Every year on June 21, people around the world celebrate Go Skateboarding Day in honor of the action sport. This year proves to be the most exciting one yet, with everyone eager to be back outside following the COVID-19 pandemic that plagued the majority of 2020. With summer on the horizon, cannabis brand STIIIZY debuted their newest skate team featuring professional skateboarders Boo Johnson, David Loy, Mikey Jones, Donny Hixson, Maurice Jordan, Derrick Wilson, and more.

 

On Monday, June 21, in commemoration of Go Skate Day, skateboarders, skateboarding fanatics and fans of the sport gathered at Boo Johnson’sPharmacy Boardshop (on Pine Street) around 12 p.m., before skating down Broadway towards Cherry Park in Long Beach. There, the festivities commenced, which included cash prizes for various competitions such as Highest Ollie, Best Trick and Longest Ollie.

Partnering with merch partners DGK and Boo’s company JustHaveFun, STIIIZY proves why they are far more than just a cannabis brand. Deemed the nation’s fastest-growing Asian American and minority-operated cannabis brand, their love and care for skateboarding culture was immediately evident, providing nothing but good vibrations for all those in attendance. This follows last week’s event where everyone met and filmed a dope skate edit video at MLK Park in Long Beach, really emphasizing the feeling of community that goes far beyond just skateboarding.

With the Grizzly (the world’s biggest griptape company) tent set up right next to Rouxs Tacos, attendees from all walks of life conjoined to participate and enjoy the good weather in LBC. The first competition took place with contestants doing all sorts of tricks over a Stiiizy trash can, with David Loy winning $300 for the Highest Ollie and Donny Hixon winning $500 for the Longest Ollie, which measured out to over 15 skateboards laid down on the concrete. At one point, Johnson even stands on top of the Stiiizy trash can to pass out free STIIIZY decks.

Josh Walker, manager of the STIIIZY skate team, states, “My role in this is to create a vibe for STIIIZY skate team, not be so much pressure on the tricks but more on the fun of going out and being together as a team. Bringing everybody all together as one, that are from all different places in southern California. It means a lot ‘cause I’m from Long Beach, I grew up skating here. I stopped skateboarding to be a working man, but now to work with the skate team and direct the younger kids on the team is hella dope.”

Irvine Weekly was in attendance, speaking with Johnson and Loy about what it meant to host such a great event in Orange County.

Boo Johnson:

What does it mean to be hosting this event on Go Skate Day?

Boo Johnson: I’m hosting this event through Pharmacy and JHF. I also have a bunch of rad sponsors behind it as well. It means everything to me, another year with everyone getting together. Especially with the doors being opened, everyone’s outside. You could see it here, it’s a beautiful sight. At the end of the day, it’s all about National Go Skateboarding Day. It’s the first day of summer, getting everyone out on four wheels. All around just blessed to be out here with everyone.

How does it feel to be in Long Beach/OC area specifically? 

Boo Johnson: To be in Long Beach is beautiful. We’re right in the middle of California. You got San Diego down there, you got L.A. on the other side of us and this is central. This is the mecca of skateboarding, so it couldn’t mean any more to me.

What’s been the highlight of today for you?

Boo Johnson: Honestly, all the best trick contests because the hype gets so real and everyone gets all juiced up. Everyone’s cheering each other on, it’s a beautiful sight. Everyone getting air. And earlier, we skated from Pharmacy Boardshop, downtown Long Beach to here. Seeing that whole sight was really cool. I was leading the pack, looking behind me and seeing everyone marching in order is really cool. You don’t get to see that all the time.

What are your thoughts on the Longest Ollie competition? 15 boards is insane.

Boo Johnson: That was insane. I couldn’t even ollie 15 boards. I couldn’t do it. I’m a professional, but that’s the cool thing about skateboarding: everyone has a different style. Everyone has different techniques for what they do. That’s what makes it so cool.

What is your relationship with cannabis?

Boo Johnson: That’s my partner in crime. It gets me where I need to be and keeps me grounded honestly.

 

Anything else you want to let us know?

Boo Johnson: I hope everyone’s having fun out there in the world since everything’s opening up. Keep elevating each other. Keep staying grounded. Spreading peace, spreading love. Working together so we can be the best us that we can.

David Loy

How does it feel to be here on Go Skate Day?

David Loy: It feels great to be here on Go Skate Day. Coming out with all the kids and having everyone get together. Boo J made this happen with the help of STIIIZY and Pharmacy. It’s a good time to get everybody together and rip for the day.

What does it mean to join STIIIZY’s skate team?

David Loy: Being part of STIIIZY’S skate team is really rad, we get to do super cool things. Me and Boo J have been really good friends for a long time. I’ve known him since I was a youngin’, we go way back. Being a part of it from the beginning to having it grow to where it is now is super cool. We’re going to do a lot of dope shit in the future: working on new projects, traveling, doing skate trips with the team. All sorts of stuff, this is just the beginning for us.

What does it mean to celebrate today in Long Beach/OC area? 

David Loy: Doing this event in Long Beach is really cool because I’m from Orange County, so this is super close. This is local for me. I’ve been skating Cherry Park since I was young. To have 200 people out here is pretty awesome, having it local and keeping it in the community is really cool.

What part of OC are you from?

David Loy: I’m from Santa Ana.

How’d it feel to win the Highest Ollie contest?

David Loy: I ollied over 9 boards I think. It felt good to snap a high ollie. It felt good for sure. It took awhile, took a couple tries to figure it out. I won $300, it’s a good day.

What is your relationship with cannabis?

David Loy: Cannabis is one of my loves. Stay STIIIZY!

 

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