and Morgan Smith is on it:
Everything done proper. Not the technical masterpiece of Ronnie Creager's BANGIN', but when you can huck perfect switch fs flips over hubbas, duplicate your tre lines and bigflips down sets, slide nollie fs flip tailslide flip outs, manhandle some manuals and properly switch varial flip, it's hard to ignore the level of skill and diversity the flip-trick-fiend possesses. Balance, pop, style, tricks.... and nollie flip nosegrind 180s. Id say the Berrics park is now, in Culpeper terms, 'killt' (like our park) but every time I think that something like this happens.
Hopefully an appearance on the Berrics will boost Morgan's popularity. Other than Creager I'd peg him as the most talented still on Blind, noting his Blind Video debut part as evidence. Unfortunately, the only drawback to this clip is the disturbing Akon/Lil Wayne collaboration. Possibly aiming to get him more coverage with soundtrack popularity, I'm not a fan of the track, or Lil Wayne (or Akon, for that matter) being paired with skateboarding in any way. Particularly professionally.
Hopefully, he has arrived. The man is a monster on that toy beneath his feet.
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Sunday, October 10, 2010
Let's Do Pootube
Several items on my several week hiatus list:
-Jimmy Carlin
-Leo Romero
-Transworld's last voiceover fluke rediscovered
FIRST off, Leo Romero, as time has shown since Stay Gold's release, seems to possess the underground favorite part, arguably tied with B-Herms. Leo delivered nicely on the mouth-watering promises of his RVCA part, and managed to up the interesting factor based on some questionable footage tactics most part-makers have avoided since the late 90s. Whenever you start out a part with the most massive handrail nosebluntslide I have seen, you're in good graces. Especially when said handrail trick is followed by several flawless flatland tricks, without slowing down. Now, I do wish there was more flip trick variety, other than a switch fs flip and something else which escapes my memory. They lacked the visual appeal of his other skating, minus the switch 180/nosegrind nollie heel line on the picnic tables, which would have been exceptional except for the fact that his part fell AFTER Herman's. Szfranski also suffered from the picnic table syndrome with his nosegrind nollie flip, but he is not the focus right now (although it should be noted that if you watch his Baker 3 part, he pretty much follows the formula of go-to tricks throughout his Emerica part). However, amongst highlights is his nosegrind nollie big heel on the same table, which fits nicely behind the aforementioned line. Anyways, the real gold of his part is his ability to do multiple hammers on the same tremendous rail (read kickflip front 5050 and back 180 nosegrind, front 5-0 and front feeble, and the ending massacre). Gapping out to front feeble is an affair still in it's infancy, in fact gapping out to rails seems limited to 5-0s, 5050s, board, lip and noseslides, and crooks. The feeble/smith/noseblunt/nosegrind era may well be ushered in due solely to Leo, if my predictions are not far off. Doesn't speak poorly for the tricks that they were executed perfectly, and in the seventh gear of hauling-ass. A somewhat surprising secondary trend in his part, considering his internet fame cornerstone, was his up-the-rail proficiency. The crook up the red rail was undoubtedly amazing, and his nosegrind pop out was a favorite. The ending 5050 was mind-blowing, but lacked a smooth practicality that skateboarding so often favors (hence why Richie Jackson is not a top pro, and Mullen/Freestyle has fallen by the wayside). Considering Collin Provost and Brandon Westgate's ability to go up rails as well, I somewhat expected Leo to begin upping the ante (if 5050ing up a famous handrail isn't considered such a move) with at least some technicality. Either way, pop, rail proficiency, and his from-the-ground-up approach to handrails negates his considerable lack of flip trick hucking and other-wise technicality into what may well be a run at Skater Of The Year. Who knows. I'd pick Reynolds, considering the effort he put in to each clip, but skate politics are wonky sometimes.
Since Stay Gold isn't on youtube, here's RVCA and his Baker Has a Deathwish part with the beautifully filmed stalefish and several of the rails from his Stay Gold part:
Note the nosegrind up the bank, which I'm wondering if it was from the same day as his Emerica nosegrind nollie flip.
STALEFISH
SECOND on the menu, a Jimmy Carlin ditty I watched a while back. The kooky dude is an unsung and underestimated skill-wizard, probably daunted by his shoe sponsor and Mystery's formerly black and white view of the world. Note the fakie hardflip in a line, fakie 360 heel switch manny, and the ending clip. Who does such tricks so cleanly? No other.
Lastly, in watching the last undertaking of the Jon Holland/Jason Hernandez TWS duo (and also the last TWS video to have the constantly protested and lame segments of voiced-over sentimentality), I noticed a distinct level of modernity that gets lost in the lack of significant bangers, the shitty soundtrack, boring titles and trendy/forgettable editing. This is not to bash on more recent films; however, you can see where the Transworld videos since this one (And Now, Right Foot Forward, Hallelujah) have gotten their rhyme and reason. The artsy shots, speedy lifestyle and scenic shots, general happiness/brotherhood aura.... all first established in Let's Do This. Lost in the slur of failure by the dwindling partnership is the moderately exciting throwaway Clint Peterson part, some ledge-maneuvering precedent to Fully Flared by Peter Smolik, a hell of a part by the stylish little Calloway ninja, and a hell of a montage. Guzman and Brown have solid parts, but lack cohesion and true jaw-dropping nature, which is where Peterson's part prevails (cohesion, cohesion, cohesion!). Yet the true gem of the video is a tie between Calloway and the montage (which is not on youtube?)..... See below.
Calloway:
The point of all this is to highlight how much the Transworld videos have evolved just in the past seven years since implementing the annual system of release. Also, although hard to watch all the way through without falling asleep, each part from Let's Do This would be a solid internet part these days. Look up the other ones not posted here, take a second to enjoy the forgotten TWS 'masterpiece' *cough cough*. Cool vid, albeit a bit boring, but definitely had some good stuff in it, especially for it's time.
-Jimmy Carlin
-Leo Romero
-Transworld's last voiceover fluke rediscovered
FIRST off, Leo Romero, as time has shown since Stay Gold's release, seems to possess the underground favorite part, arguably tied with B-Herms. Leo delivered nicely on the mouth-watering promises of his RVCA part, and managed to up the interesting factor based on some questionable footage tactics most part-makers have avoided since the late 90s. Whenever you start out a part with the most massive handrail nosebluntslide I have seen, you're in good graces. Especially when said handrail trick is followed by several flawless flatland tricks, without slowing down. Now, I do wish there was more flip trick variety, other than a switch fs flip and something else which escapes my memory. They lacked the visual appeal of his other skating, minus the switch 180/nosegrind nollie heel line on the picnic tables, which would have been exceptional except for the fact that his part fell AFTER Herman's. Szfranski also suffered from the picnic table syndrome with his nosegrind nollie flip, but he is not the focus right now (although it should be noted that if you watch his Baker 3 part, he pretty much follows the formula of go-to tricks throughout his Emerica part). However, amongst highlights is his nosegrind nollie big heel on the same table, which fits nicely behind the aforementioned line. Anyways, the real gold of his part is his ability to do multiple hammers on the same tremendous rail (read kickflip front 5050 and back 180 nosegrind, front 5-0 and front feeble, and the ending massacre). Gapping out to front feeble is an affair still in it's infancy, in fact gapping out to rails seems limited to 5-0s, 5050s, board, lip and noseslides, and crooks. The feeble/smith/noseblunt/nosegrind era may well be ushered in due solely to Leo, if my predictions are not far off. Doesn't speak poorly for the tricks that they were executed perfectly, and in the seventh gear of hauling-ass. A somewhat surprising secondary trend in his part, considering his internet fame cornerstone, was his up-the-rail proficiency. The crook up the red rail was undoubtedly amazing, and his nosegrind pop out was a favorite. The ending 5050 was mind-blowing, but lacked a smooth practicality that skateboarding so often favors (hence why Richie Jackson is not a top pro, and Mullen/Freestyle has fallen by the wayside). Considering Collin Provost and Brandon Westgate's ability to go up rails as well, I somewhat expected Leo to begin upping the ante (if 5050ing up a famous handrail isn't considered such a move) with at least some technicality. Either way, pop, rail proficiency, and his from-the-ground-up approach to handrails negates his considerable lack of flip trick hucking and other-wise technicality into what may well be a run at Skater Of The Year. Who knows. I'd pick Reynolds, considering the effort he put in to each clip, but skate politics are wonky sometimes.
Since Stay Gold isn't on youtube, here's RVCA and his Baker Has a Deathwish part with the beautifully filmed stalefish and several of the rails from his Stay Gold part:
Note the nosegrind up the bank, which I'm wondering if it was from the same day as his Emerica nosegrind nollie flip.
STALEFISH
SECOND on the menu, a Jimmy Carlin ditty I watched a while back. The kooky dude is an unsung and underestimated skill-wizard, probably daunted by his shoe sponsor and Mystery's formerly black and white view of the world. Note the fakie hardflip in a line, fakie 360 heel switch manny, and the ending clip. Who does such tricks so cleanly? No other.
Lastly, in watching the last undertaking of the Jon Holland/Jason Hernandez TWS duo (and also the last TWS video to have the constantly protested and lame segments of voiced-over sentimentality), I noticed a distinct level of modernity that gets lost in the lack of significant bangers, the shitty soundtrack, boring titles and trendy/forgettable editing. This is not to bash on more recent films; however, you can see where the Transworld videos since this one (And Now, Right Foot Forward, Hallelujah) have gotten their rhyme and reason. The artsy shots, speedy lifestyle and scenic shots, general happiness/brotherhood aura.... all first established in Let's Do This. Lost in the slur of failure by the dwindling partnership is the moderately exciting throwaway Clint Peterson part, some ledge-maneuvering precedent to Fully Flared by Peter Smolik, a hell of a part by the stylish little Calloway ninja, and a hell of a montage. Guzman and Brown have solid parts, but lack cohesion and true jaw-dropping nature, which is where Peterson's part prevails (cohesion, cohesion, cohesion!). Yet the true gem of the video is a tie between Calloway and the montage (which is not on youtube?)..... See below.
Calloway:
The point of all this is to highlight how much the Transworld videos have evolved just in the past seven years since implementing the annual system of release. Also, although hard to watch all the way through without falling asleep, each part from Let's Do This would be a solid internet part these days. Look up the other ones not posted here, take a second to enjoy the forgotten TWS 'masterpiece' *cough cough*. Cool vid, albeit a bit boring, but definitely had some good stuff in it, especially for it's time.
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