LA Gets a New Park

Stoner Park

Remember the days when dinosaurs still roamed the landscape and your dad read the newspaper? Did you ever pick up that newspaper and flip through the pages until you found the one that served as an announcement of all the local childbirths, complete with pictures of the gross, weird little creatures that only a mother could fawn over? That always grossed us out too, but today we’re announcing the birth of a real beauty. Congratulations go out to the parents of a brand new skatepark, West Los Angeles and California Skateparks.

California Skateparks has been around for a while now, and not only do they build parks in small communities, they’re also responsible for some huge events like the upcoming Maloof Money Cup. Their track record is without a misstep, and the new park is no different, just another gold star on their ever-expanding resume.

The Stoner Park, as it is officially christened, is actually a plaza located at 1835 Stoner Ave in Los Angeles. We don’t condone any type of drug use here at The House, but the ledges and truly street-inspired features at this plaza will turn you into an addict quicker than Hollywood did to Lindsay Lohan. At more than 20,000-square feet, you’d need rehab just to keep you out of this place.

Founding father Alec Beck and some of the loke-dawgs have already got a nice little vid up on Vimeo showcasing all of the park’s features and the nice thing about this place is how spread out it is. A plaza isn’t supposed to flow, each feature is meant to be sessioned, and it seems they’ve finally got that figured out here. Leave the flow for the old guys in the pool.

Friday Freebie Giveaway

This weeks winner is Rene Bergstad from Auburn, California. Thanks for being a customer and enjoy the skateboard. For all you Minnesotan’s be sure to come check out our huge selection of product at out retail outlet store located at 300 S Owasso Blvd. E St.Paul, MN 55117

You just gotta love the X Games

I love it when the X Games roll around. It’s the time of year when we get to watch all the top athletes in every discipline put down the best they have to offer. Last night the first medals of Summer X 16 were handed out and the performances of each of the athletes was next level.

In Moto X Super X the top three were:

  1. Josh Grant
  2. Justin Brayton
  3. Josh Hansen

Moto X Freestyle was:

  1. Travis Pastrana
  2. Levi Sherwood
  3. Nate Adams

And Skateboard Big Air:

  1. Jake Brown
  2. Bob Burnquist
  3. Rob Lorifice

And that’s just the start. It’s going to be a heavy weekend of mind blowing stunts, killer stomps and all of the above. You can check out the full schedule at X Games 16 ESPN3 and for all the finer details on what actually happened in the competitions last night the X Games main page will have all that info for you. Ah, it’s all just so exciting! I can’t wait to see how it’s all going to play out.

RVCA Tour Evidence

The only way this thing could get better is if Kenny Powers laced up

When starting a new company, one of the best business models is to provide undeniably dope products. There’s some other details to it, but if your foundation is built on strong goods, then you’ve got a good chance for success. Remember what we all learned from little red riding hood? Turns out that logic applies in a lot of places.

RVCA was born in the sprawling suburban sunshine of Orange County in southern California. They blew up quick, and they keep getting stronger. In fact, it got so big that they recently were “acquired” by the big boys over at Billabong. RVCA founder Pat Tenore had been hinting at the sale for months, but it won’t change much for the Costa Mesa kids.

But business is boring and that’s not what this blog is about. We wanted to let you in on the RVCA skate team’s tour across America. Leo Romero, Julian Davidson, Donovon Piscopo, Cory Kennedy, Austin Stephens, Cairo Foster, and Keegan Sauder hopped in a van and spent a few weeks on the road in the name of bringing top notch skateboarding to local parks.

You don’t need to take our word for it though…head on over to Skateboarder Mag for a three-part video mini series chronicling it all. Not only do Cairo Foster and Leo Romero own it as usual, but their Am team proves that they’re keepin things legit as well.

If you missed out on the Charlie Daniels soundtracked Eastbound and Down tour, then be sure to check out their upcoming tour of the Northwest and head on over to the RVCA shop for cool deals on hot threads and we promise not to use anymore used car dealer-sounding sentences like this one.

Embrasser un Homme Française

In 1789, France was run by King Louis XVI and the Estates-General was the governing body that represented the people. The people in this day were three groups; the Catholic Church, the nobility, and the commoners. July 14th of this fateful year would prove to be on of the most important in French history, because the common estate broke away on their own and eventually stormed the Bastille to free all the fatherless children from the King…or something. Today, the French celebrate the monumental occasion of Bastille Day with crepes and cigarettes every July 14th.

Also since 1789, the French have began playing sports besides tennis. They have taken to the streets and provided Fully Flared with The French Connection, as well as turning the heads of many a skiier in the French Alps upon their plaches du neige. So in honor of Bastille Day, The-House would like to bestow upon you citizens of the Common House of America, a little bit of French culture.

First off, Brooklyn’s Homage Skateshop is hosting their third annual Bastille Day Skate Jam on Sunday. In addition to checking out the Homage TF out back, you can join up with all the Brooklyn homies and skate out front. Three awards will be given for the three best tricks in addition to a good ol’ fashion high ollie contest. The action tackles the heat wave Sunday from noon to seven near 151 Smith Street.

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TransWorld Debuts Their Own Skatepark

Introducing the TransWorld Park

Ever since Steve Berra and Eric Koston got their hands on a warehouse in Los Angeles and started The Berrics, warehouse skateparks have been blowing up. A company is no longer legit if they don’t have a private, indoor spot for their team to hone the skills they need on the streets.

It may seem like an oddity, for companies like Volcom and Etnies who are headquartered in the never-ending sunshine of Southern California to build these spots indoors, but there is a method to the madness as always. Out in the real world there’s cops, there’s skatestoppers, and there’s traffic. All alleviated by some plywood and concrete amid the stacks of product inside the company warehouses.

TransWorld Skateboarding’s offices in North County, San Diego are the newest members of the club, as they recently shoved aside back issues of the mag for some skate real estate. Chris Cole, Chris Haslam, Wes Kremer, Tyler Surrey, and Jordan Hoffart stopped by not too long ago to cut the ribbon on the roofed paradise, click the pic to check out how long it didn’t take them to completely destroy the spot.

Skater Creator

Sneak Peek!

All the heavy hitters are beginning to show off their 2011 product lines, and what overwhelmed us here at The House is the level of art and creativity that gets put into everything these days. Every detail of every product is so carefully crafted that we began to wonder…if these guys start making everything too nice, are we even going to want to skate it? Being that skateboarding is an inherently destructive sport? Doubtful, it just means that you lucky consumers get to destroy pieces of art, a luxury that used to be reserved for guitar-smashing rock stars. Since the biz has got us feeling all artsy over here we’ve decided to share three skate-related web sites devoted to the fine arts.

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Dyrdek Exposed

Rob Dyrdek has been getting almost as much media coverage as LeBron James lately. It seems that every time we look through the day’s seemingly endless supply of “industry related” press releases that Mr. Dyrdek is involved in at least a few of them. He recently inked a deal with ESPN to televise his Street League contest series, which instantly makes this latest venture legit, because everyone will get to see it go down. Also on the horizon for the busiest man in skateboarding is the season premiere of his MTV show Fantasy Factory.

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Now, regardless of the degree which you believe Rob needed Big, you can’t argue that Fantasy Factory is pretty entertaining, and the chance you’re going to tune in is actually pretty good. Not only is Rob quite entertaining, he’s also got a bunch of history about himself that he’s going to reveal to you in an MTV special this evening titled, Who is Rob Dyrdek.

The lead-up to next week’s premiere is sure to have a lot to do with skateboarding, because Rob was such a huge part of the massive growth that brought skateboarding where it is today. Dyrdek is also a great model of how to take something you love and be successful with it. The guy probably wants for nothing, and owes is all to the day he picked up a skateboard. Peep it at 11PM EST on MTV, and next week Fantasy Factory hits the tube at 9:30PM EST.

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Hmmm… These shopping cart-skateboards are catching on

For around 4 or 5 years now The House has been using shopping cart- skateboards as a time efficient/ fun way to skate around the warehouse to pull gear and fill orders. Well now it seems our idea has hit the streets and the shopping cart- skateboards were given to the public to see how they would like them. Dave found this video on likecool.com, it made me laugh…


Not too much unlike when about a month ago Dave demonstrated how an order might get put together back in our warehouse.

Why We Skate

Telling you that today is Go Skateboarding Day would be like reminding you that Christmas is tomorrow. You know, I know it, everyone knows it. There’s so much going on, from the events hosted by retail giants and footwear behemoths to the parking lot that your town has deemed ‘The Spot,’ skateboarding is alive and well.

It hasn’t always been like this. The industry has had it’s ups and downs, and in the face of an economic slump the skateboarders have prospered. So why do we skate? Everyone undoubtedly has a different answer. The one that seems to come to many minds first, is that ‘skateboarding saved my life.’ That may be well and true, and without something to spend your time on you might spend it getting into trouble. But isn’t that little bit of trouble what draws us to seven plys of maple in the first place. Those signs everywhere telling you you’re not allowed here, seems to ignite a little fire inside that says, I’m gonna go here anyways.

Once you’ve cleared that rebel stage, you get into the phase where you’re just out there having fun with your friends, whether it’s learning tricks, just being outside, or just the simple appreciation of not having a coach yelling in your ear about wind sprints and defense. If you can find it inside yourself to turn this fun stuff into a passion that you want to make a career out of, then you’ve taken it all the way.

Hit this stage running and be ensured a lifetime membership to the skateboarding industry. Your days consist of the neverending pursuit of that just-landed-a-new-trick-for-the-first-time feelin’, and feelin’ that feeling is something that can’t be matched.

So today, conveniently the longest of the year, take some time to thank your maple and thank your urethane, close the laptop and go push around!!!

Battle at the Berrics is Back!

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If you’ve been living in rollerblades until recently, or perhaps under a rock, then allow us to elaborate on what Battle at the Berrics is. The Berrics, for starters, is the warehouse skatepark love child of Steve Berra and Eric Koston. It’s in Los Angeles, at a top secret location, but they have a website that features all sorts of fun weekly updates like Bangin’, Wednesdays with Reda, and many others. Everything is done is crisp HD video, which sure beats the hell out of whatever TransWorld films their web stuff on.

The Battle itself, began a few years back and it’s skateboarding’s equivalent to March Madness. A bracket pits top pros head-to-head in classic games of flatland skate. I won’t tell you all their house rules, because Eric tells you at the outset of every video. Undoubtedly this is the best way to see your favorite skaters take each other on and do battle!

Every weekend there are two matchups, and the crew at the Berrics wasted no time getting into the action this week as the Battle kicks off with Paul Rodriguez going up against Sean Malto!

A warning though, turn the speakers down if you’re at work or school because Koston is definitely NSFW after a Lakers Championship.

First Look: TransWorld's Hallelujah

Always Artsy

Always Artsy

If you’ve never had the fortune of being the first to know, today is your lucky day. The House is bringing you first impressions of the TransWorld Skateboarding’s newest video, Hallelujah. Details of the premiere have been kept under wraps thus far…or perhaps the free-flowing quaffs have kept memories blurry since it was the last part of the TransWorld Awards night. Regardless of the reason, we’re going to blow the lid off and give you the scoop.

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Go Skateboarding Day

This Monday, June 21 is Go Skateboard Day, which means only three days away! So drop whatever you have going on that day cause you’ll be joined by people around the globe to simply skate. To see what is going on in your area go to GoSkateboardingDay.org

skating

TransWorld Skate Awards….con't

After the early awards were given out, Nilton Nieves and Adelmo, Jr. made a special surprise guest appearance as the presenters for the highly anticipated Video of the Year category. Going head-to-head in this category was Extremely Sorry, Zoo York’s State of Mind, and the underdog Sk8Mafia video. Since the awards were in Los Angeles, and Sk8Mafia is all over the TW Web site, it looked like they could be taking home the upset victory, but the Flip video proved unsurmountable. Extremely Sorry won Video of the Year, so know you know what to watch if you only get one video this entire year.

The Lakers of Skateboarding

The Lakers of Skateboarding

Next up on the docket was Team of the Year. Now skateboarding isn’t necessarily a team sport, but you know a team when you see them, and they do help each other out. When the Flip team accepted best video, they all went to the stage and that’s the kind of teamwork that takes home Team of the Year. Luckily they did it quickly so we didn’t have to listen to much rambling from that guy from the Captain and Casey Show.

Reader’s Choice is always one of those awards that really means something, because it’s like winning Prom King and earned acceptance from your peers. Lizard King took it by a landslide, and Mr. Plumb was definitely excited about the win, probably more stoked than any of the night’s other winners.

Prom King Lizard King

Prom King Lizard King

The Legend Award was presented last, and Danny Way and Pat Duffy had some really inspiring and moving things to say about Matt Hensley. The man’s career pretty much speaks for itself, so I won’t bore you, but if you haven’t heard his music, seen his tricks, or drank at his bar…get to Googling kid!

Three Legends But Only One Got An Award

Three Legends But Only One Got An Award

12th Annual TransWorld Skate Awards

SPoT's Brian Schaefer on the Red Carpet

SPoT's Brian Schaefer on the Red Carpet

The House went Hollywood last night to bring you all the action from the 12th Annual TransWorld Skateboarding Awards at the Avalon. The night was one of those rare occasions where none of the industry’s talent– be it skaters, photographers, videographers, editors or team managers– really have any work to do besides enjoy themselves. The recipe for rowdy yielded a theatre packed to the gills as standing room only  left many people hanging out by the bar or the smoking lounge.

The Skatepark of Tampa’s Brian Schaefer hosted the awards again, and his quick-wit was tested all night long, as you can imagine an evening full of skateboarders did not always go according to plan. The first award given out was for Rookie of the Year, and while Luan Oliviera had a strong peanut crowd in the audience, Brandon Westgate took home the honor.

Torey Pudwill and Andrew Brophy stumbled their way to the podium next to announce the Video Part of the Year. The best thing about this year’s winner, Mr. Grant Taylor, is that his winning part in Debacle is a free download, so you can save your pennies and still see the best tricks of the year.

Grant Taylor Accepting Half of the Awards He Won

Grant Taylor Accepting Half of the Awards He Won

It took Schaefer, Pudwill and Brophy a few minutes to locate Grant in order for him to accept the award and deliver his rousing speech (“Thanks.”) so when he backed it up by taking home the very next award no one really knew what to expect. He couldn’t have even gotten very far backstage before his name was called for Tranny Skater of the Year, but that’s also where the free booze was kept, so it took him another little while to return.

Dustin Dollin and Erik Ellington were to present the award for Street Skater of the Year, and after some funny Australian quips the whole crowd was shocked (not really) to find out that Mr. Chris Cole was the winner. Chris might have been the only one who didn’t see it coming, because he didn’t come to the awards. So Jamie Thomas graciously accepted on his behalf.

Jamie Thomas Didn't Win Street Skater of the Year...He Just Accepted for Chris Cole

Jamie Thomas Didn't Win Street Skater of the Year...He Just Accepted for Chris Cole

…Check back later today for part II of the TWS Awards coverage from The House!