NW TOUR: Poorboyz raps up Oregon, Washington
It’s a rare occurrence when the world of freeskiing makes a strong presence in the Northwest, but thanks to the work of many local ski shops, sponsors and friends, the Poorboyz tour of Ski Porn was a big hit throughout Oregon and Washington. Between the four different tour stops, there was a rail jam, a bowling tournament, and some of the biggest names in the industry.
The two weeks of movie premier mayhem started at the McMenamin’s Kennedy School Theatre in Portland, Oregon. Sammy Carlson and Peter Olenick were on hand to sign autographs and hand out goodies from Salomon, Dakine, Freeskier, K2, Giro, Oakely, and more. After a mellow night, the entourage moved on to the Full Sail Brewery in Hood River. Despite being in a bar, the most stoked audience member of the night was an eight-year-old boy who won a pair of Salomon Flyers in the raffle.
Carlson and Olenick continued on the tour to Spokane, Washington where they met up with Pep Fujas and Andy Mahre. The party started at the Sports Creel ski shop with and athlete-judged rail jam. Nearly 500 people filled the shop’s parking lot to see the skiers ride down off the top of the Big Sky Board Sports van to a kicker that sent them six feet up to a 15 foot rail mounted on a cop car. The competition was a team event, with Ellingson and Trudell representing Team Sports Creel. They were the favorite to win, but Ellingson was out early in the 45 minute jam after landing funny and spraining his ankle. In the end, the Big Sky Board Sports team (Pete Nelson, Tizer Demers and Kyle Miller) took home the custom trophy from Ascension Snowboards.
CR Johnson and Tanner Hall were also in Spokane for the event and to present Show & Prove to the Northwest. Their movie, along with Ski Porn, was shown later that evening, along with the usual swag throw-out of skis, snowboards, boots, goggles, hats, helmets, passes, and clothes. CR had a special treat for the crowd with hundreds of dollars of Spyder gear to give away. A bowling tournament concluded the evening for most people, but everybody has a blurry memory as to who actually won. The Sports Creel raised nearly $750 for the Stand Strong Again foundation through donations and silent auctions.
The last stop was the Seattle Triple Threat 2.0 put on by Cody Carter. Athletes in attendance at the evo ski shop were CR, Tanner, Mahre, Trudell, Zac Davison, Erich Kunz, and Kye Peterson. EVO was transformed into a party hall with the huge screen, a beer garden, and a bouncer-protected VIP lounge. The costume contest turned out everything from the Ninja Turtles to bags of M&Ms to the Team America World Police. The showing of Ski Porn, Show & Prove and Theory-3 Media’s [Photo] Play had the all-ages crowd going crazy.