SLS Santa Monica: A Legendary Return to Skateboarding’s Hometown.

May 24

If the mission was to inspire a new generation, this was the experience for these kids. Getting to hang with the pros under the sunny Southern California skies in Santa Monica. SLS really went big in show, experience, and vibes. There were Preferred Seating and VIP available, but what made this an awesome experience for the community was that general admission was free to the public. It was amazing to see people of all ages and backgrounds coming together to support the skate culture that we all love. Was it a mission to get in, possibly but was it worth it? Absolutely!! We saw that the line of fans waiting to get in was long, but once you get inside the gate, it was all great vibes.

Watching kids meet the pros and even adults meeting the OGs was something else. Not only was the roster stacked, but the crowd was full of legends and stars. Just to mention a few, Christian Hosoi, Stevie Williams, Boo Johnson, MGK, and many other well known names were seen walking around the crowd. This event brought the inner child in us out for an action packed day with just the right amount of sun and salt in the air. When the wheels started rolling on the ramps, the crowd started to cheer, and the skaters knew it was time to throw down for the people. The wild card round was fun to watch, there was plenty of style and precision to go around, it did not disappoint. Only two were skaters supposed to move on to the next round but we got three: Angelo Caro, Cordano Russell, and Julian Agliardi went on to compete in the Mens Final.

Aoi Uemura, Chloe Covell, Margielyn Didal | Photo: @htorresphoto

Shane O’neill, Chris Joslin, Angelo Caro| Photo: @htorresphoto

Chris Joslin & Chloe Covell dominate at SLS’ First Ever Santa Monica Spot-Takeover! Both clinched the top podium spot for their division with the last trick of the round. Chloe Covell started off with a lead but had pressure from Aoi Uemura up to the last trick for the women’s final where Chloe secured a final score of 23.8 and taking the first place at the podium, followed by Uemura & Didal. For Mens Final, Chris Joslin crept up with his final 3 of 4 tricks working his way to the top with an 8.9 | 0.0 | 9.5 | 8.8 securing a 27.2 where O'Neill (2nd with a 26.3) and Caro (3rd with a 26.2) were not able to knock him off.

It’s truly amazing to watch such a competitive group battle it out and at the same time show such respect and love for each other’s victories. That’s what skating with the homies is all about, having fun, encouraging one another, but challenging your friends to be better. The vibes were right from the top of the podium, down the each skater that participated and the crowd who kept the energy high for every competitor. Thank you SLS for putting on an event in one of skate boarding’s home towns that absolutely sparked that fire inside the hearts of a new generation to want to pursue skateboarding for fun and maybe even competitively. Mission Accomplished.