Vans Park Series Huntington Beach Men's Finals

Still hanging tough in Huntington Beach—Friday and Saturday saw the men and boys compete in the Vans Park Series. Those who nailed it during Friday’s prelims advanced to Saturday's semis and finals, competing for points and cash. Making it into Friday's finals is no guarantee of heading to the championships in Shanghai. You do get a pretty nice check either way, though. —Joe Hammeke

01 750pxWelcome to Huntington Beach, now behave yourself


02 750pxLow skill but high chill, guarding a sandcastle on the beach is easy livin'

03 750pxRyan from Grinderz Burgers was holding down the Boards for Bros tent. Drop off your used skate gear for some Grinderz bucks and help some struggling kids learn to skate

04 750pxRonnie Sandoval and his pops

05 750pxThe course, of course

06 750pxDiving board situation, no diving allowed

07 750pxHeimana Reynolds, looking like he’s got a cold shoulder

08 750pxBut that won’t stop him from busting a huge Madonna

09 750pxCory Juneau, high speed back lip through the corner

10 750pxWhat’s this?

11 750pxWith a world-class skatepark a few blocks from his house, you know Huntington Beach local Dave Duncan’s down every day. Puttin' that Guest Model to good use!

12 750pxSpeaking of HB locs, Ed Templeton would occasionally drop by on his daily HB pier missions

13 750pxFourteen-year-old Keegan Palmer, aka the fidget spinner, made it all the way from Australia and he can’t even drive yet. Wait, you can't drive here from Australia anyway…

14 750pxPatrick Ryan, huge fs air to disaster that resulted in a hang-up

15 750pxOkay, if you can’t follow my finger I’ll have to bring out the breathalyzer

16 750pxThe young ones were on fire all week. CJ Collins with Roman Pabich in tow

17 750pxWilly Lara spins a shirtless five over the hip

18 750pxRonnie Sandoval twists up a beauty of a frontside invert

19 750pxNora and her disposable camera join the media frenzy

20 750pxRonnie Sandoval, back with a finger flip lien to tail

21 750pxCJ Collins, dive-bomb Indy air. Kid’s got style

22 750pxTom Schaar, huge alley-oop backside ollie to the bank

23 750pxBen Hatchel, tailgrab to fakie, dodging traffic

24 750pxChris Russell was out due to a broken ankle, but still on deck to check out the action

25 750pxChristian Hosoi and his son Classic keep it chill and watch the live webcast in the comfort of the VIP tent

26 750pxCedric Pabich, coming up on some grub. So many choices

27 750pxBack in the bowl, Alex Sorgente nosegrind off the E

28 750pxOh no, what’s CJ up to now?

29 750pxFellow miscreant Keegan Palmer was definitely intrigued

30 750pxShortly after this, the ball was bouncing through the bowl

31 750pxVPS tour challenger Josh Borden pushes a no-comply slide on a bank that saw more than enough bonelesses and noseblunts throughout the weekend

32 750pxOski is always one of the toughest guys to get a photo of. His runs are freestyled: no routine and never the same tricks; he's completely unpredictable, which is probably why he’s such a favorite with the judges. Backside nosegrind

33 750pxFellow Laplander Karl Berglind, huge extended Madonna

34 750pxRialto's Tristen Rennie isn't bothered by the extreme heat, back Smith off the extension over the hip

35 750pxMurilo Peres 5-0 to fakie while Josh Borden follow films with some new fangled stabilized go-pro contraption

36 750pxThrasher web lord Schmitty, hyped how Dan Stolling’s edit is coming together

37 750pxKarl Berglind stoked on his fresh Vans patch provided by TM Matt Bennett

38 750pxWilly Lara, no shirt, no problem. Still going to China

39 750pxIvan Federico had some insane combos going throughout practice and the qualifiers. This judo air was followed by a kickflip melon, but some untimely falls kept him out of the final round

40 750pxJagger Eaton, noseblunt on the bank wall

41 750pxIshod Wair skated nonstop all week, all the way up to the finals. Indy air in the deep

42 750pxZion Wright busts a huge 540. Whoa, who’s that working the live camera?

43 750pxIt’s Lee Dupont! Lee’s been on KOTR with Circa, filmed Dying to Live and let’s not forget the Chief’s part in Chomp on This

44 750pxCJ Collins was up next and nailed all his tricks, finishing with this blindside kickflip to fakie over the hip

45 750pxThen he rolled out somewhat confused as to why everyone was charging at him

46 750pxHappy 14th Birthday, CJ!

47 750pxComing in hot

48 750pxI doubt CJ even got a look at the cake before it was smashed all over his face

49 750px"This is the second year in a row I got smashed with my birthday cake!"

50 750pxWhat’s it taste like?

51 750pxNot bad, not bad

52 750pxSorry, Barbie

53 750pxJack Fardell, boneless on the bank wall

54 750pxYou can't judge me! Oh wait, you guys can: James Craig, Kyle Berard and Jason Rothmeyer


55 750pxSnacking in the shade, Vans and Nike TMs, Matt Bennett and Mike Sinclair, Toy Machine Good and Evil

56 750pxGreyson Fletcher, absent from practice all week, showed up just before his run. He don't need no stinkin' practice

57 750pxGreyson, always a crowd favorite, high speed smith grind

58 750pxProduct toss to the bleachers

59 750pxJohnny Layton handing out the goods

60 750pxStoked lil' kiddo

61 750pxIn the heat of the finals last run last trick, Corey Juneau took the frontside flip to the deep corner and made it

62 750pxMalba approved


63 750pxCJ signs some autographs

64 750pxHuge stalefish for a little guy

65 750pxVolcom TM Remy Stratton and CJ, mucho relaxo

66 750pxHatchell skated the finals with an all-or-nothing approach and brought tricks he never tried in practice, like taking this front feeble to revert

 

67 750pxAlready in solid first place Tom didn’t need his last run so he went for the heelflip McTwist on the first wall

68 750pxUsing the first wall rebate he decided to give it another go


69 750pxHere’s your Men’s finalists: 3rd place CJ Collins, 2nd Ben Hatchell and in first Tom Schaar!

70 750pxTo the victor go the spoils

71 750pxBe back next year. Good luck in China, guys. Peach out!

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