Thousands of Fans Flocked to Venice Beach for the New Contest Featuring Three Generations of The World’s Best Vert Skaters
LOS ANGELES – The power team of Tony Hawk, Andy Macdonald and Mitchie Brusco took first place at the first-ever Sonic Generations of Skate. The unique new contest featured the world’s best vert skaters from three generations battling in a series of four contests set against the famed Venice Beach boardwalk. The all-new format pushed the skaters to raise the bar with a variety of incredibly progressive tricks, including a rare 900 in competition.
“This contest really represented skateboarding well, including all the eras and styles,” said Tony Hawk. “The format was an all-new type of challenge, so we really had to come with a strategy. It’s great that we had this new way to compete.”
The contest included four competitions (individual runs, high air, team triples and best trick) featuring teams that had skaters representing each generation. The teams finished in the following order:
First Place: Tony Hawk (first generation), Andy Macdonald (second generation), Mitchie Brusco (third generation)
Second Place: Kevin Staab (first generation), Sandro Dias (second generation), Paul-Luc Ronchetti (third generation)
Third Place: Steve Caballero (first generation), Pierre Luc Gagnon (second generation), Elliot Sloan (third generation)
Fourth Place: Sergie Ventura (first generation), Lincoln Ueda (second generation), Adam Taylor (third generation)
The day kicked off with individual runs where skaters showed off McTwists, Cab heelflips, and 720s to impress the packed crowd. Tony Hawk and Andy Macdonald both took first place in their respective generations, giving their team the winning edge they needed to set the tone for the rest of the competition.
What started as a doubles competition became a triples contest with each team dropping in a third rider to up the ante. Andy Macdonald and Mitchie Brusco did a series of board switches, just before Tony Hawk stepped it up with a tail stall on Macdonald’s board while he was doing a 50-50 grind.
The big story of the day was the Best Trick contest where skaters threw down major show-stoppers. Sandro Dias stood out with his 900 (2 ½ flip rotation) — a trick rarely seen, especially in competition. 14-year-old Mitchie Brusco impressed the judges with his first-ever kickflip varial 540. Elliot Sloan added to the craziness with a 720 tailgrab. Sergie Ventura wowed the crowd with a 50/50 body varial to switch 50/50 to fakie. Tony Hawk showcased his signature ollie 540 and landed a kickflip McTwist. Lincoln Ueda continued the insanity with his signature samba flip.
“We’ve produced hundreds of contests, and this was one of the most exciting I’ve ever seen,” said Rick Bratman, CEO of ASA Entertainment. “Watching all the legends have so much fun and push themselves made me feel like a new fan all over again.”
The skaters all expressed what an amazing event it was for skateboarding. “This was the most fun contest I’ve ever skated in my life,” said Mitchie Brusco.
Sonic Generations of Skate, produced by ASA Entertainment and Sega® of America, will be broadcast nationally on FOX Sports Net (FSN) beginning on November 25 at 5 p.m. and 11 p.m. Since broadcast schedules are subject to change, please check local listings for specific air times.