Thrasher Magazine

We put together a crew of riders from different brands out of the NHS camp to knock out a few demos and to see what they could get into along the way. Willis Kimbel, Erick Winkowski, Zack Wallin, Cole Wilson, AJ Zavala, Ryan Townley and Maurio McCoy hit the road for ten days. It was the end of August and the heat and humidity was brutal! We kicked it off in Dallas, headed south to Austin, power drove up to Oklahoma City and then straight to Albuquerque for two days where the trip ended. The heat didn’t let up and neither did the crew. We covered a lot of miles and met a lot of cool people along the way. And that's what skateboarding is all about! —Rhino

The crew: Kimbel, Zavala, Winkowski, Townley, Wallin, Wilson and McCoy

Straight off the plane in Dallas we took it to McKinney skatepark to stretch the legs. Erick Winkowski, backside boneless on a unique concrete obstacle

The Point skateshop crew were our tour guides in Dallas. After warming up at the park, we checked out some street spots. Kinked rail? Sure, why not. Townley handled a boardslide straight out the gates

The first night often determines the vibe for the rest of the trip, and Pabst delivered more beer than we had room for in the van. Every day the cooler was filled with ice and beer and, of course, there was never any water when you needed it. Beer has water in it, right?

Zack is handy when it comes to fixing spots up and is not afraid to put in some work. This DIY QP was in need of a new surface and dry-wallin' Wallin hooked it up. He also got four wheels on the top rope and took it to flat—a man of many talents
Tip sfor staying cool no. 1: Bridge lurking during daylight hours is highly recommended

Zack shed a little blood during the battle, but a couple of stitches later he was back skating

The monorail slide is what it's called: a precision railslide where you get on the edge of your deck and the outside area of your rail—one wrong move and you get dusted. Townley has them on lock

This is where they store ice (and Cole Wilsons) for the local football stadium
Tips for staying cool no. 2: If it's cold, get in (if you fit in)

An abandoned car in the parking lot meant game on. Who doesn’t want to skate a car? Winkowski got some tricks on the roof and then smashed out some windows. Skate and Destroy is not just a slogan

Zack spotted this ollie as we were driving around Austin—big snap into a small bank while the rest of the crew partied in the street

Cole Wilson knows how to celebrate getting a clip, even if he's just watching the action go down
Tips for staying cool no. 3: Get a homie to dump a cold adult beverage down your throat every time you land a trick

Everyone in the van had seen photos or footage of this spot and we were stoked to go check it out. The locals told us to hit it at night because it's a bust during the day. Why build a perfect quarterpipe at your business if you hate skating? Winkowski, andrecht to fakie—you know he stalled it

Maurio McCoy backed him up with a kickflip blunt fake right as the the owner showed up to kick us all out. Don't hate the players…

Did I mention how fucking hot it was in Texas!
Tips for staying cool no. 4: Cut off your locks to let the heat escape from your dome

Townley's morning ritual: ice them ankles and fill up them lungs

AJ Zavala has a great approach to handrails and you never know what trick he is going to pull out of the bag. This time it was the ol’ fakie bigspin boardslide

Cole takes a different approach and grinds across, then pops into the bank

Nighttime is the right time when it's hot out. We posted up at this spot in a Walmart parking lot for hours. After a lot of beers and some KOTR talk, things started getting weird. Our tour guide Nick Marti boardslides onto the hood of the car
Tips for staying cool no. 5: Lighting up spots at night is great way to avoid the sun from beating down on you

Cooling down the the core temperature or helping with the swelling from drinking all day? You decide. Cole Wilson, iced up
Tips for staying cool no. 6: Ice baths are torturous but can help heal soreness and cool the core—just don’t talk about them in your interviews in the mag

Cole held onto a Smith grind through the drop…

…then straight to the van to hydrate and cool off in the air conditioning

Quick barge at the Texas State Capital building—Townley with a long frontside boardslide before the police noticed what was going down

We hit this spot around noon and it was HOT! Winkowski battled a Smith grind through the kink for two hours, landed it and then got heat stroke for the first time in his life. If you've never had it—that shit hits you hard! Cole, crooked grind yank over while the rest of the crew lurks in the shade

Gotta love when you hear that ice-cream truck song at the spot. Winkowski doubles down
Tips for staying cool no. 7: When you see the ice-cream truck coming down the street, grab a couple of cold ones to help cool your insides

It's not easy to get fireworks in Cali, so it's a mandatory stop when you come across them on a trip. Winkowski gets fired up at the gas station while the owners call the cops

Maurio avoids the sun and kickflip lipslides late into the night

Getting creative with some $5 umbrellas from Walmart to battle the sun. Zack warming up on the curb while TJ gets catches some shade
Tips for staying cool no. 8: Any shade beats no shade—even if that means buying shade

One morning we eyed up a large kinked rail. Winkowski said, “I would never skate that thing.” Next thing you know he's trying to boardslide it. He rolled his ankle avoiding the sack. “Why did I try to skate it?" were the next words out of his mouth

We met up with Clint Walker in Oklahoma City and we definitely hit up the right dude for a watering hole. He showed us an epic cliff jump with some nice cold refreshing water to start the day off
Tips for staying cool no. 9: Always ask the locals if there's a swimming spot nearby—if no such thing exists, just find the closest air-conditioned bar

Sometimes you just have to sit back and enjoy the ride

Maurio grew up skating in Pennsylvania and is no stranger to rough concrete. It was a another cooker this day and the hardflip took awhile, but Maurio came through like a champ!

Skating around downtown Oklahoma City after everyone leaves their office jobs at 5pm is sick! It's like a ghost town. Clint, crooked grind pop out with no security guards in sight

Right after Clint landed his crooks, we skated two blocks down the street to this gem. Zack gaps out to nosegrind tailgrab during the golden hour

Bets were being made on tricks throughout the trip and Cole ended up winning a blender, which meant the generator got busted out during the day as well as the night. Willis blasts while Cole sips a strong one
Tips for staying cool no. 10: Get a blender, bust out the generator and make some ice-cold margaritas at the spot

The first time at this spot we got kicked out while Ryan was battling a boardslide. We came back the next day but it started raining, so we packed it up and headed west to Albuquerque. Townley was bummed because he was so close to landing it. About an hour into the drive we got a call that it had stopped raining so we took the next exit and circled back The spot was dry by the time we got there and Townley handled his business and we were back on our way. Cue the beer-cracking sound effect here