This weekend I traveled to my first big skate event, the 3rd Anniversary Party at Rock City Rink in Las Vegas. I joined 400+ skaters at a beautiful wood rink on the outskirts of Vegas city.
I’ve been wanting to go to Vegas for awhile, and I knew a few Bay Area folks going to this party, so it seemed like the perfect opportunity. A few clicks later and I had plane tickets and a hotel room just a few minutes from the rink.
Friday night I had just arrived from SF and headed straight to the jam. DJ Wildchild was on fire that night, playing a dope mix of R&B and hip-hop for skaters. And folks were just going ham around the track and in the middle.
I was totally gobsmacked by the level of skating in the cypher, with Dylan Morton, I Dance Solo, and several other top-level skaters doing the craziest moves I’ve ever seen. And folks were showing all manner of skate styles around the rink, from slow walk to JB to ballroom. I was going nuts trying to absorb it all at the same time.
No I did not jump in the cypher. Way too scary! But I did jam out with my friends and had a blast.
Gotta admit, I was a total wreck the next morning. That’s what five hours of skating does! There was an optional outdoor skate party happening on the other side of Vegas, which I totally bailed on. I couldn’t imagine doing more outdoor skating and then and other skate party that night!
Instead I headed to the strip and went to some of the iconic hotel casinos.
I spent most of it eating my way through the Joseph Keller bakery Bouchon and the Gordon Ramsey spot Hell’s Kitchen. The three course prix fixe meal was the best thing I’ve eaten all year!
Night two was super great too. I noticed more OG skaters showing out in the cypher, which was super inspiring. Gotta stay healthy and in form if I want to be skating ten years from now!
I enjoyed hanging out with Bay Area skaters, lots of whom I didn’t know. Peter Paul was a gem at organizing all us crazy cats. I don’t know what I would have done without him.
On my last day in Vegas, I decided to visit the Meow Wolf Omega Mart experience. I’ve been hearing about this thing for years and was so excited to finally get to visit. It’s kind of impossible to explain… basically a multimedia interactive art space built inside a fake super market. All I know is that I went in and then three hours passed in a blur.
My last activity in Vegas was one of those “why not” moments. I had a couple of hours to kill before my flight so I decided to try and skate in the airport terminal. I figured the worst thing that could happen is that security tells me to stop. Which they never did!
I feel so blessed to be able to participate in these events. I’m looking forward to at least one more national skate event this year. Gotta turn up while I still can!