Deck the halls

MANILA, Philippines - At the tail end of 2012, top streetwear and skate brand Supra organized an unprecedented Supra Invasion Tour that pooled together skate prodigies from the United States and set them off for a tour around the globe. One of the pit stops was in the Philippines wherein our local skate artists and enthusiasts got to interact with the likes of Stevie Williams, Erik Ellington and many other world-class skaters who are just about the equivalent of Pacquiao in the sport x art of skateboarding. While the event proved to be a smashing success, it was with this same fervor and adrenaline that the Supra Invasion Tour came back to Manila for a 2013 installment a couple of weeks ago, following its visits to Korea and Taiwan, for a two-day skate blowout, recording triple the attendance from last year’s bonanza. We have Manila’s thriving underground skate scene to thank for that.

“There are not a lot of spots to skate but there are a lot of people who skate,” shares Pepe Cerveros, brand manager for Supra. “We want to show everyone that Supra just doesn’t stand for skateboarding. We want to inspire kids and show them that you can go out and do what you love, and still be very successful at it.”

Take for example Stevie Williams who has been lionized as one of the “27 Most Influential Skateboarders of all time,” according to Transworld Skateboarding. As a teenager, he left home and eventually dominated the skateboarding scene with his effortless steeze and smooth maneuvers. Not that we’re encouraging young’ns to pull a Runaways stint like Stevie, but in lieu of skateboarding’s essence which is basically pushing oneself to the limits, young skate enthusiasts can put themselves out there and shoot for their dreams. Williams has since put up his own multimillion-dollar skateboarding and apparel label — the Dirty Ghetto Kids of DGK clothing, and a new brand called Asphalt Yacht Club which has been changing the landscape of skateboarding today.

Pepe continued, as crowds roared at the Manila Post Office plaza following the arrival of Stevie Williams, skate legend Jim Greco and company, “This year we wanted to use natural spots. We didn’t want to use a skate park somewhere or build something. We’re using something that’s already here, where people actually skate.” He mentions Supra’s partnership with the Department of Tourism in “empowering the legends of tomorrow,” evident in the hundreds who reinforced the perimeter of the skate competition in good old Manila.

“For this event, we just promoted it on Facebook and about 200 to 300 kids started sharing the posters. There’s this whole genre of people who are glued to it. It’s just a matter of showing everyone it’s right here.”

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Supra is exclusively distributed in the Philippines by the Primer Group of Companies, Asia’s next retail giant. Supra is available at Grind – Nuvali; Bratpack Greenbelt 5, Abreeza, Ermita, Gateway, Alabang Town Center, Centrio (Cagayan   De   Oro); Res|Toe|Run - TriNoma, Glorietta 4, Cebu, Festival Mall, Magnolia, Centrio (Cagayan   De   Oro); Center   of   Gravity   (COG) – Burgos   Circle (BGC), Eton Centris; Shoe Salon – TriNoma, Glorietta 3, Marquee Mall, Abreeza, Rockwell Power Plant, Shangri-La Plaza; Jackass Skateshop; Lokal Hero Skateshop; and Urban Athletics – Greenbelt 3.