Against the Odds Ortiz Collects Second Dew Cup

Chaz Ortiz came up through the ranks, from am to pro and collected his second Dew Cup this season. Going into the finals, the odds were clearly in favor of overall points leader Greg Lutzka, who only needed to podium to take the Cup.

Then it all went down in Vegas on the crazy guitar rail and tight, transition-filled course of the Dew Tour Championships. Chaz took a double win with the event title and the Dew Cup in skate park, and he won both through one simple but effective formula – good skating.

Chaz in Boston at the ISF Skate Open

Chaz is a humble guy and he rips, so it’s hard not to like him. He came up through the ranks of Gatorade Free Flow Tour and then the Dew Tour almost as the underdog. Vegas was a hard course to perform on, and he pulled the tricks with confidence, ease and grace.

Chaz in Portland at the Wendy’s Invitational

The funny thing is, he didn’t even like the course to begin with, but he let his skating do the talking.

                           
Chaz in Salt Lake at the Toyota Challenge                               Chilling at an autograph signing

“The first time Chaz Ortiz got here and skated the park, he HATED it, because the park is kind of gnarly,” Fabrizio Santos said. “And now he went and won the contest. How amazing. He won the whole thing. The contest, the Dew Cup, everything.”

Chaz performed on what was put in front of him and that’s what separates pros from good skateboarders.

Chaz in Vegas at the Dew Tour Championships

“The course was definitely different, but I made use of it,” Ortiz said. “It started to get fun once you got used to it, so I can’t complain.”

He found lines and it worked.

“His style is unique,” Santos said. “He gets in his own zone and he forgets about everybody. Boom. He doesn’t care.”

At 14 years old, he was the youngest Dew Cup winner and now at 16 he collects his second Cup and just bought himself a new Mercedes.

He had a whole cheering section with friends, family and extended family all watching from the side of the course.

“There’s so many good skaters here coming into it, it’s pretty much anybody’s ball game.” said Mark Ortiz, Chaz’s dad. “Then I think Greg just had an off day and it opened the door for Ryan and Chaz.”

Mark has been coming to support his son at Dew Tour’s through the years. He was never the stereotypical soccer mom of skatepark dads. He always let Chaz do his own thing and it worked.

On the sidelines of the Dew Tour Championships, the Ortiz clan was definitely cheering, even his younger sister was propped up in Mark’s arms and cheering loud and clear.

“I was cheering for Sheckler and Chaz, because one of them had to win,” Santos said. “But when I saw Chaz killing it, I was like, ‘He already won. Stop the contest.'”

Check out the Alli edit of Chaz’s winning season