Switch 360 Flip Lipslide #5: Walker Ryan

Walker Ryan is definitely on another level when it comes to the switch game. All the switch backside tricks most people are proud of landing bolts every now and then, Walker has on lock. Switch 360 flips are no different. He's landed some heavy ones before so why should there be any problem to flick one into a switch lip? Heck, he's even been known to fling some switch tre 5-0s anyway. But the obvious answer comes with beautiful execution in his awesome Perpetual Motion part (seen at 3:44 in the remix above, but it's really worth watching the whole part). What's great about Walker's entry to the switch tre lip club is that because his switch game is so on point, he casually brings this trick back to switch. Now that you definitely don't see too often.

Video of the Week: Bobby Worrest - Luxury and Loudness

Bobby Worrest comes out with a new part that is full of the expected smoothness and grace. Always dropping quality footage, Bobby mesmerizes us with his fluid switch tricks and clever lines. So far, Bobby's been killing it this year and I'd say is in good contention for SOTY at this rate. There's something about his switch back noseblunt that never gets old...

In other skate news:
Tiago Lemos is introduced to Silver Trucks with a technical trip of ripping footage. I've been a fan since he got on BLVD and he's been improving since. The first line and the half cab heel around 1:35 are absolutely wonderful.
Nate Greenwood has an exclusive part for The Skateboard Mag and kills it, as I've come to expect
Civic Affair, the video by Jake Kuzyk, is full of Canadian shredding. Just overall awesome skating.
Boo Johnson is given a compilation part from Supra that if I'm not mistaken is "his first full part" since Future Nature. I call it that because if Supra hadn't put out the numerous tour videos over the past 2-3 years, they could've created a full length video with their stacked team, including buttery awesome parts like Boo's. Just saying.
Strange Notes asks: Who The F*** Is Jeremy Tuffli? He answers with an assault on many transitions including an instant classic new move at Burnside.
Yuri Facchini is featured in Blind's Damn Sundays with some pretty heavy clips. Not sure if whether they're all new or not but the couple of minutes are worth anyone's time.
Addie Fridy's new part on the Berrics: What time, When? is a gentle reminder that he is one smooth dude. Plus having nollie shove feebles on lock doesn't hurt.
Chris Colbourn skates North Hollywood Park for Bones Bearings and is soooooooo good.
Lee Dupont's part from The Cinematographer Project was released by Transworld, shedding new light on Washington Street Park in an edit that really builds the energy of a good session.

Video of the Week: Bobby Worrest - Hometown Turf Killer

Filming a part in one location is rarely something you can watch over and over and over...and over again. It gets to a point where the static scenery makes the clips feel repetitive, which is a key reason why I don't watch vert skating or even skatepark parts as much as I do street skating. With so many impressive skaters out today, the tricks get repetitive really quickly, so often times it takes a unique style or a special spot selection to make a video part interesting. However, Bobby Worrest provides an exception to this concept by coming out with a part filmed entirely at Pulaski park in DC. Bobby explores every corner of the park and maintains his unexpectedness with every clip. Not only is it great to get another part from Bobby, but to come through with high quality footage for a legitimate full part strictly in his hometown, he really mixed all the right ingredients for an awesome video. Oh, and that switch tre at 0:39!

Almost celebrated its 10th year in skateboarding at The Berrics with a nostalgic highlights video, an epic and fun-filled session at the park itself, and then an in-depth interview with Rodney Mullen that you're not going to find anything close to from any other skater. I could go on for a while about Almost: how I started skateboarding just after Round 3 dropped, how I would study every one of their parts in the video, how inspirational a guy like Rodney really is, how incredibly talented and creative all the team riders are, etc. Almost is one of my favorites without a doubt and it's terrific to see them going strong after 10 years.
-RIP Lewis Marnell-

Dave Vaughn's part in Find the Air showed how sometimes you don't need the absolute craziest tricks to have a ripping part (even though he throws in some serious bangers and solid lines), you can just have a style that makes skateboarding look good.
Chase Webb, despite conjuring up plenty of discussions related to Nyjah, the typical Californian handrail skater, etc., dropped a part through Transworld that is too gnarly to not appreciate.

Now the next few videos are all super awesome in their own way, but I'm keeping them for the end because they all have a good deal of older footage that is just remixed:
Tony Durao is one of my favorite up-and-coming East Coast shredders right now, and Quartersnacks masterfully remixed his TWS Check Out footage, his welcome part to Waters and Army, and some new footage for a part that should be talked about for years to come. (Massive switch boneless at 4:33!)
Mark Suciu's part in Search the Horizon was an instant classic and has been remixed with the same vibes you'd expect in a Habitat video, along with some cool footage I don't remember ever seeing from Mark.
Same thing pretty much for Brandon Westgate's part in MADE. This time it's been remixed with some of his older parts as well, which makes this Westgate compilation a true testament to his place in skateboarding.
And finally, this recap video from the Berrics' 2UP contest is actually quite worthy of a few views, especially when you have the blend of manual masters that you do for this contest.

Video of the Week: Taylor Smith - Shep Dawgs Tape Deck

Some dudes are just natural at skateboarding. Taylor Smith aka T-Spliff is definitely one of them. Now I always love some raw, uncut, behind the scenes footage, so 16 minutes of Taylor getting gnarly without even showing it is just priceless. His make-everything-look-easy style is too enjoyable and the fact that he hits up some of the scariest rails is the reason why he needs to be looked out for this year and years to come. I first learned about him through his WTF part, which was a sick first big part for him, and his Shep Dawgs 3 part (where most of these BTS clips are from) solidified my liking for him. Just look at the 14 minute mark in the uncut clips: Taylor boardslides a super sketchy high rail like it's nothing, and throws in a downhill kickflip because he's got it like that. Then, in prime Shep Dawg fashion, he figures the sketchy boardslide isn't enough, so he kickflips into it and rolls away without flinching once again. Seeing raw skate talent like this never gets old.

Also from this week, in keeping with the "Random Teams" theme, sml Wheels released an awesome 13 minute compilation of their whole team from the past year, including some footage I haven't seen before. sml is another one of those pretty stacked teams so this half-length video is something to get psyched on.

Now I already expressed how Luan's part in Chronicles was a bit disappointing and I think I finally know why. The hype for the video was so big that I was expecting some totally stunning NBDs from Luan (kind of like Shane pulled out), but in actuality he shredded in his usual precise fashion, but without anything completely mindblowing. Luan's new Strike and Destroy part, on the other hand, was described to be a short trip to Brazil to film in the area and came out without crazy anticipation. Couple that with the fact that Luan didn't skate lightly at all and this part is in my opinion much more exciting and entertaining than his Chronicles part. From the not-seen-too-frequently Brazilian streets to Luan's flawless style to his well-picked tricks, and especially to his downhill lines, this part has all the right ingredients to be very tasteful.

In other skate news from the past week:
-John Gardner and Nik Stain both released heavy East Coast video parts for Skate Jawn. Thrasher was totally right in seeing the similarities between John and Zered Bassett...
-One of my new favorite contests in skateboarding, The Berrics and Matix's 2UP contest is amazing so far.
-Brandon Nguyen kills it in his Video Check Out.
-Andrew Norris skates with a solid style and makes some difficult spots look easy in his Mag Minute.
-The lineup alone for Outliers is enough to be stoked on, but the trailer made it all official with Marius Syvanen unexpectedly filling in the last spot.

Name Changers #1: Boo Johnson

Even though Transworld had an interview with Boo Johnson a few years ago regarding his name, I didn't realize that his first name was Jakel until his latest New Jack interview in The Skateboard Mag. Again, just another one of those names that stuck when he was young. Keeping Jakel would've been interesting for the alliterative full name, but Boo is definitely one of those "nicknames"/name changes that is bound to catch someone's ear. And it makes sense: he's definitely well-known and enlisted by a heavy collection of sponsors. Obviously he kills it on his board, but there's no way a catchy name like Boo isn't going to help with his status in the industry too.

Watch Boo whip out some crazy tricks with effortless style in his Recruit part above!

Name Changers #4: Chewy Cannon

I first heard about Chewy with his standout part in Diagonal. The name is unique enough, or for this matter playfully unrealistic enough, that it sticks out and is easy to remember. Since then I really gave the full name "Chewy Cannon" no double take and just went with it. But when he came back on the radar with his sweet Transmission part (above) at the start of this year, it got me thinking about his actual name. Chewy only works as a nickname in Star Wars so I knew there had to be some story behind Mr. Cannon. Didn't find a full interview about the matter but according to Kingpin and some other random photographers and friends posting online, the real name is Lewis/Louis Cannon. The Chewy-Louie theory makes the most sense. Still not sure about the correct spelling but the name is there regardless. In the skate industry, Lewis/Louis is probably more evanescent than the hundreds of web clips coming out every day. Chewy Cannon is much easier to remember.

Name Changers #5: Blue Turner

Travis Turner, as listed by SPOT, can easily forget his first name because Blue has taken over. "Blue Turner" is more than a nickname but a full-on first name replacement. As he describes in his Contenders interview, the place where I first heard about him, Blue is his middle name and was introduced really early on through his family, so it makes perfect sense that the skate community basically only knows him as Blue Turner. It's got a great ring to it and everything points in the direction that if he gets his name on a board one day, it will definitely not say Travis.

Enjoy his Video Check Out from Transworld above because Blue definitely rips. Looking forward to more from him in the future.

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.

2014 Videos #3: Outliers (Transworld Video #26)

Not much is know about Transworld's 26th video except for a few details given by Chris Thiessen (1:02). The video is coming out sometime this summer or possibly even in the fall (though TWS is pretty good at keeping deadlines compared to other companies) and it will be called Outliers. Transworld consistently comes through with some of the best videos every year and this one should be no different. Not only are the filmmakers quite extraordinary, but the lineups are very easily the best mix of 5/6 skaters you'd never think of putting together. But that's what makes every TWS video so great: the epic lineup and seeing how the dudes can come together over just a year with incredible skating and those good homie vibes. Now after speaking of the lineup enough already, here it is with some video part reminders of the gnarliness:

Neen Williams - Chicken Bone Nowison
Brad Cromer - going pro for Krooked part above, and Lo-Fi
Lee Yankou - Never Gets Old and Business As Usual
Riley Hawk - Lakai x Baker feature and Shep Dawgs 3
Zered Bassett - State of Mind

Spectacled Shredders #2: Tyler Bledsoe

Tyler Bledsoe was probably the first guy I ever realized wore glasses while he skated. I read about it somewhere in an interview with him and while I'd say he has that pretty solid "nerd" look, Tyler absolutely shreds with a wonderful style. Just look at his classic Hallelujah part above. From what I understand, Tyler now is wearing contacts so his face will be frameless for who knows how long. But I don't think I'll ever get past his look with the glasses on.

Clipper #3: Darrell Stanton

It should be illegal to look as casual as Darrell Stanton does on a skateboard. Being able to get 4 tricks at Clipper, including some gnarly blunt variations, all the while not shrugging a shoulder is not something you can practice. He's just naturally that graceful and managed to get 4 beautiful tricks at Clipper. 2 of those tricks were in his Roll Forever part above. At 1:11 Darrell starts off "easily" enough with a backside 5-0 back 180 out, and then gets blunted with a super steezy nollie backside noseblunt ender at 2:13. The right arm position while rolling away is priceless. There was also a cover of Thrasher back in 2002 of a regular back noseblunt from Darrell with the ultimate steeze, almost like he's just posing on the ledge. Lastly, in Free Your Mind Darrell does what seems like an impossible trick at 5:10: ollie over to front blunt. He somehow pops his way with enough control to slide the opposite side of Clipper, but despite the insane difficulty of the trick, his left arm remains as smooth in its balancing position as possible. Gnarly tricks with such style makes for remarkable tricks.

Clipper #4: Jack Curtin

Jack Curtin is definitely one of the most underrated dudes out there. His ability to skate everything from ledges to flatground and especially to rails/hubbas in any stance is really quite incredible when you think about some of the rather "tech" tricks he puts down some handrails. Hitting the big Clipper hubba is a perfect example of this: Jack has nailed 3 pretty heavy switch tricks down the famous ledge. At 2:19 in Give Me My Money Chico you can see Jack rather perfectly execute a switch backside 5-0 grind down Clipper. There's something about switch 5-0s in general that just seem so uncomfortable to handle as easily as the regular version, so Jack's fluidity with the trick is definitely awesome. Since the switch 5-0 wasn't enough, Jack grabs two more switch bangers at Clipper, both seen in his Parental Advisory part above. At 3:22 he switch kickflips into a switch backside 50-50 grind, a pretty nutty switch combo down a hubba that size, and then for his ender at 3:34 Jack somehow gets the pop and control to switch back lip the ledge. 3 heavy switch tricks at Clipper put Jack Curtin in the top 5 Clipper skaters for sure. And the story behind the switch flip back 50 for a Transworld cover is also worth hearing about, just adding to Jack's radness.

UPDATE: I just realized that I completely bypassed two other super gnarly tricks from Jack down the ledge! Apparently he also has done a nollie noseblunt down the hubba as well as another switch trick: switch crooked grind for his FTC part at 2:05. Not only are those both really gnarly but that puts Jack's collection of Clipper tricks up to 5, which definitely moves up his position in my top Clipper skaters.

Video of the Week: Zero's Cold War

Even though I know Zero has one of the gnarliest crews in skateboarding and has built upon their legacy over the years, I wasn't ready for Cold War. Based on the 5 parts shown on Thrasher, the video takes gnarly skating to whole new levels. I said earlier in the SOTY posts that Dane Burman and Tommy Sandoval had some crazy clips in Road Less Traveled but would need outstanding parts in Cold War to be considered for SOTY. That is exactly what happened here. I won't even begin to explain their parts because I would diminish their gnarliness, but they are most definitely at the top of the contenders for SOTY 2013 after this. And it's crazy because Brockman, Cole, and Jamie all had super sick parts too, but they were just overshadowed by Dane and Tommy's inhuman destruction. These 5 parts alone are enough for an epic video but what's even better is that there's still Tom Karangelov, Ben Hatchell, Nick Boserio, and Tony Cervantes in the full video!(and possibly parts from John Rattray and Josiah Gatlyn?) So as soon as Cold War comes out on DVD I will be getting it for quite possibly one of the gnarliest and rawest videos of the year.

Besides that, Chad Tim Tim's Transmission part at Transworld was also super steezy and fun to watch; the switch back smith 360 ender was pretty ridiculous. Eniz Fazliov came out with a sick part in a video called Rabies with his Finnish homies with some really cool, crusty spots. John Dilorenzo is on an absolute tear for what I'd call the hungriest flow dude of the year. After dropping two heavy parts in Florida Daze 2 and Against the Clock, he is now being introduced to Split Clothing with this third great part of the year. I've been feeling Rowan Zorilla ever since his part in Footage Party, and this 14-minute clip of raw footage is just so entertaining to watch. Seeing some pretty sick tricks go down after some work while having a blast with the homies is what every skater should live for. And lastly, Anton Myhrvold comes through with a sweet minute and a half of stylish, well-flicked tricks for his intro to Small Wheels.

UPDATE: This was also some major news. It just fits perfectly too.

Slams #2: Heath Kirchart

Heath Kirchart is very mysterious to me. I haven't heard many words from him but I've seen his video parts and they most certainly have some of the groundbreaking tricks and spots for a time. Heath has one of the best styles for skating large hubbas, handrails, gaps, etc. But because of its natural fluidity when he lands, his bails look just the opposite: impactful and awkwardly painful. Take this enormous kickflip above for example: full on commitment to a strong slam into the ground with a rough-looking whiplash.
One of the greatest parts of all time is Heath's part in Sight Unseen and one of the most memorable clips for me was his pair of back to back lipslides down two huge rails. The first one was perfect but the second one resulted in a full body force of a slam into the ground. Just look at 0:52 of the outtakes from the video part to see. Also in the outtakes is Heath's attempt at a huge 5-0 grind down a hubba that he 50-50'd in the part. At 0:10 he has a couple of solid slams trying this, one of which includes a hard head bash against the ground. Along with that is a bail for his ender tailslide gap out at 1:22 where he misses the rail and skips down the last set of stairs straight to his shoulder.
In This Is Skateboarding Heath sticks to the top of a large hubba at 0:53 and falls a long distance down to a bouncy slam. Any bail like this just hurts to watch when you can almost feel the impact of the ground.
In Mind Field at 1:24 Heath commits to one of the largest bump to bars known to skaters. The board leaves his feet with about a foot of distance in between and he still tries to stick it, only to be thrown into the ground when he couldn't roll away. (Huge props to Colin Provost for 180'ing over this beast!)
Looking at Heath's most recent footage (just before his "retirement") from Stay Gold in his B-Sides, we see Heath skidding down a street sidewalk at 0:34 for way too long as he tries his flying line downhill and kickflips over the fire hydrant. At 1:47 you'll see Heath take some hefty slams as he battle his brick rail back tail backside flip. And starting around 8:27 are a series of bails when Heath was conquering the Mega Ramp. While Heath's bails from his video parts may not have been as gruesome as some other dudes', they are extremely memorable for the spot, for Heath's painful reactions, and simply because of the energy that Heath and his filmers create when they're on a mission. Just adding to that, how many street guys can actually say they broke their collarbone skating the Mega and still got the trick afterwards?

Best Music for a Part #5: John Lennon

John Lennon has some very laid back music, ideal when it comes to certain styles in skateboarding.
Take Madars Apse in DC's Where EU At? above for instance. Madars easily has one of the best styles in the game with his natural lankiness that translates into very fluid-looking tricks. He oozes creativity and a sense of having fun while he skates, which matches up perfectly with Lennon's "Oh Yoko!" I especially like the part where the harmonica comes in around 2:50 right as Madars nails an enormous ollie into a bank from one of our dreams. It's also pretty cool how a quick cloud/skyline clip is shown with "in the middle of the clouds" at 2:07 and Madars pops up bobbing his head right on with the beat. The entire part, from Madars style to Lennon's cheerful song, is really feel-good; it's inevitable to start smiling when this part is playing.
John Lennon also has "Watching the Wheels" in Nick Trapasso's part in And Now. It's hard to think of any skater more laid back than Nick, so pairing this super chill song with his lazy yet gnarly skating is a soothing combination. "People say I'm lazy...dreaming my life away" appears to be a very accurate outside view of Nick. It's like the song was recorded specifically for this part. The 3 drum beats right around 3:26 with the surge in the music and the slow-mo'd switch frontside 360 add just the right amount of hype even with all the calming vibes from the part, as oxymoronic as that sounds. And the last few clips or so are as if Nick's listening to John saying "...just have to-oo let it go-oo", stomping down some serious bangers without even trying.
John Lennon's laid back music fits right with Madars' and Nick's easy styles, but it also works very well with The Boss in his part in Baker has a Deathwish, as Reynolds casually drops hammers to "Whatever Gets You Through the Night". Lennon's count-up at the start (of the song anyway, after the initial Baker hijinx clips) sets up Reynolds for his bolts fakie flip to kick off the happy music. At the first chime in of "whatever gets you through the night", Reynolds switch tres to switch manual at nighttime with the spot lit up from nearby lampposts it seems. For a trick I haven't seem much from Reynolds, he literally does whatever gets him through the night. The rest of the part feels very jolly as you watch The Boss demonstrate his master flick. And it's also pretty cool that at 3:16 I believe Lennon says "STOP!" but it sounds way to close to "STOMP!" to be a coincidence. Because Reynolds most certainly stomped that nollie inward heel (not to mention popping it unnecessarily high) down that set.

Video of the Week: Kevin Phelps

There were actually quite a few solid videos that came out this week, from the awesome team vibes and moments of the Pretty Sweet Tour, Vans release of Gilbert Crockett's part in Old Dominion to show the crusty East Coast spots, and even Ben Raemers' very fun and loose skating his Tiltmode part.
I'd also like to give an even more supporting nod to Tristan Funkhouser (aka T-Funk) with his first part for Baker Skateboards. Dude fits with Baker perfectly and already has a sick bag of man-style tricks at his age, which I respect a lot because the grom-style is not very appealing. His ender wallride is absolutely nuts, but I must say I would've killed to have seen that huge hippy jump from about 0:50 in his trailer for the part though...
Also special mention to Alain Saavedra for being welcomed to Consolidated with an extremely gnarly and just raw part. Big gaps and a really rugged style go together really well here.
And last special mention to Dustin Henry for a sweet On The Radar part for TWS. I'm a fan of anyone getting hooked up by Cliche, but it doesn't even matter because Dustin's quick feet and kickflips are very entertaining to watch.
The main video of this week goes to Kevin Phelps (above) with his part from Culture Shock. Hitting East Coast spots with West Coast tricks is really awesome to watch. It's really cool that Kevin has good pop, a lanky style that can still take some really solid impacts, a great bag of consistent tricks (that somehow kept getting larger throughout the part), and a unique take on well-known spots that lets him add memorable tricks to their histories.  Some of cool clips from the part include the smooth cab flip back disaster revert at 0:43, the front board at 1:37 mainly for the really cool look of all the red bricks at the spot, and the line at 2:17 because of the surprising half cab late back foot flip in the middle of two other really nice tricks. At 3:51, every clip becomes a banger pretty much: tailslide big flip on the NYC courthouse ledge, followed up by a nollie hardflip into that bank! Then Kevin goes to the other coast to double flip the Santa Monica triple set, which is super awesome. Then he stylishly lands a huge 50-50 drop off as well as a long noseslide big spin out on the same long ledge I remember David Gonzalez first lipsliding and then Eli Reed switch lipsliding. Later Kevin visits the huge brick double bank at 6:42 and skates it like no one else before with a giant ollie past the second bank to the flat below. And since 3 is always a lucky number, Kevin nails his third trick of the part at the NYC courthouse bank to finish things off: a ridiculous caballerial kickflip off the top shelf, somehow pulling out the switch drop and rollaway.

Skating the Unskateable #1: David Gravette

The fact that David Gravette came out with this Gregslist video just to skate literal garbage from a rusty pipe to a piano shows his exact spirit for skateboarding: getting out of your comfort zone and conquering new obstacles. David is very good with this and has shown his expansion of spots particularly well with new ridiculous handrails and transitions. He skates some of the gnarliest obstacles possible and seriously expands on the possibilities of what can be skated. His handrail skating is some of the most dangerous and impressive in the game and has been for a good number of years now.
Looking back to his And Now part, aside from the few insane handrails that may be only skateable to a select few of handrail killers, the few clips from 1:47-2:10 peek into David's spot creativity. From a tall sewer tunnel to a cartoonishly enormous pole jam to a legit brick wall skatestopper built right at the end of a handrail (which David gaps out over nonchalantly).
In Hesh Law at 1:27, David skates a crazy handrail that is much longer than you'd expect, and then at 1:37 he skates a mini electrical box on the side of a telephone pole to show that nothing is out of reach.
In Beware of Sasquatch he skates a bracketed handrail at 2:54 and somehow avoids the natural skatestoppers, despite the lack of any surface area of a rail to grind on.
In Prevent This Tragedy he just glides around a super curved handrail and backside 180s out for good measure at 1:42, even though just maintaining composure through the curve seems impossible. The last rail has surely turned countless other handrail killers away, but with a godly 50-50 like David has he stays unaffected by the kink in the handrail as the rail just keeps getting longer and longer. Perfect balance cheat codes? Check.
Since David's been on a rampage of skating this past year, he released a CSFU Bonus Part in which he opens up skating a dirtbike course in the middle of the woods. Keyword: dirtbike. At 1:03 he steeply drops in and then rides a sketchy looking rail ingrained in the dirt and decides that it's not enough, so he comes out into a nose manual and then pops into the bowl. An impossible combo all starting from the impossible grind.
David's most recent full video part in CSFU (above) contains quite possibly the main reason for this week's subject: his very first trick of the part. After a long and mentally gruesome battle with the rail, David rides the roller coaster 50-50 through two full 90 degree turns containing small kinks, all while gradually going downhill as well. This trick in itself deserves a medal of some kind because balancing does not work like that. He later launches into a no pop full speed feeble grind at 1:42 around a tight curve; it's all in the posture on this one. At 2:02 he flies down a well-sloped handrail into two kinks and a shifting angle of the rail as well, gliding through the grind like it's nothing, even though just looking at the rail makes any trick seem unlikely. The run up for the rail at 2:52 appears to be way to small but a quick carve and David magically sticks with the enormous double kinker all the way down.
And lastly, in David's Real Street part (which is filled with some rather awesome clips) he slides right over a bunch of bike racks at 0:28. It's funny because bike racks are meant to stop you, but David clearly is having no business with these standard rules. The ender 50-50 is better shown here with all the trials and tribulations, both physical and mental. What's absurd about this trick is mixing the number of kinks with the actual steepness and shortness of them too. Only David could see this as being an actual spot to skate.

Skating the Unskateable #4: Richie Jackson

Richie Jackson is very mystical, for lack of a better word. He goes out of his way to...go out of the way. He skates everything with his own flavor to the point of seeing him do "standard" tricks becomes the unusual aspect of his video parts. Coming up with his own tricks and variations is one thing, but doing this opens up so many more doors to spots to skate.
Take a look at Richie's part in And Now (above), for example. He opens up the part at a wall with a telephone pole support cable. That is the spot he chooses to skate and put in his part first. But it's the simplicity of the spot and the creativity of his wallride hippie jump body varial (naming tricks is not going to easy for this post) that makes this clip and all of Richie's so refreshing to watch. Being refreshing also doesn't take away from how impressive a lot of Richie's tricks are as well; there's a reason why he's one-of-a-kind. Take the ollie at 0:17: most skaters would complain about the crack right before the stairs or at the bottom but Richie doesn't mind those because he skates right through the trash can lying at the top stair. Before the fence-skating craze that I've seen at the new LES skatepark in NYC, Richie was skating directly off the fence like at 0:47, four wheels and all. No perfect flatbar? No problem for Richie! He skates chain links at 0:52 and at 2:38. And since when was a perfectly vertical structure a viable skate obstacle option? Since Richie finished his Tony Hawk video games and learned legitimate Natas spins like at 1:06 and the improved nose version at 1:39. At 1:55 people probably look at the set like it's entirely unskateable: way too long for any crazy Jaws-wannabe, and the hubbas have full length statues at the ends. So Richie just takes the easiest way down by firecracking straight through 20 stairs. In an effort to be more environmental, Richie stalls a solid airwalk treeplant (this is the best use of the "plant" as possible, in all meanings of the word) at 2:30 to finish off a line.  In the two clips starting at 2:45, skaters would typically think that the poles are in the way of the perfect ledge, but Richie's hippie qualities get him around the poles no problem. And of course, when you can't find the perfect hubbas down a stair set, just find the closest mall's escalator (like at 2:53) and skate its ledges. (I find it funny that Richie actually hits the escalator switch and rolls away switch too, probably just to bump up his score.)
Firecrackers are definitely not new, but to use the last few stairs during a firecracker as a launching step to a variety of fliptricks definitely qualifies as skating the unskateable. Please refer to Richie's Battle Commander at the Berrics for further information.

Video(s) of the Week: Ben Fisher, Brad Cromer, and Peter Raffin

There were three key videos that came out this week that I had to mention for this post.
Above is Ben Fisher's sml wheels part, which shows the great balance between technical control and style. Some tricks that stuck in my head include the impressive frontside rock pop out at 0:31, the fakie manual fakie flip to fakie manual through two kinks of a sidewalk at 1:54, the switch frontside flip manual revert (mid-manual) down a bank at 2:06, the nose manual nollie shove to fakie manual fakie flip out on a popular bank at 2:46, and the crazy control with the ender: manual bs revert to fakie manual frontside half cab flip out.
Next up is the Peter Raffin Transmission part from Transworld, which displays a serious appeal for unique and gritty spots. While it's already refreshing to see a bunch of new spots (the back tail at 3:00 is beautiful and scary at the same time), it's also pretty cool to see Peter skate everything with a variety of tricks, from huge handrails (like the gnarly crooked grind at 2:20) to precision tricks (like the kickflip back tail at 1:36 with a short kicker to a fairly tall ledge) to super fast gaps (like the line at 2:01 where he half cab flips over a short stairway and then does a huge front 180 out into the street). And of course, his frontside POP shove it ender combines so many pleasing aspects of watching skateboarding all into one trick.
And lastly, I would like to also mention Brad Cromer's Lo-Fi Quartersnacks Remix to recognize Brad turning pro for Krooked. He's got a really powerful and smooth style and definitely deserves pro status; turning pro for a company like Krooked makes it that much cooler. While the tricks in this part came out last year, Quartersnacks never fails at a good remix, and the kickflip 50-50s on waist high rails along with the front tail heelflip out on the NYC courthouse ledge spot can always be replayed without complaints.

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.