We are on the road right now with Jesse Breiman and the rest of the Way Out Westward crew—shredding spots, acting way out, and generally living the dream.  That said, we have not had a free moment to post Jesse’s new video from Blood Orange Bushings, until this morning. This is Blood Orange‘s first video, and from what we know about this crew, we expect some really rad product and skate-related radness to follow. This video is doubly dope because it also pays a little tribute to OG San Francisco/bay area artist, Jeremy Fish. Note the Silly Pink Bunnies. Peep it!

“Sorry for denting the hood of homie’s car. Ha ha! Stay tuned for a grip of new shit coming from the Blood Orange crew.” (Jesse Brieman)

Break the piggie bank, sell the mule, hoe the pasture—whatever it is that you gotta do to get to Portland, Oregon for the  2012 Tabor Downhill Challenge—make it happen! Here are all the juicy details, and straight from Mr. Billy Bones himself:

“Pdx Downhill is hosting the 2012 Mt. Tabor Downhill Challenge on June 24th. The MTDHC is a going to be a one day event packed with all kinds of fun. Mt. Tabor Park is located right in the heart S.E. Portland, Oregon and is home to the smooth one-mile course that the race will be held on. The course isn’t too difficult which is why we’ve added the mandatory “old school” tuck to the Open DH class (see: www.tabordh.com for more info). This year we are also introducing some new classes to the downhill race. In addition to the Open DH class we will also have Masters 40+, Groms 14-, buttboard, and minibike (think Zoobomb!). Competitors in the downhill races will be battling it out for the $2,000 we have for this year’s podium. Along with the dh races there will also be a head-to-head slalom race on the old soap box derby track located next to the hill. Once the racing is all said and done, the after party will be held at the Mt. Tabor theater where there will be screenings of old downhill footage, tasty beer (Ninkasi) and some soul music provided by our DJ Andrew Mercado. This may not be the gnarliest race of the year but it will definitely be one of the most fun. Come on out for the weekend of June 24th and check out all the skating that Portland has to offer.”    (Billy “Bones” Meiners)

Peep this video from last year:

This is what’s up right here! The 2012 Boomtown 5 event is gonna be epic. Fact.

Whatever you have to do to get up to Eugene, Oregon on June 9th, 2012—do it! Ross Druckrey and the Boomtown crew know how to get live and they have a truly unique and exciting event planned—grinding, sliding, airs, speed, sketchiness, and more of all of the above. We have a strong feeling that this event is gonna be one for the record books. Anyway, get there if ya can. We’ll be there with the Muir Skates crew—skating hard, and lurkin’ even harder! See you in Boomtown! See below for more of the details:

“For the first time, Boomtown 5 is a fully LEGAL event. I have been working with the city of Eugene [Oregon] and we will have all the necessary permits.

The theme for this event is DOWNHILL SKATEPARK! We will be filling the course with all kinds of jumps, ramps, rails, and the most unique features we think of. If you have any ideas, let us know.

All types of boards and styles are encouraged, but kicktails will be very helpful for navigating the features. Extra points will be given for nailing tricks on and above the coping. The goal is to embrace all forms of skateboarding while using creativity to preform unique stunts and runs.”  (Ross Druckrey)

For more details and other watchamawhos, peep this:

www.Boomtownbroadcast.com
www.facebook.com/BoomtownBroadcast

Howdy homies,

A rowdy band of shredders from Comet Skateboards, Caliber Trucks, Wheelbase Magazine, Carve Skate Shop, and Volante Wheels‘ will be piling into a van and embarking on a radical skate adventure starting in Albuquerque, New Mexico—May 7th through the 10th, and onward to Austin, Texas until May 14th. See below for a day-by-day breakdown of what we have planned:

Way Out Westward

Monday 7th: Heavy shredding in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Tuesday 8th: Major ripping in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Wednesday 9th: Gnar shralping in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Thursday 10th: Mad bombing in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Friday 11th: Skateparks, Ditches, and Hills. Austin, Texas.

Saturday 12th: “Summer Kick-off Freeride!” Austin, Texas.

Sunday 13th: Skateparks, Ditches, and Hills. Austin, Texas.

Monday 14th: Skateparks, Ditches, and Hills once more. Austin, Texas.

Team ”Way Out Westward”: Liam Morgan, Eric Jensen,  Anthony Flis,  Blake Smith,  Jesse Breiman,  Dave Tanacci,  Aaron Grulich,  Marcus Bandy,  Nick Wnorowski,  Jason Salfi,  Zac Sharp,  and Kurt Smith. 

We hope to see you out on the road!—Definitely make sure to come check us out at the “Summer Kick-Off Freeride!“ in Austin, Tx on Saturday 5/12/12.  The Facebook page for this rad event is (Here).

Hit us up at the “Way Out Westward” Facebook event page with any questions, comments, or concerns: (Here)

Stay skatin’, and keep your eyes peeled for radical videos, photos, and feature articles soon, right here at Wheelbase Magazine.

. . .and make sure to always watch out for giant armadillos!

Over 70 of the world’s finest downhill skateboarders will converge this weekend (May 5&6) on Cantalina Island, CA  for the 2012 Catalina Island Classic downhill skateboard race. Being that this pioneering race hasn’t happened since 1977, many, if not all, of the riders have never physically seen this course, let alone shredded  it.

An order to help the racers become more familiar with the road and better gauge what to expect come race day, the Riviera crew put together this rad edit of Dubes and Matt Kienzle skating the course while Mr. Dubes gives us a play-by-play narration on what to expect—as well as some possible strategies—when racing on this beautiful and winding, island road. Holy hellfire! This is gonna be a freakin’ badass weekend!

“In late march Paris team rider Matt Kienzle and myself, went out to Avalon to get a test run on the 2012 Catalina Island Classic Race Course. We filmed our first few runs and used the footage to layout this video. It gives a thorough look at what racers can expect before they get to the island. We had the pleasure of getting an interview with the 1977 Catalina Classic organizer. Riviera will be using the rest of the footage in an upcoming video documenting the entire event from the start of planning to the execution of all the hard work put in to provide this event for the downhill family. Be stoked, stay tuned and spread the word. This is sure to be one of the best races seen in years!”

(Dubes, of Riviera Skateboards)

Peep it y’all! Live streaming downhill skateboard racing from “Newton’s Nation” at Mount Panorama, Bathurst, NSWs Aus­tralia. The live broadcast is brough to you by Skuff TV.

8 hours of stream­ing a day, for the 3 days of the event (Fri-Sunday), start­ing 10:00am Aus­tralian EST (00:00AM GMT). That’s 4PM (PST) California time, and since they are one day ahead of us in Australia the streaming is Thurs-Saturday. Watch it tonight!

Download the event schedule here: Click.

We’ve had the pleasure of shredding with this lady on a number of occasions. Alicia Fillback is a real cool person and one of the raddest freeride skateboarders on the planet. Style, grace, and gnar!

Check out this new video of Alicia doing it right: Shredding Majorly!

A local homie negotiating the Rainbow Rail. Photo: Marcus Bandy.

The event season is well underway and we’ve been out and about trying to cover as many of them as possible. The reason we document so many events is because no matter it a race, demo, tour, or jam; much of the growth of the larger scene happens, on-site, at these events. It’s all about skaters getting together, shredding with friends, and making new homies. This year’s second annual Downhill Disco was fun as all hell, and a clear example of a distinct growth in the community and an increased excitement about gettin’ radical.

Chance Gaul with some grind-action over the bridge bank. Photo: Marcus Bandy.

Cochard, humpin'. Photo: Reggie Ballesteros.

Jonathan Reyes tweakin' out over the sketchy table-topper. Photo: Reggie Ballesteros.

Jasper busted his lip then got right back up and busted this air. Yeah dude! Photo: Reggie Ballesteros.

"Damn, son!" Dan Couch with a lofty-ass hucker. Photo: Marcus Bandy.

The happy confluence of talented skaters from across the globe, matched with an even broader spectrum of varied obstacles littering the hill, combined to create an inspired and truly unique shred experience. The course was basically a 1980s street skating course, but on a steep hill instead of flat ground. There were rails, spines, banks, humps, table-tops, and launch ramps of all sizes and radii.  There were also some cones set up for some reason, and between hitting  the various ramps and rails, many of us made it our duty to knock them over or catapult them into the air with a slide or deep carve whenever it was possible. Ha ha! Sorry Scott.

Muir's, Scott Lembauch, layin' down the Law. Photo: Marcus Bandy.

Fired up and ready to shred some Disco. Photo: Marcus Bandy.

Table-top-hop, Dan Couch. Photo: Marcus Bandy.

Bros: Kody, Andrew, and Fred Nugent. Photo: Marcus Bandy.

Anyway, Muir Skates put’s on a fun-ass event and the 2012 Downhill Disco was not the exception. Some gnarly skating went down on both days of the event, regardless of some rain on Saturday. A heapin’ helpin’ of shredders from out of town and across the globe came out to represent this year: Ethan Cochard, Ross Druckery, Dan Couch, Carmen Shafer, and Brian Bishop definitely rode hard and made an impression on the locals scene.

Speedy launcher, Ethan Cochard. Photo: Reggie Ballesteros.

Boomtowner, Ethan Cochard, hugging it out with the peeps. Photo: Marcus Bandy.

Aaron Enns disregarding the cones and choosing speed. Good idea dude! Photo: Marcus Bandy.

You can learn a lot about someone by studying their hands, especially if they have stuff written on 'em. Andi Shaw. Photo: Marcus Bandy.

It’s events like this—where skaters get to skate new terrain, see varied styles of riding, as well as fresh tricks and techniques—that help to inspire more skaters to grab a skateboard and join the Movement of Shred.

It's a dude! It's a bro! No, it's Super Bish! Photo: Marcus Bandy.

Ross Druckery could have launched four cars with this master-blaster. Photo: Marcus Bandy.

Dan Couch, going the distance. Photo: Marcus Bandy.

We were proud to have presented the 2012 Downhill Disco along with our homie Scott and the boys at Muir Skates. We’d like to thank all the friends, family, and sponsors that helped to make this event possible (Insert a courtesy, high five, or bear hug here). Thank you all. Good times!

Li'l Jon spreading the good vibrations. Photo: Reggie Ballesteros.

Stay rollin’!

Some are gonna hate this video while others are gonna enjoy the shit out of it. That said, we really loved it, and although it’s wholly not our sip of sarsaparilla, we respect  all of the diverse influences and perspectives that are going on in skateboarding these day, and in particular, we like what the Loaded crew is doing with playful scripts, funny theatrics, and beautiful camera work.

Creativly challenging how people perceive skateboarding is critical, and fucking awesome!

A big o’l, ten gallon hat-tip to Adam Colton, Paul Kent, Dane Webber and the rest of the Loaded posse.

Skateboarding, is skateboarding, is skateboarding. It’s also whatever the hell you want it to be. Go get some, and enjoy.