Italy | Quartersnacks

RAT RATZ 7 Is Now Live

Video & Remixes January 23rd, 2023 · 8:30 am · 1

For the third winter in a row, we are proud to present the latest from Milan’s Rat Ratz crew.

What started as an endearing glimpse of the next generation of skaters coming up at Milano Centrale, quickly grew into something much bigger — the last Rat Ratz project is sitting at something like 800k+ YouTube views right now. (Not that it’s ever only about numbers, but that many eyes on a 15-minute homie edit without any help from big-name pros is incredible.)

Their latest finds them growing into their expanding powers on a skateboard — one-upping themselves at the spots that have remained staples throughout all their projects, and weaving in some travel as well — while truly shining at the train plaza that brought us all together in the first place.

‘RAT RATZ 6’ — Milano Centrale 2021

Video & Remixes December 20th, 2021 · 12:00 pm

In RAT RATZ 5, there was a feeling that they were on the precipice of a great leap. Their fifth installment of Milano Centrale reportage felt like the beginning of the next chapter, though still captured through through the charm of their scuffed-up fisheye. A few months later, they would co-star along the Supreme dudes in their Milan trip video, STALLION.

Since then, a bit has changed: they made the inevitable HD upgrade (heartbroken to see the O.G. Rat Ratz fisheye go, but change is the only constant in this crazy world 😉), and they made that Leap™.

Weekend Viewing — Bobby Worrest & Friends at Milano Centrale via Gang International

Daily News March 19th, 2021 · 2:33 pm · 2

It’s no stretch to say that Milano Centrale and Washington D.C’s Pulaski Park are made from similar strains of skate spot pixie dust. As a youth watching The DC Video, I even remember thinking Stevie Williams’ switch heel back tail was on some lesser-seen portion of Pulaski, given the striking resemblance its white marble upper level has to the composition of Italy’s greatest skate spot.

‘Rat Ratz 5’ — Milano Centrale 2020

Video & Remixes November 18th, 2020 · 12:00 am · 2

One of the great pleasures of skate travel is immersing oneself into the workings of a scene via its central spot. Every plaza has its own skate government, some loose form of a hierarchy, and sets of implied to not-so-implied rules that visitors can sometimes get a pass on. You can tell who the local legends are, even if they’re seated for 95% of the time, or who the lurker everyone diplomatically avoids is.

But the funnest part is watching the kids who are on the come up. (It’s also the part that you can observe vicariously via videos.)

The Rat Ratz dudes feel like that right now for Milan, and thus for Italy’s most storied skate spot. Already a step ahead of their last video from March, these edits still feel fun, playful, open-ended, and the scratches on the fisheye only add to the charm. It is almost like you’re watching someone’s drafts leading up to when they make the proverbial Leap™ — to the video that makes everyone who had been paying attention up until that point go “whoa.”

Demand Justice

Daily News June 1st, 2020 · 12:00 am · 10

Pic via Gothamist

See everyone at One Police Plaza at 1 P.M. tomorrow, June 2. Flyer here.

It’s a strange time in our history to be solely concerned with skateboarding, so NY Mag has a running feature on how you can help support the fight against police brutality in America, which includes a list of organizations you can donate to if you have some spare coins. They provide context one what each one does, and you can choose what speaks the most to your heart. A lot have received overwhelming amounts of contributions, and are asking that donations now be directed elsewhere: the civil rights page on Charity Navigator is another helpful resource to find one.

We have donated to Campaign Zero, which advocates for the policy goals of Black Lives Matter to end police violence in America. You can read about their mission here.

So, um, skate content…