https://vimeo.com/369408438
For those of you who don’t know, the Mini Chin Challenge was a skateboard contest in 1987 which was hosted at The Skate Ranch in Richmond, BC Canada. It was the first mini ramp contest and was sponsored by Thrasher Magazine. Kevin Harris, who owned The Skate Ranch, built the ramp with fellow Powell-Peralta teammate Lance Mountain. They called it The Mini Chin Ramp because Powell-Peralta’s In Search of Animal Chin came out prior, and the ramp was a rough replica just in a miniature form.
“Lance flew up and seriously we drew in out on a napkin at a restaurant. The next day we were building it.” said Harris. The pump bump before the wall ride was a last minute addition by Lance and was said to be one of the funnest parts of the ramp. It was Harris, Mountain, Joe Meier (Co-Owner of The Ranch) and his father Rudy who were head manning the construction of the ramp. Rudy had a lot more construction experience then the three put together and really helped make The Ranch what it was. He ended up being the manager at the park after.
“I skated in the contest and made the semi finals, most pros didn’t even know I skated tranny… But the runs that stood out most for me were Christian Hosoi’s and Neil Blender’s.” said Harris.
The Mini Chin Challenge was a huge success and help create some of the best skateboarders on the planet, including Rob Sluggo, Moses Itoken and Colin McKay. The Skate Ranch soon became world famous after The Mini Chin Challenge due to all the coverage it was getting in skate magazines. The Ranch became a destination for skaters all over the world and was a landmark in the North American skate scene.
