The spectacular skateboard contest Red Bull Manny Mania began on May 19 in Venice Beach, CA. Meanwhile the contest, stopping in six cities for the amateur league, has collected winners from the local stops – and found some new fans who, even if they can’t “walk the walk,” can at least “talk the talk.”
Amazing jumps, crazy landings and wizardly tricks, that’s what the tech manual contest Manny Mania is all about. And Joey Brezinski, 24-year-old founder and undisputed champion of this skateboard style, should know. Taking home the trophy at the opening contest at the first event of the series at the Venice Beach basket ball courts, Brezinski has mastered the “manual” – a street skateboarding trick that involves doing a wheelie on either the front or back two wheels – and is known as the “manual tech wizard.”
Pros and ams – to be or not to be the Manny Master 2007
Invitations to the pro stops (L.A. and New York) are by invitation only. For the six amateur contests, local skate shops and Red Bull did the choosing. Still to come for the ams are Boston on July 13 and Louisville, Kentucky on July 21. The ones in Tampa, Austin, Denver and Sacramento have already been held. The Grass roots tour, as this is known, targets young, local street skaters between the ages of 12 and 17. The winners of each of these stops get the chance to compete in the final pro contest at Coleman Skatepark in NYC on August 12, where they can show their best trick combos on the craziest many pads ever built. And experience live what the 20-odd pros in the contest can deliver.
Backside tailslide to fakie manual …
The jargon might not sit well in your head, or maybe you’re phased out by the trick combos the guys are pulling? But just by hanging out at the contests, the novice is bound to learn something: “So these dudes flip their boards, slide on them boxes, and try to keep poppin’ them wheelies. That’s what’s up?” After ten minutes of watching the Tech Wizard and his companions Chico Brenes and Daniel Castillo, a basket baller at Venice Beach – maybe there to see why his court wasn’t free – was totally down with the lingo. And next time he sees the pros or the ams, he’ll recognize a fakie flip fakie manual to half-cab out. Right away.
Joey Brezinski
Kenny Anderson
