Red Bull 3Style 2009 - a DJ competition that swept across ten Canadian cities with eight competing DJs at each stop. Their aim was to mix at least three different genres into a 15 minute set, and spin they did as the winner of each heat was flown to compete at the finals in Toronto and play alongside the likes of A-Trak, Neil Armstrong, Jokers of the Scene, and Mat the Alien.

At the beginning of 2009, Red Bull approached me and asked if l wanted to document the entire series, coast to coast. Can’t say no to that…

So I packed my camera gear, named a suitcase Home, and embarked on a four-leg trip that started at home in Vancouver and took us to Winnipeg / Edmonton / Calgary - Kitchener / Toronto / Ottawa - Quebec / Halifax / Montreal - then Toronto again for the finals.

Vancouver

The tour started off with a bang. It’s no secret that Vancouver knows how to party, and with a round-the-block line at 9.30pm, everyone knew an epic night was about to ensue. After the party, BMX legend and Macneil Bikes owner Jay Miron said the: “Best party of 2009 might have already happened. It’s going to be tough to top this one.” Bangin’.

Tyler Fedchuk of Radio Zero.

No serato in sight for whistler hero Vinyl Ritchie.

His set was amazing and the crowd was in full-on appreciation mode. This was taken at about 10pm. Ten. PM.

Things got underway…

DJ My! Gay! Husband!

Rico Uno crowd surfing

Jam

Packed

Alas there could only be one, and it was P-LUV who was crowned the most versatile DJ in Vancouver for 2009.

Will say it again: Vancouver knows how to do it.

Many thinks to Jordan Fok for surviving the crowds on this shoot.

Had to sneak this one in… Flipout of The Beat fame. He might kill me for putting this one up.

Winnipeg

A couple weeks later we hit up the city with so many incredible looking street spots it might as well have been a skatepark. I liked Winnipeg a lot - really charming this city. Cell phone photo at the airport.

Felicia Torchia of Red Bull Winnipeg.

Felicia’s dad is a hairdresser and the team could not pass up an opportunity to get a haircut from the enigmatic Mr. Torchia. Here Kenny Mac goes under the scissors.

The building his salon was in blew my mind. Since it’s so cold in Winnipeg, all the shops and restaurants in the building are connected by a hallway accessible at the back of each shop. Get your haircut, eat Chinese food, buy groceries, get drunk at the bar and hit the strip joint - all without venturing outside.

After the hair removal session we arrived at Blush later that day. Continuing with the theme of haircuts, DJ D-Lo demonstrates some serious dedication to the cause.

Dow Jones

Winnipeg went off. ‘Twas a really good night with FIN-S taking home the giant check. Then we all packed into a car and headed to….

Calgary

It was at a bar called SNATCH. Six dudes in a car for a few hours and you can only imagine how many snatch puns were made.

DJ Heebz likes bears who wear glasses.

There was a rotating chopper on top of the bar, graffiti on the walls, eclectic red chandeliers, antler chandeliers with bras hanging off them, and…

GIANT CAGES. Which worked to my favour as far as photo taking was concerned. Waited a long-ass time for the stars to align to make this photo happen. Then I got so psyched on the shot I bought her three beers, which she rejected saying ‘I don’t drink beer, give them to my friends!’ Her friends were stoked, I was confused. Eh

Cabbie on the Street! First met him at the Red Bull Elevation BMX contest a few years back, friendliest dude on the planet.

Shambhala favourite Bryx won this round. Great night with an eclectic crowd, Calgary was definitely a fun party spot, the west coast can do no wrong. Next up,

Edmonton

Crowds went berserk every time Curtis Santiago grabbed a mic. It was such a pleasure shooting shows when he MCed.

BOOM! Starlite was such a rad spot. It was in a heritage building with less than state-of-the-art ventilation and it got hot in there! This is definitely a good thing, I love parties in classic places.

DJ Echo FTW! He won.

A-Skillz played a banger of a set. Wonder how many years it took to accumulate this much graffiti on the walls.

Required gear shot.

That’s it, end of the first leg of the tour! Rested for a bit and we were off again. Hit the following links to see photos from the rest of the tour.

Part II - Kitchener / Toronto / Ottawa

Part III - Quebec City / Halifax / Montreal

Part IV - Toronto (finals)