etnies skate - news

March Team Report!

by: Brink | Friday, March 31, 2006

The etnies Team!

Yup, the Mallorca trip finally came to a conclusion earlier this month, after 19 days of joy, pain, carnage, and rain (there was a bunch of other sh*t that went down, but that rhymed, which is fun). The entire team was on this trip: Arto Saari, Rune Glifberg, Ryan Sheckler, Bastien Salabanzi, Elissa Steamer, Ronnie Creager, Ali Boulala, Kyle Leeper, Eric Fletcher, and Conhuir Lynn. etnies European team homies Javier Mendizabel and Charles Collet also came over for a while as well.

There are tons of words that sum up the trip, but the ones that stand out the most are: rain, motorbikes, fires, amazing spots, villa, guitars, Ali, and more rain. The trip was 19 days long, but that includes travel days; so basically there were 16 days for skating, with no planes involved. Sounds like a lot right? Well, not when it is raining for seven of them! The local we hooked up with for spots, etc. said that it never rains like that in Mallorca. Maybe over a 16-day period at that time of year it would rain two times, and never three days in a row, or whatever the worst stretch was. The only thing positive that can be said about poor weather is the fact that when the sun does come out, everyone is amped to skate. And that is exactly what happened. The first day of skating (four days into the trip) was a beast. The first spot we went to we skated for three-plus hours, and everyone got a trick on film—that is one of the rarest things in skateboarding. Now that I think about it, I could go on and on about everything that went down on the trip, but that would probably be long enough to fill up the pages of a short novel. You got the basics, so let’s throw out some key things about the trip:

Elissa is happy!

• As was mentioned above, rain…too much of it!
• Ali’s antics: he rented two motorbikes within a span of four days, and had to ride them in the rain with freezing temperatures. We weren’t sure he was going to make it one night.
• The villa: Wow! A massive piece of land, with two houses, that will accommodate sixteen-plus skateboarders. You can figure the rest out.
• The spots: Wow times two! You wouldn’t think a small island like that has as much stuff as it does, but let me just say, there are a lot…and they aren’t a bust (for the most part).
• The rulers: Eric Fletcher and Ryan Sheckler. Straight off flights from the good ‘ol US of A, each of them got tricks that first day, and it continued on the duration of the trip. Ahhh, to be young again…
• The rental cars: at one point, we had four cars total. Rental cars are a blast no matter how many or what kind, just make sure you get full insurance ‘cuz reverse donuts are fun!
• Injured list: nobody came down with injuries on the trip, which is fabulous.
• Scenery: Spain is beautiful no matter if you are on the mainland or on one of its few islands. We went to some pretty scenic places…beautiful! Felt like you could fall off the side of the Earth.
• Nightlife: none thank God. The island is basically a ghost town during off-season, so we just kicked it at the villa at night when we weren’t skating or it was raining. Note to reader: you don’t want to go in the summer.

Ali, just chillin'

That’s enough of that. If you want more Mallorca vibes, check some of the photos here and in the Gallery, and keep your eyes peeled for a massive article within the pages of TransWorld Skateboarding in a few months.

Aside from Mallorca, here is what everyone’s been up to and has coming up:

Arto is currently driving from Phoenix to Huntington Beach (driving while this is being typed anyway). After Mallorca he went to Barcelona for a week or so to skate, before heading back to his homeland of Finland to get his new work documents (or business papers if you are a Lebowski fan) for the USA. Once he got those, straight to Arizona to shoot photos and film with the Flip crew…as you may or not know, Flip is working on a new video, and Arto is just getting started filming for it. Next week, he’s headed to New York City for the first celebration of etnies’ 20th anniversary (Ryan, Ronnie, Kyle, Elissa, and Fletcher are also heading out to New York), and then he’ll be headed to Barcelona for a Flip trip until the end of April.

Fun!

Ali left Mallorca headed straight for Australia. His good friend Dustin Dollin was got married earlier this month, and Ali wouldn’t miss that for the world. Ali is still in Australia, skating and probably renting motorbikes, but is headed back to Europe in early April for the Flip Barcelona trip.

Sheckler came back from Mallorca and flew to Tampa, Florida within a couple days for the Tampa Pro contest. Not sure if you saw some of the footage (there was a story here on the etnies site), but basically he killed it. He ended up with a concussion and a 5th place finish. Ryan is currently in Dubai, comes home this weekend, heads to New York next week, and then flies from New York to China…holy crap! That is some heavy traveling, but how about those destinations? Dubai, NYC, China…wow!

A moment with Ronnie Creager

Bastien, who is still trying to get his ultra bruised heel healed, came back from Mallorca and continued the path to foot recovery. A strict diet of doctor visits and guitar sessions had him on the right path, but then he hurt it again on a recent Flip trip to Arizona. He ended up coming back early since he couldn’t skate. Not to fear though, as Bastien is headed back to Paris to see a specialist, to get him fixed up in time for the Flip Barcelona trip. Let’s cross our fingers!

Rune came back from Mallorca and pretty much started his filming for the Flip video straight away. He has been at home in the San Diego area ever since, skating every day. Rune is headed to China (with Sheckler) on the 7th of April for a week, to mainly skate the new massive (world’s biggest) skatepark in Shanghai.

Sheck on a cliff

Mr. Creager has been busy stock-piling as many photos as he possibly can. He has been on daily AZ missions since returning from Mallorca. He has also been finding time to play a round of golf every now and then. He’s headed to New York next week to meet up with the rest of the crew.

Kyle, like Bastien, is trying to nurse a foot injury back to 100 percent healthiness. He basically started skating just before the Mallorca trip, and since then has been skating everyday trying to get the strength in his foot back. After Mallorca (actually about 12 hours after he landed in LA), he flew to China on a weeklong Quiksilver trip. What next? Yup, you guessed it, New York next week.

Ali likes burning stuff...

Elissa has been up in San Francisco ever since the Mallorca trip. When the weather has been good, she’s been bombing hills and skating local SF spots. She’s headed to New York with the rest of the crew on Monday.

Fletcher is in Arizona with the Flip crew shooting photos and filming for the Flip video. A week after getting home from Mallorca, he flew out to SoCal, and when straight to AZ. He’ll be skating in the Phoenix AM contest this weekend, before coming back to SoCal for a night, and then flying out to New York. From New York, he flies directly to Barcelona for that trip you keep reading about.

Rental car...oops

Conhuir is at home in Belfast, Ireland at the moment. After Mallorca, he went to London to shoot an interview for UK-based Sidewalk Skateboarding Magazine. That went well, but he still needs a couple photos to finish it off. Coming up for Conhuir is a Quiksilver- Europe trip that gets started in a couple weeks.

Wow, is that it? It was a lengthy one, but lots of pack in these days. Once the New York trip is over, you’ll get another team update, which will be full of photos, stories, and more. Grip It and Rip It.

Post GvR Team Report!

by: Brink | Thursday, October 27, 2005

Creager and Cole won guitars!

The second-annual etnies GvR contest went down this weekend (as I’m sure you read all about here on the etnies site), and what a contest it was! I’ll spare more and more details about the event, but congratulations to the goofy-footed etnies riders (Ronnie Creager, Kyle Leeper, and Eric Fletcher), since Goofy won, and also congrats to Arto Saari and Ryan Sheckler for their kick-ass results (Arto got third and Ryan fourth for the Regular team)! Ronnie deserves some congrats to since he was the MVP for the Goofys! Conhuir Lynn and etnies Canada rider Nathan LaCoste were also in attendance on Saturday, but didn’t qualify for the team format contest on Sunday and went street skating instead.

Now that the hectic weekend is over, here is what the team will be up to…

FS Flip. he landed it too...

Arto is in Huntington Beach skating everyday. This weekend, however, he is headed up to Northern California for a Quiksilver photo shoot. After that, it’s right back down to Southern California for a night, before heading out on an etnies trip to Arizona to shoot photos and film (Ronnie, Ryan, Kyle, Conhuir, and Nathan will all be on this trip as well).

Bastien Salabanzi is in France at the moment…this past Monday, October 24, he received his new work VISA (work papers for the US), so he is set to come back, but not until November 14, however, just in time for the Flip US tour (more details about that in the future). While he was waiting for the VISA, he stayed busy skating in Paris and visiting with his family. He’ll be doing the same until he returns in November.

Ronnie behind the lens

Ronnie took a couple days to chill since he had a hectic weekend of skating at the GvR contest. He basically skated three full days straight, enough to wear out even a 14-year old. Next week he’ll be headed out to Phoenix to prepare for the rest of the etnies team’s arrival…everyone’s staying at his house, so preparation is necessary!

Ryan is busy skating everyday trying to finish off a Thrasher interview and also working on getting a photo for his shoe release ad…yup, the shoe comes out early next year, so save your cash!

Sheck signs for the ladies

Kyle Leeper is getting ready to head up to Sacramento to shoot photos for TransWorld, and to do some filming as well. He flies down to Phoenix on November 6, straight from Sacramento, to meet up with the crew. We are working on his Team Page and etnies interview right now, sit tight.

Rune Glifberg just got back from Manchester, England where he skated in the LG Championships contest. He qualified second, but when it came to finals, he ended up in fourth either way, congratulations Rune! He is now back in San Diego, and looking forward to some time to chill at home. He did so much over the summer and fall, that he needs a break from all the traveling.

Stefan Janoski is in Las Vegas at the moment, fresh off his trip to Spain. He’ll be back in Sacramento in a few days awaiting Kyle and the TransWorld boys, so he can finish off his TransWorld interview. He’ll be in Sacto for a while before heading out on another mission real soon. Check the new Skateboarder for a Habitat tour article with Stefan.

Conhuir!

Conhuir Lynn is still in the States. He’ll be here for the next month or so, shooting photos and filming, going to AZ, and just being Conhuir Lynn (you’d have to know him to get that one). He’ll be skating in the Damn Am Finals this weekend at Volcom in Costa Mesa, CA. See you next time!

Post West 49 Team Report!

by: Brink | Friday, September 30, 2005

The lineup

Pimp

The etnies/West 49 East Coast Tour is officially over and what a blast of a tour it was! On the tour was Arto Saari, Rune Glifberg, Ryan Sheckler, Ronnie Creager, Kyle Leeper, Conhuir Lynn, and etnies Canadian ripper Nathan LaCoste. Everything from skating sketchy parks to signing autographs to blasting the 80's soap opera smash hit Lady in Red went down. The crew flew in to Halifax, Nova Scotia on the 20th. Well actually the 21st at 1:30 am. Sleep was on the menu after that, or was it? No way, straight to the Nova Scotia casino! Besides skating and getting used to the time difference, the only thing scheduled for that day was a signing at 7pm. for the boys flying from California; it was still 9:30pm, so sleep was kinda out of the question. The casino was a nightmare, so after a couple hours it was time to get some rest.

Then it was time to check out what the city had to offer, specifically what the park where the demo was going to be had to offer. Rolled around the city, bombed some hills, had a fatty to flatty and a manual/ledge/flat bar sesh at the park. All in all, it was a good day of skating around central Halifax. Later that evening, the first of two signings was scheduled at 7pm at the main Halifax location of West 49. The signing went for a couple hours, with approximately 300 or 400 kids all getting to meet the etnies team and get their autographs.

Arto got tired of being in front of the lens

The next day was demo day, so everyone got the rest they needed in order to get their skate on for the kiddies. The demo was massive—probably around 500 or 600 kids showed up and got to see some serious shite go down. Ronnie was destroying everything as usual. Half-cab noseslide 270 nollie heel out on the ledge! Ryan was killing the fatty to flatty section of the bowl with massive kickflips. He even tried to ollie over 18 boards stacked on top of each other. He made 17, but things got too hectic with the crowd and he never made it over 18 boards. There was some good tranny stuff for Rune to skate and he destroyed it as he always does. Frontside airs to tail bash over hips, back tailslides, etc. Arto (backside flips and kickflips over the bowl hip), Conhuir (kickflip backside nosegrind down the hubba), Kyle (blunts galore on the sketchy tranny to vert wall), and Nathan (ruling every obstacle in the park) were skating amazing as well. A successful demo and a successful signing the previous day. time to get some dinner and have a few beverages (we’ll leave it at that for the night’s festivities)!

Mr. Lynn

The next day was a day of driving. What’s new though for tours? The destination–Moncton, New Brunswick. Moncton is a bit different than Halifax. It has more of a French influence compared to Halifax’s British influence. It was a couple hour drive, with a few stops for food, fire works, snacks, and what-have-you. Got there at night and went on a mission to locate the park where the second demo would be a couple days later. No luck, so instead it was time to get a meal. This is where the tour went from good vibes to extremely good vibes. Our waitress at the restaurant Pastelli’s (go to this restaurant next time you are in Moncton. you won’t be disappointed!) was easily the best waitress any of us had had. Imagine a motley crew of skateboarders, in Moncton, coming into a nice restaurant with a bunch of people dressed in nice clothes. They didn’t know what to do. Except for our waitress, Anne Marie—she instantly took us in and took care of us for the next three nights. Her son skates, and she asked Arto if he would speak with him on the phone, which of course Arto did. After dinner, we all decided it was time to take care of this kid, since his mother gave us such a great evening of dinner and Hot Tatti’s (hope that’s how you spell it). So some new Bastien’s and a complete setup (Flip board, Fury trucks, and Ricta wheels of course!), and dinner the next night with the crew. The next 2 days, there were kids lined up at his house because of the story he had! Thank you so much for your hospitality and gifts Anne-Marie!

Nathan LaCoste

The next day was another day of driving. One and a half hours to Saint John for a signing. We get to the store, where again there was about 300-400 kids anxiously awaiting the team’s arrival. Another successful signing—now time to street skate. One of the locals, Brian, took us around showing us the local spots. He showed us a bump spot, a ledge spot, a couple gap spots, and a rail that was gnarly to say the least. Sheckler boardslid the rail, but that was it—sketchy run-up and steep bar. Not worth getting hurt at that time. It was starting to get late, and Arto had been asking for a lighthouse to shoot some photos and portraits, so we took a 30-minute mission to the most amazing place. Nestled back in the woods was a lighthouse with nothing around. You could take a walk down the hill towards these cliffs and hike around on a bunch of rocks right next to the ocean. Words cannot explain and cannot do the spot justice, but amazing it was. This is where the fireworks were shot off. Kicked it there for a couple hours, and decided to head back to Moncton, which was now about a two-hour drive away.

Ryan tried to ollie this

Sunday, the 25th, was basically the last day of the tour, and the last demo. The Moncton park is a pretty weird one. The obstacles are all packed into this tight little area, but it made for a good demo. No teams had really been out there for anything, so the local kids were psyched to see these guys skate anything. A huge crowd was there, and once the demo was over, everyone decided to keep on skating with the kids for a couple hours. This was another highlight of the trip since we got to skate with the kids. They kept telling us how happy they were that we came to their town, and that’s what it is all about. That is what makes tours all worthwhile! The next day everyone flew back home, remembering all the good times that were had from September 20th–26th, 2005. Thanks to everyone from West 49 and Timebomb Distribution for making this trip such a success, and most importantly all the kids that came out and supported the etnies team and continually support the etnies brand…you all made it a trip to remember!!!

Check the Gallery!

Here is what the boys are up to now:

Lots of people showed up

Ryan and Ronnie left today for the West 49 World Cup contest in Toronto, Canada. Yeah, back to Canada for them.

Arto is back in Huntington Beach getting his life organized and skating a bit as well. He’s planning to take a trip out to Arizona real soon to camp, skate, shoot photos, and enjoy a bit of downtime.

Bastien Salabanzi is back in France at the moment waiting to get his new VISA (work permits to be in the States). He couldn’t come on the Canada tour because it expired while the tour was on. He should be getting it real soon and will be back in the States after that.

Kyle Leeper is back at home down in San Diego planning to leave to Spain next Tuesday. He’ll be on a serious mission to get photos for etnies now that he is part of the team.

Signage

Conhuir is back in Ireland after the tour, but is planning on coming to Southern California sometime in October for the etnies Goofy vs. Regular contest. He’ll probably be staying after to skate for a while as well.

Rune will be skating in the LG contest Friday, the 30th, in Pomona, and after that will be skating the local parks in the Oceanside and Encinitas area.

Bibs are sooo hot right now!

Stefan is still chillin in Sacto and preparing to head out to Spain...again.

And that’s all she wrote. Quite a report, check back soon for updates on the contests and everything else the team is up to.

Team Update!

by: Brink | Monday, September 19, 2005

Tomorrow, the etnies crew is headed to the East Coast of Canada for a week long tour. West49 will be hosting Arto Saari, Ryan Sheckler, Rune Glifberg, Ronnie Creager, Kyle Leeper, Conhuir Lynn and Nathan LaCoste for two demos and two autograph signings in the Maritimes. Check the flyer for details. The tour ends September 26, and we’ll have photos and a story of everything that went down.

Arto Saari has been continuing his maniac mission. After King of the Road, he was in Huntington Beach for a few days, before he took off with Quiksilver on a short tour, Hawaii style. They were out in Honolulu for a little over a week doing a couple demos, autograph signings, and also skating some pools, bowls, and whatever other terrain they came across. After that he was on his way to Arizona to film and shoot photos. He got back from AZ last Friday, and proceeded the following day to the ASR trade show in San Diego. A couple signings (with Flip and Quiksilver) and a couple brews were on the SD menu. This weekend he’s headed back to Arizona for a Flip demo and autograph signing.

Bastien Salabanzi has been back in the States skating pretty much everyday. He was down at the ASR trade show over the weekend doing the same thing as Arto, minus the brews. He is also headed out to Arizona for the Flip demo/signing this weekend. Later this month, Bastien is headed back to France to skate and hang out with family before returning later in the year for a couple etnies things and Flip trips. Stay tuned.

Rune Glifberg has been doing the Dew as well as some other business as of late. Over the weekend, Rune was at the 4th stop of the Dew Action Sports Tour in San Jose, CA. In practice, Rune was making his run basically every time. When it came to finals, he missed his 1st two runs, and had to use a back-up run for his 3rd to stay on. He ended up in 5th place. Rune was also seen at the ASR show on Sunday, showing his daughter Alfa all the people in “costumes”. He also stopped by and said hello to the etnies, Flip, and Volcom folk. Rune will be with Arto, Bastien, and the rest of the Flip crew (etnies am Eric Fletcher will also be in attendance) this weekend in Arizona for that demo/autograph signing that we keep rambling about.

Ryan Sheckler has been busy winning contests, touring with Tony Hawk, starting school, and skating the streets as well. Whew. He won the 4th stop of the Dew Series in San Jose last weekend (that’s three out of four), which clinched the Series title. Congratulations Ryan!!! Next stop Orlando. Can he make it four out of five? We think so. He is currently on the Tony Hawk tour getting stuff for the DVD and additional bonus footage for THAW (Tony Hawk’s American Wasteland video game), as well as doing a 30-minute MTV show which will air at some point in the near future. Although Ryan wasn’t at the ASR trade show over the weekend, his shoe was.so if you were there you got to get a glimpse of it, or better yet hold it in your hands; or maybe you’ve just seen him wearing it in the coverage he has had in the mags or at the contests. Well, the wait will be over soon enough. The shoe will be in finer skate shops throughout the land in January ’06. Get ready!

Ronnie Creager was also at the San Jose stop of the Dew Series over the weekend. He qualified 3rd, but wasn’t able to put it all together in the finals. He ended up in 8th. Ronnie will be at the final stop of the tour in Orlando mid-October, so we’ll see how things go there. Ronnie left today for Arizona to go skate now that the weather has chilled out a bit there. He may even stop in on the Flip guys to see how the demo goes.

Stefan Janoski has been enjoying some downtime lately, translation...no trips! He had such a hectic summer with King of the Road and numerous other trips, that a little time to chill is just what the doctor ordered. If you are in the Sacramento area, you may catch him at some local spots.

Conhuir Lynn has been at home in Belfast, Ireland skating and hanging out with his family. He was recently at a Wild in the Streets event in Belfast. Apparently there were best trick contests at four or five spots, and Conhuir ended up destroying a couple of them, which won him some cash. Nice work chap!

Last but certainly not least, etnies would like to welcome Kyle Leeper to the team. You'll be getting plenty of Kyle updates from this point on.

Post-X Games Team Update!

by: Brink | Thursday, August 11, 2005

Deegs and Shecks

Torn up!

You’ve probably already read/heard the results from the weekend's X Games here on the etnies.com, but just in case, here is a quick recap:

Last Thursday, Ryan Sheckler and Bastien Salabanzi skated in the Street contest at the X Games in Los Angeles. Ryan ended up placing 4th…probably could’ve done better had he not broke himself trying to back smith the rail during the second jam session. He came back and landed a few bangers but wasn't feeling quite 100%. Either way, congrats Ryan for kicking ass!

This is a kickflip back tail bigspin out.

Bastien also was in the contest, but he showed up a little late so never really got into the groove. Ewan Bowman, Flip’s Team Manager, was driving Bastien to the X Games, doing about 90mph. They ended up getting pulled over, and Ewan explained that they were running late for the X Games and he had a couple skaters in the car who were in the contest. The cop didn’t believe them, but when they showed their credentials, he believed them and let them go…apparently the cop said “Oh okay, you are in the X Games…well I’ll let you go then, but don’t go faster than 75mph.” It’s nice to know there are a few good cops out there. Bastien ended up getting 9th.

As busy as he is, Rune always makes time to sign...

Rune Glifberg had a busy X Games. He entered the Vert contest, the Vert Best Trick contest, and the Big Air contest! The thing that sucked was that he bruised his ribs/chest a week prior finishing up on the Boom Boom Huck Jam Tour…he came up short on the Huck Jam ramp pitched straight to flat—not a good thing. He was barely able to practice at the X Games, but still entered Vert (placing 9th), Vert Best trick (placing 5th), and Big Air (he didn’t qualify for the finals, but still skated) all while in pretty decent pain. Hell yeah Rune! No pain, no gain!

After the contest and the media frenzy that always surrounds Ryan Sheckler, he headed back home to chill for a bit and get ready for back-to-back contest weekends. Next weekend (Aug. 19–21) he will be in Portland for the third stop on the Dew Action Sports Tour and the weekend after that (Aug. 26–28) up in Vancouver, Canada for the Slam City Jam contest. From now until then, he’ll be home skating and getting ready for his upcoming trips.

Rune and etnies Girl rider Evelien ragin at breakfast. She got silver in Girl's Street.

Two days after the X Games, Rune headed back to Denmark to spend some much needed time with his family. He hadn’t seen them since early July, and that was a short visit anyway. Rune has had a hectic summer so far. Enjoy your down time Rune! Next week, he’s right back at it though as he is flying from Copenhagen to Portland for the Dew Tour.

Bastien and Arto Saari are currently deep in the heart of Texas, on Thrasher’s King of the Road tour. You’ve probably seen a couple posts here on the site about it…especially the one about 40-year old hags with rose tattoos. The tour started last Friday, and ends in New York in 10 days or so. We’ll have more updates as we hear them.

Happy Golfing!

Ronnie Creager got back from Arizona this weekend. He took a short trip out there to shoot photos and get some footage for various ads, etc. (it’s hot out there you maniac!). He’s now back in Southern California doing the same thing—skating everyday. As you may have guessed, he is also finding a little time to play some golf—usually with Sheckler. Next week, Ronnie (like Ryan) is headed to Portland for the Dew Series event, and the following week he’ll also be headed to Vancouver for Slam City Jam.

Stefan Janoski, along with Habitat and etnies teammate Silas Baxter-Neal, left last Thursday with the Habitat crew on King of the Road. They are taking the northern route to the East Coast (as opposed to Flip who are taking the southern route). No updates yet on how things are going for their crew, but we’ll get some soon and update you.

That’s it. Now turn your computer off and go skate!

Pre-X Games Team Update!

by: Brink | Monday, August 1, 2005

Golf is all the rage among pros these days

Breaking shit is fun

The X-Games is upon us once again, and that is the focus of this edition of the team updates…

Yup, X-Games 11 is this week in Los Angeles, starting on Thursday, and ending on Sunday. Bastien Salabanzi and Ryan Sheckler will both be skating in the Street contest on Thursday, the 4th and practicing each day leading up to it. Rune Glifberg will be skating in the Vert contest on Friday evening (the 5th), the Vert Best Trick contest on Saturday (the 6th), and the X-Games finale event, Big Air on Sunday (the 7th). It’s gonna be a hectic one, so get ready if you plan on attending.

In other team news, Ronnie Creager has been skating in the Southern California area everyday, and when he isn’t skating he’s been out golfing (sometimes with Sheckler, check the photos). His schedule is a bit slow at the moment (no big trips planned for a couple weeks) so he’s on a steady diet of street skating.

Even better form!

Sheckler just got back from Missouri this weekend, where he attended the SOKA event in St. Charles. Other than that, he’s just been skating and getting ready for the X-Games (and golfing every so often).

Bastien Salabanzi gets back from Europe on Tuesday, August 2, and will be heading straight to the X-Games for practice to get ready for Thursday’s finals. On Friday, he leaves with the Flip team (which will include etnies teammate Arto Saari) on Thrasher Magazine’s King of the Road trip which starts Friday and goes for about two weeks.

Arto gets back from Europe on Tuesday as well, just in time for the aforementioned King of the Road trip. He’s been out in Barcelona skating and enjoying a bit of down time after the summer madness that he was involved in…three months straight of demos, contests, autograph signings, and street skating.

Rune Glifberg just finished up the Tony Hawk Boom Boom Huck Jam tour over the weekend, just in time for the X-Games. Rune has been practicing on the Mega Ramp on the tour to get ready for the Big Air X-Games event on Sunday, August 7. Good luck Rune! After the X-Games, Rune’s headed back to Copenhagen, Denmark for 10 days or so to relax and spend some time with his family…it has been a hectic summer for him as well.

Good form!

Stefan Janoski has been skating at home in Sacramento lately, and enjoying that time at home ‘cuz he leaves on King of the Road Friday as well with the Habitat crew, which will also include etnies flow rider Silas Baxter-Neal.

Lots going on, so keep checking back for team updates, contest results, and what-have-you...See you at X Games!

The etnies Team Is Makin' Moves!

by: Brink | Thursday, July 14, 2005

This past weekend was quite a success for Bastien Salabanzi and Ryan Sheckler—they each won a contest! Bastien won the annual Mystic Cup WCS (World Cup of Skateboarding) event in Prague, Czech Republic and Ryan won the second stop of the Dew Series street event in Denver, Colorado This was actually Ryan’s secondnd win in a row in the Dew Series, which leaves him well on top for the overall purse of $75,000, which is awarded to the winner of the Series later in October. Last year, Bastien placed second in Prague (he should’ve won!), so that left him hungry to win it this year, which he did rather easily. Here's some photos and info on Ryan’s win and the series overall.

Arto Saari was also in Prague over the weekend, but he didn’t fare as well as Bastien. Surprising considering he’s been doing fairly well at contests lately: 14th at the etnies European Open in Poland earlier this year, and 12th at the World Championships in Germany two weeks ago. Before the Poland contest, Arto hadn’t entered a contest for three or four years, so hats off to him for doing well. Arto, along with Bastien, is on a Flip tour of Europe (for all the contests). They were in Prague for the contest this past weekend, before heading to England and Belgium this week for demos and autograph signings, and now they are in Rotterdam, Holland for yet another contest this weekend. After the contest, Arto’s headed back to Barcelona before coming back to the States at the end of the month.

Rune Glifberg was in Denver, CO over the weekend for the Dew Series Stop #2. He ended up getting 15th place, which was some bullshit if we’ve ever seen it. He made his run and ended up 15th out of 20 skaters? Have you ever seen Rune when he makes his run? Overall the vert contest had some dodgy judging. Pretty much everyone was upset about it. Rune wasn’t too bummed though.

Rune proceeded from Denver on Monday to meet up with the Boom Boom Huck Jam tour for a show on Monday night, before flying to Philadelphia on Tuesday morning for the Gravity Games event at FDR (Phillyside) skatepark, where he made the finals (he didn’t know what place he ended up and the results aren’t on the web for some reason), and then the next morning it was off to St. Louis to meet back up with the Huck Jam Tour…whew… Now all he has to do is finish off the tour and then its home to chill for a week or so before X Games.

Ronnie Creager flew out to Rotterdam the other day for the aforementioned contest this weekend. Ronnie, like Ryan and Rune, was at the Dew event in Denver, but didn’t end up placing very high. Ronnie’s definitely looking forward to this weekend’s contest, as he loves Holland… Also, be sure to check back within the next week or so as Ronnie’s page will be up in the Team section.

That’s all the team updates for now, check back next week for news on the contest in Holland this weekend.

July Skate Team Report

by: Brink | Wednesday, July 6, 2005

Even pros like stickers

Sheck and Fletch

It has been quite some time since the last update, so this is a lengthy one…the team has been up to a lot lately…

Arto Saari has been on a hectic mission lately. In early May, he went on an 11-day Quiksilver tour in Montreal and Toronto, that consisted of a bunch of demos and autograph signings. Straight from Toronto, he flew to Paris to meet up with the etnies riders Bastien Salabanzi, Ronnie Creager, Ryan Sheckler, Eric Fletcher, and Conhuir Lynn for the Teenage Tour Finals…a massive demo and autograph signing went down, with approximately 3,000 kids in attendance. After Paris, he made his way to Finland for about 10 days for a couple demos, one in Helsinki, and one in his hometown of Seinajoki. It was Arto’s first trip back home in close to two years! From Finland, he went directly to Krakow, Poland for the etnies European Open…this was Arto’s first contest in a few years, and he ended up placing 14th out of over 100 skaters.

Conhuir is casual on a mini

From Poland, it was straight to Spain to skate in Barcelona and he also went on a trip down to Malaga to shoot photos and film. Last week, he made his way up to Munster, Germany to enter the World Championships, where he placed 12th in his second contest in a few years. Good to see Arto skating contests again, and doing well…congrats! He is currently with the Flip crew touring around Europe before ending up in Prague this weekend for the Mystic Cup contest, and then the following weekend in Rotterdam for the WSR ’05 contest. After the Rotterdam contest, it is time for a little break, so he’ll be taking a short vacation before flying back to the States on July 29. Whew…all of that in three months! Talk about hectic travel schedules…

Fletch's 'fro

Bastien Salabanzi has been in Europe all summer as well. He flew out from California in early May for the Teenage Tour Finals, and afterward stayed in Paris for a while to visit with his family and friends…it had been a while. Since then, he has been taking some short trips (New York City, Barcelona to name a couple) skating, playing guitar, and hanging out with family. You can expect him in Prague this weekend for the Mystic Skate Cup (he got second last year, and really wants to win this contest ‘cuz of the good vibes and good fans always in attendance). After that, he will be headed back to the States to get ready for the X-Games. Oh yeah, while on the subject of Bastien, his debut pro model shoe is in stores now…have you tried them yet? If not, what the hell are you waiting for?

Fanning out!

If you thought Arto’s travel schedule is hectic, wait until you hear about Rune Glifberg’s…Rune is currently on the Tony Hawk Boom Boom Huck Jam tour, which is 30 stops in two months all throughout the US. In between all these stops, he is finding time to enter Dew Series Contests in Louisville a few weeks back and Denver this weekend, skate in the Gravity Games last week (and next week for the FDR Skatepark portion) and fly out to Copenhagen last weekend for his daughter Tahlula’s first birthday (a two-day trip to Copenhagen). This isn’t all he has been up to, but even this is hectic enough! As mentioned, this weekend Rune will be in Denver for the second stop of the Dew Tour, before heading back out on the Boom Boom Huck Jam tour, and he’ll also be trying to find time to prepare for the X-Games…that’s the rest of his July.

Rune's padded up

Ryan Sheckler has also been on a mission. He was in Paris in May for the Teenage Tour Finals mentioned above, before heading out to Finland for the etnies demos there. Since then, he entered the first stop of the Dew Action Sports Tour in Louisville, where he won (Congratulations Ryan!), he went out to Germany this past weekend for the World Championships and placed third (another Congratulations), and he is now in Denver for the second stop of the Dew Action Sports Tour…where he’ll go for back-to-back wins in the Dew Series…$100,000 is on the line for the series winner…looking good so far for Ryan. Next week, Ryan will be headed out to Philadelphia for the Gravity Games, and then he’ll be back home to continue working on some interviews he has started earlier this summer.

You can expect to find a team page for Ronnie Creager in the near future as well as hearing what he has been up to. Ronnie went on his first etnies trip in early May…yup, the Teenage Tour in Paris and then on to Finland (broken record, sorry!). The word disappoint did not come to mind whatsoever…Ronnie killed each demo and was usually the last one signing autographs. After Europe, Ronnie came back to the States to work on getting photos for etnies (first ad is due soon Ronnie!), entered the Dew Series contest in Louisville, golfed a little here and there (quite the golfer he is), and headed out to Germany this past weekend to place fourth in the World Championships. He qualified first, but when the finals came around he couldn’t seal the deal…no worries, Congratulations on a successful weekend Ronnie! This weekend, Ronnie will be in Denver for the second stop of the Dew Series.

Ronnie and Arto getting ambushed

Stefan Janoski has been Stefan Janoski lately…on his own missions skating and traveling all the time…that’s what he loves to do! His schedule hasn’t been as hectic as most of the other guys, but he has been traveling quite a bit. He recently returned from a Habitat trip out to Europe to shoot photos and film, which we’ve heard went quite well. Before that he was on a couple trips in the States (one in the Northwest and another in the Midwest). Now he’ll be up in Sacto for a bit, before heading back out on the road again real soon.

That’s it for now…check back soon for more team info.

A Doozy of a Team Update!

by: Brink | Tuesday, April 19, 2005

Sign, sign, sign

It has been a while since the last major team update. This one will be quite lengthy, lots to report from the month of March and so far in April.

Arto killing time

In early March (before Tampa Pro), Arto Saari, Bastien Salabanzi, Stefan Janoski, and Conhuir Lynn all headed out to Florida to do some skating in the skateboarding mecca that is Miami. It was a week long trip leading up to Tampa Pro, that included skating the spots throughout the city, doing a demo, doing a couple autograph signings, bowling, billiards, etc. You can get a lot done in seven days in Miami, even though there was some rain. When it rains, you go bowling or you play billiards. The only Saturday and Sunday we had in Miami were dedicated to a couple autograph signings and a demo.

Stefan getting emotional

The first autograph signing was in South Miami Beach at MIA Skateshop. Following the signing, the crew headed over to Control Skatepark to do a demo for a ton of kids that showed. There were at least a couple hundred kids inside the park. Matt (owner of the park and all-around ruler) was gracious enough to let us borrow his lights and generator for coming to the park and doing the demo. thanks Matt, we made good use of your stuff!

Fanatics!

On Sunday, everyone headed up north a bit for another autograph signing. this one at Island Water Sports’ Deerfield Beach location. Another couple hours of signing for all the kids that showed up and we were headed back to Miami for more skating. Both autograph signings went off; the demo was amazing; street skating in Miami was amazing (aside from the occasional rain). An all around good trip to Miami!

Thanks to MIA Skateshop, IWS in Deerfield, Control Skatepark, Ian O’Connor, and everyone else we crossed paths with on the trip!

The etnies RV met us in Miami to drive everyone up to Tampa for the Pro contest. A five-hour ride is nothing in a vehicle like that beast, especially when you have cards and poker chips! It has been a while since the contest, and we're pretty sure you’ve heard all about it, so we’ll spare you with any details at this point.

It, however, must be re-iterated that Bastien got second place (could very well have got first for a repeat, but Busenitz took it), and Stefan got tenth in Street and Best Trick on the bank-to-wall. The twelve-day Florida trip had come to a successful end in Tampa, and everyone was ready to head for home. Thanks to Schaefer, Clements, and the entire S.P.O.T. crew for another kick-ass contest weekend!

Stache!

Since the trip to Miami, a bunch of other stuff has been going on. Most recently, Arto, Rune, Bastien, Sheckler, Elissa Steamer, and Lauren Perkins went to New York for some photo shoot business, as well as an etnies Fall 2005 Product Launch party, which went down with quite a bang on April 7. Rune, Bastien, and Ryan were there for only a couple days, while Arto stayed a few extra days to skate and shoot photos with Mr. Gabriel “Stache” Friedman, who shoots photos for Slap (look for an upcoming article in Slap that Gabe shot. lots of Stache!). Before leaving, they all did a photo shoot with Alex from LoDown Magazine, which is based in Germany.

Ryan also did an interview and shoot with Complex magazine. Everyone was pretty glad to get home after the New York trip. too much of that place will drive you insane after a while! Good times were had though.

10th!

Arto has been back home in Huntington skating all the time. The weather has been good, so he’s been taking advantage of it. Aside from the New York trip with the etnies crew, he just got back on a five-day trip to the Phoenix, AZ area to shoot photos and film.

Rune Glifberg didn’t make the trek to Tampa for the contest ‘cuz he had to move into his new house down in Encinitas, CA. He is pretty much settled in now, and has had a few nice BBQ’s to break her in. He lives a stone's throw from the Encinitas YMCA, so he’s been skating the ramp and bowl down there a bunch.

2nd place

Stefan Janoski has been at home in Sacramento taking small trips to San Francisco to skate. He’s working on a couple projects that you will see in the mags very soon. Speaking of Stefan in the mags, check the May issue of Slap, Stefan has an interview in it, and it is amazing to say the least! Nice one Stefan!

Bastien Salabanzi has been chilling in Huntington lately skating around and playing the guitar. May starts a hectic schedule for him with tours, contests, etc., so he’s been relaxing a little before things get crazy. He’s headed to Paris later this month to spend some time with his family before the etnies crew heads out there for our Europe trip in a couple weeks.

Where's Ryan?

Ryan Sheckler has been busy with school lately. Taking him to New York for a few days set him back, so he has to do some catching up to do. When he hasn’t been at school or doing homework, Ryan's been on a skate mission with a couple projects in the works right now, Keep your eyes peeled in the coming months!

That, for the most part, sums up the last month and a half. Updates should be coming a lot sooner since no trips are planned. Stay tuned. Be sure to check out the new photo galleries from Florida and New York for the photos that we just couldnt fit into the news!

TAMPA CRAZE! Sheckler interview, Pro '05, etnies RV and more!

by: Brink | Thursday, March 3, 2005

Big spin flips helped Bastien win last year.

Skatepark of Tampa's website has a feature interview with Ryan Sheckler up right now, so definately go check out Ryan defending himself from the onslaught of trash talking he receives on their message boards every week.

Wee Sheckler!

Tampa Pro 2005 is in one week! Remember what happened last year? Yea, that's right, Bastien pissed on everyone in sight. Can he hold the title for another year? We think so.

Keep an eye out! Well, can you really miss it?

Expect to see the new etnies RV at Tampa Pro as well, where you'll see the etnies skate team, get free crap, and maybe a few surprises. This is the first etnies RV skate trip, so give it a nice warm welcome down there. Ladies are especially invited...just knock. A good time is gonna be had. See you there!