News: Bum Rushing Pulaski Park For The 4th

After doing several of Joel Meinholz’s Bum Rush the Spot events up and down the east coast with him, we’ve gotten to shred with an amazing list of rad east coast skateboarders. And we’ve also gotten to hit a lot of fun and dope spots. But I think the event outdid itself this time around because there probably isn’t anywhere else on the eastern seaboard that makes a better location for Bum Rush the Spot than Freedom Plaza, aka Pulaski Park in Washington DC. Aside from maybe Love Park, it is one of the most notorious busts in skateboarding but we decided to test our fate this July 4th and swarmed on the plaza with about 350-400 skaters.

I’ve probably been lucky enough to skate Pulaski Park about 75 times without ever getting arrested, and only got caught by the cops once and had my board taken. But I’ve run many, many times and had a shitload of near misses. Not only does the incredible police presence in Washington DC make this spot tough to get away with it also makes you nervous the entire time you’re skating there. I can’t say I’ve ever spent one minute there that I wasn’t looking at every corner of the block trying to determine of a passing car was Park Police or not. But when we rushed the spot last week with a mob of kids over 300 skaters thick, it changed the game and stacked the odds in our favor. That didn’t stop the cops, park police and even the FBI police from shutting us down. But thankfully Darren Harper stepped in every time, talked to each officer like a man and worked out a deal with them to look the other way if we emptied the park for 15 minutes. This happened 3 times but they eventually gave up after the crowd was just too massive to control.
Thanks for Joel Meinholoz, Pit Crew skate shop, Zach Lyons, Bobby Worrest, Darren Harper, Jimmy Pelletier, George Hanuschak and all of the sponsors for making this happen. What an awesome day.
The product from BRTS was provided by Vans, Magenta Skateboards, Bones, Hopps Skateboards, Domestics, Diamond Supply, Infected Skateboards, DC Wheels, Theories and Thrasher Magazine.

from July 15