On day two of my New York adventure, it was time to go Back to the Banks. This is the event I was looking forward to the most of this past NYC skate weekend. The Brooklyn Banks are just such a rad place. They've been a legendary skate spot forever, and the actual banks have withstood numerous renovation threats from the city. Even though the place has changed over the years due to construction, the heart is still there, and will always be there, thanks to the NYC skate warlords that protect them.

One in particular is 5 Boro founder, NYC skate legend and Brooklyn Banks protector, Steve Rodriguez. He's been able to have the place turned into an actual skate park, free from the greedy hands of developers. Steve also is the man behind the Back to the Banks contest, so stay tuned for an interview with him about 5 Boro, The Banks and NYC skateboarding in general.

Alright, back to the contest. It goes like this: four obstacles, four winners, one overall winner and five $2,000 cash prizes. The obstacles are as follows: bank to wall, bank to ledge, bump to spine and the rail. In the end it was just a super stoney kind of day, with all but one of the cash prizes going to a Volcom rider. Huntington Beach's own, Colin Provost, was the most consistent spot killer, and the overall winner. Willy Akers slayed the actual banks so hard he took home both the bank to ledge, and bank to wall. Then on to the none bank sections, Chris Blake won on the rail, and David Gonzales took it on the bump to spine.

Like always, it was a great event, it seemed like the whole damn NYC skate scene was there. The kids had a great time, the adults had a great time and the bums had a great time. It seemed like the only ones not having a great time were the bicycle riders, who having a tough time getting through the crowd.

Here's some shots from the day most taken by me, except the three labeled Remy Stratton:


Colin Provost with a noseblunt on the bump to spine.


Colin with the Southern Californian mean mug after sticking the blunt.


Neckface and Braden Szafranski getting their bank on.


Steve Rodriguez pumping everyone up.


David Gonzalez getting his blunt on. Photo: Remy Stratton.


David amped after sticking it.


Willy Akers ruling the actual banks. Photo: Remy Stratton.


Yeah Willy!


Colin with a f/s 3 over the rail. Photo: Remy Stratton.


The man behind some of these shots, Remy Stratton, and an injured, Caswell Berry.


Mark Nardelli was pumped on how it went down.


So was Felix Arguelles.


And so was Billy Rohan.


Of course Reda was there.


A statue of George Washington on the walk back to Kadillac's place.


And George's camel toe.


The banks are directly under the Brooklyn Bridge, hence the name the Brooklyn Banks,
even though they're technically in Manhattan.

The 10th stop of the Cricket Campus Rail Jam Tour looked sicker than
ever. Held at UCSD in La Jolla, tons of kids came out to support their
local shredders. As the sun set, everyone continued slayin' it while
the Galvanic Design crew got some awesome night shots of the riders
hitting their set up. The last stop before the Portland finals is at
Oregon State this Thursday, May 21st.

Folow up story courtesy of Taylor Murray:

With 70-degree weather, Red Bull flowing, and Swine Flu in the air, the conditions were perfect for the rare breed of shredding that is the Cricket Campus Rail Jam Tour.
Mother nature was able to sit back and rest as the crew brought in a
massive ' margarita maker' to blow 25 tons of pearly white flakes onto
the setup. By the time the machine was near finished grinding the huge
ice blocks, a massive sea of people had already gathered around the
setup to peep the scene and get their photo taken at the ELM company booth. Cricket Wireless was giving away tons of free shirts and stoking out the crowd. Big ups to Cricket for making it happen!

60 local shreds came out to terrorize the rails and throw down for
their shot at some skrill and assorted products from all the fine
sponsors. Knife Show' (TM)s
own Casey Wrightsman took home the win for the men' (TM)s snowboard division
and walked away with the cash and an invite to the Portland finals.
Second place finisher, Colt Morgan, flew down from Tahoe just to
qualify for the finals, and that he did! Colt also walked away with a
crisp new Omatic board to beat all the babes off him. Eric Singer is no stranger to the Tour, and finished in third with some Skullcandy gear.

As for the ladies, Nirvana Ortanez took home the W and the infamous
jackalope trophy. So sick. Monica Thatcher finished in second and got a
ticket to the finals. Congrats ladies!

Let' (TM)s talk about some skiing. The San Diego skiers are some burly
dudes, they simply don' (TM)t give up. Bloody gashes, smashed limbs, no big
deal. The two plankers put on a great show for all the UCSD students
and walked away with big smiles despite their injuries. Andrew McDowell
stole the judges' (TM) hearts and scooped up some cash and a first place
spot on the podium. Robert Thorpe came in a close second and took home
some killer Boone
skis after getting wild on the Red Bull box. Lars Johnsgard Jensen
rounded out the pack in third and was rewarded with some sick Spyder outerwear and an invite to the Portland finals on May 30th!

When the sun had set and the winners had been crowned, the crew got
their hands dirty and tore down the setup in record time to make it to
the after party in Pacific Beach. 50 shred rats in a bar full of bros
always makes for a good/interesting time. Now that UCSD is in the
books, the Cricket Campus Rail Jam Tour
is back in Oregon to host one more event on their home turf, before the
final showdown in downtown Portland on Saturday, May 30th. Keep your
eyes peeled on www.campusrailjamtour.com for a live webcast from REELcomp!

As if falling out of a plane several thousand feet above the ground isn't enough of a rush, 44 year old Russian Skydiver Valery Rozov decided to jump into an active Volcano last weekend. Rozov strapped on his wingsuit and jumped out of a helicopter in to the active Mutnovsky Volcano on Russia's Kamachatka Peninsula. But the really crazy part was in order to maximize the thrill he waited until he'd fallen inside the crater before pulling his parachute. Highlighting his pinpoint accuracy, Rozov landed on a sheet of ice in the middle of the simmering crater.

Yo! Hope the weekend was fine. It's pretty toasty in Orlando these days, so it's been unreal on the lake. Another little side to shredding wake has been finding waves on the East coast. There has been nothing to complain about as of late with the surf sessions we've all found time to fit in. Living the Florida dream I guess.

This past weekend Red Bull invited the local collegiate shredders out to OWC for a weekend of debauchery. Colleges from around the area brought their wake teams out to learn to ride, compete, or just be mellow (or the opposite actually) with the Bull. I headed out there yesterday to catch a glimpse of the best trick contest. Best trick of the OWC kicker was hooked up with JD's 2009 setup. I know that when I was in college, this would have been like winning the lottery. Not that you'd want to sell it, but if you did, you could get a lot of ramen and beer with it. Aside from the best trick contest, there was something for all, volleyball, food, energy, girls, boys, and of course, Red Bull riders.
PLEASE check out the photos for the full recap.

TEST RESULTS ARE POSITIVE FOR RED BULL WAKE LAB TEMPE
Innovative Wakeboarding Experiment in Tempe Town Lake Proves Wildly Successful
Wakeboarding Pro JD Webb takes Prize for ' Best Overall'

Tempe, AZ ' " April 4, 2009 ' " Red Bull Wake Lab, the biggest and most innovative wakeboarding event ever devised, splashed down in Tempe Town Lake during the Circle K Tempe Music Festival on April 3rd and 4th. Over two days, more than 25,000 spectators experienced some of the nation' (TM)s top wakeboarders showing off their best tricks on the ' Wake Lab,' a one-of-a-kind floating skatepark. The first day of competition got off to a rocky start as 50 mph gusts of wind caused two of the qualifying rounds to be postponed. But Saturday brought clear skies and calm winds, and an early start allowed the event to get right back on track. At the end of a day of tight competition, four riders walked away with awards ' " Aaron Rathy (Most Progressive), Adam Errington (Best Trick), Parks Bonifay (Best Line) and JD Webb (Best Overall).



' Red Bull Wake Lab Tempe was hands-down the best wakeboarding event I' (TM)ve ever participated in,' said wakeboarding pro JD Webb. ' From the perfect weather to the huge, supportive crowd and the amazing, challenging structure, I was happy to just be involved, let alone win ' Best Overall.' (TM)'

The 36 competing athletes were a combination of pros hand-selected by Parks Bonifay, X Games Gold medalist and event co-creator, along with up-and-coming riders from across the country who competed in regional qualifiers to earn their spot in the event.

The event also featured a performance by two members of the Red Bull Air Force, a 12-man team assembled from the most accomplished and experienced skydivers, BASE jumpers and paragliders on the planet. Team members John Devore and Mike Swanson wowed the crowd as they dropped from the skies and soared into Tempe Beach Park, skillfully landing in the lake.

Red Bull Wake Lab made its debut in Orlando, FL in September 2008, and was an instant success with riders and fans alike. Created as an experiment to see how far the boundaries of the sport of wakeboarding could be pushed, the groundbreaking event seeks to ' evolve' the sport of wakeboarding. Influenced by the design of the modern skateboarding skatepark and snowboarding snowpark, a massive ' wakepark' was specially designed with the goal of taking wakeboarding somewhere it had never been before. The result, dubbed ' The Wake Lab,' allows riders to perform sets of tricks that were once impossible, raising the sport to new levels.
In order to evolve the sport and create new experiences for riders, a new technology needed to be introduced to take full advantage of the revolutionary wakepark structure. This came to fruition when the ' The Wake Lab' was coupled with the Sesitec System 2.0 overhead pulley system. No boats are needed to tow the wakeboarders, as this revolutionary pulley system allows athletes to take two full runs (back and forth) across the wakepark' (TM)s various
rails, pools, sliders and 15-foot wall. The system made its US competition debut at Red Bull Wake Lab in Orlando.

For complimentary images post-event, visit www.redbull-photofiles.com.


Competition Semi Final / Final Results:

Semi Finals

Heat 1
1. Parks Bonifay
2. JD Webb
3. Collin Harrington
4. Shane Bonifay

Heat2
1. Aaron Rathy
2. Adam Errington
3. Yannick Thibbeut
4. Keith Lidberg

Finals

Heat 1
1. JD Webb
2. Aaron Rathy
3. Adam Errington
4. Parks Bonifay

Overall Winner ' " JD Webb
Most Progressive ' " Aaron Rathy

Best Trick ' " Adam Errington ' " Backside Lipslide, backside 270 out on the quarter pipe
Best Line ' " Parks Bonifay ' " Switch boardslide backslide 450 to front board, 90 out on the M gap, backside lipslide over nose slide on the angled hubba ledge