To steal a phrase from our friends from Northern California, John John Florence is a hella good skateboarder. And just in case anyone was beginning to forget about his skating chops, the World Champ dropped a couple of air-540 hammers to take a heat win over rookie Ethan Ewing, who hardly knew what hit him.
The first was a big, spontaneous backside 540 off a warping, jagged lip. 9.73. The second, ridden simultaneously with Ewing was a much more technical, flat, frontside huck that may have stolen some thunder from one of the rookie's best rides. 9.43. Total heat score, 19.16, highest of the event so far. To his credit, Ewing had begun to adapt his approach to the Championship Tour level and even dropped a cool, skate-influenced move of his own with a stylish, frontside lip slide, but it was not nearly enough to catch up to the Champ.