Saturday, November 22, the corner of Piedmont Avenue and Baker Street was exactly where Atlanta skateboarding needed to be.
Black Blocks, the wide flatground plaza with its concrete-block ledges framing the edges, turned into a packed local showdown for Skate.ATL’s “Battle at the Blocks,” hosted by Drizzy Hanna and powered by Red Bull.
Flatground only, classic game of SKATE, no obstacles, no excuses.
Over 50 locals rolled through: kids fresh out of Skate.ATL lessons, teenagers who treat weekends like part-time jobs, and grown locals who’ve been flipping on that same concrete since the early 2000s.
Early rounds gave the beginners their own space to battle and feel the rush of setting and matching tricks, but once the open brackets started it was survival of the fittest. The young kids put up a fight (a couple of them even stuck switch heels and hardflips that had the whole spot yelling), but the later rounds belonged to the ones who’ve been grinding this game for years.
Between rounds and after letters were handed out, everybody naturally gravitated to the same set of concrete-block ledges that line the plaza. They weren’t part of the game, but they got absolutely cooked all afternoon performing boardslides, noseslides, lipslides, whatever felt right.
That’s the beauty of Black Blocks: the game keeps the energy focused, the ledges keep the session alive.
This is why Skate.ATL keeps throwing these: the lesson company that teaches Atlanta kids how to skate from day one also gives them a real stage to see where the bar actually sits. Watching the little ones go out swinging in the early rounds, then stand on the sidelines hyping the finals louder than anyone, is how the torch gets passed.
Red Bull kept the cans cold and the energy high, but the soul of the day was 100% local.
Saturday wasn’t about who won. It was about proving the Atlanta scene is deep, hungry, and still runs itself—no pros required.
The scuffs will fade, the wax is already kicked off, but the feeling from that afternoon is permanent.
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