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Aggieville is the name of six square blocks consisting of college-age oriented bars, restaurants and shops in Manhattan, Kansas, USA.

History[link]

Before 1898, students at the Kansas State Agricultural College (now Kansas State University) had to purchase their textbooks downtown, which, in the age before the automobile, was inconvenient due to distance and often, mud-soaked roads. The college decided to build a student bookstore and dining facility closer to campus, but it was shut down in June 1899 after a political upheaval in the college's Board of Regents. That September, a group of students started the Student Co-Operative Association, and bought the bookstore.^{[citation needed]}

That bookstore would serve as the cornerstone for a developing shopping district that catered specifically to college students. What was once a sparsely populated collection of houses was fast becoming a rich and diverse shopping center, the first of its kind in Kansas.^[1] Over time, the area would come to be called Aggieville, after the school's mascot, the Kansas State Agricultural College Aggies. Even when the school's mascot was changed to the Kansas State Wildcats, the name Aggieville stuck.

After World War I, Aggieville experienced enormous growth. Trolley lines were built, and later paved over during the car boom of the 1940s. In the 1950s, bars and restaurants began to develop and over the next 30 years, Aggieville would become known as an entertainment and dining district.

With the passing of the National Minimum Drinking Age Act of 1984, Aggieville saw a slight dip in business at its bars and saw more shops and restaurants move in. However, with the hiring of Jon Wefald as Kansas State University's new president in 1986, enrollment at the college nearly doubled over the next 20 years and with the increased student population, Aggieville saw a new boom in all types of businesses: shops, bars and eateries.

Aggieville was home to riots in 1984 and 1986, some of the earliest collegiate sports riots in the United States. In 1998, Aggieville played host to a massive celebration after the team's first defeat of Nebraska since 1969, which included the tearing down of the goal posts and dragging them, en masse, to the rooftop of Rusty's Last Chance.

Aggieville also plays host yearly to the "Little Apple New Year's Eve" celebration, where revelers pack the streets of the district to help ring in the new year. At midnight, a brightly-lit apple is dropped from the Varney's Bookstore marquee. The celebration brought an estimated 10,000 people to Aggieville on December 31, 2005, and was featured live on Fox News.^[2] A week before each Spring Break, Aggieville plays host to its annual "St. Patrick's Day in the Ville" celebration. This event is called "Fake Patty's Day" by locals because it actually takes place a week or so before the real St. Patrick's Day. Emerald-clad partygoers pack the streets early in the morning and stay late into the evening to watch the annual St. Patrick's Day 5K race and to sample Aggieville's bars. Fake Patrick's Day typically takes place 1 week before the actual St. Patrick's Day. The Parade and Road race take place on the traditional Saturday St. Patrick's Day. 2008 Aggieville will celebrate 30 years of St.Patrick's Day Parade and Road race. The "Fake Patty's Day" celebration was started by bar proprietors' who wanted students to celebrate together in Manhattan rather than miss their patronage during the real St. Patty's holiday while the students were elsewhere on vacation over spring break.

Recently, the "Fake Patty's Day" celebration has attracted increasing debate following the community's disapproval resulting from of the prevalence of criminal offenses associated with the event, such as underage drinking, assaults and batteries, public urination, noise complaints, driving under the influence, littering, amongst other resulting nuisances. The Manhattan City Council has been presented with a number of proposed city ordinances aimed at controlling the event but none have passed due to public debate, objections from the local tavern owners, and legal questions associated with such action.

Today, Aggieville is famous for its bars, its friendly "residents" and its massive, tumultuous celebrations following Kansas State football and basketball victories. It is a rich, vibrant and eclectic district with over 100 shops and eateries that serves as an entertainment district for Kansas State students and residents of the surrounding area.

Establishments[link]

A large part of the unique flavor of the Aggieville scene stems from the multitude of locally-owned and operated bars, eateries and shops located in the district, with over one hundred total businesses.^{[citation needed]}

Shops and offices[link]

Aggieville contains a diverse menagerie of shops and businesses which are nearly all aimed at the college-age demographic. Since Aggieville's first shop, a laundromat, opened in 1898, local businesses have catered to students at the nearby university.

References[link]

1. ^ [1]
2. ^ [2]

External links[link]

• The Aggieville Business Association

Coordinates: 39°11′09″N 96°34′32″W / 39.18583°N 96.57556°W / 39.18583; -96.57556

v t e Kansas State University Academics College of Agriculture College of Architecture, Planning and Design College of Arts and Sciences College of Business Administration College of Education College of Engineering College of Human Ecology College of Technology and Aviation College of Veterinary Medicine Graduate School People Kirk Schulz Athletics Big 12 Conference Kansas State Wildcats Football Men's Basketball Women's Basketball Baseball Volleyball KSU Marching Band Sunflower Showdown Governor's Cup Farmageddon Facilities Bill Snyder Family Stadium Bramlage Coliseum Ahearn Field House Tointon Family Stadium Memorial Stadium Colbert Hills Breidenthal Boathouse People John Currie Bill Snyder Frank Martin Deb Patterson Brad Hill Patrick Sweeney Culture Willie the Wildcat Aggieville Beach Museum Alumni The Collegian Royal Purple Wildcat Victory Wabash Cannonball Alma Mater Broadcasting KKSU (AM) KSDB (FM) KKSU-LP Miscellaneous Notable people Buildings Student life Housing Boyd Hall Davenport Building Derby Dining Center Ford Hall Goodnow Hall Haymaker Hall Jardine Terrace Apartments Kramer Food Center Marlatt Hall Moore Hall Pittman Building Putnam Hall Van Zile Hall West Hall Student Life K-State Student Union Endowment: $259.8 million Students: 23,520 Faculty: 1,242

Rob Dyrdek

Dyrdek on April 24, 2010
Personal information
Full name	Robert Stanley Dyrdek
Nationality	American
Born	(1974-06-28) June 28, 1974 (age 37)[1] Kettering, Ohio, United States
Residence	Hollywood, California
Height	5 feet 7 inches (1.70 m)
Weight	135 pounds (61 kg)
Website	www.dyrdek.com
Sport
Sport	Skateboarding
Turned pro	1991 (age 16)[2]

Robert Stanley "Rob" Dyrdek (born June 28, 1974) is an American professional skateboarder, actor, entrepreneur, producer, philanthropist, and reality TV star. He is best known for his roles in the reality shows Rob and Big, Rob Dyrdek's Fantasy Factory and Ridiculousness.

Personal life[link]

Rob Dyrdek was born in Kettering, Ohio to Gene and Patty Dyrdek.^[3] Dyrdek was involved in sports as a child and began skateboarding at the age of 11 when he received his first skateboard from professional skater Neil Blender^[4] Of his early interest in the sport, Dyrdek said, "I was a pretty driven young man. I was so focused on becoming a pro skateboarder. I would sit in school and think about all the tricks I was going to do, then I’d get out of school and skate until they made me come inside."^[5] At the age of 12, Rob acquired sponsorship from the same company Blender rode for and began his skateboarding career. A few years later, Dyrdek and Blender quit their board sponsor and created Alien Workshop – Rob’s current board company.^[6]

At the age of 16, Dyrdek decided to forgo his senior year of high school and instead moved to Southern California to pursue his professional skate career. Soon after moving, Dyrdek began to ride for Droors Clothing (now known as DC Shoes), where he also began his exploring entrepreneurship through shoe design. This led Dyrdek to launch various short-lived companies, including a hip-hop record label and a skate shop.^[6]

Dyrdek has one sister, Denise. His cousins Christopher "Drama" Pfaff and Scott "Big Cat" Pfaff (Drama's older brother) are featured in Rob and Big and Rob Dyrdek's Fantasy Factory.^[7] He also has two bulldogs named Meaty and Beefy.^[8]

Career[link]

Television[link]

Dyrdek first starred in an MTV reality series, entitled Rob & Big (aired November 2006 to April 2008), with his best friend and bodyguard Christopher "Big Black" Boykin, as well as his cousin, Chris "Drama" Pfaff. After three seasons Boykin chose to leave the show when his long time girlfriend had a baby.

In February 2009 Rob Dyrdek's Fantasy Factory, featuring Dyrdek, Pfaff, and his Dyrdek Enterprise staff, was first aired. The "Fantasy Factory" is a converted warehouse where Dyrdek runs his many entrepreneurial ventures. It also features a large indoor skate plaza, Rob's personal office with "bat cave" parking garage, a foam pit, and numerous basketball hoops. He also built a "hands of God" music studio for his cousin "Drama" Pfaff inside the factory. During the course of the first season, he also opened his first SafeSpot SkateSpot with the sponsorship of Carl's Jr. At the grand-opening, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa rode with Dyrdek on the world's largest skateboard.

Dyrdek was also featured in the video games skate., and Skate 2 (which also featured "Big Black"). During the days of Rob & Big, the two were featured in an episode where they were actually going to the EA building to shoot for the game. In Skate 2, the player is able to purchase an early version of the Fantasy Factory on the Xbox Live Marketplace and PlayStation Store as an add-on, allowing the player to skate within the factory premises.

Dyrdek made a movie entitled "Street Dreams" in 2009.

On August 29, 2011, he started a show on MTV, called Ridiculousness, where he comments internet videos, mainly about extreme sports mishaps.^[9]

World records[link]

Dyrdek has set 21 separate Guinness World Records for skateboarding as part of his former show Rob & Big. Big Black also set two eating records for the show; most bananas peeled and eaten and most powdered donuts eaten in a set period of time.^[10]

In Fantasy Factory, Dyrdek also set the record for the largest skateboard (according to the GBWR website it is listed as the Longest Skateboard in the world) after he decided that the current record holders were undeserving.^[11]

Dyrdek's personal bests (some of which have been broken since) include:

• Consecutive front-side ollies: 46 (2007, WR)
• Ollie big spins: 12 (2007, WR)
• Consecutive nollie kickflips: 73 (2007, WR)
• 360-degree kickflips in one minute: 12 (2007, WR)
• Heel flips in one minute: 15 (2007, WR)
• Consecutive ollies: 215 (2007)
• Nollie kickflips in one minute: 22 (2007, WR)
• Longest stationary manual: 49 seconds (2007, WR)
• Switch frontside kickflips in one minute: 9 (2007, WR)
• Longest 50-50 rail grind: 100 feet 5.75 inches (30.62 m) (2007, WR)^[12]
• Longest board slide: 100 feet 5.75 inches (30.62 m) (2007, WR)^[13]
• Highest skateboard ramp jump into water: 10 feet 8 inches (3.29 m) (2007, WR)^[14]

Sponsors, brands and partnerships[link]

Dyrdek is sponsored by DC Shoes, Alien Workshop, silver trucks, and Monster Energy. Dyrdek's properties include 'Wild Grinders', Street League Skateboarding, The Rob Dyrdek Foundation and Megahorse Racing. In addition, Dyrdek has partnerships with various brands including Bill My Parents, ISX(TM) (Instant Scoring Experience) and DTA Rogue Status with musician Travis Barker.^[8]

'Wild Grinders', a fictional cartoon skate crew, is Dyrdek's first venture into toys based on him and his group of childhood skateboarding friends. The line consists of six characters.

Dyrdek also pioneered the iSX, Instant Scoring Experience, which he hopes will revolutionize the way skate competitions are held. He is the creator of the Street League Skateboarding - a professional skateboarding contest offering the largest prize purse in skateboarding history and is also broadcasted live on ESPN and ESPN2.^[15]

Dyrdek also has his own signature TAG Body Spray scent called Make Moves. A fraction of the profit will go to his charity organization, The Rob Dyrdek Foundation.^[16]

Rob has also partnered with Chevrolet for the launch of the new Chevy Sonic. As part of the launch campaign, Rob performed a "kickflip" with a Sonic which was a full 360 degree rotation off a ramp and over the world's record largest skateboard which he also created. He performed the stunt at Six Flags Magic Mountain. ^[17]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• Rob Dyrdek's Fantasy Factory
• Rob Dyrdek at the Internet Movie Database