Chaz Ortiz is pretty much the mega rookie of the year, having knocked out skateboard heavy-weights left and right at the 2008 Summer Dew Tour Skate Park Finals, this 14-year-old Chicago loc is the kid to keep your eyes on. At only six years old, Chaz begged his dad for a skateboard, and began tic-tac’ing about just like the rest of us. Yet what distinguished Chaz’s early skating was the rate of his progression, something that vaulted him into the grom and am contest circuits. In 2005, his prowess on the seven-ply caught the attention of late-Zoo York pro and legend Harold Hunter, who got Chaz on the Zoo York flow-gram. Just a little under a year into teenage-dom, Chaz competed in the 2007 Free Flow Tour, where he finished in first for Skate Park. With this he was offered a wildcard entry to the PlayStation Pro prelims. Shocking everyone with a perfect run, he placed fifth, beating out top pros like Greg Lutzka. In finals, he held down the fort to finish sixth. Witnessing Chaz at the beginning of a burgeoning skate career is something like seeing a make-your-own avatar of a skateboard videogame come to life. This time around at the 2008 Summer Dew Tour Playstation Pro in Orlando, Chaz dominated the Skate Park Finals. In fact, the 9th-grader’s second run was nearly incredible, as he kickflipped into most of his grind tricks; in fact, his lines on the hand-rails and bank-to-ledges read like a so-hot-right-now textbook on street skating’s most technical trickery: kickflip backside crooked grind, kickflip backside lipslide, kickflip frontside feeble. When he ran out of kickflip into- variations, he kickflipped out-, as he did with the frontside boardslide he slid across the bank-to-waist-high-rail. During the open skate jam, he sandwiched the same frontside boardslide between two kickflips: a trick-combo usually reserved for upper-echelon technicians like Chris Cole, Daewon Song, or Chris Haslam. As for his effortless flow: Chaz’s style is without comparison. Remarkable, too, was the calm expression on Chaz’s face throughout his runs, which conveyed the kind of ease you feel when cruising a local skatepark with buddies, rather than competing at a high-profile contest broadcasted live to millions of global viewers. In the end, Chaz fended off some serious runs from Paul Rodriquez and Greg Lutzka before ultimately snatching the Dew Cup from three-time winner Ryan Sheckler. And while he had to hussle home to Chicago before he missed too many more of his 9th-grade classes, Chaz has a recent Zoo York promotion (they made him an official am) and the anticipation of a whole summer of skate trips and contests (not to mention a Dew Cup to defend) to pull him through a cold Midwestern winter — and an equally brutal freshman course-load.

If you weren't riding, what would your ideal day be? Playing basketball and hanging with friends Who has had the biggest influence on your life? Mom, Dad, Sister Who do you most admire in your sport? P-Rod How do you stay fit in the off season? Playing basketball