A Day Skating at the White House with Acapulco Gold
by Eugene Kan, July 2, 2009
Just recently, the good folks from Acapulco Gold put together a one of kind event as they approached one of the world’s most heavily guarded residences in hopes of securing a chance to skate in front of the White House. The event as part of “The Pursuit of Happiness” program was to help “promote physical activity, health and happiness through skateboarding.” The whole event captured on film combines some great sights and drew a respectable crowd. Follow the words of AG themselves below.
Washington D.C. – Here is an idea for you – What if we get a permit to skate in front of the White House? I don’t mean get your friends together and skate by the White House. I mean call up the Washington D.C. Department of Transportation and the US Secret Service and say “Hey, we want to throw an event called The Pursuit of Happiness to help promote physical activity, health and happiness through skateboarding. Oh and we want to film it right in front of the White House”. Next thing you know we get a call from President Obama himself who tells us, “Listen, this is a great idea. I will personally make sure this goes through. Mi casa su casa”. Ok so maybe that didn’t happen, but we’re almost 10% positive he had some say in getting us the permit.
So now that we had permission to do what we want, let’s jam a bunch of skaters from NYC into a van and make the 4hr trip (7hrs with traffic + rest stops) and play a few games of S.K.A.T.E. Winners had the choice of a limited edition Presidential Seal deck or a limited edition White House Seal deck. It couldn’t have been better with the White House in the background, the snipers on the roof and a crowd of tourists and onlookers cheering for all of the skaters. Not to mention the 3 to 4 different groups of protesters yelling and playing music all around us. Democracy at its best. Tony Hawk got to sneak a ride in the White House, but we put on a game of S.K.A.T.E. for a few hours right in front on Pennsylvania Avenue.
All the credit goes to Billy Rohan and Paula Hewitt of Open Road for making this possible. And thanks to Taji Ameen, Dave Willis, Big Daddy Kane, Jake Johnson, Leo Gutman, Vince Danger, Pryce Holmes, Rob Harris, and Yoehei of Supreme Japan for making the trek and putting on a show.
[...] All the credit goes to Billy Rohan and Paula Hewitt of Open Road for making this possible. And thanks to Taji Ameen, Dave Willis, Big Daddy Kane, Jake Johnson, Leo Gutman, Vince Danger, Pryce Holmes, Rob Harris, and Yoehei of Supreme Japan for making the trek and putting on a show. See more at A Day Skating at the White House with Acapulco Gold [...]