Dubai, United Arab Emirates
It's the hottest month of the Summer, so you would probably expect everyone to stay at home indoors rather than go out and skate. But to your surprise, nearly 40 skateboarders came out of their air-conditioned homes to skate in the all-new and very air-cooled Dubai Festival City on Friday, August 17.
What was going on? The éS Game of SKATE, presented by Rage skate shop. What else? Not a drop of sweat was dropped nor a shoe found melted to the ground. Thanks to DFC, Rage was able to set-up our new game runway inside the main hallway just around the corner from the shop. There were plenty of mesmerized onlookers as the skaters tossed their tricks back and forth. If you got there late, you probably could have heard them stomping their tricks from the other end of the mall!
Since last year’s éS Game of SKATE in Dubai, many kids have really progressed and were brave enough to step up to the big guns. Among the standouts were Ryan Chambers, who rifled off tricks on lock, even beating his older brother in his first round! Megan, the only girl to compete, showed everyone it wasn’t just the guys who knew how to hold their game. Lil' Philipino ripper Edward 'EJ' Brioso and Mikhayel both held it down with really buttery styles for such a young age. There was plenty of promising young talent in the mix--a good sign for the future!
When it came down to the older guys, everyone seemed to have their eyes on a select handful of skaters to take the win. But it didn’t take much attention to notice that Ibrahim Wadhai was on a clear winning streak from the start. Having to pass through the Rage team riders who were present--Maysam Faraj, Evan Collisson and Alex Medvedev--Ibrahim made it straight to the Finals, with Essam winning all of group one, and Greg Charbien, who fiercefully snuck his way up!
It eventually came down to Ibrahim and Essam battling it out alone. It was the nollie backside full Cab flip from Ibrahim which ultimately sealed the deal and took Essam out! Ibrahim Wadhai won the éS Game of SKATE 2007 in Dubai! He will now go on to Milan, Italy to compete in the European Finals on August 26. The trip will be supported courtesy of Rage and éS Footwear. Good luck to Ibrahim, who'll be the first real Arab skater (of Iraqi descent) to represent Dubai and the Middle East in Europe. Make us proud! Thanks to everyone who took part.