Munchie Mart

Congrats to Beatrice on the pro board. Stephen Ostrowski has a cool story about the guest trick that she had in his Glue part on IG.

Austin Bristow dropped a seven-minute edit of the Palace boys, entitled “Laust in Translation.” Includes what is effectively a full-ish Rory Milanes part, and an ender part from Lucien Clarke, which wraps up with him hitting some of the same locations from the very first Palace trip to New York edit from 2011.

The Jenkem dudes snuck into what can without hyperbole be called the biggest bust in New York City (the Roosevelt Island Monument), so Julian Lewis could pull off two N.B.Ds. Fakie flip was worth a summons though :)

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It’s 5 Hours Somewhere

Photo via Zach

Nice! So we made it two weeks without having to rally for a skate spot’s survival on a Monday Links post… This time, the spot is an ocean away, but in this media enterprise’s opinion, it’s the best spot in the world — even better than Tompkins when there are two boxes! Everyday Hybridity has the most current update on Prague’s Stalin Plaza being fenced off / condemned to renovation.

It’s all fun and games until Balenciaga actually does a renegade runway show at Blue Park next September.

A dear friend, “Zach from Crown Heights,” called into The Brian Lehrer Show’s episode about the “cost of climate resilience” to provide a T.F. anecdote to the ongoing battle with the East River Park renovation. The convo in question happens just after the 17-minute mark. Whole episode is worth listening to if you want some context as to how this whole issue came to be in the first place.

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Frozen in Carbonite Presents — Song of the Summer x Video Part of the Summer 2019: Sponsored by Popeye’s

Words by Frozen in Carbonite

It was the best of chicken sandwiches; it was the worst of chicken sandwiches.

At press time, I have yet to experience the already-legendary Popeye’s chicken sandwich. The saga — almost Dickensian, if you will — continues. First, I called around to see which area franchises carried the sandwich to no avail. When I inquired as to when it would become available, they responded with some variation of “whenever the owner decides to sell the sandwich.”

I felt like a schlub, like I was calling around on a Jordan release date asking, “uhhhh when are y’all gettin’ a restock?” In the subsequent weeks, the sandwich has taken my area by storm, leading to football-field-long drive-thru lines and signs that flat-out say: “WE ARE OUT OF CHICKEN SANDWICHES.”

Like I said, the saga continues…

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3 Mophies Is Basically a VX

Brian Panebianco at the ever-enduring ABC Ledges. Photo via Mike Heikkila, who actually has an interview over on the Skate Jawn site.

“The only survivor of this whole mess of skateboard media is Thrasher. And why? Because they’re still owned by a skateboard family…If I ever were to start another magazine, that’s how I would do it.” Hanson O’Haver wrote wrote an awesome oral history of Transworld, which closely parallels the greater story of skateboard media in the last thirty years.

“I didn’t want to be that kid asking for stuff. I’d rather just buy it.” Josh Davis wrote a rad profile of T.J. for Hypebeast’s magazine. They just put up online.

Ross Norman — a longtime favorite of the QS office, and the guy who Hjalte said he stole all his tricks from — has a new part over on the Free site. Hasn’t long a single step.

“So how does it feel to be a woman in skating?” “Well, I have a vagina, and if I do a kickflip, it’s still there.”

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An Interview With Ross Norman

Photo by Corey Rosson

Words & Interview by Frozen in Carbonite

The American archetype of The Cowboy as a metaphor for an “outlaw” lifestyle is around 150 years old. The New Jersey classic, “Wanted Dead or Alive,” which just flat out states “I’m a cowboy” is probably the least subtle example of this. Ross Norman’s 2008 Last of the Mohicans part, on the other hand, is more cerebral. The juxtoposition of the Highwaymen classic “Silver Stallion,” and Norman’s technical-yet-relatable #lowimpact skating stood out in a sea of women’s jeans and Modest Mouse edits.

Through the sands of time, the Mohicans part developed a cult following — devotees including Hjalte Halberg, who stated on the record that he stole all his tricks from Norman. Recently, the dude made a comeback of sorts, going pro for The Vacation and branding himself as a North American plaza specialist, an almost impossible job description. Indeed, based on the current state of North American plaza skating, one could even call him a desperado or some shit.

So we caught up with one of your favorite skater’s favorite skaters to, A) get into what he’s been up to for the past decade, and B) shed some light on one of America’s last standing organic plaza spots.

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Where are you from, and how did you get into skating?

I was born in Torrance and then moved to the Santa Ynez Valley, which is near Santa Barbara, CA. That was when the Powell SkateZone was open. I started going there in 1992 when I was twelve years old, and saw some contests that got me stoked on skating. Kinda started from there, and skating street after that place closed.

How did you link up with Joe Perrin and all those Florida guys?

I skated for Status Skateboards back in the early 2000s, and Mike Rosa was on the team. He’s from Orlando and skated for Westside, so he knew John Buchanan, Dowd, Renaud, all those dudes. I met Rosa on the first Status tour — it was a two-month tour that Van Styles talked about in that Nine Club interview. We went through Florida, so I met Renaud and Nix when they were like fourteen or fifteen — like, tiny little kids. And Josh Dowd skated for DNA, which was the sister company to Status. Dowd moved to Hollywood, Rosa and 80s Joe were staying at his place, and I’d always go and stay with them. Rosa and 80s got their own apartment, and I basically lived on their couch for years.

Who was most influential on your skating coming up in Santa Barbara?

The Church of Skatan guys were the local rippers. Dylan Gardner was kinda like the hometown hero dude. He skated for Neighborhood and was in magazines. He was super sick in the mid-to-late 90s before he got all hesh. I learned nollie flip nose slides just because he did them. But I grew up on 20 Shot, Trilogy, early 411s — all the classic mid-90s videos. L.A. was really close, so I Iooked to that kind of skating as being influential. Gino, Pupecki, Pepe, Welsh… those dudes were and will always be my favorites.

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