WORDS Marcus Bandy PHOTOS Jake Grove
Not this past weekend, but the weekend before that, we attended The Hilltop Haunting, which was a rad downhill halloween skate jam hosted by Muir Skate & Bustin Boards. The event took place on one of our local hills in San Clemente, CA. About 50 skaters and their homies showed up with candy, costumes, and a haunting desire to leave the hilltop screaming with thane barks and other such shred witchery. And what a rad day it t’was indeed! Lame Halloween referencing aside, we had a blast skating and chilling with friends, new and old.
BBQ. Thumbs up! Longest Slide contest. Thumbs way up skyward! Costume contest. Roof raised and burnin’ hot-fire!!!
“The Hilltop Haunting” Muir X Bustin (Video):
The Hilltop Haunting began with the homies lugging a shitload of gear, and stuff, and things to the top of the road. After receiving the head-nod from a puzzled security guard at the entrance of the hill—as he rubbed his eyes, waking from his morning nap, not quite sure if the gorilla pushing the rolling cart stacked to the brim with stuff, or the smiling rasta banana with a skateboard swinging a basket of candy, was dream or reality—we soon reached the top, set up the tents, put the grill in place, and commenced the day’s shredding.
As the hill haunting progressed, skaters trickled in—twas a special treat to watch ’em all march up the hill in their various costumes. A pizza, an escaped convict, 2 Waldos, a piece of bacon, a zombie, the legendary Yoda, a glorious and glistening poop emoji, and many more arrived to hoots, howls, and high-fivers.
As per usual at a proper skate event, we skated. That said, what was extra-way-cool about this event in particular was the fact that although the skaters in attendance had traveled from as far off as Nor Cal & Utah, the vibe was super chill and it truly felt as if we’d all been hanging out and skating together for years. And that is exactly the goal Muir and Bustin wanted to achieve with this event: create a solid opportunity to bring skaters together and fosters local community.
At the end of the day, all the smiles, the multitude of cored wheels, and the mild roadrash of the majority of the skaters in attendance was mighty strong testament to the Stoke Donkey being stroked to the maximum, and thusly, that Muir and Bustin succeeded in their noble efforts. Anyway, I had such a rad time at this event, and if I learned anything it was this: 1. community is everything (The Stoke Donkey abides!). 2. And never roast 100 wieners at once without proper tongs.
THANK YOU’S: A huge thanks goes out to Scott Lembach of Muirskate, the Bustin Boards Crew, and all the homies who helped set up and pick up trash. A mega shaka goes out to everyone who came out and ripped and kept it going all day long. What a rad community building event! We look forward to the next event.
