The Damn Am is one of the more casual contests for amatuer skaters, held in the parking lot of the Volcom headquarters in Costa Mesa, CA. There is no cash prize (just a trophy and some special prizes like a guitar or something and some skate product. I think they give you a travel voucher too.), its not televised, and there is no gate or fee to watch the contest. It makes for a laid back environment and a good time. There's no free beer but if you bring it, you can drink it. They always have after parties at local clubs or pizza joints and a band playing on the final day. This year it was a band called Railroad to Alaska I think? Whatever their name was, their music was definitely aggressive, which fits I suppose, seeing as how the Ams in the contest are equally aggressive, especially during the best trick, which is always a pleasure to watch as kids try tricks and land on top of one another. The rough black asphalt and worn Masonite from years of being re-used at every DamnAm probably doesn't make it any easier on the skaters, but it just goes to show how hungry the kids are that they still rip on such shitty obstacles. Luckily no one got killed and everyone will still be alive to make it to the next Maloof cup or Dew Tour stop. For now, I'll take a more raw contest like the DamnAm any day.
The dudes from Volcom keep the ramps locked up all year and then take them out and set them up in the parking lot for the contest. They always change the course up a little bit though.
The judges' booth. I've seen these guys rip people off plenty of times. This contest seemed pretty straight though.
I wouldn't want to be skating in this thing that's for sure!
The food, however, made up for the terrible Masonite...
Chicken and meatballs, enchiladas, tortilla chips and salad. A fine meal.
There was even an ice cream truck on deck all day!
Volcom heads lined the rooftop to get a nice view away from the crowd.
Lots of up-and-coming Ams were there, such as Ryan Spencer, seen here with his pup.
Think skateboards' Manny Santiago smashed his grill on Friday, and he probably blogged all about it here: http://www.mannyslaysall.com/
DGK's Rodrigo Lima. Can't wait for his part in their video! Lookout for it.
Foundation/Emerica Am Marquis Preston.
Hatman, Ronan, and Saul pose for the cameras.
Tommy Fynn killed it and got 7th place, holding it down for Brisbane, Australia!
SK8Mafia's Nick Tucker, the steeziest Am in skateboarding!
J.P. Arabe, does this dude have any American sponsors yet?
Tommy Werner, representing Aptos, CA!
The always-positive Adelmo Jr. was there to support his Brazilian homies.
Father and son skateboarders watching the carnage.
Vina started the Next Up Foundation, a non-profit which promotes mentoring, motivating and inspiring kids in their daily lives to prevent drug use, violence, addictions, and put an end to poverty. Check them out and show some support for a good cause:
http://nextupfoundation.com/
Red Bull girls causing a scene as always.
The next generation of Brazilian ledge killers, Felipe Gustavo and J.P. Dantas.
Christian Hosoi with yet another insanely skilled brasileiro, Felipe Nery. Felipe did a varial heel nosegrind down the hubba in his run!
DJ David Allen!
Kansas' finest Weston Sparks.
Skatepark of Tampa girls...
And more girls...
Chet Thomas was there having a good time.
So were Chris Pastras and Jay Adams.
Brazilian love between Adelmo Jr. and Turf Am Vitor Borger.
Geoff Rowley and some other guy from flip, Jeremy Fox perhaps?
You know how those Brazilians are...
Blind's Kevin Romar and Manny Santiago, my guess is neither of these guys will be Am for long.
Kevin had this nollie heel nose to fakie over and over no problem.
Anthony Shultz, Bluntslide.
Oklahoma's Kyle Walker with a feeble grind.
Kevin nollie b/s 180ed the stairs in every run i saw him do and never missed it once. Photo: Hatman.
And front crooked the little rail, earning that 10th place spot. K-Ro is always at the DamnAm skating hard and it was good to see him make the finals. Congrats homie! Photo: Hatman.
An unknown shredder floats a kickflip over the pyramid. Photo: Hatman.
Needless to say, the crowd was going nuts.
At least the young ones can still agree on something.
The excitement builds as the best trick contest begins....
Timmy Knuth tried a nosegrind from bank to bank but couldn't make it. That would have been sick.
Tommy Werner with a f/s noseblunt.
This shit was just fucking crazy. No idea what the dude's name was.
Fronside melon grab? I dunno about best trick but its worth a try I suppose...Photo: Hatman.
And David Loy wins it with a smith stall on the very top!
Calling the top three of the contest up for the results...
They gave each of them a framed picture of a past Damn Am skater. Kinda random but pretty cool.
And Kyle Walker takes 1st place!
Congrats to another shredder from Oklahoma.
Plan B and LRG's Anthony Estrada killed it and got 3rd place. This guy has a good style.
I didn't film much skating, but I did get this buttery tre flip nose slide from Tommy Fynn at one point.
I was too busy filming stuff like Felipe Nery joking around with his board.
Seemed like everyone had fun, lots of guys skated good, nobody got seriously hurt (just a couple smashed teeth from Manny Santiago and Diego Garcez on Friday but they were troopers about it), and overall it was another successful DamnAm contest from the good people at Volcom. If you want to see the full results, go here:
http://www.skateparkoftampa.com/spot/skresult.aspx?ID=606
Thanks to Volcom and cheers to another year of Amateur Madness!
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