The Events That Defined New York City Skateboarding in 2011: 5-1

2011 is over in five hours. Here are the final five. Have fun tonight everyone.

Previous installments: #25-21, #20-16, #15-11, #10-6, The Best Video Part(s) of 2011, The Year in Rap.

5. The Rise of 12th & A Rap

As 12th & A’s stronghold on New York City skateboarding waned, it began to rise as an epicenter for New York City skateboard *rap*. With artists like ASAP Rocky, Odd Future, and Krayshawn getting deals off YouTube videos, the young skaters of 12th & A drew inspiration from their D.I.Y. attitude, and set out to make a name for themselves in perhaps the only professional world more overpopulated than pro skateboarding. Slicky Boy remixed Ice Cube and has been promising a mixtape all year. The Stoned Rollers took Lex Luger out of the trap and the strip clubs, and brought his trademark thump to the skate spot. And Black Dave, perhaps 12th & A rap’s greatest success story, is one-for-two with making it onto WorldStar with his videos.

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The Events That Defined New York City Skateboarding in 2011: 10-6

2011 ends in less that four days. Wow. Previous installments of the countdown: #25-21, #20-16, #15-11. Final installment goes online December 31.

10. Lucas Puig Re-Legitimizes the Noseslide

The northeast may be the last place on earth that does not fully buy into the ballet of flip-in-flip-outs synonymous with the modern day noseslide. We were delighted to see Lucas Puig, one of European skateboarding’s most agreeable technicians, be the one to bring back a completely glitter-less version of one. Puig’s re-induction of the noseslide into acceptable territory for line choreographers has already been felt in videos since his Transworld spotlight, most notably via Stefan Janoski in The SB Chronicles.

Note: Whether or not this trick is acceptable for those under the age of 25 (i.e. those who have not been skating long enough to remember when the noseslide was an acceptable ledge trick) is a controversial subject.

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The Events That Defined New York City Skateboarding in 2011: 15-11

This week’s installment. Going to finish out the remainder of the list next week. Previous editions: #25-21, #20-16.

15. Luis Tolentino Skates on High Things

Though Aldrin Garcia may have set the new highest ollie record in 2011, Luis went his own route and created an alternate, more conceptual category: Highest Average Obstacle in a Skate Part. The average height of every object he skates on or over in his Everywhere We Go Part is estimated to be 40 inches, shattering any previous records (likely held by Darren Harper and Brandon Westgate) by at least half-a-foot. This new record has lead to a variety of bizarre theories from YouTube comments, most notably that Luis has a black person in each leg.

He also started off his part with a trick at a Waffle House, so that’s always a plus.

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The Events That Defined New York City Skateboarding in 2011: 20-16

Back on it, sorry for the delay. Previous installment: #25-21

20. Blackberry solidifies its status as a “core” video device for skateboard videographers

2011 saw the largest wave of Blackberry-to-iPhone conversions from New Yorkers to date. Even those who swore by physical keyboards eventually crumbled in their stance, and purchased history’s most advanced piece of glass, allowing the iPhone to be seen on at least five out of every seven Tompkins benches by the end of the year. Though progress on smartphones is more rapid than on actual skateboard-filming-devices, this dynamic shift in technological preferences cast the Blackberry into the same core device category dominated by the VX1000. Blackberry loyalists (snobs?) like Paulgar, and other T-Mobile customers have continued to burn the torch for what has become the cellphone equivalent of skateboarding’s favorite “standard definition” camera, by continuing to release core-targeted Blackberry montages to combat the staleness of most iPhone edits.

And if “VHS is the new Super-8,” what is the Sidekick in this equation?

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The Events That Defined New York City Skateboarding in 2011: 25-21

You know the drill. Five at a time, one post a week. Have a good weekend.

25. The Blue Flatbar Shatters the Record for the Longest a Loose Obstacle Has Been Left at Tompkins

Every skateboarder in New York is guilty of having once been too lazy to return a box or rail back to Autumn after it gets dark. Neglecting to bring the box back is so common that we deliberately left it off our Tompkins etiquette guide. If the Parks Department held on to all the obstacles they have removed from the park over the last ten years, then they easily have the capability of furnishing every basketball court and concrete baseball diamond in New York with at least one box and flatbar. The historical average for the longest an obstacle has been able to remain loose in Tompkins Square without confiscation is roughly 10.2 hours. This past November, amidst the 12th & A lockout, the blue flatbar was brought to the T.F. and lasted an unprecedented three weeks before being taken by the Parks Department and thrown in a trash compactor. It is quite possible that this record will never be broken.

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