Lil' Wayne's New Skate Park

Yup, you read it right, Rapper, Designer, Entrepreneur and now Skateboarder Lil' Wayne has opened a skate park in his home town of New Orleans Lower Ninth Ward, Louisiana. Lil' Wayne's "DEWeezy Skatepark" is intended to be a beacon of hope and a rebirth for the community in an area that's seen little growth or rejuvenation since 2005, when it was virtually destroyed by Hurricane Katrina. In an interview at the park's opening, Lil' Wayne told The Associated Press, "I just wanted to help out my city, help out the people and the kids and give them something to do, something they haven't done before. It's always good to learn something new." Professional skateboarder and this year's X Games gold medalist Paul Rodriguez was on hand, along with fellow Mountain Dew teammate Theotis Beasley to help commemorate the park's opening and to wow local kids with their bag of tricks, skating the park alongside novice skater Lil' Wayne for the crowd of spectators. The skatepark was designed and built by veteran park builders California Skateparks. The design mirrors the local geographic attributes of the neighborhood, with the quarterpipes at either end of the skatepark symbolizing the Mississippi River and the Bayou Bienvenue, and a line running through the middle of the park representing Caffin Avenue. The DEWeezy Skatepark is named after Lil' Wayne's Trukfit clothing line, which launched at the Agenda Trade Show in January, in addition, Lil' Wayne's line of sneakers through Supra debuted in August at the Project trade show. Having recently appeared on the cover of skateboarding's biggest mail-order catalog, alongside some of the most prominent pros in the industry, Lil' Wayne appears to be carving out his place within the skateboarding market. From the videos the park seems pretty legit. Hand rails, hubbas, stairs and flats rails. It almost seems like Wayne did his research on this one. either way check it out and let us know what you think. You can read more Here and see some actually interview and skate footage Here Be sure to give us some feedback about how you feel about Wayne skating, what he's doing for his community, the Truckfit line, and the skate park project as a whole, we look forward to hearing from you. - The Philly Skater Over n' Out.

Injured, a Skaters Worst Nightmare.

Its every skateboarders worst nightmare come to life. You see a farmiliar stair set, rail, or flat bar. You've done this a million times, fakie kick, fakie 5-0, or even just front side board slide to shove it out- nothing fancy. First try, pop, flick, bolts. Again, pop, flick... bolts. Ok this time you grab the camera, kick push kick push, pop - that's when you know, this is gonna get ugly. Instead of committing, taking the pain and rolling to safety, you try to bail, leave the board behind and land on your feet. Big mistake. Instead of some brush burn and a bruise, now you've got a fractured ankle, bone bruises on your heel, or worst a broken anything. So now your one true love has been taken away from you so what do you do? Well for starters mentally review how you got hurt and make sure your understand exactly what happened so that you can prevent it from ever happening again. Secondly the best thing to do is stay off you injured foot. Regardless of how small it is, pain is pain and it means somethings wrong. Skating with a little bit of pain can lead to waking up with a large amount of pain. So what are your options. Well one is just stay in and watch skate videos. I recommend the DeathWish tape, Baker 3 , ( anything w. Antwuan Dixon really hahah ) or something classic like the Lakai Fully Flared . Watching footage is a great way to compare your style and skills and is an entertaining way to learn new tricks. For example seeing Antwuan Dixon nollie heel the Carlsbad Gap taught me how to position my weight when taking a nollie heel off a gap. Even video games like skate 3 will show your the ideal way to set up and execute aerial gymnastics. If watching skateboarding is going to tempt you to skate in your injury then perhaps try filming for your crew. I know it's not your typical role but its for the greater good. With one person constantly filming versus each member filming here and there you'll capture more of those "dude I wish we were filming" moments. If none of these alternatives float your boat, try editing some footage. Everyone likes being filmed, no one likes editing but this is the perfect time to do it. Get a good 2-3 minute part together and share it with the world. That way when your good to skate again, you can clear space on your camera to capture more golden moments. Either way plan on giving yourself ample time to rest, and stay off the injury. Before you know it you'll be back on your feet... erm board. For your sadists out there's a link to the worst skateboarding injuries on the internet. Enjoy. - The Philly Skater. Over n' Out

Stevie Williams, Skater of the Week

This week's Skater of the week is none other than Philly's own Stevie Williams. From humble beginnings to sipping Hennessy on first class flights ( If you don't believe me check his Instagram ) and skating for his own skate brand. It all started Dec. 17th 1979 when Stevie was born. Eleven years later he started skateboarding and four years after that ( at the age of 15 ) left his city behind and began hitchhiking to San Francisco, California. The rest is history. Stevie is now the owner and founder of the DGK skate brand which sells merchandise ranging from boards and apparel, to stickers, snap backs, and videos. Their latest video was released Dec. 14th 2012 titled Parental Advisory. This is some of the newest footage we've seen of Stevie and the DGK crew ( even though its a movie, not a skate tape ) since the Chocolate Tour tape and The Kayo Corp, its Official ( both have some great skate material. ) Was it just me or did the Till Death Tour 2011 tape leave something to be desire? Anyway, Stevie is currently sponsored by DGK Skateboards, Supra Footwear, G-Shock Watches, New Era Cap Company, 9five Eyewear, Gold Wheels, Grizzly Griptape, Venture Trucks, Diamond Supply Company, and Bones Bearings. He was sponsored by Reebok ( 2004 ) but decided not to renew his contract in 2006 when Reebok didn't want to sponsor his crew only him. showing his loyalty Stevie decided to ride without a sponsor ( not for long ) building his brand and street credibility through world wide tours and strategic branding tactics like board signings and opening several skate shops around the nation. In 2006, Williams opened the skate shop L&K Limited in Oceanside, California, together with Nick Lockman, and in 2008, he opened the skate shop Sk8tique in Atlanta, Georgia. Personally I think he should have, and still should open a skate shop in Philadelphia, but with Nocturnal closing its doors and Exit stating that staying afloat during the winter months is nothing short of a miracle, I can understand why a northeast store may not be a prime location. Still, rep for your home town Stevie!! We're out here. Check Love park on a summer Saturday night and you'll see... we're out here. I cant help but wonder if the new skate park on The Ben Franklin Parkway will spur more interest in Pro-skaters opening shops in the City. I hope so. In 2011 Transworld magazine called Stevie Williams the 27th most influential skater of all time. His place is debatable but one thing isn't, he's up there. When it comes to tech tricks Stevie's your guy. A Goofy skater by nature, he comes off as ambidextrous ( does that apply to feet ? ) in all of his videos. Regardless, on thing is for sure, he gets more pop than most pros, and has the meanest switch heel in the game. Be sure to check out the Parental advisory tape and give us some feed back before our review. Also we'd love to post some of our readers videos and pics on the page. You can send those to ThePhillySkater@gmail.com to be included in an upcoming viewer picked best trick contest. Stay tuned in for further details. - The Philly Skater, Over n' Out

How the Christmas Village Stole Christmas

Yes its true, around this time every year wooden shacks n'shops, shows, music and a giant tree can all be found in Downtown Philadelphia- The Christmas Village. This is a place where people bring their families to shop, bond, and bask in Christmas spirit. The village usually makes camp at Dilworth Plaza outisde City Hall. However due to the $50 Million dollar renovations happening at City Hall, our beloved Love Park has been commandeered as this years Christmas Village location. Nov. 22 was D day, almost over night the sheds went up and were filled with jewelry, shirts, there was even a giant macaroni noodle ( you know you love it ), but what there wasn't was a hub for we skaters to call our own. Patiently we've put up with the ruckus, but I know I'm not the only sidewalk surfer whose been more then annoyed that my favorite Saturday morning spot was taken. "When will it go? When will it go?" The question on everyone's mind. Well I did some research and have good news for everyone. It's already gone. Christmas Village lasts from Nov. 22 to Dec. 24th which means that as of four days ago it had been dismantled. I'm not positive if its in skate-able condition as of yet, but tomorrow, I'll be there shredding it up to give you guys a full report on the status of our beloved Skate Haven. In the mean time keep skating friends. The Philly Skater, over and out.