Philadelphia Workshop

Philadelphia Access to Speed Workshop, May 14, 15, 16, 1999
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An refreshingly eclectic crowd amalgamated themselves into gold at the Eddy Matzger Workshop in Philadelphia, PA, on May 14, 15, and 16, 1999. 18 skaters came from all over the map for a challenging weekend of hanging skating framework from on high.

Many skaters underwent almost complete make-overs, which Eddy likened to "re-tooling." He related how he had gotten his start chasing bicycles and therefore aquired many bad habits which had to be "un-learned" in subsequent years. By providing secrets and shortcuts to understanding, skaters were able to produce fast, efficient motion in staggeringly short periods of time. "I'd just like to say Amen to that drill," said one skater on Saturday afternoon when a particular concept relating to the crossover clicked in.

Hostess Barb and Host Al ("the yeoman") procured prime meeting space in the pipe club section of Chris' pub and steakhouse. The oftentimes crushing reality of videotape analysis was softened by pints of Guinness and sweet potato fries.

As if 14 hours of strenuous on-skate drills wasn't enough, Eddy showed the group his version of a pliometric workout on Sunday as a finale. Many from the exhausted group rallied strongly and were soon jumping madly.

A demo-fleet of Salomon TR Racers accompanied the workshop and were popular items for those wanting to try an extra wheel per skate or for others looking for relief from their own torture chambers. TWINCAM bearings, Explore wheels, Salomon skates, Transpack, and Wigwam socks styled out workshop participants with epic amounts of schwag.

Flash crash	Artsy crowd	Philly flyer
Monkeying around	A skate above	Solid athleticism
Tightrope work	Light goes on	Saturn power
Viciously fast	Final pass	Ta-dah!
Double whammy	Jaws lunges	High rebound

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