Jake Braun is the type of skateboarder who seeks out the biggest of rails and gets up on a Sunday before dawn to run up a mountain. Making the pilgrimage to Southern California from Minnesota, Jake is known around the North County region of San Diego as a local ripper. “I think it’s pretty well known that the local skate shop is the root of any good skate scene,” comments Jake as he tells us about his natural gravitation toward Rose Street after his friends started hanging out and filming for the shop. Follow Jake along as he goes Spot to Spot, giving us a tour of North County’s running trails, rough pre-fab parks, street spots, and ending his Sunday at his local shop.
The Platfrm First Person: Bucky Lasek Reflects on Vans Combi Bowl a Skateboarding Mecca
The lore of the Combi Bowl has been a proving ground for skateboarders to push their limits and flaunt their style, turning the Vans Pool Party event into a legendary stage that has become part of skateboarding’s history. 2025 marked the last go at the Combi inside the Vans store in Orange, California, making some of the best transition skaters reacquaint themselves with its twelve-foot walls. To truly understand the intensity Combi brings out, we tap in with three-time Vans Pool Party champ Bucky Lasek in First Person to view the preparation, mindset, and impact this bowl has made on skateboarding over the past two decades.
The Platfrm First Person: Cory Juneau Takes on the Final Vans Pool Party at Combi
The Combi Pool at the Vans Skatepark in Orange, California has paid homage as a replica of the original from Pipeline Skatepark for over 20 years. The legendary Vans Pool Party made it’s final hoorah at the Combi in 2025, bringing together generations of skateboarders that have been there since the beginning to first-time competitors.
Familiar with Combi bowl since he was a grom, Cory Juneau steps back to the hallowed coping for the first time in years alongside his peers and heroes alike. “Everyone is ripping a lot of old faces, old friends. Picking up where they left off. Nobody has skated it in five and it’s like nostalgic.” Cory takes us through his experience from the past two months in First Person as he rekindles old and new lines, pushes through unexpected physical pain, and feeds off the raw energy that only a place like Combi can bring on finals day.
Vans Pool Party Combi 2025 Legend’s Final Highlights
The true legends of skateboarding reunite for one final session at the iconic Combi Pool in Orange, California. Each of these skaters has been a cornerstone of vert and pool skating, shaping skateboarding from the very beginning with their unique styles, boundary-pushing tricks, and a passion that still drives them today. Watch as Steve Alba, Christian Hosoi, Steve Caballero, and more tear up the Combi coping in the 2025 Vans Pool Party Legends division highlights.
Vans Pool Party Combi 2025 Masters Final Highlights
Being part of the Master’s division at the Vans Pool Party is more than just a title—it’s a testament to being an icon of transition and a true master of the craft. Each of these master rippers has earned their place through years of experience in the pro division, with some having competed since the very first Combi Pool Party in Orange. Watch as they make their final mark in the bowl, surrounded by fans, friends, and family, in their last session at the Combi.
Vans Pool Party Combi 2025 Women’s Final Highlights
The 2025 Vans Pool Party Combi highlights continue with the women’s final session as they bid farewell to a legendary home for skateboarding. Watch Fabiana Delfino, Kareem Campbell, Chris Roberts, Willy Santos, and more icons cheer on Bryce Wettstein, Ruby Lilley, Brighton Zeuner, Jordyn Barratt, Grace Marhoefer, Lilly Erickson, Hinano Kusaki, and Arisa Trew.
Vans Pool Party Combi 2025 Men’s Final Highlights
This past Sunday, January 19th, 2025 marked the last Vans Pool Party at the Combi Bowl in Orange County, California. The highly regarded Pool Party competition series closes out 20 years at the indoor Vans skatepark with a final ride as the infamous Combi nears its inevitable filling-in.
Watch the men’s pro final highlights from the last Vans Pool Party at the Combi featuring Greyson Fletcher, Moto Shibata, Hampus Winberg, JD Shanchez, Tate Carew, Luigi Cini, Kiko Francisco, Cory Juneau, Tom Schaar, and a handful of legends watch from the sidelines.
Spot to Spot: Braden Hoban Skateboarding in Portugal with Dakota Servold, Jeremy Leabres, Mike Krok
“Tour guides are probably the most important thing,” says Braden Hoban, but he’s not looking for fancy eats and beautiful vistas… Gritty skating in unknown places, going on a skate-cation to a new country is the dream for most but the key to a successful trip is locking in with a local. Travel to Portugal and go Spot To Spot with Braden Hoban and a heavy squad on an all out mission to stack clips. “We all have the same goal in mind, to film the best video part we possibly can.” Hear about the man, Pedro, that made it all possible for the crew capture a proper edit’s worth of footage without any idea of where to go, and see how many hammers they walked away with. Spoiler: it’s a lot.
The Platfrm – Core: Mirko Mangum’s Path To Opus Footwear
Mirko Mangum started skating at age 12 in El Cajon outside of San Diego, California and, with the help of solid influences and legendary support, he has been a lifer ever since. Naturally, though, after turning pro on the board the breakdown of the body began. He refers to it as when he “retired physically, not financially” as his entrepreneurial spirit took hold. He started working in-house at Planet Earth (after riding for the brand professionally) and received the ultimate first-hand learning experience for how to run a proper business in skateboarding. Mirko took more than notes, though. After seven or so years at Planet Earth he popped off with other friends to create their own clothing brand in ALPHANUMERIC. Then he took a position with C1RCA focused on setting up the ultimate team with the likes of Jamie Thomas and Chad Muska. Next came the Blackbox Days, before Zoo York, and then Univ, Whatever distribution, and a role at Vans… At this point, if you want to hear Mirko’s full story and the origins of his latest skate company, watch this episode of CORE: Opus Footwear’s Mirko Magnum.
The Platfrm – Spot to Spot: Ace Pelka Lurks for New Terrain
Creative people come in many forms, and for Ace Pelka, it’s on a skateboard. Growing into his own style of riding, Ace has mastered a niche area of playful minimal impact skating and takes it up a notch with tech speedy footwork. Try to keep up as Ace takes us and John Gardner around his new block in Redondo Beach, California in this episode of Spot to Spot.
The Platfrm Core: Slappy’s Garage founder Jason Carney
The man behind San Diego skate shop Slappy’s Garage, Jason Carney has been a staple of the scene since the 80s. What has made it all possible? Skate shops. From his very first sponsor being a shop out of Chula Vista (later skating for teams like H-Street and Planet Earth) to opening his first shop out of Ramona in 2011 up to today with locations on 17th Street downtown and a second storefront in the Linda Vista neighborhood—Jason believes in the skate shop business. And he is doing his best to keep the proper skate shop vibes alive. “That’s my purpose, to enable other people to live out their dreams.”
Timeline Featuring Chris Joslin: The Raw Truth | Episode 2
Starting in part one of Timeline, where Chris Joslin paints a portrait of his endeavor to film a street video part while traveling the world for contests, part two takes a drastic demeanor change.