The 2016 Quartersnacks Year in Review: 15-6

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Keeping it moving with the new 10-10-5 format :) Previously in 2016: 25-16

Past Editions: 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010

15. Astor Renovation

Two years ago, we lost a zen-like intersection of flatground that intertwined with all vibrant walks of life — the greatest non-spot in this history of skateboarding. It was, however, replaced with actual skateable obstacles this year: decent-enough beveled benches, a gap that replicated BAM’s ledge-to-street gap, and a Flushing-width flatground gap that Jason Byoun switch Muska flipped. The spot’s original meditative qualities dissolved into cement fairy dust, but at least it’s something to skate for now, even if the overall aesthetic of the new Astor Place is “we ran out of money.”

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Shirtless Kebab

lotti

Everyone who saw this IG post and thought “Ja$onwear” was correct.

“Cliché may be gone, but the elan, the esprit de corps, and that certain je ne sais quoi that made the brand so fuckin’ dope live on in the various manifestations of EuroTech that permeate the continent. Indeed, the upside to living in a dystopian futureworld is the ability to—via the ‘gram, natch—to view the quotidien of Stalin, Macba, HDV, République, and Jarmers in real time.” Frozen in Carbonite gives us the most comprehensive and heartfelt eulogy for Cliché yet, by focusing on the brand of skateboarding that it helped bring to the world stage: Eurotech™.

Unsolicited links to Cliché-related QS remix videos: Lucas Puig, J.B. Gillet.

T.J. does a pretty wild kickflip over at Pyramid Ledges, and has an entry for the “Run and Gun” contest over on the Berrics.

Bobby will be the titleholder at the spot for years to come, but Trent McClung came through heavy at Three Up Three Down for his new Venture part.

Two solid clips from the LurkNYC crew: “Mean Streets Volume 7,” and “Playground Casino” for Hotel Blue. Kinda been wondering when someone was going to hit the rail and do the quick wallie in front of NYU on W. 3rd…

The Passport boys with one of 2016’s best “Summer Trip to New York” clips.

“I didn’t have a pager, I was just a skater.” Jenkem hung out with Quim Cardona at the new Astor Place :( aanndd part three of the “Right Coast” tour with Quim and Freddy stopping over in Boston is also up on Vimeo.

“Putting on a fedora to go skate is like bringing a guitar to a session; it’s clear that you had other plans for the day that didn’t include skating.” Ripped Laces looks back on skateboarding’s regrettable fedora era

“Ciberwave 2” is the new video from Humidity Skateshop. It’s supposed to bubble :)

Boil the Ocean re: Guy Marino and Eric Koston’s new company.

Chill iPhone clip from the crew behind the Heaven’s Gate video.

Adult Rappers is a good hour-long watch about dreams and what happens to them when you grow up. Not hard to imagine a lot over overlap with skateboarding here. Shout out to Dave Dowd for the recommendation ♥

QS Sports Russell Westbrook Desk: This must’ve been, uh, disorienting. #MVP.

Quote of the Week: “Instead of ‘Skater of the Year,’ there should also be an award that’s just ‘Best Skater,’ where it’s been Ishod for the past five years.” — Leroy Holmes

Good place to start every morning from for the rest of the week ;)

Real Chill

astor riviera

Astor & Lafayette, in a galaxy far, far away. Jacked from That’s a Crazy One.

It’s the end of the summer, 100 degrees out, and people are fucking pissed.

“In fact, they feel it was exploitative, that Clark capitalized on the brilliance of the crew while failing to capture the true beauty of their world. They weren’t as sex crazed as the film portrays them, for one. More important, in Kids, it seems all the boys want is to fuck the girls, but in real life, the girls weren’t sexual conquests. The boys and girls ran neck and neck and were best friends.” Ok, so lately been wondering about the origins of the photos from @thatsacrazyone on Instagram, which has tons of early and mid nineties stuff around Astor, Washington Square and the Banks + some same faces from Out & About, etc. (This Loki photo is the coolest a slappy crook on a six-inch curb will ever look.) Turns out its for an upcoming book of the same name, whose website hasn’t been updated in a year-and-a-half, but apparently is still coming out as per this feature in August’s issue of Vice. Really looking forward to this one :)

Byrd Gang videos are my new favorite videos out of New York. Teaser for the new one.

File Jawn Gardner’s Bruns 2 part under: Video Parts That Made Me Yell At My Computer Screen More Than Three Times in 2016.

Probably listened to The War Report more than any other venerated nineties New York rap album as an adult, so this’ll be a nice addition for the wall.

“Rifuckingdiculously Sorry” is the forth and final installment to Flip’s Sorry series, oddly starring a bunch of Canadians skating in Toronto.

The history of skateboarding unfolded pretty much alongside the development of trucks, and plot-twist — women run everything in skateboarding. Part two of Jeff Grosso’s history of skateboard trucks is now live. (Part one went live last month btw.)

Andrew Allen interviews Austyn Gillette.

Village Psychic with another round of strange skater + sponsor match-ups.

Probably the best *sounding* video of all time, Tim Dowling’s Listen, in full.

Speaking of videos that sound like they look, Budapest’s Rios Crew A.K.A. the New Jersey-ians of Europe just dropped a new one called “Nap Mint Nap Volume 3.”

You probably already saw this: Austyn’s TWS cover footage and Brad Cromer front blunting a Seaport bench in Huf’s new NYC edit.

This is six-years-old and has nothing to do with skateboarding, but I read it on the plane twice. “If journalism’s more vital traditions of investigating corruption and synthesizing complex topics are going to be restored, it will never be at the expense of the personal, the sexual, the venal, or the sensational, but rather through mastering the kind of storytelling that understands that none of those things exists in a vacuum.”

Quote of the Week: “They make MTV music that I want to listen to.” — Pryce Holmes’ Sremmlife 2 review

A 1995 Portral Into 2016

quim 5050

No matter how advanced things seem, fundamental artifacts remain timeless. When stuff gets too technical, too big and too hard to keep track of — simple, refined skating stands out amid the stair-counting. It’s part of the recipe behind today’s moment for small companies and slimmed-down trick lists.

Ride On is a 1995 Deluxe promo that doesn’t get the same nostalgic love as say, Non Fiction or Fucktards do. It resurfaced during a ATCQ #musicsupervision wormhole that turned into a Joey Bast wormhole once his Silver part ended.

The promo struck a chord for more reasons than the #pants. While it probably won’t incite the “come out today and still hold up”-hyperbole that was discussed last week, it does seem oddly current and in tune with what’s going on throughout skateboarding’s more refined palette today, particularly in New York. From Huf’s one-or-two push lines that include nothing more than 180s, trashcans, streetgaps and maybe a kickflip, to a time when a really good 360 flip off a bump was “enough” to end a section off with — it all came back with a vengeance as we began to drift away from the age of after-black hammers and taking five years to film a video.

Added bonuses are Quim beginning his reign as the greatest two-5050s-in-one-line practitioner ever, front of Union Square lines that wouldn’t look out of place if they were HD in a 2016 Johnny Wilson video, Ethan Fowler skating Pier 7 unlike anyone famous for skating Pier 7 would skate Pier 7, and Ryan Hickey doing a four-trick Astor line that’s about half as long as the 44-second YouTube compilation of all his footage.

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Better Thoughts, Better Vibes

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DANY video filming deadline: 03/31/16 11:59 P.M. EST. 2016’s most anticipated video.

We have a light drop of new merch available in the webstore. There’s an online-only reissue of the “Ball is Life” hoodys originally made for Dover Street Market, plus two new caps for the spring. The full spring/summer merch line should be available in shops later in April, then on our webstore a bit later. Stay tuned ♥♥♥

Dude is this a 12th & A obstacle or an installation misplaced from a Chelsea gallery?

“Heaven’s Gate” is a new video from Tony Choy-Sutton that deserves an outstanding achievement in spot selection award, in that it remarkably avoids almost every single 2016 trap and blown out New York spot for fourteen minutes. Also, nosegrind down that round rail Quim drop-in 5050s on (with Muska’s help!) in Static 5 is insane.

Iron Claw + Watermelonism in Medellin, my fifth favorite city. Via The Man Who Films.

Pfft, like this isn’t an ABD a thousand times over

“This skating is so sick but this song is so fucking terrible.” Roctakon began to review classic skate video soundtracks for Jenkem. The first installment is a review of Sight Unseen‘s #musicsupervision. “Tosh is kinda hot, for a blonde.”

New six-minute montage from Jesse Alba and Tucker V.W., in which Andrew Wilson 5050s between the knobs down the Dag Park hubba and Jason Byoun does a chill switch flip. It’s a VX.

Ellington cut his hair and advises against skating with a bandana. Also, who’s hosting a premiere of the new Baker video at their house? Let’s get a group text going…

New jazzy clip from Washington Heights’ Mira Conyo squad.

Early “Noseslide of the Year” contender #goldgoon$.

Wallride over the rollgate parallel to the Fish Gap is pretty cool.

The Astor renovation looks uniformly awful but there are these low round rails all around, which have small little knobs on them that prevent grinds but not really slides. Also, how is the cement ground already bad there?

Life of Boosie > Life of Pablo ♥ “I’m not a lyricist, I’m a storyteller.”

QS Sports Desk Play of the Week: The tournament is impossible to follow, especially in March when it’s getting warmer outside, but you gotta love a good buzzer beater.

Quote of the Week: “Skateboarders are the only group of adults that hang out together. I’ll hit up all my friends who don’t skate on a 70-degree day and they’re either at work or with their girlfriends.” — Dylgr