Moses Adams Crowned 2012 Red Bull Manny Mania Champion
(Durban, South Africa) In a day punctuated by world-class skateboarding, Cape Town's Moses Adams repeated his 2011 performance to walk away with the title at the 2012 Red Bull Manny Mania finals at the Wave House, Durban, carpark on the afternoon of Saturday 9 June. With inclement weather threatening to disrupt the event, the decision was made to move the event from the Wave House skate park into the undercover carpark, where a specialised manual skate course had been constructed.
Despite facing stiff competition from 14 of South Africa's best skateboarders, Adams' consistency and flair saw him stringing together highly technical manual tricks on his way to the final, where he was able to maintain his form and walk away with the title for the second consecutive year.
"Winning Red Bull Manny Mania again feels great," said Adams, as friends, fans and media mobbed him. "I woke up with a bad flu and was worried it would affect my performance, so I really had to focus to keep my skating level as high as possible, especially up against such stiff competition."
In the final, Adams took on local Durban hero, Thalente Biyela. The final opened with the Durbanite delivering the first salvo as he rode out a blunt to nose manual 180 out, much to the home crowd's vocal approval. But as the final wore on, Adams gathered himself and was able to answer back, riding out a 360 flip to nose manny, and a switch heel flip to nose manual on the big box - both highly technical tricks which saw him awarded the victory.
Runner-up Biyela's journey to the centre-stage of South African skating in the Red Bull Manny Mania final, is a truly inspiring one. Orphaned at a young age, Biyela was forced to eke out an existence on the streets of Durban, before finding his way to the Durban beachfront skatepark. There, a local skater gave the young Biyela one of his old boards, and in the plywood deck, metal trucks and polyurethane wheels, Biyela saw a way to get himself off the streets.
"Placing second in Manny Mania is the best achievement of my career, and it was a great experience," said an elated Biyela. "I am really happy about it and it just shows that anything is possible. I was lucky to have such great support from the Durban crowd, and I wouldn't have done it without that support. It was nerve-wracking skating against the one and only Mosie, and the crowd gave me such a positive vibe, which just made the experience better."
Another stand out on the day was third placed Zuhandre Yslie from Cape Town, whose ability to link together a myriad of smooth combination tricks saw him nudge out some of South Africa's biggest names. Certainly a name to watch out for in the future, Yslie's ability to manual on juts one wheel (as opposed to the usual two), caught the judges' eye, but he was just unable to oust Biyela and Adams in the cut-throat six man semi-final.
Adams will now fly to New York to represent South Africa in the Red Bull Manny Mania world amateur finals, scheduled to take place at Coleman Park on August 18-19. In New York, Adams will have his skill on two wheels put to the test by the world's best, as representatives from 12 countries and 5 continents showcase their manual skills in the hope of being crowned the Red Bull Manny Mania World Amateur Champ.
"I am really looking forward to representing South Africa in New York again," Adams said. "The competition there - skating against the world's best - is always very tough, but I learned a lot last year and am stoked to have the chance to compete again."
Red Bull Manny Mania has seen thousands of participants put their two wheels to the ground in events across the globe, from America and Europe, to Africa and the Middle East. Who will join the best this year? Who will be the chairman of the United Nations of skate? Red Bull Manny Mania provides an opportunity for one skater to battle their way from their neighbourhood streets to the biggest stage in the world, and this year Cape Town's Moses Adams will be our South African representative on this world stage
For more information, visit www.redbull.co.za/mannymania or www.facebook.com/redbullmannymania.
Results:
1. Gavin "Moses" Adams (Cape Town)
2. Thalente Biyela (Durban)
3. Zuhandre Yslie (Cape Town)
2012 Red Bull Manny Mania Invitees:
Cape Town
Moses Adams
Uri Reuben
Wesley Schroeder
Shuaib Philander
Zuhandre Yslie
Dylan Vaughan
Durban
Khule Ngubane Nia
George Van Blerk
Dlamini Dlamini
Thalente Biyela
Johannesburg
Dada Marumo
Anthony de Mendoca
Michael Bervoets
Pretoria
Charl Steyn
JP Du Preez
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