Wednesday, September 18, 2013

Return to the Radar #3: Tom Knox

This was the first time I had ever heard of Tom Knox.  Seeing that he rides for Emerica and Blueprint (at the time), there had to be something special about him.  So when the two brands collaborated for this introductory part, I was very impressed at this Londoner's extremely quick feet and spontaneous street style. The edit is fast paced and every clip matches that pace because Tom somehow manages to throw tricks on obstacles immediately after landing a previous trick.  The first line at 0:15 is a good example of how he doesn't stop in between tricks but seems to start setting his feet up as he lands the trick before.  It takes this precision skill set to pull off a line like at 0:41, navigating through the narrow alley without losing any control of his position.  (Just look at this fun clip of Tom skating on a moving train, weaving in and out of the support poles, recovering from veering off to the sides with an alertness I can only relate to Mark Suciu's.)  Quick feet allows Tom to pull of his body varial at 0:57, which looks like he waited for the last possible instant to actually twist.  The fact that Tom has a great deal of tricks and can skate just about anything (adapting perfect to his London environment) makes him that much more enjoyable to watch, not to mention the London aesthetic that never fails to please either.  Other notable tricks from this part include the tightly spaced gap to back lip at 1:47 that requires the utmost concentration in positioning to avoid the brick wall, the perfect finish to the line at 2:14 with the quick no comply off the last step, and a huge fakie ollie at 3:01 that is terrifying but the conceptual simplicity of the trick makes it that much cooler too.
There is also his older Square One part that includes more of that quick-footedness, the precision placement and control, and an even wider array of flip tricks to show for.  The 180 up to switch backside 360 ollie at 1:38 gets me every time.  Skateboarding could definitely use some spontaneous quick footed skating like Tom's to be in the spotlight, especially when he has the beautiful and much less than perfect spots that London offers at his disposal.
Now that Isle Skateboards has officially started up after the termination of Blueprint, I really hope they are working on something as a team so that Tom Knox can again put out his great skating.

UPDATE: It slipped my mind, but I am extremely pumped for his Eleventh Hour part coming out soon!

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