Manual Magazine is proud to announce that Christian Low is the 2012 New Zealand Skater of the Year.
Skater of the Year: Christian Low
This past year Christian went from strength to strength while avoiding the ever-increasing trend of releasing sub-par footage in dribs and drabs. Instead he dropped mindblowing photos and crafted one banger of a video part, filmed over the last year. The impression Christian made wasn’t exclusively in New Zealand; he managed to turn heads in Australia too. What stood out most to us about Christian’s skating is that, rather than abiding by existing standards, it set new ones.
Christian Low, boardslide, Auckland. Photo: Jake Darwen.
Readers’ Choice: Deen Rakich
Obviously you saw the same things that we saw in Deen, so much so that you voted him for our Reader’s Choice Award. Coming in hot from relative obscurity in 2012, Deen proved that you didn’t have to be throwing yourself down things to grab people’s attention, rather he let his consistency, style and technical wizardry do the talking. Deen came through with an impressive feature interview in Manual #47, then followed it up when he travelled to New York for the ‘Tipping Point’ article in Manual #48, where he skated like a man possessed. This is only the beginning for Deen.
Deen Rakich, frontside bluntslide, NYC. Photo: Jake Mein.
Ex-Pat: Tommy Fynn
Tommy Fynn, 360 flip. Photo: Jake Darwen.
Best Skateboard Brand: Def MFG Co.
Best Self Promotion: Levi Hawken
Best King of Aotearoada Video: $hit Life
King of Aotearoada MVP: Adam Kinsman
Lost in Obscurity: Toby Locke
Best Shop Guy(s) and/or Girl: Mike Halls & Joel Coombs
Photo: Jake Mein
Best Shop: Arcade
Best All Rounder: Dan Gemmell
Dan Gemmell. Photo: David Read.
Legend Award: Chey Ataria
Best Filmer: Geoff Campbell (Secky Presh)
Best Video Part: Christian Low (Close Up)
Best Photo: Jake Mein’s Photo of Harry Culy’s Kickflip
Harry Culy, kickflip, Masterton. Photo: Jake Mein.
Best Skate Park Designer / Builder: Jason Parkes, Premium Skate Designs
Most Notorious Outfit: Joseph Whaanga’s Sweatpants
Most Wanted Comeback: Andrew Haeata
Photo: David Read
Worst Web Clip: Scott Olds
“Video does not exist.”
Web Warrior: Umberto Skinner
Worst Slam: Andrew Morrison, Land Cruiser
Special thanks to Grolsch, Puppies Bar, Fusion, Red Bull, Vans, Bowl-A-Rama and Manky Chops for making our awards night possible.
Pingback: Talk Turkey Tuesday with Leigh Bolton | Manual Magazine