Skate Blog Intern Blog

We were pretty stoked to head up to Anaheim for the Skateboarding Hall of Fame and Icon Awards show, which was conveniently near the Vans Skatepark.  2012 inductees included Dogtown/zboys Jay Adams and Peggy Oki, photographer Glenn Friedman, punk band Black Flag, skater Danny Brewster, designer John Humphrey and Frank from Cadillac wheels.  The crowd was full of skateboarding industry veterans, pro skaters, companies, fans, etc.  VIP ticket prices were $100 each, which got us a table up front and some Wahoo’s dinner.  In true skateboarding fashion, people were interrupted on the mic by people yelling something stupidly funny or just annoyingly stupid, Jay Adams left before receiving his award, etc.  A highlight for me was meeting Chuck Dekowski of the legendary punk band BLACK FLAG, one of the greats with lead singer Henry Rollins whom I’ve also met a few times over the years.  Skaters in the room included Tony Alva, Jay Adams, Christian Hosoi, Steve Caballero, Eddie Elguero, Steve Olsen and many more.  Industry friends included Steven Van Doren, George Powell, Dale Smith, Schmiddy, Michael Brooks, Doog and many more.   The auctions items were incredibly lame and I don’t really think much money was raised as a result.  With all those powerful industry players in the room, a much better job could have been done.  Oh well, at least some $ was raised!  This week was also a part of the IASC International Association of Skateboarding Companies yearly retreat in combination with the Vans ProTech Pool Party.