Vert Attack 8 – The Confusion report

Photos by Fred Ferand & Eddie Think
Words by Eddie Think
Additional photos by Mary Sweet & Emma Gustavsson

“Every year around April, I get the itch about wanting to go to Malmö for the next Vert Attack edition. In April? Yes in April, the ambiance, the brotherhood, the parties, and foremost the insane skateboarding that occurs every year, makes it that I get homesick just a couple of weeks after the last air landed, the prizes given away, and the hangover cleared from the afterparty. Vert Attack for me is easily the best contest I have ever been to, and this year, once again, it didn’t let me down. I will not bore you with the details of every run, but the skating this year was again great to watch. The level seems to increase every year, and when you see a 14 year old prodigy like Cory Juneau skate, you know that the future of vert skating is set in gold. His peers like Matty Carlisle, Ivan Frederico, and Junior division winner Mats Hatlem, make you wonder how far this part of skateboarding can still grow.

Mats Hatlen. Lien air.  Photo: Eddie Think

Mats Hatlen. Lien air. Photo: Eddie Think

Marty Carlisle. 540 channel transfer.  Photo: Fred Ferand.

Matty Carlisle. 540 channel transfer. Photo: Fred Ferand

At their incredible young age they show so much talent, and that makes the Juniors finals just real candy to the eye. One of the best parts of the juniors though was to see Alana Smith come in fourth. This young lady has some serious skills and attacks the ramp with such fury you immediately wonder where she’s going to be in a couple of years. Best thing about it is she does it with an everlasting smile on her face. That goes for all the ladies though, and in the first girl competition, Franziska Stolz finally hade some ladies to skate with. It was definitely a pleasure to watch seeing these girls rip up the ramp. My personal favorite was Allysha Bergado. This little powerhouse has a load of tricks up her sleeve and gave Alana Smith a good run for her money. Mad respect to all the ladies that came out to skate, ’cause skateboarding could use more ladies to shred things to pieces. Hopefully Alana, Julz, Mimi, Allysha, Silvia, Mimmi, and Franziska have more ladies to compete with next year.

Allysha Bergado. Frontside air.  Photo: Eddie Think

Allysha Bergado. Frontside air. Photo: Eddie Think

Julz Lynn. Backside air.  Photo: Eddie Think

Julz Lynn. Backside air. Photo: Eddie Think

Mimi Knoop. FS Grind.  Photo: Fred Ferand

Mimi Knoop. FS Grind. Photo: Fred Ferand

Allysha Bergado. Invert.  Photo: Fred Ferand

Allysha Bergado. Invert. Photo: Fred Ferand

Alanna Smith. Tailslide.  Photo: Eddie Think

Alanna Smith. Tailslide. Photo: Eddie Think

Julz Lynn. Indy air.  Photo: Fred Ferand

Julz Lynn. Indy air. Photo: Fred Ferand

As is every year, the Masters competition is one to watch out for. With rippers like Kevin Staab, Henry Gutierrez, Neal Hendrix, Rich Lopes, Nicky Guerrero, Espen Roed and winner Mathias Sernklo in the finals you knew it was going to be a spectacle, and they sure as hell did not disappoint. The crowd always goes wild when they start skating and the mayhem doesn’t stop when the last rider stops skating. Unfortunatly I missed all the qualifiers due to a severe hangover and only got in at the semi-finals, after a night out with Tim “Bombdrop” Bijsterveld and Szymon Stachon. I am sure like every year it was a lot of fun to watch. It’s where all the dinosaurs of skating come together to just have a great time and these legends radiate an immense love for skateboarding. Without the Masters competition Vert Attack wouldn’t be what it is.

Nicky Guerrero. Tuckknee over the channel.  Photo: Eddie Think

Nicky Guerrero. Tuckknee over the channel. Photo: Eddie Think

Kevin Staab. Frontside Invert.  Photo: Eddie Think

Kevin Staab. Frontside Invert. Photo: Eddie Think

Henry Gutierrez.  Invert.  Photo: Eddie Think

Henry Gutierrez. Invert. Photo: Eddie Think

Kevin Staab. Frontside rock. Photo: Fred Ferand.

Kevin Staab. Frontside rock. Photo: Fred Ferand

Jeff Hedges. Invert over the channel. Photo: Fred Ferand.

Jeff Hedges. Invert over the channel. Photo: Fred Ferand.

Rich Lopez. Backside air.  Photo: Fred Ferand

Rich Lopez. Backside air. Photo: Fred Ferand

Nicky Guerrero. Sad plant.  Photo: Fred Ferand

Nicky Guerrero. Sad plant. Photo: Fred Ferand

Well… The pro/am finals. What is there to say? I am still blown away by what I saw. Some went against the roof, some wanted to go through the roof, and they all tore the roof off. Faster, higher, and harder seem to be the key words for this finals, where the semi’s were already incredibly high level. Alex Perelson, Giorgio Zattoni, Jake Anderson, Sam Beckett, Cory Juneau, Jimmy Wilkins and Paul-Luc Ronchetti blew everyone’s head off. The jury must have had an incredibly hard time to get a good verdict on this final, but Paul Luc walked a way with a well deserved first place. He didn’t seem to believe it himself for a pretty long time, murmuring something like “I can’t believe it” and it took him a good fifteen minutes to smile after that , when it all sunk in a little. Lets hope he comes back next year to defend his title, Hell… let’s hope all of these rippers come back next year to again make this the best event in skateboarding.

Jimmy Wilkins. 540 tailgrab.  Photo: Fred Ferand

Jimmy Wilkins. 540 tailgrab. Photo: Fred Ferand

Brad McClain. Padless frontside air.  Photo: Eddie Think

Brad McClain. Padless frontside air. Photo: Eddie Think

Josh Rodriguez. Backside air.  Photo: Eddie Think

Josh Rodriguez. Backside air. Photo: Eddie Think

Kjell Norin. Invert.  Photo: Eddie Think

Kjell Norin. Invert. Photo: Eddie Think

Björn Lillesoe. Boneless over the channel.  Photo: Eddie Think

Björn Lillesoe. Boneless over the channel. Photo: Eddie Think

Giorgio Zattoni. Backside air.  Photo: Eddie Think

Giorgio Zattoni. Backside air. Photo: Eddie Think

Alex Perelson. Kickflip melon. Photo: Fred Ferand

Alex Perelson. Kickflip melon. Photo: Fred Ferand

Brad McClain. Texas plant. Cory Juneau. Channel transfer invert. Photo: Fred Ferand

Brad McClain. Texas plant. Photo: Fred Ferand

Cory Juneau. Channel transfer invert. Photo: Fred Ferand

Cory Juneau. Channel transfer invert. Photo: Fred Ferand

Daniel Cuervo. One footed invert. Photo: Fred Ferand

Daniel Cuervo. One footed invert. Photo: Fred Ferand

Darren Navarette. Lien to tail. Photo: Fred Ferand

Darren Navarette. Lien to tail. Photo: Fred Ferand

Farris Rahman. One footed frontside air. Photo: Fred Ferand

Farris Rahman. One footed frontside air. Photo: Fred Ferand

Shareef Mason. Smith grind.  Photo: Fred Ferand

Shareef Mason. Smith grind. Photo: Fred Ferand

Oh yeah, I almost forgot. Stan did an exceptional feat again with the hosting, and with a little back up of the almighty Sean Goff. He lost his voice but that means it will be nice and quiet here in Amsterdam for a few days. Macki rules at afterparties. it started a little slow but he made a real show of it in the moshpit. I think multiple people felt sore the next day from rolling on the ground. I know I did.

Thanks to J-Mag, Kami, and all who were involved in getting this together once again. Vert Attack rules.” – Eddie Think

Bonus photos © Mary Sweet:

Sean Goff. Sweeper. Photo © Mary Sweet

Sean Goff. Sweeper. Photo © Mary Sweet

Allysha Bergado. Photo © Mary Sweet

Allysha Bergado. Photo © Mary Sweet

Julz Lynn. Invert. Photo © Mary Sweet

Julz Lynn. Invert. Photo © Mary Sweet

Julz Lynn. FSA. Photo © Mary Sweet

Julz Lynn. FSA. Photo © Mary Sweet

Extra Bonus photos by Emma Gustavssson:

Jimmy Wilkins. Alleyoop 540 tailgrab.  Photo: Emma Gustavsson

Jimmy Wilkins. Alleyoop 540 tailgrab. Photo: Emma Gustavsson

Sam Beckett. Lien air.  Photo: Emma Gustavsson

Sam Beckett. Lien air. Photo: Emma Gustavsson


Want more Vert Attack action, here is a Confusion video from VERT ATTACK 6.

Vert Attack 8 – Juniors Finals

Vert Attack 8 – Girls Finals

Vert Attack 8 – Pro Finals