California Street Gap

I've been looking forward to a High Five set of tricks at this street gap and the time has come! @theclintorous kickflip from Ambig's Modern Art (2013) @the__provider frontside flip from Emerica's MADE Ch. 1 B-Sides (2014) @rileyhawk heelflip from Shep Dawgs Vol. 4 (2014) @tfunkb late shove from DC Shoes' Lynx Vulc / Trace S (2016) @enzo_cautela varial heelflip from Bones Wheels part (2017) #skatehighfives #streetgap #skatenerd

A post shared by @skateboardinghighfives on Apr 7, 2017 at 6:14pm PDT

I don't know what this street gap is called, but it sure is recognizable. I'm sure a couple other tricks have been landed here as well, but after Enzo Cautela came out with his Bones Part recently, this High Five had to be posted! Each and every one of these tricks blew my mind when it first came out, considering how fast they have to be towed in to clear the gap. I vaguely remember some Hall of Meat or bail clip at this spot too, proving that not just anyone can mess with it. Well here are 5 of the sickest dudes out with their noteworthy contributions to this heavy gap!

Bank over Fence Tricks

A video posted by @skateboardinghighfives on Nov 16, 2015 at 8:34pm PST

With the #CraziestFrontsideFlip in question, it's worth revisiting the high five tricks powerfully floated over what shouldn't be but now is a very tall fence spot.

1. Anthony Schultz - ollie - Pro Part for Slave (2011)

Starting it all off with what seemed to be jaw-droppingly impossible, Anthony Schultz clears this beast to cap off a terrific going pro part (4:14).

2. Dolan Stearns - frontside 180 - Lurkville's Meet The Lurkers (2013)

Dolan Stearns put out one of the best parts in the last few years with this video and shocked me way too many times with his gnarliness and speed. When a frontside 180 over this behemoth of a gap is in the middle of your part, you know you're doing something right (3:30).

3. Jordan Hoffart - kickflip - Stereophonic Sound Vol. 14 (2014)

So at this point, an ollie and a 180 are somewhat acceptable, in terms of possibility. The board stays under your feet the whole time, you just need an insane amount of power and speed. Still ridiculously gnarly. But who else than Jordan Hoffart to up the ante and truly make this a "spot" by kickflipping over this tall fence (2:37)? (Side note, Jordan has "upped the ante" on plenty of spots over the course of many years in his parts. I still don't know why he's not at some legendary status by now...)

4/5. Jordan Hoffart - frontside kickflip - Berrics part (2015)

A video posted by The Berrics (@berrics) on Nov 6, 2015 at 10:51am PST

How can Jordan one-up himself on what shouldn't even be a spot?! This dude knows how to go fast and big really really well.

4/5. Collin Provost - frontside kickflip - Instagram footage (2015)

A video posted by Collin Provost (@the__provider) on Nov 15, 2015 at 11:49am PST

A video posted by Collin Provost (@the__provider) on Nov 15, 2015 at 3:59pm PST

So when the Berrics presented Jordan's video part, they accompanied his insane ender by offering an Instagram contest for one's #CraziestFrontsideFlip. It just so happened that Collin Provost (who has already MADE one of the craziest frontside flips ever) had filmed a frontside flip over the exact same fence! The question on everyone's minds: who did it first? Jordan's video part was released before Collin's Instagram proof, yet some sleuthing with Jordan's reaction to the footage implies that Collin actually filmed his trick first. Regardless, both are beyond impressive and will go down together in skate history.


UPDATE: It seems like Collin Provost had a little something to prove to Jordan Hoffart, and he most definitely proves it in his short but oh-so-sweet part in Emerica's Made Chapter Two, closing off the part with a stunning hardflip over this same fence [complete with a skate-nerd-satisfyingly inadvertent tail tap on the fence]. Victory: Provost.

Video of the Week: LEM VILLEMIN IS PRO FOR CLICHE!

It's about time! Lem's pro part is the one we've been waiting for since Diagonal, and watching it is nothing short of cathartic. From back in his Chocolate days to now with Cliche through Bon Voyage, everyone's been rooting for Lem to turn pro and that day has finally come. His majestic flick and catch have just gotten better in time and it's a really wonderful thing to see his name on the bottom of a board for one of my favorite companies. Congrats Lem!

This week was heavy in skate videos, so here are the other top selections:
Collin Provost's new Emerica MADE B-Sides are gnarly as expected and also feature essentially a full new part from him. I thought Clint Walker's kickflip was nuts, but Collin takes it to a whole new level with this ender.
Leo Heinert is introduced as the first rider for TORRO with a part full of quick-footed East Coast shredding like I've never seen. His addition (2:38) to the NYC Courthouse Ledge drop along with those recently from the Supreme kids' in Cherry [spoilers] pretty much give the finger to my older post, which is sick!
I've heard of Jaakko Ojanen before through random park clips, but this new street part is simply insane: skating fast, incorporating a huge bag of tricks, and hitting some of the gnarliest spots.
Two Up is a pretty heavy two-part video with ripping Australians Nick Boserio and Alex Campbell, each coming through with very unique styles to cement in your head if they weren't there already.
Joe Gavin's new video part for Grey Skate Mag shows him shredding the grittiest and roughest streets you can think of with some of the sickest pole jams.
Moose's "extra" footage is still full of casual hammers, a relaxing blend of chill vibes and gnarly tricks.
Bryant Chapo is killing it for FKD.

To get everyone hyped up for their upcoming video parts (two for Vans and one for Outliers), Chris Pfanner drops a mini part for Red Bull, Nassim Guammaz has a gnarly prequel Vans part, and Brad Cromer reminds us how naturally skilled he is by dropping a sweet iPhone part for Doom Sayer.

Some other things worth checking out:
Kingpin did a really nice article on 11 no-push lines that are definitely worth remembering.
Skateboarding Makes the World Go Round is full of incredible Brazilian skating at an assortment of locations around the world with some unheard-of guys mixed with some stars too.

Euro/Ditch Frontside Flips #1: Collin Provost

 

This was one of the craziest things I've seen in a while. I thought Anthony Schultz and Chad Bartie already stretched skating over full fences to its limits, but Collin Provost's ender from Emerica MADE goes above and beyond with an insane frontside flip over a seemingly-impossible Euro/Ditch gap. You know it's enormous when just about everyone else skates the lip of the ditch. If you haven't seen his part in MADE or the whole video for that matter, get the DVD and get on it ASAP!

Video of the Week: Emerica MADE

Emerica MADE: Chapter One

Let the skating speak for itself.