Santa Monica Pier Rental with American Express

Santa Monica, California is a beautiful beach located in Los Angeles just south of Malibu.  We were contacted by a company working with American Express and an app called, Resy. Resy that allows customers to make reservations for restaurants within Los Angeles.  They were having a private event on the pier of Santa Monica. Their pier has a really cool roller coaster, other rides and restaurants - it’s definitely unique.  

Santa Monica Pier

The idea was to set up a tall half pipe or mini ramp and bring the OC RAMPS pro skateboarders for a six hour demonstration.   We worked with their teams and offered them several design ideas for the size ramp and for the branding.  They wanted to paint the ramp their branded colors of gold and pink and they also wanted a few vinyl wrap decals on the back ends of the halfpipe.  They decided to go with a 7 foot tall half pipe by 12 foot wide by 32 feet in length.  

OC Ramps x American Express on Santa Monica Pier

Since this was one of our taller ramps and a long demo we had to be certain that the skaters we brought could perform to the highest ability without getting exhausted.  The clients also wanted to have a mix of skateboarders just to reflect something a little bit different - instead of the same style.  We brought out the squad - 8yr old Kaydin, Dalton and Kanaan Dern, Caleb Aldorasi, Mike Berdis, Isiah Hilt, Christian Sereika and the amazing roller skater, Michelle Steilen (of Moxi Roller Skates).  All of these riders did an incredible job and most importantly, had fun while doing it.

Dern Brothers x OC Ramps on Santa Monica Pier with American Express

The other tricky obstacle was setting up the ramp and the removal. Both of these had to be done in off hours when the public was no longer able to access the pier. The ramp ended up being built between 1 AM and 4 AM a couple days before the event and it was taken down at midnight the day after the event.  There was limited access with our truck and trailer - so everything had to be coordinated in a particular manner ensuring the safety of everyone in that area.  We also were limited with power and lighting. Needless to say, this rental certainly had its challenges. However it’s nothing OC RAMPS cannot handle!

When the event opened its doors to the attendees they were greeted immediately by some dancers on stilts and our skaters on the ramp. It was definitely a “WOW” moment for all the guests right out of the gate.  Most of the guests were able to walk around and participate in different food vendors, drinks, games; but above all the greatest entertainment was watching the OC RAMPS riders skating the ramp.  Everyone loves to watch Michelle do her crazy backflips on rollerskates. At one point we brought in the stilt dancers from GrubHub and Michelle did a backflip while holding cotton candy. The crowd cheered for her along with taking pictures and epic videos.  

Estrojen on OC Ramps halfpipe x American Express in Santa Monica Pier

Another highlight for the crowd was watching eight-year-old Kaydin shred the ramp without the slightest decrease in energy and excitement the entire six hours.  In fact, when the event ended at 10 PM, we had to drag Kaydin off of the ramp. He still wanted to skate and try new tricks! 

Kickflip Kaydin skating OC Ramps mini ramp on Santa Monica Pier for American Express

Overall we had an amazing time working with the great people of American Express and Resy -  they put on a wonderful event and we hope to be invited again in the future. Check out some of our clips on our YouTube channel, here’s one of our fav videos - 

If you are looking to make your event outSTANDING and bring a new flavor please connect with OC RAMPS - we have Ramps and Skaters available for demos at all levels of budgets.  Let OC RAMPS bring the fun to your next event!  

Rollerskating OC Ramps halfpipe on Santa Monica Pier