Vans Downtown Showdown '09: Foundation wins best team, Laitiala takes best pro again

On Creature's Hesh Cross, Geoff Rowley (right) blunts and Johnny Layton bails
during the Vans Downtown Showdown '09. (Photo: Luiz Calado)

The New York-style city block inside the Paramount Studios in L.A was the backdrop for the fifth edition of the Vans Downtown Showdown, this past Saturday, September 26.

Although the buildings are just a make-believe movie set, there was nothing fake about the astounding level of skills demonstrated by all teams competing in the street style challenge.

This year’s event featured four custom-made obstacles:

– Girl's replica of San Francisco’s Chinatown banks (aka, Little China Girl);

– Flip's Extremely Sorry, a combo including a semi-hollowed pyramid, a bottle-shaped ledge and a drum-like cylinders;

– Creature's Hesh Cross, a four-sided quarter-pipe connected to a cross-shaped pyramid; and...

– Black Label's Drunk Tank, a 12-stair set with a steep rail, a banked hubba on one end and a jail cell rooftop on the other.

With this many shredders ripping at once, the judges definitely had a tough job...

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