Surfer - Nope- Skateboarder

Skylar shredding at Bishop Park

Skylar Walden - The Youngest Whitlock

Who’d of thought the grandson, son and nephew of 3 pro surfing legends would end up a skateboarder? And isn’t it testimony to the tightness of this family that everyone, not just the surfers, but the grand mom and sisters too, all support Skylar’s decision to pursue skateboarding instead of the family business, RW Surf.

Skylar Walden is Cory Whitlock’s son. There is no doubt when you see them together that they really like each other. That does not mean that they agree with each other. Nope, not at all. But they certainly respect each other. And it shows.  

Skylar catching air at Bishop Park

 

 We spent an afternoon with Skylar at a local Carlsbad, CA skate park. He is totally amazing to watch. He moves with the grace and agility of a surfer, but shreds on his skateboard like a pro. In fact he has been sponsored by local skate shops and it’s looking like he might have the stuff for a pro career. Considering his grandfather and father have been pro surfers and his uncle, Ricky Whitlock, is considered one of the top Big Wave surfers in the world, Skylar’s ability should not surprise anyone.

What is surprising about Skylar is, that with all the talent he has, he is not really sure pro skateboarding is where his passion is. What he really loves is music. And he comes by that honestly, too. He’s been jamming with his grandpa, Rusty (who still plays in a rock band), for as long as he could hold a guitar. He and his band, Swift Beats, are innovative musicians who write and play their own music. They even have their own unique sound. A sound that made Skylar grin as he said it….Rocky, bluesy, surfer….wow, I gotta hear this!

 Skylar and Swift Beats will be playing at Boar Cross’n on Thursday night, July 3^rd. The sports bar is at 390 Grand Ave, Carlsbad, CA. The BW crew will be there recording live music for the documentary, 50 Years of Shaping, and getting some footage of Skylar and the band at work. Make it if you can. After all, where else are you going to hear rocky, bluesy, surfer music!



Skylar learning the family business with Dad, Cory and Granddad, Rustsy
 

Matty Takes First in Division at First Stop of Cali Am Jam, 2014

 Matty Jessee, BoardWarrior team rider, took 1^st in his division of 11 and under at Mather skate park leg of the series, the first in a 5 stop series. Matty nailed the win with his huge Board Slide on the 4 rail, Front 180 down the Big 5 and his bevy of Transition Tricks.

 

CALI AM JAM

If you haven’t already watched Keith Halterman’s video of the May 31^st stop on the Cali Am Jam comp, well, you should. Keith is videoing the series for event coordinator Rob Ferguson, of 4141Corp. NorCal’s best skaters showed up for this free admission event. In keeping with the philosophy of community support behind Rob’s 4141Corp, prizes for local talent topped 7K. Spreading the love!

BEAST

Those following Matty know it's true. Matty is nothing short of a beast.   With his outstanding agility and technical skill, we can hardly wait to see what he can do on 6/28 at the St Helena competition.



Matty with Carl Watson

 

NorCal Ripper in SoCal

NorCal Ripper Shows His Style in SoCal

Matty Jessee, BW’s youngest team rider, was invited to a weekend Ramp Jam in Santa Barbara. The kids of the guy putting on the comp follow Matty on Instagram and wanted him there.  Of course, dad sent the invite, to the whole family. Hey, these kids have the whole Social Media thing covered. Matty, along with mom and dad (Stacie and Matt), sister Shay and even Trouper, the family dog, were invited to spend the weekend, while Matty competed with lots of amazing SoCal rippers.

Backyard Fun

For a backyard jam, it was amazing. Reps were there from Powell Peralta and the Arbor Team. Cash prizes were flowing. Matty was on fire. His energy, silliness and all out ripping style were crowd favorites. Dad, Matt, says ‘I was super proud of him’ and says ‘he was landing tricks he never landed before. Matty was in the zone!’  

There was a one hour jam for kids 12 and under. It was a rad format that let the kids rip it up with each other and show their style. Everyone had fun watching the kids tearing it up and just having fun rooting for each other.

Matty ended up with a ton of prizes and a $40.00 cash prize. He took 1^st place for best style and best attitude. Then he picked up best trick over the box for a kickflip and a big pop shovit, taking 2^nd overall behind Cash Money, a SoCal 11 year old, who is a sick transition skater.

Why is Skateboarding Different?

When it comes to skateboarding, kids are more interested in cheering each other on to perfect tricks. It’s not about beating the other guy. It’s about pushing each other to do a sick trick, high five’s all around.

 

Santa Barbara TV show, Life Chronicles, interviewed Matty after the comp and one of the questions was ‘why Matty thinks parents should allow and encourage kids to skate.’ He never hesitated with his answer:

‘Its super fun, you can do it with your Dad and family and anyone can do it.’ He said ‘its great exercise and better than just playing video games.’  He pointed out ‘it’s not too dangerous because you can skate at any level’. He also mentioned its fun to meet people from all over and travel to different places. His favorite tricks are rails, kick flips and skating street.

 It was a great day all around and everyone had fun watching the kids out there tearing it up and just having fun. Only in skating do we do this.  

 



Introducing BoardWarrior Spain

 

We’ve been dropping some teaser clips for the last few months of the BoardWarrior Spain team. Now we’re stoked to finally give you a good long look at these hard riding boarders. Team manager Alejandro Cejas has put together a great edit that shows some gnarly talent coming from Spain.

Did you know?

David Fernandez

I don’t know which is better, watching technically accomplished and fearless BW boarders or watching the amazing spots they are skating! While boarders here in the USA keep one eye out for cops who would end a good sesh, boarders in Spain don’t have that worry. Spain is boarder friendly! Yea, that’s right, boarder friendly. So keep an eye on the amazing spots these guys are riding. You may want to hit them up yourself. These clips were filmed in Gran Canaria and Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain.


 Meet the Team
Benjamin Bremejo is the youngest Team Spain rider at 21, skates Gran Canaria, a great place for interesting spots. He is also an accomplished ramp, street and rail skater. His other sponsors are AJ Proyect Skate Shop, Dirty Clothing and DC Shoes.

 

 

David Fernandez, at 25, is a ‘to hell with everything’ skater. From Santa Cruz de Tenerife, David’s favorites are ‘unskateable’ spots. His other sponsors include Shut Up and Skate, Imagine Skateboards and Bones Wheels Spain.

 

 

Juan Mendez

 

Juan Mendez a killer downhill and transition skater at 33 years old. From La Orotave Tenerife,  Spain his other sponsors are FANFI and OV. 

 

 

 

 

Alexis Samper

Alexis Samper is 36 years old and he does it all, street, terrain, ramps, verts, rails…you name it and he’ll skate it! From Santa Cruz de Tenerife, his other sponsors include The Barrios Skateboards.com,  Zona Skate Shop, Rockstar and Dragon Clothing.

 

Rubén González born 30 years ago in Realejos, Tenerife Spain, hits ledges and gaps hard with amazing skill that you can check out for yourself in the new video. Don’t forget to pay attention to the paradise he skates in the Canary Islands. His other sponsors include Kinetic Supply and our good friends at Northwest Skate Shop, who are busy promoting skateboard culture in Spain.

 

BW is stoked on what these guys are doing and think you will be too. Check them out at BoardWarrior.com and check out the awesome sites in Spain that they are skating.