Skate 29 reps new and longtime Twentynine Palms skaters on “Go Skate Day”
Last night was a great night for skating in Luckie Park. It was “Go Skate Day” and skaters from around the Morongo Basin started showing up to the Twentynine Palms Skate Park around 5:00 p.m. while the sun was high in the sky and the weather was still warm.
Local legend Paul Halcomb returned to the hi-dez this year and was emceeing the event. He also goes by the name “Coach Frank.” I caught up with him right as the first kid’s heat was warming up.
Coach Frank: “Round one was pretty cool. It was very quick like I thought it would be. A lot of these kids were trying stuff they’ve never done before. This guy… jumping off the drop? He’s never done that!”
That guy is 10 year-old Emilio, who’s been perfecting his drop in over the last couple days.
Emilio: “I’m going to try to do that again. I did that yesterday. It feels crazy, yeah. It feels scary, but like it’s my first ever ‘Go Skate Day.’ And I’ve only been skating for like a month. I’m 10!”
Once the DJ booth arrived, older skaters soon followed and the adult competition started to take shape. There were skaters from all over the Morongo Basin but the majority in the competition were wearing new Escapade 29 shirts as part of the new Skate 29 crew.
The Escapade 29 skate shop is tucked in the back of White Label Vinyl. Records and skateboards are a pairing that just makes sense to the owner, Steve.
Steve: “I mean skateboarding is all about creativity, the culture of it, right? Like I learned more about music from skateboarding… I grew up skateboarding and music just came along with it.”
The vibe of the shop is great. There are boards on the wall, complete decks for sale and parts for just about any setup. Dann runs the shop and was out skating all evening. I chatted with him as he bounced between competitions and the pop-up skate shop that he set up for the event.
Dann: “We do have a complete skateboard for the grand prize winner tonight. And you get to do it on any feature in the park, your trick, so it’s not just a flat ground thing. It’s a good way to have a very diverse pro-am competition at the end of the night, you know?”
The adult skate competition took up the rest of the night. Noel who just won a complete deck for stomping out the best trick during a game of “skate”, a trick-for-trick competition in the style of “horse”.
Noel: “It was a half cab heelflip. Yeah, it’s my go-to, my favorite trick.”
As the sun began to sink toward the horizon, the crowd moved over to the bowl and energy picked up even more as the Skate 29 crew spent the next half hour tearing up the half pipe.
“Drewsky” is the team captain for Skate 29, he’s a local who’s been skating for about six or seven years. He took first place in the bowl competition:
Drewsky: “It’s cool to be out here and see the community come back to life like this. It’s awesome. If you’re having a bad day, come out here and skate. It makes you feel better, at least for me.”
At the Twentynine Palms Skate Park the lights stay on late in the summertime, and when it isn’t “Go Skate Day,” you’ll find a lot of the same crew out here on most evenings.
The Skate 29 crew already have their first video out and the first printing of it was released last night on DVD.
You can pick it up at Escapade 29 in White Label Vinyl in Twentynine Palms where you can also find parts for your deck or maybe even pick up a brand new complete board so you can start skating, too.
The Skate 29 group on Facebook
Escapade 29 on Instagram
White Label Vinyl on Instagram
