words and photos by Eddie Liddy
I have made the trip out to Phoenix, Arizona once a year for almost seven years to visit some of the Midwest transplants. Being from Michigan, I always figure fuck it, let’s make this trip happen in January when the weather is icy, snowy, windy, basically every condition NOT to skate in.
The first trip there started at Phoenix AM, where I quickly realized it was just another bender weekend for most people (unless you were skating the contest). The next question was, “Now, who can I convince to go street skating that’s going to risk getting hurt?” That was the start of the yearly AZ trip tradition.
Fast forward to 2025, the shortest trip to Arizona I’ve had yet. Over the years, on my travels to AZ, I have met many great people; some born and raised in Arizona, and others from all over the U.S. I was stoked we managed to get almost all of them out to skate in three days; packing in at least a weeks’ worth of skating. Remember that this all happened in Arizona traffic, where a fifteen-minute drive can turn into an hour REAL quick.
Right off the rip, we went to the Murder or Die Mansion to kick it in the hot tub while we made plans and waited to check into our Airbnb. After a long travel day, the search was on for Mexican food. We weren’t planning on skating much that night, so we spent some time people-watching at Desert West Park before we found ourselves at the AZ Laminates driveway ramp in Peoria. The spot was laid back; we had a bonfire going, and a ton of the locals were there. We skated all night, “last one right here!” always for the photo.
Day two started with street skating at a three-block, and breakfast for everyone still hungover from the night before. After that we headed to the backyard ramp for a session; after a few hours of slams and bullshitting, someone mentioned an empty pool they knew about at a house that was being renovated. We met up with everyone down the street to consolidate vehicles at the spot. We parked in the alleyway behind the house, made a few minor fixes to the pool, and ripped it until sunset.
Day three got loud. We took a break from skating, driving an hour into the desert with Paul Munniger, Nick Trapasso, and the homie Manny to shoot guns and blow shit up for a bit. On our way out, we stopped in Tempe at the GoDaddy office building; they have a setup for their employees to skate on the clock, but they’re selling the building, so it’s no longer a bust for us non-employees to skate the quarter pipes and the hip they have in the tennis court; to whoever buys the building next, good luck that you now have a skatepark, too.
On the final day, we dreaded going back home to our adult lives and the crap weather. Packing, all the while laughing at how beat up we were from skating and the amount of time we spent in traffic. Sitting at the airport, I got a message from someone asking about AZ restaurant and shop recommendations. I didn’t have much to say as I normally just kick it on the porches and backyards of friends houses. But I’ll say, gas stations have fresh cigarettes, Starbucks is always on point, and my go-to every trip is Pomeroy’s if you are looking for a decent steak sandwich and tater tots!
