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News / Special Events 2004 King of the Groms Contest Report What a great tradition this is turning into. Groms, sisters, brothers, parents, and even grand parents showed up to cheer on their favorite 12 and under rider. Once a year we hold this contest and if your 13 years old or older, sorry, you're not invited to compete. This is the time for the non - teenagers to show their stuff and what stuff they had to show!! These youngsters are getting sooooo good - some had a hard time believing that they were in fact - 12 and under. Everybody, including 3rd Lair staff, all the Groms, and myself were anxiously awaiting this day to arrive. Even the local pro, Chad Benson, insisted that he could take part in the festivities as a judge. Along with soon to be pro Seth Mc Cullum, and over the hill, never was a pro, Mike Munzenrider. The total number of entries was 60, up about 25 from last year. Probably due to the fact that we had 3 experience levels to choose from this year - beginner, intermediate, and expert. Disciplines were street, bowl, and mini - ramp. They were 9 different divisions to choose from but we ended up combining beginner and intermediate bowl due to not enough entrants. So we ended up with 8 different divisions. We started off with the beginner/intermediate bowl division. Its good to see the little guys carve around in the bowl a little bit because I know there are some older guys who I won't name that have never learned it. Expert bowl was next and Max Werlich (9) fully executed his run to defend his title. I'm not sure who it was (email me if you know) but they did a sick frontside grab 360 to fakie and I got a great photo of it. Zach Hickoff (8) acid dropped off the little quarter pipe into the shallow end of the bowl - see pic. Mini - ramp had a solid line up of competitors, with about 15 riders in all 3 divisions. A 9 year old - Jack Olson won the beginner division. Andrew Crosby (11) and Trenton Romens (12) were battling it up for 1st place in the intermediate division, with Andrew edging him out for the win. 3rd Lair Grom Team rider - Max Moss took top honors in the expert division of the mini - ramp. Which was a tough thing to do with Chaz Ortiz (8), Cody Davis (10), and Max Werlich nipping at yer heals. Trenton Romens had another good showing in beginner street taking 1st place, followed by Dan Crittendon and Jack Olson. Not one Minnesotan placed in the top 3 of intermediate street. Cody Listrom (8) from Racine, Wi. took 1st, Ben Tranter (10) from Thunder Bay, Ontarion Canada took 2nd, and Adam Barnett (12) another cheddar-head from Menasha, Wi. took 3rd. Thanks for taking the road trip guys! Finally the expert street division was ready to take the course about 45 minutes behind schedule. With a total of 24 riders making an attempt to be the 2004 King of the Groms. We divided them up into 2 heats of 12 and gave each heat about a 15 minute jam. The judges then proceeded to pick out the ones that they wanted to see in the finals. This means that if you got tapped out by MC Steve Gareri you made it to the final round. After picking the top 4 from each divisions each rider got 1 final, one minute run to decide their 1 - 8 placement. The tension was running high as the 8 finalists prepared for their one final run of the day to see who would be the King. Their ages ranged from 8 - 12 years old the youngest being Chaz Ortiz. Everybody had great runs, but the top 3 - Cody Davis, Dan Norlach, and Timmy Gallager were completely on fire. These guys good have place in the middle of the Damn Am field with the tricks they were pulling. Cody Davis rode the course like big boy and took the title. His run was absolutely incredible - he did not miss one trick in it! Huge ollies over the bump to bump, hit most of the rails, and just utilized the entire course with authority. Cody has put a lot of time and dedication into his skating and boy does it show. Cody is only 10 years old and he's getting better every day. Cody will have a brilliant in career in skateboarding if he keeps progressing at this rate. Congratulations to Cody and everybody else that entered the 2004 King of the Groms. We hope that you had a great time and commend you for being brave enough to enter. Thank you so much for your participation - good luck for next year! - Mulla 2004 King of the Groms - Special Awards *Youngest to Enter: Christian Wiborg (4) *Farthest Traveled: Zach Hickoff (8) Erie, Pa. and Ben Tranter (10) Thunder Bay, Ontario Canada CONTEST RESULTS FOR 2004 KING OF THE GROMS King Of the Groms 2004 BEGINNER/INTERMEDATE BOWL Place Name Age Hometown (Judge 1 Judge 2 Judge 3) = Average (1st) Ian Strong 12 St. Paul, MN (85 85 85) = 85 (2nd) Stuart Gamradt 11 Hutchenson, MN (75 79 77) = 77 (3rd) Stephen Young 11 Hutchinson, MN (70 61 73) = 68 (4th) Scott Grundhauser 9 Woodbury, MN (65 55 76) = 65.3 (5th) Nicholas Beitlich 8 IGH, MN (62 53 77) = 64 (6th) Mitchell Scriver 8 Edina, MN (50 42 51) = 47.6 King of the Groms 2004 EXPERT BOWL Place Name Age Hometown (Judge 1 Judge 2 Judge 3) = Average (1st) Max Werlich 9 Waconia, MN (92 95 87) = 91.3 (2nd) Cody Davis 10 Ramsey, MN (88 95 87) = 90 (3rd) Zach Hickoff 8 Erie, PA (75 76 83) = 78 (4th) Ian Weiss 10 Golden Valley, MN (70 76 78) = 74.6 (5th) Matt Richard 12 Champlin, MN (68 71 79) = 72.6 (6th) Brian Pederson 12 Mpls, MN (60 65.5 67.5) = 64.3 (7th) Noah Schumacher 12 Mpls, MN (60 57 74) = 63.6 (8th) Ben Tranter 10 Thunder Bay, Ontario (60 51 67) = 59.3 (9th) Joe House 11 Shoreview, MN (55 40 55) = 50 (10th) Kirian Stone 12 Mpls, MN (0 20 -10) = 3.3 King of the Groms 2004 BEGINNER MINI - ROOM Place Name Age Hometown (Judge 1 Judge 2 Judge 3) = Average (1st) Jack Olson 9 St Louis Park, MN (65 80 86) = 77 (2nd) Chris Wenzel 12 Eden Prairie, MN (60 74 83) = 72.3 (3rd) Robert Jones 12 Mpls, MN (58 67 80) = 68.3 (4th) Carlos Face 10 St Paul, MN (55 60 79) = 64.6 (5th) John Matthys 10 Elk River, MN (50 50 77) = 59 (6th) Nicholas Beithith 8 Edina, MN (48 51 71) = 56.6 (7th) Robin Schauls 10 IGH, MN (45.5 75 46) = 55.5 (8th) Ian Lawson 10 Golden Valley, MN (47.5 70 35) = 50.8 (9th) Ethan Heneson 12 Mpls, MN (45 70 35) = 50 (10th) Christian Wiborg 4 Brahm, MN (45 72.5 30.5) = 49.3 (11th) Mitchell Scriver 8 Edina, MN (42.5 70 30) = 47.5 (12th) Matt Poiner 8 Champlin, MN (40 70 30) = 46.6 (13th) Shane Gill 12 Elk River, MN (37.5 70 30.5) = 46 (13th) Josh Barnett 11 Plymouth (37.5 70 30.5) = 46 (14th) Shelby Larson 8 St. Louis Park, MN (37.5 70 30) = 45.8 (15th) J.P. Franz 9 Mpls, MN (38.5 70 26.5) = 45 (15th) Grant Scriver 7 Edina, MN (37.5 70 27.5) = 45 15th King of the Groms 2004 INTERMEDIATE MINI - ROOM Place Name Age Hometown (Judge 1 Judge 2 Judge 3) = Average (1st) Andrew Crosby 11 St. Paul, MN (80 88 80) = 82.6 (2nd) Trenton Romens 12 Edina, MN (73 85 75) = 77.6 (3rd) Ian Strong 12 St. Pul, MN (65 72 70) = 69 (4th) Khalad Al-Kordi12 Rosemount, MN (60 61 64) = 61.6 (5th) Stuart Gamradt 11 Hutchenson, MN (67.5 74.5 69) = 70.3 (6th) Andrew Leibman 9 Mpls, MN (65.5 70 72) = 69.1 (7th) Willie Kelsey 10 Shorewood, MN (65.5 71.5 70) = 69 (8th) Matt Penick 12 Wayzata, MN (60 68.5 69.5) = 66 (9th) Scott Grundhauser 9 Woodbury, MN (62.5 62 65) = 63.1 (10th) Stephen Young 11 Hutchenson, MN (60.5 59.5 69) = 63 (11th) Joe Peterson 12 Champlin, MN (52.5 40 50) = 47.5 King of the Groms 2004 EXPERT MINI - ROOM Place Name Age Hometown (Judge 1 Judge 2 Judge 3) = Average (1st) Max Moss 12 Minnetonka, MN (80 91 77) = 82.6 (2nd) Chaz Ortis 9 Carpentersville, IL (79 92 76) = 82.3 (3rd) Cody Davis 10 Ramsey, MN (79 89 76) = 81.3 (4th) Max Werlich 9 Waconia, MN (78 90 73) = 80.3 (5th) Brian Pederson 12 Mpls, MN (72 88 74) = 78 (6th) Ian Weiss 10 Golden Valley, MN (73 81 71) = 75 (7th) Kirian Stone 12 Mpls, MN (76.5 89 73) = 79.5 (8th) Noah Schumacher 12 Mpls, MN (71.5 88.5 72) = 77.3 (9th) Dan Norloch 12 WBL, MN (70 89 69) = 76 (9th) Michael Matzuka 12 St. Charles, IL (70 87.5 70.5) = 76 (10th) Michael Millett 12 St Louis Park, MN (66 75 71.5) = 70.8 (11th) Peter Johnson 11 Shoreview, MN (60.5 76.5 66) = 67.6 (12th) Ben Tranter 10 Thunder Bay Ont. (54 70 72.5) = 65.5 (13th) Zack Hichoff 8 Erie, PA (57.5 73 42.5) = 57.6 King of the Groms 2004 BEGINNER STREET Place Name Age Hometown (Judge 1 Judge 2 Judge 3) = Average (1st) Trenton Romens 12 Edina, MN (65 82 80) = 75.6 (2nd) Dan Crittenden 12 St. Paul, MN 60 80 76) = 72 (3rd) Jack Olson 9 St Louis Park, MN (57 81 73) = 70.3 (4th) Robert Jones 12 Mpls, MN (55 78 70) = 67.6 (5th) Mitchell Scriver 8 Edina, MN (50 70 50) = 56.6 (6th) Ethan Arneson 12 Mpls, MN (55 54 54) = 54.3 (7th) Robin Schauls 10 IGH, MN (51 53 49) = 51 (8th) Christian Wiborg 4 Brahm, MN (45 47 52) = 48 King of the Groms 2004 INTERMEDIATE STREET Place Name Age Hometown (Judge 1 Judge 2 Judge 3) = Average (1st) Cody Listrom 8 Racine, WI (87 89 80) = 85.3 (2nd) Ben Tranter 10 Thunder Bay, Ontario (85 89 76) = 83.3 (3rd) Adam Barnett 12 Menasha, WI (75 79 66) = 73.3 (4th) Scott Grundhauser 9 Woodbury, MN (70 74 60) = 68 (5th) Stuart Gamradt 11 Hutchinson, MN (70 77 50) = 65.6 (6th) Khaled Al-Kordi 12 Rosemount, MN (63 62 64) = 63 (7th) Michael Millett 12 St. Louis Park, MN (60 59 51) = 56.6 (8th) Andrew Leibman 9 Mpls, MN (50 52 55) = 52.3 King of the Groms 2004 EXPERT STREET Place Name Age Hometown (Judge 1 Judge 2 Judge 3) = Average (1st) Cody Davis 10 Ramsey, MN (93 99 94) = 95.3 (2nd) Dan Norloch 12 White Bear Lake, MN (91 98 91) = 93.3 (3rd) Timmy Gallagher 12 Eden Prairie, MN (91 99 90) = 93.3 (4th) Max Werlich 9 Waconia, MN (90 99 87) = 92 (5th) Chaz Ortiz 8 Carpentersville, IL (85 96 88) = 89.6 (6th) Kirian Stone 12 Mpls, MN (80 90 84) = 84.6 (7th) Max Moss 12 Minnetonka, MN (81 90 75) = 82 (8th) Mason Weiss 11 Golden Valley, MN (80 87 74) = 80.3 (9th) Alex Conn 11 Eden Prairie, MN (75 86 76) = 79 (10th) Luke Stadtmueller 12 Appleton, WI (72 84 72) = 76 CODY DAVIS 2004 - KING OF THE GROMS! 
Do you think Cody is happy? . . . Dan Norlach is sooooooo good! 
Beginner street division gettin ready . . . Ben Tranter from Ontario, Canada eh! 
This is a frontside 360 to fakie . . . Cody with a man sized roll in to the deep 
Cody with a bluntslide . . . . . Chaz Ortiz kickflip off the 1/4 pipe to bank 
The top 3 taking home the hardware . . . expert street division gettin ready 
Zach hickoff showing no fear with this acid drop and style points on this indy air! 
Luke Stadtmueller with a feeble down the big rail 
Kirian Stone last years winner fontside 5-0 . . . Sorry i dont know who this is! (email me) 
Stylish frontside grind by unknown . . . 3 of 6 frontside ollies done in a row by this guy in red 
Mason Weiss with a smooth feeble . . . Max Werlich frontside boardslide on flat rail 
Max ollie off bowl platform onto bank . . . Scott Grundhauser kickflip to fakie in mini - room 
Some flat rail action - email me: mark@3rdlair.com if you know these guys names 
Timmy Gallagher with 2 pic sequence of his nose grind 
Trenton Romens boardslide over the spine . . . so many prizes from all the sponsors! 
Thanks judges!
TAMPA AM 2004
Pushy showing the ropes to M - Rod. . . . Brian from Northern & Dooner 
Steve and I finally got our chance to go to the Tampa Am this past weekend. We also allowed M - Rod to tag along with us as well. We got to Tampa for our 4-day weekend and checked into the La Quinta, a seedy motel smack dab in the middle of the ghetto. It was about an 8-minute walk to the park from where we were staying and we were looking over our back the whole time. We got to the park the first day (Thursday) and were completely awestruck on what we saw - the place was already packed with riders and people. We were greeted like royalty and were given the official V.I.P. wristbands that gave us access to all areas of the park, every day of the weekend. We were also hooked up with passes to the Anniversary party. The street course was beamin - you could tell that it was in perfect riding condition. All of the metal in the park was completely covered with stickers; analy laid down it perfect sequence. As I'm sure ordered by Brian Schaefer. The place was also bannered from head to toe and its good to see all sorts of companies giving support like that. I heard that over 240 people entered the contest. I believe that's a good sign for skateboarding. I was surprised on how young some of these riders were - although only a few of the youngsters made the cut. This one young guy from Columbia was really sick - he was only 12 and was killing it in practice. I heard that he signed this lame contract with an agent in Brazil that only pays 50.00 per month - and it says that he can't take on any other sponsors without giving most of the money to his agent! A lot of companies here in the US want to hook him up - but they can't. Hawk Clothing is getting him a lawyer to fight this greedy agent. The skating that went down all weekend was completely insane - I could tell that our local boys would have to be on the top of their game to do well. So many people were riding the course that you did not know where to look. I did manage to get a few good shots in during practice heats. The course was nice but it's not as big as ours. I heard a lot of people saying that they like our course a lot better. Tampa's total square footage is bigger than the 3rd Lair - they have two buildings with a vert ramp and hipped/spine ramp in the middle. The contest and nightlife were a lot of fun. I hung out with a ton of people and met a lot of pros - Matt Mumford, Tim O'Connor, Chris Pastras, Lance Mountain, Johhny Fonseca and Brian Howard to name a few. It was also good to see all of the heads that came up for Damn Am last September. I also met this guy named Bill Dorr - he's an O.G. from way back. Some say he was the guy that initiated the backyard pool phase of skateboarding in the 60's. He's sponsoring some of the younger guys and helping to pay their way to get to the contests. Super nice guy and I wish the best for him and his riders - I'm sure we'll see them in June. I got to see Jamiel's and Reeves qualifying runs. Jamiel only missed a couple of tricks and he just squeaked into making the semi-finals cut. I did not see his semi-final runs but I believe he got placed into the low 30's, which is just fantastic out of 240 riders. Congratulations to Jamiel for doing so well. Reeves unfortunately did not nail any of his big tricks and did not make the cut. Jr. mint was on the golden ticket and he was guaranteed like 38th our better - he ended placing like 17th or something, which is so good. I heard a lot of people saying that he could take it if he made his run. I didn't see either of his runs but heard he made his switch back smith down one of the hubbas. The finals were on Sunday and I luckily got a sweet spot to watch the entire contest from. The finalists - I believe 12 of them, all got 3 one-minute runs (best run counts). It was great to see such a high caliber of skating from amateurs. During the entire finals not one person had that perfect run - everybody bailed at least 1 trick during their runs. The last run of the entire contest went to Sierra Fellers a 17 year old from Montana. The kid rolls in and proceeds to annihilate the course during the first 30 seconds of the run, he then nails a kickflip, back lip down the handrail and place just went nuts!! He still had about 30 seconds of his run left and everybody knew that if he could just stay on the rest that he would win it for sure. The crowd clapped and cheered all day but had never erupted like it did on the KFBL. Sierra rolls away from it with the biggest smile on face and the crowd was going absolutely bezerk!! He did a couple more tricks up the Euro gap and down the hubba - when his time was called everybody just stormed the floor and mauled this kid!! Everybody knew that he had won it and almost carried him off the course on their shoulders. It was a killer way to end the contest - you could have not planned it any better. We waited around to see the prize ceremony and sticker toss. Brian thanked the 3rd Lair and invited everybody to come to our Damn Am in June. Be sure to checkout: skateparkoftampa.com for official results and more pics. A special thanks to Brian and the crew for being such great hosts to us. Looking forward to June!! - Mulla 
Our gracious hosts: Brian & Derek . . . Getting ready for the evening 
A little overview of the course . . . Oh Whodi, how does it feel to be 30th best am in the world?! 
Party at the Masquerade in Ybor City . . . Some dude 
Some dude during practice. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . This kid was 12 and he ripped 
The Moat Race right outside the park. . . . . . . . . . . The mini - street course 
Practice before the vert comp. . . . . . . . . . More Moat Race - this kid will be sick for a month 
The Moat Race was so disgusting!! - its a race thru sewage. As soon as they started they stirred up the stench - it nearly knocked you over!! All these flies came out of nowhere and it smelled the rest of the day. They submerged prizes in the moat and as they raced thru it they would find some. The winner got a bunch of stuff and probably disenterrie to! 
The mini - street course again . . . . . . . . . . Steve, M - Rod, and Dooner chillin at the Green Room 
Rob and Steve are feeling it!! . . . . . . . . . Sierra Fellers just found out he won Tampa Am 
The product toss went on for about an hour! . . . This dude made the finals 
Just a little gambling with the boys . . . . . . . . Dooner just lost a twenty spot to Rodney The NHL All-Star game was a complete blast!! Special thanks goes out to John Muldoon for getting us invloved, Mike V. and Jason Rothmeyer for getting the whole thing set up. The game was tough folks - and we lost by 11 - 6 or something like that. They smoked us in the 1st period - it took us a while to get our game on. The 2nd period we changed up our game plan and came out hittin'! We played body hard and even had a fight. That's right, yours truly went toe to toe, bare knuckles against the imfamous Mike V.! It was pretty even - I held my own. All in good fun though. I'll get some pics up soon. ALL - NIGHTER SAT. NOV. 22 
3rd Lair Skateboard Demo at the Mall of America - Sunday, November 16th  oh the mall
 sick course
 Tom Roar with a Pop Shove-It
 100% - Lipslide
 Rock Stars
 Matt Ball - Frontside Feeble
 Beggs - Ollie In
 Cody - Kickflip
 Godfrey - 360 Flip with killer style
 talk about a head up your ass!
 Even Jamiel couldn't resist a 3rd Lair Demo
 this kid cleaned up on the goods
 course for sale! only - 10,000.00
 Thatcher killed it all day - Crooks
 Willy - thanks for coming up!
 so much fun to watch Willy ride
 Willy - had bills to pay too!
Thanks to Jill Schroeder over at Hyper Cow - caffienated & flavored milk, we had a demo over at the Mall of America with Willy Santos and Matt Ball. It actually turned out to be a pretty good day - due to the strong showing of the 3rd Lair family of riders. Nobody could resist the opportunity to showcase their skills in front of some mall folk. Thanks to team riders - Tom Beggs, Max Werlich, Cody Davis, Kierien Stone, Max Moss, Tabari Cook, Josh Folley, Mike 'TimeBomb' Brackey, Brian Godfrey, Mike Guy, 100%, Jamiel Nopovar, Thatcher, and the rest of the guys - the crowd got to witness some technical, flatground skating. MC Pushy was in the house and rambled on for 3 grueling hours. Buddy was there filming and had the live feed going on the big screen TV's that was pretty sick. All in all it was a pretty entertaining day, hopefully Hyper Cow will do it again sometime. Much love to everybody that worked hard to make this happen - especially Jammin' Jay, LTD, Karrie from SRO, Buddy and his crew of boys. ARCHIVED NEWS / EVENTS
 Saturday,
Oct. 25th, 2003
Click this link for results story soon! 
angelic anynomosity 
beer city guy 
bowl contest winner - bj morrill 
bj, moskie, lynch 
cody davis 
some good costumes 
jaymie erickson - 360 flip to tail 
josh foley - rock slide fakie over hip 
max werlich - killer backside air 
micah - the ole 'jump the rope' 
muldoon - showing the girls how its done 
feeble fakie over hip - no problem 
does anybody have more fun than muldoon? 
munzy - just found out he had to open the next day 
frontside nollie to alley oop 5 - 0 
best trick winner - roadkill (trevor) 
so fox is a killer band 
tommy evans - frontside tailgrab over hip 
tom roar - frontside lipslide 
managers meeting 
Boom Boom Beware
here for more info on the Boom Boom.
Sunday, Oct. 19th at the Excel Energy Center 
Thanks to our friend Peter Johns at the Excel Energy Center, Catharine at Jam, and Tony Hawk we had an awesome time
at this years Boom Boom. 60, rowdy, 3rd Lair people made the journey to St. Paul in a trusty, yellow, school
bus. Our suite(s) were nice - I think everybody enjoyed themselves.
Benson couldn't wait to go! 
Any one of these guys could have been out there in their heyday 
you're either on the bus or off the bus... 3rd Lair's extended family 
Steve and the crew try to start another riot at our table - can you find yourself? 
I would like to thank Tony Hawk, Pat Hawk, and their organization for getting us involved and for hooking us up with the table. Especially to Tony for giving us props when he was on the mike. We really appreciate it and will definitly give you support and love on your next time around!! 2nd Annual Trivia Night
We would like to thank everybody that participated in last nights Trivia Game. This is a community event that Steve and I take great pride in. Its good to see everybody in our scene get together and have a good time. We feel that it is our duty to play a vital role in making sure our skateboard community is staying tight and growing in a postive way. It was great a turnout except that Dom, Regan and their Kato Krew never made it! - whats up guys?? The game went extremely close between the Muldoon nerds and Benson and ledges crew. The Hut and Adam Bovee's team and the grill guys were a close 3rd. The top 2 were only 
2 points away going into the second round - out of about 50 questions! Not bad - but we made the questions
pretty easy this year. After the second and final round they were tied!! - Can you believe overtime??
We had a plan if this happened - pick the top 10 hardest questions from last years game. It all came down
to the very last question of the overtime round - Benson and ledges had it right and the doonnerds had to
answer correctly to tie and push it into a 2nd overtime. Unfortunatly for them they forgot the answer to
the question - we gave it to them last year! So they lost, but I think everybody had a good time.
Click here for another point of view. Our team now consists of: Mike Guy, Brian Godfrey, Tom Beggs, Mike Brackey, and Curan Henning We are locked and loaded for Top Shop this winter - watch out! 
Minnesota standouts were - Tom Beggs (Beggs-o-tricks) as they were calling him
this weekend, he qualified in 5th place on Saturday!! That is not a typo - yes little Tom killed it in his
2nd run. 
Jamiel Nowpovar rode extremely well all weekend long and impressed the judges with his perfect style. Jr. Mint only missed one trick and that put him in 2nd place - I thought he was going to win the whole thing but the judges thought differently. 
All in all it was a great weekend of skating and festivities - the dunk tank was alot of fun to watch, Schaefer was extremely humorous as the MC, and the after parties were out of control. 
I would like to thank everybody that helped out this weekend, Rob, Brian, Derrick, Scott, and the rest of the Tampa crew, the judges, and all of the sponsors. 
Most importantly, I would like to thank all of the skaters that journeyed all the way to Minnesota for this event! Click here for photos. Click here for more coverage.  
3rd Lair at the 2003 Minnesota State Fair 
story and more photos soon! TRIVIA is suspened untill after our TEAM TRIVIA EVENT on Wednesday. Oct. 8th call us for more details 763 79 SKATE to enter your team Any BANDS or DJ'S out there LOOKING for a UNIQUE CONCERT VENUE? The 3rd Lair SkatePark will be offering its facility to local bands who are interested in booking their own concerts. Concerts are held on Saturday nights from 9:30 PM to 1:00 AM. and on Sunday nights from 9:30 PM to 1:00 AM. All local bands with a good following are encouraged to contact Mark Muller (763 797 7401) to set up and reserve a very special and intimate evening for your friends and fans. 3rd Lair will help you promote your concert (at your request) in many ways: 3rd Lair SkatePark - 850 Florida Ave., Golden Valley, Mn. 55426. REFUND POLICY: A 25.00 refund is available if you cancel within 3 weeks of your concert date. RESCHEDULING POLICY: A 25.00 extra fee is charged to reschedule your concert date. THE DEPOSIT IS ABSOLUTELY NON-REFUNDABLE WITHIN 3 WEEKS OF YOUR SCHEDULED CONCERT DATE. If a band/DJ needs to cancel or reschedule a show, a band/DJ representative must contact Mark Muller IMMEDIATELY. Requirements to Play at 3rd Lair: 1. 100.00 Reservation Fee - 4 weeks ahead of your concert date 2. No profanity. If profanity is heard during your set, you will be asked to leave and will not have an opportunity to play 3rd Lair again. 3. You must bring all of your own equipment including extension cords, amps, PAs, etc. 4. 3rd Lair provides only space and electrical outlets. 5. Doors open at 9:30PM. You must be ready to play by 10:00PM. Policy for Cover and Entrance Fees: (A) $8.00 Cover, No pay out to the band(s) (B) $9.00 Cover, $1 for every cover (minus 7% Sales Tax) (C) $10.00 Cover, $2 for every cover (minus 7% Sales Tax) (D) Other cover options also available To book YOUR CONCERT (bands or DJs) call Mark Muller at 763 797 7401. 3rd LAIR'S FIRST ANNUAL MIDWEST SKATEBOARD VIDEO FESTIVAL!!! Are you an aspiring skate videographer? This summer The 3rd Lair will host it's the first ANNUAL Midwest Skate Video Festival and Premiere. It's a one-day festival featuring the best of the Midwest's skating and filmmaking. The best 15 minute skateboarding video will win its creator(S) some sick prizes. BASIC INFORMATION ABOUT THE FESTIVAL AND HOW TO ENTER A VIDEO: When: Sunday, December 21st at 6:00 PM Deadline for Submissions: All videos must be received on VHS or DVD no later than Friday, December 19th. at 8:30 PM. First come first entered basis - no exceptions. What: Videos must be created by Midwest, amateur skate filmmakers of any age. They can feature local, international or professional skaters. Filmmaker is expected to take care of all necessary permissions for music and skaters featured within. No profanity, nudity or otherwise unscrupulous content will be accepted. Cannot be longer than 15 minutes. Why: This part of the country has a ton of talent. Our Midwest skateboarders deserve to be documented. ONLY 20 VIDEOS WILL BE ALLOWED TO ENTER You don't have to be there to win. How: We will convert our skatepark into a theatre for this event. Video entrants will receive a set amount of free passes. Tickets will be sold in advance for this to the general public - only a certain amount of public tickets will be available. Videos will be viewed in random order and judged - we will announce the winner at the end of the evening. Cost: The submission fee is $40.00 per video - only one video per person / team. Judging Criteria: All submissions will be evaluated based on the following criteria: 
ALL - NIGHTER / LOCK - IN
We've got alot of festivities planned for this night: Henna Tattoos* will be here giving away temporary tattoos.
Attention gamers - The Loading Zone will be here with their state-of-the-art game consoles. They will be
holding a free tournament and open play in the parents lounge. We'll be cooking up burgers and hot dogs for
your eating pleasure. As well as the usual fun, games, contests, product giveaways (alot of leftovers from Damn Am),
surprise pro appearances, etc. You know how we
do it. Its been awhile since our last all nighter - so don't miss this one!
*henna tattoos stood us up!
This Saturday (09 / 27 / 03) starts at 9:30 pm ends at 7:00 am NEWS 08 / 11 / 03
Your 500.00 check is waiting...
CHOCOLATE SKATEBOARDING DEMO
SATURDAY, AUGUST 23RD @
4:30
Angelic Animosity
Anakin Mechanic Useless Wooden Toys music starts at 9:30 pm (08/23/03) 
3rd Lair SkatePark Presents the:
Thurman Lewis
High Ollie Contest Saturday, August 16th @ 6:00 PM (1) 12 and under, (2) 13 - 15, (3) 16 and older The one and only Thurman Lewis will be here all day doing demos and handing out giveaways. The prize purse for this contest is 500.00!!. We will also be having a concert immediately following the contest. Entry fee is 10.00, the concert is free!. 
Our resident pro and street course designer Chad Benson has just informed me that we will be having the DC Video Premiere here, on Tuesday, July 15th at 9:00 pm. We will be adding on an additional session for this event - so the video premiere is free to watch, if you bring your board in you'll pay regular price to skate. We'll also be celebrating the newly renovated street course. We'll have the grill fired up too so bring grillables. If you haven't been down to the skatepark lately then you need to know that we've been adding on to our street course. Thing's are being changed around and revamped. We've got Brian Schaefer in town from the SkatePark of Tampa this week. He's helping us out with some improvements and renovations that will make the Damn Am contest go off! Don't worry - we're still open and only small sections of the street course will be temporarily closed. For those of you that didn't sign up for our skateboard camps you probably don't know that Stacy Lowery will be in town next week. He'll be teaching skatecamps Monday thru Friday. You'll have a chance to ride and meet with him next week if you come 
05 / 27 / 03 The last few weeks have been preaty cool. Elijah Collard, Jamiel Nowparvar and I have been going to local schools to hang out with the local rippers. We were out in Bloomington at Hillcrest Elementary for some sort of activity days. We had about 30 ultra beginners who were racing around cones outside. Elijah set up a course for the kids to learn how to push. Super cool kids, thanks for having us. 
We then went out to Chaska and meet with Mrs. Strandberg. We had another 30 or so kids. There are some sick skaters out in Chaska. Mrs. Stranberg even let one of her student zippers ollie her. Thanks for having us Chaska Middle School. Sometimes I feel that since skateboarding has gotten so huge that every kid these days has a board. The situation though is so many of the boards out there are from toy stores and the young skater doesn't get a chance to really experience skateboarding. These school programs are so fun for us because we see kids litteraly, riding for the first time. It's rare these days to see skateboarding on such a pure level. No politics, just skateboarding. Not for the camera, or to get a sponsor, just to have fun. I hope the kids that spent some time with us had a good time and continue to enjoy skateboarding. Remember the first time you rode a skateboard? Tell me your story and have a chance to WIN A FREE SESSION. If you would like us to come to your school drop me a line. steve@3rdlair.com 05 / 20 / 03 It's been a while since I last wrote. Big props to our friend Wes "Gunner" Hickman, winner of the the "out" contest. I would love to see some of the footage people made of the contest. If you have any let me know? It was also our 7th anniversary party, and we are soon to be entering our 10th month at our new location. It has been a crazy ride. Goodtimes and bad. I really would like to say thanks to all the skaters out there that have supported the 3rd Lair through our 7 year journey. The people that I have met through this park have given me so many great memories. Thanks to all of you. Many more to come! Remember when the 3rd Lair was the only skatepark in frickin Minnesota. Remember the Roots crew digital photo, I wish I still had that. Remember NY Mike's, 50/50 contest while slamming whiskey. NY your knees arn't that bad, get down here and skate! Remember late night vert sessions with all the "Big Boys" on hand. Remember all the pro demos, and seeing the locals step it up. Remember breaking the display glass at 3am, and getting it fixed before Mark showed up for work the next morning. Damn that night sucked. Whatever, I hope to see you soon. RIP Josh Updike. 04 / 15 / 03 I just got done digging through some old skateboard tapes and found a gem! It is last years "OUT" Championship final 4 tape. Fun stuff. Benson vs Jackson is a classic 2 out of 3 battle. O.U. to O.U. in all three games. This is rare, bootleg, footage, from the old skatepark. If anyone wants to view it I'll be playing it at the skatepark. O, it's a great scouting tool for those who want the edge in 2003. There won't be a repeat in 2003, on the count of Chad "OUT CHAMP 2002" Benson will be in Vancouver skating in a different kind of contest. Check news and events for details. Quote of the day: "It ain't over till it's over." Yogi Bera
04 / 03 / 03
For this installment of my corner I must announce the winner of a free session. SARAH REILEIN, you and a friend have a free session waiting for you at the 3rd Lair, CONGRATULATIONS! The winning memory, I quote, "Everytime I've ever been to the 3rdLair, because everytime I go there I redefine my definition of what a skater is and how much they can achieve." MARK AND I ARE LOOKING FOR NEW BOARD GRAPHICS. I KNOW THERE ARE SOME ARTISTS OUT THERE. E-MAIL YOUR GRAPHICS TO steve@3rdlair.com, or mail them to 3rd Lair Board Graphics Contest, 850 Florida Ave. S. Golden Valley, Mn. 55426. Help us out, win great prize. The quote of the day reminds me of watching my favorite skaters. "Making the simple complicated is commonplace; making the complicated simple, awsemomly simple, that's creative." Charles Mingus. Until next time - Steve 03 / 26 / 03 Well this is the first installment of my corner. I was hanging out at my favorite rib restaurant Rudolph's the other night with some old friends. We had just viewed the documentary about the rise and fall of Gator. Anyway we started talking about the most memorable moments in skateboarding. There are so many! Skateboarding has a crazy past. My top 5 list is sort of thrown together with local memories included. 1. Watching Lance Mountain do 540's at the Osseo vert ramp in 1986. 2. Seeing skaters like Steve Nesser, Emeric Pratt, Clint Peterson, Chad Benson, Seth McCullum, progress into the skaters they are. 3. Skating the Vert ramp at the Aqua Jams. 4. Picking Mulla up when he was 12 to go skate the Ramp City vert ramp, and witnessing the vert skating of Erik "Woody " Froland. 5. Watching Rick McCrank skate when he was a Plan B am at the old 3rd Lair. Ask me in 10 minutes and my list would change, but for now, these were some memorable memories. Send me your top 5. (steve@3rdlair.com) I'll pick somebody's list, and they will get a free session for themselves and a friend. Quote of the day: "Chips don't melt!" Mark Muller 
MIDWEST MELEE - JUNE 14TH, 2003
CONTEST RESULTS:
SPONSORED DIVISION 1. Mike Munzenrider 2. Jr. Mint 
3. C.J. Tamborino 4. Erik Fletcher 5. Chad Baesler 6. Shane Golden 7. Curan Henning 8. Nick Pudek 16 AND OLDER DIVISION 1. Noah Johnson 2. Tyler Peabody 3. Alan Splettstoesar 4. Jake Lindgren 5. Jared Czaia 'J-Train' 15 AND UNDER DIVISION 
1. Tom Rohrer 2. Kyler Drews 3. Chaz Ortizz 4. Dan 5. Cody Davis 6. Ryan Yost Another beautiful day was bestowed upon us from the skate gods. We've been so lucky with all our events this summer - no rain! Where do I start? It was a crazy day, lots of skaters, fans, parents, media, and corporate types showed up to take it all in. A lot of people from out of town - Eric Fletcher is from Iowa and Chaz Ortizz is from the Chicago area I think. These 2 guys skated extremely well. Eric was skating on Friday and I got to watch him ride the course. He was killing it with a good, low-key style, and a super cool attitude. Sick Cabs over the upper hip and 360 Flips back down it. Chaz is young one and nobody will argue that he will be good enough to go pro some day. A very aggressive style with absolutely no fear what so ever. The handrail appears to be taller than him yet he still manages to pull an array of tricks on it - feebles, frontside boardslides, 50-50's, etc. Hay sponsors - better hurry up and sign this kid before you miss out! About 70 competitors entered, most in the sponsored division. We started out with the groms. A very entertaining sight to see. The level of skating in the 15 and under division was arguably higher than the 16 and over division. Don't ask me why but I think I saw radder tricks go down in this division. Tom Rohrer rides for the 3rd Lair - do I need to say more? This kid rips, he's humble, has killer style, rides all of the terrain in the park, and is just downright fun to hang with. Congrats Tom, if you're reading this - we already miss you this summer, (Tom's at his Dads) hurry back. Other notables were Chaz who I already mentioned and Kyler Drews. Kyler had solid runs all day and deserved to be in the top 3. Congratulations to all the 15 and under riders who entered the contest. 
The 16 and older division was real mellow - I think most of these guys entered the sponsored
division. The sponsored division was a who's who of Minnesota skateboarders. The Board To Death
guys were in full effect - and what a crew this is. These guys are good because every time I saw a
rad trick landed it was always a guy with a Board To Death T-Shirt on. Hey - could you guys send
me 1 of those? Trade?
Anyways the contest was intense a lot of good, consistent riders. I know the judges
(Brian Perry, John Muldoon, Josh Holton)
had a very hard task in front of them.
To me in seems like everyone had the skills to win it or place at least top 3 - it just
depends on your run and if you fall or not. I'm proud of our community - all the skating
that went down was very impressive. The caliber of skating here has to be in the upper 5
percent of the entire country - I'm sure of it. The Midwest amateurs will consistently
make a name for themselves in the industry. It's harder to get coverage out here and I
think that makes people skate even more. This is almost a good problem to have because
it turns people into better skaters.
The results speak for themselves. All of the people listed are automatically entered into
the Hometown RisingFinals in Austin, Texas on July 26th and 27th and Munzi gets to live with
the Pros for a weekend in Ohio. I would like to thank everybody for coming down for this event.
Especially all of our sponsors: Hometown Rising, The Gravity Games (thank you Jim Spinello and
Brian Quarles), SOBE Energy Drink, Slim Jim, Pablo from 93 X, and
Andy Macdonald.
-Mulla
Also check out these links for more coverage of the Midwest Melee:
Gravity Games Amateur 2003
Hardflip.com
SkateRochester.com
3RD LAIR SKATEPARK
with
HOMETOWN RISING
and the GRAVITY GAMES PRESENTS THE:
'MIDWEST MELEE'A SKATEBOARD CONTEST SATURDAY JUNE 14TH AT 2:00 PM PRACTICE STARTS AT NOON 3 DIVISIONS: (1) SPONSORED, (2) 16 AND UP, (3) 12 - 15 ENTRY FEE: 25.00 /
20.00 FOR MEMBERS
WE HAVE TEAMED UP WITH THE 'HOMETOWN RISING' CREW - OUT OF TEXAS.
THEY ARE GIVING THE TOP 8 RIDERS OF EACH DIVISION AUTOMATIC PLACEMENT IN THE FINALS
OF THE 'HOMETOWN RISING SKATEBOARD CONTEST SERIES' AT SOUTHSIDE SKATEPARK IN
HOUSTON ON JULY 26TH & 27TH.
THEY ARE ALSO CONTRIBUTING SOME VERY NICE PRIZES FROM THEIR MAIN SPONSORS -
VOLCOM AND GLOBE.
HOMETOWN RISING FOCUSES ON THE CENTRAL UNITED STATES.
FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THEM AND THE CONTEST SERIES CHECK OUT AT: www.hometownrising.com
WINNER WILL ALSO GET AN ALL EXPENSE PAID TRIP TO THE GRAVITY GAMES! AT THE ROCK AND ROLL HALL OF FAME IN CLEVELAND, OHIO FOR HIMSELF & A FRIEND! VIP PASSES GETS YOU BACKSTAGE & KILLER SEATS!! OTHER GREAT PRIZES AND I MEAN SUPER GREAT PRIZES THIS EVENT IS HIGHLY SUPPORTED BY THE INDUSTRY. WE WILL ALSO BEING HAVING SOME BANDS & DJ'S PLAYING AFTER THE CONTEST ANDY MACDONALD WILL BE HERE!! MAKE-A-WISH FOUNDATION WILL BE HERE!! 
BLACK LABEL DEMO - MONDAY, MAY 19TH
Our first big name professional skateboarding demo rolled in to the skatepark the other day. The first
of I'm sure many we'll be having this summer. Thanks to John and Scott over at Cal Surf
for setting up the demo and bringing them down for some skating.
The demo surprisingly started on time
and the boys took on the street course first. During their warm-ups some of the groms got in the way.
But soon enough everybody stopped skating and the course was being ridden by likes of:
Chet Childress, Jason Adams, Adam Alfaro, Kristian Svitak, and Ricky Espinoza.
Chet and Jason were definitely the rulers of the entire crew, I also really liked the way that Adam
skated. He was the most tech of the bunch and tried the hardest tricks like a kickflip 50-50 down the
rail. Chet frontside noseblunt slid off of the piano ledge at 50 miles per hour. Jason slappied up to
the top stair into a backside smith grind!
After awhile they hopped over to the bowl and Chet killed it! He ollies into and out of frontside smith
grinds - its sick, I never seen anything like it. He also aired out of the bowl, over the wall, and into
the street course. These guys rode real hard until about 8:00 or so. Then they threw down a killer
sticker and product toss, everybody was walking out with new hats, t-shirts, beanies, etc.
Everybody hung out and signed autographs and were super nice. The whole team was very personable and
great to meet/talk too. It was cool that each member of the team took the time to hang with kids and
staff.
Then they all got back on their boards and skated the bowl some more, it was about nine o'clock and we
closed down to the public, locked the front door, then the after hours session began. These guys
must been in a good mood cause we sessioned for another couple hours with them. Jason Adams pulled a
Miller flip out of the bowl, planted and spun on the wall, then into the street course - amazing!
The sickest trick of the entire night was a frontside flip from shallow to deep by this guy named
Jackson it was about 4 feet out!
We then took the whole team next door over at J.J.'s and got some grub. We all hung out the rest of the
night and talked about skating and life until they closed. All of the guys on the team were super cool
and fun to hang out with. I think that they have a great rounded team - all skating disciplines covered.
I hope you guys have a great tour. I would like to thank Scott and John from Cal Surf, and Rob Norland
for being a great rep over a Giant.
-Mulla
This just in!!: DAMN AM SERIES COMING TO
THE 3RD LAIR September 19th - 21st (Fri., Sat., Sun.) This skateboard contest is a qualifier for the TAMPA AM CONTEST. For More Info Check Out: www.damnam.com Click Here for the final results of the O.U.T. contest! 
The skate gods blessed us with a beautiful day for our Josh Updike Memorial /
O U T Championship II / 7 Year Anniversary Party. Skatewave completed the
outdoor park and we thank them for that. It turned out great and we are looking
forward to riding it this summer. All in all everything just came together and
the mood / vibe around the park was great. We had the BBQ rolling and cooked
up about 500 hamburgers, vegi-burgers, and hot dogs for everybody.
The first thing that to report on was how well the Memorial and Benefit went for
Josh Updike. We had a ton of people purchase raffle tickets and walk
away with some great prizes. I thank everybody for their generosity and I know
Josh's family was deeply touched. Thanks to all the companies that donated
product for this especially Pete from Iota who brought out a
really nice package with tons of decks, t-shirts, and stickers. Also special
thanks to: Giant, Girl, Etnies, Split, Skatewave and others I'm sure I'm forgetting.
A lot of love was passed up to Josh and I know he felt it. Before the contest
we had a moment of silence for him and I thank everybody who participated. The
3rd Lair will never forget Josh Updike and when you come here to skate take one
extra run for him. Josh's family presented us with a beautiful picture frame
that has a picture of Josh skating and one of his favorite hats with an
inscription that read: (I have to hold back my tears here)
Josh Updike August 13, 1977 - April 25, 2003Mark and Steve Thanks for Making 3rd Lair His Second Home I cannot put into words how much this meant to Steve and I. Its time like this when I realize how lucky we are to be doing what we're doing and have such a significant emphasis on people lives. Sometimes Steve and I work so hard that we don't have time to take a step back and realize what we have created. This is by far the nicest gesture I have ever seen in my seven years at the skatepark. I would like to thank Josh's family for giving that to us, we will cherish it and Josh's memory for the rest of our lives. Its going up in our front entrance for everybody too see. 
The O U T Championship went nothing like people expected. 64 people
signed up for it in advance and almost half of them chickened out. Not to worry
because their spaces were immediately taken up by others. So after some erasing
on the bracket board we were ready to start. I would first like to say that I
love this format for a contest. Its so black and white; you either make the trick
or don't. There are no judges needed and no scorekeeper needed, you don't have to
wait and see the results; they happen immediately. To me it's just more exciting.
The first match of the day was one of the best Tom Beggs against Dom Hess
(more about Dom later). Their match went on for quite a while and to the surprise
of everybody Tom won. Some matches went really quick and others went on for about
10 minutes. Notable upsets were: Todd Brown making it all the way to the semi - finals,
as well as Adam Bovee from the Youth Shelter. Alex Shirlbaurer
beat Andy Paulson in the second round. Jon Vang got beat in the
1st round by unknown Dan Burkstein.
The greatest story about the whole contest was the fact that Wes 'Gunner' Hickman
won it!! Wes was on fire, he is so consistent and just dominated every match with
his low key, subtle approach.
I don't think anybody had him slated to win, but he
beat out some big hitters such as - Dan Jansen, Mike Munzenrider, and Dolo (Ryan Hanson)
for the Championship.
Much props goes out to Wes, I have to admit I was rooting for him the whole way not
because he's one of our employees, but because he's just such a nice, humble guy.
We are so proud of Wes and he deserved his win and the 320.00 bucks!
The O U T Contest ended just before it got dark and everybody was treated to
Elijah Collard's video premiere of 'Roll One'.
Which was a very
entertaining video that had a very TREEZ personality to it. I hope that Elijah
continues his efforts in making these local videos they're really fun to watch.
It should also be noted that before the feature presentation Benji Meyer
put together some footage of Josh Updike, which was really nice of him.
Elijah gave me a copy of the video and I gave it to Josh's mom so she
could see the footage of her son doing what he loved.
After the video premiere the party started and everybody started to let loose.
The bowl session was of course the main focus of the spectators and some sick
skating went down by the likes of Jordan Rictor, John Muldoon, Ryan Rousslang, Jay Jenson,
and Steve Gareri was ripping it up and many others. The bands were rocking -
Angelic Animosity and Suffuse who I just love.
It was a typical 3rd Lair party that never ends without incident. Later on in
the evening Dom Hess from MnSkateboarder.com took out some of his aggressions
on one of our tables and grill. I guess maybe he was a little upset about losing
in the 1st round to little Tom, so he body slammed the table and threw it against
the side of the building. He then wrestled with the grill for a moment which was
more durable then the table and after that his posse stepped in to calm him down.
I'm glad the Tom went home early cause who knows what Dom would have done to him
if he was still there (just kidding). To me it was pretty funny, I have a lot of
respect for Dom he has helped us out in many ways, but if it was anybody else
destroying our property I would have had to step in and make them regret their
decision to do that.
I pretty sure that everybody had a good day, I know we did. But its hard to please
everybody all the time and to those people I say: the 3rd Lair is all about skateboarding,
our only motivation is too keep the park open and continue doing what were doing
for as long as possible. We enjoy are jobs and being an intricate part of the
skateboarding community. Our goal is to do this the rest of our lives and to
insure that we will stop at nothing. I would like to personally thank everybody
that has supported these past seven years and I hope this is just the beginning
for the 3rd Lair.
The next morning Steve and I had to wake up early to clean up the park. We were
having the family and friends Memorial for Josh Updike. They arrived just seconds
before we cleaned up the last bits of evidence. We got to meet Josh's entire family
and I thought the service, which was done on the street course was very appropriate.
We listened to Josh's family members and friends speak, even Steve stepped up and
spoke about our relationship with Josh. They even brought Josh's board and allowed
everybody to take a run on it. It was a very emotional and sad ceremony, our
condolences to the entire family especially Josh's mom. For a mom to lose a
son is the saddest thing in the world and it's just not fair. It was great
meeting his family, but so very, very sad under these circumstances.
Our park will never be the same without Josh Updike and we will miss him dearly.
His memory will be honored everytime there is a skateboard ridden in this community.
Rest In Peace - Josh Updike A True Skateboarder
04 / 28 / 03 The whole skateboard community is in mourning right now. Alot of love is being passed up to Josh Updike - from many different people. Here's a message to Josh: After work today, I was shocked to learn of the passing of my friend Josh Updike. Just checking in at hardflip.com to see what is going on back in the Mpls, I read...I regret to inform you...Josh Updike...passed away. Mind goes blank with sadness. When I learned of Josh moving to LA, I was stoked. CA is a lonely place, when you wish you were chillin' with your crew back in Mpls. It's always comforting to know someone from back home was taking the plunge and moving to CA. I spent lots of time skating with Josh up in Hollywood, and he would make the treck to SD when he was able. It was good to be able to spend time with him. I know you would all be proud to hear he was taking his skating to another level. Been a couple of weeks since I last spoke with Josh, was thinking of paying him a visit up there this weekend. Now, that won't happen. To the crew back in Mpls, enjoy your sessions with each other. You never know, it might be your last. Wish that I could be at the 3rd Lair, for the anniversary/memorial. If, I were there, you better believe that I'd be trying a kickflip bsts just like Josh used to do them. Someone do one, in memory of Josh. To Josh's family, my deepest sympathy and support. -Steve Krause (If you want to read/know more about Josh Updike go to: www.mnskateboarder.com and click on the message board - you'll be glad you did) 04 / 25 / 03 I'm so very saddened to have to inform everybody that Josh did not make it. He died today. We have lost one of our own. I don't know what else to say - we'll have more info later. I would like Josh and his family to know that everybody here and every skater out there are feeling your pain. We are truly sorry that this has happened. Saturday, May 3rd will now also be a Memorial for Josh. R. I. P. JOSH UPDIKE - A TRUE SKATEBOARDER I have some BAD NEWS to report to everybody. I have just recieved this email: 
My name is Melanie Kremer. My brother, Josh Updike, was hit by a car while
skating in LA last week and is now in a coma in intensive care at
Cedars-Sinai. I would like to know if you would be interested in holding a
benefit event at 3rd Lair. We're trying to raise donations to fund what is
bound to be a very long recovery process and we need all the help we can
get.
Please feel free to contact me at home (952-435-9544) or on my cell (952-994-4171). Thanks for your time! - Melanie This means that we will be turning our 7 Year Anniversary Party on May 3rd into the: JOSH UPDIKE BENEFIT PARTY AND FUNDRAISER So please bring some extra cash this day to donate to Josh and his family. We will keep you updated on his progress... Josh Updike Update 04 / 23 / 03: (From Melanie, Josh's Sister) He's doing ok. His pneumonia is gone but apparently his lungs are still having problems getting oxygen to his brain so they're consulting a pulmonologist to see what else they can do. Once they get that taken care of they should be able to take him off the sedatives and he'll be able to wake up. I got a call from one of Josh's friends in LA yesterday. He works for (I think this is the name of the company) Great Skateboards and he said that they are going to send you some of their stuff for the 3rd. Is there anything else you guys would like me to do to help out? (Melanie, we need you to take it easy and keep your spirits up) We've talked to alot of Companies: Alien Workshop, Habitat, S - One, Etnies, Girl, Giant, and Iota They will be donating items for the fundraiser - we'll sell raffle tickets and give you the proceeds. Everybody will have a chance to win some great prizes and all the money generated will go for a good cause - HELP JOSH GET BETTER! RESULTS FOR THE TOP SHOP COMPETITION 
1 - FOBIA I (CHAMPS)2 - CAL SURF 3 - UPRISE (tie) 3 - BAD BOYZ TOYZ (tie) 5 - FOBIA II 6 - 3RD LAIR 7 - G SHOCK/PIT SKATEPARK 8 - G SHOCK 9 - BOARD 2 DEATH 10 - THE HUT The Story of the Top Shop Competition… This was our first annual Top Shop Comp. The format for this contest was the brainchild of our resident pro skater Chad Benson. The idea was to invite shops from all over the Midwest to come to the 3rd Lair and compete against the other teams. The scoring was done in a team format - combined cumulative of everybody on the team. There were five riders on each team; their top run went toward the team score. This contest format seemed to appeal to everybody we invited and the turn out was great. We had teams come all the way from Chicago - Bad Boyz Toyz and Uprise. Almost every Minnesota skate shop entered the competition - Fobia, Cal Surf, The Hut, Board to Death (Rochester), G-Shock Skatepark, and The Pit Skatepark (Rockford, Il.). The notables that did not make it to the competition were - The Youth Shelter from St. Cloud, Freestyle of Duluth, Sky High and Phase II from Milwaukee. We hope to see you guys next year and many others. There were ten teams that entered the competition - 50 riders total. Each rider would get 2 one-minute runs. The heats were divided up with one rider from each team - 5 heats total. Everybody got a good couple of hours to practice their lines and the contest started promptly at 5:00pm on Saturday, March 1st. It was great to see these guys skate the park all by themselves without anybody getting in their way. The course is very big and each rider had their own unique way of utilizing the obstacles. Our course was definitely designed with a contest in mind and I know our head builder - Erik (Woody) Froland was interested in seeing how these elite skaters would put their lines together. Steve Gareri was of course on the mike and did a great job of emceeing the competition. I got some good photos during practice but I was too intimidated to go out onto the course during the actual contest runs. I did not want to screw up anybody's line. Everybody that rode represented their shop well. The level of skating was insane. I knew it was going to be good, but I had no idea how consistent some of these riders were. Notables were: 
Nate Compher - he's from the Fobia team and had a great run, he utilized the course well and has a sick, laid back style of skating. He's got the 'I'm not really trying' style; yet he still makes everything. I really enjoyed his runs and I know the crowd did too because everybody went just nuts. Jason Burne - is another Fobia rider and he had the best most consistent run of the contest in my opinion. He did not bail one of his tricks! That's right he rode that course for a minute straight and did not miss anything. I think the crowd was just stunned and could not believe their eyes. This humble, young kid just blew every other rider out of the water. He definitely has a good future ahead of him in skateboarding. Jeremy Reeves - he rides for us so I probably shouldn't hype him up to much - not to be bias. The level of difficulty in his runs were on a pro level without a doubt. He stuck a switch frontside boardslide down the handrail and it was the best trick of the contest in my opinion. 
Congratulations to Joe and all the riders over at Fobia - you have assembled an amazing team and have set the bar very, very high. I'm sure that these guys will be ready to defend their title next year.
Later on that night during the after party we had a best trick contest. Woody had built a secret obstacle to hold this on and busted it out for everybody to ride. It was a sick homemade picnic table and an intense session ensued. Andy Paulson was trying this insane no-grab foot plant maneuver that might have won the contest if he had made it. It was between Mike Munzenrider and Chad Benson for the winner, after much deliberation we decided to give it to Mike because he stuck a hardflip backside 180 over the table.
A special thanks goes out to our Judges - Brian Perry from Hardflip.com, Ryan Rousslang, Josh Holton, Darren McCannon and Rob Sissi from Supernatural Clothing. Also thanks to Rob Miller who had the hectic job as the official scorekeeper. Scott O from Cal Surf and Joe G from Fobia for each buying a keg of beer for the party. And especially everybody that traveled to enter this contest, your journey made it extra special and we hope to see you all again soon. Also thanks to all the bands that played - you rocked down the house and we hope to have you back next time.
It should also be noted that we did not have one outside sponsor for this competition. Its not that we didn't want sponsors but we felt like it would be hard to get companies to donate prize money on such short notice. Next year we will be seeking sponsors for this event to donate prize money. Please contact the 3rd Lair if you are interested.
In closing, this was a very fun event and we will be doing it on an annual basis. We hope they everybody had a great time and invite you to come back for our next special event - Our Cinco De Mayo Out Contest… stay tuned.
-Mulla___________________________________________________________________________ RESULTS FOR KING OF THE GROMS SKATEBOARD CONTEST: 
STREET:
1ST - KIERAN STONE (THE KING AND CAPTAIN OF THE GROM TEAM)2ND - TOM ROHRER 3RD - CODY DAVIS (NOMINATED TO 3RD LAIR GROM TEAM) 4TH - JON MART (NOMINATED TO 3RD LAIR GROM TEAM) 5TH - IAN WEISS 6TH- MAX WERLICH (NOMINATED TO 3RD LAIR GROM TEAM) 7TH - MASON WEISS 8TH - JACK WIDLUND (NOMINATED TO 3RD LAIR GROM TEAM) 9TH - ANTHONY BEHL 10TH ZACH BLOCK BOWL: 
1ST - MAX WERLICH2ND - CODY DAVIS 3RD - IAN WEISS 4TH - KIERAN STONE 5TH - COLIN HAUNTER 6TH - JAKE STRUZYK 7TH - JOE HOUSE 8TH - KARTER HOLTHUSEN 9TH - JACK WIDLUND 10TH - WES DODD MINI - ROOM 1ST - KIERAN STONE 2ND - MAX WERLICH 3RD - MAX MOSS 4TH - MASON WEISS 5TH - CODY DAVIS 6TH - NOAH SCHUMACHER 7TH - TRENTON ROMENS 8TH - JACK WIDLUND CONGRATULATIONS TO EVERYBODY THAT ENTERED OUR FIRST ANNUAL KING OF THE GROMS __________________________________________________________________________ 
The Story of the King of the Groms Contest…
It was a Sunday, February 23, 2003 and we couldn't believe the day was upon us already. This was a highly anticipated contest for the 3rd Lair because it was the first one at the new facility. It would be the first time that any of these kids had the entire park to themselves, I could only imagine how this must have felt to them. The only time they could have the entire park without anyone getting in their way and it had to be in front of hundreds of other people watching them. You take the good with the bad in life.
It was a great turnout; a lot of riders entered multiple categories. Their options were: street, bowl, and/or mini - room. The street course had the best turn out, then mini - room, and least was the bowl. No offense to the bowl, but these were 12 and under riders and take a look at that thing - it stands more than double the height of all of them.
We started the contest in the street course and when I got out there I couldn't believe my eyes - these kids meant serious business. I saw multiple riders ollieing down the stairs off of our tallest quarter pipe and on to the bank below. I saw kickflips being stuck no problem by most of them. I saw 360 grabs off the launch, 360 flips, and variels. I saw these Groms flying all over the course and I didn't know where to look next it was happening so fast.
Steve Gareri the 3rd Lair MC had the contest on lock down - each heat started on time and in order. The crowd was way into it, lots of parents and friends showed up to cheer on their favorite Grom. I got onto the course and started taking some photos.
I started to immediately notice the standouts - Kieran Stone was killing it!! And so were a lot of others like Cody Davis and Ian Weiss. Both of these kids have a go for broke style, which I love to see. They threw caution to the wind and went for every single trick they attempted. But Kieran was just amazing he rode the course like a big boy and I questioned how somebody so good could be less than 13 years of age? But I heard Kieran's only 11. This is a kid who has a FUTURE in skateboarding; he could easily be a top am in a couple of years.
Check the results to see who did good, but I think that the most important statistic is the status of skateboarding in the state of Minnesota. We have a ton of young kids around here who just plain rip. I don't know why or how these kids got so good so young but its a good thing to see and be apart of.
I want to personally congratulate everybody that came down to this event, especially to the riders that entered the competition. I know that entering a contest is a tuff thing to do. But after you do it you are always so happy that you did. So to everybody that gave it their best shot - you are a true skateboarder and the 3rd Lair emulates you. We hope to see you back for some riding soon!
I also want to thank all of our sponsors that kicked down the goods for the Groms:
SPONSORS TO THANK:
1. CAL SURF 2. FOBIA SKATESHOP 3. AXIS SHOES 4. LAKAI SHOES 5. DVS SHOES 6. SUPERNATURAL 7. IOTA 8. PIZZA HUT 9. TACO BELL 10. COKE COLA 11. SODALICIOUS 12. ALIEN WORKSHOP 13. HABITAT SKATEBOARDS 14. GIRL SKATEBOARDS 15. FOUR STAR CLOTHING Your support of our park and special events is greatly appreciated. We hope to reciprocate your generosity by constant promotion of your products in our shop. A bigger piece of skateboarding heaven at 3rd Lair's new location Lucy Y. Her Star Tribune Published Nov. 15, 2002 Skateboarding gives Jack Widlund a high that he can't get anywhere else. Flying off a ramp onto a rail and riding it to the end gives the 10-year-old a serious adrenaline rush. The time that he spends at the 3rd Lair Skatepark in Golden Valley is more than just fun. It's an education. He said it's where he has learned to take chances and face life's challenges head-on. "When you're doing something real hard, it is really scary," he said, "but I just look at it for five minutes and I just say, 'Do it.' " And he does. The skate park is also a place to learn new tricks. On a recent Tuesday, he was trying to perfect a sliding trick on a hand rail. "That was great!" said Steve Gareri of Minneapolis, one of 3rd Lair's four co-owners, as he watched Jack jump off the rail. But now, Jack has to travel just a little farther from his south Minneapolis home to get to the skate park, which moved from its original home on E. Lake Street to Golden Valley in September. The new facility -- off Interstate Hwy. 394 and Louisiana Av. -- boasts a 20,000-square-foot skateboarding street course that's about twice as big as the one at the old location. One new feature is the waiting room for parents. Most of the kids come from the suburbs, operators say. Some come from as far away as Woodbury, Gareri said, so the waiting room gives people a place to hang out while their kids practice their kickflips. Recently, Mark McCormack, 19, and Kevin Hawkinson, 20, drove the three hours from Morris, Minn., to try out the course. They said they'd heard about 3rd Lair through word of mouth and decided to make the drive from western Minnesota to Golden Valley because there isn't an indoor skate park in Morris. The owners say this is the largest indoor skate park in the Upper Midwest that's owned and operated by skaters. "Because we are skaters, we look out more for what [kids] want," said Erik (Woody) Froland, 38, of Shakopee, another co-owner. "If they want the park changed around, we'll do it. We're not somebody that's just jumping on the band wagon. Our park is a custom-made park." Most of the other skate parks in the metro area are operated by the communities in which they're located. The new 3rd Lair will feature a bowl that's 9 feet deep on one end and 6 feet deep on the other. Finishing touches are being applied to the bowl, so it should be ready for skaters to use by the end of the month, Froland said. The building was formerly a heating-supply warehouse. It was gutted from top to bottom, said another co-owner, Mark Muller, 31, of Minneapolis. He said that the group spent about $75,000 on labor and materials to fix up the place but that most of the work was done by the owners themselves. Andy Beggs, of Richfield, whose 13-year-old son Tom skates at 3rd Lair, said he likes the new location because it's quieter. But even if 3rd Lair moved 20 miles away, he said, he'd still make the trip for Tom. Beggs said skateboarding has changed his son's life. Tom's more focused and his grades have improved, Beggs said. "He knows that if he wants to be a pro he has to do good in school," he said. "He knows that it's just as important to be smart as it is to be a skateboarder." What's in a name? Gareri, Froland, Muller, and Nate Sheggeby, 34, of Colorado, started the skate park in 1997. They've been skating together since the early 1980s. The original skate park that opened at 1201 E. Lake St. in 1987 was called the Skate Oasis. It went out of business in the early 1990s, and reopened for one winter in 1994 as the Cannon Park. The four owners picked the name 3rd Lair because it was the third business at the Lake Street site. Froland, a skate-park architect, helped design the Oasis and Cannon skate parks. He's co-architect at 3rd Lair, where he said he'll change the course twice a year to give kids variety. When the weather warms up again, 3rd Lair also will feature an outdoor skate park with a smaller bowl. Brandt Gilliane, 19, of Excelsior, skated at 3rd Lair for the first time recently. He said that he'd just moved here from Northern California and that he was looking for a challenging course -- and he may have found it. "It's got good elements to it," said Gilliane, who has been skating for five years. "It's small, but fast. There's a lot of stuff to skate. I haven't been bored, just tired." Sport an ego booster Meanwhile, Jack Widlund's father, Wally Widlund of Minneapolis, said his son has been skating at 3rd Lair for two years -- and he keeps going back. Skating has helped boost Jack's self-esteem, he said, and it allows him to participate in a sport without having to conform to team restrictions. Jack is a cancer survivor. Half of his liver was removed when he was 20 months old, so he developed more slowly physically than other kids, but he's just as smart, his father said. Jack started skateboarding at 6 when his older half-brother, Jason, used to skate, Widlund said. "I really like the sport of skateboarding, because I see it as an opportunity for a kid to perform at his own rate," he said. "It's a creative outlet. He can try new things and be creative without violating any rules." ________________________________________________________________________________
SPECIAL EVENTS
The 3rd Lair Demo Team is becoming involved in many new events around Minnesota.
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The 2002 Minnesota State Fair was our biggest show yet. We had over 70 shows of BMX bikers, Skateboarders, and Inliners tearing up our Deluxe Portable SkatePark. Look for us to go even bigger in 2003 at the Minnesota Great Get
together. If you have a Fair, a Festival, or any Special Event give us a call to bring in the youthful excitement of this cutting edge entertainment. 