Photography by Rebecca Stumpf | Published in the Summer/Fall 2017 issue of Vail-Beaver Creek Magazine

A summertime rite of passage for daredevil locals: longboarding like Ben Stiller’s Walter Mitty from the summit of Vail Pass (watch it on YouTube). How they celebrate: in Eagle-Vail, with a pint of Vail Brewing Company ale paired with “The World’s Most Best Taco.”

Kick-flips and tacos pair perfectly at Rocky Mountain Taco’s spot in Eagle-Vail. IMAGE: Rebecca Stumpf

For most entrepreneurs, finding success selling the world’s most best anything might inspire an empire. But the owners of Rocky Mountain Taco, a food truck parked outside VBC that has carved out a munchies-fueled culinary niche for itself at the epicenter of Eagle-Vail’s Green Mile pot shop district, wanted something different. Instead of plowing their profits into a fleet of food carts parked outside every kitchenless craft brewery and tasting room from Breck to Aspen, they sponsored a local skateboarding team.

“So many of the skateboarders here are so talented,” says Dan Purtell, who, like business partners Chris McGinnis and Jose Reza, is a native Californian steeped in skateboarding culture. “We do what we can to try and help them out—and of course, feed them whenever they stop by the truck.”

Whether it comes in the form of a post-skate session taco, or posting entry fees for regional and national competitions, by supporting the four-wheeled ambitions of five talented locals (Tawnya Godinez, Jorge Hernandez, Chris Kerr, Casey Lehmicke, and Rick Rodriguez), the food cart kings of Eagle-Vail hope to put our valley on the map as the home of The World’s Most Best Skateboarding Team.