Recent No Complys #3: Vince Duran

I've been becoming a fan of Surprise Skateboards lately and it's because of guys like Vince Duran. When he released this Spring Cleaning only a few weeks ago, I knew it was "throwaway" footage, but for some wild reason, I've watched this quite a few times since then. His last pair of clips are two big reasons why I keep coming back for more (starting at . Vince takes the no comply to new heights with a barrier step hop (sidenote props to Dane Brady for also working his magic with this realm of trickery). Not only does that push help get him up there, but he powers the board up and over a fence! If that's not enough, doing it switch better be. Sure he throws a grab in there but that just adds some flair, the cherry on top to an already astonishing treat. (After already forcing the board up switch, being able to control it on the way down with no grab would be a pretty remarkable feat. Challenge anyone?) The dedication to the passersby is also priceless. Between the finger point and the cascading golden hair, the Austyn Gillette resemblance is undeniable.

Speed Demons #4: Austyn Gillette

Austyn Gillette definitely has one of the smoothest styles in skateboarding. But what makes it so much steezier is the fact that he skates super fast and still manages to make everything looks so debonair. I feel like the speed at which he skates is often overlooked simply because everyone is in awe about his style or pop or terrific flick. But there's a reason why he was the feature of a video part called "Quik" (above), where you can see some of Austyn's greatest pushes - regular and switch - and some great tricks at full speed. The cruising line on the sidewalk/bridge at the end is just a treat for the eyes.
One of my favorite parts of all time is Austyn in Habitat's Origin. He definitely exhibits his smooth speed in this video, particularly with the very first line. Without the need to push at all, he flies on by with an alley-oop back 180 up some stairs right into a fakie big flip over and across a long manny pad, at Embarcadero I believe. Then at 2:09 he hits back to back bump to bars that show his ability to maintain speed more than anything, still a huge speed demon factor. Haven't seen much back to back action like this other than maybe Boo Johnson with his ollie, front 360 but on mellower bump to bars or Brandon Westgate with his ollie, boardslide up and across. Those were both really sick clips, but Austyn was the first to my recollection of skating two bump to bars back to back. And closing off his Origin part was that enormous ollie at the Brooklyn Banks over the handrail.
In Austyn Unlimited, there are tons of clips with super fast rollaways and some downhill action that look super quick but also very easy for Austyn. To pick out a few tricks, the landing on the long front board at 1:55 really shows that he's going a lot faster than you'd think. At 2:34 he stretches out a really long ollie between two curb-like platforms and then follows that clip up with a speedy switch ollie over a wide patch of grass. Then at 3:16, Austyn puts down a very solid (and underrated) mark in the streets of San Fran with a sweet back 360 over a bank to bank walkway by some houses.
For more fast skating from Mr. Gillette, you can check out his part in Cosmic Vomit 2, where the first two lines in particular are rather rapid. Then, without exaggeration, I'd say every clip from Austyn in the Huf Stoops Euro Tour, conveniently compiled by some dedicated fan for watching Austyn exclusively here, involves a good deal of speed that you don't typically see with your average skater. But the super long ollies at 0:24 over the Southbank up-ledge and at 1:08 across a banked set of stairs are prime examples of the flowy speed that Austyn so effortlessly skates with.

Mid-Line Trick #3: Fakie Heelflip - Austyn Gillette

The fakie heelflip used to be very scarcely seen in video parts, especially in the middle of a line because it was just a bit too awkward (at least from my experience) for what theoretically should be a basic trick. This past year or so though I've seen the fakie heel come up really well along with the overall trick versatility of skaters, such as Jordan Maxham, Neen, Flo Mirtain, and I remember a nice one from T-Funk's welcome part too. So to use it as one of the most memorable mid-line tricks might seem a bit cheap; then again, when Austyn Gillette does it like in his opening line for Cosmic Vomit 2 (above) it certainly changes things. From the song that makes you want to turn up right away to the smooth 180 down a large set to start the line, and especially when Austyn points at someone ahead right before the fakie heel with an enviable confidence, the build up for the fakie heel gives the same feeling like your favorite basketball player driving through the lane about to posterize the measly defender in the paint. Oh and it sure helps that Austyn has one of the sweetest styles, mixing high pop and a sick flick. The loose trucks swerving away as he lands the fakie heel and the couple powerful switch pushes afterwards just keeps adding goodness to this line all around, so by the time he switch tres down the second set the levels of stoke are already pretty high.

Best Music for a Part #4: Future Islands

A lot of types of indie/rock music seem to work rather well in skateboarding. Whether it's the beats that tricks are landed to or the memorable melodies that climax with a banging trick, something about this genre brings out the right vibes in a skate video. One band that seems to have a solid collection of video parts is Future Islands.
I first remember hearing Future Islands through Austyn Gillette's awesome Unlimited part last year (above). As soon as images of Austyn's travels start popping up with the opening beat and entertaining jingle of "Tin Man", you're instantly captivated. From the start, as the part was advertised to be, you can tell that the next 7 minutes are going to be a visual journey simply from the tune and the visuals. (To add to that, Austyn came out with some pretty incredible skating as well, which is why this part turned out so great all around.) The first major change in chords around 1:56 accompanies Austyn's super long front board very well: "as time goes by..." so does Austyn sliding along the rail. The rest of the part is extremely well-edited and keeps this very appealing theme throughout it all, the music keeping you in a trance as Austyn smoothly and powerfully skates by.
Now the first time most people probably heard of Future Islands was with their song "Balance" through this part from Jason Park. Creativity, style, insane board control, etc. You name it, Jason Park has it. If only this guy could continue producing footage like this in the skateboarding spotlight. Personally, I first heard this same song in Lakai's "A Postcard from Paris" feature. Much like in Unlimited, the song works well here with the beautiful scenery and adds to the well-edited piece. Between the spots and the skating from the sick Lakai crew, Future Islands knows how to bring out the cheerful vibes from videos like this.
While browsing the many videos online over the past year or so I came upon this clip of Steve Stinson skating in his hometown park in Mililani, HI. The edit was to Future Islands' "Close to None" and again works very well. Some cool editing effects and very solid park skating from Steve are made very graceful and majestic with the song's melody and consistent bass.
Also, Joey Brezinski dropped an incredible part for Cliche's Bon Voyage this past spring. (Unfortunately I think all videos of that part were taken down from the internet.) Not only were Joey's manual combos and lines yet another step up from his last part, but the whole part exuded a positive feeling because of Future Islands' "Vireo's Eye". It's a very upbeat song and complements Joey's constant flipping in or shove-itting out of manuals and such. Bon Voyage as a whole was definitely well-edited (shoutout to Boris Proust!) but this was a stand out part for sure.

Switch Backside Kickflips #3: Austyn Gillette

I shouldn't have to say how wonderful it is to watch Austyn Gillette skate.  His style is insanely fluid and graceful and his pop, flick, and overall trick flicking is just a thing of beauty. Ok, now that the obvious is out of the way...
Austyn has a very good switch backside flip, to say the least. With his ability to pop (just look at the trick done over the Maloof High Ollie bar with a casual little light footed hop after landing) and his ability to skate super fast so nonchalantly (like all throughout his Quik part but in particular at 4:17 when he speedily switch backside flips over a huge street hip while basically going downhill the whole time), Austyn comes out with a trick that looks way too comfortable for the level of difficulty that he executes it at.  Some notable switch backside flips that I've seen from Austyn: over a steep hip at 0:32 when a couple Habitat guys traveled with Austyn in OZ, down a clean set of skatepark stairs at 1:40 in his Street League Selection extended edit, and at 0:33 over a fire hydrant in his latest Real Street part.
But with a style like Austyn's, I have to place further emphasis on a few of the sweetest switch backside flips I've seen from him.  Austyn's part in Habitat's Origin, one of my favorite video parts of all time for sure, showcases his great use of speed and flick at 4:30 when he switch backside flips across a super long dirt patch, over a wall, and then down a small gap after all that. You can tell visually by the quickness that he moves away from the camera just how fast he was going and how long that gap must be. As referenced yesterday with Blake Carpenter, Austyn also participated in a very entertaining and impressive Battle Royale at the Berrics, where at 1:15 Austyn lands a beauty of a switch backside flip. The crazy thing about this is that not only was it down the Berrics' 7 stair, but he landed about 6 feet out past the last stair just for the heck of it! And to close it all off, I'd like to point to the extremely aesthetically pleasing video part above: Austyn Unlimited. The whole part is great, but it also shows Austyn's varied use of the switch backside flip. In a line starting at 3:38, Austyn's pulling out quite a few enjoyable tricks all while cruising down a nice hill. Mid-line he decides to switch backside flip (after a switch ollie and switch powerslide too) and still have enough cruising control to swerve behind a parked car and ollie back up the curb for his next trick. At 4:46 he shows the trick with a more technical control by doing it into a manual with a front 180 out on a nicely structured pad. To penultimately end his part at 5:35, Austyn drops one of my most memorable switch backside flips: in a crusty looking neighborhood, over a sketchy curving staircase's handrail, defining style with his flick and catch, and landing downhill once again so that he can roll away with that effortless posture.

UPDATE: I always remembered this particular switch backside flip over a couch from Austyn, just not where to find it. It is a thing of beauty.

Favorite Video Parts #4: Austyn Gillette - Origin

Before Austyn started turning into Dylan Rieder (with what I'd call at this point an exaggerated style, that while still more appealing than a lot of styles, hopefully doesn't reach that "too cool for anyone" status), he had an organic flow that just worked perfectly.  And back when Habitat released their video Origin, Austyn hadn't yet blown up to the big name he is today.  In fact, I'd seen relatively little footage of him at all, but the Habitat ads and short clips leading up to this part were really intriguing.  So when Austyn flies in for a quick back 180 the hard way up some stairs as the very first trick in the part, I know some sweet skating's about to go down.  I must point out the line at 0:47 because when you make a front 180  look that good, only to follow with a switch back noseblunt, you're reminded that you don't need the most stairs or most flip tricks into ledge combos to make skating exciting.  A beautiful heelflip at 1:59 balances out the trick selection, and the double bump to bars at 2:10 blew my mind at first as to how he can keep his speed and composure through the second one.  The line at 3:10 is what made me an Austyn fan, iconifying the concept that less is more.