The Dew Tour powered by Mountain Dew returned to the West Coast for the second year in a row this weekend (June 16 – 18). Long Beach, CA hosted more than 32,000 visitors over the course of the three-day action-filled skating competition. The all-encompassing festival meshed varied aspects of the skate culture by combining skating, music and art to bring people together. Best part, Mountain Dew put this all on for free, while providing an awesome experience for fans.
The greatest skaters in the world showed up to compete in various competitions throughout the weekend (rail, bowl, street). As the event concluded on Sunday (June 18) to a packed venue, California native Nyjah Huston put on a show but was ousted by Kelvin Hoefler in the Pro Street Finals. Ryan Scheckler also competed but didn’t make it past the semi-final.
Prior to the Street Final on the other side of the skate park, San Diego native Cory Juneau wowed fans by somehow landing a kickflip-frontside-lipslide down the 9-stair rail, as he racked up a score of 92 to earn the right to be crowned Pro Bowl champion. “This has been such an amazing event and I’m so happy to win it,” said Juneau. “I’m so thankful to Dew Tour for putting this on. We were all having such a good time skating today and the bowl was so fast and fun.”
PRO BOWL FINALS
1. Cory Juneau (USA), 92.00
2. Heimana Reynolds (USA), 89.00
3. Clay Kreiner (USA), 87.00
4. Ivan Caluso Federico (ITA), 83.00
5. Chris Russell (USA), 81.00
6. Willy Lara (USA), 79.00
7. Alex Sorgente (USA), 77.80
8. Tom Schaar (USA), 75.60
PRO STREET FINALS
1. Kelvin Hoefler (BRA), 95.40
2. Nyjah Huston (USA), Orange County, CA USA 22, 93.00
3. Yuto Horigome (JPN), 18, 91.40
4. Shane O’Neill (AUS), 89.20
5. Micky Papa (CAN), 84.20
6. Tommy Fynn (AUS), 80.60
For the first time in history, Mountain Dew introduced the “Art of Doing” exhibit which brought skaters’ emotions to life with colorful visuals representative of what respective skaters were feeling while skating the park earlier in the week. Lightwave employed technology to analyze the biometrics of skaters such as Kansas City Chiefs fan Sean Malto: “To see it painted across the boards is cool. I think it’s something we could really use in the future and put a little substance to these feelings. Now I can see how I feel going through a contest.” The biometrics dashboard measured heart rate, blood volume pulse, skin temperature, electrodermal activity and motion during their performance to create a distinct piece of art that decoded the athlete’s emotions.
Kids mobbed the man-made skatepark which was free for skaters to use throughout the weekend. The sculpture garden was curated by Los Angeles artist Steven Harrington with the help of Mountain Dew sponsored skaters Jordan Maxham and Chris Colbourn. After the festival, the park’s obstacles would be donated to a local Long Beach skate park that was in desperate need of repairs.
Fans got to meet their heroes and take home free gear throughout the weekend as Mountain Dew hosted multiple meet-and-greet signings with professional skaters such as Theotis Beasley, Reemo Pearson, Nick Tucker, Sean Malto and Jordan Maxham.
@SahBabii Fans chant “Fuck @OffsetYRN ” at #DewTour concert. pic.twitter.com/dzveoGYyNZ
— Michael $ap (@LordTreeSap) June 21, 2017
To cap off each night of the Dew Tour, Green Label hosted two free hip-hop concerts for fans outdoors at the Rainbow Lagoon Park. Sahbabii stole the show Friday night (June 16), as the crowd moshed to his “Pull Up With Ah Stick” banger. As his set came to a close, “F**k Offset” chants broke out sending fans into a frenzy. The 20-year-old Atlanta resident went on to challenge the Migos member to a boxing match before leaving the stage.
Metro Boomin headlined Saturday night’s concert, spinning his diverse array of hits throughout his hour-long set. Cam’ron got the crowd warmed up as the lawn was filled with nearly 2,000 fans. Hailing up the coast from Northeast Portland, Amine brought a glowing energy to the show to complete the eclectic trio of performers. The 23-year-old even had a little boy no older than 10 join him on stage as he crowd surfed to the front and snapped a selfie with the “Caroline” artist.
The Mountain Dew tour brought everyone involved with the skate culture for the ultimate fan experience, all at no cost to the consumer. Long Beach is the perfect host for this event, providing serene views of the ocean and plenty sunshine. Even if you’re not the biggest fan of skating, there is something for everyone to do, from kids with their friends to couples to families. We are definitely looking forward to the next Dew Tour—may even have to make the trip to the winter tour in Breckenridge, Colorado, which is known to be one of the premier skiing/snowboarding spots in the country.
If you couldn’t make it to Long Beach or just want to re-watch the competition, it will re-air nationally on NBC on June 24 from 2:30-4 p.m. EST, June 25 from 3-4 p.m. EST and July 30 from 2-3 p.m. EST.
Until next time.