3rd Annual Northwest Open Recap
For the third annual Northwest Open, presented by Converse Cons, the Tactics team decided to shake things up a bit. This year, they added new elements to the event, including a contest at Portland's Director Park and an art show at the One Grand Gallery on East Burnside. But don’t worry—Sunday at Seek Skate Camp still featured a community day packed with skate jams and a youth contest, keeping the tradition alive.
The first-ever NWO art show launched Friday night at the One Grand Gallery, showcasing artwork from Mike Gigliotti, Scotty Copalman, Charlie Salas-Humara, James Alby, and Jesse Kamerzell. Mike, who designed this year’s event poster, was a fan favorite, and Portland was stoked to meet the artist behind some iconic graphics for Baker, Deathwish, Vans, and DLX.
Saturday at Director Park was electric. Local ramp builder Ben Mohr and his team had just 24 hours to set up hubbas, a manny pad, and other features to complement the plaza's layout. By noon, the course was ready, and the crowd was hyped for action. Pros, amateurs, and local shredders tore through the course for nearly three hours, all vying for a piece of the $3,500 cash-for-tricks prize pool. After the dust settled, Alex Lobasyuk and Kasci Woolf each walked away with $1,000, while Sebo Walker landed $800 for winning Red Bull's best trick—a nosegrind to nollie backside flip on the bump-to-shoe box. The day ended with an early screening of Converse Cons’ new video, Evergreen, at 10 Barrel Portland.
Sunday at Seek Skate Camp in Sandy, Oregon, carried on the same NWO energy that’s made this event special. Volcom Skate hosted a jam on the big wall, with some wild doubles routines—both intentional and unintentional—on the vert wall. Dickies Skateboarding followed up with their popular pole jam in the concrete jungle. You’ll have to check out the video to witness the carnage! Arbor and Protec wrapped up the weekend with a youth contest, where the talent was off the charts. Standouts included a kickflip indy on the vert wall and a crook-to-back-180 on the bike rack. The future of PNW skateboarding is looking bright.
A huge thank you goes out to Converse Cons and all the sponsors for making this event possible, and to the media partners—Low Card Mag, Adjacency Bias, and Bigfoot Mag—for their continued support. The Seek and the Tactics team can’t wait to see what next year’s Northwest Open has in store!