Vans have been killing it for a long hot minute on the sneaker scene, and now with the recently opened House Of Vans in Brooklyn they look set to take things to a whole new level. Situated in Greenpoint BK, the sparkling new 25,000 square foot warehouse space features an indoor concrete bowl, outdoor street course and a permanent stage for concerts. Christening the floorboards on opening night were hip hop legends Mos Def and Public Enemy, treating the 900-strong VIP list to a live show like no other.
Festivities began Saturday night with the opening of the bowl and outdoor street course. Nearly all of the Vans skate team was on hand including Tony Alva, Steve Caballero, John Cardiel, Geoff Rowley, Jeff Grosso, Tony Trujillo, Dustin Dollin, Omar Hassan, Anthony Van Engelen, Johnny Layton, Gilbert Crockett, Andrew Allen and Curren Caples. Other Vans team riders in attendance included Joel Tudor, Zac Marben, Ryan Guettler, Robbie Morales, Chase Hawk and Dakota Roche. Built by California Skateparks, the design of the bowl and street course was overseen by Lance Mountain and Brian Pino.
John Cardiel and Tony Alva led off the music for the evening with DJ sets as artist Mike Giant began creating a custom piece on the back wall. Gilbere Forte followed up with a rap-infused set as the crowd began to grow in anticipation of an appearance by Public Enemy. Mos Def then quietly took to the stage and quickly stole everyone's attention in a surprise performance. Chuck D, Flava Flav and the Public Enemy crew then turned up the energy another notch in the highlight of the evening. The Blackouts, Atiba and Ako Jefferson, then eased everyone into the night with a reggae-infused mix. If you're lucky enough to be in the BK area, make sure you hit up the new House Of Vans, but in the meantime, peep these party pics!
