by Jason Kenneth Walsh
Blood, sweat, dirt, gasoline, and smoke are coming to Camden Yards in June, and no, it isn't the age-old rivalry between the Orioles and Yankees. The best athletes in skateboarding, motocross, and BMX will be converging on Baltimore for the first stop of the 2008 AST Dew Tour. Local hero and Baltimore native Bucky Lasek is stoked to be kicking off the tour in his old stomping grounds.
"I can't think of anything else I'd rather be doing anywhere else than in my hometown," Lasek said. "It's a great feeling. Last year I was plagued with a knee injury that I had to get surgery on after the contest, but I still held it together. This year, I already had knee surgery on the same knee because I had a little piece floating in there again that I didn't want to take a chance with. It was couple of months ago, so now I'm back to par and I'm looking forward to it."
Aside from competing in the skateboard vert event against phenoms like Shaun White, the two-time champion has another unique opportunity at Camden Yards. He will be throwing out the first pitch at an Orioles game
"I've been a fan since I was a kid and I wear Orioles hats all the time, so it's an honor," he said. "I get up there and try to smoke one into the strike zone. No lobbing. I'm planning 70 miles-an-hour and above."
The Baltimore Open is the first of five events on the Dew Tour which will see the world's greatest competitors vying for the largest prize purse in action sports history: $2.5 million, plus a $1 million bonus pool. Now in its fourth year, it is the most watched and attended action sports event and the first tour of its kind. Mike Spinner was last year's 2nd place finalist in the BMX park event and praises the tour's significance.
"I would say right now it is the most important contest of the year," Spinner said. "It's a series which means it's not just a one-time deal. I can't even explain it, the ramps are the best, the crowds are the best, the TV production is the best. I have the most fun."
Last year was Spinner's first as a pro after coming in as a Wild Card rider in 2006, where he surprised everyone by qualifying 1st in the BMX park prelims. Placing second in the Dew Tour standings his rookie year as a pro was an amazing accomplishment for Spinner, but not nearly as amazing as being the first to land a 1080 in a competition, a trick where he spins his bike three complete rotations in mid-air. This achievement not only earned him the PlayStation Trick of the Week, but also the PlayStation Trick of the Year at the season's conclusion in Orlando. A humble guy from Florida, Spinner is still in awe of how the Dew Tour has changed his life.
"If it wasn't for the Dew Tour and their doing all these little things for the amateurs, I wouldn't be who I am today," he said. "Dave Mirra was my idol since I was a little kid. That's how I got into the whole thing in the first place. I was riding my bike, y'know, just like a little kid, jumping off curbs, and I saw him on the X-Games. This is like ten years ago and I was like 'oh my god, that's awesome, one day I want to do that.' But there was no way in my head that I'd ever become a pro BMXer and now I'm friends with everybody. Dave Mirra sponsors me, I ride for his company, Mirraco Bikes, and I compete against the best guys in the world. I still don't believe it. It's like a dream."
One of the most popular events on the Dew Tour is freestyle motocross, where riders have consistently pushed the bounds of physics, gravity, and sanity. Nate Adams has been riding motorcycles since he was eight-years-old and has dominated the Dew Tour, winning the FMX event the last two years, and finished in 2007 as the series' Athelete of the Year. For Adams, motocross has always been a family affair, having a father who raced flat-track as well as riding with his brother and sister when they were children. Though currently plagued with an injury, Adams says he's going to try and continue his amazing winning streak.
"That's the plan," Adams said. "I just come out with my same game plan that I have every year and give it a hundred percent and see what happens. This year it's going to be a little tough. I just had surgery on my thumb, I had a dislocated thumb, so I'm going to be cutting it close being ready for Baltimore. But, I think I can pull it and still get a good finish and maybe just stay consistent at the other two, and hopefully win it for a third year in a row."
Adams expressed how combining all three styles of action sports into one event is not only great for spectators, but the competitors as well.
"We definitely feed off of each other and it's just cool to see all the different disciplines in the same place," he said. "It's just a good series. It has TV time for us, getting us lots of exposure, puts us on the same field as the skaters. With skate, BMX, and moto all together, it has a lot more attention drawn to it instead of one sport on its own."
BMX legend Ryan Nyquist competes in both the dirt and park events, winning the first last year and placing third in the latter. He says the Dew Tour is a great event for the younger generation.
"I look at that as almost like day care," he joked. "You can just drop your kid off in the village and they can be there for hours just collecting key chains and free stuff. It's just geared to where younger kids can go and have a good time and if they're into a sport they can meet their favorite athletes and get their autographs or just watch them compete."
The AST Dew Tour begins in Baltimore with the Panasonic Open from June 19-22. The series continues through October, with four more stops in Cleveland, Portland, Salt Lake City, and wraps up with the finale in Orlando, FL at the PlayStation Pro. Tickets are available through Ticketmaster or the week of the event at the Camden Yards Sports Complex. Though it will be televised on NBC, Nyquist says you got to see this live.
"I don't know anybody that isn't just like completely at one point in awe of what goes on there," he said. "It looks big on TV, but when you're actually there, like with the moto guys, they're like ninety feet in the air just blasting back flips and stuff like that. It's just pretty amazing to see in person. If you haven't seen it, or if you were at the one last year, it's only going to be better this year."
