DENVER — Sixteen skate shops across the country competed in the XGames Showdown, a video competition in which teams showcased two minutes of their best tricks.
The contest winner is located in Denver. 303 Boards won $10,000 and state bragging rights. Founder Sam Schuman opened the store back in 1997 and said his goal was to make skateboarding in Colorado more known.
“Usually, the coast wins skateboard contest, either New York or California," Schuman explained. "So for Colorado to win something against every other state is a really good feeling.”
What started as a small business has expanded to three Colorado locations and an entire team of skaters and creators.
"As we see kids developing their skills around Colorado, we bring them in and embrace them and let them kind of blossom from there,” Schuman said.
Nathan Rowland was the man behind the camera, creating magic. He said the contest video took three months to make, including two weeks of skating and one trip to Phoenix for warmer weather.
“Colorado has always had a pretty strong skate community," Rowland said. "I think with everyone coming together on this project, it really showed what's going on here.”
