SOTYs pick the SOTY

12/05/2013

Who better to weigh in on the only award that matters than the legends who have already been there?

John Cardiel

"To me Thrasher's Skater of the Year represents the gnarrest of gnar and this year's skate devastation has been so broad - with Brandon Westgate's San Francisco demolition and his giant snaps with catlike agility, or even Ishod's creative bag of tricks combined with his versatile switch and transition skating, to Nyjah Huston's flawless execution of some of the most technical, hairball rail attacks. Let's not forget the undeniable raw power and bare focus of Tommy Sandoval's relentless slaughter. They have all been equally on par in their own creative and skilled way! So cornered in my thoughts, I will not choose one, but whoever wins Skater of the Year I will be pleased to see!"

Salman Agah

"I'm going with Greco. It's my opinion that you shouldn't even be eligible until you're at least 30. All the other guys rip, no doubt, and many of them will be around to be SOTY after their 30th birthday. So let the youngsters wait and we'll see who's most hungry."

Mike Carroll

"I'm a fan of Ishod so I would like it to be him. #that Nyjah part tho!"

Chris Senn

"Tommy Sandoval because he's a badass! Why hasn't Sheckler got it?!!"

Andrew Reynolds

"I think Ishod should get it because the amount of skateboarding he does - he has three video parts: Sabotage 3, Wair and Tear, and the Chronicles video. I think he won a contest,too. And he did it all without trying to get Skater of the Year."

Brian Anderson

"Nyjah Huston because he went off this year and did a kickflip frontside hurricane. Gnarly!"

Geoff Rowley

"My pick for SOTY this year is Tommy Sandoval, dude's a beast! He's been gunning it for the last bunch of years and embodies the spirit of raw street skating; 101% Thrasher style."

Arto Saari

"Bob Burnquist for flying high and Nyjah for the rail binge. Those two put out very impressive video parts this year."

Tony Trujillo

"Westgate, blood! Hitting the streets of San Francisco harder than Harry Callahan!"

Mark Appleyard

"Tommy Sandoval. He has so much heart, so much raw talent and so much love for skating. He's kind of an underdog, too. He's my idea of Thrasher. Westgate has similar qualities. They're both incredible!"

Chris Cole

"Nyjah pretty much handled it the entire year. He is the obvious Skater of the Year. That being said, I am a huge Ishod fan. I would be stoked if either of those two got it. If it's anyone else though - you're full of shit."

Daewon Song

"Westgate! Everyone uses a sharp object or firearms to kill shit, but Westgate uses a spoon or his hands! Tougher kill!"

Marc Johnson

"Dude, I gotta vote Greco because …. it's Greco. Not knocking' anyone else - all super-amazing - Greco flipped the script this year. And he's been killing it forever. The Grecs gets my vote!"

Silas Baxter-Neal

"Ishod - skate rat ripping for himself not for a trophy. Skates EVERYTHING, and looks sick doing it. Still puts out video parts for the homies while filming for corpo vids. If Thrasher stands for real skateboarding then Ishod should be the SOTY. If you guys like handrails and gold medals and a shitty push then give it to Nyjah Bingy."

Leo Romero

"First I would say Westgate, but he doesn't care much for these shenanigans. So second would be Nyjah because he came out with multiple video parts for you guys that are fucking crazy. He seems like he really wants it. Also DC has spent quite a bit on advertising in the mag."

Grant Taylor

"Ishod, Westgate and Spider - cuz they gnarly!"

David Gonzalez

"I think SOTY 2013 should be Collin Provost or Nyjah Huston. Why Collin Provost? 'Cause the way he skates is like no one else, he skates really fast, he's got the rock n roll style and he can skate any terrain, too. He will skate at any time, any day no matter what - even if he's hung over. And his Emerica video part was insane! Why Nyjah Huston? 'Cause his Fade to Black video part was insane, he won almost every contest this year and he skates the gnarliest spots that you could ever imagine!"

Thrasher Magazine