bowling ‘em over

Mike Sciacca

It was an idea that came to life when sketched onto a cocktail napkin

during a plane flight in 1994.

From that scribble came Soul Bowl -- a futuristic competition

arena for skateboard and BMX riders.

There are two Soul Bowls worldwide, one in London, the other right

here in Huntington Beach.

The first Soul Bowl was erected in Surf City in 2001.

Some of the world’s top action sports athletes will use the bowl

this weekend during various Philips Key Ring Soul Bowl competition

events.

James Leitz, vice president of International Management Group X

Sports, which puts on the Bank of the West Beach Games featuring the

Honda U.S. Open of Surfing presented by O’Neill, came up with the

idea of a “Soul Bowl” competition arena.

He discussed the idea with professional skateboarder Dave Duncan

during a flight from Los Angeles to Houston.

“That’s how it all came about,” Leitz said of the Soul Bowl, which

originated in London. “It’s been amazing to see the popularity of the

bowl and how much these action sports athletes have enjoyed

performing in it.”

From its inception in 1994, it took five years to “get the money

together” and turn the conception into an actual product, Leitz said.

The Soul Bowl pieces were shipped overseas in a single container

car, he said, adding that when the bowl is torn down the pieces

“stack like a can of Pringles.”

The Soul Bowl, made of Finnish birch, is 68 feet long, 46 feet

wide and 13 feet deep and reaches back to the roots of skateboarding

while “delivering a 3-D, futuristic look and technical advancements

to skateboarding and BMX,” Leitz said.

The Soul Bowl is constructed in a way that puts the fans right in

the action. Skateboarders and BMX riders perform hair-raising stunts

right in your face. Seating capacity at the bowl is 3,000.

Leitz selected Hans Geiger, of G-Ramps in Munich, Germany, to

construct the bowl.

Geiger, 35, heads a crew of five that came from Germany to Surf

City to build the Soul Bowl for the beach games.

“It’s like fitting the pieces of a giant puzzle together,” Geiger

said as he made adjustments to the bowl’s floor. “It takes about

eight or nine days to complete the project. We’ve been putting in

full workdays to get the job complete.”

Geiger began drawing up plans for the Soul Bowl in early 1999, the

same year the first Soul Bowl was built, he said.

“Two years ago, we added angles to the middle section,” he said.

“The bowl is pretty much the same, although we made another major

change to it this year.”

Athletes in this weekend’s competitions will compete on a new

surface called “Skate Lite,” a high-density Masonite, Leitz said.

“It’s a better surface designed to create better speed and cleaner

transitions,” Leitz said. “It’s much more high-tech and better than

performing on the plain birch.”

Geiger agreed.

“Although it’s making more work for us on the crew, the end

results are going to be great for the riders,” Geiger said.

Brian Patch, one of this weekend’s top skateboard contenders, gave

the Philips Key Ring Soul Bowl a quick spin before construction on

the final product had been completed.

“It feels soft and it feels quick,” he told Geiger.