SOTY picks of the Pros
12/03/2013
Wonder who the PROS think should be SOTY 2013? Click through and find out what Josh Kalis, Figgy, Jamie Thomas, Jason Dill, Lance Mountain, Ryan Sheckler, Sean Malto, AVE and so many more had to say. You just might be surprised...
 | David Gravette Gonna have to go with Ben Raybourn. Not only does he fully destroy my mind EVERY SINGLE TIME he steps on a skateboard, but he has paid his dues to step through that door of skateboarding politics and remains a bonafide skate rat who loves to fucking get some! |
 | Cairo Foster Brandon Westgate - the epitome of a skateboarder. Able to step out the door in any city and destroy. Solid video parts, great style and amazing tricks. |
 | Pat Rumney I think Greco or Ishod. Greco had one of my favorite parts in The Deathwish Video and Ishod killed it all year for sure. |
 | James Hardy If Dane Burman is eligible I'd say him. He's had the most fucked up year. Covers, insane parts, awesome interview with The Bible and skated things untouched. I could see how Nyjah's the easy vote, but Dane's way more kickass! Dane for the win! |
 | Emmanuel Guzman I think Tommy Sandoval should get SOTY. He straight murdered it in 2013 and has always shown a lot of love for the mag. T Guns gets my vote! |
 | Jeff Grosso Westgate is rad, but I vote for Mark Suciu. I like his East coast style and vibe. I'm a big fan of the varial heel flip and he's got a pretty one! I like his simple, effortless, style. Also, one of his video parts I watched he skated to "junk bond trader" by Elliott Smith which is a beautiful song about art as commodity and the selling of ones soul. As an Elliott fan, I found his choice of music... Interesting? So, when I saw an interview with him in the mag, I was curious. I like what I read about the dude. He seems like a thoughtful, talented, bad ass, young skateboarder. No frills. Just style and shred! But, with a nod to the people he grew up influenced by. I don't know. I just dig his style. |
 | Louie Barletta Westgate! Final answer. He's going 110%! You can put out a part for shock value, or you can put out a part and it makes you wanna go out and skate. Westgate, footy and photos makes me want to get out there and go skate! |
 | Figgy Collin P 'cause he's been better than y'all since the Twigs video! |
 | Jamie Thomas Tommy Sandoval 'cause he has the heart of a lion. Dane Burman 'cause he's not afraid to die. |
 | Johnny Layton Collin Provost. Toy Machine pride! He shreds it all! |
 | Darren Navarrette 2013 Skater of the Year should be Neil Blender because skateboarding is skateboarding. |
 | Alec Majerus I think Tommy Guns deserves it. He's been killin ' it for so long and his new part he just put out in Cold War was so gnarly! He just kills shit so hard! |
 | Elissa Steamer Tom Penny. Just watched some footage of him at Tampa in '95. Killing it! I'd say Tommy or Dane. Jamie Thomas! |
 | Josh Kalis I have two answers. Two very different dudes for two very different reasons. One is based off a points system - Nyjah, and the other is based off being a pure skater who came through with video parts, coverage, etc. without stepping outside of the skate world - core mentality. For skateboarding - Suciu. Both deserve it, in my opinion, but if it was solely up to me I'd pick Suciu. |
 | John Rattray I am utterly conflicted on this issue. |
 | Tommy Sandoval Fuck skater of the year... I don't think I should be skater of the year because I can't say enough about myself. But for real all I can say honestly is I worked my ass off just like anyone else, I set goals and tried my hardest to succeed. Like I said before, if I'm never Thrasher's skater of the year I'll always be my own skater of the year every year. As long as a skateboard is under my feet everything I do is with 100% love and dedication for skateboarding. |
 | Riley Hawk Damn, probably Collin! His skating is super fun to watch and kills any obstacle. |
 | Jamie Tancowny I think it's between Ishod and Nyjah, for obvious reasons. Nyjah is fuckin' retarded and Ishod is the smoothest, most stylish skateboarder out there today. |
 | Ben Raybourn Clint Walker! Turns pro, gets the cover, rad interview - why not? |
 | Pat Pasquale Nyjah, because he GOES B!!! |
 | Rick Howard That's a really good question. Westgate went off with pop like no other. That new Nyjah part is fucked and on another level. Ishod is yet to be seen but will surely be bonkers. Another tough one for you guys. Shit. |
 | Peter Hewitt So I'm looking at the contenders & here's my opinion: Greco- if that was going to happen Guy would've won last year. Burman- Burly, but needs to suffer more. Ishod- again, he has much more to prove. Sandoval- I feel this guy has earned it the Thrasher way. Nyjah- so talented it could be a video game. Does he say Thrasher to me? Not really. Westgate- One of my favorites, bionic-man stuff. Raybourn- Also one of my faves but he must suffer more. Suciu- must suffer more. Burnquist- dimension X of skateboarding... Only one percent of skateboarders can comprehend. Provost, Walker, & Gravette must all suffer more. My picks are Tommy Sandoval & Brandon Westgate! |
 | Jason Dill Westgate. SF round two. Tops! |
 | Donovon Piscopo Ishod Wair. |
 | Clint Walker Westgate or Dane. I can't choose one. Westgate has been killing it and can skate spots the way no one else can but Dane will definitely step to some of the gnarliest spots ever. Both are insane! |
 | Ryan Decenzo Tommy Sandoval because he fuckin' goes all in! |
 | Jon Dickson Collin. He's in there, right? |
 | Lizzie Armanto Ben Raybourn has been skating wicked good this year. He is somewhat of an illusionist, confusing your perception of how big or small whatever he skates is. And I can't lie - those glasses are adorable. |
 | Rick McCrank I like Westgate. Power, pop, style and butterage. |
 | Manny Santiago Nyjah. Not only has he won 80% of skate contests but also put out one of the gnarliest video parts with crazy tricks on big stuff. He singlehandedly put in the most work in 2013. |
 | Brandon Westgate Collin Provost because he's fuckin rad. He can skate anything and his part is amazing! |
 | Dan Rogers If Ishod's Nike part isn't a thousand times better than the other part he CAN'T beat Westgate or Nyjah, but my vote goes to Jim....why? Because he did tricks that he's never done, did tricks that have never been done, has ALWAYS been down for the mag, and has had more than just one interview/part with the mag. And he's been on a steady killing spree for 9 months not 9 weeks....and I love an underdog. Him or Westgate would be awesome, but Nyjah should probably win. |
 | Lance Mountain Bob's video part was on its own. Ben or Collin is the best representation of what Thrasher is. Ishod, Tommy, had or will have their video part and a crew lobbying for them - all strong skaters. Westgate is the most outstanding skater in a league of his own in a way - my favorite. But I don't see how it can't be Nyjah. He won contests, filmed a Thrasher part, set the standard on rails and Street League - skating like that might have a backlash, but if you look back on this time 10 years from now you'll know he was the right choice. |
 | Dakota Servold Westgate - a true, original skateboarder! |
 | Dane Burman I think Westgate. He's one of my favorite skateboarders. Style for miles and everything he does impresses me - so much power and raw as fuck! |
 | Keith Hufnagel Ishod Wair. |
 | Frank Gerwer Westgate! He's all over the mag. Powerhouse! |
 | David Reyes Ishod because he's a straight G! |
 | Daryl Angel Ishod 'cause he's beast and a real skateboarder! |
 | Ed Templeton I'm biased towards Collin Provost. |
 | Chima Ferguson Dane Burman 'cause he shut it down this year - grinded the gnarliest rail ever and this is the only chance an Australian will have at SOTY! |
 | Tom Asta Right now I think Nyjah should win, but I want Ishod to win. He's killed it all year and still has a Nike part to come out! |
 | Dave Duncan For street, Nyjah. Latest video was amazing! Bob, same! Amazing video! Both are next-level skateboarders! I like Ben Raybourn, too, but those guys are on another level. |
 | Robbie Russo Brandon Westgate! |
 | Don Nguyen Ishod, because he kills everything and has fun doing it. |
 | Aaron "Jaws" Homoki Brandon Westgate because he skates like no other human alive. His part in the Emerica video made me tear up it was so good. |
 | Peter Smolik It should be me! But on some real shit, Nyjah. |
 | Ryan Sheckler Nyjah. Dude is no joke! |
 | Dustin Dollin Westgate, because he's a goddamn real street skater not a stuntman! |
 | James Brockman Dane. I liked his part the best. |
 | Anthony Van Engelen Tommy Sandoval. He killed it and looked best doing it. Dude is a warrior! Give it to the underdog! |
 | Pierre-Luc Gagnon Nyjah, he just murdered it in his new part! |
 | Daniel Lutheran We came up with Greco over here at the Lutheran household. We have a lot of Burman and Provost love, but Greco is our go-to. Wild individual, heavy portfolio of skating, theatrical king, good gear, lands sketchy, always shocking! |
 | Malcolm Watson Nyjah Huston by TKO. He raised the bar for street skating. While guys are learning no-complys in 2013, he's seeking out and destroying 18-stair rails with front blunt fakies! |
 | Sean Malto Ishod Wair. Best dude on and off the board. His part in Nike Chronicles 2 is going to be insane! |
 | Ishod Wair Westgate! Nobody fucks with the spots he skates! |
 | Jim Greco The Sarge (Danny Sargent)! Those fast plants to fakie! |
 | Corey Duffel Dane Burman, for the 50-50 alone. |
 | Mikemo Capaldi Nyjah should be skater of the year for sure. You just honestly can't fuck with what he's been doing lately. That was probably the best video part ever. Can't fuck with what he's been doing. No one can! I just hate that he acts like he fuckin' likes Ironman. He doesn't even know anything about him! |
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