I’m listening to Elephant by the White Stripes, specifically the song “Seven Army Nation”, of which the appropriate lyrics are printed above. I’ve never been to Wichita, and having left Santa Fe and traveled by plane to Dallas, I’m approaching touchdown at the Wichita Mid-Continent Airport. I feel like I’m going to the middle of Middle America, and soon, I will put that assertion to the test.

After landing and getting my gear and boards, I went out to catch a shuttle to the local Holiday Inn. Jeff Ferris, the leader of the Pro Impact Stunt Team (PIST), along with BMX daredevil Casey Burke, flew in yesterday. Billy Gawrych (BMX Flatland Scientist) and Jason Richard (Inline Wizard) drove the PIST ramps in from Phoenix, and had only arrived early in the AM this same day. As I made it to the hotel and dropped off my bags in the room I was sharing with Billy (who was comatose after 20 plus hours of driving), I went out back to see Jeff, Jason and Casey putting the finishing touches on the jump box they had built for the weekend of shows.

After some lunch, we all climbed into the truck and headed toward the Convention Center, which is located in the heart of downtown Wichita. Our shows, to be held over three days and nights, were part of the Darryl Starbird Car Show.This is a gathering of classic American cars and the folks who painstakingly put them together, and it promised to draw hot rodders form all over this part of the country, especially Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas. These folks compete for cash and trophies, as well as dig in for some action sports and other high-energy entertainment. Today was the day for setting up equipment and cars, so we placed our ramps near the stage, put together the jump box, and set the area for the shows, which would begin on Friday night.

After a restful night, one in which we sampled the fine dining and nightlife in Wichita (Yeah, Mulligan’s!), we headed out in the morning to find a slight rain falling all around. For our team and our shows, this was not a big deal, as the demos were all going to be held indoors. We had some time to kill during the day, since our first show as not until 6 in the evening. So, Jeff instructed us all in how to use the Triking Kobra . Jeff had starred in an infomercial for the product, which is part scooter and part exercise machine. He had made arrangements to have a number of the Kobras available for people to try out between our demos, and interested folks could purchase them too.

Team Kobra! Pro Impact team members, left to right, Dr. Skateboard, Jeff Ferris, Jason Richard, Casey Burk & Billy Gawrych.

Crammed in the truck, Bill, Jason and Jeff.

We went down the road with great jocularity, filled with humor and laughter that fueled our evening performances, which were well attended and a whole lot of fun. After two packed performances, we were all set to go, all the ramps were holding fine, and we were clicking as a team. We were sharing the stage with the Trim-Spa models, all or who were very cool and attractive (Yeah Melissa, Cindy and Ashley!), and a 50s/60s cover band called the Bop Cats. We got a glimpse at the revelry that the crowds possessed and would continue through the next two days, as enthusiastic partiers sloshed frothing cups of brew onto the arena floor before, during and after each performance. It made the entire event fun, challenging and above all, entertaining.

The next day (Saturday) came much too quickly and much too early for those of us who had journeyed to the ends of Wichita the night before. We got to the arena ready for a full day of 4 shows, beginning at 11 AM and then 1, 4 and 9 PM, and the day looked long as we walked up the stairs to the stage area. Yet, the team was up to the task, and magical moments of skill happened throughout the day. Billy was a styling BMX flatland genius, pulling off intense combinations of tricks with flair and ease. Jason flew and back flipped to the delight of the crowd, Casey pulled off Superman seat grabs and intense spine riddled behavior (nose pick to 360 bar spin re-entry), and Jeff method aired the entire jump box, 360 flipping his board as well as ruling the spine with inverts and much more. I had a blast too, freestyling my way through the arena, throwing handstand fingerflips, switch nollie big spins and large numbers of 360s. I also pulled off a trick in a demo that I have NEVER made before; a double and a quarter finger flip to rail. In the DEMO! What really topped if off was that Billy got it on video. The crowds were large, the moves were big, and everyone had a great time. We closed the last show on Saturday night and left for the hotel.

The newly remodeled, freshly skate lited, Pro Impact 1/4 pipe!

Billy Gawrych in ya face!

Yet, the night was nowhere near done. Billy, Casey and I made our way to the local skatepark, Boardorline . Some friends, Eric and Josh, along with Eric’s Mom, Kirsten, met us there and let us have a private evening session in the park. It was a lot of fun, and it was cool to roll around and just enjoy the freedom of skating and biking. Casey ripped it up everywhere, and Eric is an 11-year-old maniac on his BMX bike and razor scooter. He blew a four-foot air on the razor scooter that left us all speechless. After a 90-minute sweat session in which we shredded the bowl, mini-ramps and street area, we were all wasted and ready to head back to the hotel to shower and see what might happen next.

Well, let me say that the nightlife in Wichita only gets going after midnight. Billy, Casey and I headed out to a local club, a bit upscale and yuppiefied, but we were invited by a few of the local glamour girls, and joined them and a few other of the car show enthusiasts for a bit of social time. After a few pleasantries were exchanged and a few liquids consumed, we were invited to a local after hours party that was well attended by an eclectic crew of crazed maniacs. With loud music blaring and guys and girls raging, we sat back in shock and awe, and enjoyed ourselves into the wee hours of the morning. With a lawn-laden exit, we made it back to the hotel just before sunrise