The
Sound and the Fury
Words and Photos by Jeff Reed
Mike
Crespino is one of the Northwest’s best-kept secrets. Big
kickout over the car jump. Sometimes when I try to explain the
lives of skateboarders to an outsider, someone who has never
done it before, I have a hard time. It’s difficult to detail
what an extremely individual yet also very social activity it
is. I know that although I’ve met many, many people through
the years, I tend to mostly skate with a close knit group of
friends, the ones I call every time I go out, the ones who I
know will be down with the session. Granted, depending on where
you go, there will always be familiar faces. So-and-so is always
at the park, those guys ride this pool, the crew is always at
“the ledge,” but rarely do you get all or even a majority
of these people together for a session. There are, however,
always exceptions. This spring The Sound and the Fury 3 was
held at the Sandpoint Naval Base in Seattle, Wash. Through a
lot of hard work from a lot of people, an enormous warehouse
was rented, ramps were built, bands played and two days of skateboarding
chaos ensued. There was even a stand selling Gardenburgers for
a dollar! The
Northwest skateboard community turned out in force, as well
as visitors from the west and east coasts, and even Alaska.
Everyone from nine-year-old groms to big name ams and pros battled
it out in heated practice sessions, all trying to get some lines
down for their run on the well-designed course. It was great
to see everyone come out and have a good time. I saw people
I ride with everyday and people I hadn’t seen in years.
I shook some hands and hollered at great runs. I’m glad
to actually have witnessed an event organized by skaters for
skaters in this age of corporate extreme dollar signs. In the
future, I only see events like this one helping skateboarding.
Thanks go out to Marshall Reid and everyone else who spent the
time to put this together, as well as the sponsors who kicked
down money and prizes. The course from this year’s contest
is set to be donated to a much needed indoor park that will
open here in Seattle soon, supporting the local scene even more.
Go ahead and plan a road trip to the Northwest this spring.
Just make sure to check your calendar for The Sound and the
Fury 4 because you will definitely want to make it. (By the
way, Mark Appleyard won this year.)
Mike
Crespino is one of the Northwest’s best-kept secrets. Big
kickout over the car jump. Sometimes when I try to explain the
lives of skateboarders to an outsider, someone who has never
done it before, I have a hard time. It’s difficult to detail
what an extremely individual yet also very social activity it
is. I know that although I’ve met many, many people through
the years, I tend to mostly skate with a close knit group of
friends, the ones I call every time I go out, the ones who I
know will be down with the session. Granted, depending on where
you go, there will always be familiar faces. So-and-so is always
at the park, those guys ride this pool, the crew is always at
“the ledge,” but rarely do you get all or even a majority
of these people together for a session. There are, however,
always exceptions. This spring The Sound and the Fury 3 was
held at the Sandpoint Naval Base in Seattle, Wash. Through a
lot of hard work from a lot of people, an enormous warehouse
was rented, ramps were built, bands played and two days of skateboarding
chaos ensued. There was even a stand selling Gardenburgers for
a dollar! 
The
Northwest skateboard community turned out in force, as well
as visitors from the west and east coasts, and even Alaska.
Everyone from nine-year-old groms to big name ams and pros battled
it out in heated practice sessions, all trying to get some lines
down for their run on the well-designed course. It was great
to see everyone come out and have a good time. I saw people
I ride with everyday and people I hadn’t seen in years.
I shook some hands and hollered at great runs. I’m glad
to actually have witnessed an event organized by skaters for
skaters in this age of corporate extreme dollar signs. In the
future, I only see events like this one helping skateboarding.
Thanks go out to Marshall Reid and everyone else who spent the
time to put this together, as well as the sponsors who kicked
down money and prizes. The course from this year’s contest
is set to be donated to a much needed indoor park that will
open here in Seattle soon, supporting the local scene even more.
Go ahead and plan a road trip to the Northwest this spring.
Just make sure to check your calendar for The Sound and the
Fury 4 because you will definitely want to make it. (By the
way, Mark Appleyard won this year.)