[Photo Above] Roman Pabich is a true ATV; he doesn’t complain and keeps the vibes high. Perfect road dog. Eggplant. PHOTO: ANTHONY ACOSTA

 

What’s up, Omar? Tell me about how you got roped into going to Belco Bowl Jam? I heard you had a bunch of Aussies in your DMs asking you to come Down Under.
Well, it was funny, the guys from the contest were DMing me a few years back. They spray-painted my Indy logo at the bottom of the bowl, and so that’s what started it. They wanted me to come out, and then a few years had gone by, and more of the locals had got into my DMs – like that dude Cons who loves to leg wrestle in a thong [laughs]. He started hitting me up, and then yeah, it kind of just made sense to go. I’m hyped that we went when we did, because I didn’t want to go the year my face was spray-painted at the bottom of the bowl [laughs]. But yeah, it was great. I’m stoked I got to go. I love going to Australia. It’s one of my favourite countries to go to – not just to skate, but it’s easy to get around, and everyone speaks English. It’s good – I’m stoked we got to do that.

 

Legend, freestyler, larrikin – these are all suitable descriptions of Omar Hassan’s infectious personality. Crowd pleaser bean to tail smack, son! PHOTO: ANTHONY ACOSTA

And when we got over to Canberra and got to the contest, what were your thoughts? How’d it go in real life versus seeing it online?
Well, the first day we got to the skatepark, it was just a bunch of kids doing practice, so we bailed to go street skating, which was sick because we got to go to that old spot where Cardiel did the nosebone. It was pretty nostalgic because I hadn’t been there in so long. And then Elijah busted out a nose in homage to Cardiel, which was super sick. And Roman found weed from the locals – typical.

But then contest day was interesting because I felt like I took one little chicken scratch frontside grind, then I turned around and all of a sudden the locals started setting up the beer cans for me to do that lipslide roll-in. It was kind of flattering, but so much anxiety at the same time.

 

But that fired everything up, so I was stoked. A good thing about Belco is that it’s a skate crowd – like 90 per cent of the audience were skateboarders, which makes it so much easier to have fun and do whatever you want.

 
There was a lot of alcohol-fuelled energy in the air, and you know one of my favourite parts of that was the guy who threw the beer can in the bowl and then everyone was trying to kick him out, but then, next thing you know, they’re lining up beer cans on the coping for me. Man, that was funny. But yeah, I love a crew like that. It’s just a bunch of skateboarders getting riled up to watch heavy bowl skating. It’s like the Bust or Bail type mindset. Those events turn out to be something different because the energy is so high, and everyone’s so stoked on strictly skateboarding.

 

 
Toa Sasaki had a rough go at this rail, dealing with not-so-pleasant Uni staff. He handled this nollie lip on the first try, but oh, what could have been? PHOTO: ANTHONY ACOSTA

Elijah Berle does what others can’t. This roller coaster 50-50 is a testament to that. He handled the impossible, then handled an all-nighter with Omar. Which one is better? Why choose? Pole jam 50. PHOTO: ANTHONY ACOSTA

From the filming portion of the trip, who surprised you the most?
I was impressed with the gap to nosegrind Elijah did. I felt like that was probably the gnarliest trick on the trip. Watching Zion was pretty sick too, because I see him at some events or contests once in a while, but I never get to be on a trip with him. It was impressive to see him operate the way he does – playing golf or going to the PT in the morning, and then just meeting us at a spot and ripping it so easily.

 

And obviously, Shiloh grinding that rail. You know, I was hyped for her and having that kind of pressure on the last day. We got lucky on that one because it poured rain while she was trying it, and then we had to leave, but we went back when the sun came back out, and she handled it.

 

And then Rome. I’d never skated with him, but obviously, he’s amazing and just won Skater of the Year for Australia. Watching him and how he operates was great. Like that day we skated the ledges, I just got to sit on the grass and watch him rip, which was incredible. He’s so dialled with everything.

 

Of course, my boy Roman – he was on fire at the beginning of the trip. We almost had to slow him down so everyone else could get some [laughs]. And man, watching him skate transition all the time is mind-blowing.

Tell me about how you got everyone into the club on Flinders.

[Laughs] We stayed in a pretty hectic zone with good nightlife, so we joined in and went to a few bars. One of them had a bouncer out front, and I started talking to him and telling him that Elijah just won X Games and that we just came from X Games. And yeah, that got us in for free, no cover. You need some of that halfway through the trip. It helps with morale to get a little crazy at night and then have a day to just reset. And yeah, it worked. Watching these guys go through a hangover and then come back and really turn it on at the last leg of the trip was what it’s all about. A good balance [laughs].

 

 

 Noah Bardas is the new guy, and with moves like this, he’ll be around for a while. Crook bonk. PHOTO: BRYCE GOLDER

 

Rio Morishige battled everything Melbourne’s busiest junction threw at him. Even though he grew up skating in Tokyo, he needed to dig deep and put it all out of his mind – pedestrians, foot traffic and trams couldn’t stop him from getting his. Ollie up to gap to back Smith. PHOTO: ANTHONY ACOSTA

 

I mean, I saw what they were doing a couple of years before, but I didn’t know what to expect. It’s not as bad as I thought it would be. Like, I thought I was going to pull a hammy or something, but it was funny. I had to leg wrestle Cons in his thong, which sucked, but yeah, that whole party was super funny – seeing Rob Pace in the Fireball costume and going around and taking photos with everyone. At some point, I had the mic for a bit. If there’s a mic around, I’m going to take it and I’ll start MCing [laughs].

 

This was Shiloh Catori’s first trip Down Under. While she didn’t see her first kangaroo, she did grind her first wall rail, and that’s worth writing home about. PHOTO: ANTHONY ACOSTA

 

Rome Collyer has been busy on the streets of Melbourne. Helping to get Shiloh sparked, he handled this back lip piece of cake. It must be nice. PHOTO: ANTHONY ACOSTA

 
Taking a brutal slam at another spot just half an hour before, Zion Wright wanted to meet his trick-a-day quota. Battling a 38-degree day with icy poles supplied by a local neighbour, Zion, proves why he is the people’s champ. Overcrooks. PHOTO: BRYCE GOLDER

 

Jack Kirk loves to crust hunt and get on the tools. Sex on wheels high-speed back tail up and over. PHOTO: BRYCE GOLDER

 

Omar’s boardslide on the buzzer. PHOTO: ANTHONY ACOSTA

The boardslide you did in the streets really ended our last day of the trip with a bunch of hype. How do you maintain such high energy and get everyone so fired up?
Well, I feel like growing up, skate trips were always like how you guys [Vans] do them. I’m not trying to use Vans as a thing, but I feel like skate trips should be run to the point where everyone has their day, has their eye on something, and sets out for it. I think that’s the camaraderie of how trips should be. You know, everyone respects the fact that we’re all out there, everyone skates differently, and everyone has their own terrain. So, it works out well with everyone being included and considered. In the beginning, Roman got so many tricks, and we were like, OK, we’ve got to get something for Shiloh and myself. But it’s so sick when the team has each other’s backs. Shiloh and I were last-chance qualifiers – right at the buzzer, we pulled through. We ended the trip on a high note, for sure.

 

 

Yeah, you know what’s cool? I’ve known Chima since the beginning of him getting on Vans, and we’ve been on so many Vans trips together. For the 20 years he’s been on, I’ve been on most of those trips with him. He’s definitely deserving of a good speech, a great dinner, and a good rap. Chima is pretty much the staple for Vans in Australia. I mean, not just Australia – obviously globally – but like, you know, Chima plus an Australia trip, plus his 20-year celebration? There’s going to be some good steak, maybe a lobster, and a good rap in respect to the GOAT. And we did that. Private room at the steakhouse, son!

 

Chima Ferguson’s the Vans vet these days and leads by example. Breaking out of prison with a varial heel at Sunday Jail. PHOTO: BRYCE GOLDER

 

 
TNT laid this spine to waste over 20 years ago. Pedro Delfino takes the road never travelled. Psycho 50-50 transfer. PHOTO: BRYCE GOLDER

[Laughs]Yes, dude! The private room was so dope. And your new favourite dude came with us to dinner. Tell me about Nikolai Piombo.
So you had gotten a call from Zion and Chima because they were coming off a New Zealand trip straight into the Australia trip with us. I think Chima was like, “Yo, we’re bringing Nikolai back with us.” So Nikolai comes back and joins us on the whole trip. And I’d actually met him before. He came to a session at my house with Ishod [Wair] and some others, so I knew him a little bit. He’s just such a cool cat, you know what I mean? Like, he’s a special individual. There’s no one like him.

We went out to a nightclub that Zion invited us to. Zion picks us up with some rappers and a brand new Audi and a Range Rover. So, we had an entourage. Shit, we had an entourage the whole trip. There were so many people in Australia while we were there – the Creature team, Kevin White, Gary Rogers, Nik was with us.

 

Yeah, so we pull up to this nightclub and me and Nikolai are taking photos of each other standing in front of the Audi, and there’s a huge line to get in. We rock up to the front, and Zion’s like, “They with me.” We go in and me and Roman are fuckin’ sticking out like sore thumbs. But yeah, Nik had his shades on in the club, looking so fly. Everyone was so cool, it was like a full-on rap scene, but they fuck with us ’cause we’re the truth. Real recognise real, son!

 

A picture paints a 1000 words. Digby Luxton, nose manual. PHOTO: BRYCE GOLDER

 

Thanks, dude! Shout out to all the Aussie heads that got me to Belco and all my squad I was with in Melbourne, too! Zion Wright, Elijah Berle, Roman Pabich, Shiloh Catori, Chima Ferguson, Toa Sasaki and our Aussie SOTY, Rome Collyer.

 

Every time the toilet flushed, the remains flowed down the banks of this beautiful beach spot, but nothing was going to stop Roman from this kickflip. Not even sticking his hands in human waste to dry it between tries. Picture perfect kickflip. PHOTO: ANTHONY ACOSTA