Tupelo skaters competing in Red Bull Terminal Takeover
May 24—TUPELO — A group of Tupelo skateboarders is currently competing against skaters from across the country as part of Red Bull's ongoing Terminal Takeover event.
In mid-April, a team of five skateboarders plus one videographer representing the Tupelo-based skate shop journeyed to the old MSY Airport Terminal in New Orleans to show off their deck skills at Red Bull USA's Terminal Takeover. As part of the event, 10 teams from across the country were each asked to create a 90-second video compilation — or "edit," as it's known in the skate scene — showing off their best tricks inside the terminal.
Each video has been posted to the event's website, where visitors can vote, once per day until June 2, for their favorite team. Once voting closes, the winning team will score $5,000 for the organization of their choice.
According to Matt Robinson, owner of Change and president of the Tupelo Skate Board, the inspiration for this event comes from the seminal skateboarding video game, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater, which featured a level inside an airport hanger.
"Every skateboarder is like, 'Man, I bet this (airport ground) would feel so good to skate on,'" Robinson said of playing the beloved video game, which debuted in 1999 and has since spawned 20 entries in the series.
This is Redbull's third year to host Terminal Takeover.
Other cities included in this year's competition are Pensacola, Florida; Nashville, Tennessee; Birmingham, Alabama; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; New Orleans, Louisiana; Houston, Texas; Tarpon Springs, Florida; Baton Rouge, Louisiana; and Denver, Colorado.
If the local skate crew wins the competition, Robinson said the plan is to use the winnings to help build a new, beginner-friendly skatepark in Tupelo. The city's current skatepark, which received a revamp earlier this year, was designed for intermediate to advanced skaters.
Robinson said an entry-level skatepark would help bolster the local skate scene and promote the sport.
"We need multiple skate parks," Robinson said. "We want to work with the city and the city planners to create spots all around town where kids can learn how to skate."
Although technically a competitive sport, Robinson emphasized the heavy sense of community surrounding the skate scene.
"Skateboarding is so different from other sports because, like, we're cheering for Nashville. We're cheering for New Orleans," Robinson said. "Those are our friends. We're all just stoked that we got to have this opportunity."
Each competing team, he added, wants to see the skateboarding community grow.
"I think it's important to understand that I'm talking about local, community-based hubs that are really investing in the local skate scene around them," he said.
Despite being up against other major metropolitan areas, on Monday Tupelo was leading the competition, showing the power of small-town communities.
"The star of the story is the community support that's being poured out from people who aren't even into skateboarding," Robinson said. "They love Tupelo, and they love North Mississippi."
To vote for Tupelo in this competition, go to https://changetupelo.com/vote.
"When you're voting for Tupelo in this thing, you're literally voting to give the kids of Tupelo a beginner skatepark," Robinson said.
Abrielle is a news intern for the Daily Journal. She can be reached at abrielle.carnathan@journalinc.com.
