Daniel Kim, our 2016 Q.S.S.O.T.Y., is honoring exemplary bouts of evolution since January 1, 2018 with his own, Stingwater-endorsed award, G.R.O.E.T.Y. (GRoE, of course, stands for Getting Ready tO Evolve.) Your 2018 GRoEr of the Year is Antonio Durao: medicine man, beach bully deterrent, gardener, and humanitarian. Daniel gave an eye-watering honorary speech for the occasion.
One of the most remarkable things about Antonio is that he treats skateboarding like the giant fun joke that it is, whether he’s switch back heeling some massive high-bust set on a whim, or skating off the foot-wide lip of a truck bed. The key difference between you or I treating it like a joke, and him, is that his talent on collides with this “joke” head on at every corner wherever he skates, never missing a chance to do something equal parts insane, fried and brilliant. (We’ve kept a small Twitter thread going of his third-eye vision since the middle of the summer.)
Congrats to Antonio. Keep evolving.
for my money, Daniel Kim Belly Of the Beast > recent stuff. here’s to hoping Durao’s GRoEth does not lead to a life of mostly wallies and tricks with a foot still on the ground. keep up the great work!
We would ALL be in so much pain if there was no Durao footage to view. Congroetulations Antonio on this, a landmark achievement.
DKBOTB > DKGROER
I guess it’s true what they say… some people just don’t want to see you GRoE :(
Durao’s in a league of his own — maybe up there with TJ — in terms of pop, casual flip tricks, switch abilities, NYness — that Albany kickflip makes the 33rd street ollie seem kinda makeable
stingwater is the paddys pub of skateboard brands
Antonio Durao is the one true king of the north