The title of King of the Road is given out once a year by ''
Thrasher
Thrashers are a New World group of passerine birds related to mockingbirds and New World catbirds. Like these, they are in the family Mimidae. There are 15 species in one large and 4 monotypic genera.
These do not form a clade but are a ph ...
'' magazine. The tradition was started in 2003 by Thrasher editor Michael Burnett.
In the 'King of the Road' contest, three separate, pre-invited teams of professional skaters are each given a book containing a series of challenges. The challenges themselves involve hard skateboarding tasks, as well as more trivial and humorous ones. There are various points available for each challenge, usually dependent on how difficult or uncomfortable the challenge is. The teams compete at the same time over a two-week period, in which they travel across the U.S. to complete as many challenges as possible.
KOTR has been held annually since its inception, with the exceptions of 2008, 2009 and 2018. In 2011, Thrasher and
Converse
Converse may refer to:
Mathematics and logic
* Converse (logic), the result of reversing the two parts of a definite or implicational statement
** Converse implication, the converse of a material implication
** Converse nonimplication, a logical c ...
hosted an addition KOTR competition in
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
, with the participation of four Chinese skateboard brands.
King of the Road 2003
Teams
Team Deluxe
*
Dan Drehobl
*
Darrell Stanton
*
JT Aultz
* Ernie Torres
*
Tony Trujillo
Tony Trujillo (born August 23, 1982) is an American professional skateboarder and musician. Trujillo was awarded the "Skater of the Year" award by ''Thrasher'' magazine in 2002.
Early life
Trujillo was born in Santa Rosa, California, United Stat ...
Team Tum Yeto
*
Ethan Fowler
*
Gareth Stehr
* Diego Bucchieri
*
Johnny Layton
Johnny is an English language personal name. It is usually an affectionate diminutive of the masculine given name John (given name), John, but from the 16th century it has sometimes been a given name in its own right for males and, less commonly ...
*
Adrian Mallory
Team Volcom
*
Rune Glifberg
Rune Glifberg (born 7 October 1974), nicknamed "The Danish Destroyer", is a Danish professional skateboarder. He is one of three skaters to have competed at every X Games. He has a total of 12 X Games medals. At 46, he became the oldest skateboar ...
*
Caswell Berry Caswell may refer to:
Places United Kingdom
*Caswell, Swansea, a village in Wales
**Caswell Bay, nearby
* Caswell, Northamptonshire, a lost settlement and technology park in England
United States
* Caswell, Maine, a town
* Caswell Memorial State ...
*
Dustin Dollin
Dustin Dollin (born 27 June 1980) is an Australian professional skateboarder who is one of the original team riders for Baker Skateboards
Early life
Dollin was born in Ballina, New South Wales, Australia, and raised in Katoomba, New South Wales ...
*
Dennis Busenitz
*
Javier Sarmiento
Team éS
*
Eric Koston
Eric Koston (born April 29, 1975) is an American professional skateboarder and company owner. He has been featured in the '' Tony Hawk's'' video game series and the Electronic Arts (EA) video games ''Skate 2'' and ''Skate 3''. Koston co-owns bot ...
*
Rick McCrank
Rick McCrank (born January 23, 1976) is a Canadian professional skateboarder, television host, skate shop owner, and skate company co-owner.
Early life
McCrank was born in Peterborough, Ontario, Canada, but grew up in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
...
*
Paul Rodriguez
*
PJ Ladd
Patrick John Ladd (born January 11, 1983), professionally known as PJ Ladd, is an American professional skateboarder whose stance is ''regular''. Ladd was labelled an "east coast legend" by fellow professional skateboarder and team manager John ...
*
Alexis Sablone
Alexis Sablone (born August 12, 1986) is a goofy-footed American professional skateboarder, who ranked 12th in the world as of July 2021. She has competed in every X Games competition since 2009, the World Skateboarding Championship, and skated ...
Final Standings
::1st Place: Deluxe
::2nd Place: Tum Yeto
::3rd Place: Volcom
::4th Place: éS
King of the Road 2004
Teams
::Team Almost
*
Daewon Song
Zen Master Daewon Moon Jae-hyeon (born January 23, 1936) is a Korean Zen master in South Korea. A disciple of Zen Master Jeongang, he received Dharma transmission from his teacher and thereby becoming the 78th patriarch in the Dharma Lineage ...
*
Greg Lutzka
Greg Lutzka (born April 20, 1985) is a "goofy-footed" (naturally places his right foot at the nose of the skateboard) professional skateboarder
Early life
Lutzka was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States (US). Lutzka explained in 2014 tha ...
*
Chris Haslam
*
Ryan Sheckler
Ryan Allen Sheckler (born December 30, 1989) is an American professional skateboarder and entrepreneur, and was the star of the MTV-produced reality television series ''Life of Ryan.'' He also starred in four seasons of the short-format video ser ...
* Cooper Wilt
::Team Girl
*
Eric Koston
Eric Koston (born April 29, 1975) is an American professional skateboarder and company owner. He has been featured in the '' Tony Hawk's'' video game series and the Electronic Arts (EA) video games ''Skate 2'' and ''Skate 3''. Koston co-owns bot ...
*
Mike Carroll
* Rick Howard
*
Brian Anderson
*
Jereme Rogers
Jereme Rogers (born January 13, 1985) is an American professional skateboarder, well known in the skateboarding sub-culture for his early retirement and rap music production.
Rogers returned to professional skateboarding in June 2010 with a pr ...
::Team Real
*
Peter Ramondetta
Peter Ramondetta (born December 18, 1982) is an American professional skateboarder. In 2012, he took 16th place overall in Street League.
Early life
Ramondetta was born in Wichita, Kansas, United States (US), and was raised in a religious family ...
* Dennis Busenitz
*
Tony Trujillo
Tony Trujillo (born August 23, 1982) is an American professional skateboarder and musician. Trujillo was awarded the "Skater of the Year" award by ''Thrasher'' magazine in 2002.
Early life
Trujillo was born in Santa Rosa, California, United Stat ...
*
Darrell Stanton
* Ernie Torres
::Team Zero
*
Jamie Thomas
Jamie Thomas (born October 11, 1974) is an American professional skateboarder and skateboard industry entrepreneur. Thomas is the owner and founder of Zero Skateboards and Fallen Footwear, until he announced its closure in January 2017. Thomas ...
* Jon Allie
* Tommy Sandoval
*
Chris Cole
* James Brockman
Final Standings
::1st Place: Zero
::2nd Place: Girl
::3rd Place: Almost
::4th Place: Real
King of the Road 2005
Teams
Team Zero
*
Jamie Thomas
Jamie Thomas (born October 11, 1974) is an American professional skateboarder and skateboard industry entrepreneur. Thomas is the owner and founder of Zero Skateboards and Fallen Footwear, until he announced its closure in January 2017. Thomas ...
*
Chris Cole
* Garrett Hill
*
John Rattray
John Rattray is a Scottish professional skateboarder.
Early life
Rattray was raised in Aberdeen and attained a university degree from the University of Glasgow.
Professional skateboarding
In 2001, Rattray initially turned professional for the B ...
*
Tommy Sandoval
Team Habitat
* Fred Gall
* Silas Baxter-Neal
* Stefan Janoski
* Kerry Getz
* Danny Garcia
Team Flip
* Geoff Rowley
* Bastien Salabanzi
*
Shane Cross
Shane Cross (22 August 1986 – 7 March 2007) was an Australian street skateboarder from the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. Cross gained global prominence within the skateboarding community during the mid-2000s, before his death in a motor ...
* Arto Saari
* Alex Chalmers
Team Element
* Jeremy Wray
* Mike Vallely
* Brent Atchley
* Tosh Townend
* Colt Cannon
Final Standings
:: First Place : Zero 4,190 points
:: Second Place : Habitat 3,470
:: Third Place : Flip 3,460
:: Fourth Place : Element 2,680
King of the Road 2006
Teams
Team Zero
*
Jamie Thomas
Jamie Thomas (born October 11, 1974) is an American professional skateboarder and skateboard industry entrepreneur. Thomas is the owner and founder of Zero Skateboards and Fallen Footwear, until he announced its closure in January 2017. Thomas ...
*
Chris Cole
*
Tommy Sandoval
*
John Rattray
John Rattray is a Scottish professional skateboarder.
Early life
Rattray was raised in Aberdeen and attained a university degree from the University of Glasgow.
Professional skateboarding
In 2001, Rattray initially turned professional for the B ...
* James Brockman
Team Darkstar
*
Chet Thomas
*
Paul Machnau
*
Gailea Momolu
*
Paul Trep
*
Adam Dyet
Team Baker
*
Andrew Reynolds
*
Erik Ellington
Erik Ellington (born August 9, 1977) is an American professional skateboarder, entrepreneur, and designer.
Early life
Erik Ellington was born and raised in Anchorage, Alaska, to Rose Ann Ellington and Charles Luther Ellington. His parents separat ...
*
Jim Greco
Jim Greco (born December 25, 1977) is an American professional skateboarder.
He established Bakerboys Distribution with Andrew Reynolds and Erik Ellington in 2007. Bakerboys Distribution provides distribution for closely related in-house skat ...
*
Bryan Herman
*
Leo Romero
Leo Romero (born November 28, 1986) is a professional skateboarder whose early skateboarding influences included Heath Kirchart, Jamie Thomas and Andrew Reynolds.
Early life
Romero was born in Fontana, California, United States and is the son ...
Team Toy Machine
*
Ed Templeton
Ed Templeton (born July 28, 1972) is an American professional skateboarder, contemporary artist, and photographer. He is the founder of the skateboard company, Toy Machine, a company that he continues to own and manage. He is based in Huntington ...
*
Billy Marks
*
Josh Harmony
*
Johnny Layton
Johnny is an English language personal name. It is usually an affectionate diminutive of the masculine given name John (given name), John, but from the 16th century it has sometimes been a given name in its own right for males and, less commonly ...
* Matt Bennett
Final Standings
::1st Place: Zero - 5,530 points
::2nd Place: Darkstar - 4,610 points
::3rd Place: Baker - 4,540 points
::4th Place: Toy Machine - 3,690 points
King of the Road 2007
Teams
Team Blind
*
Ronnie Creager
Ronnie Aaron Creager (born January 14, 1974) is a "goofy-footed" American professional skateboarder from Orange, California.
Early life
As Creager has explained in a 2011 interview, he commenced skateboarding at the age of three:
My neighbor Mi ...
* Jake Duncombe
* James Craig
* Danilo Cerezini
* Morgan Smith
Team Foundation
*
Don Nguyen
Don "The Nuge" Nguyen is an American professional skateboarder from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, currently residing in California. He rides for Baker Skateboards and played Shogo Kubo in the 2005 biographical drama film ''Lords of Dogtown''. He also ...
* Sierra Fellers
* David Reyes
* Angel Ramirez
* Abdias Rivera
Team Black Label
*
Chet Childress
Chet is a masculine given name, often a nickname for Chester, which means ''fortress'' or ''camp''. It is an uncommon name of English origin, and originated as a surname to identify people from the city of Chester, England. Chet was ranked 1,027th ...
* Adam Alfaro
* Brian "Slash" Hansen
* Shuriken Shannon
* Chris Troy
Team Zoo York
* Zered Bassett
* Aaron Suski
* Anthony Shetler
* Lamare Hemmings
*
Brandon Westgate
Brandon Westgate (born February 15, 1989) is a professional skateboarder.
Early life
Westgate was born in Wareham, Massachusetts, United States (US). When he was young, Westgate skated in his hometown and at Skater Island skate park in Rhode Isla ...
Final Standings
::1st Place: Blind
::2nd Place: Foundation
::3rd Place: Black Label
::4th Place: Zoo York
King of the Road 2010
1st Place
Team Nike SB
Eric Koston,
Grant Taylor,
Ishod Wair,
Cory Kennedy,
Justin Brock.
Mystery Guest Marissa Del Santo.
2nd Place
Team C1RCA
David Gravette,
Scott Decenzo,
Sierra Fellers,
David Reyes,
Robbie Brockel.
Mystery Guest Alexis Sablone.
3rd Place
Team Converse
Angel Ramirez,
Kenny Anderson,
Sammy Baca,
Julian Davidson,
Eli Reed.
Mystery Guest Lacey Baker.
4th Place
Team Etnies
Sean Malto,
Mike Taylor,
Jose Rojo,
Willow,
Ryan Sheckler.
Mystery Guest Elisa Steamer.
King of the Road 2011
1st Place – 6060 points
Team Lakai
Guy Mariano,
Marc Johnson,
Daniel Espinoza,
Vincent Alvarez,
Mikemo Capaldi,
Sam Smyth TM,
Ryan Lovell, Videographer,
Joe Brook, on Photography,
Aaron Meza on 2nd Angle.
Mystery Guest Andrew Reynolds.
2nd Place – 5680 points
Team Vans
Tony Trujillo,
Elijah Berle,
Daniel Lutheran,
Johnny Layton,
Gilbert Crockett,
Griffin Collins TM,
Cody Green, Videographer,
Joe Hammeke on Photography.
Mystery Guest Arto Saari.
3rd Place – 5480 points
Team Nike SB
Eric Koston,
Grant Taylor,
Ishod Wair,
Cory Kennedy,
Shane O’Neill,
Bob Reynolds TM,
Jason Hernandez, Videographer,
Rhino
A rhinoceros (; ; ), commonly abbreviated to rhino, is a member of any of the five extant species (or numerous extinct species) of odd-toed ungulates in the family Rhinocerotidae. (It can also refer to a member of any of the extinct species o ...
on Photography,
Steve Chalme on 2nd Angle.
Mystery Guest Leo Romero.
4th Place – 5340 points
Team Dekline
Chad Tim-tim,
Matt Bennett,
Nick Merlino,
Dakota Servold,
Ryan Spencer,
Mike Sinclair TM,
Jared Lucas, Videographer,
Dan Zaslavsky on Photography,
Tim Cisilino on Second angle.
Mystery Guest Salman Agah.
King of the Road China 2011
Presented by Converse
1st Place – 2930 Points
Team Gift
Mystery Guest Raymond Molinar.
2nd place - 2710
Team Shox
Mystery Guest Angel Ramirez.
3rd place - 2615
Team Society
Mystery Guest Kenny Anderson.
4th place - 1930
Team Vagabond
Mystery Guest ??? .
King of the Road 2012
King of the Road 2013
Teams
Teams were announced August 27, 2013. People were able to follow each team via blogs on the Thrasher site.
Final Standings
Winners were announced on September 19, 2013.
* Winning Team:
Birdhouse
* Phelper's Choice: Raven Tershy
* MVP: Ryan Susim
Web Episodes
The 2013 edition of KoTR was shown in a series of videos on the
Thrasher
Thrashers are a New World group of passerine birds related to mockingbirds and New World catbirds. Like these, they are in the family Mimidae. There are 15 species in one large and 4 monotypic genera.
These do not form a clade but are a ph ...
site and on YouTube.
Teams AnnouncedYT
Team Riders AnnouncedYT
TeaserYT
Episode 1YT
Episode 2YT
Episode 3YT
Episode 4YT
Episode 5YT
Episode 6YT
Episode 7YT
Episode 8YT
Episode 9YT
Episode 10YT
Episode 11YT
Episode 12YT
Episode 13YT
Episode 14YT
Episode 15YT
Episode 16YT
Meet The Mystery GuestsYT
Highest Longest MostYT
Chocolate YardsaleYT
Real YardsaleYT
Birdhouse YardsaleYT
King of the Road 2014
Teams
Team were announced September 3, 2014. Mystery guests were announced September 12, 2014 and were all featured in the Osiris
Osiris (, from Egyptian ''wsjr'', cop, ⲟⲩⲥⲓⲣⲉ , ; Phoenician: 𐤀𐤎𐤓, romanized: ʾsr) is the god of fertility, agriculture, the afterlife, the dead, resurrection, life, and vegetation in ancient Egyptian religion. He was ...
video, "The Storm".
Final Standings
Winning team was announced on December 13 in the final Web episode.
# Birdhouse
# Element
# Flip
Web Episode
The 2014 edition of KoTR was shown in a series of web episodes on the Thrasher
Thrashers are a New World group of passerine birds related to mockingbirds and New World catbirds. Like these, they are in the family Mimidae. There are 15 species in one large and 4 monotypic genera.
These do not form a clade but are a ph ...
site and on YouTube.
Meet The Mystery GuestsYT
Episode 1YT
Episode 2YT
Episode 3YT
Episode 4YT
Episode 5YT
Episode 6YT
Episode 7YT
Episode 8YT
Episode 9YT
Episode 10YT
Episode 11YT
Highest, Longest, MostYT
Evan Smith MVPYT
Birdhouse Detroit ExtrasYT
King of the Road 2015
Teams
The 2015 teams were announced August 25, 2015. The Mystery guests were announced September 2, 2015.
Team Birdhouse was the winner. Elijah Berle was the MVP. In 2016 this season of King of the Road aired as eleven hour-long TV episodes on the VICELAND channel.
Web Episodes
Meet the Mystery GuestsYT
King of the Road 2016
Teams
The 2016 teams were announced October 14, 2016.
Team Enjoi was the winner. Jackson Pilz was the MVP. In 2017 this season of King of the Road aired as eleven hour-long TV episodes on the VICELAND channel.
King of the Road 2017
Teams
The 2017 teams were announced July 6, 2017.
Team Element was the winner. Evan Smith was the MVP. This season of King of the Road aired in 2018 as eleven hour-long TV episodes on the VICELAND channel and the Thrasher website.[https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/viceland-king-of-the-road ]
References
{{Reflist
External links
Official Web Page
King of the Road 2003 at Skatevideosite.com
King of the Road 2004 at Skatevideosite.com
King of the Road 2005 at Skatevideosite.com
King of the Road 2006 at Skatevideosite.com
King of the Road 2007 at Skatevideosite.com
Skateboarding competitions