That’s what I heard each time I told anyone, skaters or otherwise, that I was traveling to Sweden for an academic skateboarding conference.
“I didn’t know that was even a thing.”
It’s the second one, actually. I skipped last year’s in London, not wanting to commit to a trans-Atlantic flight for something that definitely had the potential to fall flat. But, when media started trickling back from Bartlett School of Architecture, which hosted the inaugural Pushing Boarders, I knew I would not make the same mistake next time around. Once I heard Malmö, Sweden — arguably the world’s most progressive skate city — was chosen as Pushing Boarders’ next destination, I booked a ticket. Then I spent six months trying to convince someone to come with me.
“4 Cities, 100 Nuggets” is a mini video featuring some Canadian dudes (…I think?) doing a two-week road trip through North Carolina, Philly, New York, and Boston. That back noseblunt bigspin at Baldi really came out of left field + good to see people coming up victorious over the speed bumps at the recently-knobbed plaza on 110th and 8th (which is sure to be utilized by absolutely nobody now, considering it’s in the middle of the street, with no shade, and across from a 840-acre park full of trees…)
“It’s not a boot-camp for the Olympics.” “No, it’s a boot-camp for life.” Given the stature of its alumni, you likely know of its existence, but you probably don’t know much about the skateboarding high school in Mälmo, Sweden. Skateism has a full interview about Bryggeriet, and how’s its not exactly what you would expect.
Listen up, fuckers: Voter registration periods in most states end this week. In New York, the voter registration deadline is Friday, and lucky for you, New York offers online registration. (New Jersey’s deadline is October 16, but you’ll need to mail in your registration.) Just under 50% of eligible 18-29 year-olds voted in 2016, whereas nearly 75% of 65+ year-olds did. Literal senior citizens are steering the course of your future. And that whole “my vote doesn’t matter!” / “it’s all corrupt!” / “both candidates suck!” shit is exactly the sort of cowardly laziness that anybody working against your self interests is dependent on. So, if you are eligible A)take the time out of the day you’d otherwise waste filming shitty skate tricks and register if you are not already, and B) if you do not vote on November 6, I hope to every possible higher power there is that you roll the fuck out of your ankle first thing in the morning on November 7 — like I hope it’s an excruciating cantaloupe size roll that takes five hellish months to heal where you don’t get laid once, and I hope that on your first day back skating after those frustrating five months, you roll the life out of the other ankle and it takes even longer to heal.
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Psssst…shops have began getting fall QSmerch in. Arriving in Europe & Japan this week. Check our stockists page to see which shops will have it in both in the States and globally. Our webstore will relaunch on Monday, October 15 at midnight E.S.T. (basically still Sunday night) with all of the new items.
The Canal video, Mode, is now online in full. Really fun video pretty much entirely filmed in New York, with the highest volume of midtown clips of any local vid in recent memory (always nostalgic for that.) It’s always heartwarming to see crews who grew up together keep skating and making full-lengths into adulthood ♥
Tied with midtown footage, our favorite sub-genre of New York skateboarding is watching Tyshawn skate over trashcans. Plenty of that and more in Thrasher’s recap video from the Hardies Can Jam at Blue Park last week.
Pat Hoblin has a rad new part over on TWS. The curvy boardslide over at the old Red Benches + the ender at Seward Park are both wild.
“Anything that combats the idea that skateboarding should be relegated to the skatepark is cool, and to me a worthwhile cause.” Alexis Sablone, who has a masters degree in architecture, created a sick-looking skateable sculpture park in downtown New York (just kidding, you know that shit is obviously in Malmö), and told Medium mag the story.
Russia’s Absurd Skateboards leads the skate world in companies whose trip destinations I most frequently have to search on Google Maps. Their latest one was to the Sea of Azov.
QS Sports Desk Play of the Week: Basketball is back! Honestly started laughing upon remembering Lance Stephenson and Lebron are on the same team now. Lance Stephenson Finals MVP book it!!!
Quote of the Week: “Damn, Frank Gerwer looks like me in ’06.” — Emilio Cuilan
“Every time you disprove the prejudices of a pedestrian, you win a small victory that reverses the erosion of our collective social capital.” As sarcastic as we may get about the tired “skaters see the world differently” trope, there’s always something reassuring in our ability to — on on some tiny level — leave the world better than it was before, provided we stop sitting around talking shit about pants for long enough. Caught in the Crossfire’s “Four Small Ways Skateboarding Can Change the World” is inspiring, intelligent and heartwarming writing for a tough world right now.
If you guys in the comments are calling Shanahan a “’99 Kalis deadringer,” you better brace yourselves for the ’99 Stevie version because its really really real.
This might be an illegal link, but here’s Yaje’s Riddles in Mathematics part til it gets taken down. Non-sketchy link to buy the video here. Sorry TWS, it’s Yaje ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
“One day’s lifted bar soon becomes the next day’s hurdle to be ollied, and later kickflipped, and eventually kilty mcbagpipped for an after-credits clip set to a whimsical indie-rock tune.” — Boil the Ocean explores ledge skating’s shrinking middle class, via the lens of Tiago’s switch back tail™. And yes, YouTube debaters, Antonio could’ve easily been #1 but Tiago got it for the trick’s status as a “culture-unifying moment.”
Dumb: The Story of Big Brother Magazine is now available to stream on Hulu. (You may need to put in your card info for a free trial blah blah blah.) You can read and disagree with the QS review here.
*Non-Skate Related Alert* The latest episode of 99% Invisible deals with abandoned buildings, squatters, riots, and everything else surrounding Tompkins Square Park in the 80s and 90s. “You got guns? We got piss buckets.” Shout to Mostly.
Quote of the Week: “The price isn’t the problem. Pryce is the problem.” — Dallas Todd
I learned frontside flips via Pryce’s Seaport line A.K.A. have never fully *flipped* one in my life. They still count in S.K.A.T.E. though ;) Thanks Pryce.
The Parks Department sessions Central Park for All City Showdown. Comedy aside, there’s something admirable about filming an entire montage in a place well known for having next to nothing to skate. There are those three sets of three on a hill at the south entrance of the reservoir that would actually look great on film though…
The Tennyson Corp just keeps reelin’ in the hits. The latest is a mix of J.B. and Caesar Singh’s 411 footage. Is the fact that J.B. is European the only reason why he’s often forgotten on First Team Prodigious Nineties Street Skaters lists? Yes? Though so.
Kalis is one of the rare pros whose interviews always feel different and new, even though he’s covered the same tried and true subjects before. He’s got two out this week, both on the occasion of his first trip to London…one with Kingpin about a vindictive $117,000 tax bill from the city of Philadelphia, and another with Slam City Skates with some good bits about the homogenization of 360 flips.
Chima was a bit more unhinged than a lot of guests on the season finale of The Bunt. Requests for next season: Kalis (duh), Zered, Forrest, Jake, Smolik, Muska.
Even if it’s basically a lookbook, Leo footage is Leo footage.
QS Sports Desk Play of the Week:Kristaps’ block in a game that resulted in the first Nets home win in sixteen games. Yeah, I just had this one on in the background last night. No, I didn’t watch it for more than 15 seconds at a time.
Quote of the Week: “Toughen up dude, have a piña colada.” — David Dowd
That Parks Department clip reminded me of the time Ja$onwear noseslid the entire 10-flat-10-flat-10 “hubba” at the 6th Avenue entrance of Central Park, so here’s the 2003 masterpiece as a digitally remastered 2017 Criterion Collection GIF.
