FILTER
Gym Class Heroes? Brooklyn Hipster Dodgeballers
- Author: Min-Q Kim
- Posted on: Wednesday August 12, 2009 at 12:00 PM
- Filed under: sports, dodgeball, shirtless tom, jelly pool parties, exclusive
Dodgeball is an American institution akin to apple pie, jazz music, and the flatbed pick-up truck. However, it’s relegated mostly to children letting off steam during recess and weekend beer leagues. Well, come summertime, the urban hipster oasis known as the Jelly Pool Parties in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, is suddenly the site of some of the highest caliber grown-up Dodgeball you will ever see. The first word anyone ever says when seeing it for the first time is "Intense." You've been warned.
To prove just how hardcore (and hilarious) the Brooklyn Dodgeball scene is, GOOD Magazine provided this video:
Meanwhile, I had the chance to interview the founder of Brooklyn Pool Party Dodgeball, who is known around these parts as ‘Shirtless Tom.’ This what he had to say about one of the last truly American games.
(All photos by Kyle Dean Reinford / courtesy of Jelly)
INTERVIEW WITH SHIRTLESS TOM, Esteemed Founder of Brooklyn Pool Party Dodgeball.
Obviously, you played dodgeball as a child – I think anyone who wasn’t home-schooled pretty much did. Why do you think it took so long for it to catch on as an adult game?
I think it has been steadily gaining popularity. It is such a pure sport - a perfect combination of individual as well as team competition with non-stop action.
There have been leagues in NYC for years and years; I think it took the exposure at an event like the Jelly Pool Parties to get more people into it. The arena is the best for any physical competition ever.
Don't bring Kool-Aid to this Gin party, baby. Shirtless Tom surveys his prey.
You rock American flag trunks every week. The dudes in that video were rockin Michael Phelps swim tights, swim caps, and goggles. Dodgeball style – fashion over function?
Never. Function with fashion incorporated. It is always the goal to look good and you can't do that unless you can perform in your gear.
Fly kicks.
Roy Orbison shades and clamdiggers.
Onesies.
Talk to me about the game I watched on Sunday – the one that goes on at the Jelly Pool Parties in Brooklyn. It’s really a spectacle – who would have thought it would’ve translated so well in that particular venue? How’d you go about partnering with Jelly and what – about this particular audience – makes Dodgeball resonate with them so much?
The pool parties are such an amazing event. These concerts bring such a great mix of musicians and artists from folk to rock to hip-hop and dj's / up and comers to well established acts. It opens its doors to all from babies to seniors. And it's FREE!!!
The bulk of the crowd is young, hip, in-shape kids so it was easy to forsee them enjoying dodgeball so much. The best part is how much people love watching.
People line up around the netted arena to watch the gladiators in action.
I’ve seen some varying techniques while watching your game. My favorite is the one where the player wraps his hand around the ball and flings it sidearm so it curves. What are some of the most unique / effective techniques you’ve seen?
There are so many players with their unique style of play. The Suicide has definitely gained popularity in the last year: That's where you jump over the centerline to attempt an up-close peg before you land, while knowing that you are getting yourself out for stepping on the other side of the court. [My research reveals that this move is a good game-ender.]
Sidearm slingshots tend to be much harder to catch, but in turn they sacrifice accuracy.
We have a few regulars that stick to the sides of the court. They play close-up and get a lot of pegs with cross court shots after [opponents] forget they are there.
Lean, mean.
Welcome to the gun show.
What is your ultimate goal for this game? A touring league competition like Air Guitar or Beer Pong? Or are we talking Olympics?
And next year we are hoping to get a Brooklyn team sponsored in the national competition.
U-S-A! U-S-A!
For more information on the Jelly Pool Parties, go to thepoolparties.com. This Sunday (8/16), Del tha Funky Homosapien lays it down with a DJ set from Prince Paul and up-and-coming LA rapper Kenan Bell.
Much thanks to Jelly, Shirtless Tom, and Kyle Dean Reinford for their contributions to this post.
Epilogue: A home-schooled friend tells me that she did, in fact, play dodgeball as a child. Sounds like a blast:
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