El Torito Recap

You’ll never need an excuse to skate, but it takes a special kind of excuse to throw an event like the CCS El Torito Skate Contest. In this particular case, it was the grand opening of our CCS retail space in Portland, OR. By noon, the day of the event, the $2000 in cash prizes and scope of El Torito loomed large in the mind’s of every skateboarder within a 100 mile radius of the new CCS retail store. Regardless if they were going to skate El Torito or not, every skateboarder in the area was definitely getting ready to head out to the contest and cash in on the promises of free giveaways, beer, pizza, and good skating.

In the end, it was the main event that proved most memorable. Once the crowd started to roar, and the sound of boards and bodies hitting the pavement filled the air, the once crowded vendor booths were all but deserted. As the contest went on, the list of El Toro tricks were methodically checked off for $20 a pop while others focused on throwing down their own best tricks for a chance to win the $1000 prize for best trick. After all was said and done, it was like any other good skate event: everyone left ready to skate, and the empty cups and half drank water bottles were the only evidence left of the hundreds of skateboarders who had shown up, pillaged the vendor booths, and cheered at every trick that went down. El Torito was a total success.