Congratulations to Jani Laitiala for his repeat performance in taking Top Pro at the Vans Downtown Showdown last weekend! Not only did he destroy the high-flying Flip Extremely Sorry Pyramid (complete with a gap and some curved ledges) to take $2,500, but he also avoided collisions to get super irie and take 3rd and $1,000 on the fan-favorite Creature Hesh Cross.
His all around mastery of the Showdown earned him top pro honors for the second year in a row, and the $10,000 that came with it. Add that up: that’s $13,500 Jani pocketed, plus his share of Blind’s $15,000 take for earning 2nd in the Showdown. Yeah Jani!
The Skateboard Mag put up a pretty awesome video with all the highlights from the 2009 Vans Downtown Showdown. Go here to watch Jani and the rest of the pros and ams do work.