Or Geighboyhood? Either way, listened to these two uh, "songs" on the way to DC this weekend, thought they were worth a mention.
His varial heel rewind and the big ol' switch bs flip are both pretty damn sick. But, It's J-Rog doing his standard shit on an indoor hip. Big fucking whoop.
"Listen, hop up on that board and grind, never record again BITCH what was on your fuckin mind?"
'nuf said.
Monday, June 28, 2010
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Ender, Ender, Ender
I can't even pronounce this guys name. Like Friday's post, I stumbled on this on Transworld's site under Oliver Barton's weekly youtube segment. I was kinda put off by the maddening into soundtrack and some of his more conventional tricks (boring?) but damnnnnn if boy doesn't get down in this part. His boardslide pop to fakie on the bank to ledge, kickflip 5050 the double kinked hubba, his tranny segments at the end, the tremendous drop in on the weird backwards L thing... I could go on and on. A very solid and extremely well rounded part, with some obviously 2006 (aka Pre-Flare) style and trick selection. It's a bit long, which hurts is. But I looked it up and this was the closing part for the video it was in, a production from Alai Skateboards, a Spanish deck company. Talk about an individual. This part is pretty magical in itself; it feels epic in my mind after watching it three times. I feel like I need to sit down in opera seats with rich-people popcorn and prepare for it each time. I just wish some of the clips didn't feel like filler. Anyways, enjoy. I've been out of town since Saturday morning so I have footage to capture.
Friday, June 25, 2010
Polar Opposites
Helped out by Oliver Barton's top 5 Youtube feature on Transworld's website, I came across exactly what I was looking for: Chris Pfanner footage I hadn't seen.
Ironically, I find this one day after I spot Nesser's street gap shuvit as one of the most beautiful I'd ever seen. And here we have THREE, count 'em, THREE, amazing pop shuvits. Pfanner is no tech wizard; he's much more a practitioner of mastered basics. But in his case, it's not about the trick selection so much as how each one is done and the amount of pop vested in his spindly legs. Note the extension on the fifty kickflip, and how he rolls through that grind like he's riding on concrete flatland. Also notice the launch (pop isn't a good enough word) on the late backside shuv down Macba, the tremendous triple set cab, and the snappy backside flip melon. Unfortunately, he suffers from a lack of variation.... all his rail tricks are either front boards, front smiths, or front lips, and he has ALOT of back 180s and cab/half-cab variations. Oh well. I feel like he is the ultimate advertisement for Anti-Hero boards... how the FUCK he doesn't snap a deck each time he sticks a trick is beyond me. Sure, he's probably about 120 pounds. But being a downright gnar-hucker, I'm still utterly surprised. He's like a less techy, more interesting Willow.
Two clips above my Pfanner discovery was a unique and very modern part from Erik (j?) Pettersson. Although I'm unsure why his middle initial matters, it's how his title shows up so whatever. As an obvious techy, he's about as opposite as possible from Pfanner's part.
Polar might not be the best word for this comparison, since they're both from Europe. But I digress. There's alot to like about this part, even more so than Pfanner's part. The complete lack of arm movement on his flatland nollie flip, the proper varial flip in the first line, the unfortunately-spread-eagled-yet-very-well-controlled switch tre on flat (three spread-eagles in one part? pushing it, Mr. Pettersson), the fs smith bs flip, the launched backside flip out of the bumpy brick bank that I have never seen before, the ultra clean nosegrind pop over..... etc etc. His style is clean and loose, yet he pulls off the bullshit move of 180ing over a bench into switch manual, which I had previously thought was only a trick for the guild of the tight trucks, since everyone else seems to touch their wheels accidentally or break their board's nose putting it down under so much gravity. This part is probably the best thing I've watched all week, save Nesser's blue collar welcome clip. And even then, the geek side of me likes this more. Good shit, good shit. Thank you, Oliver Barton.
Ironically, I find this one day after I spot Nesser's street gap shuvit as one of the most beautiful I'd ever seen. And here we have THREE, count 'em, THREE, amazing pop shuvits. Pfanner is no tech wizard; he's much more a practitioner of mastered basics. But in his case, it's not about the trick selection so much as how each one is done and the amount of pop vested in his spindly legs. Note the extension on the fifty kickflip, and how he rolls through that grind like he's riding on concrete flatland. Also notice the launch (pop isn't a good enough word) on the late backside shuv down Macba, the tremendous triple set cab, and the snappy backside flip melon. Unfortunately, he suffers from a lack of variation.... all his rail tricks are either front boards, front smiths, or front lips, and he has ALOT of back 180s and cab/half-cab variations. Oh well. I feel like he is the ultimate advertisement for Anti-Hero boards... how the FUCK he doesn't snap a deck each time he sticks a trick is beyond me. Sure, he's probably about 120 pounds. But being a downright gnar-hucker, I'm still utterly surprised. He's like a less techy, more interesting Willow.
Two clips above my Pfanner discovery was a unique and very modern part from Erik (j?) Pettersson. Although I'm unsure why his middle initial matters, it's how his title shows up so whatever. As an obvious techy, he's about as opposite as possible from Pfanner's part.
Polar might not be the best word for this comparison, since they're both from Europe. But I digress. There's alot to like about this part, even more so than Pfanner's part. The complete lack of arm movement on his flatland nollie flip, the proper varial flip in the first line, the unfortunately-spread-eagled-yet-very-well-controlled switch tre on flat (three spread-eagles in one part? pushing it, Mr. Pettersson), the fs smith bs flip, the launched backside flip out of the bumpy brick bank that I have never seen before, the ultra clean nosegrind pop over..... etc etc. His style is clean and loose, yet he pulls off the bullshit move of 180ing over a bench into switch manual, which I had previously thought was only a trick for the guild of the tight trucks, since everyone else seems to touch their wheels accidentally or break their board's nose putting it down under so much gravity. This part is probably the best thing I've watched all week, save Nesser's blue collar welcome clip. And even then, the geek side of me likes this more. Good shit, good shit. Thank you, Oliver Barton.
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Ness is More
Steve Nesser, as you have probably heard, is on Ipath. Observe one of the most beautiful pop shuvits of all time, and some burly and well-selected tricks from one of the few footage-producing shop owners and one of the yet-rarer men to make Adio's look good, other than Kenny Anderson and Anthony Schultz.
I found his part to be better than most internet parts I see lately, and most of it is damn worthy of a major video part. Nesser is underappreciated by the industry in ways I can't put into words.
A while back I bought the East Coast production YouGottaGetThat, and never found a moment of memory to write something about it. Possibly because the popular blog boiltheocean.wordpress.com also posted about it about a week before I started this. Anyways, while Mike Peterson holds down my favorite part of the video and Kyle Berard comes in a close second (due to some jaw-dropping clips at local spots and parks), Connor Champion and Gilbert Crockett follow up closely. And since their parts are on youtube..... they're the ones you get to see.
Champion..... of the front crook:
Lots of proper tricks and a good dose of steez to a song I never would have thought possible to use. For a dude I'd never heard of, this part is absolutely top notch.
Although the video was somewhat negatively affected by Bobby Worrest's same name/same part companion (and also a co-filmer, possibly a producer? Not sure on the producer part, buy it and watch the credits and let me know so I don't have to turn on my walmart DVD player), the filming, editing and generally the skating was all top notch, with clips from many locals I recognized and big name dudes alike. Also, RVA's pro representative.... Gilbert Crockett, whom was coincidentally good friends with one of my hall-mates from freshman year. Interesting. Check his part, love the song, buy the vid, and upload Berard and Peterson's parts to youtube so I can talk about how fucking amazing their North Carolina footage is. Thank you.
I found his part to be better than most internet parts I see lately, and most of it is damn worthy of a major video part. Nesser is underappreciated by the industry in ways I can't put into words.
A while back I bought the East Coast production YouGottaGetThat, and never found a moment of memory to write something about it. Possibly because the popular blog boiltheocean.wordpress.com also posted about it about a week before I started this. Anyways, while Mike Peterson holds down my favorite part of the video and Kyle Berard comes in a close second (due to some jaw-dropping clips at local spots and parks), Connor Champion and Gilbert Crockett follow up closely. And since their parts are on youtube..... they're the ones you get to see.
Champion..... of the front crook:
Lots of proper tricks and a good dose of steez to a song I never would have thought possible to use. For a dude I'd never heard of, this part is absolutely top notch.
Although the video was somewhat negatively affected by Bobby Worrest's same name/same part companion (and also a co-filmer, possibly a producer? Not sure on the producer part, buy it and watch the credits and let me know so I don't have to turn on my walmart DVD player), the filming, editing and generally the skating was all top notch, with clips from many locals I recognized and big name dudes alike. Also, RVA's pro representative.... Gilbert Crockett, whom was coincidentally good friends with one of my hall-mates from freshman year. Interesting. Check his part, love the song, buy the vid, and upload Berard and Peterson's parts to youtube so I can talk about how fucking amazing their North Carolina footage is. Thank you.
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Tube Tuesdays
Showcasing some massive switch pop and some interesting hardflip variations, Chase sent me this link of Aquil Brathwaite, whom I had never heard of. Doubtless, he sent me this link due to his love affair with hardflips and all things nose manual. I found it to be a pretty interesting link as far as random youtube clips go, and upon some googling he appears to be on the Famous Stars and Straps brand. Other than Darren Harper, whom I would never speak ill off and am actually fairly scared of, being on Famous seems like a bit of a questionable board sponsor. My guess is the baggy pants and the hardflips and the mounds of pop are the main reasons for his selection. Anyways, aside from some ugly sketch on maneuvers such as the double flip front board, his titanic switch ollies over that big white block and his hardflip backside rotations are nothing short of amazing to my feeble mind.
While questing for more of his footage on Youtube, I also found this Red Bull Mini Mania clip:
Now, this clip disappointed me. Although on the whole it was an enjoyable little video, not one clip in it other than Donny Barley's alley oop Front Disaster was out of the ability levels of myself or my roommate. I was somewhat elated to see some of the stalls that I do regularly committed to grind-form, such as the fakie back smith to fakie. I'm not claiming we could produce as smooth a style on the whole as these sponsored soldiers did, but damn if they didn't even attempt to push themselves. Barley's bigflip, hell Barley's footage as a whole, and Brathwaite served as highlights, with Zered and the Dompierre brothers both feeling unmemorable other than Nick's cab back disaster. While this may be a tad too much introspection on a simple mini ramp clip, I felt it was worth mentioning since I had so many thoughts on it.
In other much more fascinating news, Dave Bachinsky is rumored to be off Adidas..... for a real mini ramp treat, watch his Hubba clip from almost three years ago:
While the ramp is shallow, the extension smith flip and feeble back 180 and the ease with which he smacks down nollie back heel tail stalls and flips into noseblunts and front 180s back out is hard on any ramp. Not to mention feats like nollie bs flip tail bs flip and his ending clips. Although a Crockett-move would be nice resulting in a Vans deal, I see Bachinsky ending up with another corporate shoe as much more likely, perhaps DC. Hopefully he doesn't go Gallant and end up on Circa.
Anyways, Bachinsky off Adidas doesn't strike me as nearly the landmark as Adelmo's recent removal from Ipath footwear.... while Dave is undoubtedly the bigger name by now, Adelmo fits the classic Ipath mold, and this move is much more a shocker in my book. Adelmo in Supra's? Gravis'? Ugh. I thought Ipath was MADE for guys like him to ride for. I suppose I was wrong. I'm curious where both of these guys will end up.
On an unrelated note, check out Brian Anderson's boneless front smith ad in the new Transworld. One bonkers of a non-traditional handrail trick for sure.
Hopefully tomorrow I'll have time to update, but with finals week and the tempting allure of living ten minutes from warm atlantic water I can't be sure this week will be productive.
While questing for more of his footage on Youtube, I also found this Red Bull Mini Mania clip:
Now, this clip disappointed me. Although on the whole it was an enjoyable little video, not one clip in it other than Donny Barley's alley oop Front Disaster was out of the ability levels of myself or my roommate. I was somewhat elated to see some of the stalls that I do regularly committed to grind-form, such as the fakie back smith to fakie. I'm not claiming we could produce as smooth a style on the whole as these sponsored soldiers did, but damn if they didn't even attempt to push themselves. Barley's bigflip, hell Barley's footage as a whole, and Brathwaite served as highlights, with Zered and the Dompierre brothers both feeling unmemorable other than Nick's cab back disaster. While this may be a tad too much introspection on a simple mini ramp clip, I felt it was worth mentioning since I had so many thoughts on it.
In other much more fascinating news, Dave Bachinsky is rumored to be off Adidas..... for a real mini ramp treat, watch his Hubba clip from almost three years ago:
While the ramp is shallow, the extension smith flip and feeble back 180 and the ease with which he smacks down nollie back heel tail stalls and flips into noseblunts and front 180s back out is hard on any ramp. Not to mention feats like nollie bs flip tail bs flip and his ending clips. Although a Crockett-move would be nice resulting in a Vans deal, I see Bachinsky ending up with another corporate shoe as much more likely, perhaps DC. Hopefully he doesn't go Gallant and end up on Circa.
Anyways, Bachinsky off Adidas doesn't strike me as nearly the landmark as Adelmo's recent removal from Ipath footwear.... while Dave is undoubtedly the bigger name by now, Adelmo fits the classic Ipath mold, and this move is much more a shocker in my book. Adelmo in Supra's? Gravis'? Ugh. I thought Ipath was MADE for guys like him to ride for. I suppose I was wrong. I'm curious where both of these guys will end up.
On an unrelated note, check out Brian Anderson's boneless front smith ad in the new Transworld. One bonkers of a non-traditional handrail trick for sure.
Hopefully tomorrow I'll have time to update, but with finals week and the tempting allure of living ten minutes from warm atlantic water I can't be sure this week will be productive.
Friday, June 18, 2010
Classic Styles for Miles
So I haven't had time to update for a couple of days with trying to find places to live and shit like that, but after watching State of Mind parts this morning I tried searching for an Eli Reed pro intro part, since I figured there would be one somewhere in compliance with the rest of the online industry these days. I didn't find one, to say the least. But, I found a pretty interesting Flushing Meadows Park clip featuring Rodney Torres on the Zoo York site, as we see in clip 1:
While I'm not sure how old the footage in the beginning is, I found his lines to be pretty damn good regardless of how old they are, especially considering I haven't seen much footage of him pretty much... ever. Notice his grainy nosegrind flip, and the kickflip/tre flip combination into the Courthouse bank I mentioned in the Rodrigo/LRG post. The feeble to 180 nosegrind line and the backside flip fakie manny were both pleasant on the eyes, particularly the feeble variant since I had not yet seen one of those. The big varial heel over the rail, the table tre flip noseblunt, and the line-of-the-solid-landings, aka the fs flip nosegrind line ending in fakie 5-0 flip out, all surprised the hell out of me considering how modern the spots and tricks were, and also considering the 4 or so year old DVS' he's sporting. Anyways, for once I found it entertaining to watch some baggy pants footage, and since all the tricks were interesting and his style was nice and relaxed, I decided this little clip should get much more attention than it probably has (not that me writing about it will help, though.). Enjoy a throwback. The Flushing history, brief though it may be, is interesting too.
Classic Style video 2 is coincidentally, a welcome video. It features one of my early favorites (and a national favorite, apparently), Expedition/Circa's own Ryan Gallant, after his pretty spectacular sponsor change-up a few months back. Although his under-2-minute part contains 8 ledge variations involving the backside tailslide and back 180 switch fs crook and five bluntslide/nosebluntslide variations, and that parking garages typically don't have benches unless you're pressed to come up with throwaway footage, his little intro-diddy still oozes with his style, as evidenced by the kickflip nosegrind line with no push and the hardflip manual with his front foot battling to hold on. I'd say the kickflip nosebluntslides (backside in the ditch, frontside being the real highlight), the aforementioned hardflip manny, and the GIGANTIC backside flip over the bench are the real tricks of mention here. Hopefully he still has the variation he has shown in all his previous parts, and hasn't gotten so caught up in his now-signature back 180 switch crook to fore-go his steezier standards.
Note that he doesn't have the new era in many of his clips. I'm not sure how I feel about this, because that beanie looks awkward. Regardless, skating to the diplomats and not moving his arms gives me a breath of relief when viewing a rare bit of Gallant footage, no matter how repetitive. Let's start building high expectations for his Expedition Part? Whatever happened to his Plan B footage, I wonder.
While I'm not sure how old the footage in the beginning is, I found his lines to be pretty damn good regardless of how old they are, especially considering I haven't seen much footage of him pretty much... ever. Notice his grainy nosegrind flip, and the kickflip/tre flip combination into the Courthouse bank I mentioned in the Rodrigo/LRG post. The feeble to 180 nosegrind line and the backside flip fakie manny were both pleasant on the eyes, particularly the feeble variant since I had not yet seen one of those. The big varial heel over the rail, the table tre flip noseblunt, and the line-of-the-solid-landings, aka the fs flip nosegrind line ending in fakie 5-0 flip out, all surprised the hell out of me considering how modern the spots and tricks were, and also considering the 4 or so year old DVS' he's sporting. Anyways, for once I found it entertaining to watch some baggy pants footage, and since all the tricks were interesting and his style was nice and relaxed, I decided this little clip should get much more attention than it probably has (not that me writing about it will help, though.). Enjoy a throwback. The Flushing history, brief though it may be, is interesting too.
Classic Style video 2 is coincidentally, a welcome video. It features one of my early favorites (and a national favorite, apparently), Expedition/Circa's own Ryan Gallant, after his pretty spectacular sponsor change-up a few months back. Although his under-2-minute part contains 8 ledge variations involving the backside tailslide and back 180 switch fs crook and five bluntslide/nosebluntslide variations, and that parking garages typically don't have benches unless you're pressed to come up with throwaway footage, his little intro-diddy still oozes with his style, as evidenced by the kickflip nosegrind line with no push and the hardflip manual with his front foot battling to hold on. I'd say the kickflip nosebluntslides (backside in the ditch, frontside being the real highlight), the aforementioned hardflip manny, and the GIGANTIC backside flip over the bench are the real tricks of mention here. Hopefully he still has the variation he has shown in all his previous parts, and hasn't gotten so caught up in his now-signature back 180 switch crook to fore-go his steezier standards.
Note that he doesn't have the new era in many of his clips. I'm not sure how I feel about this, because that beanie looks awkward. Regardless, skating to the diplomats and not moving his arms gives me a breath of relief when viewing a rare bit of Gallant footage, no matter how repetitive. Let's start building high expectations for his Expedition Part? Whatever happened to his Plan B footage, I wonder.
Monday, June 14, 2010
Two Anti-Minutes
And the introduction of a rough version of the SkatePolitik video tag. Hooray for progress? Anyways, some chilling and filming, I had to go to work so that's my excuse for why it's only two minutes, not three.
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Skateboarding is Fornever
Somehow, maybe it's just me, but somehow it seems that DC's online am project "Skateboarding is Forever" got lost in time without any real banter surrounding it. This could be for one of several reasons:
1/ It wasn't put out all at one time, and people (like me) forgot to keep checking on it
2/ It wasn't that memorable. Still very good, but not incredibly Memorable
3/ In my mind, it didn't feel like each part was finished
4/ Greg Myers
When Matt Miller, Marquise Henry and Wes Kremer's parts came out, I eagerly drooled over youtube to see them. Greg Myers..... well, crazy arms, some not-too-gnarly and somewhat boring clips.
Wes Kremer:
PROBABLY the best part of the video as far as skill. Motherfucker has so much variety it's sinful. The wallride lines are beautiful, he can rip some hard nose variations on tranny, he used the hell out of that japanese playground transition, and can Ben-Hatchell long, kinked rails. Not to mention fakie hardflipping stairs in a line, fakie nosegrind switch fs flip out, fs blunt flip to fakie off a ledge, and switch noseblunting a damn steep ditch. Usually I notice pro's stacking up on their go-to tricks, which I don't particularly mind because it helps them push everyone's limits by setting the bar higher at landmark spots (Hubba, NYC's pyramid ledge, Carlsbad.... those three come to mind as ones that have really gotten their asses kicked because of go-to tricks). But watching Wes' part..... what are his go to tricks? The only trick he did several times was backside wallride variations...
Anyways, the real point of this post revolves around another member of the DC amateur roster. I came home from work last night and my girlfriend had been watching the parts of DC's vid online, strangely. She said she liked Matt Miller's part and sat me down to replay that one. God knows why she was watching it, but I like Matt Miller alot too so I sat down and joined. Half way through she switched to Myers' part because "he's so small!" and about that time I took the computer and clicked the tantalizing Evan Smith link on the side that I had never watched or even known/heard about. Damn.
I love how his grungy, lanky style absolutely does NOT fit the DC image. But I loved this guy's part, even if he's no Wes Kremer he has a hell of a lot of personality to his skating. He also gets down on the Japanese playground, both clips of which are sickkkk and a great use of the spot. His ledge stuff is most of the gold here though, with clips like that bluntslide step up to back nosegrind on the step above, the front 180 fakie front smith that I have no idea what name to call it, and the front lip to front crook in a line.
Other notable moves:
- Kickflip feeble in Durham
- Perfect hardflip over that rail
- Feeble back 180 to flat the steep bank
- The front noseslide/180 nosebonk/fakie flip/switch heel 5-0 line (flows so good)
- Back tail nosemanny nollie flip and the final five tricks following it.
Mr. Evan Smith is another guy with tons of variety, although I noticed feebles and front noseslides pop up a few times. Regardless, each and every clip in his part was pretty much remarkable, everything fit together extremely well with the song of choice and reminded me of parts from about four years ago that stuck to you not because of how many barriers they just shattered, but how well done they were. (Flip parts, Geoff Rowley Chicagof, Kerry Getz Jump Off a Building, Janoski Inhabitants, Girl parts, McCrank eSpecial...... to name a few that stick out to me, regardless of time). Crack open a cold one and fullscreen that shit.
Oh, and I actually kind of hate 360 shuvs, I think they look rather ridiculous and ugly most of the time, but the angled rotation on his 3 shuv at the end is easily the most interesting execution of that trick I've yet to see, Shane O'Neil's Carlsbad hammer included.
1/ It wasn't put out all at one time, and people (like me) forgot to keep checking on it
2/ It wasn't that memorable. Still very good, but not incredibly Memorable
3/ In my mind, it didn't feel like each part was finished
4/ Greg Myers
When Matt Miller, Marquise Henry and Wes Kremer's parts came out, I eagerly drooled over youtube to see them. Greg Myers..... well, crazy arms, some not-too-gnarly and somewhat boring clips.
Wes Kremer:
PROBABLY the best part of the video as far as skill. Motherfucker has so much variety it's sinful. The wallride lines are beautiful, he can rip some hard nose variations on tranny, he used the hell out of that japanese playground transition, and can Ben-Hatchell long, kinked rails. Not to mention fakie hardflipping stairs in a line, fakie nosegrind switch fs flip out, fs blunt flip to fakie off a ledge, and switch noseblunting a damn steep ditch. Usually I notice pro's stacking up on their go-to tricks, which I don't particularly mind because it helps them push everyone's limits by setting the bar higher at landmark spots (Hubba, NYC's pyramid ledge, Carlsbad.... those three come to mind as ones that have really gotten their asses kicked because of go-to tricks). But watching Wes' part..... what are his go to tricks? The only trick he did several times was backside wallride variations...
Anyways, the real point of this post revolves around another member of the DC amateur roster. I came home from work last night and my girlfriend had been watching the parts of DC's vid online, strangely. She said she liked Matt Miller's part and sat me down to replay that one. God knows why she was watching it, but I like Matt Miller alot too so I sat down and joined. Half way through she switched to Myers' part because "he's so small!" and about that time I took the computer and clicked the tantalizing Evan Smith link on the side that I had never watched or even known/heard about. Damn.
I love how his grungy, lanky style absolutely does NOT fit the DC image. But I loved this guy's part, even if he's no Wes Kremer he has a hell of a lot of personality to his skating. He also gets down on the Japanese playground, both clips of which are sickkkk and a great use of the spot. His ledge stuff is most of the gold here though, with clips like that bluntslide step up to back nosegrind on the step above, the front 180 fakie front smith that I have no idea what name to call it, and the front lip to front crook in a line.
Other notable moves:
- Kickflip feeble in Durham
- Perfect hardflip over that rail
- Feeble back 180 to flat the steep bank
- The front noseslide/180 nosebonk/fakie flip/switch heel 5-0 line (flows so good)
- Back tail nosemanny nollie flip and the final five tricks following it.
Mr. Evan Smith is another guy with tons of variety, although I noticed feebles and front noseslides pop up a few times. Regardless, each and every clip in his part was pretty much remarkable, everything fit together extremely well with the song of choice and reminded me of parts from about four years ago that stuck to you not because of how many barriers they just shattered, but how well done they were. (Flip parts, Geoff Rowley Chicagof, Kerry Getz Jump Off a Building, Janoski Inhabitants, Girl parts, McCrank eSpecial...... to name a few that stick out to me, regardless of time). Crack open a cold one and fullscreen that shit.
Oh, and I actually kind of hate 360 shuvs, I think they look rather ridiculous and ugly most of the time, but the angled rotation on his 3 shuv at the end is easily the most interesting execution of that trick I've yet to see, Shane O'Neil's Carlsbad hammer included.
Saturday, June 12, 2010
Footage of the ad....
Courtesy of Tim
I had not realized how huge that bank was. The car wasn't in motion, which is somewhat of a bummer, but the sheer ridiculousness of that spot, that trick, the guards, and the cars at the bottom are leaving me so shocked that I'm gonna snag some McDonalds and go pay $10 to skate indoors like a fat spoiled fuck.
NOTE: Check out Allan Williams' photo of Chris Vaneeklen's P-town Bigflip, permanently residing on the right hand side of this site.
Jake Johnson from lugo lugo on Vimeo.
I had not realized how huge that bank was. The car wasn't in motion, which is somewhat of a bummer, but the sheer ridiculousness of that spot, that trick, the guards, and the cars at the bottom are leaving me so shocked that I'm gonna snag some McDonalds and go pay $10 to skate indoors like a fat spoiled fuck.
NOTE: Check out Allan Williams' photo of Chris Vaneeklen's P-town Bigflip, permanently residing on the right hand side of this site.
Friday, June 11, 2010
ads, ads, ads.....
Soooo in the June issue of Skateboard Mag, I noticed two interesting sequences...... both of P-rod, and both completely related and unrelated at the same time. Both photos were of nollie back 180 front foot flips, one in an article about Tampa Pro over a hip, the other as the Plan B ad on the inside of the back cover. Two page fold-out spread. Oh yeah, and the second is down the Belmont 9. I'm not sure where he got the idea to huck this trick, but it's a good bit outside of the text-book trick selection realm that P-Rod likes to dwell in, and being a fan of late flips, I think its basically sick as fuck, especially down the nine. Perhaps P-Rod will finally start using his unlimited talent to test his imagination. I'd be hyped.
I also have to pay homage to Riley Hawk's hardflip crail grab over the ditch table top in Arizona. I have NEVER seen that trick. and it's a beauty, in all its awkwardness. I can't even grasp the idea of grabbing that trick crail. but since I haven't even hardflipped on flatground in years..... who knows. Hardflippers out there, got an opinion?
The last mag-bit I want to mention is in the July issue. I don't think I've ever been quite so hyped on a switch back 180 as I am at the one Jake Johnson does in the two page Gravis ad. Where, after popping over a pretty tall rail into a bank, he ends up in traffic with his legs under a moving car. I can't tell if the car actually hit him, or if he powerslid into it and rolled in front of it without somehow getting rolled over..... but judging from the distance he traveled on the pavement after contact with the vehicle, I'm gonna guess he at least got bumped. I'm sorry, as stupid an idea as it may seem, bombing a switch back 1 into moving traffic is gnarly. It reminded me of Karl Watson's switch ollie to hill bomb in the intro of his Kayo part where he almost gets nailed. But better. Because he actually went into multiple cars, and presumable had contact. Very, very interesting and well-done ad in my opinion. Grabs your attention, gets you hyped, and only has the Gravis symbol and name, and the word 'Jake.'. Sick.
I'd like to scan these sequences in later, but I work 10 and a half hours today/tonight so I'm probably gonna get lazy and skip that step at least until tomorrow, if not indefinitely. A better idea would be to go snag a copy of the new issue, and laugh at Dave Carnie's terrific assholery in the Mail section.
and speaking of hardflips... I've been getting hyped on some older parts lately, and I happened to notice Chet Thomas' god-knows-how-many-years-old Battalion part from the only (and hopefully only) Darkstar video ever made..... keep in mind, this was YEARS before the ledge revolution we're experiencing now, and have a watch at how seasoned ol' Chet tosses hardflip nosegrinds and fs flip nosegrinds and foolery like that. Best part to come out of that video hands down.
I also have to pay homage to Riley Hawk's hardflip crail grab over the ditch table top in Arizona. I have NEVER seen that trick. and it's a beauty, in all its awkwardness. I can't even grasp the idea of grabbing that trick crail. but since I haven't even hardflipped on flatground in years..... who knows. Hardflippers out there, got an opinion?
The last mag-bit I want to mention is in the July issue. I don't think I've ever been quite so hyped on a switch back 180 as I am at the one Jake Johnson does in the two page Gravis ad. Where, after popping over a pretty tall rail into a bank, he ends up in traffic with his legs under a moving car. I can't tell if the car actually hit him, or if he powerslid into it and rolled in front of it without somehow getting rolled over..... but judging from the distance he traveled on the pavement after contact with the vehicle, I'm gonna guess he at least got bumped. I'm sorry, as stupid an idea as it may seem, bombing a switch back 1 into moving traffic is gnarly. It reminded me of Karl Watson's switch ollie to hill bomb in the intro of his Kayo part where he almost gets nailed. But better. Because he actually went into multiple cars, and presumable had contact. Very, very interesting and well-done ad in my opinion. Grabs your attention, gets you hyped, and only has the Gravis symbol and name, and the word 'Jake.'. Sick.
I'd like to scan these sequences in later, but I work 10 and a half hours today/tonight so I'm probably gonna get lazy and skip that step at least until tomorrow, if not indefinitely. A better idea would be to go snag a copy of the new issue, and laugh at Dave Carnie's terrific assholery in the Mail section.
and speaking of hardflips... I've been getting hyped on some older parts lately, and I happened to notice Chet Thomas' god-knows-how-many-years-old Battalion part from the only (and hopefully only) Darkstar video ever made..... keep in mind, this was YEARS before the ledge revolution we're experiencing now, and have a watch at how seasoned ol' Chet tosses hardflip nosegrinds and fs flip nosegrinds and foolery like that. Best part to come out of that video hands down.
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Anti-Minute
One minute from Anti-Gravity. Cody Bamburg, Blake Scott, and yours truly with the first two sketchy tricks.
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Berrics Bonanza
There's a couple things from the Berrics tidal wave I feel are worth discussing. Even though it's old news somewhat by this point, Shane O'Neil's pro introduction part is still hot shit last I checked. While his steez is on point and the last half is beyond ridiculous, (*braces for hate*) the first half feels kinda lackluster, save for his perfect nollie fs flip over the bar and everything from his nollie inward heel front crook line through his gap to back tail bigspin, and then his nollie heel crook flip out, backside biggerspin (bananas, anyone?), front feeble fs bigspin, and then the bank-of-death-with-no-runup kickflip. Don't get me wrong..... I loved his part. BUT for the shit this dude is capable of, quite notably the last minute or so of his part, much of the beginning felt too easy for his skill level. Maybe it's just me, but I put this guy pretty damn close in ability to Cory Kennedy in my mind, except slightly less technical and more reeking of steez. So basically, aside from those tricks I mentioned and his opening nollie flip boardslide line, I feel like he could have had a 2 and a half minute part that absolutely blew the pants off 85% of the video-lurkers out there, paid skaters included. Instead we get a piece of Berra-profiteering with some unnecessary filler, yet a memorable and somewhat monumental part all the same. Paying for an online part? From the Berrics? A pro video debut that's not in a major release? All pretty groundbreaking.
Anyways.
Starting with his ridiculous crook variations (I have never seen a crook nollie tre on any street spot even close to as legit as that one), he pretty much rapes what I had considered plausible from a kid his age. Or anyone, for that matter, save Mr.Phenom-Kennedy. His switch back smith heelflip alone I could talk about for about three pages, since that trick is still rare regular, and back smith flips are still all the rage WITHOUT the heelflip aspect. I can't decide if I'm more a fan of that trick or of the back smith bigspin tail as far as aesthetics go. Yet the obvious ledge trick king of his part, which actually MEANS something considering the options, is that damn switch flip back tail bigflip. Which. Was. Perfect. Nuggets is also the first person to do what I'd consider a genuine backside overcrook, which I usually feel end up resulting accidentally from the problems of backside nosegrinding down a handrail.
I have to say, I'm a bit bummed his back 180 5-0 and tremendous nollie back heel (hello, Jerry Hsu...) were in his Transworld interview, not to mention I don't have many positive feelings for the angle on the latter. His ending trick.... well I would have gone with the Nollie Back Heel if I was the editor, but is that at a park? I really can't tell. Difficult: most definitely. But a flatbar ender? Didn't get my juices flowing like the nollie back heel did.
I'm scared to post the link I have since Berra apparently has been on an internet-stalking quest looking for links.
So ponder his Debacle part:
Note the ridiculous opening line. And how pretty much every clip of his is memorable. Perhaps watching this in comparison will help explain my earlier comments on some of his pro part. That nollie halfcab? switch flip front crook line? nollie flip crook nose manny? Perhaps this part is why his three shuv down Carlsbad didn't catch me by any degree of surprise.
Two things I want to mention before I move on:
- I love love love how he doesn't lose speed on some hard-ass shit. ex: the big back 3, and the switch flip back tail bigflip.
- I miss his Oakland A's hat. But now I can get one, even though I've disliked the A's since Mike Bordick came to Baltimore, circa 1997. Baseball tangent. my bad. But that green and yellow looks sick.
NOW...... the second thing, and I shall be brief. As described in Rob Dyrdek's Interview (yes, yes I know. The Skate League horse is gonna get beat in this space until its a rotting skeleton.) in the June issue of the Skateboard Mag:
(Evan's sidenote: the interview is not up to date with today's riders)
Nieratko: Who do you got so far?
Dyrdek: Chris Cole, Pudwill, Lutzka, and Sheckler
Nieratko: No more X Games or Doo Doo Tour for those guys?
Dyrdek: No.
NO?!?!?!?!?!?! This is big, BIG shit. Sheckler is the Dew Tour poster-boy. Lutzka, confined to one competition? Cole? When I was squatted on my porcelain king's throne this morning and read those words, I literally..... shit. Exclusivity contracts with pros like that may well cripple mainstream competition venues. The more I read about this Skate League, the more I like the idea. He even says "I'm splitting any merchandise revenue and any TV deals with all the riders. I want every pro to have the same contract." To go back to baseball in comparison, this ain't anything like actual competitive sports' contracts and organization. I believe Robby's got his head on straight for this one. Especially since six questions later he states "I couldn't put together a legitimate, solid part" in reference to his Mind Field part, and explains his lack-of-direction from damn Fantasy Factory as the cause. Bravo, Rob. Humble and smart all at once. At least you got that fs bluntslide ender in there.
Anyways, we shall see how this league stuff all pans out.
and speaking of Chris Nieratko, a post about him shall be up sometime this week....
Anyways.
Starting with his ridiculous crook variations (I have never seen a crook nollie tre on any street spot even close to as legit as that one), he pretty much rapes what I had considered plausible from a kid his age. Or anyone, for that matter, save Mr.Phenom-Kennedy. His switch back smith heelflip alone I could talk about for about three pages, since that trick is still rare regular, and back smith flips are still all the rage WITHOUT the heelflip aspect. I can't decide if I'm more a fan of that trick or of the back smith bigspin tail as far as aesthetics go. Yet the obvious ledge trick king of his part, which actually MEANS something considering the options, is that damn switch flip back tail bigflip. Which. Was. Perfect. Nuggets is also the first person to do what I'd consider a genuine backside overcrook, which I usually feel end up resulting accidentally from the problems of backside nosegrinding down a handrail.
I have to say, I'm a bit bummed his back 180 5-0 and tremendous nollie back heel (hello, Jerry Hsu...) were in his Transworld interview, not to mention I don't have many positive feelings for the angle on the latter. His ending trick.... well I would have gone with the Nollie Back Heel if I was the editor, but is that at a park? I really can't tell. Difficult: most definitely. But a flatbar ender? Didn't get my juices flowing like the nollie back heel did.
I'm scared to post the link I have since Berra apparently has been on an internet-stalking quest looking for links.
So ponder his Debacle part:
Note the ridiculous opening line. And how pretty much every clip of his is memorable. Perhaps watching this in comparison will help explain my earlier comments on some of his pro part. That nollie halfcab? switch flip front crook line? nollie flip crook nose manny? Perhaps this part is why his three shuv down Carlsbad didn't catch me by any degree of surprise.
Two things I want to mention before I move on:
- I love love love how he doesn't lose speed on some hard-ass shit. ex: the big back 3, and the switch flip back tail bigflip.
- I miss his Oakland A's hat. But now I can get one, even though I've disliked the A's since Mike Bordick came to Baltimore, circa 1997. Baseball tangent. my bad. But that green and yellow looks sick.
NOW...... the second thing, and I shall be brief. As described in Rob Dyrdek's Interview (yes, yes I know. The Skate League horse is gonna get beat in this space until its a rotting skeleton.) in the June issue of the Skateboard Mag:
(Evan's sidenote: the interview is not up to date with today's riders)
Nieratko: Who do you got so far?
Dyrdek: Chris Cole, Pudwill, Lutzka, and Sheckler
Nieratko: No more X Games or Doo Doo Tour for those guys?
Dyrdek: No.
NO?!?!?!?!?!?! This is big, BIG shit. Sheckler is the Dew Tour poster-boy. Lutzka, confined to one competition? Cole? When I was squatted on my porcelain king's throne this morning and read those words, I literally..... shit. Exclusivity contracts with pros like that may well cripple mainstream competition venues. The more I read about this Skate League, the more I like the idea. He even says "I'm splitting any merchandise revenue and any TV deals with all the riders. I want every pro to have the same contract." To go back to baseball in comparison, this ain't anything like actual competitive sports' contracts and organization. I believe Robby's got his head on straight for this one. Especially since six questions later he states "I couldn't put together a legitimate, solid part" in reference to his Mind Field part, and explains his lack-of-direction from damn Fantasy Factory as the cause. Bravo, Rob. Humble and smart all at once. At least you got that fs bluntslide ender in there.
Anyways, we shall see how this league stuff all pans out.
and speaking of Chris Nieratko, a post about him shall be up sometime this week....
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Gimme My Good Songs, Chico
The Skateboard Mag and LRG were kind enough to dump a free copy of LRG's full length video in with their latest magazine. While I'm not sure how important it really was for Lifted Research Group to actually do a skate video, the results were pretty good, other than the notably shitty soundtrack in Rodrigo TX, Chico Brenes', and Jackson Curtin's part. But besides that, we got to see an Adelmo haircut (WHAT?!?!)(EDIT: naive assumption on my part, it was Frank Gerwer), more Kelly Hart footage, and a reminder of why Karl Watson still has a skate career. Simple video, not mind-blowing in any way but a good watch.
Five things to notice:
- Kelly Hart has ballin' nollie frontside heels
- Chico Brenes has spawned some variety since his last part.
- Adelmo's fakie ollie/switch inward heel line is a work of art
- Andrew Langi: Kickflip Blunt fakie. wow.
- Karl Watson is probably the master of the hardest non-flip ledge tricks ever. Seriously. front 180 switch manny to switch back lip? nollie halfcab crooks TRANSFER? not-small feats, no sir.
Rodrigo's part (notice how the first song is pretty much entirely a forgettable segment, despite such things as his back 180 nosegrind on that tall yellow rail and his effortless switch ledge tricks. His part could have been epic with better song choice, although i'm not sure he outdid his Flip performance in this one. I do like the slaughter he laid down at the Courthouse ledge to bank though, that was unprecedented)
I think its important to point out his nollie backside bluntslide at 4:55, the switch fs flip nosebluntslide at 3:19, the line with the nosegrind 180 popout at 4:36, and his switch backside flip 5-0 on the little picnic table at 1:52, not forgetting his flushing grate gap tailslide hardflip. I have to wonder two things: why switch shuv that flyout that everyone else does like, nollie back heels in lines on? and why the switch flip ender, when kelly harts switch heel over it was one of the most perfect switch heels ive ever seen?
The last bit of this long rant will be based on Karl Watsons 2 minute part:
note the ledge tricks: switch 5-0 to crook in a line, switch crook to back smith, bigspin front board that wavy ledge, switch frontside hurricane in a line, nollie nosegrind to switch back 5-0/suski/? (i dont believe in suski's, for the record)... along with those two i mentioned earlier. favorite trick of his part hands down is the switch backside bigspin heel on that outcropping spot of Slash fame from Ride the Sky.
I could say alot more about this video, but I want to keep it short..... ish.
last thing:
five things to watch out for:
- some ABDs or throwaway clips
- Rodgrigo Peterson's part was too short
- The editing might be worse than the music
- Adelmo/Gerwer's voice
- way too much talking about Mr. Swindler Chico
Five things to notice:
- Kelly Hart has ballin' nollie frontside heels
- Chico Brenes has spawned some variety since his last part.
- Adelmo's fakie ollie/switch inward heel line is a work of art
- Andrew Langi: Kickflip Blunt fakie. wow.
- Karl Watson is probably the master of the hardest non-flip ledge tricks ever. Seriously. front 180 switch manny to switch back lip? nollie halfcab crooks TRANSFER? not-small feats, no sir.
Rodrigo's part (notice how the first song is pretty much entirely a forgettable segment, despite such things as his back 180 nosegrind on that tall yellow rail and his effortless switch ledge tricks. His part could have been epic with better song choice, although i'm not sure he outdid his Flip performance in this one. I do like the slaughter he laid down at the Courthouse ledge to bank though, that was unprecedented)
I think its important to point out his nollie backside bluntslide at 4:55, the switch fs flip nosebluntslide at 3:19, the line with the nosegrind 180 popout at 4:36, and his switch backside flip 5-0 on the little picnic table at 1:52, not forgetting his flushing grate gap tailslide hardflip. I have to wonder two things: why switch shuv that flyout that everyone else does like, nollie back heels in lines on? and why the switch flip ender, when kelly harts switch heel over it was one of the most perfect switch heels ive ever seen?
The last bit of this long rant will be based on Karl Watsons 2 minute part:
note the ledge tricks: switch 5-0 to crook in a line, switch crook to back smith, bigspin front board that wavy ledge, switch frontside hurricane in a line, nollie nosegrind to switch back 5-0/suski/? (i dont believe in suski's, for the record)... along with those two i mentioned earlier. favorite trick of his part hands down is the switch backside bigspin heel on that outcropping spot of Slash fame from Ride the Sky.
I could say alot more about this video, but I want to keep it short..... ish.
last thing:
five things to watch out for:
- some ABDs or throwaway clips
- Rodgrigo Peterson's part was too short
- The editing might be worse than the music
- Adelmo/Gerwer's voice
- way too much talking about Mr. Swindler Chico
Monday, June 7, 2010
The SkatePolitik...
Welcome to the SkatePolitik. For anyone who doesn't know, politik is German for politics. Following Tim's lead, I decided to birth this little creation for the sake of commenting on new DVDs and internet videos, posting the random skate clips I come across all the time, putting up the videos I make personally and those that come from RepThePep.com and other friends of mine, along with pretty much anything skate-related that I feel should be online. This will NOT be mostly text heavy, although I will occasionally type a good bit. With the conclusion of the ROUGH video in a few months, I'll be starting a project under a a name similar to this blog with some good friends from the 757, and the progress from that will also appear on here, for the sake of pleasing the none-too-happy cpep lords that dislike footage of people they dont know.
anyways.... hopefully this thing will grow into something pretty cool. if not, fuck it. who cares.
anyways.... hopefully this thing will grow into something pretty cool. if not, fuck it. who cares.
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