Monster Energy Riders Sweep Podium in Vans Showdown Street Skateboarding Competition and Peraza Wins Vans BMX Waffle Cup Competition During the Vans US Open

Monster Energy congratulates its skateboarders on sweeping the Vans Showdown Podium with Gonzalez taking first place, Hoban second place, and Taylor landing in Third Place during the Vans US Open

HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif. (PRWEB)
August 08, 2022

A huge weekend for action sports! Monster Energy congratulates team rider Kevin Peraza on taking first place in the Vans BMX Waffle Cup street competition at the U.S. Open of Surfing in Huntington Beach this weekend. In the pro BMX street contest, the 27-year-old from Tucson, Arizona, rose all the way to the top of the leaderboard with a flawless technical run.

In Sunday’s Vans Showdown street skateboarding competition, Monster Energy riders swept the entire podium: 25-year-old Colombian team rider Jhancarlos Gonzalez took first place in the jam session final. He was joined on the podium by 21-year-old Braden Hoban from Encinitas, California, in second place and 30-year-old Grant Taylor from Atlanta, Georgia, in third place.

From July 30 to August 7, 2022, the Vans U.S. Open of Surfing returned to the southside of the Huntington Beach Pier. As one of the world’s largest action sports festivals, the event was free to the public and featured sports competitions alongside fan activations and musical performances. For the 2022 edition, the Vans U.S. Open of Surfing focused on “Environmental Responsibility”, showcasing the connection between board sports culture and eco consciousness.

Action sports contested at the U.S. Open this year included Surfing, BMX, and Skateboarding. Key competitions were broadcast live to international audiences via web stream.

Vans BMX Waffle Cup: Monster Energy’s Kevin Peraza Earns Dominant Victory

In Friday’s Vans BMX Waffle Cup street final, a roster of international top professionals took on the technical street course. Monster Energy’s Peraza came to Huntington Beach fresh off a recent silver medal in the Dave Mirra BMX Park Best Trick contest at X Games 2022.

In the finals, the field of qualified riders was divided into five jam sessions, each featuring four riders at a time. The action escalated in the last jam session of the day, as Monster Energy’s Peraza raised the bar with outstanding tricks on the course’s largest obstacles. Trick highlights such as huge flair over the centerpiece, tiers to 180 down the rail, alley-oop flair whip over the hip, 360 to fakie in the pocket, G-turn to 360 over the massive table platform, bar spin 180 the kicker, ice pick grind the rail, and downside tailwhip 180 up the rail impressed the judges and earned first place for Peraza.

Known as a pacesetter of freestyle BMX progression, Peraza owns five X Games medals (3 gold, 1 silver, 1 bronze). He represents Mexico at international Olympics qualifier events and has won every A-list competition on the circuit.

Vans Showdown Skateboarding Contest: Monster Energy Team Sweeps Entire Podium

In Sunday’s Vans Showdown street skateboarding contest, qualified riders took on the street course in several jam sessions featuring three riders at a time. Riders were judged on overall impression as well as the style and difficulty of their tricks.

When the day’s seven jam sessions had wrapped, Monster Energy riders swept the entire podium: In the last jam session of the day, 25-year-old Monster Energy rider Jhancarlos Gonzalez from Bogota, Columbia, rose all the way to the top to claim the victory.

In the jam session, Gonzalez put down a high volume of tricks with technical difficulty, including Cab lipslide the rail, judo air the quarter pipe, frontside 180 ollie over the car, switch frontside lipslide the rail, Caballerial the quarterpipe, as well as frontside 180 to switch crooked, frontside tailslide 270 and switch heelflip frontside boardslide the handrail. At the end of the day, the judges gave the win to Gonzalez, who already won Cowtown’s 2022 PHXAM street skateboarding competition in March 2022.

Second place in the Vans Showdown went to another young upstart: 21-year-old Braden Hoban from Encinitas, California. In the jam session, the newly minted professional skateboarder showed his technical skills by landing backside tailslide on the barrier, gap kickflip to frontside boardslide the rail, kickflip melon over the car all the way to flat, kickflip crooked and impossible to 50-50 the handrail, and a powerful backside 50-50 over the entire kinked rail. Hoban also stoked the crowd in Best Trick by sending a backside kickflip over the car.

Rounding out the team’s podium sweep, 30-year-old Grant Taylor from Atlanta, Georgia, put down a clinic in style and consistency. Not stepping off his board throughout the entire session, the certified Thrasher Magazine ‘Skater of the Year’ attacked the course with a huge frontside air off the extension, Caballerial over the mushroom, big frontside kickflip over the car into flat, gap to backside lipslide the handrail, manual the car hood, massive frontside air the quarterpipe channel and a high-flying kickflip backside disaster on the quarterpipe for third place. Congrats to the team on this epic sweep!

For more on Kevin Peraza, Jhancarlos Gonzalez, Braden Hoban, Grant Taylor, and the Monster Energy Skate and BMX teams, visit http://www.monsterenergy.com. Also, make sure to follow Monster Energy on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and TikTok for exclusive updates as the action sports season continues.

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About Monster Energy

Based in Corona, California, Monster Energy is the leading marketer of energy drinks and alternative beverages. Refusing to acknowledge the traditional, Monster Energy supports the scene and sport. Whether motocross, off-road, NASCAR, MMA, BMX, surf, snowboard, ski, skateboard, or the rock and roll lifestyle, Monster Energy is a brand that believes in authenticity and the core of what its sports, athletes and musicians represent. More than a drink, it’s the way of life lived by athletes, sports, bands, believers, and fans. See more about Monster Energy including all of its drinks at http://www.monsterenergy.com.