“Where do they sell the second-hand DMs?”
“Currently in between the half-pipe and that guy doing a kick flip.”
Old Spitalfields Market, famous for vintage clothing, antique furniture and East London’s finest odds and ends, showed its adrenalin driven alter ego on Saturday for the Vans Downtown Showdown. The market-stalls magically flipped to ramps, cafe lattes turned to Monster Energy and vintage clothing was replaced by helmets and kneepads. With bragging rights, professional pride and a whopping £50,000 prize purse up for grabs it was no surprise that skaters galore flocked to the city in an attempt to write their name in history.
A skate fan or not it was impossible not to be mesmerised by the speed and skill of the skaters. With appearances from greats including Geoff Rowley, Dustin Dollin and Palace, Blind, Elements and many more putting out teams for the event fans were knocking trucks all day long. But the day’s treats weren’t limited to watching the competition unfold. A full spread of delights were laid on; the Van Doren Pizza Parlour (presented by Fire & Stone and headed-up by Vans’ Godfather, Steve Van Doren), a waffle booth, live screen-printing, athlete signings, product giveaways and shopping opportunities by the bucketload courtesy of Slam City Skates, LCB and Fifty-Fifty. As plank-mania gains momentum across the country, the skating elite successfully showed London that there’s nothing like a spot of boarding to wile away the weekend hours!
The Results
Best Am: €1,000 Nassim Guammaz
Best Pro: €1,500 Danny Brady
Team of the day: €14,000 Antiz
All photos taken using Lomography Color Slide/X-Pro 35MM film.
Text and Photography: Declan Higgins
