First Person: Jake Ilardi Battles Industry Politics with Skateboard Skills

Jake Ilardi has heart for skateboarding. Going pro in November 2020, he released standout video parts and earned a spot on Team USA Skateboarding, making his Olympic debut at the Tokyo 2020 Summer Games. Despite dominating these feats in stride, he ultimately found himself in the industry gauntlet. Come August 2024, Jake earned his way into the RSEO Street Final. Ilardi then went on to finish first in the semifinals held in Portland, earning his place in Sunday’s final, silencing his critics, and demonstrating that his fire remains as strong as ever. Hear Jake’s story in First Person in our latest video above.

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Highlights: Men’s Street Final | Rockstar Energy Open Portland 2024

After riding out a rollercoaster of a final with rookie Lazer Crawford in First Person, we now present all the hammers that went down in the men’s street competition at the Rockstar Energy Open. Watch clips of Dasawn Jordan, Chris Joslin, Maurio McCoy, Cordano Russell, Vincent Milou, Jhancarlos Gonzalez, Jake Ilardi, Braden Hoban, Kelvin Hoefler and Lazer Crawford in the highlight video above.

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Highlights: Park Best Trick Jam | Rockstar Energy Open Portland 2024

The park best trick jam unleased 45 minutes of drop-in time for both men and women skateboarders to get after hammers and a chance to roll away with cash. The one big session was hectic but provided non-stop action that kept everyone on their feet. Watch judges Vern Laird, Amelia Brodka, and Chris Pastras hand out bills to Roman Pabich, Greyson Fletcher, Eli Williams, Kieran Woolley, Tom Schaar, Bryce Wettstein, Tristan Rennie, Jordan Santana, Lilly Erickson, Jake Ilardi, Yuro Nagahara, Clay Kreiner, and Yurin Fujii in the highlight video above.

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Highlights: Men’s Street Semi-Final | Rockstar Energy Open Portland 2024

Following the men’s street VQS qualifier, the top six moved onto the semi-final, where they were met by seventeen skaters, making for a total field of twenty-three. This was the largest and longest contest of the Rockstar Energy Open and the most important for street skateboarders to make it in the top ten to advance into the final. Nevertheless, the fans who packed the bleachers, sidelines and climbed trees were in for a show. Watch the best of the best that went down in the men’s street semi-final highlight video above featuring: Sebo Walker, Josh Douglas, Julian Lewis, Johnny Purcell, Marcos Montoya, Gabe Vigliotti, TJ Rogers, Julian Christianson, Dominick Walker, Felipe Gustavo, Tyson Bowerbank, Chris Joslin, Zach Saracheno, Braden Hoban, Maurio McCoy, Alec Majerus, Dashawn Jordan, Cordano Russell, Vincent Milou, Lazer Crawford, Jhancarlos Gonzalez, Kelvin Hoefler, Jake Ilardi.

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Highlights: The Rollout Slow-Mo Montage | Rockstar Energy Open Portland 2024

Gaze in awe at the top-tier skateboarding that took place at the inaugural 2024 Rockstar Energy Open from Waterfront Park in Portland, Oregon. All course and venue angles were covered with steady hands from lensmen Riki Bedenbaugh, Lee Dupont, Chris Gregson, Collin Schwartz, TJ Gaskill, Nick Hanson, Tom Harden, Jon Humphries, Ira Ingram, and ace drone pilot Aaron Jessee. Watch over seven minutes of slow-motion action of Tyson Bowerbank, Chris Joslin, Jake Ilardi, Lazer Crawford, Chris Russell, Kieran Woolley, Aoi Uemura, Yurin Fujii, Lilly Erickson, and plenty more in The Rollout montage above.

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Highlights: Men’s Street VQS Qualifier | Rockstar Energy Open Portland 2024

The men’s VQS qualifier competition was the first big competition for many, while it was just another competition of many for others. The 12 skateboarders in the qualifier made their way to the Rockstar Energy Open in Portland, Oregon, by entering the online Video Qualifier Series and allowing fans and our judges to be the ones to criticize them on their skills. Watch all the best moves that went down in the men’s street VQS qualifier above, featuring Ryan Carrell, Tyson Bowerbank, John Bradford, Mikey Ray, Nels Rosen, Sewa Kroetkov, Johnny Purcell, Gabe Vigliotti, Julian Christianson, Alex Lobasyuk, Josh Douglas, and Jake Ilardi.

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Jake Ilardi: Small Town Skateboarder with Big Goals | Aimless Episode 23 – Dew Tour

An hour south of the famous Skatepark of Tampa is the small town of Osprey that Jake Ilardi calls home. Florida has produced a handful of the best skateboarders including Andrew Reynolds, Elissa Steamer, Rodney Mullen, and, more recently, Jamie Foy and Zion Wright, to name a few. Jake is among those mentioned and has the accolades to back it when he went pro for Blind Skateboards in 2020, just a year before going onto the Olympic stage in Tokyo representing Team USA.

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Meet Tristan Rennie, Keegan Palmer, Cory Juneau, Chris Joslin, Jake Ilardi | Rockstar Invasion Ep 1

Welcome to the Rockstar Invasion, an in-depth look behind the four days at Lauridsen Skatepark for Dew Tour Des Moines 2022 with Chris Joslin, Cory Juneau, Jake Ilardi, Keegan Palmer, and Tristan Rennie. Get to know the five team Rockstar riders and their distinct style, Chris Joslin and Jake Ilardi bankroll in Cash for Tricks Jam, meet and greet with fans at Des Moines premier skate shop Subsect. All this and more in episode 1 of the Rockstar Invasion.

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