SmokinJs Goes to Ditch S.L.A.P

This year’s 2015 Ditch S.L.A.P skateboarding event took place in its original location, Albuquerque, New Mexico. This year was it’s 9th year running. A couple of run-ins with the law in the past has turned the event into a way to teach people who want to learn to skate, how to do things like skate ditches, basic stopping techniques for the downhill style skating (using gloves and power sliding to efficiently stop while hitting speeds of 35 to 50mph or faster, etc.) The PDX SK8 Bus is a shuttle bus from Portland, turned into a skate-mobile owned and operated by Casey Morrow and Arbor Skateboards. The PDX SK8 bus has traveled down to New Mexico the past 5 years to attend the Ditch S.L.A.P event. This year, Smokin Js got to get a piece of the action with the PDX SK8 bus crew.

Joe Lehm is the man behind Ditch S.L.A.P. He’s a friend and mentor to a lot of the crew in New Mexico. He’s very passionate about skating and is always willing to bring in new recruits who have an interest in skating, no matter how old or young. He’s a legend in the scene for sure. Every year people from around the globe come to check out and skate the amazing ditches that surround the Albuquerque area. The abundance of ditches comes from the Sandia Mountains that shadow Albuquerque, giving rain water a safe place to travel through town without washing everyone away. If there’s ever any rain water in the ditches, even the lightest mist, it’s your signal to get the fuck out! Flash floods are crazy in Albuquerque. That’s where most of the heat from police and locals comes from during the Ditch S.L.A.P event. Joe has done a awesome job of teaching people the correct conditions to skateboard in the ditches. Each ditch has plenty of different features including banks, wall rides, ledges and crazy downhill runs, which can reach speeds of 45mph! Albuqerque definitely has what it takes to keep people returning every year for more.

This year Smokin Js got to hop on the PDX SK8 bus with a awesome crew of skaters including dudes like Brandon Tiessen from Arbor, Ross Duckery from Sector 9, Jed Johnson from L.B.L Skateboards, Fingerbang from Landyahtz and a bunch of other rippers. It was a pleasure and honor to skate with these dudes. Some I’ve traveled with in the past, but you’re always gonna meet someone new on the skate bus. We started our journey in Portland, Oregon and made our way south through California, skating hills like Thumbs up Hill, G.M.R, Cow Town, and skating skateparks everywhere. We had some epic hikes through Arizona and eventually made it to our destination 10 days later, where I might mention, was the first place I got to shower the whole trip. Gotta love the skate bus life! In Albuqerque, the Ditches were everything I imagined and more. I was happy I made it there with no injuries, so I was able to skate my ass off.

I had a blast on this trip, skating and hooking up locals everywhere with Smokin Js gear. It turned out to be the most epic skate trip I’ve ever been on. Plus the fact we were able to get Smokin Js in the mix, made it that much better! I miss the homies already and can’t wait to get back for more next year. If you’re ever interested in attending the Ditch S.L.A.P event, here’s a link to their website. And if you think you have the liver to hang with the PDX SK8 bus, here’s a link to their Facebook account. Mahalo (thank you) Smokin Js for making it happen for me!