London Final

Posted on December 09, 2009 11:19 AM

The 2009 UK Red Bull Manny Mania final produced some of the finest skating and most technical trickery the UK skate scene has ever seen. With young blood unknowns competing against Britain’s best, 20 skaters brought their moves to the Grand Final, held at London’s Truman Brewery.

On a cold but sunny Saturday afternoon in London, 20 of the UK and Ireland's best skaters came together for the 2009 Red Bull Manny Mania Grand Final. Selected through qualification at 8 regional competitions, between them they represented Scotland, England, Ireland and Wales - the first time any skate competition has visited every country. Each session lasted 10 minutes which saw the skaters whittled down to the best eight with two more sessions to follow lasting 15 minutes each.

The judges were looking out for creativity, difficulty and imaginative use of the Manny pads. With high standards throughout it was a tough call for them, but Paddy MaGuire ultimately took top honours after landing a ton of tricks, including over 17 in the final round alone. An outstanding display of skill!

The final results were:

1st place – Paddy MaGuire
2nd place – Ben Rowles
3rd place – Joe Moore
4th place – Sean Smith
5th place – Kris Vile
6th place – Tom Shimmin
7th place – Craig Smedley
8th place - Tim Prozorov

Bridgend Recreation Centre

Posted on November 22, 2009 23:45 PM

The fourth and final Red Bull Manny Mania qualifier took place in a cold and windy car park in Bridgend outside Cardiff at the weekend. Stormy weather didn’t deter an enthusiastic local crowd who turned up early doors to get some practice in and grab their free pair of Etnies trainers. The car park under the Bridgend Recreation Centre has been a popular spot with local skaters for years, the smooth floor and kerbs making it the birthplace of many a car park hero.

As practice got under way it quickly became obvious how close this qualifier was going to be with some of the highest standard of riding the judges have seen yet. Expectations for local rider Welsh Tommy were great but sadly a collision with another skater early on in the practice session meant a trip to the hospital for some magic glue was needed before he could carry on.

A record 48 skaters put their name forward to compete for the last four places in the Grand Final at the end of the month and the results were anyone’s guess with at least ten riders looking like they could walk with some prize money and a deck. However, the judges had to make a decision and chose the following skaters to go to London...

1st place – Chris Gibbons
2nd place – Ashton Launcherley
3rd place – Nicky Howells
4th place – Kris Vile

So that’s it for the qualifiers for this year but you can still come down to watch the Grand Final at the Truman Brewery on Saturday 28th November from 12pm. Skaters from Ireland, Scotland, Wales and England will compete for the big cash prize and a place in manual skating history. Of course this will end with one last party at a nearby venue, details will be announced on the day. See you there!

Magna Steel Works

Posted on November 02, 2009 22:35 PM

The Manny Mania circus began its journey South at the weekend stopping for the third qualifier at Magna Steel Works just outside Sheffield in Rotherham. Magna was at the centre of Sheffield’s thriving steel industry until it was closed in the 1980s and has since been transformed into an award winning visitor attraction.

Despite a local bus strike the Sheffield pose turned up in force along with some big names, including 2008 finalist Chris Atherton. The standard in the practice session was undoubtedly high and it was great to see some of the younger skaters weren’t intimidated and gave it their all with encouragement and tips from some of the more experienced names.

In total 27 skaters put their name forward for entry which gave us 6 heats and kept the MCs in a permanent state of excitement. The judges were faced with a tough decision in choosing four skaters from the eight that made it to the last two heats but after much deliberation the following were announced:

1st place – Sean Smith
2nd place – Ben Rowles
3rd place – Joe Moore
4th place – Craig Smedley

It was a surprise to everyone not to see Avi (Chris Atherton) make it through but hopefully he will join us for the last qualifier in Bridgend outside Cardiff on Saturday 14th November. If you haven’t qualified yet then this is your last chance...

Win a trip to the UK Red Bull Manny Mania final and a load of etnies gear!

Posted on October 28, 2009 20:32 PM

Etnies, official partner of Red Bull Manny Mania UK, are offering you and a friend the chance to win an all expenses paid trip to the Grand Final in London on 28th November, plus a load of the latest Etnies gear!

Click here to enter

* Prizes may differ from those shown depending on stock availability

MEADOWBANK SPORTS CENTRE

Posted on October 27, 2009 9:38 AM

Manny Mania broke North of the border to Edinburgh for the second UK round of the qualifiers last weekend. The Scotland qualifier took place at Meadowbank Sports Centre which was home to the 1986 Comonwealth Games and as well as a retro atmosphere it has a very smooth and fast floor creating perfect Manny conditions.

Massive commitment shown from the group of skaters that showed up at 9am in a bid to be the first in the venue and grab their free pair of Etnies - thanks for your enthusiasm lads!

Doors opened at 12pm and the day began with an open session where anyone could skate the course and get some practice in before the comp began. 36 entrants got their name down before the first heat and as judges Rob Selley, Dan Cates and Rodney Clark took their positions and readied their score sheets, the comp got under way.

Competition in the final heats was very tight and some solid tricks were thrown down but it was the style and fluidity of the following guys that secured them the cash prize and place in the Grand Final:

1st place - Keith Allan
2nd place - Dan Main
3rd place - Dan Nicholas
4th place - Will Greenfield

The comp moves to Magna Steel Works in Sheffield for the third round on Saturday 31st October so get yourself along for a pre Halloween skate!

CLASSIC CAR CLUB LONDON

Posted on September 23, 2009 8:17 PM

Red Bull Manny Mania is officially live! The first qualifier got under way at the Classic Car Club in London at the weekend and surpassed all expectations with some high quality skating by new and old faces. A good crowd showed up to see some of the best manual skating in the UK, most walked away with a brand new pair of Etnies from the Etnies charity shoe exchange which proved very popular! The course was open to both competitors and non competitors to enjoy some new Manny pads for 2009 including an up down ramp that proved very popular. 21 skaters signed up to compete and the competition got under way with a strong first heat that set the bar for the rest of the competition.

After five heats we had eight names for the finals:

Each rider gave it everything in an attempt to get through to the Grand Final and take a cash prize. Shaun Witherup pushed himself to the edge and beyond by aggravating an old knee injury that left him unable to continue. He had done enough though and the judges were suitably impressed by his solid skating and won a place in the Grand Final. The four placed riders are:

1st – Mikey Wright
2nd – Danny Brady
3rd – Shaun Witherup
4th – Josh Cox

Each of the four skaters won a cash prize and a skate deck supplied by Girl and Chocolate.

Next stop Edinburgh on Saturday 17th October. See you there!

RED BULL MANNY MANIA 2009 LAUNCHES AT RED BULL RACING

Posted on September 23, 2009 8:17 PM

We took some familiar faces from 2008 to the Red Bull Racing Formula 1 HQ to film a teaser ahead of the 2009 events...