Quoting Spook Wackagoo:

During the Winterclash 2024 tradeshow, I was able to try on the Echo skate! We were informed after trying on the skate that it was a 3d printed mold and was made simply for sizing purposes.

All in all, the length of the skate was a little beyond a size 10, and the footbed was pretty wide compared to the 909s or the Faction Tacticals. That being said, they were very comfy and I really enjoy the aesthetic of them. Excited to see what comes next! - Spook Wackadoo.

Echo Skates - Official Sneak Peek - Visit Echoskates.com

Photos: 01 | 02.

Coming Spring 2024. UK £199.95, EU €229.95, US $249.95

The ISPO just finished and Ivo Vegter & Erik Droogh (Thisissoul) spoke to all the inline skate manufacturers that were there to get the latest updates on what is going on in the Inline Skate world.

The skates featured in the pictures are the Cougar Skates, Storm Model Prototypes (check the video at 5:10).

ISPO Munich (Germany) is the largest trade fair for the sports industry, featuring the latest trends and innovations in sports products, services and technologies.

Cougar Skates - Storm, Aggressive Inline Skates

Cougar Skates is a Chinese brand, planning to released an aggressive skate called the Storm. Visit Cougarskates.com.

Check the 5:10 mark on the video to hear more about the Cougar Skates, and the Storm model.

Update: added “Jumbo Mic’d up at Winterclash 2024” by Ricardo Lino to the post.
Quoting Cody Sanders:

I’ve always wanted to go to a Winterclash. For as long as it’s been happening, I remember there’s some old video where Jon Elliott says “If you haven’t been to Winterclash, you’re not even rollerblading”, or something like that. Definitely not an exact quote, but you get the gist. You have to see it to understand it.

I came in knowing this was the worlds biggest contest. Professionally run. The highest level… Two things stuck out to me though. The skating was great, but it was the attendees that brought the energy. Even if I was upstairs, away from the contest, I didn’t feel like I was missing it. No matter where you are or who you’re with, you’re in it. It’s truly unlike any contest in the rollerblading world. Incredibly professional… Which is great… unless you’re trying to show up, unofficial and make an edit of the weekend… Which is what I tried to do.

So as it turns out, this isn’t a contest put on by “one of the homies.” Oh no, no no. You can’t just know a guy and get onto the course to film a couple of clips for your instagram, there was legit processes and procedures you had to go through to get the badge, the jacket, etc… Basically, credentials I didn’t have, haha. But that’s ok! We’re going to find a way to do it. Mick was supposed to skate in the pro comp (he didn’t because he got hurt during warm-ups… we all did). By luck, I just so happened to have a friend who should not be named that procured me a media badge (probably an old one) that was going to allow me to get in early. To maybe be able to actually film the contest well and make a proper edit…

We show up Friday morning ready to warm up. As it turns out, if you don’t practice skating 10 foot high wood ramps, you’re not very good at it. We were off to a bad start. Mick was slipping around a bit, so I thought I’d put the camera down for a while and check out the skatepark. After all, it’s my first Winterclash, I’ve wanted to skate this place for years. I put my skates on, do one royale in the bowl and fall on my face (literally). One tricks, skates off, never skated the rest of the weekend. Shout out to the medical staff on site (yet another perk of the professionalism of the event).

So after a couple of hours of shaking off a mild concussion, the park opened for everyone and it was chaos. Everyone in Europe is good at skating. That’s intimidating. Since I was still rocked from the earlier fall, I was hanging back a little bit. I was missing some of the event, sure, but I got to witness what I’m coining “Stairclash.” I feel like whenever you’re watching a contest edit, you’re always expecting to see “the big hurricane,” “the dangerous disaster,” etc… But you never get to see these super talented people just skate like normal. Stairclash was what I was looking for the whole time. Some of the best, my favorites, just making use of a 6 stair at the largest event at the world. I’m laughing as I type this. I’ll never explain it as well as I’d like.

With all that being said, I don’t want to take anything away from the actual event. It was MADNESS (as expected). I don’t think I captured it as well I would have liked, but that’s part of the beauty I guess. The massive sea of people, the energy from it, there are moments where it feels like everyones in the same rhythm. I dunno.. I just stayed up all night editing this, so as usual, I’m just going to tap out on the writing bit. As I always say… I think only 3 people read these anyway, lol. Good times. Good good good times. I’ve always wanted to come and I’m pretty sure it’s one of the best skate-related experiences I’ve ever had. Ever. If you stopped by to say “hello,” thank you! I might have been a little loopy from a concussion or completely overwhelmed from the experience (and jet lag!!), but I was so happy to meet everyone. Just amazing. I have a thousand little stories to tell but I guess that’s for another time. Love y’all. - Cody Sanders.

Bonus: Best Tricks @ Winterclash 2024 - PLAY ; a compilation by Ivan Higgins.

Livestreams Replay - PLAY: Ricardo Lino (Official) + Blade Blog (Russian language).

Pro Men Results

1. Nils Jansons
2. Julien Cudot
3. Danilo Senna
4. Robert Spassov
5. Jaro Frijn
6. David Sizemore
7. Krystian Zarzeczny
8. Dominic Bruce
9. Roman Abrate
10. Levi van Rijn
11. Martin Danning
12. Eugen Enin
13. Joe Atkinsson

Pro Women

1. Mery Muñoz
2. Misaki Katayama
3. Javiera Garrido
4. Chihiro Azuma
5. Carla Martin
6. Aniek Kerkhofs
7. Armelle Tisler
8. Nuria López
9. Lilou Fumery

Amateur Women

1. Ana Julia da Silva
2. Kate Bedrata
3. Laura Santos
4. Julia Komenda
5. Matilde Fiorin
6. Veronica Bonaiti
7. Pauline Dubreuil
8. Maria Eduarda da Silva

Amateur Men

1. Leonardo Cardoso
2. Noboru Katayama
3. Gilles Buelens
4. Francesco Fama
5. Lenny Jourda
6. Lucas Landthaler
7. Xabier Mikel Ganuza Sánchez
8. Liam Gratwohl
9. Michael Müller
10. Leo Fumery
11. Victor Medrano
12. Niko Salaman
13. Gino Dangers
14. Valters Grasmanis
15. Krzysztof Starzewski
16. Fabian Mathie

Junior Women

1. Amelie Maria Pogaceanu
2. Katarzyna Kaminiorz
3. Eva Klomp
4. Marie Rothkamm

Junior Men

1. Haruhi Shimizu
2. Jun Shoha
3. Michal Pietrzak
4. Filip Hudziak
5. Nolan van Ophoven
6. Adam Trzeciak
7. Leonardo Rodrigues Araujo
8. Yuto Akiyama
9. Thorben Schoen

More Awards

• Faction Best Trick Award: Joe Atkinsons
• Emoves Best Grind Award: Gilles Buelens
• Blank Best Line Award: Bobi Spassov
• Dead Wheels Most Creative Trick Award: Levi Van Rijn
• Hestialiving Best Sign Award: The Judges Sign
• This is Soul Best Setup Award: Bjoern Ox

More Photos of the Podiums on Winterclash.com.

Dear community. Coming back to Eindhoven in February 2023 – after a pandemic and the rebuild of Area 51 - there were loads of concerns. Is the new park working for a competition of it’s size, will the atmosphere be the same and is the blading community even still interested in traveling thousands of kilometers for living on fries and beer for three days?

The answer to these questions was YES. And there is one simple reason behind that answer: Community. It is each and every one of you applauding for the youngster landing her first trick in a comp, starting to chat with a stranger in the bar queue, landing a trick that makes the crowd go nuts, asking a question in one of the panel discussions or storming the tradeshow – it is each one of you that keeps on creating this special three-day-experience. It is all of us being in it together in February 2024 again – WE ARE WINTERCLASH.

Winterclash 2024: February 22nd · 23rd · 24th
Area 51 Eindhoven, The Netherlands.

Get your tickets here | sold out on november 8, 2023 (3 days after the ticket announcement).

USD Aeon Takeshi Pro 68 Prototype - Only 3 Pairs available worldwide! - Signature aggressive skate for USD legend Takeshi Yasutoko. Aeon boot, black/ red colorway, heat-moldable liner, 68mm wheels.