Portland’s Rockstar Energy Open Takes Skateboarding Back To Its Roots

UK stone and grunge set Basement execute astatine the Rockstar Energy Open successful Portland, Oregon, connected August 15

Muller / Platfrm

There is nary disputing that skateboarding civilization and punk civilization are inextricably linked, going backmost much than 4 decades. But successful the precocious aughts, that nexus weakened arsenic action sports began to place pinch hip-hop, physics euphony and DJs. However, astatine past weekend’s Rockstar Energy Open successful Portland, Oregon, the punk roots of skateboarding were backmost successful afloat force, attended by a young crowd that has embraced that connection.

Younger consumers are progressively seeking retired experiences that consciousness little polished and much physical. Just look astatine the diminution of the cautiously curated IG carousel and the emergence of blurry, in medias res photos; the clasp of vinyl and disposable cameras; the return of handwritten zines passed retired astatine shows; and moreover a return to smoking successful lieu of vaping.

So it makes consciousness that skateboarding and punk and hardcore euphony are besides surging successful fame among young people. In a clip of progressively frictionless integer consumption, there’s thing cathartic astir the earthy acquisition of guitar music, arsenic compared pinch the precise thumps of physics music.

Once, it would person seemed inconceivable that the ties betwixt skateboarding and punk would request to beryllium revived.

In the ’80s, the Southern California skate segment and punk segment developed concurrently, informing 1 another. Punk kids skated; bands played astatine skateparks. The narration is perfectly encapsulated by Suicidal Tendencies’ 1987 euphony video for “Possessed to Skate,” which became a skateboarding anthem.

In the mid-90s, these counterculture institutions entered the mainstream.

In summation to bringing punk euphony to the masses connected its network, MTV Sports & Music Festival mixed replacement rock, punk and hip-hop euphony pinch skateboarding, BMX, snowboarding and freestyle motocross.

Then, X Games and Vans Warped Tour launched astir simultaneously. In 1995, Kevin Lyman, Warped Tour co-creator, had a imagination of a show that would harvester euphony and skateboarding. Vans becoming the title sponsor the pursuing twelvemonth only solidified the connection. The 1998 Warped Tour included a vert ramp, thoroughfare people and Vans Amateur World Skateboarding Championships qualifying contests astatine circuit stops.

In 1999, the merchandise of Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater allowed kids astir the world—not conscionable those surviving successful Southern California—to acquisition the relationship betwixt skateboarding and punk pinch its soundtrack that celebrated punk, hardcore, ska, hip-hop and replacement music.

But civilization is perpetually shifting, and the precocious aughts and 2010s saw punk and its associated genres springiness measurement to EDM, trap, hip-hop and physics pop. The displacement coincided pinch the diminution of vert skating and the emergence of thoroughfare skating, which progressively intersected pinch hip-hop and manner culture.

“When we were teenagers, Warped Tour was punk bands, and sometimes hardcore bands and popular punk bands, and they had ramps, and skating was portion of it,” said Stefan Babcock, 38, vocalist for Toronto punk set PUP, which formed successful its existent loop successful 2013 and played Warped Tour successful 2015.

“By the clip we accidentally played Warped Tour arsenic adults, it was a batch of DJs, bands who didn’t play their ain instruments. It was the other of punk, and location was nary skateboarding astatine all,” Babcock added.

In 2019, Warped Tour ceased operations. The nexus betwixt skateboarding and punk didn’t vanish for those still surviving the lifestyle, but it dropped retired of the mainstream view.

Meanwhile, X Games’ euphony lineup successful the 2010s and early 2020s has been headlined by physics artists and DJs specified arsenic deadmau5, Marshmello, Kygo, Alesso, Kaskade and Illenium.

Then, successful 2024, Steve Mateus, Senior Director of Sports and Music astatine Rockstar Energy, and Kemp Curley, Managing Director of Platfrm, spearheaded the creation of the Rockstar Energy Open. The 2 friends’ enslaved is partially based successful their shared emotion of punk and hardcore music, and the RSEO’s euphony lineup reflects that.

In the past mates years, the skate title and unrecorded euphony show has revived the nexus betwixt punk euphony and skateboarding successful a measurement not seen since the mid-2000s.

In 2025, the RSEO euphony lineup included seasoned Southern California skate-punks Face to Face, 2010s emo-revival outfit The Story So Far, Washington, D.C. punks Teen Mortgage and up-and-comers The Paradox.

This year, RSEO booked Toronto punks PUP; Hot Mulligan, who were caller disconnected playing to astir 100,000 group astatine Lollapalooza; Baltimore’s Angel Du$t; and seasoned UK melodic hardcore set Basement.

“There’s thing astir being astatine an arena that feels for illustration the benignant of arena that existed erstwhile we were teenagers,” Babcock said of PUP playing the RSEO.

Staged connected Portland’s Waterfront Park, the Rockstar Energy Open is wholly free and unfastened to the community. As a result, successful 2026 the section skateboarding and punk segment turned retired successful afloat force. Lines stretched for half a mile down the street; erstwhile fans couldn’t get wrong the grounds successful clip to spot their favourite bands, they watched from the street, down chain-link fences.

Indeed, the 2026 RSEO blew past its erstwhile attendance record, pinch 52,000 fans attending complete the weekend, a 49% year-over-year increase. The world livestream assemblage surpassed 4 cardinal viewers. Organizers judge the rabid instrumentality bases PUP, Hot Mulligan, Angel Du$t and Basement bask contributed to the surge successful attendance.

The arena attracted fans who drove from hundreds of miles away; immoderate moreover came from Canada.

Kayla S. has seen Hot Mulligan successful her hometown of Seattle twice, but erstwhile she heard they’d beryllium doing a free show successful Portland, she made the thrust down.

“Growing up, events were ever truthful expensive, for illustration Warped Tour,” said Lily W., who drove pinch her hubby to Portland from Salem, Oregon, to spot Hot Mulligan. “There was thing I could ever enjoy. So it’s cool to person this arena wherever everyone tin spend to come.”

For a instrumentality to person seen Hot Mulligan astatine Warped Tour successful Washington, D.C., successful June, look worth tickets ranged from $150 to $230+. To person caught them astatine Lollapalooza successful Chicago successful early August, fans would person had to walk $185 for a one-day wide admittance ticket.

“We were very passionate astir doing a free show,” Mateus said astir the Rockstar Energy Open. “We conscionable felt that it was truthful basal to springiness backmost to the metropolis and this civilization successful this economy, wherever paying for tickets is tough, particularly for families.”

There’s nary denying that putting connected the RSEO is costly for Rockstar, particularly booking bands that person conscionable played festivals for illustration Lollapalooza and Coachella.

But the use for Rockstar is obvious: the arena attracts an tremendous beingness assemblage and produces ample societal content. Attendees sample product. The arena builds beardown connections pinch endemic, non-endemic and section brands and engenders goodwill among Portland residents.

Put different way, taste superior is often much valuable than transactional advertising.

The show is free acknowledgment to finance from section partners, including Sport Oregon, Travel Portland and Prosper Portland, arsenic good arsenic firm partners including Dickies, Fred Meyer, Plaid Pantry and others.

Rarely do marque executives shape—rather than simply chase—culture. But, for illustration Lyman earlier them, Mateus and Curley are not blindly pursuing younker culture. The Rockstar Energy Open reflects their ain tastes and sensibilities, arsenic good arsenic those of their team. But successful this infinitesimal successful time, arsenic guitar euphony regains popularity, they’re besides gathering young group wherever they are.

And while Rockstar and action sports integer media institution Platfrm are the financial and logistical architects of the RSEO, they delegated almost each constituent of the festival’s on-the-ground acquisition to the section stewards of Portland’s skate, creation and euphony communities.

The top-down, bottom-up exemplary of the RSEO is what ensures its authenticity arsenic a firm entity putting connected a skate and punk festival—two subcultures that person ever been proudly anti-establishment.

Willis Kimbel, who opened Portland’s Rip’s Co. Skateshop successful 2024 and is the unit down Portland’s DIY skatepark, Q-Side, worked pinch 10 Barrel Brewing and its Pub Beer/Pub Light brands to bring a mini ramp to the RSEO’s organization DIY zone.

Locals dropped successful connected the mini ramp conscionable feet distant from the courses wherever their heroes for illustration Tom Schaar and Greyson Fletcher were competing. And section bands curated by Chris Nukala from Cal Skate played a mini shape situated adjacent the mini ramp conscionable feet distant from the shape wherever their ain heroes, for illustration Basement and Hot Mulligan, would headline.

Following the conclusion of the Open, the mini ramp will find a imperishable location astatine Q-Side. Rather than dainty Portland arsenic simply a backdrop for a branded event, the RSEO is leaving down a organization asset.

Kimbel and the RSEO squad besides worked pinch Super Skate Posse, Exposure Skate, Adidas, Wy’East Academy, Supreme and Pro-Tec to outfit section younker pinch afloat skate setups, from boards and helmets to shoes and socks. The expertise to spend (or not) instrumentality should ne'er beryllium an obstacle to a kid picking up a committee for the first time, and that’s thing brands are capable to provide.

To further anchor the arena successful the Portland skate scene, ocular creator Matt French, whose designs person shaped action sports aesthetics for years, and Portland’s Burnside Skatepark muralist Jaymeer contributed the creation featured connected the RSEO parkland course.

The athletes who compete astatine RSEO consistently opportunity it’s 1 of their favourite events connected the title circuit.

“It’s not excessively serious,” said Gavin Bottger, 19, who took first spot successful the men’s parkland event. Bottger has besides competed astatine much general competitions like the Olympics and world championships. “There’s nary points aliases anything,” Bottger added astir the RSEO. “It’s conscionable astir having nosy skating.”

The ample crowd that turned retired for RSEO flowed organically from the skate contests during the time to the sets by PUP, Hot Mulligan, Angel Du$t and Basement astatine night.

Organizers were stunned pinch the turnout for the shows, moreover arsenic their purpose was to make this year’s RSEO the biggest yet. The bands they booked supported that goal; Hot Mulligan has 1 cardinal monthly listeners connected Spotify.

“These were the champion shows they’ve had,” said 20-year-old Lazer Crawford, a Rockstar Energy skater who has competed astatine each 3 iterations of the arena (including winning it successful 2024 successful what was past his first pro contest).

When organizers invited Crawford to propose bands for this year’s RSEO, Basement was 1 of his apical picks. Once again, the marque delegated taste authority alternatively than dictating it from connected high.

“It was amazing," Crawford said of Basement’s set. “They were really astatine capacity, and the City of Portland called and said there’s excessively galore people. So past group were connected the streets and sidewalks and climbing up connected fences watching the shows.

“It doesn’t get much punk than that.”