Sacramento is one of the holy lands of flatland skimboarding. For good reason too, with the likes of Lon Porteus, Matt Head, Matt Matteucci, Adam Balaam, Ruben Luis Gutierrez and a long, long, long list of skimboarders who changed and influenced flatland skimboarding for future generations. Matt McDonald recently made the trip to Sac for the Land or Slam skim Jam. Here’s part 1 of the trip featuring the photos Matt captured. Be on the lookout for the second blog post featuring Rollins Lake outside of Sacramento next week.
Words by Matt McDonad | EqualMotion.com
I recently made the trip down to Sacramento from Washington for the 2016 Land or Slam skimboard jam with DB Skimboards rider Isaac Thomas and SeventyOne rider Logan Davidson. It was my first trip to Sacramento for skimboarding. Since it was my last gig for DB Skimboards it seemed like a fitting end to my two years at the DB.
It was pretty hot when we arrived at Paradise Beach on the American River in Sacramento, California. A few cold beverages and a little bit of shade took care of the heat though. We showed up Kayotics riders Ruben Luis Gutierrez, Trey Conley and Jd Brown already had the shore lined with a bunch of features built just for the skim jam. A lot credit has to go that trio for putting on the event and making it such a fun day for everyone who showed up.
Some highlights from the jam were Sacramento local, Kenny Prattico, throwing down left and right. Logan Davidson’s big-ass shuv grab on the corrugated pipe and Isaac Thomas and Anthony Sitch clearing the barrel gap.
It was also great to connect with the local legends. Lon and Matt are two people who I have talked with online for years, but never had the chance to meet in person. I remember seeing photos from SkimFest in Sacramento on Myspace and it was what pushed me and my friends to skimboard more and try new tricks. Without Lon and the crew holding it down for years I don’t think flatland skimboarding would have progressed at all into what it is now (whatever that is).
The whole time we were at Paradise Beach people kept telling me it was a “mellow day” for the river spot. That was because no one was fighting. Plenty of yelling was taking place on top of the hill when skimboarders messed up, but nothing crazy happened. Naturally, towards the end of the skim jam a fight almost broke out. The heavily-tribal tattooed dudes compared stories about how they both got out of jail, their dogs were actually well behaved and decided not to fight that day.
I am sure they fought right after we left.
Overall it was an amazing experience. More companies and local crews need to put on local events. It really is the only way skimboarding will grow and it sure makes people go bigger.
After the jam we ventured to IN-N-Out to refuel and then met with Ruben, Trey and JD at the local bar Players. Agressive ping pong pong games went down and I had the chance to mingle with the locals, which was both hilarious and enlightening. After our pints were empty we ventured back to the hotel to get some sleep before venturing to Rollins Lake for a skim session the next morning.
Checkout my photos below and stay tuned for the second blog post next week.