Youth Against Establishment

WILD IN THE PARKS - STOP #10

The 10th stop on the 2007 North American Wild in the Parks tour went down at the historical Kona Skate park in Jacksonville, Florida. Click to watch the movie from Stop #10 at Kona Skatepark in Jacksonville! With its 31st birthday just around the corner, Kona is the oldest surviving skatepark in the world. The Ramos family are the people behind the magic and have ruled the scene for 29 of those years. We congregated under the Volcom tents during one of a few rain delays Saturday and listened to Martin Ramos rhyme off just a few of many notable moments that Kona has had the honor of bestowing upon skateboarding's rich history. CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE MOVIE TO YOUR IPOD! - Rodney Mullen, one of skateboarding's icons stomped the first forward ollie during one of the early contests. He set a friend's deck on the ground and to everyone's amazement ollied over it! At the time that was something that no one thought was possible. - The first ever "elevator drop" was also thrown down at Kona. Of course this was just what we've come to know a "dropping in", but skaters used to start at the bottom of the pool/pipe. Many of Kona's original features have withstood the test of time and are still available to be ripped. Martin and his crew have also erected additions that will have you shaking your head. All in all Kona is a skater's paradise. The rest of our time in the "Sunshine State" was filled with more then a little skullduggery and an abundance of tomfoolery. "The Tie Dye Fly By" just happended to also be in the area and were relentlessly shredding waves and doing BBQs at local shops. Also on the tour were Volcom Entertainment acts such as the ASG, Inbred and Nihilist, who threw down some serious audio anarchy. Saturday night we hit the Landshark Cafe with Daniel Terry, Sean Slater, Jack Morrissey and the rest of the crew to take in some cocktails and Volcom Entertainment's finest! Both ASG and Inbred ripped the place apart and blew the crowd away. Definitely a night to remember. Spending the weekend in Jacksonville meant we also got to check out nearby areas such as St. Augustine, which is the nations oldest city. As we rolled into town we came across an authentic pirate store complete with an authentic pirate wench. We wandered through the city to Fort Matanzas, which was built by the spanish from 1740 to 1742. It was built as a watchtower to observe enemy vessels approaching from the south. Radical. The event kicked off Saturday morning with the 14 and under division shredding to a plethora of audio sensations provided by "DJ Press Play" (Martin Ramos). These rat-scallions were eager to show the judges and onlookers what they had to offer. The energy and skill of these rippers was full-speed-ahead status and a perfect start for the day's festivities to come. Next up was the 15 and over division which blew out of the starting gates like men possessed! These guys were throwing down bangers from the get-go and showed the frequent rain showers wouldn't be slowing them down. We laid witness to true trickery, 360 flip to boardslide, 360's over and off the pyramid, kickflip 50-50, and many others. This division skated above and beyond and blew everyone away! Last up in the qualifiers was the venerable Open Pro/Am divsion. These guys were breaking themselves off over and over again as they fought for bragging rights and an invite to the Wild in the Parks Champsionships (Sept 22)! After the first two divisions steamrolled through we didn't think it could get more exciting. We were wrong! The majority of the hoots and hollers from the crowd came during the two Open group heats. Kona always brings some of the best skaters and most eventful days on the Wild in the Parks tour! A perfect note to end the 2007 WITP tour on! If you can't make it out to Austin for the $15,000 WITP Championships Sat Sept 22, be sure to tune in to www.volcom.com to watch the live webcast! Thanks again to Kona Skatepark's Martin Ramos and the entire crew. Thanks to our three judges Vinny, Jaime ("Wild Man"), and Tim Johnson. Thanks also to the Action Sports Medical Foundation (ASMF) for watching over us and tending to the wounded. Last but not least to all the companies that supported the scene with product: Plan B, Thrasher, Slap, Krew, The Skateboard Mag, Skateboarder Magazine, Vans, Bones, Powel, Flip, and Zoo York. Results: 14 & Under: 1st - Alex Pellegrino 2nd - Zach Oloughlin 3rd - Kai Gause 4th - blake kovarik 5th - Spencer Lau 6th - Brock Taylor 7th - Jake Miller 15 & Over: 1st - Brandon Nelson 2nd - Barrett Clayton 3rd - Cj Dixon 4th - Harvey Carroll 5th - Kyle Chambers 6th - Jaime Ceruti 7th - Nathan Kirkland Open/Pro-Am: 1st - George Evans 2nd - Evan Mirschel 3rd - Antonio Jones 4th - Timmy Knuth 5th - Christian Carlos 6th - Dj Gaudin 7th - Jason Colon - Liam Ellicott Back to WITP