The weather in Detroit is always difficult to gauge. During set up on Thursday, it was sunny and in the low 90’s. By the time the BBQ was supposed to start on Saturday morning the weather had shifted dramatically and we awoke early to thunderstorms and a lot of wet pavement. While it rained throughout the morning, we all held out hope that we would be able to pull the event off in between scattered thunderstorms. About 30 minutes before the event was due to start, the rain stopped and we were able to get underway with stop #2 of the Journeys Backyard BBQ.

The event was well promoted and the local FOX affiliate was on hand to interview athletes from Globe and Osiris, as well as the Rockstar Energy Drink/Metal Mulisha riders. Once the skate and moto ramps were thoroughly dried by a battalion of motorized blowers, the ramps were deemed rideable…and ride they did.

Despite not feeling well, 2005 X-Games Gold Medalist, Pierre Luc Gagnon, came out and ripped the ramp with fellow Osiris riders Garret Hill, James Brockman and Shuriken Shannon. The Globe guys were also in attendance and featured the likes of Chris Haslam, Paul Machnau and X-Games Silver Medalist Greg Lutzka. Everybody from the Globe and Osiris teams had a great time sessioning the mini ramp in the first demo of the day, except for Chris Haslam. Unfortunately, the airlines made Chris check his skateboard as luggage and it was lost on the flight to Detroit. Chris had no skateboard to skate the demo. After searching all of Detroit for a replacement board, Chris gave up. An announcement was made to the crowd looking for a board that was a size Chris could ride. A young kid stood up and handed Chris his board that had been purchased at WalMart just two weeks before the demo. Being a professional, Chris took that kids board and rode amazingly. The crowd went crazy for all of the riders, but especially for Chris Haslam.

Following the demos, all of the athletes signed autographs and took pictures with lucky fans for what seemed like hours. The Metal Mulisha Freestyle Motocross demos went off without a hitch, to the delight of eager fans.

Local band Monkey Jacket won the Converse Battle of the Bands after some stiff competition from two other local bands. Headline act Love Arcade, who is based just 30 minutes away, played a fantastic set that drew about 1,200 local fans.

The Briarwood Mall location would have to be considered an acceptable location for an event of this nature. It is our thinking that the attendance numbers were lower than expected due to the inclement weather and possibly due to the event being hosted on Memorial Day weekend. The event was huge hit to the fans in attendance and the mall was great to work with.

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