I'd been saying for a while that Davis REALly needed to go pro and this week it was finally commemorated! This pro part is exactly what was needed to showcase Davis's awesome style, his comfort when going fast in every clip, his impressive pop (that switch heel!), and his spot creativity. What I mean by that is that Davis utilizes his skills to make spots his own. Examples include that front blunt pop up to front nose at 1:41, the switch pole jam lipslide at 2:03 (who actually hits that spot switch?), the ride-on pole jam 50-50 over the kinks at 2:37 when he even bones an ollie out over the end, and the insane couple of mid-bank ollies - both regs and switch - at 2:50. I was probably more thrilled at display of control for those two dangerous ollies than the actual flip tricks over the hips. Anyway, Davis rips and always comes through with fun-to-watch, quality parts like this. Congrats!
In other skate news:
-Brodie Penrod is extremely talented and makes every session look like a blast.
-The Subway Skating section from Tengu: God of Mischief is an instant classic, especially with the historic subway track ollie.
-Daryl Dominguez's Excursion part through various parts of England is an absolute pleasure to watch.
-Callum Paul is PassPort's first pro and celebrates the occasion with some fun shredding down under.
-Nyjah Huston is really really good. He never stops getting bangers, as seen through his Subject part, his First Tryday is hard not to smile through, and the OG Edit to his last epic part was even dropped for a good reminder.
-Bryan Schaefer is On the Radar with a new part that adds to the UNM spot posts from last week. Check out the sweet line at UNM at 1:25!
-5Boro went to Paris. They have one of the sickest teams and their own entertaining take on skating through Paris. Plus, Jordan Trahan is a boss.
-Sam Beckett, Jake Brown, Pierre-Luc Gagnon, and Alex Perelson skate the Monster Vert Ramp and remind us that vert skating is alive and kicking ferociously.
-The Organika Trail Tour is a jovial take on how Josh Matthews put together his part from last week. I really like how the Organika team is looking so this welcoming trip was nice to see.
-Skate House by Chris Whitaker started off a little questionable for me but once Chris Colbourn, Cody Hale, and Jordan Maxham came on with some great skating, it really becomes a great video overall.
-Fourstar releases an Anthology that shows why it's one of the greatest companies in skateboarding, not just for its unreal team lineup, but because of how much fun they have on every tour.
It seems like Thrasher comes out with at least one pretty memorable video every week, and last week was no different. Phil Zwijsen's "Tokyo Days" is a fairly short, concise feature that was tricky to weigh in against the much appreciated pair of full lengths that also dropped this week (mentioned below). Mixing in the gritty, old-school black and white feel with only the rough sounds of the street to listen to, Phil shows raw skating at its finest and really makes you want to go fly around on any terrain. Skating fast always helps, and when you're hippy jumping or no complying or launching out of some oververt at full speed, the gnarliness is simply too appealing to look away. Keep ripping Phil!
Also special shoutouts to Active Army's Where Is It?! and Darien Brown's "InTransit" full lengths that also were somewhat released online this week. The whole Active Army seriously shreds, and the annoying company they found on the streets discouraging their tricks made for some humorous moments outside of the comradery and ripping skating. I was thoroughly pleased and surprised to see a full part from Vincent Luevanos, whom I hadn't really seen much since a part for Element back in the day with. But that part has always stuck out to me for his sick bag of gap fliptricks and ridiculous spread eagle / one-foot catches. It's nice to see he's still skating that huge rooftop gap as well. Along with the Active video were 4 parts from InTransit released by Transworld: opener Steven Ban, Demarquis McDaniels, Austin Flood, and ender Billy Davenport. After seeing these parts, I'm definitely copping the DVD to support such sweet skating, editing, and a great crew. I can't believe Billy one-upped himself at the bench-before-stairs spot, and Transworld's description of his "folkloric" ender is spot on.
In other skate news:
-Thrasher released parts by Lert Saeri and Geng Jakkarin from "Sawatdee", which showcases the talent and spots in Thailand in a pretty refreshing way.
-Josh Matthews is welcomed to Organika with a sick part full of pretty impressive and super smooth skating, and TWS coincides by releasing his Perpetual Motion part as well.
-Mathias Torres skates Santiago, Chile for a casually gnarly video part. Seeing him gradually set up, eyes on the barrier ahead, after the hill bomb around 2:05 to launch a mach-10 ollie over it is so exhilarating to watch.
-Tom Day is welcomed to Huf UK. Huf has been gathering a really tight team and watching anyone skate in England is pretty entertaining, so this is quite the match.
-I don't usually post contest stuff, but Tom Knox's Nike SB London run is utterly insane. Missing only 3 tricks in 5 mins?! Jeeeeez...
-The Am Transmission by TWS is quite the amalgamation of most of the top ams out today. A tight lineup like that with the expected great skating makes for a solid video.
-Alien Workshop's portion from The Cinematographer Project by the humble Benny Maglinao was my absolute favorite from the video (it was the ender after all) and works as a well-timed tribute to the iconic company.
-I also don't usually post trailers, but the one for Fun While It Lasted out of Portland comes with super rad vibes and pretty awesome skating already, featuring Dane Brady, Sebo Walker, Brian Baca, Mark Gutterman, and Willis Kimbel. So psyched on Dane lately.
Friday was a wonderful day in the world of skateboarding. The Battle at the Berrics Finals night went down, live, and boy was it an experience. Seeing everything happen with no editing, just live action, conveys the crowd's energy and skaters' nervous excitement so much more clearly than the usual individual videos of the battles. And it's because of this modified medium of watching the Finals that the whole event was simply spectacular. I legitimately laughed out loud in stoked surprise when Sewa landed Koston's pressure flip, or when Luan miraculously pulled out his pressure heelflip along with some double flip variations to match Cody. The whole night was filled with great moments like these, intertwined with the equally touching and inspiring story of JohnnyRomano, along with the unexpected technical insanity that was Cody Cepeda's Recruit part. While you can check The Berrics over the next few days to rewatch most of these features, it's hard to recreate that feeling of watching it all live.
Now to psych everyone up for that wonderful Friday evening was the Video of the Week - Ryan Decenzo's Double Down part - that came out just after noon on Friday. We already know Ryan is a killer on a skateboard from his Hallelujah and Forward Slash parts, so it needs to be recognized and appreciated just how quickly Ryan can churn out these lengthy, extremely gnarly parts. Charging the biggest rails, huge gaps, getting tech-gnar on some famous rails, and redefining how to skate rails with huge drop offs, Ryan impresses in every single clip, without exaggeration. If his trick on a rail seems even on the brink of being relatively simple, he'll be nollie-ing into it to provide that extra challenge. (Cause he really has one of the most insanenollies in the game.) I personally loved the enormous front 360 at 0:56, the big 360 flip lipslide at 3:06 followed by a super sketchy nollie back bluntslide (made to look easy), and then the pair of hammers at 4:23 down and over the steep rail. The whole part is really just an onslaught of gnarly tricks at gnarly spots, and deserves to stay on top of the internet waves for a quite a while before getting swept away in its growing tides.
In other skate news from the week: Justin Figueroa kinked crooked grind ender from Bake and Destroy, the gnarliest crooked grind ever, is shown uncut with all of the attempts leading up to the epic make. I love raw, uncut footage. Denzel White's part in Active Ride Shop's "Where Is It?" is super sick! Never heard of him but he is definitely here to stay after a part like this. The one-footed switch front 3 after the craziest roll-in 5-0 are so awesome, and he even has a similar downhill tre flip to Ryan's...doubling down indeed. Nick Jensen's part in Jacob Harris' Eleventh Hour (highly recommended viewing) is filled with those one of a kind London vibes and the quick-footed precision that Nick is known to provide. The ender's pretty insane too. Raymond Molinar's Metro Lines part is pretty fun to watch. Always happy with another Raymond part and this night-skating, spot-searching experience is quite enjoyable. Body of Water is a feature organized by Dave Chami taking Walker Ryan, Dennis Busenitz, Josh Matthews, Joey Pepper, and Nestor Judkins to New Zealand. With a crew like this, good skating is guaranteed. Shota Kikuchi has a new deck coming out for Consolidated and released this part to go with it. The rough Japanese spots really bring out Shota's raw skating as the part keeps picking up throughout.
Heroin Skateboards worked with The Skateboard Mag last week and introduced both Zack Krull, with a wild and ripping part, along with Joe O'Donnell, who has some quick feet, crazy ideas, loads of board control, and one heck of a nose manual. They also put out a pleasing montage, Egomaniacs Diss, that properly covers a few different skate styles.
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.
From the Borders is a relatively new take on the skate video. Two brothers, Steve and Dave Mull, rip apart what appears to be a bunch of hometown, woodsy-area spots with a gnarliness and skill set you don't usually see from your typical local backwoods brothers. Besides that, the assortment of spots are a fresh breath among the many online videos with standard downtown or park footage. Mix that with some great editing that also breaks the mold of most videos and the fast-paced excitement makes you feel like a kid again learning about your own town's spots. There are some pretty scary (in an impressive, ballsy way) spots out there, like Steve nosegrinding a rushing waterfall's bridge at 1:56 or Dave literally grinding a roof at the end, but the aesthetics of the whole video are what make it memorable.
In other skate news from last week:
It's great to see another all-terrain part from the underground Frecks, one that most definitely is not Wasting your Time. Billy Roper is introduced to Surprise Skateboards with a quick-paced hopping around of many SF spots, maintaining those GX1000 vibes and keeping the really tight team at Surprise going strong.
Two parts (sort of) from It's a Secret were released via The Skateboard Mag: Will Blaty, coming through with awesomely trippy vibes and crazy body varials and footplant variations (2:51 is nuts!), and then Chris "Mango" Milic, with a bonus footage part full of fun creativity. Joey Digital has a stacked montage featuring Brian Anderson, Shane O'Neill, Nick Boserio, Mark Suciu, Daryl Angel, and many more. Alec Majerus is recruited at the Berrics with some heavy bangers. I loved the fakie tre back lip! Kyle Camarillo presents his REDirect project Gold and Grey, featuring Miles Silvas and Jack Curtin, and puts out one of my favorite mixes of easy-on-the-eyes shots and proper skating from the contest so far. Christopher Middlebrook's part from The Cinematographer Project was released on Transworld, reminding everyone at the freakish abilities and fearlessness of the Aussies.
David Loy has been off the radar for a minute and I don't recall any definitive part that I associated him to. Even though I've heard much more about his brother lately, David's gradual off-stage destruction eventually culminated with this going pro part. The part reminds everyone that he is one of the gnarliest dudes out there, with a well-used height advantage too. The wallrides, drop-ins, and tall drops he takes are deadly. Mix in some huge rails and hubbas and this part will be in the spotlight for quite some time. Congrats David! I'm not alone when I admit to sleeping on this guy for a while, but this part was like 10 shots of espresso and a few Monsters to wake everyone up to his lunatic skating.
After everything that's been happeningoverthepastfewmonths, it's really not surprising that Alien Workshop has called it quits. Manolo's Tapes pays tribute to the iconic company with a bittersweet compilation of almost every rider to have ever ridden for AWS. Where the remaining riders will go is now the big question on everyone's mind [field].
In other skate news from the last week: Peanut Head's part in Footage Party is filled with wild ripping and some startling clips. (Switch big flip came out of nowhere!) Spencer Pratti is really good and shows it in this ironically-named Straight Skating clip. Adidas took some of its team to the Skate Copa contest in NYC and ended up with some rad street clips from its stylish squad. Melbourne is showcased in this edit full of awesome skating, including one of the gnarliest gap to 50-50s I've ever seen from Tim Williams. Beagle's part in The Cinematographer Project is released and packed as expected with fun homie vibes.
There were two videos that came out this week that were both beyond the norm of awesome skate videos. Joey Guevara came through with a part for Atlas that had one of the greatest mixes of San Jose spots and varied tricks I've seen. Joey skates super smoothly and has tons of rad lines in this part, which work perfectly with the backdrop of some gritty streets. However, maybe it's the Seinfeld reference, but Dan Plunkett gets my vote for Video of the Week with his Video Part About Nothing. I've never really attached any distinctly memorable part to Dan, even though I knew he skated some pretty gnarly stuff. So this part will definitely be the one to associate with Dan for me, and it's a good part to remember. Not only does he continue to show us that he's the king of bluntslides, but all the spots are super rugged. All together a gnarly part for a very underrated skater.
I may be biased towards anything that Almost does, so their release of essentially Youness's pro part was high on my radar for this week. But even with my favoritism for Almost, Youness is on some next level stuff. The fact that he is one of the best manual skaters out there and can jump down some huge drops and rails is just not fair. His core balance is so strong (just look at his perfectly straight over fakie ollie to start the memorable line at 0:53) and it shows in the way he executes his tricks so flawlessly. And then you can look at his lines, that start and end with tricks other skaters have by themselves, such as back smiths or front feebles down big handrails. Throw in a nollie back 270 switch front tail (in a line at 2:00 nonetheless) along with two epic 360 flip variations down the famous monstrous ditch (with some sweet rollaways as well) and you have quite possibly the best video part of the year.
The Skateboard Mag also offered 6 parts from the indy video Goosenectar. Even though the full length was segmented here to spread over the course of the week, the releases definitely warrant a purchase of the DVD. And if it weren't for Youness dropping jaws and arguably one of the best parts of the year, then Goosenectar would undoubtedly be video of the week. Regardless, here are parts from Jared Cleland, Julian Heller, Sean Imes, Mason Silva, Louie Lopez and Alec Majerus, and Steven Swanson. Everyone seriously killed it!
In other awesome skate news from the week: Kyron Davis drops a part for Grey Skate Mag and even though I know he's good, this part seems to be packed with more ripping than I've seen from him before and it's sick! Sammy Montano has a Video Check Out for Transworld and comes through with loads of style and pop. Cuban Fiedlity is Patrik Wallner's latest project featuring Walker Ryan and Michael Mackrodt traveling and skating through Cuba on pretty much untouched skate grounds. Emerica's Euro squad absolutely shreds through Barcelona in the fashion only Emericans do. GX1000 says that San Francisco is Grate, and I agree 110%. Tony Hawk drops a part entitled Sync, full of Doubles with Andy Mac (even some triples!). This is a true testament to Tony's legendary status and the best showcase of how to have fun and be creative. Alex Valdez's part in No Brainer mixes gnarly skating with the work put in behind it all and some fun too. Albert Nyberg has Excess Baggage from AB&A with some never been seen tricks that will blow minds. Dennis Busenitz basically had a full part in The Cinematographer Project with features from the Real Team, and Dan Wolfe was the lensman to portray it all. This part was just released online by Transworld and deserves a few watches.
While other Blind dudes have been getting some coverage here and there since "Damn" came out, I haven't seen anything from Filipe. Now I know why. This new lengthy part shows that he's still skating hesh and stacking gnarly clips like few others. And the fact that he throws down some hammers on the roughest streets possible makes this new part a real nice refresher on how Filipe shreds.
In other news: Trevor Colden is now pro for Skate Mental and despite what people say about the music he skates to, he is darn good and deserves the spot on the unique team. James Hardy delivers the expected rugged and stylish skating in his Faith Skate Supply bonus part, really utilizing his home state to its potential. Anthony Vega is Burnin' Footy in very exciting anticipation for his next part in LIVIN. Leo Heinert has a Video Check Out with Transworld and after demolishing NYC in his welcome video for Torro, he continues to come through with pretty crazy city clips. Taylor Kirby's Shep Dawgs Vol. 4 teaser part is a sick precursor to what might be one of the best homie videos ever. Rambo fakie heelflips a picnic table for the House of Hammers, demonstrating a determination and tirelessness I haven't seen in many skaters. Despite some clip releasing issues, the whole story behind this pretty heavy notch in the picnic-table-belt is well worth the time. Greg Lutzka has a short and sweet Spring Fling of new footage. It's relatively very little but it's nice to see some new tricks and footage outside of the contest circuit.
Now some nice B-Sides and redone older footage: Barney Page - Excess Baggage from AB&A Mike Manzoori - The Cinematographer Project Dane Burman - Road Less Traveled Recut
Koichiro Uehara's latest video part is a joy to watch. His quick feet are unparalleled by anyone else and to create an entire video part that keeps that quick rhythm is really incredible. This is the kind of part that makes you want to go skate and have fun.
And lastly, Kingpin had an article on the 10 Tricks Danny Montoya Did First, which was a spot-on tribute to a guy that is very underrated today. While people are trying to get more spins and more flips into their tech tricks today, Danny Montoya has always been a notch above the rest when it comes to technical and stylish creativity.
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.
It's about time! Lem's pro part is the one we've been waiting for since Diagonal, and watching it is nothing short of cathartic. From back in his Chocolate days to now with Cliche through Bon Voyage, everyone's been rooting for Lem to turn pro and that day has finally come. His majestic flick and catch have just gotten better in time and it's a really wonderful thing to see his name on the bottom of a board for one of my favorite companies. Congrats Lem!
This week was heavy in skate videos, so here are the other top selections: Collin Provost's new Emerica MADE B-Sides are gnarly as expected and also feature essentially a full new part from him. I thought Clint Walker's kickflip was nuts, but Collin takes it to a whole new level with this ender. Leo Heinert is introduced as the first rider for TORRO with a part full of quick-footed East Coast shredding like I've never seen. His addition (2:38) to the NYC Courthouse Ledge drop along with those recently from the Supreme kids' in Cherry [spoilers] pretty much give the finger to my older post, which is sick!
I've heard of Jaakko Ojanen before through random parkclips, but this new street part is simply insane: skating fast, incorporating a huge bag of tricks, and hitting some of the gnarliest spots. Two Up is a pretty heavy two-part video with ripping Australians Nick Boserio and Alex Campbell, each coming through with very unique styles to cement in your head if they weren't there already. Joe Gavin's new video part for Grey Skate Mag shows him shredding the grittiest and roughest streets you can think of with some of the sickest pole jams. Moose's "extra" footage is still full of casual hammers, a relaxing blend of chill vibes and gnarly tricks. Bryant Chapo is killing it for FKD.
To get everyone hyped up for their upcoming video parts (two for Vans and one for Outliers), Chris Pfanner drops a mini part for Red Bull, Nassim Guammaz has a gnarly prequel Vans part, and Brad Cromer reminds us how naturally skilled he is by dropping a sweet iPhone part for Doom Sayer.
Some other things worth checking out: Kingpin did a really nice article on 11 no-push lines that are definitely worth remembering. Skateboarding Makes the World Go Round is full of incredible Brazilian skating at an assortment of locations around the world with some unheard-of guys mixed with some stars too.
For some pretty random guy to come out with a part, an 8 minute part for that matter, and have it be worthy of multiple viewings takes some skill and luck. What caught me off guard was just how easy and fun the entire part felt, so that by the time he's actually dropping some hammers near the end you have to double take to realize it. Casual and enjoyable but also inventive and gnarly at the same time, Jet Caputo's part in FOOTAGE PARTY is one of those break out parts that's worthy of remembering.
Some other sweet videos: Dillon Constantine - Video Check Out - a hammer-filled rail assault with a vigor you don't see too often Ben Gore - SF Nights - a short and sweet part with all the right ingredients: SF, night skating, and stylish Ben Gore Truman Hooker - Ditch Demon - Thrasher said it best: the spot search alone makes this an interesting part, but Truman's ditch skating skills seal the deal. Huf - Australia for Tour - The team is too good and Sammy Winter kills it! Huf needs to get him on there. HYPE - Totally Original - The HYPE squad rips and keeps the video tasteful. JP Oliveira - Mag Minute - another strong member of the new breed of tech-gnar Ishod Wair and SOTY Naawwsty - The crew alone is epic but the skating and fun-having is just priceless. AJ Zavala - Shep Dawgs Teaser - I only saw his name tossed around in Shep Dawgs montages but now I can finally put a name to a face and a sick style. Pumped for Shep Dawgs V4! Danny Dicola - SLAVE - The vibes are definitely relaxed but Danny's spot selection is far from it.
Video part remixes are the best way to give old footage new life and new vibes, the aspects that make some video parts truly memorable. Now there were a couple sweet remixes from this week, including a Brandon Westgate one of just NYC footage from his past 3 or 4 parts. That's the kind of thematic remixing that Quartersnacks does best and it really comes out well to see Westgate ripping the Big Apple in this video. Then there was one of Chase Webb, reminding us how gnarly he is and how he's been powerfully coming up the past couple years. It's good not to forget his steady stream of bangers in the internet's vortex of ripping Californians.
Patrik Wallner's Visualtraveling has been one of the most beautiful forms of cultural education for skateboarding. Taking on the locations without a blown out skate scene, Patrik delivers once again as he rolls with a terrific crew (including one of my favorite skaters and regular visualtravelers, Walker Ryan) through various parts of Iran, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Turkey. Sure, there's some really awesome skating involved, but the whole video offers so much more to enhance our desire as skaters to keep exploring.
Bryan Whalen would normally be given the VOTW honors from me because I haven't seen as enjoyable of a part as that one in a while, especially with as graceful switch skating and fun trick selection as he came through with. But there's no way I can deny Jordan Hoffart finally getting a board sponsor after too long in limbo, especially because he manages to drop yet another gnarly part.
GX1000: Living in the Bay with an incredible crew ripping through the streets Tom Asta Pro Spotlight Chris Cole for DC Cole Lite 2 Ben Raybourn Welcome to Nike Ramshakle: Nick Palmquist, Chad Bartie, Josh Hawkins, Aldrin Garcia Element United Nations at the Berrics Sylvain Tognelli opens up Nozbone's Cafe Clope with a sick part Kurt Hodge Footage Party Brad McClain Mag Minute
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.
I have to give Dave Bohack top honors for Video of the Week. There's something about seeing those East Coast spots (one of which I know is literally a 2 minute skate away for myself) that lets me connect with his skating more so than the countless other videos I merely glaze at through my computer screen. Watching his part felt like watching my friends in person skating spots I'm used to seeing in person, and then even sometimes cranking it up a notch or two in gnarliness. Seeing snow and rain on the ground, especially for that splashing rollaway for his insane ender 50-50, reminded me that there are some gnarly skaters very close by and that the skateboarding community as a whole is not as disconnected as it sometimes may feel.
In other skate news from the week: Nick Remon kills it for Vans in England with a super enjoyable style and trick selection, shredding through those gritty streets. The line at 2:20 (fakie heel, fakie boardslide fs 270 out) is too good. Niilo Nikkanen also comes through with an incredible part in GTFBID, proving that there are some "random" Euro skaters out there that are absolutely crushing it. Jimmy Cao's new part for Sk8mafia and JSLV is super steezy and stands out nicely a midst the loads of footage the 'Mafia puts out regularly. Jordan Gesko's part for Skate Jawn is raw and pretty awesome. The switch inward heel at 3:44 was a sweet surprise and reminded me a bit of Shuriken's nice inward.
Kevin Terpening turned pro for FA with a short but sweet welcome video, accompanied by one from Huf too.
Speaking of short but sweet, Forrest Edwards' welcome video for Theeve is quite gnarly and worth a few views.
The Flip Canadian Tour at The Skateboard Mag is too good to be written off as just another tour video, but what do you expect from that young crew of rippers.
If Rowan Zorilla's latest part was throwaway, then there's good reason to be excited for Shep Dawgs 4 (as if there weren't enough reasons already)
Tommy Sandoval takes the cake for the greatest barrage of BIG bangers at the Berrics with his Battle Commander, which timed out nicely with Hellaclips edit of Tommy's Road Less Traveled footage into a personalized part for Fallen. In The Details was filmed and edited by Jeremy McNamara and oh boy did he do a good job.
As is tradition, Emerica dropped Jeremy Leabres' B-Sides from Made and once again comes through with the Gold.
To close things off, Youness Amrani went pro this week for Almost, a move that I'm super stoked on. Even though I said a little more time with the legendary company would be fitting, it's been some time since then and it feels about right, especially after what Youness masterfully pulled off at The Berrics.
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.
First and foremost, Etnies really should have just worked on a full length video with all the full parts they've been dropping the past months. That being said, I am thrilled about a new full part from Mr. Bledsoe. While it is definitely hard to compare to his Hallelujah part, the fact that he has returned to the radar in a wonderfully stylish fashion is too awesome to be spoiled, even by perhaps some over-prominent product placement by Etnies in the video. Regardless, with a style like Tyler's and some of the sweetest ways of incorporating flip tricks to back tails and back smiths, the part was great. Just look at the pop out of the backside heelflip from the back smith at 1:10. That alone is magical . . . and it was in a line. The back tail 360 flip at 1:44 and the frontside flip into the grass at 2:25 (with a pretty legit rollaway) were both clutch as well. All around, it's great to see new Tyler Bledsoe footage.
I'd feel weird declaring a single trick as Video of the Week, but Derek Elmendorf certainly had me thinking. Redefining gnarly handrail skating years ago, he continues to do so today.
I bought the DVD for Meet the Lurkers not too long ago and was blown away at Dolan Stearns' ender part. Because it technically came out a bit ago, its internet release by Transworld this week doesn't seem fair to give Video of the Week. However, the skating is incredible. Dolan mixes a bit of old and new school style with flairs of extreme gnarliness and complete board control. It's this kind of creative, rad, and gnarly skating that get you psyched to go out on your board immediately. After the kickflip catch on the penultimate trick drops your jaw, do what you can to prepare for the unfathomable ollie to end the part.
Manny Santiago and Dave Bachinsky come through with a really awesome shared part: Salt N' Pepper. Both are beyond good on a skateboard - Dave probably getting my vote for most underrated - and they've been stacking tons of clips.
-Brazil's Klaus Bohms shreds nicely around the world for Adidas. That smith 180 at 0:50!
-Though a year old, Bones released a highlight video of New Ground that is too epic to neglect.
-Tum Yeto tours around with some heavy hitters. Glad to see Corey Duffel still killing it.
-I love Cliche, so I was pumped to see them crash the Active park.
-Even though I think he went pro too soon, Tom Remillard rips hard for his new board on Expedition.
-The city vibes of Traffic Patterns are priceless, much like the Ricky Oyola footage within.
I already described my love for the Adidas team tour edits with that incredibly talented and eclectic group of skaters mixed with aesthetically beautiful editing. But at the same time, the utter rawness of the GX1000 edits are untouchable. "Raw" may be used quite often here but it's the perfect word for everything GX1000 puts out, from the street skating to the citites and spots skated to the fun and entertaining encounters the crew finds in their environment. The latest edit takes place in Medellin, Colombia, which can almost be compared to SF (at least with a few of those downhill-driveway spots), though more vibrant and colorful with its surroundings and much grittier as well. The city lends itself to an appealing edit (also because Medellin isn't too popular or overused with skate trips...knock on wood), but the crew of raw rippers works its magic. Some new Jake Johnson clips are always appreciated and Stevie Perez shreds so hard in the whole video, reminding me a little of Ishod with his total comfort on the board. Yonnie Cruz always comes through with a sick interpretation of the streets, as evidenced by his repeated ollies leading to a 50-50 and almost powersliding into a car at 1:16, as well as his synchronization at 4:43. Josh Velez surprised me at 2:32 with potentially one of the longest back lips and then officially seals the deal with a good two-story ollie or so at 2:57. The final bump into the older gentleman at the end sort of sums up how great the trip must've been, with locals as friendly as that.
Also released were the B-Sides from Leo Romero's part in Made. Leo skated some crazy rails and put in loads of work into his part, which is given the necessary recognition with these clips. I would argue that Emerica is one of the best, if not THE best, at producing videos in general. The B-Sides are no different and often just about as exciting as the video part itself. The Berrics puts it best, calling Emerica's B-Sides as a "modern classic". While Leo deserves the credit once again for his sick part in Made, Emerica deserves the credit for continuing to put out the best skate videos.
Christian Vannella just came out with a part at the DC Embassy. I'm just going to say that the hardflip late flip and the hardflip backside nosegrind to manual 360 flip out were NOT the craziest tricks I saw (at least in my opinion). So take the time to witness Christian's craziness and remember his name.
In other skate video news:
Anton Arratia displays some super techincal ledge skating in his Mag Minute, along with other great tricks.
Shaun Gregoire released a new part via Pyramid County with some of his awesome style.
Stan Karbine's part in $14 The Hard Way was released and showcases his great use of pop.
