Sky High Davenport Takeover

“WIIIIIIILLLL!  WAKE UPPPP!”  Barely an hour into the trip, the van shenanigans had already started as Will Weske was in his own world with earbuds in while Brian Chavez and everyone else yelled at the top of their lungs to wake Will up.  Will and Brian, along with Sky High riders Christian Dean, Jack Chaney, Devin Heald, Justin Lacosse,  Sky High Manager Ian Johnson, Tilt Salesman Shane Malecha, homie JJ Powell and myself, packed up into the Tilt van for a weekend mission to Davenport for a jam and to film.

The van selfie is always crucial.

The first stop resulted in the crew finding a perfect handrail, right across from a gas station in the middle of nowhere, Illinois.  However, time was limited, and we had to get to Davenport Skatepark by 3:00 for the jam.  We made a mental note of the location and decided to hit it on the way back home the next day.

Chav is a chiller.

5050 master Jack Chaney hit the fs 180 out of this.

We finally made it to the park where legions of scooter riders had gathered to witness the carnage the Sky High team was about to inflict.  Davenport is a huge concrete skatepark filled with bowls, ledges, handrails, hubbas, and so much more.  It wasn’t long before the crew started throwing down for the camera.  We also held a few mini contests- we had all the kids ride one obstacle and gave away prizes to those who were shredding.  Davenport local Demari “DC” Nicholson was one of the standouts- bar back lipping a stepup bump to rail gap, 360 whipping the 8 stair, etc.

Chavdad loves to hit the bowl.

Eventually the prizes ran out, and the hunger levels increased, so the crew decided to hit up the local pizza joint from some grub.  I always feel bad for the employees and patrons of restaurants when a big ol smelly, dirty group of rowdy scooter riders shows up after a hard session.  After filling up on ‘za, we headed back to the park for a sesh under the lights.  Originally, we had only planned to stay for a short while and then go light up spots.  However, things were heating up in the bowl, and the session was on for the long haul.  Chavdaddy, Shorty, Justy, and Kirk were all tearing it up.  Highlights include Chavs’s whip lip on the deep end, Shorty blasting whip and heelwhip airs, and  Justin’s endless lines.  Even Big E was blasting a hip, but that came to an end when a failed whip attempt ended up in an ankle gash needing stitches.

Heel back lip fakie by Shorty.

After a little motivation from myself, we decided to check out a spot since it looked like it was going to rain the next day, which was when we planned on riding street.  We headed to River Rails, a chill 5 stair rail spot next to the Mississippi.  We set the lights up and tricks started going down.  Shorty banged off trick after trick like it was nothing.  After everyone landed their tricks, we packed up and drove to the next spot. It was probably 1:30 AM when we got to the JB Young manual pad.  This iconic spot has been ridden by all the Iowa homies, most notably by Shorty for his physics defying bar manual 360 tailwhip. The guys really had to go in on this tech spot.  Shorty closed the night of riding out with yet another manual combo that just should not work.

After navigating a treacherous muddy and flooded driveway, we arrived at Christian’s grandparents’ cabin where we would stay the night.  After riding nearly 12 hours straight, you’d think the boys would have been all tuckered out, but the bro-time lasted til after the sun came up. I think I slept less than an hour before driving Ian in the morning to an urgent care facility to get stitches on his ankle.

Christian with the buttery skid.

As the rain fell we left Davenport at around 3 in the afternoon.  We managed to escape the rain and get to the gas station rail spot off the interstate in dry conditions.  It wasn’t long after the cameras came out to film Brian that the clouds caught up and started pouring on us. It was an insane moment, with the rain coming down and the urgency to land the trick before the ground and rail were completely saturated.  Brian ended up taking a hard slam on the rail, but not before he got the clip. We pushed on.

Brian 5050 in the farmland cuts.

Warmup front 180 by Weske.

We made it out of the rain again, so we decided to check out a bump to bar in Joliet.  With the clouds fast approaching, the guys were sending it as quickly as possible to get their clips.  Devin, Will, and Justin were all able to clock some clips before the clouds rolled back in and the rain fell down.  After that, we headed for home, satisfied with our work and ready for some rest.

Enjoy the rest of these photos documenting the trip.

   

Follow Sky High on Instagram @skyhighscooters as well as:

Ian Johnson @ianknightj

Devin Heald @shorty_elo

Christian Dean @christiandean3

Shane Malecha @therealsugarshane

Will Weske @will_weske

Brian Chavez @chavdaddy

Jack Chaney @captain.jack.chanabis

Kirk Svennson @kunductor_kirk

Justin Lacosse @busty_justy

JJ Powell @_llewop_jj_

Jordan Jasa @comissioner_gordon

Inside Scooters @insidescoot