Last weekend I flew to Tucson to be a judge in the first Tucson Thunderdome freestyle contest.
Great contest. Exactly the shot in the arm the U.S. freestyle scene needed, and I can’t wait for next year. Grass roots. By the skaters, for the skaters. Fantastic venue. Friendly town. Beautiful landscape. Just great.
It’s that time of the year. Non-horrible weather, nice long days. I’m skating as much as I can.
Been riding an 8.25″ street board with some freestyle adaptations, like a skid under the nose and the rectangle cut out of the grip tape in the middle, for footwork. For the stuff I’m doing right now it’s pretty good. I wouldn’t recommend it for classic freestyle with lots of board flips and whatnot, and I wouldn’t recommend it for footwork for a shorter skater because of the relatively long wheelbase, but for me and what I’m doing these days it feels good.
The second shot in this video is a little sequence I’m working on. Next thing is going to be cranking some speed out of the frontside 360 that changes the direction of the flow. Was thinking about it today, and realized that a simple change in posture will probably do the trick.
I know it seems kind of like “the old guy is just doing this easy shit because he doesn’t want to learn hard tricks anymore”, but that is not the case. This is what makes me happy now.
Session from Bob Loftin on Vimeo.
Just working on my flowy stuff. Will get back out tomorrow evening.
Rolling from Bob Loftin on Vimeo.
Day 3 back at the spot. Feeling strong. Body, mind, and soul healing.
Day 3 from Bob Loftin on Vimeo.
Back at my freestyle practice spot for the first time in about a year. It’s a bit more prone to pedestrian traffic, seeing as how that building next to me it the public library. I’ve not wanted to be there breathing the air of every parent and urchin that happens by, but now got my shots. Combing the shots, with loud music not necessarily friend to children, and I feel fairly safe there now.
It was nice to be back. I’m out of condition, but over the next couple of months lots of practice will correct that abysmal situation. I’m out of practice, but again, the solution is practice.
Anyway, here is the dancing elephant. Sorry Mike — I was not listening to the music you wanted. I have to have stuff that’s the right tempo and mood when I do this. I’m not driving a pickup down a dirt road at 100mph.
First Session Back at Freestyle Spot from Bob Loftin on Vimeo.