Many of my friends are in Brandenburg, Germany right now, where over the last three days the Euro Freestyle contest took place. Well over 100 skaters entered, which is a real testimony to the dedication of pro freestyler Christian Heise, who organized the event and has been doing so for quite a few years now. I heard this might be the last year.

My friend Tony Gale was there. Tony is one of the world’s best freestylers, but more importantly in my view he is a scene-maker. He is one of those people who have given back to the community in a big way. There are plenty of skaters who are good but never do anything else. They are not the ones to remember. I only saw Tony’s first run on the stream, and it wasn’t great. He has a cast on his arm, and frankly it’s been a rough few years. I don’t care. Would rather see him skate than most anyone else, even if he comes off his board a few times.

It has been a rough few years here in Texas, for me. In the last year I feel like I’ve barely skated. That’s because, well, I haven’t. This summer it is just not feasible. Too hot, even in the evenings. But it is still nice to be part of the freestyle community, and see my friends skate on the Twitch stream.