Street Practice Photos and Highlights Day One at Rockstar Energy 2025
Braden Hoban. Photo: Andrew Durso
Skaters hit the Street course at the 2025 Rockstar Energy Open for the first time on Thursday, and everyone had the same first impression: It’s BIG! Big rails, big gaps, and a big Hubba ledge. Skaters can thank—or blame—Rockstar skater Braden Hoban for the scale of it.
Malachi Gray. Photo: Durso
“When they asked for my opinions on the street course,I just told them, ‘Make everything taller, make everything bigger,’” Braden says. “And they listened! So, I like it. The dimensions of it all are just awesome and people were going wild on it in practice, so it’s going to make for quite a show.”
Jake Ilardi. Photo: Durso
Dozens of the world’s best street skaters are in town for the event, which kicks off on Friday with VQS Qualifier rounds featuring the top men and women from the RSEO Video Qualifier Series, before the Men’s Semifinal and Women’s Final on Saturday.
Dakota Servold. Photo: Taylor Ballard
“I think it's awesome we’ve created this opportunity for people to fight their way in through this Video Qualifier Series,” Hoban says. “The whole idea is that this contest is not going to be all of the same usual suspects. It gives these kids a great opportunity to get out there and get after it, and who knows what will happen.”
Julian Agliardi. Photo: Ballard
While up-and-comers like Julian Agliardi were already using Thursday’s practice session to string together lines resembling full contest runs, others, like fan favorite Chris Joslin, were a little more casual with their approach. “I’m not too sure what I'm gonna do for a run yet, but we'll get that figured out in the next couple days and it will all come together like it always does,” Joslin says of his contest strategy. “The instincts kick in, and it all rolls the way it's supposed to.”
Jhancarlos Gonzalez Photo: Ballard
Paige Heyn will make her Rockstar Energy Open debut this week, after recently signing on as the first woman on the Rockstar skate team, and several of the Rockstar snowboard team women—Iris Pham, Jill Perkins—will be on hand to cheer her on this weekend.
Paige Heyn. Photo: Ballard
“I’m excited because it feels like the vibe of this contest is a little more fun and a little more hardcore than what I’m used to, and I’m ready to jump right in and embrace the chaos,” Heyn says.
Kairi Netsuke Photo: Durso
She’ll be joined in Saturday’s Final by Secret Lynn, her close friend and fellow Arizonan who is now also the two-time Viewers’ Choice winner in the VQS contest. Lynn will get to bypass this year’s on-site VQS Qualifier contest, straight to the Final.
Dominick Walker Photo: Durso
“It's such a sick opportunity,” Secret Lynn says. “I'm feeling very grateful and special that everyone felt that I deserve to get the Viewers Choice two years in a row, and it gives me a lot of confidence that I’m on the right track, focusing more on skating in the streets and following my own path.”
Matt Berger Photo: Durso