Random Teams #5: Nike SB

Sure, Nike's one of the largest companies in skateboarding right now (which is a whole new topic in itself). But would you guess that some of its riders would ever come together if it weren't for the swoosh? Looking at just the American team that is. Because of how prominent Nike is, and how diverse it's already become, a new addition to the team won't leave anyone saying, "Oh that new guy doesn't fit right". It's built itself up in skateboarding by spreading through to just about every kind of skater: the Street Leaguers (P-Rod, Shane, Malto, Luan, Ishod), the seasoned vets (Koston, Lance, Gino, even BA), and then about 20 other guys that you really can't categorize. From Cory Kennedy to Chet Childress to Wieger Van Wageningen to Justin Brock to Theotis Beasley and to Daniel Shimizu, just to name a few, you already have a bunch of styles and personalities you'd never really think of putting together. Even the ams cover a good range of the "types" of skaters you can find: Donovan Piscopo, Clark Hassler, Kevin Bradley, Youness Amrani, and Trevor Colden. From style to uniqueness to precision to consistency, Nike's really covered it all.
Apart from their full length videos and the trips surrounding those, most of these guys I never really see hang out together. So it's really cool to see clips like the day at the park above where guys on the team come together for some pretty eclectic sessions.

2014 Videos #5: Shane O'Neill

Now there's not very much to go on here, but according to Twitter and directly from the man himself, Shane O'Neill will be dropping a full part through Thrasher soon. I don't remember/can't find exactly where, but I'm pretty sure there was word that the part would be out in 2014 as well, which really makes sense the way pros can come out with parts every year if they really worked for it. I also heard rumor that a good portion of Shane's Chronicles part (above) was "filler" footage, which is also understandable since we know what Shane is capable of. Again, that was just rumor and there's no official trailer or footage for the video part, but nonetheless this is Shane O'Neill. Filler or not, his Chronicles part was insane. Anytime there are ridiculously tech and beautiful NBDs in a part it's gonna mark its place in skateboarding history. All things considered, I cannot wait for whatever Shane's cooking up for his next part.

Here's a few of his mind-boggling and super steezy parts from earlier years:
Not Another Transworld Video
Going Pro Berrics Part
Debacle (with Theotis Beasley)
Am Chowder

Speed Demons #5: Omar Salazar

Omar Salazar is a ball of energy. His wild eagerness to straight out go for anything is portrayed in as much as in his lifestyle and as it is in his skating. It's this energy that keeps Omar skating super fast and attacking anything that stands in his way, making most of his footage very memorable simply for the pushing or flying along at full speed towards obstacles.
In his Nothing But The Truth part above, the line at 0:15 looks like he should lose control with just about every movement, but Omar handles the speed and flies on by with a couple of fun, fast tricks, following them with a beautifully stomped switch heel without slowing. Seeing his shirt flying around at 0:55 gives you a reasonable idea of just how fast he is going, uphill nonetheless. Really, this whole part is filled with some very fast skating, and Omar's controlled-chaotic style is what makes him stand out as a super fast skater.
In Mind Field, Omar snakes around a sweet channel at about 1:08 to show off his control at such high speeds. Obviously there are tons of speedy clips throughout the whole part but this one in particular sticks out.
Looking at Omar's part in First Love, there's not much need to go further than the introductory hill bomb at 0:36. The way he shows no problems at all with the speed and even has enough confident control to woosh around with his scraping ollies just for fun is remarkable. Also, in the line at 3:08, he hits a ledge with a back tail at probably the highest speed I've seen someone somewhat swerve into the ledge. Then the last 4 clips are all just full-on fast assaults of the spots, including some sweet downhill action.
In this Spitfire commercial at 0:43 Omar hits the top ledge on a bank fast enough that he doesn't even need to get on top of the smith grind to cover more than half of the ledge, all before gliding through a few more pushes (exaggerating how slow the crowd is skating) towards a huge ollie. And the clip right after that with the gap to 50-50 all the way through is a true testament to how fast he skates.

Euro/Ditch Frontside Flips #5: Justin Brock

As seen in Nike SB's latest offering, Chronicles 2, Justin Brock opens up his part with a music-less but gnarly nonetheless frontside flip over a sweet parking lot Euro Gap. That moment from the car tow-in to the lowering arms in relief for landing the sick trick all build up perfectly as the music and Justin's rugged part begin to play. Check out the frontside flip and the rest of the video here at 17:15 (while it lasts anyway).

Video of the Week: Chronicles Vol. 2

Lots of great stuff from this past week, but what clearly takes the cake is the latest Nike video: Chronicles Vol. 2. Awesome to see new parts from all the dudes and there was definitely some top notch skating. Donovan Piscopo comes out swinging with the first part I've ever seen from him with speed, style, and power. Theotis Beasley seems to pack in loads of fliptricks and those good vibes you feel watching him skate, only to have you realize just how skilled he really is when you think of what he's doing. Daryl Angel also comes through with smooth, powerful skating and a really fresh approach; no one's coming close to his ender no matter how relatively basic it may seem. Luan Oliveira shows his ninja flick with some great moves, though I must say I felt a tad disappointed with his part, I was expecting something more... Justin Brock skates the roughest spots and shows his all-terrain destruction. Shane O'Neill unveils some shocking ledge NBD's while reminding everyone of his near perfect style. And Ishod Wair somehow pulls out another huge load of footage, topping  his other footage this year in a laid-back yet super gnarly part. Congrats to all these dudes on a sick video!
You can see Ishod's part here, with the 4 other remaining SOTY contenders. At this point, with the amount of quality footage Ishod has produced this year, he better win SOTY. I'm a big proponent of awarding SOTY to someone with more than just a single outstanding part; nothing against Westgate or Nyjah whatsoever as I'd be perfectly satisfied with either of them winning too, but Ishod has been simply relentless. Which is why I wish Thrasher didn't cut down the SOTY contenders to 5 so soon, when Mark Suciu has his first pro part coming out in just a couple weeks or so, still in 2013 too! Anyway, my vote is now with Ishod!
Now Nike, why can't you just create a physical DVD of this video? You definitely have the money to satisfy the appreciative skate nerds out there and at least hold on to some sense of skateboarding's documented history. I'd say to everyone to go buy the video but when Nike's feeding the insatiable appetite of the internet mongers by forcing them to buy it online, I'd suggest just finding some way around it for now.

And with that, my ranting is over.

In other news from this past week's videos:
-Riley Hawk is now pro for Baker! No video for now but there's no doubt a footage machine like him will have something gnarly out in no time.
-Nick Matthews came out with a Mag Minute filled with a sweet trick selection and stylish skating.
-Daniel Lebron shows that he's got one of the best heelflips in the game with this feel-good part.
-Powell-Peralta welcomes Brendon Villanueva with some gnarly clips in his intro part.
-This clip of Antoine Asselin shows two things: that skateboarding is fun and that he is very very good.
-Jurgen Horrwarth released a part combining some serious skill with vert and on the streets.
-Vagrant Skateboards definitely seals their name on the map with this raw promo.
-Nick Boserio's part from Cold War was released via Thrasher.
-Congrats to Peter Raffin for joining the Creature fiends and still skating super well.
-It may be just a single [totally awesome] trick, but any Tyler Bledsoe footage is great.
-Unreleased Dane Vaughn footage is always great; I've been enjoying his skating a lot since Parental Advisory.
-Gou Miyagi redefines creative skateboarding with this part from Heroin's Video Nasty.
-Can't overlook totally naked girls skating and pumping through the corners of a bowl. Well done Playboy, well done.
-And finally, the prequel to the destruction in Chronicles 2 from Ishod Wair. The quality of this part alone says something about just how good Ishod really is.

Spectacled Shredders #1: Justin Brock

Closing off this week's Spectacled Shredders is Justin Brock. The first part that I remember from him was his part in Nike's Debacle which also happened to be the first time I ever saw someone skate that heavily guarded triple set (in LA I think). Even though the set itself has changed in popularity over the past few years, Justin still rocks his frames while he skates. Pumped for his Chronicles 2 part coming soon!

Manny Maniacs #3: Youness Amrani

Youness Amrani has the balance and control for manuals on a completely different level than most manual skaters. He has the ability to hold out tricks for very long distances, pop out quite high from a manual when needed, and even come to a full stop and reverse directions mid-manual, and that's not mentioning all of the body control and fliptricks he also has to throw into his combos.
Despite the high quality footage Youness has put out in his video parts, I still like his introduction to Almost (above) the best.  Looking at just his manual tricks (because he also skates gaps and ledges super well too), there are two specific ones from this video part that make me praise Youness's manual skills: At 1:35 he starts a manual up a mellow banked ledge, kickflips at the very peak when he's completely stopped his forward progress, lands back into a fakie manual and slowly rolls down the ledge only to fakie hardflip out. To back that up, he follows it with the same exact trick but with a fakie 360 flip out instead of the fakie hardflip.  The fact that he slows down so gradually and is able to hold the manual both ways for so long is absolutely stunning to me, regardless of the fact that he kickflips in the middle of each and does two really cool tricks out.  Plus, the foot positioning and setup for the next trick is always fun to watch, especially when done slowly like this because you can see the pure control of his balance.  Same goes for the control of the slowly reversing nose manual/switch manual at 3:06 (switch flip out too?! come on!).  Adding to that control, the pop out over the trash can of the kickflip manual at 2:14 is the highest I've seen from any manual.  The half cab nose manual at 2:29 appears as if Youness is just waiting for the right moment to nollie shove out into the bank; he could probably have kept going if the ledge was longer.  The manual line at 3:35 is also really worth mentioning.
That part by itself made me a huge Youness fan, especially for his special talents with manuals.  This is before he comes out with what can only be described as video game manual skills that you see in his ender for his Nike SB Chronicles Vol. 1 part.  Seriously unreal.
On top of those great parts with mind-blowing manual skills, he continues his display of amazing skating in his Almost 5-Incher part and his latest part through Transworld: Marrakesh Express.