Where were you during the poncho craze of ’84?

August 15th, 2011 | 9:40 am | Daily News | 1 Comment

Nothing happens in August. There are even guides on how to look busy at work in August. The same applies for skate media. You’ll have to pardon some of the inclusions if they are not of the “breaking news” variety…

…and if you need something to do, please consult this MegaUpload link. It’s a 650MB .mpg file containing the first three FTC videos. Completely forgot that “Best Rap Song Ever” shortlist contender, “I Am I Be” has been used in a skate part before. (Quick links to relevant FTC New York sections: “Live From New York,” “Family Affair,” some guy named Keith Hufnagel.)

Vote for NJ Skateshop in Vans and Spitfire’s D.I.Y. spot/shop video contest. They’re the only east coast shop up there. And it’s the first skate video to channel narrative motifs from The Sopranos.

NYU: 0, Skateboarding: 1. Now a few more of those need to come off… (Related: Stop applying to NYU, and stop supporting hate crimes.)

Sick video of some Green Diamond affiliates doing noteworthy slappy crooked grinds and performing under-used maneuvers like frontside noseslides to fakie. “This is mad white…but also sick.” — Roctakon.

Eli Reed looking for a manual pad in New York in hopes of retaining his Manny Mania title. Best thing to be on The Berrics since the Mike Vallely Battle Commander.

Web comment of the Year, via the Hella Clips page for the official DQM/Girl/Lakai demo video, which is nowhere near as good as the “I’m thirsty nigga, Imma fuck you up man” clip.

Nolan Lee skating a sketchy-looking handicap ramp rail.

R.I.P. éS Footwear. Though not as heavily romanticized as the Koston 1s and 2s, the 3s were big in New York back in 2001-2002. In further influence, Menik Mati was pretty much the Jaws of skate videos, in that it provided the blueprint for blockbuster skate video productions for over ten years, a format that is only now beginning to wane. Here is Boil the Ocean on that same subject (#25.)

Quote of the Week:
45-Year-Old Man Wearing a Du-Rag: “Aren’t you too old to be skateboarding?”
22-Year-Old Josh Velez: “Aren’t you too old to be wearing shants? There are pants and there are shorts. Pick one.”

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Filming Clips, Straight Off the iPhone

August 10th, 2011 | 2:38 pm | Footage | 8 Comments

Contrary to what Rick Ross may insist, the iPhone probably isn’t well suited for “selling dope.” However, it’s great for second angles and quick clips when you’re sitting around lurking at skate spots, as many have learned. (It’s not ironic that a former law enforcement official encourages impressionable youths to perform illegal activities on a highly traceable piece of technology, but perhaps he’s just trying to make his colleagues’ jobs easier.)

If Universitat is Barcelona’s (vastly superior) version of Union, then MACBA is the city’s (vastly superior) version of Tompkins and 12th & A. People kind of just get stuck lurking there, and avoiding it is a badge you can proudly wear, just like “I haven’t been to Tompkins in weeks” is a controversial conversation piece for any New York skater. Further similarities exist in that it’s too dark to skate MACBA at night (doesn’t stop people from trying), and it is a premier location for “homie cam” clips. If Diamond Days clips were based in Barcelona, they’d undoubtedly have their 3:1 duration ratio of 12th & A to non-12th & A footage replaced with MACBA footage. As a result, here is an iPhone clip, largely composed of footage filmed while sitting bored at MACBA, and other joyful moments.

Features Ishod Wair, some lil’ homie (who also appears in a recent Clint Peterson Transworld clip), Tyler Tufty, Vladamir Kirilenko, [poached footage of] Omar Salazar, Andre Page, Ty Lyons, Doug Brown, Andy Henrie, Marcel Veldman, and E.J.

Alternate YouTube Link

Barcelona Update 2 of ?: Damm Estrella Edition

July 29th, 2011 | 12:31 pm | Footage | 6 Comments

Beyond the enticing “legality” of street beers in Barcelona, which allows American tourists to maintain a mild state of intoxication at all hours, another perk is the availability of the beers themselves. New York, unlike most of the U.S., has a 24/7 window for beer purchases (barring Sundays after 4 A.M. if your local bodega happens to abide by that regulation.) However, it doesn’t have an army of Middle Eastern immigrants walking the streets and around skate spots delivering cold Damm Estrellas in exchange for 1 Euro (equivalent to $1.43 by today’s conversion rate.)

Universitat, the spot best known to the rest of the world as the three long black marble ledges on perfect ground, is sort of like Barcelona’s Union Square. The similarities are in the mixed crowd of late-teen to early-twenties lurkers blended with tourists and junkies, plus the centralized location that becomes more spacious for skateboarding as the night progresses. The comparison starts to fall apart once you account for fact that the three ledges would invariably be the best ones in all of New York, not to mention the reliably of the green-bag-carrying Estrella vendors that could be summoned by yelling out “AMIGO!”

Below is a clip featuring Josh Velez, a drunk homie at Universitat, Ty Lyons, and Andre Page. It was filmed under the discretion of street-bought Damm Estrellas. We have been trying to bolster our rap to non-rap soundtrack ratio, and it should come as no surprise that Quartersnacks has a soft spot for songs from the 1950s when it comes to video clips filmed entirely at night.

Alternate YouTube link

Barcelona Update 1 of ?: Damm Lemon Edition

July 24th, 2011 | 10:34 am | Footage | 10 Comments

“I used to skate” on the way up to MACBA

Apparently, New York just had the hottest day since 1977. (No blackouts, right?) It’s gone above 80 degrees in Barcelona twice in the past week, so diverting your party money to a summer 2012 refuge fund might be a wise idea.

Below is a brief clip featuring Andre Page, Josh Velez, and Daniel Lebron. For those who may not know, one of the key perks of Barcelona for Americans is the legal “grey area” that exists for beer consumed on the street. Damm Lemon is one of the three key beverages (the others being Damm Estrella and water) for American travelers in the city. (Visible here along with other consumer goods unavailable to the American market, like marijuana flavored beer and Lays cheeseburger potato chips.)

We’ve only hit maybe 25% of the spots on the list, and have three days left, so hopefully there will be another quick Damm Estrella edit up in the next couple of days, in addition to a more extensive one later in the summer. Shout out to all the locals, and everyone over at Nike for looking out for us.

Alternate YouTube Link

A handful of readers from Norway have gotten in touch with us in the past, our condolences go out to you guys and your country. Keep your heads up.

That Summer Flip Cam Wave

July 15th, 2011 | 11:20 am | Footage | 6 Comments

Photo by Jason Lecras

Threw together a bunch of cutty Flip Cam and iPhone clips that have been laying around since the end of winter, plus footage of some more recent outings. 2011 might have the worst (best?) ratio of rap songs to non-rap songs as far as music selection in Quartersnacks clips goes. So far, there has been one clip (not counting Justin White’s contribution) where the soundtrack hasn’t dealt with cars, making it rain, pimping, ice cream, inquires to “how ya do that there,” or RACKS. We’ll try our best to acknowledge another genre of music to edit skate clips to in the near future. Have a good weekend.

Features Black Dave, Ritch Swain, Ben Nazario, Corey Rubin, Shawn Powers, Kevin Tierney, Billy Mcfeely, Dennis Feliciano, Galen Dekemper, Alex, AJ, Billy Rohan, Josh Velez, and Luke Malaney. Filmed by Josh Velez. Shout out to all the bums with no footage in this.

Alternate YouTube Link: Roof missin, background pumpin’ Marvin Gaye