The Dew Tour has become skateboarding’s most anticipated competition and this year in Long Beach it kicked off in effortless style. You know the California summer has truly arrived when the likes of Theotis Beasley, Sean Malto, Curren Caples and Chris Colbourn are hitting up the decks. Yet what you’ll find is an experience beyond just being a spectator.
The Mountain Dew Sculpture Garden and Skate Park
The Skate Park in the Mountain Dew Sculpture Garden (Gildshire Images)
If you’re a passionate skater and want to showcase your skills, come down to the Skate Park. You can bring your board and skate at the Dew Tour!
What’s cool about the Skate Park is that it features ramps and obstacles in the form of sculptures curated by
LA-based artist Steven Harrington. It is art come to life with the first-ever public skateable art sculpture garden.
Mountain Dew athletes Jordan Maxham and Chris Colbourn were involved in its creation by providing feedback to ensure that the park remains authentic to the skate community.
Pro-skater Jordan Maxham skating on the art of Steven Harrington (Gildshire Images)
What is truly commendable about the Dew Tour is its inclusion of interactive art, showcased by the Skate Park Sculpture Garden and the Art of Doing, the first of its kind Emotional Art Biotech Gallery. Modern art at a skating competition? The Dew Tour is exposing the new generation to expressions of creativity in an unconventional way.
The Art of Doing: Mountain Dew and Lightwave
Wearable technology transform emotions into art. Pro-skaters’ emotions are tracked as they compete and those emotions are showcased in a kaleidoscope-style screen display.
Emotional Art Biotech Gallery, Chris Colbourn and Curren Caples expressions (Gildshire Images)
A study by Lightwave found that 80% of sponsored athletes at the Dew Tour believe that their skating is as much an art form as it is a professional sport.
Mountain Dew athletes opted-in to wear a high-end wearable device measuring their heart rate, blood volume pulse, skin temperature, electro dermal activity and motion which transmitted biofeedback in real-time to Lightwave’s analytics engine, and through the magic of technology dynamic art is displayed for us to enjoy.
Sean Malto’s expression (Gildshire Images)
What you’ll notice is how different each expression is and how the skaters react, as the competition intensifies stop by the Art of Doing Gallery, you’ll see how the athlete’s emotions get amplified as the competition moves closer to the finals. It’s also a great place to cool off and zen out the crowds.
Mountain Dew Experience Social Zone, Free Gear and Skaters Hanging Out
The Dew Tour is a place for everyone, and it is free. The skating culture in Long Beach makes this a perfect location within comfortable driving distance, so if you are in Southern California, stop by and check out the pros and maybe introduce your children to a great form of exercise that teaches discipline and resilience. In skating when you fall you must get up again if you want to stay in the game.
Father and daughter team! A pro-skater in the making. (Gildshire Images)
The Mountain Dew Experience features more art at the Green Label Gallery, an art installation curated by artists Andy Mueller and Andy Jenkins of LA’s Art Dump Collective, their art will be featured on customizable hats created throughout the weekend. Come early to get your free Dew Tour hat!
Dew skate team autograph sessions will be hosted inside the Dew Experience and Dew products will be available for sampling. You can meet Theotis or Curren and get your gear signed.
Curren Caples and Theotis Beasley hanging out (Gildshire Images)
If you need one more reason to come down to Long Beach, on Saturday night there will be a free concert that you can attend by downloading the Dew Tour app.
The Dew Tour has made the interactive experience very special for fans: a modern art skating sculpture garden allowing budding young skaters to showcase their talents, biotech dynamic art and top notch courses allowing pro-athletes to do what they love and thrill a captivated audience hanging on every trick.
