By now I should have made a damn shortkut key for “IMYTA+”… I really can’t count how many times I have written that strange word down. Proposals, permit requests, websites, programs, press releases, live updates, post-event coverage, a billion e-mails… and now again for ShopKaput (another word I should make a shortcut for I guess).
IMYTA+ or I Match Your Trick Association Plus, which is what this strange abbreviation stands for, is the single biggest skate event on the planet. It came into existence in the year 2000, when the world was a happy place and a lot seemed possible. Jon Julio, the skating legend, created the second ever skate competition on real street. (The first ever was held three weeks prior, was called the Truth Real Street Comp, and was organised by yours truly, by the way.) The real street concept was an immediate success. But for IMYTA, success did not last, due to the increasingly repressive climate in the US.
This skate comp held on real street needed to find a refuge abroad, far away from insane insurance premiums, weird liability suits and anti-terrorist laws. It found a natural home in Amsterdam, where, after all, the first ever real street comp was held. This is where I “took over” producing it, and the competition was transformed into a three day festival, sporting loads of parties and side events. But always with the IMYTA competition and its incredible skating as the heart of the event.
In 2006, another twist occurred in the tale of IMYTA+. Inspired by such events as Ticket to Ride in snowboarding and even the World Championship Tour in surfing, IMYTA sought out and found a great number of cool grassroots skate events all over the world. IMYTA partnered up with these events and the winners of these events were the only people eligible to enter the biggest and best competition of any time, anywhere. To celebrate this incredible leap forward, the plus was added: IMYTA+.
The 2006 IMYTA+ is already legendary. It has always been my full intention to make IMYTA+ the event in skating that would change everything. 2007 will prove if I have succeeded.
Of course, ShopKaput has intimate ties with this incredible event, and so it is here at ShopKaput that you can find a unique photo gallery of IMYTA+ 2006 shots. I hope you enjoy them. And watch out for next year! Pictures by: Alex Schneider |
