If you happen to live in San Diego County or anywhere near Imperial County, this is a contest definitely worth checking out. Last year, there were 500+ people in attendance. Close to 200 entrants in the game of SKATE competition alone. There were massive product raffles and product tosses that went down all day as well. The energy of the event was heavy all day and the competition took place within rectangular fenced walls which made it feel like a full on cage match.

This year will be even more epic with the addition of a full year sponsorship from Struggle Skateboards for the 1st place winner. On top of this there will be a Sk8mafia team signing earlier in the day prior to the competition and free drinks during the day. There is no bigger game of skate in the entire region, or hundreds of miles for that matter.

El Centro is the city where the competition is taking place in. It’s about 35 minutes away from Yuma, Arizona, 15 minutes away from Mexicali, Mexico and about 1 hour and 40 minutes away from San Diego County. I have no doubt that there will be competitors from all of those different regions which is what really makes the competition diverse and even more challenging for many. It all takes place in front of Driscolls, the last core skate shop existing in Imperial County, which to me is even more fitting.

So come on out and watch, compete, or just take advantage of all the free stuff being given out. And remember if your going to enter the competition, bring your “A” game.

Not quite a week ago, I received an e-mail from a friend that contained a YouTube link. This is pretty standard for me, clips from YouTube and other video sites frequently end up in my inbox for my viewing pleasure. This particular video, however, has stood out in my mind in a way that few others have. The clip is only 1 minute and 35 seconds long, but it’s a 1:35 that has kept me playing it over and over, helping remind myself once again why it is I love being immersed in the world of boardsports.

When I tell you that the clip featured our very own Ruben Najera, you’ll probably have the word “homer” come to the tip of your tongue. Oh well I guess. All I can say is that all of us who have had the pleasure to work with Ruben have come to know one of the most driven, passionate skateboarders, or any type of boarder for that matter that I have ever come across. And to put mildly….the guy absolutely shreds. He truly lives to skate, and he skates to live.

The clip is a Struggle Skateboards production. Ruben runs Struggle and is doing some really remarkable things with the endeavor. While this type of stoke and passion isn’t unique to only surfing, skating, or any of the other boardsports that makes our world go round, it’s very common to see and makes you realize that, for many of us, these sports are the loves of our lives.

So take a glance and check out a world class skateboarder with a world class outlook. And of course, be sure to suss out Struggle Skateboarders.

Every other Sunday from here on out, till who knows when, you can look forward to watching some fun skateboarding from all the gang over at Struggle Skateboards. The web show is called Struggle Sundays and it follows the Struggle team and friends throughout their weekend skate missions, and of course all the antics that come alongside skating with the crazy bunch.

All of this can be viewed on Firststoke.com and the first episode has two parts to it. Episodes following these will be taking place in different cities so who knows you might have some of the Struggle team somewhere filming in your hood in the near future.

The show is about having fun skateboarding. Which is the most important thing by far. Basically so much footage gets filmed that doesn’t get used and this show gives it a home to send that to. On top of that, it’s pretty entertaining to watch and there are cool features within the show that are worth watching. For instance, there is a section in each show called the “Product Stash” in which a Struggle team rider takes a deck, shirt, or some kind of product and stashes it somewhere in the city mentioned. They give you a snapshot and hints within the video of where it was hidden. You go out and find it for yourself and you can basically come up on a new free complete within a few shows if you’re dedicated enough. On top of that, every episode features other artists such as musicians, graffiti masters, painters, photographers, and other extreme athletes who happen to be into skateboarding as well. December 6th is the next episode and the current one from this past weekend can be viewed below or on Firststoke.com.

Tyrone Olson has been an influential skateboarder for me and many others growing up. I remember his part in the original Osiris video “The Storm” being on heavy rotation in my VCR. “T-Bone” as many call him, has been skateboarding the entire time since then racking up some of the gnarliest footage you could imagine. To this day, I feel he has the best rail balance in the industry. He can grind what seems like forever and has a stunning array of switch and nollie tricks up his sleeve. I am fortunate and stoked to be on the same team as Tyrone. Definitely without a doubt he is one of my favorite skateboarders of all time.

5ones: What have you been up to Tyrone? What’s new and what is in store for the future?

Tyrone: I’ve been back in Madison Wi. for the past 3 years filming and skating for the new Tactical Manual skateboard video. Livin’ the midwest life.

5ones: What is one thing a lot of people dont know about you? Hidden talents? Something you’re into that others might not have a clue about?

Tyrone: I went to culinary school and love to cook, wakeskating whenever possible, and learning to blow glass. Most of all keeping it moist, lol.

5ones: To this day, which trick would you say you are most proud of? Or had to work for the most throughout your entire professional skateboarding career?

Tyrone: get’n tech!

5ones: What’s an average day like for you – from sun up to sun down?

Tyrone: Wake up feed the cats, dogs, and goats, drink a pot of coffee, and then callin’ blake and at least tryin’ to film tricks.

5ones: Any shoutouts you would like to give out?

Tyrone: shout outs to:
Struggle Skateboards, my filmer Blake Housenga, photographer Cory Peterson, all the midwest skateboarders, the homies in Cali, and everyone who supports skateboarding.