Photo: George Crosland
Lance Mountain - frontside air transfer

On Saturday, May 22, the 6th annual Vans Pro-tec Pool Party went down at the Vans Skatepark in Orange, CA. With $100K+ up for grabs, this contest attracted the cream-of-the-crop from the skate community. The infamous Combi Bowl, with a beautiful polished concrete facelift, was the scene of the skate prowess.

Photo: George Crosland
Pro Podium - Bucky Lasek won his second consecutive
Pool Party
The Pro division featured a who's who of top talent. One name acts like Glifberg, Burnquist and Hassan mixed it up with young up-and-comers like 15-year old Pedro Barros and 16-year old Nolan Munroe. However, when the dust settled, Bucky Lasek took the top of the Pro division podium for the second year in a row. And deservedly so. Lasek laced the concrete slab with perfect lines that included a gay twist from the square to round bowl.

Photo: George Crosland
Masters Podium - Steve Caballero ended the reign of
Chris Miller
The Masters division featured the upset of the year, or the scene of the crime (however you choose to look at it). Chris Miller, 5x Masters winner...lost. Skate icon Steve Caballero, dressed to a T in an all-yellow outfit, took out Miller in an amazing performance. Miller, although displaying the smooth-as-butter style he's known for, uncharacteristically fell a few times. Lance Mountain rounded out the top-3 with runs that looked like he was riding in the Pro division.

Photo: George Crosland
Pedro Barros - Indy 540

Whether you were watching the webcast or lucky enough to attend the event, the 2010 Vans Pro-Tec Pool Party did not disappoint. Mind-blowing skating. Punk rock. Tattoos. Ice cream. The Pool Party had it all.

Random McTwisted Thoughts:

- In case you were wondering, Bennett Harada's hair has grown even longer. The LA native was easy to be seen flying left and right, with his hair eventually following suit.

- 15-year old Brazilian (and Red Bull ripper) Pedro Barros skated like a madman, throwing 540 variations like it was 2012.

- Shout out to 48-year old legend Duane Peters. Dude went for broke and the crowd loved every second of it.

2010 Vans Pro-tec Pool Party Results

Pro Finals

1. Bucky Lasek ($30,000)
2. Rune Glifberg ($18,000)
3. Omar Hassan (10,000
4. Pedro Barros ($4,000)
5. Nolan Munroe ($3,000)
6. Josh Rodriguez ($2,000)
7. Alex Perelson ($1,500)
8. Josh Borden ($1,000)
9. Bob Burnquist ($750)
10. Lincoln Ueda ($500)

Masters Finals

1. Steve Caballero ($13,000)
2. Chris Miller ($7,000)
3. Lance Mountain ($4,000)
4. Nicky Guererro ($2,000)
5. Duane Peters ($1,000)
6. Eric Nash ($1,000)
7. Tony Mag ($500)
8. Christian Hosoi ($500)
9. Jeff Grosso ($500)
10. Lester Kasai ($500)

Photo: West
John Harbin, Brand Manager for WestSurfers generally need few items to do what they love. But ask any ardent surfer their prized possession and they're likely to say one of two things: their board or wetsuit. Bottom line: unless your wettie is keeping you warm and comfortable, you're not going to last long in the water.

Established in 1982, West manufactures top-line neoprene to keep surfers in the ocean. Headquartered in Perth, Australia with US operations in Oceanside, California, West has roughly 85 employees worldwide. My educated guess is that all 85 surf.

I recently saw my friend Andy (who works for West) and ran the idea of a Street Beat by him. He was all for it and connected me to John Harbin, Brand Manager for West. The rest, as they say, is history...enjoy!

-Danny Spyra

Photo: West
The Edge wetsuit by West - perfect for the summer

BNQT - WEST HAS BEEN MANUFACTURING PREMIER WETSUITS SINCE 1982. CAN YOU GIVE US AN OVERVIEW OF THE 2010 COLLECTION?

John - Our range is pretty deep; without going into too much detail we try to offer our retailers three different price points. Starting with our Nitro collection, which is an all GBS (glued, and blind stitched) suit. It has all the bells and whistles but comes in at a very affordable price. Next is our Edge, the perfect summer range, again all GBS but with our West gen-3 Ultraspan, making it the most flexible suit around. Last but not least is our Lotus, available in all thicknesses and cuts. As in all our range our suits are made with limestone based neoprene making a suit that is warmer, softer, stretchier and kinder to mother nature.
Photo: West
Enter the Me Surf, We Surf competition to win a West
wetsuit

BNQT - "ME SURF, WE SURF" IS A WEST CATCHPHRASE AS WELL AS A CONTEST. CAN YOU TELL US A BIT ABOUT THIS MOTTO?

John - Nothing too complicated here; we at West surf and know you do too. It's all about coming together with a common interest. It's not about status or even location for that matter, it's all about enjoying what we do together.

BNQT - HOW DOES THE ME SURF, WE SURF COMPETITION WORK?

John - Just take a picture of yourself and let us know geographically where you're WEST of. Submit your photo to comp@westsurfing.com for your chance to win free wetsuits and there's a chance you might even see your picture in a West advertisement in any of our global mags.

Photo: West
The Lotus wetsuit by West

BNQT - I'VE HEARD AMAZING THINGS ABOUT THE LOTUS WETSUIT. CAN YOU EXPLAIN THE LOTUS AND LOTUS AIR-O?

John - The Lotus has been a staple of our collection in the US since 2007 and has really put us on the map. The Lotus starts with our West Gen 3 Ultraspan neoprene, designed with minimal seams that are all double glued, blind stitched and liquid tape sealed.

Photo: West
Technology behind the Lotus Air-O

The way we've designed this Lotus gives you flexibility where you need it and added warmth in key areas, with seams to assist body movement. This suit comes in a chest and back zip entry system and we also offer it in 8 different styles and thickness from an all 2mm to a 6/5/4.

New for 2010 we introduced the Lotus Air-O. This suit combines three layers of 1mm neoprene; the middle layer is a honey comb construction, which creates small pockets of air that are heated up by the body. It's amazing just how warm this suit is, and our price point at $319.99 is unrivaled.

BNQT - A NEW WEST INITIATIVE FOR 2010 INCLUDES AN ENVIRONMENTALLY-FRIENDLY OPTION OF THE LOTUS, CALLED THE LOTUS-ECO. HOW DOES THIS WETSUIT STACK UP?

John - This suit is crazy; it's insane how raw, completely biodegradable materials can make up this suit. It's fabricated with yarns created from recycled plastic water bottles. Another added feature is it's bonded with a non-solvent based adhesive. Not to mention it's as durable and flexible as any suit it's put next to.

Photo: West
West rider, Warren Smith

BNQT - WEST CERTAINLY HAS A STRONG FOLLOWING AMONG THE CORE SURFERS. WHAT ARE THE KEY RETAIL ACCOUNTS FOR YOU?

John - We've been keeping it real since 1982. We are a family owned core wetsuit brand with our roots set on the west side of Australia. You can find us in core shops in your area; we get behind our shops, and then our accounts get behind us.

Street Beat Archive:

Ryan Rush with ECO'Neill

Nicole Hanriot with TAVIK Swimwear

Matt Gleason with Liquid Force

Eric Mehlberg with Kustom

Mike Murphy with Fyasko

Ian Foulke with ISIS

Jonathan Paskowitz with Lightning Bolt

Matt Harkins with SPY OPTIC

Chris Brunstetter with Goldcoast Longboards

Damon George with ERGO

Charlie Setzler with Rusty

Photo: Hurley
Walk the Walk, Hurley's interactive fashion showWalk the Walk, a high school fashion competition that's best described as "Friday Night Football" meets "the Runway," is in the last phase of determining the finalists for this year's National Championship event at the U.S. Open of Surfing, the world's largest action sports event. With four schools having already survived a grueling three months of online video challenges, all eyes are now on the submissions in the wildcard round, pitting 26 schools against each other for the final spot. The five finalists will then create their own 5-minute fashion show and compete on the runway to win the grand prize of $25,000.…..more

Photo: Ane Jens/Vans
Custom Culture winners, Rio Rancho High School of
New MexicoOn May 15th, Vans took over the Orange County Museum of Art for the Custom Culture finale. This first annual art competition encouraged high school students from across the country to submit custom designs on iconic Vans kicks, including the Chukka Low, Vans Era, Authentic and Skate Hi models. The grand prize? A hefty $10,000 donation to the winning school's art program.…..more