Man Am in the Bag

Location: 6TwentyOne Skate Shop, Livermore, CA
Date: 6-5-2010
Conditions: Maximum Insanity

The Man Am was billed as a contest to support local amateur skateboarders. The organizers promised a night of debauchery: beer, shots, skateboarding, live music, strippers. Wait, strippers? Ya, more on that later.

As we rolled down First street heading for the shop, two dudes eating dinner stopped us to ask what was up.

Dude: "Hey, are you guys going to the skate shop?"
Demetri: "Yea, that's right."
Dude: "What's going on there tonight, we saw a huge line outside?"
Demetri: "It's top secret."
Dude: "Oh, okay"
Demetri: "It's a private skate contest.
Dude: "Good luck"

The doors to the skate shop were closed with a line outside when we arrived. There was heavy dark paper covering all the windows and a kiosk outside where yo had to present your ID. Sadly, we were never asked for the secret password or handshake. We did however get offered a beer or a shot before we made it ten feet into the shop. Local ripper Brad McClain was one of the judges. I had a little gift for him which I dropped off before downing a beer and getting busy.

The action was already underway when we got in. Unlike the night before, tonight the ramp was jammed with skaters. There were probably 15 dudes on the ramp at any given point. Some were skating, some were waiting for a run, some were taking photos, and some were just partying.

Last night was the first time I'd seen the shop open the huge garage door leading to the back of the shop.



Skaters were shredding at such a frenzied pace that crossing the ramp to get the back area was a death-defying act. Several fools spilled beer on the ramp as the dashed back in to the shop to get loaded. Noone was run over but there were many close calls. Which begs the question, how did the stripper cross the road?



Answer, very carefully.



I tried to keep it (mostly) clean here folks. Back to the show.

Even with Brad McClain, sidelined, underage, and judging the contest, SMALLBeating was still in the house.

Mattson:



Boyer:



Two new faces but familiar names were in attendance as well: Brandon Fields and Jeff Hedges. Jeff took second place in his division. These are the guys behind SkateNav, an awesome new mapping site for skateboard spots. Check it out and add your favorite spots and photos and we all win.

Brandon:



Jeff's rock n' rolls were too fast for me to capture. That and, uh, the background was a bit too distracting.

Also in the house was Bruce Rodela. Bruce and I hooked up after the Nor Cal Death Match but this was the first chance I had to see him skate. The results speak for themselves: first place.

Bruce:



Bruce also owns Vertical Smile Skateboards (catchy and appropriate for Man Am) who sponsors Ryan Carpenter. I bumped in to Ryan in line on the way in. After watching him skate, I saw him out back and called it: first place.

Ryan Carpenter, my pick for shot of the night:



Out back I also had a chance to rap with Christian Ericksen, another first meeting and one long overdue. If you haven't checked out his blog: Stick It, you don't know jack. Get over there already. One of the announcers hailed Christian as the hottest skate photographer in the Bay Area. I'm quick to agree.

Well, that about raps it up. I suppose I can share one R-rated shot with you at this point. You stuck around for it.

Ryan, invert. Make it rain buddy.

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