Finally Famous: Three Up Three Down

There’s a difference between pioneering something and popularizing it. You could be the first one to do it, but not necessarily the one that gets everyone else to do it.

Skateboarders are rolling out to Berlin in desaturated droves — just *hoping* that their fashion senses get rejuvenated by the second week of September. (Who knows, maybe some sick nips step into the frame on a lifestyle shot if they’re lucky?) Except German excursions aren’t the first act of destination popularization that Dylan Reider is responsible for in 2014. His “cherry” part got good skateboarders to begin skating Three Up Three Down, a longtime favorite spot of the Quartersnacks office.

Nevermind that his line which legitimized Three Up in professional skateboarding’s collective consciousness began with an Andre Page ABD from 2011, or that Dre was the first person to ever prop up the grate to the bike rack, or even that Roctakon filmed a line there while wearing, like, $500 Dior jeans. It’s pioneerization (no, that’s not a word) v.s. popularization all over again. Dylan Reider is capable of influencing skateboarding’s zeitgeist in a way that we are not.

HOWEVER, as longtime fans of Three Up Three Down (and the beautiful people who jog past it ♥♥♥♥♥), we ARE qualified to speak on HOW it is skated. Three Up Three Down in not about fashion runway renditions of kickflip nose manuals, or being quick enough to stuff a trick between the two sets. It is the premier “If you can’t ollie up it, don’t ollie down it”-spot. It is not about showing off.

We give people from Florida a hard time*, but credit must be given when it is due. Jimmy Lannon now officially holds the title for the best line done at Three Up Three Down by a professional skateboarder. Switch manual. Switch varial flip on flat. End.

Perfect.

(Labor has Static IV DVDs by the way.)

*It’s been a tough week to maintain Florida-related biases, especially after also being forced to admit that a Floridian had the best footage in Enron. Shouldn’t take long for Florida to fall back down again though: look no further.