Passionate fun under the intense summer sun

MANILA, Philippines - If there are three things that all skaters share, it’s the ability to get over their fears, of starting at a very young age and getting hooked on the sport for life, and the ability to pick themselves up after a fall — literally.

We’ve heard of skaters getting badly hurt from doing flip tricks and seen all those videos of scary injuries — bad spills, fractured bones and joints so twisted that you wonder if they were attempting to reinvent the human anatomy.

I never really understood why skaters and other extreme-sport athletes do things that can get them killed…until it was explained to me by graphic artist and skater Nico Puertollano.

“There’s a Zen to skating,” he says. Skaters put their trust on a piece of wood, get over their fears, and inexplicably skater and skateboard become one. They get to that point where they no longer analyze their tricks and just do them. Just as there is a runner’s high, Nico describes that skater moment when he does a trick successfully as a “nirvana moment.” 

Nico got into skating when was a teenager in New York. He would take his skateboard out on the streets of New York or go to the parks and do his tricks. These days, it’s all about speed to him rather than tricks. That’s why when Bonifacio Global City (BGC) planned the installation of a skate park for Passionfest 2010, they picked Nico to design it. He has the background in both the sport and urban art.

Skaters Aim High & Compete Intensely

The skateboard competition, held at the Skate Park they built just off Bonifacio High Street, and the Alleycat Race were two athletic activities that highlighted this summer’s Passionfest with events revolving around the themes of Live, Play, Art and Music.

You can imagine just how happy skaters were about having their own skate park, which was open from May 1 to 9. A skate clinic was sponsored by DC Pro Riders, distributor of apparel and skateboards, R.O.X., last May 9. Skating instructors Ross Valino, Marvin Basinal and Anjo Pineda taught Kickturns for participants that were new to skating, ages three and up. This included the basics of pushing, turning, balancing, up/downs, turns and carves on banks, 360s, manuals and other rolling tricks. Kickflips was for ages 10 and up with participants already knowing rolling tricks. They learned higher ollies, on-and-off obstacles, ledge tricks such as 5050s, 5-0s, board slides, nose and tailsides, kickflips, shuvits and other flip tricks.

Tricks And Treats

The clinic was followed by an exhibition and interactive graffiti painting led by Nico, who was assisted by artists/skaters Egg Fiasco and Ferds Valencia. The theme of the graffiti wall was passion for skateboarding. The graffiti mural later became the backdrop of the awarding of competition winners.

After the skaters registered, they did practice runs and then the competition began. The competition was divided into Class A (18 and older) and Class B (17 and younger with parental consent) with 15 skaters for the first and nine for the second (they had to show a written consent from their parents or guardians). DC Pro Riders sponsored an exhibition of winning skaters.

The skaters were given one minute to display their skills in overcoming obstacles designed by Nico, such as hubba stairs, rail/pipe, curve bench, quarter ramps and kicker ramp. After the first round, the top five finalists from both categories had one more go around the Skate Park, doing their tricks on ramps, rails and half pipes. The skaters were judged on style, consistency, difficulty and number of tricks.

Category A winners were Jeff Gonzales, first prize, second prize went to Marvin Basinal, third prize was Leonell Nonato while Category B winners were John Natividad, first place, second was Val Alan Licub, and third was Danjay Lerio.

A Race To Remember

For those who liked to break a sweat with a partner and use their wits at the same time, the Alleycat Race, now on its third year at BGC, was the ideal summer activity. It’s an Amazing Race kind of competition, except participants look for their clues around Bonifacio Global City non-sequentially on their bikes.

This year’s Alleycat race, with the support of R.O.X. and Colombia, had eighty-four participants and were divided into forty-two teams racing around the city. First place was team “Green is Good-UPM” with members Dennis Lopez and Celina Marie Lopez; second place was “Solido,” Louie Peralta and Patricia Casino; third was “Save Ipo Dam,” Emmanuel Rodil and Bruce Derrick Lim; fourth was team “Padyak,” Tom Moreno and Ed Reyes; fifth was “NBC Bikers Team,” Rem Santiago and Jun Reyes; and sixth was “Fleet-Marine,” Joseph Cuison and Whreachelle Cordova.

Even when the sun is at its hottest, there’s always room to play outdoors, and Bonifacio Global City makes sure its activities encourage friendly competition and stoke one’s passionate pursuits.