Have you heard?! The 21st Annual PHXAM brought the heat again! No matter how much is planned, the outcome always exceeds expectations. Whether it’s the visionary add-ons by Colby Carter and Hawkins Build Co., the level of talent, or hyped-up music/cultural events that bring the scene together, it’s almost indescribable… But let’s try to now!
Paige Heyn – Smith Grind
To host this occasion, we return to the first skatepark in Phoenix, Desert West. With the help of the aforementioned friends, Carter & Hawkins, the park is spruced up with new obstacles that ensure one hell of a spectacle. One of the add-ons will even be permanent. The park also got a makeover! Damaged areas are brought back to life and a fresh coat of paint isn’t enough though. Thanks to Local Artists, the park is decorated with one-of-a-kind ‘Pieces’ painted throughout the course for everyone to enjoy. To check out the art & test the new props, we started on Thursday with friends and family night before letting the contestants fully unleash at Friday’s practice.
Jake Yanko – Madonna
Moving onto Friday! This was a first look at the new cast of Ams from all over the world. Skaters coming in from France, Brazil, and even the exotic Los Angeles, California! With a plethora of hard-rippers, this year we got to see riders competing for the women’s prize purse too! Once we saw Grace, Poe & Paige in the lineup, it was obvious that we were in for an epic weekend. While practice was going down, we also saw the drop of the new Art of Skateboarding Forever Stamps from USPS featuring graphics from Arizona-based Navajo native skater/artist Di’Orr Greenwood. Cowtown SKATE Nonprofit also got a grip of new gear out to the local community with Boards for the Barrio. This is where people can get their busted setups fixed or swap ‘em with new products and much more. That’s enough for one day, right? Wrong! Following practice, the evening’s extracurriculars start. We head to Hop Box at the Pemberton where we livened up tired eyes with local lensman Michael Tyler’s Barrel-Aged video. All leading into the premiere of Independent Trucks AZ Tour Video, PHX WHAM!! The weekend was already heartwarming as hell and we hadn’t even seen the first heat.
Koston Eaton – Back Overkrook
What’s that about heat?! Saturday we were blessed by the skate gods with a beautiful 71-degree sky. If you’ve ever attended PHXAM before, you know how rare this is. With a line of patient, attendees stretched all the way out to the street, we were ready to start the day. As always, first in line got a prize pack from our generous sponsors, kids this year camped out for four days! Walking in, everyone was treated to the famous fun at our vendors’ booths known as ‘Tent City’. This is where you essentially play carnival games and walk away with new gear or at least a funny story. Once you get through the madness, you can sit and watch the first of the contest jams! With Dj’s Kate Scratch Fever and Chopper Dave spinning the tunes, Mike Pringle & Andrew Cannon on the Mic and everyone already warmed up from Friday, it was straight to business dismantling Desert West piece by piece. Hitting damn near every rail in the park in his run, last year’s reigning champ Jhancarlos Gonzalez rode away from the qualifiers with the Golden Ticket. Our first-ever dedicated women’s jams also went off, with hometown hero Paige Heyn in the top spot moving into finals. The level of rippage we witnessed could not be understated, but we all know the weekend isn’t just about the contest.
Jhancarlos Gonzalez – Nosegrind
Into the night, everyone gathered at Grand Avenue Pizza for the premiere of Brian Masterson’s new Cowtown video Anywhere But Here. Our team traveled AZ state and went above and beyond for the new production, especially Zach Jordan and Jesse Hiltner. What about the music? Well, there’s a Cap’n Jazz song in the video…but that’s not what you’re talking about are you? You wanna know about the Metalachi show with Garnak and Sewer Gap! We had rowdy skaters, heavy metal, and a mechanical bull! If you were smart, you went to bed after the show. If you felt like having a headache on Sunday you stayed out. Let’s follow up with the smart ones now.
Toby Ryan – Switch Flip
Sunday arrived and you could tell who had their wits about them and who needed to hit the Yeti free water station. Straight to business, the boys took to the course again for the semi-finals, throwing heavy hits from every end of the park. Big ol’ Madonna on the quarter? That’s Jake Yanko, nollie back 270 shove boardslide? That’s Cordano Russell—more on him later! Then we got the privilege of witnessing some of the rawest women in the game absolutely crush it for a piece of that $9,000 prize purse. We’re talkin’ fast plants on the big wall, locked and loaded front feebles across the new rails followed by a general wave of destruction we couldn’t believe. Closing out, the men’s finals proceeded, with a nine-grand bag on the line as well. Once the dust settled, Phoenix’s very own Lazer Crawford walked away with the number-one steel saguaro and $5,000. Standing next to him on the podium there was Brazil’s Wallace Gabriel in second for $3,000 and our other Valley boy Koston Eaton in third for $1,000 of his own—watch out big bro! With the scores tallied, we watched Grace Marhoefer take a number-one steel saguaro for herself, $5,000 from the women’s prize bag. Alongside her on the podium, we had local star Paige Heyn in second, claiming three grand, and up-and-coming powerhouse Poe Pinson in third, earning $1,000. So that’s it right? Wrong again! This wagon’s packed with prizes, so it was on to the Vans Best Trick Contest.
Paige Heyn – Switch Front Board
Following the finals and with Geoff Rowley on the mic, we went straight to the sessions with three ten-minute jams on three different obstacles. That meant ten minutes on the volcano extension where Logan Mozey pulled a nosegrind for the ages. Then ten minutes on the bump to ledge—or ledge to bump?! If you’re Cordano Russell trying back tail, that’s what you saw. And finally ten minutes on the centerpiece stair set and handrail. Jahncarlos made sure not to leave empty-handed, so he dropped an insane switch front hurricane on that thing to seal the deal. Each winner in the Vans Best Trick Contest walked away with the glory and a cool thousand bucks padding their pockets too!
Cordano Russell – Back Tail up the ledge to Fakie
So that’s it, right?! This time, sadly, you’re correct. After the event cleared we had to bid adieu once again to the contestants, sponsors, vendors, TMs, and most importantly crowd members that make this event our favorite weekend out of the year. Phoenix is a special place and it’s incredible to share our city and skatepark with you year after year.
PHXAM 2023 was made possible by the generous support of our partners and sponsors: Vans, Independent, Pro-Tec, REAL Skateboards, Bones Bearings, Bones Wheels, Mob Grip, Thrasher Magazine, Autumn, and Yeti.
If you were there, you’re probably still recovering from the overload of awesomeness. Weren’t there? Sorry to hear it but at least you can watch the recap videos. Either way, we’ll see you next year!
Written by Ted Schmitz / Photos: Kyle Catchpole
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