Stay Bold

Perhaps it's just the sites I frequent, but the 'blogosphere' seems to still be digesting/waiting/watching Stay Gold instead of writing about it. Unfortunately I've had the time in my past couple days (or blew off things and made time, rather) to watch it about fifteen times.

The video in itself stands for so many different almost paradoxes that it's somewhat mindblowing. Emerica ushered in their new generation (Westgate, Preston, Provost, and above all FIGGY) with this instant classic, and at the same time seemed to really put a sort of cap on the skateboarding generation that grew out of the late 90s. Kirchart's retirement part, which seems more of a memorial montage than anything, is the obvious piece of evidence. Seeing such an icon, such an individual and true mind fuck as Heath Kirchart disappear into history amongst echoing drumbeats and 10+ year old footage is something that doesn't feel like it's even happening. It's fairly chilling, really, to watch his part. All the night clips, the complete lack of other people in almost every clip, the solidarity of his on-screen presence and the mind numbing effect of his footage and style mixed together perfectly punctuate the end of Heath's career and essentially an era. The hill bomb birdie flyer right before his mega ramp surprise seems to perfectly sum up Heath Kirchart, and this farewell clip coupled with his Mind Field Opus leaves you in a bit of a blown mindstate full of nostalgia and thoughts of This Is Skateboarding, Sorry, and Photosynthesis. The eerie aura passes into the surreal intro, full of naturally Emerican long exposures and time lapses. It also features Jerry Hsu's only regular stanced clip, and some very un-B-roll footage (notably Provosts fs flip over, ironically, the rail spot Heath raped in Mind Field).

Westgate starts off the birth of this video with the speed we expect, but the lack of variety we don't. Herman's part is for another discussion, Marquis Preston bursts on the scene with a frail frame that somehow reminds me of Terrell Robinson, and Kevin Long (why not Spanky, still? he's still so little) shows variety but not alot of speed and some disappointingly undeveloped style which leaves me wondering what happened to this once-golden child. Pussy gotcha hooked, is my guess. Past those parts, the most remarkably diverse and surprise parts go to Aaron Suski, Collin Provost and Justin Figueroa. Provost rips anything in his path, including a trippy concrete park bonanza and steez never before seen in his footage. The boy has obviously done a bit of maturing in terms of his skating as he grew, and the results are amazing. He looks nothing like the little Element boy, and his song fits his grungy appearance and lazy style in a way almost reminiscent of Appleyard's flip song, but not as legendary.

Little Jamie Tancowny, as an aside, tops his Strange World part easily, in my opinion. The gnar factor is up by full points but he seems to get lost easily in the slew of monsters he co-stars with. On that note, I did not realize how absolutely out of control his hair is. I'm also surprised Reynolds didn't mention him as one of the guys that IS the future in his filmed discussion a while back, considering the boy has perfect tricks, lots of speed and a good style. But anyways. I want to rave about the oddities of Suski's part and touch on Figgy's so to save space I'll stop there.

Suski has some surprising rail to ledge tricks, a handrail clip, and even a NBD on a well-known gap. His song is an odd one, but each spot looks incredibly interesting and he seems to choose his tricks perfectly. Undoubtedly a solid step above his State of Mind part, which I had seen and assumed that he was getting ready to call it quits until his opening trick in this kicked me in the gnar balls. Braydon's next with surprising cleanliness and weird shakespeare actor attire, easily my favorite footage of him. The biggest part of the lesser names though is Figgy. A monster nollie front feeble, rails that look big even compared to him, a skatestopped big ol' 5050, and speed speed speed aid his grind-heavy part that's allegedly paving his way into pro-dom.

Due to the strangeness of Herman's part I'll save my thoughts on his segment for tomorrow, and since Leo deserves a post of his own he shall wait as well. I can't justify wrapping up this little synopsis without discussing the real gem of the video, the other half of the 'end of era' theme I touched on earlier. Although I could mention Ed Templeton and his lack of footage as more proof, speculation is he's stashing it all for a final Toy part. I could also ponder the absolute brutality Jerry Hsu has gone through and wonder if his career can continue to grow or if he's actually secured his legend status and may end up taking a smaller role in future videos. But it's too early to tell, and he can nollie back tailslide, so Reynolds it is.

The Boss snagging ender from such a starry line up is a feat in and of itself. Especially compared to the tear Leo has been on with his innovative rail techniques, and Drew's age, and his presence as the curtains in This Is Skateboarding.

But he did.

And he did it damn well.

The song is beautiful. In all reality, this along with Heath's Mind Field part are the only two perfect examples of closing parts I can think of. Yes, Hsu and MJ and Cole had epic segments that affected the world in this decade, along with Pudwill recently and other notables you can think of, but these two in particular are so perfectly suited to the music and contain such a level of refined skateboarding and classic individuality that there really is no denying the level of mastery contained within. Andrew's is THE perfect part. The opening daddy-display reminds you of his age and the fact that this may well be his last full part, and the presence of so many of today's big-boy hammer spots (carlsbad TWICE, the 5 block, the 11 with the huge hubba above it, wallenberg, hollywood high, the 14 that used to have the middle rail, the 16 he kickflipped so long ago, the red rail on the rocks, the UC Davis(?) gap at the end...) lacking only Wilshire, El Toro, and the LOVE fountain to my memory is enough to make anyone die at the thought of making a gnarlier part at any age. Most are happy to get a trick at any of those spots, and he gets tricks at all of them for one single part. Not to mention the two NBDs down carlsbad, two hammers on the five block, multiple six block clips, etc etc. In the extras there's a bonus video about his perfectionism, and contained within are the other two varial heels he did down hollywood high along with countless back 3s and his original back heel down the five block, his first fakie flip down the six block, a night-time PERFECT nollie front heel down the twelve that he threw away because it was his only night clip, and a previous version of his 10 set-16 set line. The sheer ability to huck tricks like that multiple times until you feel they are perfect is just astounding, particularly examining other feats at those spots, such as Sierra Fellers ollie north down the five block, and considering that the Boss back 360d that spots upwards of five times just to get rid of arm motions or twisted torsos. The work ethic and dedication of that man makes him a legend even with his footage unconsidered. But to look in his part and see the staple tricks you expect, the fs flips, the back heel, the back 3s, caballero, bs flip, etc fused with tricks you never saw coming like the heelflip back tail, switch heel back tail, back tail back heel, fakie tre down 11, noseslide front shuv and others is the making of a true classic. Nicely tainted with his trademark style, you see what you expect to be done done better, and what you don't expect done perfectly. Surprise and amazement coupled with his history, his status, the song, filming, and the possibility of finality = the perfect part, the perfect ender, and the undeniable mark of a legend that should leave marks on the minds of skaters for the next decade at least.