Portland, OR - As the Slide Show continues to truck along, it seems like the weather keeps getting hotter at each event...perhaps it's just trying to keep up with the riding action going down at the Slide Show!
The 6th Liquid Force Slide Show presented by Monster Energy took place the weekend of July 21st in Portland, OR in the parking lot of Active Watersports. Not taking credit away from any of the competitors at the previous Slide Shows, but Portland and the Northwest riders that came to compete did more than hold their own... we're claiming that the talent level was the best seen at any Slide Show event.
The day started at 1:00 pm with a Liquid Force pro demo featuring Kevin Henshaw, Mike Ennen, Gregg Necrason, Ben Greenwood, Melissa Marquardt, and local hero's Silas Thurman, Philip Combs and hippie boy, Kyle Walton. Kevin Henshaw who is turning out to be one of the top rail riders in the industry killed it all day and was most impressive on the wall ride. Kyle was super impressive as he gapped from the top pool to the lower pool...a 14 foot ollie...sticking it like it was nothing! Along with his bomb drops, Kyle had some great nose slides and front and back board slides. Like usual, Melissa couldn't let the boys out do her, so she showed her So Cal riding style all day long. Pushing the limits, like she always does, she did take one good dinger and knocked the wind out of herself, but shook it off and kept riding. Mikey, Ben and Gregg all showed why they are veterans of the sport and the rails... All three impressed the crowd with there style... they made everything look smooth and easy.
Next it was time to start the amateur contest and listen to sounds of Esther Circus, a local band who jammed on the roof of Active Water Sports. After an hour of warm up, it was time to start the contest and see who the lucky winner was that would join us in Houston. The format was simple; an hour long jam session judged by the Liquid Force pro team would take place and at the end the three best riders would advance to the finals. The competition was very tight; Jason Clark had one of the most legit nose presses we have ever seen, while Greg Waters, one of two wakeskaters in the competition was coming so close to landing a backside board slide to big spin out. Zach Schneider was also impressive landing all sorts of tech stuff while Mike Cardoza was just plain making it look way to easy. Nate Miller was another stand out of the competition. In the end it was Mike Cardoza, Nate Miller, Zach Schneider and as a last minute wild card, Greg Waters. The kid was coming so close to landing the big spin, the crowd wanted to see him stick it.
After another set of awesome tunes played by local talent Esther Circus, it was time to start the finals. Each one of the riders in the finals absolutely killed it; all of them could very easily be going to Houston for the finals. Unfortunately for Greg Waters, he just could not stick that big spin. In the end the LF pros crowned Mike Cardoza as the winner of the Portland Slide Show. Mike definitely deserved the win… in fact, we're not sure if he ever fell...the kid is a machine on the rails! Congrats to Mike... He will be joining the rest of the Slide Show winners in Houston, TX September, 29th .
A big thanks to Active Water Sports for hosting the 6th Slide Show and all the support and hard work from there staff that helped construct the best set up of the year. Also, a huge thanks to all of the Slide Show sponsors, Monster Energy, Malibu Boats, Reef, Spy Optic, Alliance Wakeboard Magazine, Kicker, Surf Expo, and Lake Powell.
Check out the photo section for pictures of the slide show event: 6th LF slide show
