Carhartt Streetwear: Son of a Ditch — Contest in Budapest

Hey everyone,

I just got back from the “Son of a Ditch” contest in Budapest / Hungary. Our Carhartt team manager Mike Emde forwarded the flyer he got from the organizers in hungary and asked if anyone wants to go. Well I looked at the flyer and seen some pictures of the spot were the contest is gonna be. Wow, an old water sewage with some selfbuild ramps between the huge banks, I was stoked and I started thinking — Mmh, Budapest, one of my best friends and Carhartt teamrider Ben Shenker lives there, going with Carhartt teamrider Owen Glegg from England which I haven’t met yet, Carhartt is one of the sponsors of the event. I wanna ride my bike. Heck yeah, I wanna go.

Ok said and done, Mike took care about the flight and a hotel in no time and in the next minute I was all set to go, amazing. Alright let’s do this, went to cologne airport, hopped on the plane and two hours later I was in Budapest. Ben picked me up and took me to the hotel and after a good night sleep we headed to the contest area. As I expected the spot blew me away and I haven’t been at something like that before. The huge thing wasn’t just a ditch — there were banks, hip and rails everywhere. Plus the ramps the guys build and put between every empty spot, stuff like a quarterpipe, curbs, curved wallride and some other stuff to have fun with. The contest had three classes, under 16, amateur and pro. A lot of riders from Hungary and croatia have been there and been part of the show. so every class had around 20-30 riders and even the youngstars were riding the spot really good and some of them killed it. I´ve seen a lot of tailwhips of course, barspins and 360’s. Each rider had two runs and the best 6 riders got into the finals. The only thing which wasn’t so much fun has been the weather, it’s been grey and cold but at least we didn’t have any rain.

Ok next, the amatuer class was showing a little more stuff and the whips became twice. Seriously, half of you guys need to ride pro class. The pro class was filled with riders like the Hungarian destroyer Baszi, Owen Glegg, a really good rider from Croatia but I forgot his name, myself and lots more.

I really liked the quarterpipe and played on that for a while. I also used the banks and the other stuff that’s been around. Owen has a really unique style and tricks, so he decided to jump over the little hip with a superman seatgrab, to be honest the hip was so small, he probably could do it from a sidewalk. He also did some cool tech moves on the quarter with plenty of footplant variations. His riding really reflects his attitude — smooth and very dialed. The Hungarian beast Baszi was doing flairs, whips, everything you need these days to put on a good show and he sure did. A very good rider and nice guy.

Allright the contest was done and day ended with a chilled ceremony. A lot of prizes for the kids, a first place to Hungary’s Baszi, the second place fort he guy who wrote this story and the third for the guy from Croatia who’s name I forgot. A really nice event, so laid back with so many nice people, good friends around. A very unique spot and lots of fun and good actions. What more can I ask for?

Ben Shenker and his cutie took Owen, Rachel and me on a sight seing tour through Budapest and it gave us an impression of how beautiful this huge city is. So many old building, big bridges and castles. Wow, this city has a lot to see. suddlenly ist been sunday night and i had to go home after a very impressive weekend. I haven’t met Owen before and I am glad I did. He’s such a nice guy. Rachel, his girlfriend, is also such a sweety and they made my weekend even better. What a short weekend packed with fun, love and good memories.

Thanks Carhartt, Mike and Xenia for making me/us having a another good time, Ben Shenker & your sweety for all your hard work, to all the riders, photographers and filmers for being so cool, Red Bull for everything you did for us riders. I know I am saying thanks a lot but I really mean it, I don’t take anything for granted and each one of you guys deserves a thank you!

Cheers,

Paddy.

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