Vans Canada Presents The Bunt Jam 2024

This weekend, Vans Canada's The Bunt Jam was held in Toronto's Dunbat Park. Many big named pros came down for the two-day event which included a basketball tournament, giveaways, and amazing skateboarding.

Due to my lack of awareness, I was unable to watch the pros skating the obstacles in the event. But in the meantime I was able to grab some free hot dogs, energy drinks, and meet new, familiar, and famous faces.

Durham Region pro skater TJ Rogers always smiling for the crowd. On and off the board, he's a true living legend.

Elissa Steamer [sitting] is a real icon in skateboarding who not only killed the contest circuit, but filmed some legendary video parts. Sadly, I was unable to meet her personally, but a big thanks to TJ Rogers for passing my sticker for her autograph.

Other pro skaters I did get to meet were Morgan Smith, Alexis Lacroix, Breana Geering, Samarria Brevard, Kevin "Spanky" Long and Rick McCrank. Each one of them were very gracious to sign this sticker.

A trip to Dunbat would not be complete without a visit to Blue Tile Lounge. These less than 50mm Spitfire Lil Smokies and Lil Beatdowns wheels will look awesome on a retro complete I'm assembling.
Always support independently owned skate shops and I hope to see you at The Bunt Jam 2025.

Thank You Skateboards x Daewon Song "Dae La Song"

Switch Skate and Snow in Ajax is currently having a great sale on boards and I scooped this one up to help fill out my SOTY wall. Daewon Song has been killing it since 1992 and was awarded Thrasher's Skater of the Year back in 2006. In 2018, he co-founded Thank You Skateboards with Torey Pudwill and are still running strong after 5 years. Support you local skate shop and your favourite skaters.

Girl Skateboards x Tyler Pacheco "Birdman"

Whenever there's a great sale on decks, I'm all over it. Switch Skate & Snow had this Girl Skateboards Tyler Pacheco deck at an amazing price. I encourage everyone out there to support independently owned skate shops.

Toronto Maple Leafs v. Nashville Predators [9/12/2023]

One of the highlights this year was an early birthday gift from my brothers; a Toronto Maple Leafs game! This is a bit of a delayed post, but worth sharing here. They were host to the Nashville Predators.

Just right after one of the 2 goals just scored by Auston Matthews.

Three goals and one shutout later, the Maple Leafs earned their 14th W of the season. If you ever have the chance to watch live hockey in any league, I encourage you to do so. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Santa Cruz Skateboards x Steve Alba "Baby Stomper"

If I like the brand, the deck, the shap, and the price - I'll most likely buy it. Not only does the deck look amazing, but as long as I've been skating, Salba has been seen in almost every magazine I've read and video I've seen.

The Stomping Baby deck measures 10.09"x31.97" and built Cruise Missile II concave.

Powell Peralta x Tony Hawk

Over the years, I've collected and sadly sold vintage and retro Powell Peralta skateboards. This one, I feel, will be a keeper. Timing was key when I came across this ad online for a vintage Powell-Peralta Tony Hawk skateboard complete from 1983. The condition may not be in the most pristine, but you can see the previous owner enjoyed every minute on this.

Attached are a set of red Tracker Trucks and I have to say; these trucks are terrible! Perhaps it's the old age, possibly from sitting around for years, or the factory was loose on quality control. The axles were slipping when I was replacing the old rusted bearings and the baseplate is made of plastic. But nevertheless, they were Tony Hawk's original truck sponsor and kudos to the owner for keeping the complete under his umbrella of endorsements. I'll assume the rails are Rib Bones.

The wheels are a now coned Powell-Peralta 57mm G Bones. As I said earlier, the bearings were replaced with Independent Trucks Genuine Parts because there may be a day I will take it out for a spin. I may just replace the bolts as well over how rusted they are.

The overall dimensions of the deck are 10.4"x30.3" with a 15" wheelbase.

DC Shoes Co. x Manteca 4

Been on a DC Shoes habit this past year since Switch Skate and Snow has placed them on the clearance racks. Had to give the Manteca 4 reissues a try. They fit true to size and feature Super Suede. Although they have the aesthetic of the original Manteca from the early 2000s, they are slimmer and lighter.

The outsole is not as strong as the original model, expect better boardfeel, but weaker construction and harder impact on surfaces.

The skater I associate this shoe with is Ryan Gallant who wore it in most of his video parts and even designed his pro model based on the original Manteca shoe.

Birdhouse Skateboards x Willy Santos "Slasher"

I was so surprised to have seen this vintage Birdhouse Willy Santos skateboard deck being sold online. It was originally released back in 2007 with the Black 6 technology shortly before Birdhouse's fifth video; The Beginning. Willy Santos has been one of my favourite pro skaters and I'm always on the hunt for more of his items.

DC Shoe Co. The Clocker 2 x Bronze 56K

Timing is everything when it comes to a great deal. Switch Skate and Snow is currently having a major shoe sale and grabbed a pair of DC Shoes Clocker 2 x Bronze 56K. The box design itself is really impressive for a shoe collab and reminds of when pro model shoes had their own graphics for the company.

Originally released in 1997, DC Shoes teamed up with hardware/apparel company, Bronze 56K, to reintroduce The Clocker 2. Three colourways were brought into the lineup. Luckily, this colour [the best in my opinion] was still available in my size.

The upper is a combination of suede with a rubber toe, a heavily padded and ventilated tongue, oval laces with 3M reflection and lace ornament, and a cupsole outsole with the classic pill pattern traction. These are very stiff right out of the box and will need some time to break in.

DC Shoes: The Nocturnal Kalynx

Since everything old is new again, I was stoked to come across a pair of the DC Nocturnal x Kalynx at Switch. The backstory to this model was when Josh Kalis desgined his first pro model for DC Shoes back in 1998. He was sent him a sample with the upper he designed and a Lynx [a very popular team model] outsole. When the sample was posted on social media, the feedback was positive enough to release a limited run exclusively at Nocturnal in Pennsylvania and select indy skateboard shops.

The upper consists of mesh, suede, rubber and 3M reflective materials and a lace loop system. It also bares the Nocturnal shop logo on the side panel and the DC logo on the back.

The outsole is a translucent runner cupsole with DC's classic pill pattern. It really combines the best of both worlds for on both the technical and nostalgic side.

Zero Skateboards x Jamie Thomas "Living Dead"

Always been down for Zero Skateboards and the feeling's more satisfying when you can grab a new Jamie Thomas deck at secondhand prices.

Zero or die!

DC Shoe Co. Lynx Zero

What I love about DC Shoes are the crazy discounts they offer customers if you sign up for their mailing list. The team and shoes are also a huge plus. Not too long ago, I grabbed two pairs of Lynx Zeros. I encourage you to support a company founded by skaters.

Santa Cruz Skateboards x Jeff Kendall "End of the World"

I've had my eye on this Santa Cruz Jeff Kendall deck since I first saw it on the Switch website months ago. Thankfully, it was still available during the Black Friday sale and nabbed it right when they opened. I wanted to set this up immediately, but might keep this on the wall. This board measures 10" x 29.7" with Cruise Missle II concave and a matte finish. The best truck width I'd recommend is an 8.75" axle.

Support your independent skate shop this Christmas season.

Birdhouse Skateboards x Tony Hawk Complete [Early-2000s Recreation]

For as long as I can recall, I've always wanted to find my first pro complete skateboard in any type of capacity. In the spring of 2001, my mom and I went to two skate shops [bad idea] to build my first setup. It was a 7.75" Birdhouse Willy Santos "Huster Will-E" deck with 775 black/polished Fury Trucks and 55.5mm Spitfire Wheels "Charred Remains," which my mom picked out. Although finding the exact components are impossible today, I still felt like I can create something close. Luckily, thanks to Facebook Marketplace, Kijiji, and patience - I was able to scoop this 7.75" Tony Hawk deck and finally complete my first board.

As stated above, I originally had Fury Trucks with a black hanger, silver baseplate, and red bushings. Unfortunately, I sold my only pair years ago, but substituted them for a pair of Thunder Trucks with rearranged pieces. It's a really clean cut/paste.

As for the wheels, they too are impossible to find. Throughout the years, I obtained 2 sets which were either sold, stolen, or given away - I can't remember. So as a quick filler, some generic Scorchers with orange Bronson bearings will suffice.

The deck above was what I owned back in the day. How I departed with it is a pretty crappy story. But with how reissues are going, I won't be surprised if this ever comes out of Willy's Workshop. Below are the trucks and wheels that helped me roll, turn, slide and grind. Maybe I will skate these shoes in the not too distant future.

Vans x Willy Santos

This week ended off with a bang when a deadstock pair Vans Willy Santos pro model shoes were dropped to the front door. These were my first pro skate shoes [albeit different colour] I've ever owned back in 2001 and are definitely not going anywhere. I believe Willy Santos is the first Filipino with their own signature shoe. As a skateboarder though, I'm itching to skate these one more time.

From top to bottom, inside and out, these shoes were definitel a product of the time. Originally released in 1998, they feature a suede and nubuck upper with 3M reflective piping.

The tongue and collar are heavily padded. The triple stitched toe adds reinforcement and the cupsole construction helps reduce impact.

This was a trading card that came with the shoes and actually used it in a presentation for famous Filipinos back in the ninth grade.