Lords of Seatown 2015 at Marginal Way

Marginal Way is beautiful.  It is dirty and gritty, it is surrounded by dust and noise.  Train tracks flank it on both sides, as traffic roars above it spewing smoke and sound.  Re-bar pokes through, concrete forms stand quietly waiting.  Giant trucks pass constantly, industry squeezes in on all sides.  Yes Marginal Way is beautiful.  Not just because the concrete is smooth and the coping is placed perfectly, Marginal Way is beautiful because of what it IS and how it was born as much as where it is, under a bridge in an industrial wasteland.  Marginal Way wasn't built by some giant construction company racing to make a profit, it was not built because some city official finally cracked to the pressure of parents demanding a place to drop off their scooter kids.  Marginal Way was built by skaters for skaters, their blood and sweat is in every yard of concrete.  MW was built by a community, and in the process they created something beautiful, something much more than the sum of it's parts.  Once a year this community gathers to crown a king, they drink beer, eat burgers and hold a contest.  All the proceeds go right back into the park, this year they raised over $5000, which will go directly back into building.  I can't help but wonder what will happen when they run out of space under that bridge.  

My work schedule doesn't afford me the opportunity to attend many skate events, working weekend nights, I usually have to bail mid way through.  As luck would have it I was off on Sept 13th. This year I was finally able to be there from start to finish.

If you have been to Marginal Way you know all too well that this place isn't designed for spectators, it's all skateable.  This made the huge turn out a little problematic.  Even with the addition this year of scaffolding, it was still nut to butt.  I spent most of the day stranded on a ledge.  So the video above is missing pretty much anything that happened in the shallow end.  Lucky for me tons of serious ripping happened around me. 

The day started with the groms.  The future is bright my friends, as all these kids killed it. Josh Dulac, Quintin LaVille, and Christian Navarro rose to the top to earn spots on the podium, in that order. 

Next the ladies got their turn.  Flow was the name of the game.  With Kristin Ebeling, Jessica Bassett, Colette Peterson and Sally Roepke hitting everything and anything in the park.  Krtistin took home the top honor, proving once again that there is nothing at all wrong with "Skating like a Girl".

Proving that you can teach an old dog new tricks, or at least have them do the tricks they learned 20 years ago, the lifers were up next.  John Aguilar came down from Bellingham to lay down some serious lines, Brian Malkemes blasted airs off of nearly everything in sight, Kimo Cole killed it all day...but it was Metal Mark who has lines for days at MW (not surprising since you can find him under the bridge nearly every day of the week), who took top prize.

The pros were up next, or at least anyone who was willing to pony up the entry fee in hopes of grabbing a wad of cash.... There were way too many rippers to go into too much detail.  Just watch the video.... some stand outs?  Nathan Navarro's high speed stand up 5-0 was drenched in style, he made Yakima proud for sure. Ellis killed it per usual, Andy Hopgood flipped his ass off, Phil Hanson came straight from the airport to show why his 2014 title was no fluke and Jonny Weir threw some of the most stylish airs of the day...

Brice Niebuhr rode the place like he built it...probably because he did, since he put in so many hours pouring and shaping the place. If his skating wasn't enough, Brice immediately donated his $500 3rd place prize back to the cause and stuck around until 9 pm helping clean up.  

Danny Tumia was stylish as ever as he went huge, (including making giant blunts look way too easy)... but the day belonged to Sky Siljeg.  Sky is simply one of the most original and bad ass skaters that the NW has ever produced.  His lines don't make sense until you see them done in person.  So much style, so much power, and for his efforts he took the top prize and got his name painted on the pillar. 

Overall, good times were had by all, beers, burgers and some very serious ripping.  Until next year, when we crown another Lord of Seatown. 


Grom winners: 

1 - Josh Dulac 

2- Quintin LaVille 

3 - Christian Navarro

Guuurls winners 

1- Kristin Ebeling 

2 - Sally Roepke 

3 - Colette Peterson

Gramps winners

1- Metal Mark 

2- Kimo Cole

3 - Brian Malkemes

Ams Winners

1 – Chris Tarrosa

2 – Levi Starkweather

3 – Mike Desiano


Pros winner

1 – Sky Siljeg ($1500 + Seattle Rattle)

2 – Danny Tumia ($1000)

3 – Brice Niebuhr ($500 donated back to the park)

4 – Chad Fenlon ($400)

5 – Adam Hopkins ($300)

6 – Phil Hansen ($200)


Thanks to these fine sponsors for making it all possible...Snowboy Productions, Lib Tech Skate, Die Cut Stickers, Volcom, Evo, Black Market Skateboards, 35th Ave Skate Shop, Sausage Skateboards, Dirty Bearings, Grindline Skateparks, NW Snowboards, Alive and Well and BC.  

*apologies...an early version of this post had Kimo winning the Gramps division, Metal Mark might kick my ass now...so there is that....