During the last weekend of October, we headed to Suzhou, China for the 2018 Vans Park Series Finals. It was a weekend of firsts: our first time as partner of the VPS World Finals, our first skate event in Asia, and first-place skaters who stole the show with their amazing runs.

The 2018 Vans Park Series featured some of the biggest and baddest courses ever designed and the men’s competition was hot right up until the end. Alex Sorgente, Pedro Barros and Tom Schaar stole the show with killer creativity and skill.

The women’s competition was just as exciting with Brighton Zeuner, Yndiara Asp and Jordyn Barratt snagging the top three spots.

We put on our own show of creativity, too. The event marked the first time Swatch traveled to Asia for a skate event and we made the most of it. We love to combine our passions anytime we can and the Vans Park Series competition was the perfect opportunity for Swatch to bring art and sports together. Guest artists joined us for art workshops and painted our booth during the event. At our DIY station, spectators and skate fans could paint their own skateboards and create postcards. Our current watch collection, including some of our coolest Swatch Art Specials, was on display right next to a Swatch Pay area. The cherry on top was the fingerboard area where China’s 2016 Finger Skateboard Champion, 乔奂喆 Cartman Qiao, put on a captivating performance.

Not on site but just as important to mention is Evan Hecox, an icon in the world of skateboard art and the creative genius behind the 2018 Vans Park Series event art. Swatch got the inside scoop on his inspiration for the poster and the overall visual identity of the event.

“When I started on the posters for Vans Park Series, I thought of the lettering almost like smoke or water running,” he said. “I wanted it to be kind of fluid and have the flow of air around the skateboarders, and the air is mimicking their movement. I wanted it to all flow together.”