Posted: 8/17/10
“The Maloof Money Cup,” one of the world’s greatest skateboard contests took place 08/6 - 08/08 at the OC Fair located in Orange, CA.
It had been some time since I attended a skateboarding street contest, so when the opportunity came to join some friends, I was all for it. The Maloof Cup at the OC Fair has been one of the biggest contests in action sports since its start in 2008. With a combined purse of almost $800,000 in cash and prizes for both street and half-pipe skateboarding, you can bet the AMS and PROS are going to throw down some heavy duty skills for their name to be on the big check!
Finishing up the morning at Axial, I grabbed the camera and was off to Volcom headquarters in Huntington Beach, CA to meet up with the homies and head out to the OC Fair. My friend Floris Gierman, marketing head at Volcom, shown here is greeting us at the offices…crazy how they have to wear official Volcom uniforms at work! Big thanks to Flo for hooking us up with guest passes at the Volcom employee store with a discount off anything, yeah anything you want!
So afterwards, we showed up to the OC Fair and it was on. The last time I was there I saw Kool & The Gang perform for free which was...I can't even remember when. To my surprise, it was exactly how I remembered it except with more BBQ and artery clogging goodness (that's right, Deep Fried Butter is legal in California). They even have a DISKO and just like any disco, people puking right after.
Things were looking good. We arrived at our seating section right when the AMS were getting ready for their street runs. The Volcom street course was similar to a regular skate park and was made of concrete (which is way more rad than having a street contest on a wood course; it adds to the street affect). The surface looked super smooth and when the guys would slam, they seemed to just slide on the cement. They actually made falling look fun!
I’ve been to a good amount of skateboarding contests to know that you always expect the PROS to show up and just destroy whatever course they have to skate. Watching the AMS though is another story, it’s sometimes surprising seeing kids you've never heard of just plain RIP IT UP! Gives you a chance to see who the next big name will be for sure! The AMS skating at the Maloof on Friday were KILLING IT!
Check out the judges, each of them deciding the contest results using their own iPads! I've never seen that before..welcome to the future!
The PRO contest started at about 8 p.m. and went all the way to Sunday with Chris Cole (shown below) winning the PRO Street Finals and $100,000. Not bad for a weekend. Plus, Li'l Jon was there to make sure it was all OK!!! Thanks to Floris at Volcom for providing Axial photos of the final day of the event!
After the OC Fair and Maloof Money Cup, I headed to downtown Santa Ana, CA for the Artwalk event held once a month. Their galleries are always a good source of inspiration. With the variety of galleries each having their own shows opening in one night, you have paintings, prints, sculptures, music, and good people. With all of this going on, it made for a guaranteed good time! Here are some memorable pieces that I saw.
Until next time!
