Josh Glowicki / Fishbrain / Spot 2

The second stop was in all-mighty-poe-up-my-drank Houston on March 24th. One thing you have to understand about this city is that it’s enormous. Spot to spot travels are around 20+ miles, more or less, and it takes away from the adrenaline built up from bossing the previous spot, yet the winner is always determined by their overall consistency, steez, spot utilization, etc. Dylan Cobb went home with the $700 cash for this event, and the after-party was hosted by none other than Chaz Mac. His backyard was witness to the embryo of strength that was growing amongst the varied cities, rollerbladers and entourages. People drank and reminisced about previous events from years past, and you could feel something special happening before our eyes. I think the Houston stop set in concrete the success that the Texas Skate Series had accomplished.

Logan Alexander “Dench” Harlan / Torque Soul / Spot 2

The third stop, which just recently went off with a bang, was in the state’s capital of Austin. Personally, it’s one of my favorite places in the country to rollerblade and congregate. May 26th, Memorial Day Weekend, allowed for nothing but a magical compilation of intimate memories and musings. Will Kennedy said that this stop boasted, “a once in a lifetime cast.” I would argue to say that Texas was in full force for this event. You name them, they were present. Jason “I-murk-52-stair-down-rails” Howard walked away with cheddar for this stop. Too many rollerblading personalities were in attendance and it only got better the following day at the infamous watering hole they call “The Greenbelt.” This is a majestic creation of the Earth where your youth thrives and all age dissipates into the chilled downward stream. There’s a spot on the Greenbelt they call “Campbell’s Hole” that happens to have a giant rock cliff overlooking the water. You can only imagine what ensued with a guap of inebriated competitive shredders. Ray Soto and I somehow ended up leaping off sans boardshorts, followed by the coercion of Jan Welch pushing off into watery oblivion.

Jason Howard / Sweatstance / Spot 3