Skate Super Series | Relentless Energy Drink | The Works, Adrenaline Alley

The second half of the Relentless Energy Drink Skate Super Series produces two gripping climaxes in Leeds and Corby

The final weekend of November saw the climax of the Relentless Energy Drink Skate Super Series take place at The Works in Leeds and Corby’s Adrenaline Alley, with pros and amateurs alike putting in some very impressive performances and underlining exactly what the series is all about – supporting the UK’s skate scene. Nic Powley fills us in on the highlights.

Saturday 26 November - The Works in Leeds

The Works was by far the busiest stop of the series, with all the local faces in attendance, plus a few guys from further afield like James Coyle from Newcastle. The Works has nurtured its fair share of pro/sponsored skaters over the years, including the likes of Tom Harrison, Josh ‘Manhead’ Young and, of course, Mike Wright so we knew the standard was going to be very high.

In the under 16s, John Sykes dominated with his ankle-swinging trousers and a good mix of old and new tricks, including a slick noseblunt slide on the quarter. Manchester young gun Jake Potts took second, and travelling scouser Charlie Birch secured third.

The over 16s was also of a high standard, and a battle of the locals. Cainan McEwan rode superbly, with a wide array of shove it out variations on the small rail, and Mike Arnold impressed everyone with his smooth style. In the end, Dale Starkie took the win with the ever-successful combination of speed, power and consistency.

As predicted, the sponsored comp was hectic. Popular belief was that this would be a tough call between Manhead and Mike Wright, and that’s exactly how it panned out. Hats off to Tom Harrison for keeping it fun, and entertaining the crowd, judges and MC Marc Churchill with fake stressing, nollie heelflip Indy attempts over the driveway and, of course, a benihana. Jirka Bulin, Ben Grove and Nev all skated hard and made it through to the final.

Current UK champ Manhead is on full flow these days - the guy just doesn’t have a bad day, and is consistent, casual and stylish. Then there’s Mike Wright, who skates The Works most days and knows every little lump and bump in the place. Although Manhead was cruising, he still pulled off stuff that most of us will never do, including a perfectly floaty backside 360 over the driveway. Mike entered late, but still proceeded to attack every obstacle with vigour. There could be only one winner, though, and it was Mike.

Under 16s

1: John Sykes
2: Jake Potts
3: Charlie Birch

16 and over

1: Dale Starkie
2: Mike Arnold
3: Cainan McEwan

Pro/Sponsored:

1: Mike Wright
2: Josh ‘Manhead’ Young
3: Ben Grove

Best Trick

Mike Wright and Mike Arnold

Sunday 27 November - Adrenaline Alley, Corby

In the under 16s, Jacob Church surprised everyone with a man-sized bag of tricks. Meanwhile, in the over 16s, man bag-toting forum lurker Jerome Caple took top spot narrowly above John Howlett, who smashes it, and himself, every time we see him skate. The slams he took nearly landing a feeble grind to backflip along and down the big rail were truly cringeworthy, and I’m sure he won’t be able to sit down properly for a week!

The pro/sponsored qualifiers were so evenly matched that the judges decided to put seven guys into the final, as they simply couldn’t agree on the top six - a fairly unusual scenario. However, the finals played out in almost the order in which they qualified, with the exception of Chris Oliver, who just kept getting robbed on landings. He later cruised to victory with ease in the best trick comp, though.

Manny Lopez and Kyron Davies are both relatively new faces on the scene, but as the saying goes: “You’ll be seeing more of this kid”. Both have well polished styles and tricks beyond their years. Alex Barton has an incredible bag of tricks and skates with the consistency of someone who spends a huge amount of time down at the Pioneer Skatepark in St Albans (much like the great Rodney Clarke before him), and is a real force when it comes to competition skating. But as previously mentioned, there aren’t many people in the UK who can touch Josh ‘Manhead’ Young for skateboarding skills at the moment. He took a well-deserved win, racking up £850 in weekend winnings, and even treating tour manager Nic Powley to dinner on the way home - what a guy.

Watch Sidewalk's video highlights below.

Under 16s

1: Jacob Church
2: James Wilkinson
3: James Winstanley

16 and over

1: Jerome Caple
2: John Howlett
3: Ben Rafferty

Pro/Sponsored

1: Josh ‘Manhead’ Young
2: Alex Barton
3: Manny Lopez

Best Trick

Chris Oliver