A Brief History of Max Palmer’s Worst Spots

Words by Sean Dahlberg
Photos by Colin Sussingham & Max Hull

Max Palmer has an eye for the strange. He is as distinct of an individual as I’ve ever met and his skating follows suit. I’ve known Max since 2009, and he has been one of my best friends and favorite skateboarders ever since, constantly surprising me every time he takes me to a spot. I’ve been filming him for the last eight years, and if there’s any way to describe our relationship it’s this: he leads and I follow…and follow and follow and follow, until three hours later, when he finally pulls off the impossible on whatever fucked up “not spot” we are skating. Below are some of these stories. I love you Max — even though you may sometimes put me through hell, I hope to have another eight years following you to these horrible spots.

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Rainy Update – Max Palmer, Cyrus & John Choi in ‘1one1’

max

Once a surefire bet for a bi-weekly edit, the always in-demand Johnny Wilson now only emerges from the unregulated cigarette smoke of New York’s hottest nightclubs to drop an edit maybe quarterly. And so, fans of everyone’s favorite skater Max Palmer, everyone’s favorite hucker John Choi, and Johnny’s less nightlife-afflicted and less-prone-to-holding-a-bat brother Andrew have turned to the alternative media for footage of Paych alumni skating knocked over telephone poles.

Sean Dahlberg, whose 2012 video Mama’s Boys brought us the first full-lenth Cyrus part and what was at the time the most comprehensive Max Palmer part in existence, just uploaded an edit with those guys, plus some dope footage of the boys skating the only skatepark in New York that requires helmets + pads, and John Choi doing a bomb switch 360 flip. Do we start a change.org petition for a 2017 John Choi QS part?

Is it weird I’m afraid to watch the Vans video but have watched this three times today?

Twisted Illusions — A Full-Length Video by Max Palmer

twisted illusions

There are few things more excruciating than watching 2014 Q.S.S.O.T.Y, Max Palmer, be unable to skateboard. While spending the last third of 2015 healing a broken elbow, Max — a proud user of a T9-utilizing flip phone that only works sometimes — began filming things on video mode of his digital camera to pass the time. Some may remember this “device” being used in novelty projects like Krooked’s Gnaughty in an era before iPhones, #skatevideohouse, and even Flip Cams.

The resulting footage became Twisted Illusions, a half-hour video that features the B-roll to every Johnny Wilson-filmed session that took place from September 2015 onward. As Johnny himself has become engulfed in the bright lights of downtown celebrity, it’s reassuring to know that the faces who brought you video., Space Heater and Beef Patty are still operating at the same productivity levels that initially cast them in the national spotlight. (Max’s elbow is better now, btw.)

Features parts from Jesse Alba, Genesis Evans, Conor Prunty, Max himself, Kohlton, Cyrus Bennett, Andrew Wilson, Mitch from Philly, and a potential Line of the Year candidate from anti-Chinatown Double-Set activist, Jonathan Choi.

Max Palmer Park

Spots: Tribeca & West Village

Max Palmer via 917 Video #2

A marble fountain with gaps inside that look like miniature steps. The bigger one has ledges running over it. Only skateable during cooler seasons because the fountain gets filled during the summer.

Bust — ♦♦♦♦♦: There are “No Skateboarding” signs posted and some of the outside ledges have been knobbed. The Parks Department usually does not bug you for skating here unless you’re unlucky.

Location: Canal Street and Sixth Avenue, on the south side of the street.

Ryan Mettz’s ‘Mettz Quest 2’ for Skate Jawn — A New One w/ Karim, Cyrus, Max, DREWWW, Nik & Them…

Had to check into the office real quick on a weekend because last night, Ryan Mettz dropped an edit for Skate Jawn that ticks every one of the QS boxes, and tugs at all of our heartstrings.

“Mettz Quest 2” is a peek behind many of the sessions that shaped John’s Vid, Paul Coots’ HIT Video, and Limosine’s Paymaster. Includes appearances from Cyrus, Karim, Max and them, plus video evidence of the Andrew Wilson back tail behind the Home Depot in Gowanus — the trajectory / physics of which make far less sense IRL than on video, perhaps even less-so now that the building chiseled out the quick-crete job on the barrier. Had trouble explaining that trick to a car of people scoping the spot out once.

Thanks Mettz! New Skate Jawn photo issue out now.

Everyone have a fabulous weekend ❤️

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