Color Magazine Blogger Profile

Unless you've been living under a rock for the last few weeks, you know all about El Chocolate Tour. Like you, we'd been following this heavy crew (Rick McCrank, Kenny Anderson, Vincent Alvarez, Chico Brenes, Elijah Berle, Raven Tershy, Stevie Perez, Brian Anderson, Corey Kennedy, Ty Evans) and their adventures around Central America through whatever we could find online, when out of the blue we get a message out of El Savador from one of our readers Alan Rodriguez telling us that he linked up with the guys in Nicaragua and shot some photos.

"I joined the guys for the Nica stop and this was definitely not your average skate tour. I had the most amazing chicken soup at Chico's house, Raven got jumped by thugs in Panama, Vincent and Kenny got robbed by some bad cops in Panama... what an awesome time!!"

Check out some choice photos Alan snapped at one of their demo stops and be sure to check back here next week for a full feature & sequences.

The van gets to Masaya and all the kids welcomed the crew.

Chico Brenes greets the fans

Elijah Berle signs off on some boards

Stevie was high-fiving the kids and yelling “Viva La Raza!”

The skatepark was very “unique”. Like most skateparks in Central America it was hard to skate and the obstacles and transitions almost didn’t make sense, no complaints from the guys though, just fun times. They got especially down on this not-so-mellow yellow quarter.

Elijah Berle - hurricane

Stevie Perez - backside noseblunt

Kenny Anderson - backside smith

Elijah - frontside air

Give a skateboard to these guys and they’ll destroy even the most shitty spots. But sometimes you pay the price. That day, Brian Anderson hurt his knee so bad he couldn't skate for the rest of the trip and the day after that, McCranker had one of the most intense bails I've seen and managed to crack one rib and his wrist.

Like throwing wood on the fire, Chico’s Central Skate Shop provided all the free boards and gear. The kids were going nuts. It was like a freaking Slayer show mosh pit. Some got a free board, some got a black eye.

The crew was feeling rough from partying and not sleeping the night before. It was 105 °f and probably 50000% humidity, just like being inside an oven, but that was not enough to keep the guys from giving an amazing demo.

Local hero Chico Brenes gives a sound byte to the media

We can't wait to see a new Chocolate video and many of the bangers from this trip that are sure to make the cut. In the meantime, Alan managed to snag some tricks and sequences to tide you over. Check back soon for our full online feature.