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104-414: The Berrics is a private indoor skatepark owned by professional skateboarders Steve Berra and Eric Koston . It is also a website providing content filmed in the skatepark, as well other skateboard-related media. The facility's name is a portmanteau of the owners' names (the "Ber" of Berra's surname and the "ric" of Koston's first name). In an interview with Pop magazine, Berra revealed that prior to

208-455: A bracket-style tournament. The competitors included Steve Berra , Eric Koston , Rob Dyrdek , Andrew Reynolds , Mike Carroll , Marc Johnson , Erik Ellington , PJ Ladd , Danny Montoya, Chris Roberts, Donovan Strain , and Sean Malto . First place was attained by Mike Mo Capaldi , with second and third place given to Benny Fairfax and Billy Marks, respectively. Battle at the Berrics 2,

312-400: A call by the referee. Before the battle, Mike Mo Capaldi and Chris Roberts picked teams, and the battle was loosely structured as a fight between the two teams. On finals night, Luan Oliveira defeated Sewa Kroetkov and Chris Joslin defeated Tom Asta in the semifinals. Kroetkov won the third place match, defeating Asta. Luan Oliveira (a member of team 'Crob') defeated Joslin in the finals, and

416-645: A close friend and mentor to Song. Videographer, Socrates Leal, who filmed a large portion of the World Industries/ Dwindle Distribution footage since the company's inception, released footage from the World Park as part of the "30 Shot" web-based project, including segments that feature Song. Leal has revealed during his narration for one of the segments that Song has always possessed a clear awareness of what aspects of his skateboarding he would like filmed and would often instruct

520-478: A cost-effective alternative to custom-designed concrete skateparks. In reality, custom built concrete skateparks can be quite cost competitive with prefabricated skate ramps. According to an editor of Transworld Skateboarding magazine, concrete parks are now "pretty much the industry standard" as they require fewer repairs and less maintenance. Daewon Song Daewon Song (born February 19, 1975) ( Korean : 송대원 , romanized :  Song Dae-won )

624-474: A cover of The Skateboard Mag with one of the photos. The DVS Shoes Facebook profile published the advertisement for Song's thirteenth signature shoe model, part of the "Daewon Song Signature Series", named the "Daewon 13"—Song is photographed performing a trick on a rust-covered structure that is in a coastal location. One-time DVS filmer, Colin Kennedy, released a video compilation that he had produced with

728-410: A kid from Nebraska could see how being on this side of the baker's window, if he could see what goes on here and how we make the bread, and what temperature we cook the bread at, they would be psyched. I just started coming up with ideas of what we could do. Berra and Koston both purchased a building for the skateboarding facility with their own funds; one of the key initial goals for the Berrics facility

832-495: A lot harder. Song stated during his "Epicly Later'd" episode for Vice magazine's web channel that he misses his time at World Industries. In a July 2012 interview with the online magazine , Jenkem , Song revealed that he seriously contemplated ceasing skateboarding between the years 1996 and 1997, following an ankle injury that he sustained during the New World Order period. During this period, Song stated that he

936-442: A minor toe-drag and subsequently missed his second attempt, putting Joslin on offense. In a close battle, Joslin won with a Switch Frontside Shove-It Late Flip to take the championship, with Joslin and the audience commending Kroetkov on his sportsmanship. Shane O'Neill defeated Nick Tucker in the third place match. Battle at the Berrics 11 introduced a new rule: each skater was given one challenge they could use if they disagreed with

1040-492: A napkin that reminded him of someone pushing along on a skateboard. As of 2013, the brand had been existence for fifteen years and Song stated in March of that year, "we are still pushing strong". The Transworld Business website announced on July 2, 2012, that Matix Clothing had been acquired by "technical apparel brand", Westlife Distribution; the deal included intellectual property , inventory and accounts receivable . In

1144-582: A playable character in video games such as Grind Session , Session: Skate Sim and the Tony Hawk series of games . He featured as a playable character in many iterations of the Tony Hawk series, starting with Tony Hawk's American Wasteland , and appears in every main game since, with the exception of Tony Hawk's Downhill Jam . He also appears in the game Tony Hawk: Ride . Song participated in "Tony Hawk's Secret Skatepark Tour" of America, which

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1248-486: A portion of his balance.....you're welcome." accompanied the product's page on the Glassy Store website. Loud Headphones is a company that was founded by professional skateboarders, photographers, and videographers around 2012. The company states that its "main objective above all else is to start something that matters" and places an emphasis upon eco-friendly, low-cost packaging that allows more money to be spent on

1352-463: A press release on September 4, 2012, Matix announced the re-signing of Daewon Song, Marc Johnson, and Mike Anderson to its team roster (notably absent was young and popular former rider, Torey Pudwill ). The press release confirmed the relocation of the brand to Los Angeles, and company president, Brian Dunlap, stated, "I'm thrilled with the Westlife transition so far, and bringing these guys back onto

1456-457: A question! Just needed to make sure the damn pen worked!". On August 28, 2012, Song revealed in a Twitter post that he had commenced work on a new DVS project. Song received the cover of The Skateboard Mag , as part of a feature on the DVS Shoes tour to Detroit , US that occurred in late-2012—the photo is credited to Anthony Acosta, a close friend of Song. Song was previously featured on

1560-407: A series of tricks on one of the ledges in the park. Prior to December 7, 2012, a series of brief video segments, entitled "Disclosure", were presented on the website over a period of approximately two months. All of the videos were deliberately blurry and, while the name of the skateboarder in the video was revealed, it was difficult for the viewer to properly see where the skateboarder was performing

1664-412: A slab right on top?" So Eric [Koston] and I paid a whole lot of money to pour this slab on top, 'cause we thought it'd be the easiest and we thought it would be durable. We were wrong. In 2008, skateboard brand, DVS Shoe Company (now DVS Shoes), sponsored the inaugural Battle at the Berrics contest. Consisting of a professional game of S.K.A.T.E. , the competition involved thirty-two skaters competing in

1768-623: A snowboard company, the company relocated to a new premises in Compton , California, US in 2013. The Matix Fall 2014 catalog video, filmed in the Sierra Nevada region of California, US, was published on the brand's Vimeo channel. A press release from the Sequential Brands Group, which acquired the shoe brand in mid-2012, revealed that Song had renewed his contract with the company for a further three years. The CEO of

1872-473: A sponsored rider on the Glassy Sunhaters sunglasses website and online store, co-owned/co-founded by professional skateboarder, Mike Mo Capaldi , and his brother, Vince. Shortly after the addition of Song, a signature sunglasses model, "The Daeviator", was released and promoted heavily on the relevant websites. The humorous line, "Daewon has personally blessed everyone single pair of these to give you

1976-587: A transition trick that was later called a "bolt slapper", and on October 10, 2013, Song was filmed a performing a variation of the bolt slapper, the "360 shove it bolt slapper"—both tricks were filmed at the Crailtap skatepark in Torrance , California, US. The Almost company celebrated its 10th anniversary with an event at the Berrics indoor skate complex in early March 2014, at which team member Youness Amrani

2080-459: A video part on The Berrics in January 2011 that could be purchased for US$ 0.99. The downloadable part, entitled "New Year's Dae", was made available for sale on January 11—and was thus promoted as a "1.11.11" video part—the part featured a combination of street, park, and transition skateboarding. The Almost video 5-Incher was released June 4, 2012, and Mullen is the only team member that

2184-881: A well designed flow park a skater can pump around the parks curved walls such as quarter pipes, pump bumps and bowl corners without taking their feet off to push. They can use that speed to hit street obstacles such as stairs, railings and benches. Skateparks may be privately or publicly owned. Privately owned skateparks usually have admission fees, while publicly owned skateparks are generally free. Many privately owned skateparks are indoors, usually in warehouses, roller rinks or buildings with high ceilings, especially in areas with snowy winters. Public skateparks are usually outdoors. Skatepark construction can be divided into two major categories — prefabricated and custom built concrete. Prefabricated parks can be made of wood, plastic, sheet metal, and concrete. Most are designed and built by playground equipment manufacturers who present these parks as

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2288-701: A worthwhile product and donations to its charitable partner the Let Them Hear Foundation. Song is one of the Loud-sponsored skateboarders, alongside other team members such as Sammy Baca and Fred Gall, and has released signature model earbud headphones. Song was announced as a team member of the newly formed Knox Hardware brand in early October 2013, alongside Chris Cole . The brand was founded by Song's longtime friend and Matix collaborator Gavin, and will also release apparel collections. Gavin explained to TransWorld Business : "Knox's DNA and

2392-492: A year spent with his grandmother in Hawaii . During the first half of his life, Song was raised by his older sister, who also raised Song's brother. Song revealed in a "Milestone" interview for The Skateboard Mag that both of his parents were perceived as "insane" by their neighbors due to their constant fighting—Song explained that, on occasion, he would need to telephone the police. Song's mother, who once shot her husband in

2496-609: Is an American professional skateboarder . He is the co-founder and co-owner of Almost Skateboards and Thank You Skateboards, and continues to skate for the latter company. Song was named the 2006 "Skater of the Year" by Thrasher magazine, an award that is widely considered to be one of the most significant honors in skateboarding. Song, a Korean American, was born in Seoul , South Korea, and grew up in Gardena, California , following

2600-618: Is not featured. The film premiered at the Art Theater in Long Beach , California, on May 31, 2012. Song's section in 5-Incher is the penultimate part, with Haslam providing the video's "ender" (final section). On June 18, 2012, Song then released additional footage on the internet, entitled "Daewon 5 Incher B-Side Edit", free of charge. Song was featured on the cover of the November 2012 issue of Transworld Skateboarding Japan —he

2704-473: Is shown performing a trick from his 5-Incher video part. The issue also features a full interview with Song, entitled "Daewon Song Best of 2012", and was sold with a DVD that consisted of the 5-Incher video and the Song B-Sides edit, among other sections. Video footage was published throughout 2013 of Song performing new tricks that had not been captured on film before. On June 25, 2013, Song filmed

2808-707: Is the oldest operating municipal skate park in the United States. In 1999 the city of Hermosa Beach, California opened a small skatepark at the site of the first skateboard competition. The competition held at the Pier Avenue Junior High School (now a city museum) was organized by Dewey Weber across the street from his surf and skateboard shop. Makaha Skateboards was a sponsor of the competition. In 1987, an all wooden indoor skate park, called CT Bike, opened in Bristol, Connecticut . CT Bike

2912-499: Is used in the video was shot between 2002 and 2005. After nine years with World Industries, Song left the company in 1999 to found Deca Skateboards, with a team that included Chris Haslam , JB Gillet , Shiloh Greathouse , and Marcus McBride ( Cooper Wilt was featured in two "hidden parts" in the second Deca video 2nd to None ). After three years of operation, during which time two videos— Sneak Preview and 2nd to None —were produced, Deca ceased operations in 2002. Following

3016-440: Is where Tony Hawk made his debut when he was a young boy on his first East Coast tour. Until its closing in 2022, the indoor skate park was operated by the same family who built the park despite a fire that threatening the park in 1988. As of 2022 the park is now permanently closed. In more extreme climates, parks were built indoors, often using wood or metal. By the end of the 1970s, the popularity of skateboarding had waned, and

3120-596: The Netherlands (Sewa Kroetkov). Battle at the Berrics IV was won by Morgan Smith (Canada), after he defeated Ladd (U.S.), with Davis Torgerson (U.S.) in third place. Battle at the Berrics V, the fifth installment in the series, was subtitled "Team Berra vs Team Koston" and was launched in February 2012—sixteen skateboarders were selected to compete as part of Berra and Koston's respective teams. The selection of

3224-408: The single-elimination tournament "X Games Real Street," in which sponsored skateboarders film a video part that they are judged on. Song competed in the 17th X Games contest in 2011. Alongside Chris Cole , Song was also nominated by Berrics viewers as the most-wanted contestant in the second edition, but failed to enter. Song later explained his reason for not entering contests such as Battle of

The Berrics - Misplaced Pages Continue

3328-456: The April 2007 edition of the magazine, for which he also appeared on the front cover. After winning the Berrics' 2UP and In Transition contests during 2014, Song was voted as the most impactful skateboarder of the year in the Berrics' Populist poll. Song prevailed among a list of nominees that included Guy Mariano and Ben Raybourn, and received his trophy on January 27, 2015. In 2017, Daewon

3432-585: The Berrics 2 was won by Chris Cole , who defeated Paul Rodriguez , with Cory Kennedy achieving third place. Battle at the Berrics 3 commenced in 2010 and was sponsored by the DC Shoes company. The competition followed the same format as the previous versions and opened with a match between Cole and Joey Brezinski. The list of competitors included Danny Garcia, Johnny Layton, Gilbert Crockett, Caesar Fernandez, Benny Fairfax, Josiah Gatlyn, Brandon Biebel, Mark Appleyard, Shane O'Neill, and Marty Murawski. Battle at

3536-487: The Berrics 3 was won by Rodriguez, after defeating Ladd, and O'Neill finished in third place. In a match that lasted nearly seven minutes, Rodriguez managed to win the series after making a considerable comeback effort; the final match was judged by Tony Hawk . Battle at the Berrics IV, the fourth installment in the series, was launched in 2011 and was subtitled "U.S. vs. THEM,"—the theme of the competition stipulated that American skateboarders would compete against riders from

3640-564: The Berrics in a July 2013 interview: Because I'm just the worst under pressure. When someone tells me that I am supposed to do something, you're not going to get it. I'm gonna slam. It has to be spontaneous for me. Every once in a while, I'll get a request and somehow end up doing it, but usually, I can't. Even if it's fairly easy, I won't be able to do it. With those contests, there are all these people watching who have such high expectations for me, I can only lose. I hate it. I don't want to let anybody down so I just shut down. In early 2014, Song

3744-579: The Bones bearing team (prior to Bones, Song had released signature model bearings and filmed a video part for the FKD company that, as of February 2013, is within the Syndrome Distribution company). Daewon is featured on the team page holding up a selection of Andale stickers and has joined former Almost professional Ryan Sheckler and ex-Deca rider JB Gillett on the team. Song is a featured as

3848-668: The Chocolate video, The Chocolate Tour , from 1999. Since inception, the segment has featured video parts from skateboarding history that the website considers significant. On January 22, 2013, a new segment, "Instagrams of the Week (IOTW)", was launched by Berra as a replacement for an earlier segment; Berra wrote in his introduction: This is the new version of EOTW [Emails of the Week], only better. Every week we are going to pick our favorite Instagram photos with #berrics and feature them on

3952-538: The LJG, as the company had previously only worked with surf and moto brands. Berra stated in the press release: With the resources that have been available to us so far, our own pocketbooks, I think we’ve done a fantastic job. When given the opportunity to partner with someone like La Jolla Group, take advantage of their infrastructure, still retain full control and ownership of our company, not have to worry about them having skate brands that compete with our advertisers AND get

4056-527: The Matix Clothing apparel company with fellow professional skateboarder, Tim Gavin (retired), and distribution company, Podium Distribution (the Dunlap brothers, Kevin and Brian). In March 2013, Song explained the initial period of the brand's formation: Gavin brought Rudy Johnson, Jeron Wilson and Sean Sheffey ; and then for me, I brought Marc Johnson , Rodney Mullen and, ahh, JB Gillett. And that

4160-718: The Pacific Northwest can be traced back to Burnside Skatepark , a DIY "barge build" beneath the Burnside Bridge in Portland, Oregon . Skateboarders used an area populated primarily by the city's "undesirable elements" to create a skatepark, building one section at a time. The process is called "design/build" (D/B), and is a characteristic of many skateparks today. The design/build process ensures that adjacent skatepark features are harmonious and rideable, allowing skateboarders to create endless "lines" to ride among

4264-450: The US , or who continue to be based on that side of the country—riders include Stevie Williams , Jake Johnson, Ishod Wair, Gino Iannucci, and PJ Ladd—and Song is the second West coast team rider to be added to the team, alongside Dennis Busenitz, whose hometown and city of residence is San Francisco , U.S. As of February 2017, though, the company is no longer in business. During 2012, Song

The Berrics - Misplaced Pages Continue

4368-580: The blurred effect, and with the inclusion of additional footage. Veteran skateboard photographer Grant J. Brittain confirmed on October 7, 2014, that the Skateboard Mag publication, of which he is a photo editor for, has reached a collaborative agreement with the Berrics. Brittain published the announcement on his Instagram account: "We started a new endeavor, the Skateboard Mag is under The Berrics skateboarding umbrella." Since inception,

4472-526: The brand's demise, McBride moved onto establishing the DGK company with Stevie Williams, Greathouse rode for Stacy Lowery and Michael Sieben's Bueno brand, JB Gillet joined the Cliche team, while Wilt and Haslam remained with Song for his next board company Artafact. Following the cessation of Deca, Song launched a short-lived company entitled Artafact in 2002, with Haslam and Wilt included as team riders—the brand

4576-548: The commercial art field at a very young age. Song provided insight into his family life in a 2005 interview: You know Asian parents, man; they're gnarly. They want you to become some lead pianist in an orchestra or, like every parent, they want you to become a doctor. I was really into art when I was a young kid, and I won a lot of awards, so my parents thought that's what I'd pursue. Then I got picked up in skateboarding and started getting free stuff. They were tripping, like, "Where are you getting all this free stuff?" They thought I

4680-568: The company, including Love Child (1992). It is in Love Child that Song documented the first hardflip on film. Song has spoken about his time with World Industries in numerous interviews, particularly focusing on his time at the World Industries indoor skate park and being involved with a company that was overseen by Steve Rocco , the founder of World Industries and former business partner of Rodney Mullen —Mullen would later become

4784-565: The components of the front truck so that there are only one bushing "below" the truck (between the deck and the truck) and two washers "above" the truck; and Song only rides 50 millimetres (2.0 in) radius wheels—he states that he has tried to ride 51 millimetres (2.0 in) wheels, but the difference was too significant. As of February 2019, Song is sponsored by Thank You skateboards, Matix Clothing, adidas Footwear, Tensor Trucks, Andale Bearings, Mob Griptape, Glassy, Spitfire Wheels, and Loud Headphones Song has made several appearances as

4888-457: The cover of The Skateboard Mag , in a photo also taken by Acosta, skating a transitional structure that was tied to the back of a truck in Norwalk, California , US—Acosta has explained: I found this sheet-metal halfpipe sitting on a truck bed about two miles from where I used to live. I knew Daewon was the guy to call for this natural miniramp. We shot a few things that day and ended up getting

4992-511: The creation of thriving multi-use areas, as installations often become picturesque destinations for skaters and non-skaters alike. Unlike organized sports, like basketball or football, skateboarding has no set arena or rules and skateparks have no standard design template. Each skatepark is designed specifically to provide unique challenges to its users. There are, however, three main categories of skatepark design: bowl, street plaza and flow parks. Bowl parks are designed to emulate and improve upon

5096-475: The curb at Rally's burgers just for something to do. Song has relayed that he sighted Rodney Mullen skateboarding at his school and that Mullen, in turn, had observed Song skateboarding there. Song explained in a 2012 interview that his friend at the time spoke with Mullen and the professional skateboarder revealed that he was impressed by Song's skills and wanted to send Song skateboard decks to ride as an introduction to Mullen's fledgling business. Song agreed to

5200-508: The face, died in 1999, predeceasing Song's father. When he was fourteen years of age, Song started skateboarding during a two-month period when his parents were separated—he was given his first skateboard by his mother and was later sponsored by a skateboard shop in the South Bay area of Los Angeles, California called Sporting Ideas. Prior to this, Song received attention for his artistic abilities, winning drawing contests and engaging in

5304-588: The favorite of the vast majority of skaters and they are designed to emulate and improve upon the street skating experience. Obstacles in a street plaza are styled to look like natural street terrain such as stairs, railings, planters and benches. Skaters will push off with their feet to gain momentum in a street plaza. The first public outdoor skate plaza is the Vancouver Skate Plaza , built in 2004 by New Line Skateparks. Flow parks (or Park style) combine elements of both bowl parks and street plazas. In

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5408-451: The filmer while skateboarding. Love Child was then followed up by New World Order (1993) and Song has explained that the skateboarding world had significantly changed in the one-year period between the videos: Then in '93, with New World Order, things got more serious. More skaters started coming up, and if you were filming something and someone already did it, you'd have to come up with something better. From that point on, filming got

5512-586: The final Joe 'will be between Cody Cepeda , Nick Holt or Will Fyock' . The Grand Final, between Luan Oliveira (Pro) and Cody Cepeda (Joe), was won by Cepeda, who did not acquire a single letter in the Championship Battle. Eric Koston defeated Sewa Kroetkov in the battle for third place. The eighth installment of the Battle at the Berrics concluded with Tom Asta, Sewa Kroetkov, Shane O'Neill, and Cody Cepeda competing on Finals Night. The final match

5616-453: The final match. Najera won the final battle on a switch front side 360 kickflip, while Amrani finished in third place. Battle at the Berrics X was entitled "Best of the Best," and included a roster of the "best" skaters from previous years' battles. Chris Joslin met BATB8 champion Sewa Kroetkov in the finals. Controversy ensued when Kroetkov called a do-over on his own Frontside Double Flip after

5720-557: The grand opening. The park had concrete ramps and was operated by Arizona Surf City Enterprises, Inc. A skatepark for skateboarders and skaters made of plywood ramps on a half-acre lot in Kelso, Washington , opened in April 1966. It was lighted for night use. California's first, the Carlsbad Skatepark opened on March 3, 1976. The World Skateboard Championships were held here on April 10, 1977. It operated until 1979, when it

5824-490: The interview, had followed through with a decision to transition to a 7.7 inches (20 cm) wide deck—Song stated, "not much of a huge jump, but ... makes a difference."; Song appreciates bright-colored skateboards for "something while it's flipping"—he cites red and black in the interview as preferred colors; Song tightens his trucks "fairly loose", with the back truck tighter than the front for stability—Song describes his front truck as "squirrelly", revealing that he strips down

5928-446: The job done was something we couldn't pass on. We want to see skateboarding and the people who make it happen, from top to bottom, do better, especially in these tumultuous times. However, as of November 2013, the Berrics is no longer featured on the LJG website as a licensed brand. On December 7, 2012, the website was closed and a temporary page was displayed to visitors—the headline was "RIP The Berrics (12/7/07–12/7/12)" and instead of

6032-555: The latter two qualifying for the grand final. Ladd defeated Rodriguez in the championship battle and won the competition for a second successive year. As of June 1, 2013, the Wall Street Journal was the only mainstream media outlet to cover the finals event. 'Pros VS Joes' was the name of the 7th installment of BATB. 16 amateur skateboarders were chosen and on March 15, 2014, the first battle of Round 1 had begun. Fox Weekly has released its predictions for BATB7 stating that

6136-507: The launch of The Berrics, he had been offered a million-dollar deal to direct a film based on a screenplay that he had written. Due to filming commitments for his skateboard deck sponsor, Alien Workshop, Berra declined the offer and later commenced work on The Berrics concept following a period of reflection: All I wanted to do is I knew we have this hook because there were a lot of kids that always would ask Eric and I about our building. “Someday I'll come to your skate park,” everywhere, all over

6240-450: The launch of the website: The park has taken a beating over the last four years, with the amount of people that have skated here ... So, we are getting ready to tear out all the concrete, to the dirt, and redo it so that there's no more cracks. When we originally bought the building, it had a real rough surface; so, when I talked to a bunch of concrete guys, you know, they suggested tearing it out and another guy suggested, "Why don't we pour

6344-595: The licensing and branding company, Colin Dyne, explained in the press release that "It is critically important to us that the authenticity and integrity of the DVS brand remain in tact [ sic ]. By moving forward with Daewon, a legend in the skate arena, DVS is remaining true to its heritage". Song stated in the same document that "DVS has been family since 1997 and has always had my back 100% and I will always have their's [ sic ], 100%!!! Re-signing wasn't even

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6448-563: The line between skateparks and street spots. Some cities are starting to put in skate spots/plazas with features that would not have been classically designed for skateboarding, but can be skated by street skaters legally. In some instances, street spots that were not originally designed for skateboarding have been converted into sanctioned skate plazas. There is also an emerging movement of making art and sculpture skate-able. This provides additional legal skate spots that blend well with other city art and landscape features. Skate-able art allows for

6552-612: The many features. Skate parks, related obstacles/ramps and locations designed for extreme sport utilization have made their way into the media over time, such as with the aforementioned Burnside Skatepark being included in the movie Free Willy . Public skateparks have had a resurgence in the US, made possible by legislation such as California's 1998 law stating that skateboarding is an inherently "Hazardous Recreational Activity" (HRA), and therefore municipalities and their employees may not be held liable for claims of negligence resulting in skateboarders' injuries. Street skating has blurred

6656-402: The one or two tricks that would appear. Featured skateboarders included Daewon Song , Nyjah Huston , Kenny Hoyle, Ishod Wair, Matt Miller, and Kelly Hart. On December 8, 2012, The Berrics was relaunched and the "RIP" page was replaced by a page featuring helmet camera footage from professional skateboarder, Chad Muska, who reveals that he is inside a new Berrics facility—beneath the video frame

6760-644: The original parks of the era began to close. A downturn in the overall skateboard market in the 1980s, coupled with high liability insurance premiums, contributed to the demise of the first wave of skateparks. Some second-generation parks, such as Upland, California 's Pipeline, survived into the 1980s. However, few of the private parks of the 1970s remain, with the notable exception of Kona Skatepark in Jacksonville, Florida . However, many public parks of that era can still be found throughout Western Europe, Australia and New Zealand. The modern skatepark designs of

6864-420: The pool skating experience. Skaters in bowl parks can move around the park without taking their feet off the board to push. The curved walls of bowls allow skaters to ride around and across the bowl in addition to the back and forth skating you might see on a traditional half pipe. Bowls and bowl parks come in an endless variety of shapes and sizes but most bowls are between 3' and 12’ deep. Street plaza parks are

6968-487: The program was key. We have longstanding relationships and friendships that were important to keep intact, and the brand image will only grow stronger with such a good crew representing for us." As of March 2013, the Matix skate team consisted of Song, Johnson, Mike Anderson, Zach Wallin, Auby Taylor, and Matt Berger —at this time, Song, Johnson, and Anderson all had signature clothing collections for sale. Together with 686,

7072-585: The proposal and the relationship between the two skateboarders, now co-owners of the Almost Skateboards company, commenced at that point in time. Mullen became a mentor figure to Song and the latter became a team rider for the Tensor company as the result of this relationship (as of July 2014, Song continues to be sponsored by Tensor). Song became sponsored by World Industries at the age of sixteen years and appeared in numerous video productions for

7176-568: The rest of the world. The first round of the competition involved sixteen skateboarders from the United States (US) competing against sixteen skateboarders from foreign countries, such as Brazil (Rodrigo Tx, Luan Oliveira, Danillo Cerezini, Felipe Gustavo), the United Kingdom (Fairfax), Canada (Morgan Smith, Wade Desarmo, Mark Appleyard), Colombia (David Gonzalez), Germany (Willow, Alex Mizurov, Lem Villemin ), Sweden (Albert Nyberg), Australia (Shane O'Neill), Spain (Enrique Lorenzo), and

7280-545: The second installment of Battle at the Berrics, allowed the Berrics' viewership to vote for thirty-two of more than 150 skateboarders, with the most popular invited to fill the tournament's 32 competitor slots; the two most popular selections were Chris Cole and Daewon Song . Competitors included Kelly Hart, Chris Haslam , Torey Pudwill , Jimmy Carlin, Greg Lutzka , Stefan Janoski, David Gonzalez, Kenny Anderson, Lucas Puig , Heath Kirchart, Jerry Hsu , Dennis Busenitz, Peter Ramondetta, and Mike Vallely , among others. Battle at

7384-429: The site. So, ask questions, make statements, show us a skate spot or a trick we've never seen. Is there a sunset that's just so beautiful you can't possibly imagine the Berrics and everyone that goes on it not seeing it? Then show us. In the lead-up to the official publication of a Battle Commander by Jamie Thomas, the website launched a new type of special segment, entitled "Interrogation". On January 29, 2013, visitors of

7488-496: The sixth installment of Battle at the Berrics. Presented by Berra, the video revealed that "thousands" of people across Southern California, US had been asked about who they would like to see in the competition during the two weeks prior to the announcement. The final selection of skateboarders was then shown, with corresponding footage for each individual—the skateboarder's board sponsor appears in parentheses : The final four competitors were O'neill, Capaldi, Rodriguez, and Ladd, with

7592-454: The standard "Enter The Berrics" option, visitors could instead click on a button that read "Exit the Berrics". The page also featured a short video segment of several skateboarders, including Billy Marks, performing tricks in the facility, followed by a firecracker explosion at the base of one of the stair sets. When the "Exit the Berrics" button was clicked on, a second video appeared, featuring professional skateboarder, Felipe Gustavo, performing

7696-536: The story we want to tell is the Americana blue collar hard worker." As of February 2017, though, the brand in no longer active. On January 5, 2013, Song participated in an interview with the Alli Sports website to explain the hardware that he uses for his skateboard. Notable aspects of the interview were: Song rode a 7.6 inches (19 cm) wide skateboard deck for over a decade and, in the period leading up to

7800-793: The teams was released in a video segment published on the Berrics website that featured Berrics host, Steezus Christ, overseeing Berra and Koston as they selected names according to turn. The teams for Battle at the Berrics V were as follows: Team Koston: Paul Rodriguez, Davis Torgeson, Tom Asta, Marquise Henry, PJ Ladd, Manny Santiago, Sean Malto, Trent McClung, Ishod Wair, Felipe Gustavo, Keelan Dadd, Tommy Fynn, Torey Pudwill, Evan Smith, Morgan Smith, and Moose. Team Berra: Chris Cole, Shane O'Neill, Billy Marks, Ryan Decenzo, Jimmy Carlin, Sebo Walker, Ryan Pearce, Boo Johnson, Corey Kennedy, Matt Miller, Nyjah Huston, Ronnie Creager, Kevin Romar, Nick Tucker, Mikemo Capaldi, and Theotis Beasley. Battle at The Berrics 5

7904-560: The use of footage filmed during the Skate More period, entitled "Daewon vs H2O". The compilation shows various settings in which Song filmed skateboarding tricks in locations where water was a primary factor, including a metropolitan sculpture of a movie reel situated within a pool of water. Part of Kennedy's blurb for the video stated, "Daewon likes a challenge. Watch any of his video parts and you'll see what I mean ... You name it and he's skated it, or at least tried." The footage that

8008-419: The website has developed a range of features consisting of regularly uploaded episodes that are featured in a section entitled "Daily Ops" (the equivalent of a "News" section for most websites). New episodes of some features are uploaded weekly, while others are uploaded as they are completed. A segment entitled "VHS (Visual History Selection)" was launched on November 18, 2012 and featured Koston's video part in

8112-458: The website were asked to "send him any questions and/or comments you want". Paul Rodriguez was the second interview subject for the segment. The skatepark has undergone a significant level of maintenance and rejuvenation during the life of its existence. Berra provided an explanation of a renovation plan as part of a series of short video segments, filmed for the DVS Shoe company four years after

8216-409: The world. That was minimal exposure of it. I realized we were on to something, like a Studio 54 , and I was sitting there one day as I was skating and I think it was Andrew Reynolds that I'd seen do a heel flip backside tailslide on the ledge. It was so perfect and awesome. I never left Nebraska mentally to a degree, like I'm still a fan of anyone who skates incredible, ends up just skating. So if

8320-438: Was a button that read "Enter The New Berrics". Upon entering the new website, the producers of The Berrics revealed that a new facility had been built and a video segment was featured, in which Koston introduces the new Berrics with the assistance of other skateboarders, such as Shane O'Neill, Ronnie Creager, Derrick Wilson, Danny Montoya, Josh Murphy, Marquise Henry, and Clint Peterson. In the days following, another video segment

8424-460: Was a wake-up call. At that moment I felt like I was a pathetic piece of trash. They did all this for me and I was going to give it up. It was almost as though Rodney brought me into this and had supported me, and now it was my turn to support him. I just woke up and started skating again and tried to make stuff happen again. Then Rodney and me started doing our projects, and everything from that point on has been working out great. In 1998, Song founded

8528-452: Was added to the team of Brick Harbor, an online skateboard retailer that had been formed earlier in the same year. The announcement was made in the form of a brief video part, entitled "12 Dae's of Christmas", and a corresponding competition. Since the company's inception, Brick Harbor's team has predominantly consisted of professional skateboarders who had either originated from the East coast of

8632-541: Was between Kroetkov and O'Neill. Kroetkov won the Roshambo and never failed a trick, winning with a rarely-seen Hardflip Late Frontside 180 and securing his first Battle at the Berrics victory. The ninth installment of the Battle at the Berrics was entitled "New Blood" and included a roster of skaters that had never previously skated in the contest. Diego Najera, Michael Sommer, Micky Papa and Youness Amrani ended up making it to Finals Night, with Najera and Papa making it to

8736-701: Was buried intact beneath a layer of dirt for more than two decades, before being destroyed in 2005. The current Carlsbad Skatepark is in a different location. The East Coast's first skatepark, Ocean Bowl Skate Park, in Ocean City, Maryland , opened the first week of June, 1976. Due to time, wear, and the current needs of skaters, the old bowl and ramp were torn down in the Fall of 1997 and the new park opened in July 1998. The Sandy Hills Skate Park, in Lansdowne, Maryland ,

8840-460: Was crowned champion at Battle at the Berrics 11. On September 29, 2019 the first WBATB was announced. The brackets will consist of female pros/ams along with skaters hand picked from Instagram clips using the hash tag #whoisinwbatb. Battle at the Berrics 12 was announced on June 14, 2021 and for the first time will double the size of the bracket from 32 skaters, to 64. The theme includes 4 segments. Pros - Joes - Influencers - Icons. The finals night

8944-448: Was dismantled in 2003 after eight to twelve months of operation. In a 2012 interview for the "Weekend Buzz" segment of the internet-based RIDE channel, Haslam provided a perspective on Artafact in relation to Deca: "I think I liked Artafact better—the layout of the ads was always sick. It was nice and clean and there was, like, possibilities to go there, but, you know, I guess it didn't really go anywhere, so we changed it." Song released

9048-415: Was held on 21 June 2022, with Sewa Kroetkov (Pro), Tyler Peterson (Joe), Jamie Griffin (Influencer) & Paul Rodriguez (Icon) being the finalists. Before the finals, Rodriguez tested positive for COVID-19 and was replaced by Chris Cole. Griffin won the tournament by defeating Peterson in the finals, with Kroetkov placing third, and Cole placing fourth. Battle at the Berrics 13:Freedom took place in 2023 and

9152-631: Was inducted into the Skateboarding Hall of Fame. Song was identified by Transworld Skateboarding as the twenty-ninth most influential skateboarder of all time in a list that was published on the magazine's digital platform in December 2011. As part of the Transworld series, Stevie Williams , founder and owner of DGK (Dirty Ghetto Kids), identifies Song, together with Mullen, as one of his top five most influential skateboarders, while

9256-433: Was informed that he was a competitor in the "2Up" manual contest that was held at the Berrics and sponsored by Matix. (A manual is a trick whereby the skateboarder only uses two wheels.) The contest was an invitational and Song competed against nine other skateboarders, and the winner was voted by the fans of the website. Song was declared the winner on March 4, 2014 and received a trophy in addition to US$ 10,000 cash. Song

9360-474: Was inspired by the Berrics and, in 2012, Dyrdek challenged the Berrics crew and lost, thus having to erect a statue that portrayed the inspiration that he had derived from the Berrics facility. First address: 684 S. Myers street Los Angeles, CA On February 11, 2011, a press release announced a partnership between the La Jolla Group (LJG) and The Berrics. The Berrics was the first skate category for

9464-500: Was organized to promote one of Hawk's video games. Alongside other skateboarders who appeared in the video game, Song toured the U.S. with Hawk's entourage and performed at random skatepark locations. During the tour, Song revealed his perspective in a magazine interview: "It's pretty crazy. I'm just used to some team manager knocking on your door, like, "Dude, we gotta get up." On this one we have like schedules." Since cofounding Almost, Song's participation in contests has been limited to

9568-406: Was our team—including me and Gavin; so there was eight. I remember when it first started—me, Kevin and Brian and Gavin ... just funny how all these things we talked about on the kitchen floor, having pizza, it actually went into motion, and it was, like, "Wow, here are the first samples!" Song further explained that he was responsible for the origin of the Matix logo, after he drew a squiggle on

9672-514: Was predominantly located in the Long Beach area of Los Angeles while in a relationship with a girlfriend who was a member of the Bloods . Song considered a living modifying cars and eventually returned to skateboarding following a telephone call from his mentor, Rodney Mullen. Song had gone into further detail about this period of his life in a 2005 interview: I lost touch with a lot of girls, and then I called Rodney and he wasn't doing too good. It

9776-711: Was presented with his inaugural professional skateboard deck. Socrates Leal, a longtime videographer for Dwindle Distribution, created a video retrospective of the brand's growth since inception, entitled "10 Years of Almost." At the same time as the 10-year anniversary, the company released a collaborative series of skateboard decks with the DC Comics comic book brand—Song's deck features the Batman character. On October 26, 2018, Daewon Song left Almost. He and Torey Pudwill who left Plan B Skateboards made their own project called Thank You Skateboards. In mid-December 2012, Song

9880-430: Was published on the Berrics website on January 9, 2013, featuring Koston, Johan Stuckey, and Jamie Thomas —the video commences with a spoof skit, in which Koston and Stuckey compete is a joke version of the sixth Battle, and then ends with the official announcement, whereby Thomas and Koston are seemingly the contestants in the first round. On January 12, 2013, a video entitled, "Battle at the Berrics 6: Regular vs Goofy",

9984-438: Was recruited onto the teams of two new companies that had been founded by fellow professional skateboarders, one who had skated for a clothing company, Matix, that Song had cofounded many years earlier. Paul Rodriguez and Joey Brezinski 's (Brezinski had signed a contract with Tensor Trucks , the brand that also sponsors Song, in mid-2010) new bearing company, Andale, was officially launched in 2012 and Song left his position on

10088-504: Was selected, again by the Berrics, for the "In Transition" contest that ran during October 2014. The Berrics "picked 10 of the most progressive skaters on the planet to choose one location each—any location in the world—and film a full part," and Song chose to film his part at Channel Street in Los Angeles, U.S. In 2006, Song was awarded the "Skater of the Year (SOTY)" title by Thrasher magazine. His SOTY feature article appeared in

10192-524: Was seriously the only skateboarder left at my school. I just hung in there ... A lot of guys quit skating, one got killed, another guy was tagging on a freeway and got killed. I watched all these friends of mine getting into the stupidest things. And I was like, dude, I just need to stick with this skateboard thing. But I didn't stick with it as a career; I just thought it was something to do after school, y'know? Skateboarding's changed so much now. It's like kids skate just to get sponsored. Back then we skated

10296-492: Was stealing money from them. Song attended the 135th Street school in Gardena, known for its aggressive reputation, and has explained the challenges that were present while he was growing up in the area, where gang activity was prolific: Around my neighborhood, skating was actually big for a time, like in the early '90s. Then it started to die out. There was a lot of gang banging going on in my old neighborhood in Gardena. I

10400-556: Was the last BATB held in the current building. Jamie Griffin won for a second year in a row, something that had not been done since PJ Ladd's victories. Nick Holt took second place and Chris Cole took fourth for the second year in a row. Skatepark Most of the early skateparks were in the United States. The first skatepark in the world, Surf City, opened for business at 5140 East Speedway Road in Tucson, Arizona on September 3, 1965. Patti McGee , Women's National Champion, attended

10504-560: Was to provide a setting where skateboarders could practice their tricks to avoid spending that time in street-based environments in California, where skateboarding is illegal in most spaces. Following the website's inception in late 2007, it quickly grew and, according to The Wall Street Journal , in January 2009, the Berrics attracted more unique visitors than the websites of every major skateboard magazine, as well as ESPN.com 's action sports section. Rob Dyrdek 's Fantasy Factory

10608-417: Was uploaded to the Berrics website—the question, "Who do you want to see at the Battle of the Berrics 6?", featured at the beginning of the segment and skateboarders, both sponsored and unsponsored, provided their responses to the question. The video concluded with the statement: "Check back on Monday to see who made it in". On January 14, 2013, a video was published on the Berrics, revealing the contestants in

10712-485: Was uploaded to the website, revealing that the new facility had been built by the California Skateparks company and that Berra had taken photos of actual street/city-based locations that he would like to replicate inside the new facility during the design stage. A video entitled "Full Disclosure" was also released around the same time and featured a compilation of the previous "Disclosure" clips, but without

10816-421: Was won by Ladd, after he defeated Capaldi, with O'Neill placing third. Battle at the Berrics 6, the sixth installment in the series, will be played according to the theme of "goofy versus regular", a reference to the stance of a skateboarder—that is, "goofy" is the name given to riders who place their right foot at the front of the board while skateboarding, and "regular" is the opposite stance. A promotional video

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