The First Annual Abloh Skating Invitational Celebrated Virgil's Legacy

Following the madness of Art Basel, a legion of pro skateboarders staked claim over Miami’s Lot 11 Skatepark on Sunday afternoon for the first annual Abloh Skating Invitational. There, luminaries gathered to honor Virgil Abloh, who played a pivotal role in shaping the world of skateboarding through his work.

The skate jam, held by Abloh’s Nike creative studio Architecture, attracted an impressive roster of talent from all pockets of the sport, including Blake Carpenter, Sean Malto, Paul Rodriguez, Ishod Wair, Dashawn Jordan, Nicole Hause, Ish Cepeda, Jamie Foy, Christian Henry, Zion Wright, Marcos Montoya, Kevin White, Lil Dre, Blake Carpenter, Briana King, Robert Neal, Alphonso Rawls, Sal Barbier, Monica Torres, Shay Sanford, Brian Telatorre and more.

The event was open to the public, and courtesy of a flyer spread by Miami skate shop Andrew, the Floridian city’s local skate scene showed up in full force. Throughout the afternoon, the invitational, hosted by skaters Eric Koston and Theotis Beasley and artist B. Brendan Fowler, included an open skate session, an obstacle challenge, cash for trick and a professional skateboarding demo.

Abloh, who spent his childhood skating, became a central figure in the skate scene through myriad collaborations at Off-White™ and Louis Vuitton. Of his influence in the skate park, Virgil’s wife, Shannon Abloh, told GQ, “Skate was the first thing that he really fell in love with as a child. It influenced so much of his design practice and who he was as a person.”

Take a look at everything that went down at the inaugural Abloh Skating Invitational in the gallery above.

Elsewhere, take a look inside the “Virgil Abloh: The Codes c/o Architecture” exhibit in Miami.