Thrasher Magazine

Once the decision is made, the only thing left is one big ol’ bash in The City to cap the year off right. Karl Watson came through for the official handoff along with a host of A-listers from Primitive, adidas and our home turf. Sean G and Larry June handled the evening's tunes. Couldn’t get in the door? Catch it all here. Thanks, Skullcandy and New Belgium Voodoo Ranger for the assist. —Ted Schmitz

Photos by Joe Brook, Atiba Jefferson and Dan Zaslavsky

First fuzzy visions of the evening, and the line’s down the block

Let’s see who we got outside. Hongry with a SOTY and company is a good start

Louie’s crewie too

Gamers? Ravers? What’s the difference?! We’re glad to have ‘em

Heavy adidas lineup: Jascha, the Busenitzs and our second SOTY of the night Silas Baxter-Neal

Manfre’s track made it into Miles’ part, so of course he rolled up

Fuck yeah, we got the family of the hour

There HE is, with even more family! 

Not by blood, but brother in the streets Jahn Perez came with fiancé Maiah

This line keeps hittin’ with 80’s Joe and Nasty Neck 

Emphasis on the GREAT! Thanks for hosting our little shindig

Inside the building we got our events guys Jerome and Dylan, checkin' boards and givin' out some SOTY merch or Skullcandys

On the stage we have Sean G and the biggest watermark you’ve ever seen

The full effect

SOTY in The Bay?! Gary would rather die than miss it

Icons of the field, Jeff Kendall and Deandre Thebpanya

Legends at max capacity! Elissa and Reese on the scene

Models be modeling or something like that. Nico’s tight

Leather boots, horns, beard-and-bic combo—yeah, the guys from Hatchets for Hands filled the heavy-metal quota quick

BAD SHIT in the booth!

Slay, queens!

Primitive fam represent!

Two from the three stripes, Dre and Shier

Eben with some men of the lens

Cheers, boys

Louie’s in!

Jack’s back with Brandon

And Brandon’s got hella homies

Sippin’ but never slippin’, Neck's got friends too

Free Skullcandy buds for the buds

We’re packin’ the place quick

Bad Shit’s back with Arco and the Big Boss

Peabody brought the Old Man. You fuckin’ bet he’s still watchin’ tonight

Red and black everywhere. Was there a Niners game on or some shit?

Laura Riggins and her company know the rules

Poobert’s got two SOTY parts under his belt. Arielle can vouch 

Serious SAC Town presence

The brains of the operation! Or cogs in the system, I don’t actually know their job titles. Either way, all of them work for adidas. Paul Shier, Joey Abarca and Matt Milligan

Yes, we are in San Francisco. How could you tell?

Mark made the long trek from Saratoga just for this. What a guy!

Titans of the YAY Area. You think Jim fucks with Mac Dre? Who knows. He fucks with Gary, for sure

Once Gary gets the dance floor started…

…the place is packed in seconds. What power

A world in turmoil; we could all use some peace these days

Farkus and Rye know

So do these guys

Marcel Turner and Shrewgy knew too

Jessie Van and Patrick O’Dell, apostles of the PMA gospel

Upside down, but we get it

Peace from the Pier locals: Karl Watson, Matt Field and Paul Shier

Tory and Tony mixin’ peace with pointers

Gary, Justin, Alán and Slimeballfrank keep that vibe alive

Now we’re almost docking pointers

Young Grasshoppers Matt Field, Matt Rodriguez and Matt Pailes en pointe

This is literally the only picture I’ve ever seen where Jim isn’t pointing. But I know he’s down for Adelaide

Jeff Henderson brings one back for O’Dell

Alright, this crew’s gotta get it together

Solid blend with Tony, Miles, Richard and Clay

Opio and Jamie held ‘em up strong

What a place to end a stale joke. Congrats, you two!

I just meant we’re over the pointers. Now it’s time to watch the birds! Let’s open the aviary here

Shit, that’s just his move

My boy’s got two for you!

Neck’s got one for Elissa’s broken wing

Thanks, Dre. Anders, Jascha and Karl ain’t that kinda tough. Enough with the hand gesture bit. Let’s see if any of the High Speed family’s here yet

Damn, first T. We got social boys Jack and Lui with my boss Cole and Sally. Ariel is soon-to-be literal family of Jackson, so I think she counts too

Every blog's gotta have some free feet, included here with man leg

Sorry, I got distracted. We’re back on track with video guys Bublitz and Beres

Bublitz knows Schmitty too. We’re a tight team

“Oh, Captain, my Captain!” I like to imagine Jackson and Lui think of Tony like John Keating in Dead Poets Society. Maybe that just comes to mind ‘cause he remade the Robin Williams Think hat

Our shop guru Ian is the most responsible one in the building

Need ripping design work? Too bad. Get your own Donta and Adam

Our friends from earlier found our resident tech god Nick!

Kirk from Deluxe catches up with ad man Eben Sterling

Ted Barrow and Brendan Bill. Should we end the roll call with the talent behind This Old Ledge?!

No! Philly’s finest Brian Panebianco and Oakland Courthouse killer Doug Waitrovich were there too

One of these people is Maddie our music editor and what I assume are some of her many friends. If you say I used that joke last year, I’m just gonna call you a cop. So fuck off

Rhino, Maddie, Neck and Burnett get one last flick before we get down to official business

Excuse me, Lui, I just said Burndog’s got business

Thanks for the encouragement, Gary

The happiest night of the year! See you on stage

This one goes out to every kid who moved to San Francisco to try their luck! What an intro from the man who’s said it all

And who better to present Rusty than SF Legend and the guy who opened the door to the industry for Miles?

From the first contest sighting to a pro board and now the only award that matters, Karl’s always there for it

Heavier than you think

It’s all love tonight

Well-deserved spotlight

Yes, the best way to experience any life-changing moment

"No man is an island. It takes a village." They’re clichés ‘cause they’re true. Miles wouldn’t be up here without a solid foundation and the Silvas family got it

What a sight

Lotta talent in that clan

My team thorough

Now one with the crowd!

Think this one’s goin’ on the mantel?

Set in stone

The part of the night where people get handsy with Rusty

It’s cool for mom and dad

Closin’ out with a BANG! Larry June takes the mic

Bird up

Game recognize game

Sure, three more, but that’s it!

Gary can’t take anymore!

Goodnight, everyone. Always good to remember it’s a celebration more than a contest. Miles gave it all he got and we’re all lucky we get to witness. Give the man his flowers if you see him in the streets, which more than likely will be tomorrow