Maloof Skateboarding will host the final round of its Maloof High Ollie Challenge on February 14-15 in Las Vegas during MAGIC. Pro Skaters Torey Pudwill, Corey Duffel, Johnny Layton, Levi Brown, Garrett Hill, Darren Harper and Steve Nesser will compete against 14 skaters who won regional contests at skate shops across the country, the winner of an online video contest, as well as amateurs Luis Tolentino, Anthony Schultz, Kechaud Johnson, Austyn Gillette and Aldrin Garcia. The winner will take home $10,000 and if his winning ollie is higher than 44.5”, he’ll set a new world record. The current Guinness world record for highest ollie was set in 2000 by Danny Wainwright.
“Last year during our New York contest I saw Luis Tolentino ollie over this huge stack of skateboards,” said Joe Maloof, Maloof Skateboarding president and owner of the NBA’s Sacramento Kings and the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas. “The crowd went crazy; it was amazing.
Skateboarding is not exclusive to street or vert formats, there are so many aspects to it and so many ways skaters show their own style and skill. We want to celebrate and promote all aspects of skateboarding and we’re always looking for ways to get the local skate shops involved. This partnership with MAGIC and the High Ollie Challenge was a great fit. ”
The semi-finals will be held Monday, February 14 at 3 p.m. on a 2,500 sq. ft. street course designed and constructed by California Skateparks as the centerpiece for the MAGIC show floor in the newly launched RIDE Unltd section, the dedicated home for all things skate. SPoTlight Productions will judge the contest. The 15 regional and online winners will compete against the pros/ams to see who can land the highest ollie. The top 10 from the semi-finals will go on to the finals Tuesday, Feb. 15 at 3 p.m.
The top regional contest winners included Christian Malouf (no relation to Maloof family) who landed an impressive 43.5” ollie at the Cowtown Skateboards event in Tempe, Arizona. Mikey Burton landed a 42” ollie at the Cal’s Pharmacy event in Portland, Oregon, earning him a trip to the finals. Darren Harper and Benji Ross, tied for first place at their regional event in Frederick, Maryland sponsored by local skate shop Pitcrew. Both skaters landed 41” ollies, earning them spots in the Vegas finals. The winner of the viral video contest, Roy Robin, filmed himself landing a 41” high ollie, claiming his spot in the Vegas finals as the viral video winner.
