only supposed to be there for four days. During those first four days, we did all the planting of the trees. We went with the Maleku Tribe and it was really just an awesome experience. We got to stay with the tribe in their huts and it was just an eye opening experience.

There was no cell phone, no TV, no electricity, it was pretty crazy, intense. Then I was supposed to leave, but the etnies surf team was out there and they were going on a whole another trip, so I was like, whatever, I'm going to jump on this trip with these guys.

So I ended up staying in Costa Rica for 10 days just surfing and living out there. It was really rad.

Any other trips like that coming up or other plans we should know about?

No surf trips like that. Just skate life coming up! Looking forward to it.

On May 14 we're throwing the 2nd annual Sheckler Skate for a Cause event at the etnies Skatepark in Lake Forest, CA.

The event is really cool because it will be benefiting Autism Speaks.

We're going to have four best trick contests and a skateboard village with lots of different things for everyone to get in on.

Should be a good time.

Sounds like you've been taking care of business are usual- Anything else you want to say?

Thanks be to God!

Photos Courtesy of Oakley and Etnies

Street League Skateboarding has announced the 2011 League schedule and locations for it's second year. Founded by Rob Dyrdek the 20-year professional skateboarder and entrepreneur, Street League was a success in it's inaugural season effectively launching a new way of judging skateboarding by using live scoring to determine the winner. The new system made for more exciting finishes and better live television.

The season kicks off May 7th in Seattle culminating in the Street League championships in New Jersey on August 28th.

Two changes to the 2011 series immediately stand out; the championship prize purse is being raised from $150,000 to $200,000, and unlike last year, the competitors will no longer be allowed to compete in other events like the Dew Tour or the Maloof Money Cup. They will, however, be allowed to compete in the Tampa Pro and the X Games, the two Street League sanctioned events.

The 200k makes Street League the richest first place prize purse in skateboarding history, but will it be enough to get the worlds best skaters to sign an exclusive contract?

A couple of situations will play out if indeed this is the case; the best 24 competition skaters like P Rod, Chaz Ortiz, Nyjah Huston, Greg Lutzka, and Ryan Sheckler will battle it out for the $200k while also making X Games Skate Street a contest worth watching.

The rest of the skateboarding world will get their opportunity to compete for the prize money from the remaining street contests. The Dew Tour could become irrelevant fast unless they figure out a way to make it worth the top remaining skaters time to compete. The Maloof Money Cup is no walk in the park either, there's plenty of money up for grabs which will be sure to bring out skateboardings favorite skaters that don't normally compete in contest.

The most interesting fallout from the new contract rule will be which side the skaters choose. For some the decision is already made, for others it may be more difficult, but no one will have a tougher time deciding than Chris Cole. Chris has made a great living just by winning the Maloof Money Cups, but also has history with Street League and the X Games.

One things for sure, the Maloofs will attempt to help influence his decision one war or another, and Street League threw the first punch by launching their new announcement with a shot of Cole from last year.

In any of these situation the winner will be the fans, so lets sit back and see how this all plays out.



Stop 1: May 7 - 8th Key Arena, Seattle WA (Sunday Finals 4-6pm EST on ESPN)
Stop 2: June 11-12th Sprint Center, Kansas City MO (Sunday Finals 4-6pm EST on ESPN2)
Stop 3: July 16- 17th Jobing.com Arena, Glendale AZ (Sunday Finals 5-7pm EST on ESPN2)
Championship: August 28th Prudential Center, Newark NJ (5-7pm EST on ESPN2)

Skate League official series information

When Joe and Gavin Maloof first decided to venture in the world of skateboarding, some questioned their motive. Was it simply an attempt to capitalize on the rapidly growing sport of skateboarding, or an opportunity for a couple of suits from the business world to profit while taking advantage of an industry that prides themselves on rejecting the corporate ways of society.

In 2008, the Maloof Money Cup made it's debut in Orange County, CA with the best skateboarders in the world competing. Normal skateboard contests take time to develop, time to gain a reputation strong enough for the world's best to want to show up. Not this one; the Maloof's strategy was loud and clear on how they intended to be successful. They put up the largest prize purse for any skateboarding competition ever, over $450,000 in prize money to the skaters.

Joe and Gavin have a reputation of taking care of the people they work with as is the case with their NBA franchise and their Las Vegas Casino. They understand the importance of making sure everyone is happy,(the old make them happy, and they make you happy theory). This has been the case with the Skaters, with the countless weekends in Vegas, the parties, the money, the television contracts, fact being they know how to take care of people.

But the question as to whether or not the Maloof's are good for skateboarding might still be asked, that is until last year when the Maloof's expanded the Maloof Money Cup to New York City. A big selling point to the Maloof's as well as the city of Queens, was after the contest was over, they were able to keep the skate coarse intact, and leave it for the public to enjoy as a skate park. The park has since been named as the 2010 Best Skate Park by the Village Voice. Taking care of not only the skaters but the skateboarding community has become a priority for the Maloof's.

In 2011 the Maloof's are expanding their efforts globally with "Skateboarding for Hope," a 10-month tour and outreach program across the Provinces of South Africa. The Global Initiative continues Maloof Skateboarding's mission to bring skateboarding to communities around the world and work in partnership with local governments to leave permanent skate parks behind. The goal is to provide a positive activity in which kids and youth can participate, keeping them off the streets, away from crime and inspiring a new generation of skateboarders, all while giving back to each community it touches.

The most important part of this tour throughout South Africa is the impact it will have on the youth, "Throughout the tour, Maloof Skateboarding, the Provincial Government and their partners will be donating thousands of shoes, decks and skate gear to provide underprivileged youth in South Africa the opportunity to take up skateboarding. In addition, an AIDS benefit concert will be held during the Maloof Money Cup South Africa."

The tour in South Africa will culminate in the first ever Maloof Money Cup World Skateboarding Championships in Kimberley Sept. 30-Oct 2, 2011. The youth of South Africa will get a chance to see the best skateboarders in the world.

Say what you want about the Maloof's motives, it's hard to debate the exposure and impact they bring to the world of skateboarding.