The Trev declares it as the best

Australian skateboarder, Trevor Ward, is adamant that the East Coast Skate Park in Singapore is the best in Asia.

Renowned for being one of the friendliest and outgoing personalities in the world of skateboarding, it is hard not to like the guy.

In a sport where athletes put on a stone-cold face knowing that one wrong move could be the difference between glory and injury, Trev skates with a smile, illuminating everyone around him in the process.

For a man who has traversed the world, skating at some of the best global skate parks, the Western Australian native was stunned by how amazing the East Coast Skate Park looks.

He said: "This park is amazing. The park, the street course, it really suits all styles of skateboarding. From pure street skateboarding to in-line and even BMX."

"The small bowl is just like the one at the X Games Park while the Vert Bowl is amazing as well. Bucky Lasek just built one in his backyard which is similar and this one is almost as good as his. Probably the best public Vert Bowl in the world that I have skated in."

Caught in the middle of the bright startling sunshine along the sandy beaches of East Coast Park, Trevor does not seem perturbed by the humidity and hot weather.

"Its pretty hot here but if you look at the professional skaters who are coming out of Las Vegas and Florida where the weather is just as humid, it should not be thought of as a problem." said Trevor.

He reminded local skaters how fortunate they are to have a playground of this magnitude to skate in when he said: "Hot or not, the local skaters should just suck it up. This is where they live, this is their park, so don't complain and just keep skating every single day.

"They can't ask for more with what they have got now. They could still be skating in some crappy little street park so enjoy what they have been given!"

The Australian skater was also buzzing with excitement when it came to the rising talent pool in Asia.

"I've been coming to Asia for the last eight years, this is my first time in Singapore but I have skated in Malaysia, Thailand, Korea and China where the level has been phenomenal. Within the next ten years, you'll see an Asian skater turn professional I'm sure.

"I was watching some of the Singapore and Thai boys in practice earlier today and the tricks they were pulling off absolutely blew me away!"

But Trevor is aware of the difficulty at hand for the Asian boys to break into the mainstream extreme sports circle which revolves around Europe and the United States.

He advised: "They need to skate everyday, shoot photographs and videos of themselves in action, send it out to the American skate websites like Tony Hawk's shredordie.com, where there is an ongoing project called 'Gear for a Year' where the best amateurs will get their chance to go over to skate in America and stuff like that.

"Always be out there looking for opportunities and be prepared to skate as hard as possible each and every day."

And as if all that encouragement and love is not enough, the man they nicknamed 'Mental', put in one final statement to sum it all up.

"You should bring the X Games here. It would be so sick. With the facilities available and the fantastic support, it will be huge!"

Catch Trevor Ward in action at the Extreme Championships 2009 from 29^th to 30^th August at the East Coast Skate Park.