Vincent Kudrna Leaves Envy and Heads to Fasen

Word has been going around that Vincent Kudrna has left Envy, which he's been with for sometime now, and has moved onto Brendon Smiths, Fasen. The interview below explains Vincent's reason for doing so, and it seems like he's pretty stoked to be where he is. Below the interview is Vincent's latest edit featuring him on his new Fasen set up.

When did Brendon ask you to join Fasen?

Vincent: We were at the ISA championships in England and he asked me if I was interested in joining the team. I rode his scooter and loved it, so the answer was YES!

The Envy/Blunt teams are very close, was it hard to leave?

Vincent: Over the past year I have have had some awesome times and opportunities with Envy and I appreciate everything they have done for me. It was hard to leave but I will still be with the same family since Envy and Fasen are very close.

What do you have planed for the year ahead?

Vincent: Now that I am on Fasen I plan to start traveling more often. I hope to make it down to Australia and Europe to ride new parks and shred with everyone there. I will be attending more competitions, events and putting out more edits. I am also going to work with Brendon on testing and developing more products. I will represent Fasen as hard as I can and continue to push my riding to the next level.

Brendon in Australia, you in the USA. Will there be a UK and Europe rider?

Vincent: Yah we have already been discussing it and I know they have their eyes on a couple people

Scooter Garage Photo Contest

Scooter Garage is having a photo contest, and they're giving away some SG apparel if you win. Check out the flyer for more details on the contest.

Ian Herncjar- Trip to Arizona with Andrew and Adam Cordova

Ian recently went down to Arizona with friends Andrew and Adam to escape the Colorado cold and ride scooters.  Everyone got some cool clips, especially Ian with that banger.  Tight song too.

Hella Grip Homies at Epic Indoor Skatepark

Now this was a fun edit to watch.  A ton of Hella Grip "official" and "unofficial" homies got footy at the Epic comp.  I seriously don't understand how Jake Sorenson got so good.  Zach Fuller did a great job of putting this together.

BMX, The Game?

If this is the first time you're hearing about this, check this link first.  To summarize, a team of indie developers are trying to create a BMX videogame, similar to EA Skate.  While it looks like they've gotten a good start on it already, they say they need more money to finish, which is why they started a Kickstarter page.  A lot of BMX heads are pretty skeptical about the whole thing.  I'm not really sure why they need more money to finish it when it looks like they have the software already to do it.  I understand it costs money to get it licensed to sell on the various platforms, but why not get more of it finished first, and show the world how good it really is...?

Even if you aren't into BMX, you might want to pay close attention to this.  If the BMX community can't even get a legit videogame together, will scootering ever be able to do so?

Florida Ride 2013 Trailer

Check this rad trailer out for Florida Ride, which is explained below by filmer/editor/photog Olivia Monks-

"Florida Ride began as a video but turned into a crew/ family making videos once a year. this year will be our first full length video from some of the best street riders in florida, stay tuned for throwaway clips, and a 2nd trailer at the end of summer."

Dissidence DIY Curb

The Dissidence guys are always busy with one project or another and this time they decided to build some boxes to ride.  This video shows the process of building and then shows the guys reaping the rewards of their work with some riding time.  These boxes come just in time for the Paris Street Jam, which will be held in May.

Pro Scooter Series Round 1 by NickehFilms

The Pro Series in Australia kicked off with Round 1 recently at The Compound skatepark. No room for flyout tricks here, it was all about the boxes. Really stoked to see the Pro Series off to such a strong start. Last clip by Brendon was ridiculous, that kid is constantly pushing the limits. Stoked to see Coedie up there as well. Check out the edit below, and be on the look out for the next two stops here on ISB.

ADVCT Five Panels and Tank Tops

ADVCT recently came out with some five panels and tank tops for sale, now available at http://www.advctscooters.com.  The hats go for 26.95+ shipping and tanks go for 18.00+ shipping.  While you're at it give em a like on their facebook.

Welcome to Addict: Logan Fuller

Logan is the man.  Full speed, thrasher style that you don't see too often...you do see that style in the Addict team though, which Logan has just joined.  Logan is a pretty obvious choice, given he's close friends with fellow Addict rider Matt McKeen and has the style to fit.  I'm looking forward to seeing more from this guy now that he's being hooked up.

Dom DiMatteo Edit

Dom shuts it down so hard in his latest edit. Steezy as hell on everything, and that last clip. Dom's not the most well known dude, and with skills like that it'd be sick to see him get hooked up or at least get some offers from some companies. Coming up for sure.

Inside on Instagram

A week or two ago I made an Instagram for Inside, I've been trying to put up not only updates from the blog but other cool stuff so give it a follow for some exclusive content, rad photos and anything else I feel the scooter world should know about.  If you aren't fortunate enough to have a smartphone of your own for which to access Instagram you can check out the link to the right side of the blog to see all the pictures I post.

So, what are you waiting for?

@insidescoot
@insidescoot
@insidescoot

The Australian Pro Series Competition by Scooter Hut

 

 

 

 

 

 

-          So, Scott, when did you get the idea to throw a competition of this magnitude?

Well, the idea has been lingering in my mind for a couple of years, and  when I was in Sydney recently I met up with Darren and Hagan who own Monster Skate Park. We discussed the idea with them they were keen to host the Sydney round of the Series. Less than a week later, I had booked the other two venues, secured all the sponsorships needed to run it, and set out the structure for the first Series. I have always seen Scooter Hut as a proactive company and I don’t think people realise what my staff and I do for the sport.. Like two years ago we stuck our necks out, got the money together and put Ryan Williams, Mitch Baldry and Max Peters into Nitro Circus. At the time, nobody in our sport could have dreamt about that happening, but we made it happen and look at what that move has done for our sport over the past two years. I hope that the Pro Series will have a similar impact on the sport in years to come, in terms of giving the Pro riders an event they can really enjoy and express themselves through.

 

-          It sounds awesome so far. Tell me about the three skateparks that this competition will be taking place at.

We start the Series off on the 7th April at GC Compound on the Gold Coast. For Scooter Hut, this is like a home from home. We have a shop there, and most of our Queensland Team ride there regularly. The park has changed a lot recently and will present challenges to the non-local pro riders when they come up for it. Famous for its box section, GC Compound will prove a tough but very very entertaining opening Round for the Series. The following Sunday, the 14th April, we then hit RampIt in Melbourne for Round 2. This is a completely different park to GC Compound. RampIt is set up more like an indoor street/tech park (all those who say street can’t be in a park are probably right, but when it’s pissing of rain, nobody complains at having a park like this to ride in). So RampIt will offer a completely different challenge to the riders, and my guess is it will also bring a lot of those who maybe didn’t do so well at GC Compound back in line with those leaders from Round 1. The final event (Round 3) is at Monster in Sydney on Wednesday 24th April. We don’t really know yet how Monster will be set up for the event, because it’s currently closed for its annual Easter break, but I know however they set it up the tension and excitement will be huge on that final night. All the venues are going to be great for the competitors and the spectators alike, and the great thing is by holding the entire Series in indoor parks, we are guaranteed each Round to go ahead regardless of weather conditions.

 

-          Off the top of your head who are some of the riders that will be showing up and competing in the contest?

Riders are being announced each day over the next week, so I don’t want to give too much away, but it’s fair to say we have secured all of the best pro riders in Australia, with the exception of two who were not available due to other commitments. You can follow rider announcements on the Pro Series Facebook Page here: http://www.facebook.com/ProScooterSeries

 

-          How much experience do you have in throwing competitions? Can we expect this to be ran legit and fair? 

Scooter Hut has run a fair few smaller comps in the past, and our two most recent ones have been really successful. The Varsity Jam and last weekend’s Chatswood comp both went down well with competitors and spectators alike. The Pro Series is on a whole different level to anything we’ve ever done in the past, so in terms of experience at running a comp like this...we are pioneering on this one! I do believe the Series will be the fairest comp ever held in Australia. The fact it is being held over 3 very different venues means that the playing field is pretty even for the competitors, so nobody will have a Home Advantage. Each Round will be judged by 3 very experienced judges (all current or former pro riders), meaning that a total of 9 judges will be used throughout the entire Series. So, there should be very little issues in terms of bias or unfair marking. Also, competitors will have 3 runs in each Round. They are allowed to completely discard their lowest scoring run, so if they get unfairly judged in one run, or totally screw up a run, it won’t affect their results. I’ve spent a lot of time consulting with pro riders to make sure we get this side of things perfect, so I don’t think there will be any accusations of unfairness following the results of this Series.

 

-            Sounds legit. Talk to me about the Ladder rankings a bit. Will these be posted online so people around the world can keep up with the rankings?

Yeah, we’ve set up a website, facebook and instagram where the ladder will be posted, so it should be pretty easy for people to follow. The website will go live next week: www.proscooterseries.com. We will also be showing the scores live at the event, so spectators will easily be able to follow the scores as the judges mark the runs. It’s important that the scoring is transparent, so we will be showing the scores as the judges mark them. The scoring system itself is great. Riders are scored on their best two runs from each Round. They are then given points based on their finishing position from that Round. So First Place gets 200points, Second Place 180points, Third Place 170points, etc down to Tenth Place getting 100points. Everyone else who completes at least two runs gets 90points. We’ve calculated the points system so that by the final round of the Series most of the competitors will still be in with a very realistic chance of winning the Series.. I think it’s going to be exciting to follow, even for those outside of Australia.

 

-          5,000 dollars for the winner of this competition right? Why put up so much money?

You’re right, the prize money is huge, and our reasoning behind doing a “Winner Takes All” concept is to give the Pro Riders the incentive to push themselves to their limits during the Series. Our sport has some incredible athletes, and I think it’s fair those athletes are competing for large prize money.

 

-           I think everyone entering will be stoked on that. How many companies as of now are supporting the Pro Series?

We have had amazing support from almost every company we’ve approached. We filled all six available Partner Sponsorships within 4 days. Phoenix, Proto, Apex, MGP, Fasen and District all jumped on board to support the event in a massive way. We’ve also got five Gold Sponsors: Envy, AO, Root Industries, Eagle and Urban Artt. Scooter Hut is the main sponsor, so all in all we have 12 companies currently backing the Pro Series. Personally, I’m stoked at the calibre of brands we have had support from. I think most riders would agree we’ve got pretty much every legit brand supporting this event, with the exception of just a few, who I’m sure will support future Pro Series events.

 

-          Is this going to be an annual competition? Will we see even more stops next year?

Yeah, our plan is to make the Pro Series into a regular twice-annual event, with the goal of having a Street Series run in the summer, and this Invitational event around Autumn/Winter. Once this first Series is run, we will evaluate what we did right and what went wrong and try to make each Series from there on better. We plan to put together a Committee of Pro Riders to help plan and structure future Series as I want the Series to be owned by the pro riders who care about the future of their sport.

 

-          Are you planning to keep this strictly an Australian Contest?

For this year, yes. The Street Series planned for December/January will take place in Australia, but we will invite overseas riders to compete in it. If all goes to plan, this will hopefully become a Series that we can run globally, but for now we’ll concentrate on getting it right on home soil.  

 

-          Do you have any last words or shout outs?

Thanks to the great bunch of guys and girls that work for me at Scooter Hut...without them none of this would be possible. The only other thing I’d like to say is if you live in Australia and you want to have an amazing day out, come to one of the events. You will get to meet and ride with the pros, and then  get to watch Australia’s top riders pull some of the biggest tricks and work their butts off to win this Series. It’s going to be huge, so get down,  have an amazing day out and give support to your favourite riders.

Josh Smukal- Florida Short

Josh is from Ohio but managed to get this edit done in two days while on vacation in Florida.  Coming from Ohio, Josh got into scooters after seeing his cousin's boyfriend (none other than Dylan Kasson) ride.  You can see the influence in the solid street lines and combos.  Josh is on 5starr Scooters and is on the come up.  Film/edit by Olivia Monks.

Proto Photo Bomb Contest

Proto is holding a sweet contest to win a a bunch of cool stuff.  To find out the details, hit up this link on Proto's facebook.  Grand prize is a whole Proto scooter, so why not enter?

Rumble in Da Jungle 3

Tobias Mayer and George Gartlehner are insane...whip front board 270 whip?  All the front hurricane/back sugarcane combos...too good.  Now to get some of these combos out on real obstacles.

Razor- Woodward West 2013 Part II

Razor came through with a ton of footage at Woodward earlier this year, not just from their team riders but from everyone who attended.  Josh Toy does still ride scooters, by the way.  And he isn't the team manager. There are some pretty brutal falls at the end...the one of Raymond at 9:42...like 800 feet in the air straight to the knees, even with pads on that doesn't look like it feels good.

Vienna Revival

You already know that the Vienna guys are among the best in ledge tech riding.  Their full length Vienna Calling was super sick.  This montage features a bunch of indoor footage they gathered over the winter.  All the miniramp clips were my favorite.  This one features David Tiefenthaler, Florian Toegel, and Max Kernmayer.

Epic Indoor Spring Scooter Jam by The Over Show

The Over Show and Hella Grip were in the house for the latest Epic Skatepark Scooter Comp. This edit is 22 minutes long, and I honestly watched the whole thing. Looks like everyone threw down pretty hard, judging a competition like that is definitely no easy task, so props to the judges. Well worth the watch. Gotta love how first and second place are two riders who primarily ride Park, and they just won a comp that took place on a street course, with some of the worlds best street riders in attendance.

Kilean Pernsteiner and George Weiss Phoenix Combo Contest Entry

These two dudes recently entered the Phoenix Combo Contest, which is a contest that Phoenix Pro riders Jon Reyes and Dan Barrett are holding. The reason I liked these two entries was because they went out and rode street, and brought their tech riding there. As opposed to just hitting up your driveway and setting up some rails and boxes, which don't get me wrong if you shred hard enough, that can still be sick to watch.

But these guys stuck out to me for sure. Really entertaining to see tech riders doing their thing.