Thats right action fans, X games is back, in fact the prelims have already started. The bad news – our pedantic, boring, SA tv channels are not showing it anymore. The good news – You can watch every event on Youtube for free. Below I have put together a list of some of the major broadcasts coming up and I will update this post as new ones become available.
Skateboard Live
Here are the skate events:
BMX Live
Here are the BMX events:
Thats Day 1 – More to come
So there you have the opening action from X Games 2019. Be sure to subscribe to my page and the X Games Youtube page for more. Big shout out to Monster Energy for their support of all action sports, including X Games.
As is the norm the world’s best X athletes did not dissapoint this last week in Minneapolis. There were some incredible performances during Xgames 2018.
Skateboard
Lets start with skateboarding and Nyjah Huston. The already 7 times Gold medal winner put in a flawless performance to take home the Gold. It has been a while since his last win and was amazing to see Nyjah back to his best.
In the ladies, I was super impressed with Skateboard Park Gold winner, Brighton Zeuner. She pushed the levels of ladies park riding with a pretty impeccable run.
In men’s Park, Alex Sorgente blew minds with his variety and combinations in the park, fighting off big names like Alex Barros to take Gold.
Bmx
In the Bmx it was a mad day of riding, with the boys pushing the limits of the sport. After seeing some of these guys at Ultimate X earlier this year, I was pumped to see some of the guys were out here, dominating at XGames.
In the dirt it was Brandon Loupos with an astounding run for Gold. He had a backflip into the double backflip, then a cash rollto triple tailwhip and then the big finish of a flare doible tailwhip.
Logan Martin was one of the guys who really impressed me in SA. We did not get to see him in heavy bowl sections though, where he blew up at Bmx Park at Xgames.
James Foster stepped up the game in the Bmx Big Air with a massive superman over the jump to the first Quadruple Tailwhip in the competition.
Fmx
In the FMX the levels keep just going up, though how I just dont know. Jackson “Jacko” Strong took gold in the Fmx Best Trick with a Doube frontflip no hander.
When you open your Fmx Freestyle run with a double backflip no hander, you are going for Gold.The French heavyweight, Tom Pages smashed his second run for Gold.
Those are my top picks! remember you can go check out the full event videos on the Xgames Youtube Page with Monster Energy. Enjoy your Monday.
Cape Town skater, Jean Marc Johannes, has had an up down few years and now he comes back home with the Gold Medal at the FISE World Amateur event, making for a great end to the year. Jean Marc flew the flag for South Africa from day 1, qualifying in 1st place with a run of 89 points, before taking out the final, with the run below, for an 85 score and the Gold Medal. Well done dude and hope to see you continuing the winning streak.
Some hate him, others worship him, but what none of us can deny is that Nyjah Huston changed the game. He is most definitely not your old school punk rock skater, but he skates pretty dam punk rock!
What happens when you ask Nyjah if he has any footage laying around? You get 4 minutes you won’t soon forget.
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The title says it all. Skateboarding’s Iron Man tops himself by literally taking things to the next level. Danny Way sets out to break his own highest air record and after a punishing wipeout sets a new world record of 25.5ft.
This year I have been lucky enough to MC on the Skateboarding for Hope, presented by Vans, around South Africa. The tour, which is operated by the Kimberley Diamond Cup, holds events around the country with clinics and free equipment for underprivileged areas and street skate competitions for SA skaters. Having attended all the major events in Cape Town, Durban and Johannesburg, the major revelation for me has been that Skateboarding is truly the most inclusive sport in our country. Our skateboarders come from all cultures, races and urban demographics with probably the right ratios to make even our Governments stern demand for race quotas in sport a reality. The best part though is not one of those skaters cares about race or culture in their fellow skaters. The SA Skate crew roll together as a unified group of athletes who are all friends and are all in the sport because they are passionate about skateboarding. The rest of SA could take a big lesson from these perceived rebels of society. While the skaters are competing against one another, and believe me the competition is fierce, there is nothing but support and positivity amongst the crew outside of heats. When a skater, in a heat lands a big trick, the whole event lights up and the most noise and support is coming from their fellow skaters.
Moving forward it would be incredible to see more Brands and local Governments in South Africa and Africa getting involved, following the lead set by the Northern Cape and the brands already involved such as Vans and Red Bull. Skateboarding requires a board and a pair of shoes, equipment that is also a mode of transport and the start of a dedicated sport lifestyle. It is an incredible diversion from common dangers in poor areas such as gangsterism and drugs. An old misconception is that skateboarders are rebels and into drugs, but many of the new breed of skater are profesional athletes with their eye on the prize of an international career. These are the skaters inspiring the next generation. South Africa desperately needs more parks and skateboarding areas dedicated to the kids. This becomes apparent all over the country when kids sign up to skate the competitions, not because they want to compete, but because it is the opportunity to ride a proper, world class skate park, which is setup by Old School Productions for every event. If every city council in SA committed to building just one major plaza in a central location for the cities population, I can guarantee they would notice a difference within a few short months in the local communities. Kids are drawn to skating, it is accessible and the costs are not not astronomical. Those same plazas would attract sponsored events and help fast track our own skateboarders to where they could compete overseas and earn a salary from the sport.
All in all, skateboarding in SA is growing fast and with the world’s richest skateboarding event coming to Kimberley once again from the 7-11 October, along with the World’s best skateboarders, you can expect that growth to continue.
Blows my mind how this guy took what most would have accepted as a life without adventure and risk, having no legs, and turned it around to not only push himself, but the sport. Bloody inspirational man!
Italo Romano is from Curitiba, south of Brazil, and he has a unique story. At 11 years of age, Italo had an accident playing with his friends which cost him both legs. But, what seemed like a tragedy ended up being a new way of life, and a year after the accident he was back on the board. He believed in his talent and gave everything up to try to make a career out of skateboarding. After two video parts and many achievements in the skateboarding world, he was finally able to turn pro at 23. For Italo Romano, it’s “never give up, never give in, you make your own way”.
Watch Italo Romano’s inspirational story, and if this doesn’t get you pumped to get out and skate, we’re not sure what will.
The biggest names in bowl skating from young to ancient, go absolutely bonkers in this insane bowl!
Broken boards equals broken dreams. Chris Russell had it in the bag but one too many hang-ups enabled Tom Schaar to spin his way to the top. Meanwhile, Pedro Barros stole the show with a death defying NBD. 10 years of the Pool Party and this was the best one yet!
As a surfer Madagascar has been on the map for many years, but its definitely not the first place to pop in your head for a skate tour. But it seems that there is a skate culture growing there, so Red Bull took a crew of international skaters to go explore the land of the lemurs…
Madagascar sounds a bit like something from the pages of a fantasy novel. Everyone knows that this place exists, but it’s so remote that it is almost like a myth. The island resides on Africa’s west side and is a rare destination for outsiders, isolated by both sea and distance.
A crew of skaters including Barney Page, Denny Pham, Nestor Judkins, Wilko GrĂĽning, Brian Dolle, and Gosha Konyshev saw this as a challenge. Without knowing what any of the terrain would be like, the guys booked their flights and shipped out to the island to go find out for themselves….if only they knew what they were in for. Check out part 1 from their skateventure.
Shred in peace, Wilko GrĂĽning.
Our utmost condolences go out to Wilko, his family, and the entire skateboard community.
Wow, my balls and head felt this one! Cape Town shredder, Alan Marola comes unstuck on this rail set and punishes both his heads…
Hope you feel better bro… eish!
