The renegade concrete contest hosted by Vans and Spitfire is going global this year as five skate shops on three continents have designed and built their own skate spots for a chance at online honors and a nice chunk of party money for the winner.
Voting started earlier this week for "Create & Destroy II," and defending champion 510 Skateboarding, out of Berkeley, Calif., faces four all-new rivals from around the world.
Rounding out the North American contenders, Ontario, Canada's Flat Spot joins the mudslinging this year, alongside Mexico City's Destructible skate shop.
Overseas, Fast Times represents the Australian contingent with a tough shop team that includes Matt Mumford, Jake Duncombe, and Chima Ferguson. And, last but certainly not least, is the UK's longstanding Fifty Fifty shop, cofounded in 1997 by former highest ollie world-record holder Danny Wainwright.
"I think we did a good job in the short time we had," says Fifty Fifty's other founder, Justin Sydenham. "We didn't really have any experience. We just learned as we went along and go into using better equipment. Some [concrete] mixes were better than others, but we certainly got better at it. [Our spot] turned out amazing."
Fifty Fifty can also claim one of the best shop teams in Europe. Having heavy hitters in your corner helps, certainly, but there's more to this contest than solid skateboarding. At its core it's about dedication and craftsmanship.
Both of those qualities went a long way toward last year's winning spot, crafted in part by the dudes -- including Antihero pro Tony Miorana -- who built the East Bay's famous Bordertown park, which got erased last year by CalTrans bulldozers after nearly a decade on the map.
This year, the Bordertown builders are at it again, ready to defend 510's title.
"We're really fortunate to have a crew locally that knows what they're doing and motivated to build stuff," 510 co-owner Jerry Harris told ESPN.com. "I wouldn't say we had a strategy this year; we just wanted to build the best thing we could within the constrains of the contest. We had about six weeks to find a spot, build, film as much as possible, and edit the part."
"Tony [Miorana] made it happen for sure," Harris added. "We met at the spot, had like a 15-minute conversation and by the end of the day, it was all formed up. A few days later, we were pouring concrete. Tony gets it done."
Last year, 510 won by just 58 votes.
Can they pull it off again? You be the judge.
Voting will be open for two weeks. The winner will be announced September 1.
