Clipper #2: Ryan Decenzo

The fact that Ryan Decenzo got 4 tricks at Clipper, that just so happened to conveniently come together in pairs, all for one video part is very interesting. Then you look at the tricks themselves, and they all don't involve the most complex/tech fliptricks into grinds and whatnot. They seem relatively straightforward with just a few 180s here and there. But each trick in itself seems rather scary to commit to down a hubba like Clipper, so managing to get 4 tasteful (and in some sense creative) tricks for one part is why Ryan Decenzo is a big contributor to Clipper. Right off the bat in his Forward Slash part (above), at 5:25 you'll see the first pair of tricks: a switch front 180 to 5-0 grind with a 180 out rewinding the shoulders, followed by an ollie over the top to boardslide on the outside of the ledge. Both tricks involve a great deal of precision, but their visual simplicity makes them very appealing. Same thing at 7:01. Ryan backside 180s into a switch 50-50 down the ledge and follows that up with a frontside 180 switch crooked grind. All tricks that can be very difficult down a hubba, but that don't get out of hand with the craziness. These additions to Clipper's history definitely help make Ryan's Forward Slash part more memorable.

Clipper #3: Darrell Stanton

It should be illegal to look as casual as Darrell Stanton does on a skateboard. Being able to get 4 tricks at Clipper, including some gnarly blunt variations, all the while not shrugging a shoulder is not something you can practice. He's just naturally that graceful and managed to get 4 beautiful tricks at Clipper. 2 of those tricks were in his Roll Forever part above. At 1:11 Darrell starts off "easily" enough with a backside 5-0 back 180 out, and then gets blunted with a super steezy nollie backside noseblunt ender at 2:13. The right arm position while rolling away is priceless. There was also a cover of Thrasher back in 2002 of a regular back noseblunt from Darrell with the ultimate steeze, almost like he's just posing on the ledge. Lastly, in Free Your Mind Darrell does what seems like an impossible trick at 5:10: ollie over to front blunt. He somehow pops his way with enough control to slide the opposite side of Clipper, but despite the insane difficulty of the trick, his left arm remains as smooth in its balancing position as possible. Gnarly tricks with such style makes for remarkable tricks.

Clipper #4: Jack Curtin

Jack Curtin is definitely one of the most underrated dudes out there. His ability to skate everything from ledges to flatground and especially to rails/hubbas in any stance is really quite incredible when you think about some of the rather "tech" tricks he puts down some handrails. Hitting the big Clipper hubba is a perfect example of this: Jack has nailed 3 pretty heavy switch tricks down the famous ledge. At 2:19 in Give Me My Money Chico you can see Jack rather perfectly execute a switch backside 5-0 grind down Clipper. There's something about switch 5-0s in general that just seem so uncomfortable to handle as easily as the regular version, so Jack's fluidity with the trick is definitely awesome. Since the switch 5-0 wasn't enough, Jack grabs two more switch bangers at Clipper, both seen in his Parental Advisory part above. At 3:22 he switch kickflips into a switch backside 50-50 grind, a pretty nutty switch combo down a hubba that size, and then for his ender at 3:34 Jack somehow gets the pop and control to switch back lip the ledge. 3 heavy switch tricks at Clipper put Jack Curtin in the top 5 Clipper skaters for sure. And the story behind the switch flip back 50 for a Transworld cover is also worth hearing about, just adding to Jack's radness.

UPDATE: I just realized that I completely bypassed two other super gnarly tricks from Jack down the ledge! Apparently he also has done a nollie noseblunt down the hubba as well as another switch trick: switch crooked grind for his FTC part at 2:05. Not only are those both really gnarly but that puts Jack's collection of Clipper tricks up to 5, which definitely moves up his position in my top Clipper skaters.

Clipper #5: Forrest Edwards

After your "basic" fliptricks into grinds (kickflip, nollie heel, etc.) the 360 flip is probably the next in line for the progression and usually done to 50-50. Forrest nails what is now a standard hubba trick (especially for him) down Clipper in his One in a Million episode. This alone is a pretty solid addition to Clipper's trick history, but I'd prefer Jamie Thomas's impossible 50-50 over the 360 flip version any day. That's where Forrest comes in with the 360 flip 5-0 grind at 2:40 in his Unhinged part above. Taking the 360 flip to anything other than 50-50 seems to add a whole new dimension to the gnarliness of the trick. Being able to catch the tre and still lock in the back truck with enough control to balance through the grind is super impressive, so the steezy showboating rollaway makes it that much better. Major props to Forrest for nailing this sick trick down the famous Clipper ledge! (And for going pro for Threat after coming out with tons of crazy clips through parts like Unhinged and Wild Power)

Next Week: Clipper Ledge

Next week is going to be a good one. We'll be taking a look at a bunch of the tricks that have gone down at the Clipper Ledge in San Francisco, California. This topic was primarily inspired by Jamie Thomas's latest addition to the history of tricks with his gnarly ender in Cold War. Just to be safe and not spoil anything further, I'll just say that while the trick itself may be used a bit too frequently these days, actually thinking about doing it down something as big as Clipper makes you realize just how gnarly that trick was. The fact that it was The Chief doing it too just adds to the quality of the history at the spot.

To keep some standards for this week, I'll only be highlighting the grinds/slides done down the ledge. That isn't to say there have been some crazy tricks done OVER the ledge too. Cody Mac's switch flip from Business as Usual (2:48), Jamie Tancowny's backside flip from Strange World (1:25) which just so happens to follow a sweet kickflip front board down the ledge, and one of the highest ollies probably ever done: Milton Martinez goes over the top and down the TWO sets at Clipper! Then there's Eli Reed and Richie Jackson getting creative and doing some footplants, Eli in his Real Street part (0:52) and Richie in this older Pig Wheels ad.
Now for some mention-worthy grind/slide tricks done down Clipper. There's James Hardy in Since Day One with his scary front 180 to switch 50-50 the hard way, Nyjah Huston's hammer of a hardflip back 5-0 from his Last Call part from last year (0:30), Greg Lutzka's really awesome frontside big spin noseslide from Forward Slash, Vincent Alvarez with a crazy switch backside bluntslide back to switch from Pretty Sweet, Ishod Wair with the stylish frontside version, and then Mark Appleyard with three beautiful tricks from Sorry: switch front tail (1:28), kickflip back 5-0 (4:35), and following that with the gnarly nollie flip back 50.

I hope I'm not missing any super gnarly tricks done at Clipper, but these ones mentioned here and the ones coming this week are the ones that stick out most.

Update 6/8/15: Even though Transworld pretty much fully documented the ABD Archives at Clipper, and Thrasher helped unleash a myriad of NBDs on the spot through The Ripper at Clipper to forever cement this spot as one of the greatest in skateboarding history (RIP Clipper), I don't think Daniel Dubois' frontside 360 from his 19th Ave part was fully appreciated, or Sam Baker's crazy ledge combo on the gnarly hubba while under construction. And I almost forgot Alex Conn's gnarly nollie boardslide to fakie!

Video of the Week: Zero's Cold War

Even though I know Zero has one of the gnarliest crews in skateboarding and has built upon their legacy over the years, I wasn't ready for Cold War. Based on the 5 parts shown on Thrasher, the video takes gnarly skating to whole new levels. I said earlier in the SOTY posts that Dane Burman and Tommy Sandoval had some crazy clips in Road Less Traveled but would need outstanding parts in Cold War to be considered for SOTY. That is exactly what happened here. I won't even begin to explain their parts because I would diminish their gnarliness, but they are most definitely at the top of the contenders for SOTY 2013 after this. And it's crazy because Brockman, Cole, and Jamie all had super sick parts too, but they were just overshadowed by Dane and Tommy's inhuman destruction. These 5 parts alone are enough for an epic video but what's even better is that there's still Tom Karangelov, Ben Hatchell, Nick Boserio, and Tony Cervantes in the full video!(and possibly parts from John Rattray and Josiah Gatlyn?) So as soon as Cold War comes out on DVD I will be getting it for quite possibly one of the gnarliest and rawest videos of the year.

Besides that, Chad Tim Tim's Transmission part at Transworld was also super steezy and fun to watch; the switch back smith 360 ender was pretty ridiculous. Eniz Fazliov came out with a sick part in a video called Rabies with his Finnish homies with some really cool, crusty spots. John Dilorenzo is on an absolute tear for what I'd call the hungriest flow dude of the year. After dropping two heavy parts in Florida Daze 2 and Against the Clock, he is now being introduced to Split Clothing with this third great part of the year. I've been feeling Rowan Zorilla ever since his part in Footage Party, and this 14-minute clip of raw footage is just so entertaining to watch. Seeing some pretty sick tricks go down after some work while having a blast with the homies is what every skater should live for. And lastly, Anton Myhrvold comes through with a sweet minute and a half of stylish, well-flicked tricks for his intro to Small Wheels.

UPDATE: This was also some major news. It just fits perfectly too.

Slams #1: Jerry Hsu

Jerry Hsu is my final selection for pros with slams primarily because of his part in Stay Gold (above). The opening minute and a half and more of just bails and freakouts from Jerry edited to the singing of "some days you just can't win" is pure gold for skateboarders. We all know Jerry has had some incredible parts like in Bonus Round and Bag of Suck so his part for Stay Gold was on the shorter side but oh so sweet. LITERALLY, without exaggeration, every single trick in the part was switch minus one nollie back tail (which is still using the nose though) so it simply works to have a part of half bailing and half tricks. As weird as it sounds, watching Jerry's bails and mental breakdowns in this part provide some sort of catharsis for skaters living vicariously through him: as he falls and screams we too feel the pain and frustration, but we also get a sense of relief for not actually having to deal with those situations. Or is just me? Anyway, amidst the first minute and a half of the part, Jerry has some seriously nasty falls. The first clip provides an instant migraine as Jerry finds out what happens when you lose balance before being able to swerve away from a wall. His head hits the wall harder than I've seen anyone else bash their head through whiplash when eating it down a set of stairs. Hitting the corner of the brick wall at 0:50 gives you that instant realization of just how bad that could've been when Jerry points to the corner with a painfully exhausted look. Also, Jerry bail off of the long out ledge at 1:24 just look rough when his legs twist very awkwardly. Not to mention the harsh butt shot at 1:34 on the gap to rail.

The Stay Gold B-Sides are also worth watching for all the raw footage and extra clips that didn't make it into Jerry's part. As for bails, they're not worth spoiling in a list so watching the B-Sides in full would do Jerry and Emerica the most justice. 

Also, for some bonus carnage, Jerry's extras from Bag of Suck show some really twisted bails, particularly from 1:14 - 1:43. The bump to dumpster tumble still shocks me.