Video and Pics after the break.
They had good reason to make the mission. Ten grand up for first place? Not bad for a night’s shredding. The usual Durban faces were in attendance. Brett Shaw practically lives in the deep end of the snake run and his girlfriend, who is a nutritionist, had fed him a protein bar and a Powerade before his heat. He was like the Duracell bunny in his heat.
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Andrew Carrie and Will Twala were both taking their usual bones-heal-chicks-dig-scars approach to skating and left the contest with bruises to prove it. Kalvyn MacMillan was a pleasant surprise. I knew the kid could skate, but he put in a display that I think took a couple of people by surprise. When he gets a bit more meat on that skinny frame his bowlriding is gonna have a bit of power to add to the pizazz. Same for Ryan Arends, who has been putting in the hours but was probably a bit of a dark horse. Ollie-ing up onto the beast and then rock to fakie-ing out is no small feat.
The predicted Yann Vs. Dallas showdown didn’t disappoint. Dallas is an institution in South African transition skating and was the 2008 defending champion. He gets speed and finds lines that no-one else does. But Yann is young and hungry and brings a mix of old, new, tech and style that’s hard to ignore. Despite the amazing skating coming from a bunch of places, Yann was head and shoulders above, in my opinion. And I say that because he had the big tricks, he had the lines, he laid down flawless runs and was consistent from start to finish. The judges seemed to agree, giving him the top spot and ten grand.
MC G.O.A.T kept the crowds entertained and even bust out some acapella lyrics when House of Pain’s Jump Around was played and some banging beats from the DJ Ron. One or two smooth remixes in that set bru.
The full event will be shown on an episode of Boardriders TV soon so keep your eyes peeled.