Next Week: University of New Mexico Spots

Living on the UNM campus for the summer, I'm starting to realize that Albuquerque has a really good deal of skate spots to offer. Now I'm nowhere remotely close to being an expert, but I've already looked at some well skated ditches and stair sets in the city where I can name a trick from someone's video part. But this week, I want to dedicate to the skate spots strictly on campus at UNM. For a campus that has undergone some discussion about skateboarding policies and one that actually has loads of skatestoppers all around (luckily some guys got theirs before the stoppers were implemented), there are still a bunch of spots to skate. And that doesn't even account for a great environment just to cruise around or even a buttery parking deck to bomb in the evenings. I'm still finding new spots just about every day, like the pretty fun Horseshoe spot for example, while other guys are hucking themselves down the many stairs and drops on campus. I've probably seen many more UNM spots in videos throughout the years that I never realized, simply because I had never been to New Mexico before. But seeing these spots in person now allows me to make some connections to the pros that have skated these spots in their video parts. Stay tuned throughout the week for my High Five in UNM skate spots that have been skated by the industry's best!

UPDATE: After watching Squints Mag Minute assault, I noticed two more spots right on campus that looked completely unskateable...until now. The gap out past the rail to 50-50 (1:33) on the enormous out ledge by the UNM Student Union is ridiculous. Then the taildrop 50-50 at about 2:01 is insane out-of-the-box thinking for a spot right by the Center of the Universe gap. Great work Squints!

Next Week: Best of BATB

With BATB 7 Finals night just going down on Friday, and the Berrics including a nostalgic and well-placed Top 10 moments in BATB history during the live event, I felt that a High Five of the best battles is due. As of right now, there are certain battles in mind that will definitely make the cut, but I am going through every battle I can (from all 7 BATB) before posting the High Five. So even though I probably won't be posting tomorrow, all I can say is that before the end of the week, there will be 5 posts for the greatest battles from BATB history - and probably some honorable mentions as well.

In the meantime, with a pretty epic Pros vs. Joes concept behind BATB 7, it doesn't hurt to go back through some of this year's battles, especially the recent activity from finals night: Koston vs. Luan, Sewa vs. Cody Cepeda, and the Third Place Battle. Hopefully the final will be permanently posted tomorrow...
UPDATE: ...and it was! Along with some other fun moments from Finals night.

Next Week: Switch 360 Flip Lipslide

I've slowly been putting the skaters together for a High Five on the best switch 360 flips. But as that was coming along, I noticed that the switch 360 flip lipslide club was a bit more exclusive and concise, perfect for grouping together here. The regular 360 flip lipslide has been done countless times and is even an on-lock kind of trick for a lot of skaters. Some can even take it to smith, to nosegrind, or front noseblunt with no problem, not to mention the number of 360 flip 50-50s I've seen. Now switch things up a bit and the numbers dwindle. There have been some random guys and one time publications (like Mike Crook above) documenting the evasive switch tre lip, but these aren't the ones that you'll remember forever. This week I'm going to go through 5 guys whose versions of the switch 360 flip lipslide have gone down in the books.

Just to give proper props, Jim Greco is also part of the club through his version of the trick thrown in the middle of one of the most epic (I'd say the word epic is appropriate here) parts from the past couple years. Also, Matt Miller and Wade Desarmo both have immaculate switch 360 flips in their own regard and have taken it to noseblunt and 5-0 respectively, but I don't recall either ever taking it to lipslide. If you have proof otherwise, or even of some other noteworthy switch tre lips, do leave a comment.

UPDATE (6/23/2014): Add the exciting Cliche am Max Geronzi to the club with his casual version of the trick on Instagram.

Next Week: Recent No Complys

After a while of silence, I'm happy to say that the time has come to add a new High Five to the blog! I've noticed a lot of videos lately included different variations of the no comply. Now it's definitely one of those fun tricks to have and throw in a line, and honestly it's not really the most uncommon. Even the Video of Last Week had some rad no complies thrown out there. But a few eye-catching instances have popped up (pun intended) in videos released within the last 4 weeks, sticking in my head as a strong trend. These no comply variations are worth mentioning now as a group before they're forgotten. Besides the gnarly-as-usual skating that's gone down, May 2014 should be remembered as the month of the no comply.

Now there are some individuals that do not comply on a regular and outstanding basis, whom I will eventually dedicate a High Five to down the line, but right now is meant for just that: those working their magic with the trick right now. With that said, I'll give some early shoutouts to Cory Kennedy for a couple fun and impressive variations (at 1:09 and 2:20) in his Rat Poison part and to Victor Garibay for a really sick switch one at 0:39 in his Mag Minute. Stay tuned throughout the week for 5 of the most recent memorable no comply variations!

Next Week (and maybe the week after that): Gone Skating

I didn't want this to come, but maintaining this blog with new topics every week is becoming a bit too tricky to handle. Every day you can look on skate websites and find loads and loads of new videos to occupy your time, but I started this blog to take a look at videos probably lost in the abyss of the internet and have them resurface with a new purpose. I just don't want to post a video and list a name every day without backing it up with an analysis of why it's worth watching/re-watching and why it's worth remembering within the topic for that week. And for that, I have decided at least for a little while to hold off on the weekly topics until the time comes that is actually free enough to provide quality posts for the week. My selection of Videos of the Week will keep going as a way of filtering through the packs of daily videos. But the next weekly topic that Skateboarding High Fives is built on may be in a few weeks, maybe a month, maybe a few months, maybe summer...I don't really know. As quantity is pushing down on quality of skate footage these days, I hope to provide the posts that are worth reading and watching. So while I take the time to thaw my legs out from this winter and skate a bit and focus on my other responsibilities, I'll leave it with this VX piece by Gravis, featuring Jake Johnson and Sammy Winter. If this doesn't emphasize quality over quantity, I don't know what does. 

This Week: Maintenance

Hopefully this doesn't become a biweekly blog, but again this week I'll have to sit back away from the daily posts. Until next week, enjoy Cale Nuske's part from Cliche's Deja Vu. From one of my favorite teams in skating, this guy was ripping with a smooth style, as evidenced by his compilation of footage in this video part. Another guy I could've/should've included in my Return to the Radar posts, I am beyond curious as to his whereabouts as of late. Either way, he most certainly is casually crushing it wherever he is.

Next Week: Random Teams

Skateboarding has its cliques for sure. Pretty much all deck companies define a group of close friends that will be skating together regardless of contracts. Look at DGK, Sk8mafia, or Plan B. Those are some tight knit crews and the brand image stands out because of that. On the other hand, especially with tons of new brands popping up in the industry these days, there are some teams that gather a bunch of skaters you would never expect to skate together. I always look at what Transworld's done over the years with their videos: they bring together 5/6 guys that may have only met once or twice before and have them session for a full year with each other. In no way is this a bad thing, getting skaters "out of their comfort zone". So the new brands coming out lately are blending the lines of teams within the skateboarding community, allowing us video-viewers to enjoy quite a variety of crew vibes. This week, I'll be going through my Top 5 Random Teams that are mixing together skaters from everywhere in the industry.

This Week: Maintenance

I apologize for the late posting of the Videos of the Week for last week, but better late than never. Ain't that right Plan B? Anyway, this week I'll use for some site maintenance and come back next week with a new Top 5. In the meantime, enjoy the Arcade promo of Casey Rigney.

Every time I think of Casey Rigney, I want to have him in my list of Top 5 favorite skaters. He's just so underground that unfortunately he doesn't pop up in conversation or into my head as often as some other skaters. Much like the time when I was writing about the skaters that need to Return to the Radar or the NYC Courthouse Ledge - see the last trick above. He's put out some incredible parts and has elite pop, probably the most underrated pop out there, just look at the first two ollies in the promo. And he still manages to get creative and gnarly with his pop too (like at 0:41 or 1:24 respectively). Trick selection, style, pop, and even a great spot selection, he's got it all. A new video part from him this year would be too nice.

Next Week: Name Changers

I've already gone through my Top 5 skaters with full-on Nicknames, where the nickname overrides their actual name in the industry. Side note: I feel the need to give honorable mention to Beagle - Ryan Ewing - as well because I forgot him in the original list. That's a nickname that stuck if there ever was one.
This week I thought it'd be cool to go through a Top 5 guys that actually changed their name. I'm not talking about guys like Furby, Frecks, Moose, etc. Those are distinctively nicknames because not only are most of them single titles, but there's an added playfulness to those names that you can tell isn't official whatsoever. But there are guys out there that maintain the fake first name + last name together so much that you can't tell if that's their birth name or not. Though it's not super critical when it comes to the act of skateboarding, these are nice tidbits of trivia that I thought would be cool to put together in a Top 5 list. And it'll be much clearer once these Name Changers are introduced...

Next Week: NYC Courthouse Ledge

Similar to the week dedicated to SF's Clipper hubba, this week will be all about the famous NYC Courthouse Ledge. What's awesome about this spot is that there are numerous ways to skate it, which will be explored more this week. But one thing's consistent no matter how you skate it: you're going to be taking a big drop. Quartersnacks has a nice quick rundown of the spot itself, and I plan on exploring the tricks done at this one-of-a-kind ledge. Now categorizing each post this week will not be done too specifically. It's hard to take care of Top 5 best tricks at the spot, same for top 5 skaters, so I have my own method of picking a Top 5 for this iconic spot. Stay tuned and be ready for some gnarly and memorable moments from this spot!

Next Week: Maintenance

Next week at Skateboarding High Fives, I'll be doing some blog maintenance so there won't be any posts. Hopefully the site will have some improvements by next week to better organize the Top 5's. In the meantime, enjoy Cooper Wilt's part from Almost Round 3, a frequently overlooked treasure.

Next Week: Videos to Look Forward to in 2014

Though it's already a couple weeks into the new year, there's still time to express my top 5 videos I'm looking forward to in 2014. Not much else to say except that there are definitely some big releases to be hyped for this year.

One thing to look forward to not only this year but basically the next decade or so is Mark Suciu. Technically, since I don't think there are any specific releases for Mark scheduled for 2014 yet, I'm not officially including him in this week's top 5. But that doesn't mean you shouldn't expect more quality footage from him. And loads of it. After one of the craziest years for Mark in terms of the absurd number of good parts he put out, capped off with his wonderful 8 minutes of smart skating in Search the Horizon, there's no doubt he'll impress once again in 2014. Add in the fact that he is a new professional for Habitat and there's a really good chance we'll see some incredible stuff from Mark this year.

Next Week: Pro Too Soon

Turning pro is quite possibly one of the biggest accomplishments in skating and definitely the biggest sign to tell someone "you made it" in skateboarding. It can be a very touchy subject because there are multiple viewpoints: the skater's, the board sponsor (forget anything shoe-related, board companies are where the real act of turning someone pro belongs), the board sponsor's marketing management, and the general public like us. Then you have to take into account the experience or years a skater's put into a company, his loyalty to that company, his actual level of skating and progression, his ability to produce footage at a professional level, and of course his marketability to help the company profit. The list intertwines and extends on for a while, but the basic idea is there: it's not so simple anymore to turn someone pro.
I've already gone over my top 5 skaters that have been putting in plenty of work but have been slept on in terms of going pro, not including Felipe of course now that he has finally been given the nod from Plan B. (That really is quite the hard-working-skater story if there ever was one.)
But there are some companies that have turned some guys pro WAY too soon. Whether it's just because they have some extreme marketability or the company just needs a new pro model on the shop shelves, there are a few guys in the industry that could/should arguably still be am. This week I'll give my Top 5 guys that went pro too soon.
Before that, I feel like I should mention two dudes: Riley Hawk and Dakota Servold. Both are super sick and shred extremely hard, don't get me wrong, but there's still a feeling that they haven't been around too long. It could just be my personal perspective and how I've uncovered their skating, but they both still feel a tad young in the industry. Riley, I've been hyped on since his Shep Dawgs parts and he is one of skateboarding's best footage machines right now, but he really hasn't seemed to be on Baker very long. It could also be a bit overwhelming after he won Year's Best Am on his birthday and turned pro that very same day, but I'd say it's still worth bringing up. Dakota, I never saw before WTF, which was a little over a year and a half ago. Even though he's been on an absolute tear since then, it still feels somewhat early in the scheme of things for Foundation to step him up, especially with other dudes like Ryan Spencer also killing it. Anyway, I wouldn't necessarily mind if those two were still am. But thinking of the Top 5 I have in mind for this week, I would gladly turn Riley and Dakota pro today over those 5.

Next Week: Flow Bros to Blow Up in 2014

As 2013 is coming to an end, I think it's fitting to bring out some names that I think will get, or at least should get, some major coverage next year. We saw a lot of dudes come out of nowhere and get sponsored this past year, engraving themselves in our skate radar. And I see no reason why there can be some big step ups in sponsorships this year. I'm looking to see these dudes merely associated with some brands actually get the full welcome video to officially become am, a sign that a "career" in skateboarding is assured. It can be somewhat of a weird category to place people in because of their skating level, their time in the industry's spotlight, and how their sponsors have worked out, but nonetheless I feel the need to mention the 5 guys this week.

High Fives all around for a good 2013 and some more shredding in 2014!

Next Week: Speed Demons

Skaters are getting gnarlier and crazier these days, so seeing them skate faster to push skateboarding (almost literally) to new limits is no surprise. But there are a group of skaters that just stick out because of how fast they skate, and how consistently they skate at that speed. So this week I'm going to cover the top 5 speed demons that are personally the ones I think of when it comes to fast skating.

There are tons of other dudes that skate super fast too, so it's obligatory that I mention a few names here as well:
Tony Trujillo, TNT, rips extremely hard in his part in In Bloom, street and tranny, to cement himself as one of the fastest skaters for sure.
John Cardiel, like TNT, skates so crazily fast on street and tranny in his part in Sight Unseen. The line at 0:39 is too awesome.
Corey Duffel skates down some insanely huge gaps and does so by skating insanely fast. The last ollie in his Real Street part seems unreal and will stick in your memory after watching it just once.
Danny Way deserves the mention for sure. Breaking gap distance and height records...oh and this land speed record as well.
Grant Taylor skates super fast, wild in a controlled way, and just simply powerful. Before his Chronicles part dropped, he was awarded SOTY 2011, for a definitive reason I might add, through this video part on Thrasher. That very first line gets me every time just thinking about that high-speed half cab and then ollieing over the guy on the bench.
Chris Pfanner is another dude that skates some huge gaps and goes on an all out assault at every spot. There are some speedy lines and long gaps here in this Volcom Stone-Age clip.
Jordan Hoffart has been known to skate pretty fast. Every one of his parts has some clips that are just full-on speed, but the insane ollie from Bones New Ground will be the trick from Jordan that sticks out the most.
Gilbert Crockett also skates really fast. Though pretty short, his Life-Splicing part is probably my favorite part of Gilbert's. Without exaggeration, every single clip involves some solid speed, and the final ollie still blows my mind.

This Week: Recent Frontside Flips from Euro-Ditches

I apologize for the late posting but it's coming no matter what! This week will be a quick and specified topic because of time constraints. Lately (as in the past 3/4 months or so) I've noticed a decent amount of big frontside kickflips out of ditches over pretty hefty euro gaps, or something similar. Could it be the next big trend? Who knows...but either way I'd just like to point out some of these Euro-Ditch Frontside Flips that I've noticed and been stoked by over the past months.
An honorable mention for this category goes to Jordan Hoffart and his ender from Jordan's Day Hoff. Huge gap, loads of speed, and endless power from Jordan. Stay relentless with those gnarly gaps!

Next Week: Most Memorable Mid-Line Trick

Just about every street video part has at least one or two lines in there to help coincide with the mellower verses of the song or to fill up time in the part. Or maybe some guys are just really good at stringing together awesome tricks back to back like that. Regardless, skaters need to fill in the flatground space between obstacles so you end up with your very common mid-line tricks. (By mid-line tricks I'm keeping it contained to flatground fliptricks to fill the space in between stairs, ledges, rails, etc. Basically a flip trick that doesn't involve grinds/slides or a significant drop.) Common tricks are obviously the comfortable and easy-on-the-eyes 360 flip, the nollie heelflip, nollie kickflip, fakie kickflip, and even a lot of backside/frontside heelflip/kickflip variations to switch stances without simply changing the pushing foot. Those ones are seen a bit too much these days with just about any street skater to the point where they're so common they almost feel like time-occupying filler tricks. Of course there are dudes that can make these tricks look beautiful through pop or just a stylish flick, but nonetheless, a surprising out of the norm trick in the middle of a line really sticks out. Just as your mind is about to zone out in preparation for another tre flip before or after some flatground pushing, there are those unique mid-line tricks that jump out and startle you, making the line much more memorable.
This is exactly what will be looked at this week. I may be missing some lines as I go, but the next five days will cover the ones that stick out the most to me now.

And here are a few extras that deserve some mentioning:
Kevin Phelps recently dropped a new part via Thrasher that was filled with some crazy clips and awesome East Coast skating. Click on the link and you'll see one line that clearly stuck out to me when I first watched the part. After starting the line with a stylish fakie 360 flip, Kevin comes through with a half cab late back foot flip that I totally did not see coming. I thought a half cab flip was surely on its way, but the late flip worked very well with Kevin's nonchalance.
Sewa Kroetkov does something similar in This Is Not A Test. At the pretty well known playground benches, he hits one bench and then sets up as if he were to pop a super high switch heelflip. Nope. Instead he does what I'd say is now his signature trick (or at least a variation of it): switch ollie late kickflip. Considering that you usually see the nollie version, this is definitely a trick you wouldn't expect. If the trick itself isn't shocking enough, the height and cleanliness with which he does it should remedy that. (He also does the nollie version at the same benches at 1:16.)
Similar to Sewa getting two lines at that bench spot, Mike Mo Capaldi hits up a schoolyard in Fully Flared with a rad line - ollie late back foot varial flip, nollie back heel, then a switch kickflip down a set of stairs - and then revisits the same schoolyard in Pretty Sweet with a very memorable line. Starting off with a fakie big heel (always a sweet trick), Mike Mo sets up for what looks like a tre flip at first but I can only imagine will be something wizardly, and effortlessly flicks his impossible late flip. Then he closes with a frontside flip down the set. But the impossible late flip is something I doubt will be seen mid-line from anyone else, or even in a part at all to be fair. Seeing Mike Mo implement his signature flatground trick into a line for his part was quite satisfying. And even though the trick from Mo himself isn't that surprising to see, actually seeing it mid-line is not something you'd expect.

Next Week: Spectacled Shredders

With Thanksgiving coming up, we'll be switching things up and dedicating this week to the spectacled skaters. It takes some skill to be able to watch your board and your surroundings with a pair of frames over your eyes. Wearing glasses really adds another level of difficulty most people wouldn't realize without actually trying to skate in glasses. Yet there are a group of pro skaters that do this on the daily and their skating is not compromised one bit. Props to these skaters, their accomplishment deserves to be seen more clearly.

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!

Next Week: Slams

Slamming is inevitable for skaters. From the random pebble that just jumps out in front of your wheel to the disorientation of balance that throws everything off, slamming comes in the most unexpected ways. It's the harsh reality of skateboarding and the pros know this particularly well. It's been said that pros (let's include am/flow skaters for argument's sake) slam more than other skaters, which I wouldn't argue with one bit. Going hard for tricks when you're as practiced as these guys are make the slightest change in their environment the biggest factor for slamming. Some skaters know how to come out of bails smoothly from experience, some just go straight rag doll and take the full impact. Some skaters play it relatively safe with their terrain, some skaters go balls out at the gnarliest spots. Regardless, this week I'll go over my top 5 skaters that come into my head when thinking about slamming.
Here are some other skaters that have had some pretty hefty slams too:
Jereme Rogers' opening two clips from Yeah Right are just painful to watch. Getting tangled up in the rail/hubba to flipping over looks rough on the entire body, but then the sack on the rail is quite possibly the worst one I've ever seen. And by worst, I mean the most direct sack possible. Jereme's cringing face explains it all.
Nate Akers' Hall of Meat for his ollie down a huge gap (in Washington state I believe?) is never going to be forgotten. I still trip out at the fact that you can hear 3 distinct snaps: the wheels landing on the pavement, the board breaking in half, and then that from his leg.
While I tend to pay attention to most things street-skating-related, there's no way I could not mention Danny Way's shin-shattering slam into the Big Air coping at the X Games or Jake Brown's frightening fall straight to flat off the Big Air quarter. It's a true testament to the sheer strength and willpower of these two guys to get right back up after slams like that.