Switch 360 Flip Lipslide #2: Guy Mariano

Guy Mariano is a legend. You all know his story, so there's no reason in trying to explain it (and probably not do it justice) when it's already cemented in this iconic character's skating. Guy's progressed unbelievably through his short but impactful list of video parts, and has been at the forefront of progression in skateboarding in general. His epic part in Pretty Sweet was groundbreaking without a doubt, but not the focus for this week's topic. Although, before getting there, I do need to shoutout two pretty sweet tricks that are definitely related to this week's subject: the switch 360 shove it lipslide and the spectacular ender, both of which I genuinely don't think anyone else has done to this extent before. But anyways, if Guy can manage these miraculous tricks, then it's fitting that he is also part of the Switch 360 Flip Lipslide club...which he joined 7 years ago! After about an 11 year hiatus, Guy made the comeback of the century with his part in Fully Flared. And at 6:47 in the part above, you can see exactly just how Guy executed what is likely the first documented switch tre lip in history. It never hurts to back up some of your finest moments later on either, so that the world can watch a master at work, again and again and again.

Video of Last Week: Lucas Puig and Stephen Khou in Something Sinister

Last week was one of the craziest weeks in terms of video parts released online, so I apologize for the late posting (almost a week late) but I finally got a concise and really gnarly group of videos of the week.

Top honors goes to one of my top favorites: Lucas Puig. His shared part in Something Sinister was the perfect display of nonchalant, stylish technical skating that you'd want in any video. There's a reason why Lucas is one of my favorites, and it's not the first name. It's the fact that he, in my opinion, has the illest style out there and makes all these ledge tricks look so good. I think the leaves caught in his trucks at 1:48 (on a switch front tail heelflip out to switch nonetheless) pretty much sum up the demeanor of how he filmed this part. Stephen Khou killed it too with some pretty tight tricks, but my boy Lucas shut it down! I can't wait till my DVD of the full video comes in.

I would love to write a paragraph for every one of these following videos because they were all that great, but I'll keep it short:

Walker Ryan - A Far Walk From Home - video parts from my two top favorites in one week!? too good to be true! Oh and pairing Walker with Patrik Wallner is a match made in heaven.
Primitive Skateboards - Paul Rodriguez, Nick Tucker, and Carlos Ribeiro team up in one of the heaviest announcements in a while, and based on the jaw-droppers in this intro video, things are going to get heavy.
Karsten Kleppan - Lakai Welcomes this Norwegian with an absolutely shredtastic video part full of super fast skating at a bunch of sick street spots.
Jay Meador - Something Sinister - Jay oozes style (a common thread in Something Sinister it seems) and makes this part a blast to watch.
Jaws - Happy Medium 3 - Just when you think Jaws needs to ice bath for about a year, he ups the ante once again in both skating tranny and deadly drops.
Andrew Reynolds - Varial Heel Hollywood High - The persistence and determination needed for this trick is beyond anything most of us could imagine, but leave it up to The Boss to not accept anything but perfection.
GX1000 - Moving Violation - This will no doubt make you want to go skate in the streets right now and just cause shenanigans with your homies.
Brick City Street Styles - Living in Newark right now, I had no idea how much I was really missing out on until this great all-Newark video came out.

Video of the Week: Fletcher Renegar - TWS Video Check Out

It was a tough choice for Video of the Week this week between Mike Davis' Independent Raw Ams part and Fletcher Renegar's Video Check Out at Transworld (above). Mike Davis absolutely killed it with a really sick style and some rather incredible tricks. I was beyond pumped to see his big heel noseblunt be taken to a street spot and slid a bit as well at 2:28. Then there was the Suciu-esque back noseblunt front 270 out on an out-ledge (2:40), the large switch big flip (3:03), and the switch frontside 540 shove it (2:55). Honestly one of the sickest parts of 2014 so far and it makes me so hopeful for a full length Birdhouse video with their underratedly amazing crew.
But I have to give video of the week to Mr. Renegar. His trick selection is so varied that the whole part felt very refreshing, mixing some common tricks with clean execution to some tricks that jumped out (like the body varial at 2:06 or the nose manual at 1:54). The flick on the nollie tre at 2:32 looked rather flimsy but it's those little nuances that make clips like that memorable. And then there's his switch handrail skating, which was pretty spectacular if you ask me. The ender back lip 3 shove takes a relatively common (using that term loosely) trick to a whole new platform, with the bumpy knob just adding to the gnarliness. Definitely looking out for more footage from Fletcher in the future.

Birdhouse has another sick rider in John Hill, whose latest video part with Split and Birdhouse shows his very tight switch skating to compliment his regular tricks. Dylan Williams also had a Raw Ams part this week with some really nice tech skating edited to a song I enjoy a lot with skate videos. Jon Sciano was introduced to Lakai with this feature for the Fura as he flies through the streets with raw clips. Mike Krok had a Mag Minute with some stylish tricks and cool handrail tricks.

In other news:
-Nixon took a superb crew of skaters through Sicily
-Ryan Townley ripped and dipped pretty hard
-Yonnie Cruz had a short, sweet, and raw street part for Incognito.
-Filmer/Skater Georgie Tsushima satisfied my love for uncut footage
-French Fred and Javier Mendizabal connect for this beautifully shot piece introducing Javi to Cons
-Steve Forstner and others come through for a nice European part

And lastly, I would like to highlight this short documentary piece called Land of Marble. A skatepark was made entirely out of marble in Pietrasanta, a town along Italy's Western coast. With my own family ties to Italy and the skater's dream of all marble everything, this was pretty cool to watch. And it includes a good dosage of ripping skating as well.

Best Music for a Part #2: Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros

When you look at the number of skate videos that have used songs by Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros (who I will call ESTMZ for short here) on Skatevideosite.com, the long list is quite stunning. But there's a reason for the madness (pun intended as Kenny Hoyle will explain) because ESTMZ simply produces great music for skate videos. Mixing qualities that make videos memorable and epic at the same time, the music makes you feel happy while watching the skating but excited too for the trick progression throughout the part.
If I remember correctly, the first time I heard ESTMZ was the heavily-used-in-skate-video song "40 Day Dream" through Addie Fridy's Mag Minute. The part came out a good 3/4 years ago I think but The Skateboard Mag re-released it this year. What caught me off guard was just how many bangers Addie kept coming out with, even in the quieter verse of the song. The slo-mo's near the end of his Mag Minute matched the hype from the good-feeling refrain and the double-take on his nutty ender goes hand-in-hand with the double-take on the final words: "Ohhh oh, I could die". (What's crazy to me is that while this part is pretty old by now, for these day's terms, it's still super gnarly. I'm surprised Addie is just now coming up on flow with Expedition.)
My second experience with "40 Day Dream" was through RVK's Younited Nations entry to the Berrics a few years back. But the defining video part for this song would be Kenny Hoyle's turning pro part in Expedition's Madness. The introduction as Rob Welsh leaves Kenny in the dirt to shovel out his first pro model is ideal: short enough that you don't start begging for the skating to be back, funny with the solid acting from the Expedition crew, and meaningful enough to the unleashing of the new pro. Kenny's few stomps on the dirt patch covering his board cue the fade in of the music, which slowly amplifies to Kenny's opening line of buttery ledge tricks. The first "Ahhh-ah!" at about 1:38 is timed out perfectly with Kenny's line in that clip: a sick flick on a nollie tre and a cruising no comply together build up with the music and then unleash with a huge frontside half cab flip at full energy. The held out "yeahh" at 3:55 on the varial heel across the long Chinese street gap works really well. But probably my favorite clip is right after when Kenny switch heelflips into a manual and the music momentarily is silent, suspending the suspense perfectly only to have Kenny switch 360 flip out! That culmination of excitement was too awesome so that every one of Kenny's following bangers is just made that much better. The quick cut to black after his ender and the short cut off on the music also leave that stunned feel as to what just went down.
ESTMZ's radio-popular song "Home" was featured in Lakai's Am I Am feature, with Vincent Alvarez, Riley Hawk, Raven Tershy, and Daniel Espinoza. The song was the last song used and goodness did it do a great job of closing out the video. The skating by these four dudes was heavy (enough to have 3 of them be pro by now, and arguably Riley should be as well) and "Home" created that really epic feeling with every trick going down.
Walker Ryan skated to ESTMZ's "I Don't Wanna Pray" in Organika's Grow With Us. The very beginning seemed rather quiet, but as soon as the upbeat tempo starts, you just want to start snapping your fingers along with it. It helps that Walker keeps it playful with his first few clips: 180ing into a bus after landing his grind and cruising along a sick DIY bank spot and even skating some tree branches. Walker's positive attitude shows through his skating and this song could not fit better to bring that out. The whole part takes his great skating and leaves you feeling impressed and happy at the same time. When the song quiets down again at about 2:58, it highlights all of his pretty crazy manny tricks. It brings in feelings of amazement that all work up to Walker's insane switch backside flip over the bump to bar ender. Satisfaction completely guaranteed by the experience.
Lastly, with one of the most epic video parts in recent memory, Andrew Reynolds skating to ESTMZ's "Om Nashi Me" in Stay Gold (see above). The introduction fills you with pure joy: visually Reynolds skating around his backyard and playing with his daughter is complemented by the song's cheerful introductory chords. So as soon as the music builds up from the intro and Reynolds frontside half cab flips Carlsbad, you know the part's going to be magical. The song provides that really epic video feel as all the tricks are going down. After he nollie noseslides a gnarly rail at about 3:08 and gets the elated high five from Herman, the music calms down a tad. At this point, while watching Stay Gold with my friend for the first time, we literally remained speechless with our eyes glued to the screen watching legendary spot after legendary spot be crushed. The music matched the compilation of tricks in a way that left me with feelings of pure awe. And when Reynolds kickflips the UC Davis gap at the end, the final melodies from "Om Nashi Me" make the kickflip feel like the battle has been won and celebration is in order. Exactly how an epic video part should conclude.

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 #1: Lucas Puig

Lucas Puig is my other top favorite skater with Walker Ryan, and even though there might be some first-name bias in there, just about every aspect about him is unquestionably a factor to being my favorite skater. Asides from the heavy bag of tricks, one of the best natural styles in skating, and the photogenic European backdrop for his skating, Lucas always exudes those good vibes in his videos combining just the right amount of motivation for landing tricks with equal amounts of just having fun and messing around.
Besides that, when I first started getting into skateboarding I looked up skaters names Lucas and obviously found this guy. It just so happened to be a little after the release of Fully Flared. Of course I found Lucas's part and I instantly remembered his switch backside flip over the rail at 1:38. Not only was the trick in itself a complete shocker to me at the time, but the perfect landing and unwinding of his arms with the roll away was permanently ingrained into my memory. At 2:51, Lucas starts off a real OG line to match the song change with a switch backside flip there down some stairs followed by precision tricks in a very flowy line. It's hard to explain why I could watch that trick from Lucas all day, but when something is aesthetically pleasing as that it usually doesn't have an explanation. One thing I do know is that I've seen a good amount of ever-so-slight variations in the style of Lucas's trick throughout his video parts and clips, which makes the unpredictability of how the trick will appear that much more appealing.
To show even more of Lucas's mastery of the trick, here are some random web clips that include it:
At 0:27 in the Unseen Fully Flared Clips from French Fred, Lucas switch backside flips from kicker to kicker with yet another gorgeous demonstration of the trick. With his Helas homies in the DALAVAS Throwaway footage, Lucas switch backside flips at 0:26 off a kicker and over a street sign twice, because perfection comes in twos of course. In the Adidas at LES NYC clip, he pops a real nice one at 1:50 over the big apple.
Now take a look at Lucas's solid history of video parts, mostly through Cliche:
In Bon Appetit, he nails one at 3:32 over a crusty looking street gap. In Cle, Lucas pops a really solid switch backside flip at 3:55 over picnic table, something I don't remember seeing at all in the latest picnic table trick craze. And then at 3:59 he tweaks the trick out with his own personal touch over the hip of a steep bank. For La Cliche Promo, Lucas shows that he can handle this trick down some pretty tall stairs (and over a rail even) at 1:24 with elegant stomping of the trick, and then take it to the tech side too at 8:08 out of a switch back tail at Venice Beach. In Lucas's Kurds Are My Heroes part (above) he beautifully executes a switch backside flip in the middle of the line at 4:57 over yellow trash can, and then getting even more tech than before by switch backside flipping into a 5-0 grind super close to the wall at 5:18 for his ender. In his TWS Pro Spotlight Video he does the trick over at 1:35 over a California rail and across a sick street gap at 2:39. And most recently in Bon Voyage, Lucas switch backside flips over a flatground block to start a line (which ends with a back smith backside flip!), all the while skating very smoothly and speedily. Later on he switch backside flips a gritty street gap in camo pants, further proving that he is the king of his own style.