Vans Downtown Showdown Amsterdam Results
Vans Downtown Showdown Draws Thousands to Amsterdam’s Scenic Park
4 August 2012, Westergasfabriek, Amsterdam
The Westergasfabriek of Amsterdam transformed into an arena for skateboarding’s best International Pro’s and Ams, as a crowd of over 8,000 watched an all out battle of skills set to the background of the historic gas works building on never before seen ramps designed by participating teams Flip Skateboards, Palace, Blueprint and Antiz, at the 2012 Vans Downtown Showdown presented by Monster Energy.
Participating brands competed with 4 person teams, with two skaters sessioning each obstacle and competing for the 50,000 euro prize purse.
Flip team rider Overall “Best Pro” Luan Oliveira skated with remarkable consistency and smooth style, landing tricks and winning 1st place on the Palace Obstacle and the Blueprint Obstacle. Best Overall Am was Element team rider Ross McGouran, who also took 3rd place on the Flip obstacle, skating hard all day. He made every transfer the windmill-inspired Antiz obstacle had to offer. Watch the Flip Obstacle edit here: http://vimeo.com/46939436
Vans Downtown Showdown 2012 – Amsterdam – Flip Obstacle Highlights. from Vans Europe on Vimeo.
The day started out on the Palace obstacle where Luan Oliveria was consistently landing trick after trick, skating the whole obstacle with ease, while spectators ate waffles from the Vans Waffle stand and checked out the many merchant stalls in-between the skate different skate obstacles. Watch the Palace Obstacle edit here: http://vimeo.com/46939299
Vans Downtown Showdown 2012 – Amsterdam – Palace Obstacle Highlights. from Vans Europe on Vimeo.
Inside the massive Gasholder building at the Flip Obstacle the atmosphere intensified with heavy hitting last tricks and a solid performance by first place finisher Dominik Dietrich, who set the bar with a wallie up and Nollie heelflip down the ledge.
At Blueprint, Luan Oliveria landed a variety of flip tricks over the pyramid and on the ledge. Billy Marks double flipped the gap to flat and walked away with 1,000 Euros for 2nd place. Technical and creative skater Dallas Rockvam took third place by using the entire design, which was inspired by the barges and canals of Amsterdam.
The Antiz Obstacle rose above the venue floor like a classical Dutch Windmill on Acid. Rob Smith took first place by skating every angle, while Ben Nordberg’s backside nose blunt on the extension ricocheted into applause that reverberated off the walls.
Vans Legends Steve Caballero, Tony Alva & Ray Barbee were in attendance all day and helped hand out prizes with Tommy Guerrero, including massive rounds of Gouda cheese for all the winners and a custom made Charge bicycle for the First Place Team, Best Pro & Best Am. The first place team overall was Flip. Element came in 2nd place, Antiz took 3rd place and Toy Machine was a solid 4th.
The Vans Downtown Showdown is made possible by the support of Monster Energy, Fiat Freestyle Team, Pro-Tec and IOU Ramps.
The Vans Downtown Showdown concept was created for skaters by skaters and has been running globally for the last eight years, each time creating unique Off the Wall concepts to be skated. Be ready to see some Dutch flavour added to this renowned event as it continues to lead the way for future skate contests. http://downtownshowdown.eu/
About Vans:
In 1966, the Van Doren Rubber Company opened up for business in California. Within a few years, the whole skate culture adopted Vans shoe as their favorite brand and today Vans still represents a look that epitomizes the Southern California lifestyle. With more than 40 years of history – and now offering a complete range of footwear, apparel, accessories, snowboard boots & outerwear and Pro-Tec protective equipment – Vans has risen to become a worldwide dominant force in the action sports industry and the genuine brand of choice for the contemporary lifestyle consumer. http://vimeo.com/44345852