Behind the construction of Twin Peaks

The competition was judged by legendary professional skateboarders Carl Watson, Chico Brenes and Rob Welsh, who presided over three best trick competitions and a track competition. Another influential professional, Chris “Dune” Pastras, along with Gary Rogers, kept the mood high on the microphone throughout the event. We spoke with Corey Keen, a lifelong skateboarder who founded Keen Ramps back in 2012, to talk about some of the factors that influenced the course’s design and how guest skaters at the competition used the obstacles he built.

For the rest of the race, the challenge was to place obstacles of the right size on the narrow road. “The road is only about thirty feet wide,” Corey explained. “And you need a place for spectators. We wanted to make about eight different parts to cover thirty to fifty feet between each obstacle. So we started with a drop-in and then we did a classic pyramid with a hubba and the ability to tumble.” San Francisco resident Marley Humphrey took home the top prize in the mini-hubba section by performing a back-and-forth kickflip into a fake.

“I wanted something for technical skaters, so I made this very smooth one-foot transition to a hand-cushioned rail. There were a lot of options for skating.” For the more creative skaters, this was an obstacle with limitless potential and the added opportunity to use the existing barrier wall. And while Corey expected to see some basic tricks like the 5050 and nose slide on the hurdle, there were some tricks he didn’t even think were possible. “It’s always interesting to see how people can look through a completely different lens. This skater took off from the transition, which is about six feet from the wall, and then flew through the air and ran into the front wall of the barrier. It was wild.”

Staying true to Bay Area skateboarding, Corey brought on Austin Kanfush as a consultant to help come up with ideas for original features. Austin is an Anti-Hero and Vans pro and runs a concrete company called Kanfoush Custom Concrete. He built skate parks throughout the Bay Area and lived in San Francisco for many years. “Austin and I had some Zoom calls and he talked about this DIY park that was under a bridge in Emeryville. There was a volcano with a rainbow railway. He sent me reference photos, and I thought that instead of a volcano, we could do a tabletop, like a quarterpipe to a quarterpipe.”

Said DIY Austin has since been torn out, but the rainbow rail was the perfect tribute to the once popular skate spot, appropriately named “The Spot.” At the Red Bull Sky Line this was another hurdle, with some of the tricks performed far exceeding Corey’s original expectations. “I thought we’d probably see people shredding it, jamming it, and then blowing it. We’re going to see some blacksmith pilots, maybe we’ll see some riding blacksmiths and some riding blacksmith pilots. And then my mind stopped. And then Elijah did a 50-50 body variation to switch to a 50-50. In the heat of competition, I don’t know, people just lose their minds and do some crazy things.” Once again the judges agreed with Corey and Elijah won best trick on the rainbow rail with a variety of tricks including this amazing 5050 body variation.

But how do you buy a giant dumpster? “I went on Facebook Marketplace and just bought a dumpster from a trash company that was downsizing. I thought how terrible it would be to have a real dumpster that was just perfect and didn’t have a bear trap or a thin, creepy grate in it. So I countersunk some two-by-fours, drilled through the side of the metal, and essentially made ribs. Then I made the plywood and made it perfectly flush with the edge. Honestly, it was like skating on the ledge of a skate park.” Corey was again amazed at the tricks the contestants were able to pull off. Highlights included an impossible 5050, a curved kickflip grind, and Roman Pabic’s ramp-assisted wall ride all over a dumpster.

The Red Bull Sky Line will go down in San Francisco history as one of the most spectacular and scenic skateboarding events the city has ever seen. Next year, the roadway where the competition was held will be demolished to renovate the park, making this a unique and once-in-a-lifetime event. And while DIY may be on its way out, going to the observation deck and running down the hill will become a pilgrimage for San Francisco skateboarders for decades to come.