Reader’‘s Choice Award: Madars Apse

Skater of the Year: Madars Apse

It’s not surprising that both the industry and the Kingpin readers voted for him. He filmed two of the best parts to come out in 2012 whilst attending university in London. I can’t think of any other skater who would be capable of doing that. It usually takes pros 3 years to put out full parts , and they are rarely of this caliber. Of  course that’s without having to attend lessons or write essays.I think he’s hands down number one european skater right now, and I’m glad everyone seems to think the same. But this is only the beginning,  he’s got a long career ahead of him and I’m sure we’ll see new footage from him soon.

Here’s his part in the DC  Europe video.

Rookie of the Year: Tom Knox

2012 was obviously quite a busy year for him, he got a Sidewalk cover, a Grey cover and interview, smashed it on the Big Push as well as on every other trip he went on.

This isn’t from 2012, but I still think it’s relevant. It’s probably one of my favorite European parts ever. He seems to realise that skating good looking spots doesn’t mean you should get away with doing easier tricks.

Brand of the Year: Polar Skate Co.

Videographer of the Year: Pontus Alv

There’s not much to say for these two really. Pontus has been an inspiration on and off his board for years. When you’ve skated for Cliché or been on the same team as Scott Johnston Rob Welsh and Bobby Puleo (Mad Circle), you know how to pick a team. When you’ve created visual masterpieces such as “In search of the miraculous” , you know how to give your brand and it’s videos an appealing aesthetic. If you don’t believe me just re-watch this:

Shop of the Year: Slam City Skates, London

Slam city skates has been a legendary skateshop for years, partly because of everyone that works in the shop. The are same people that you will bump into at  Stockwell or Southbank, that support the legit brands by stocking them in the shop and help out the younger generation of skate rats. This status is also comes from the image that the team has helped build, by supporting the shop for so long.

Anyhow, this award is strongly linked to videographer of the year, because if it weren’t for Henry Edwards-Wood’s dedication, 2012 would not have been such an important year for Slam. I can’t think of any other filmer who would have had the courage and patience to take on this mammoth task. City of Rats is a well produced overview of a scene that is extremely hard to document, so well-done Henry!

Video Feature of the Year: Jesus Fernandez

He was getting quite close to Madars in the polls for Reader’s Choice European Skater of the year, and that’s undoubtably because of his section in Pretty Sweet. For obvious reasons we can’t post that part, but here’s a little edit that his fan club put together as a last call to get people to vote for him:

Cover of the Year: Soma, Issue 27

Soma took it with this controversial cover shot by Tura, but honestly, their covers are always sick. There  is a little story behind this one though, so if you are interested, head over to their site. The one Nykwen shot of Gonz wasn’t bad either…

Photographer of the Year: Marcel Veldman

If you have any doubts about why he deserves it, just pick up an copie of Fluff. This man’s a genius.

Web Edition of the Year: The DC Embassy

The guys that run this thing deserve an award just for spending so much time indoors while it’s so sunny outside!

Skate Aid Charity Award: Pura Vida

Head over to their website for more information about the charity work they are doing in Costa Rica.