2011 San Francisco Downtown Throwdown

It’s official: The 2011 Downtown Throwdown events were bigger and badder than ever before. The second stop of the country’s premier pre-season rail jam hit San Francisco on Saturday, October 29th, 2011, and all the best rail riders made their way to The City By The Bay to compete for a chance to win some cold, hard cash. Vans riders Darrell Mathes, Zac Marben and guest judge Eric Willett helped decide the victors, and with a City Hall backdrop that seemed straight out of a political rally, jibbers like the Seattle DTTD Winner Brandon Hobush, Nick Visconti and Dylan Thompson occupied the course with moves that could have given any one of them the title.

But it was Dylan Alito’s steady barrage of stompage and his red Juggalo costume complete with an axe that sliced the competition to pieces and won him the $5,000 first place prize. Other notables included Ryan Paul, Andrew Brewer and Chris Brewster, whose smooth style earned him the Crab Grab Style award. Once again, companies like Zumiez, Lib Tech and of course Vans had tents set up for the fans and gave away tons of free goodies all day long, while DJ Smoke One kept the crowd entertained with a blend of hyphy Bay Area beats and classic hip hop.

Check out vans.snow.com for more photos from the event, and check out our San Francisco Downtown Throwdown Video.

Results:

1. Dylan Alito

2. Nick Visconti

3. Dylan Thompson

4. Ryan Paul

5. Brandon Hobush

2011 Seattle Downtown Throwdown

The first stop of the Downtown Throwdown took place in Seattle, Washington over the weekend, and it couldn’t have been a more perfect day. Unusually sunny skies brought the crowds out to historic Pioneer Square to witness a brutal onslaught of jibbing chicanery by some of today’s best rail riders. Over 25 contestants battled it out for a $5,000 first place prize and in these tough economic times, no one was holding anything back. Riders were running up the stairs after each make, bail or slam for the entire 2-hour jam session to make sure the judges saw everything they had to offer. With a judging panel that included Vans Team Riders Zac Marben and Darrell Mathes, along with Johnny Lazz, LNP and Sean Genovese, the competitors had to come correct. It seemed like just about every combination of frontside and backside, switch and regular, 180s and 270s got put down by somebody at some point, along with some front, back and rodeo flips thrown in for good measure. When it was all said and done, Brandon Hobush walked away with the win and $5000.

To see the full story, go to vans.snow.com for more photos, and video.