Rip City Skate grand reopening on Friday. This thing should be skateable by then. Yeah, it’s a blurry cell phone shot, sorry. Maybe there’s something to those Nokia commercials. The new location is kind of accross the street from Jiffy Lube. It’s basically a half a block south of NE 33rd and Sandy Blvd.

UPDATE: Added a little video of the event.

Skateboards made with surfboard technology is nothing new, I recall it was Hamboards that used to offer a foam and glass construction board, although it seems like they’ve gotten away from that. I was ready to dismiss this kickstarter project for Hydroflex Skateboards almost immediately, but in the interest of pretend skateboard journalism, I decided to check it out. I’m pretty impressed, actually. They’ve taken technology they developed for surfboards, adapted nd improved it for skateboards. Besides being waterproof, they appear to be highly durable and functional as well. You usually don’t see radical (no pun intended) alternative skateboarding manufacturing technologies put to the test in the street. It’s a foam core board with a honeycomb of resin running vertically, connecting the top and bottom layer. Of course, it’s never going to replace 7ply Canadian maple because it’s too labor intensive to produce. I’m not sure how the materials cost compares, but these the prices range from $90 to an unbelievable $230 for the deck alone. As durable as they are for some applications, you aren’t going to want to slide these on anything. Maybe there’s a place for Hydroflex boards in the industry, who knows. Do yourself a favor and watch some of the videos. Even if you don’t see the need for the process, it’s still interesting to see.

While wasting time on Alibaba.com, I saw a lot of bootlegs. Especially the more recent Tony Hawk designs from Birdhouse seem popular to rip off. If you order a minimum of 100 decks, you’ll get them for a few dollars a piece. Yes, I definitely took most of these pics from the sellers, but what will they say? That I stole from them? Also, take a quick tour in their factory here.

A sneak peek at the proposed design being discussed at tonight’s meeting.

Basically the options are on the snake, a new snake or this snake that replicates the old with some new more practical renditions. We will most likely replicate the old if the decision to raise the OG happens. Leaving it up to the city and board to make that decision. The only change would be the down sidewalk would get transitions on its side almost all the way up, and the banks would get smoother radius with coping…

Whatever the decision is, you know it will be built right.

The news about the new skatepark design meeting in Tampa got me thinking about the Bro Bowl. Ages ago I posted about a Bro Bowl documentary that was in progress, so I decided to see if anything ever came from it. They finished it, and it’s available for viewing in it’s entirety. The opening sequence starts off a bit rough, but once you get past that, it’s pretty good. Notably missing, however, if an interview with the guy who designed and built the place, Joel Jackson. The Tampa Bay Times interviewed him in conjunction with the Bro Bowl being nominated for the National Register of Historic Places as one of only two 70’s era public skateparks still in existence in the USA. The par was originally surrounded by housing projects, but the whole area is slated for redevelopment. It’s not quite the same situation as Southbank, the redevelopment is in advance of a State of Florida Department of Transportation edict to widen the road adjacent to the skatepark. The city has advised locals to accept a the funding of a replacement park as the best possible outcome, over any temporary reprieve that activism may be able to achieve. The history of the neighborhood is complicated, not everyone (including skaters) want the the bowl saved. The documentary doesn’t really touch on any of this, instead choosing to tell stories about the sessions that went down. So while it’s not super informative, it’s still entertaining. Watch it after the jump.

[Photos: Tampa Bay Times 1, 2 ]

The Formula is a video produced by OC Ramps and starring Dave Bachinsky, who is definitely a mini-ramp champ. Some crazy variations, with a revert everywhere you turn. The only thing Dave missed was airing off the extension onto the adjacent structure. I kept waiting for it but it never came. Shot over 6 months, it features 4 locations, despite the fact that description only claims three. The Berrics was also involved in this project. I hope they appreciate the huge, nay – massive bump in web traffic they will be receiving from that web link. I like to help out the little guys.

– Thanks to Matthijs for the tip.

On this edition of counterfeit skateboards we have a pretty good rip off of a Tony Hawk claw board. In fact, it’s decent enough to fool the casual viewer. When you look at it up close you realize it’s a bit off. The main drawing is inexplicably off center and the tree branches are not as full as the others, even so they don’t extend to the bottom of the deck. Also missing, the Powell Peralta logo under the claw. The shape is pretty similar, actually, but the tail dome and nose guard are stock, and are definitely suspicious. A reader scored this for $5 at a yard sale. I’ve paid more for worse!

– Thanks to Fungandus for the pics

Public meeting to unveil and discuss the proposed design for a new skatepark in Tampa, Florida, to be built by Florida’s own Team Pain. The meeting will be held October 8th, at SPOT.

…just lettin’ it all hang out. She’s a brick, house. Installation by Alex Chinneck. Too bad it’s fenced in. Maybe someone will get a session in before it get’s torn down in about a year.

[Sources: This is colossal, Design Boom] – Thanks to Boy for the tip.