Black Pearl - sun beaten skull.

Black Pearl Skatepark in Grand Cayman has been around for quite a few years now. It always seemed a bit odd to me to build a world class concrete park on an island in the middle of the Caribbean. Skateboarders aren't exactly known for their huge travel budgets, but I guess it's nice to know that if you're girlfriend/wife is harassing you to take her somewhere "tropical" at least you know you can get your skate on while she's content with a pina colada by the pool.

Photo: J. Sullivan
Sean Malto - nose manual.

Such were my thoughts as I arrived on Friday to meet up with a crew that included Sean Malto, Chaz Ortiz, and Joseph Lopez, all of whom were in Caymen for a long weekend of park sessions, photo shoots by the pool and product testing for Gatorade.

Photo: J. Sullivan
Chaz Ortiz - tailslide.

Gatorade has been examining the "workload" undergone by skaters by applying some sport science techniques better known in the stick & ball realm. Heart rate monitoring, hydration analysis, caloric expenditure and cognitive ability are just some of the metrics observed, with the goal of creating a better suite of products for the skaters of the world.

Sean Malto gets a brief on his heartrate monitor by
Gatorade Sports Science Institute, scientist,
Melissa Tippet

Rather unobtrusive, the testing didn't seem to bother the boys - in fact after a pre and post session weigh in, Chaz was rather amazed to learn he'd dropped over 2 pounds of water weigh in little under and hour.

Photo: J. Sullivan
Sean Malto, Chaz Ortiz, Joe Lopez, Smitty from
Thrasher on an evening cruise.
In addition, despite being limited to the confines of the Black Pearl Park, Malto gazed at his GPS wristwatch/tracking sensor and uttered an OMG at the fact he'd traveled over 5 miles by lapping a concrete ledge for a half hour.

Malto and Lopez - cold chillin - Cayman style.
All that aside, the weekend was a pretty spectacular one. More to come but here's a few shots of what life of a pro skater is on the regular. Not bad.