Hoffart.... One Step Beyond?

Adio, once creators of the technologically magnificent One Step Beyond (and also ball-droppers as far as skill and noteworthiness in that video), have since been non-existent on the video-front. Unfortunate considering their hold over Kenny Anderson in previous years prevented him from having a significant showing since about 2003, and their sponsorship of notables Sean Eaton and Jeremy Wray and Anthony Schultz among other talents have also deprived these dudes of proper or recent coverage. Hopefully their trendy internet series in the wake of Trio and Skateboarding Is Forever will remedy this flaw. By the looks of Jordan Hoffart's ridiculous shoulda-been-a-dvd-ender part, they're trying.



I suppose the beginning is supposed to be some kind of dream-state about aliens and perfect front lips down steep handrails on narrow stairsets. But I don't really care for the bullshit-heavy intro near so much as the actual part. The first few clips are boring, with awkward landings and lacking the now-trademark Hoffart charge-speed. But after a beauty of a varial heel(never saw that coming, right?) and an ever beautiful fs flip late shuv, everything is how it should be. I believe Hoffart is one of the unsung yet more talented individuals of this generation of skateboarding, and his relationship to the late front shuv is similar to that of Chris Pfanner with the back 180 late shuv. Big gaps, proper slides, and variety along with oversized Bones tees litter the part, with too many highlights to mention (front 180 front foot impossible, roll in gap to 5050, street gap kickflip....). Expect lots of pop, big hubbas, handrail tech, and some stuff that feels like throwaway but looks cool as shit. Oh, and beware, Kircharts street gap gets two NBDs across it, and his heelflip late shuv over the fence is one of the best single tricks I've seen in years due to the size of the fence, the cleanliness of the landing, and the rarity of the trick (except in previous Hoffart footage). Adio pulled off one damn good segment, albeit with help from Jordan's talent, and not withstanding some poorly done ramped slowmo's and some aggravating double angles at the end. Can they do nearly as well with the rest of the series? I hope so, but my hopes are not yet raised.