Mini-me: RVCA mini-ramp contest, Costa Mesa, CA.

WHEN JIMMY ARRIGHI was a boy, he and his brother had a mini-ramp in their Orange County backyard famous for being one of the first to feature such (then) innovative obstacles as a spine and a hip. Despite being a tiny, sort of junky contraption in a sea of dog crap, Hellbow, as it was known, was in all the magazines and the pros flocked to it to learn hot new moves like the ollie blunt and the feeble spine transfer. It was little more than a sideshow for the '80s air wars, but Jimmy's ramp, and others like it, inspired a generation of kids who wanted to halfpipe but lacked the balls, proximity, or engineering skills to tackle real vertical.

Fast-forward through Eric Sanderson, Chad Vogt, Mike McGill's skatepark, my entire teenage years, and 100 prom's worth of coping dances, and we arrive back to Mr Arrighi--long since out of his mom's house, but still in love with a little under-vert excitement. So much so, in fact, that his first order of business after going to work at RVCA was to claim a good-sized chunk of warehouse space for a ramp worthy of a little of the ol' fakie rock-tail tap-fakie rock-tail tap.

The RVCA ramp contest was an intimate affair, with an invite list of the mini-elite and their fans. It was just like the old Hellbow sessions, I'll bet, except without Lester--and there were girls there. The winners won cash and original paintings from the RVCA stable of artists. Cool stuff.

Mini-me RVCA mini-ramp contest

1st PLACE: BEN SCHROEDER

It's no secret that Ben Schroeder is one of my favorite skaters, and though much has been made of the intensity and frequency of his slams, what really matters is what Ben does when everything works out. Ben guided his trusty Gullwing magnesiums through frontside 50-50's from high to low, frigid kicked off the wall of the eight-foot section, and blasted his big frame up the vert wall into Judo airs and even an insane indy nosepick on the jutting pool coping. Considering Ben completely taco'ed his ankle the night before, the fact that he was walking was a minor miracle. The younger pros who had never seen him in action were completely floored. Ben Schroeder is a true legend of stoke. First place, the Ben Horton monkey painting, and three grand were his. Yeah, Ben!

2ND PLACE: MARK APPLEYARD

Mark was all over the shop, clanking trucks on both fakie rocks and hang ups, but he managed to pull off the craziest moves this side of Daewon. His balance is Bob-like, lazily spinning frontside and backside 360 slides to fakie on the vert wall, and reverting any trick. Mark's big moves were waist-high three flips and klckflip melons to fakie, and nollie bigspins that went to (1) disaster, (2) disaster revert, (3) tailgrab, (4) tailgrab to tail, and (5) holy shit, tailgrab backside revert.

3RD PLACE: STU GRAHAM

The legend of Livingston, Scotland has finally made it to American shores, and when he's not marrying our women or drinking all of our Red Bull vodkas, Stu has managed to grace us with his hooligan's approach to the stuntwood. Stu's lines went from one corner of the ramp to the other and back, and included grinds on the vert wall every run, backside bonelesses to regs, and revert and backside ollies that spanned four sheets. Stu earned third, and the Neck Face painting.

CHRIS HASLAM

Madollie tailslides, switch frontside feebles, switch frontside blunts, and a blunt to 360 flip fakie. I can't help but think that beard is slowing him down.

LOUIE BARLETTA

Louie got side disasters up the vert wall, finger flip liens to noseblunt, and a bizarre handplant wallride to feeble fakie.

JUSTIN STRUBING

Battered the mid-section with ollie grinds, tails, Smiths, and a nollie Cab to pivot fakie.

BIG JERRY

Local heavy, Big Jerry caught grinds on the vert wall and ollies to backside Smith up the extension. If Jerry lived anywhere but Skateboardland, USA, he would be the best skater in town.

BRAYDON SZAFRANSKI

Backside tailslides, fast as hell. Vert shirt, flapping.

KEEGAN SAUDER

His bike broke in San Francicso so he had to fly down to Costa Mesa to swat big lien to tails and crank waist-high ollies.

DYLAN REIDER

Backside Smiths, trail airs, and the good looks catalog shoots are made of.

TOSH TOWNEND

Not sure if he took runs, but he was definitely there. Tosh rips.

BRENT ATCHLEY

Brent danced pixie-like around the ramp, waving a wand that begot ollies to grind, bean plants, shifty ollies, and liens to disaster up the six feet of vert. Elegantly gnar.

DAN DREHOBL

Took one run and sat down. Oh, Corpsy.

KEVIN LONG

Crails, trails everywhere!

JOHN RATTRAY

John launched alley-oop backside ollies onto the vert wall, kickflips to fakie up the center of it, and a backside tailslide on top of it. Let's see Dr Marc Wakasa step to that.