Words and Pictures by Rance Reinhardt
DJ Lovins – Backflip
Parker Blann – Nose Pick
Right under the noses of the citizens of Cincinnati exists a utopia for outcasts, artists, and punks. It’s as if someone ripped the Foot Clan hideout straight from the first Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie, then teleported it to a secret warehouse location in the heart of a Midwest city. I wouldn’t be so impressed if it were just a building with skating and graffiti, but Paul Carmack has cultivated an environment of positivity, kindness, and absolute shredding. Here is your front row seat to the thrashing and the mayhem known as the Annual Almost New Year Bowl Bash hosted at The Pit.
Every year, this haven for misfits throws down hard for their bowl bash. It becomes packed with quads, inlines, and boards. Music blaring from DJs and live bands fills the space as jam contests erupt in every nook and cranny.
Kody Viers – Eggplant
It’s easy to get enamored by one of the gnarliest bowls in Ohio, but you must check out the other events. The street section is a great place to get the blood flowing. Once you feel warmed up, you can move over to their masterpiece five-foot mini ramp. It’s great for blasting air and the makeshift extension is an extra foot and half of vert for wild lip tricks.
All this leads up to the main event that brings everyone around the cramped deck. A bash in the 7 foot 6 inch kidney shaped monster known as The Pit. The 3-foot waterfall roll-in section is only a mild reprieve from the insanity of tight carving and pool coping. Masters pump through the ramp’s curves to build enough speed to fly out for gnarly airs. With every grind, the rattle of the pool coping is enough to rise above the cacophony of music, cheers, and those who are still skating the mini-ramp. What a night of shredding.
Parker Blann -FS Boneless
Izaac “Gator” Mowery – Indy
Danny Hockett – Fakie Ollie
Amelie Cline – Layback FS Feeble
Brady Dotson – Boneless on the Extension
Tristen Curtis – Nose Pick
Kane Eggers – FS Crail Slide