This final stretch of the year has typically meant there was some sort of QS winter getaway in the cards after New Year’s, but you know… pandemic, etc. Instead, let’s travel ~*VIRTUALLY*~ with these recent features… 1) Skate spots in the Swiss alps with Irregular, 2) The Cuban skate scene with Skateism, 3)Marble relics of the Soviet Union with Free.
Throughout 2019, Alexis Lacroix‘s drawn out “Oh yeah!” elevated itself into a mantra of spiritual skateboard proportions. We oh yeah’d during our successes to amplify the good feelings. We oh yeah’d during troubled times, to remind ourselves that no misstep was large enough to derail our greater journey. And sometimes, we oh yeah’d when there was nothing else to say — it was a placeholder for any and all emotion. At the same time, Alexis’ skateboarding, most notably via Dime’s Knowing Mixtape Volume 2, was everything and nothing you had seen before. It made you cheer, it made you confused, it frightened you, it made you think, and it made you laugh — sometimes in the span of the same six seconds. With Rita on his shoulder, it also reminded us that our furry, four-legged friends are skaters too. Thank you for the inspiration Alexis Lacroix, the 2019 Q.S.S.O.T.Y.
We will be out of the office until January 6, making this the last QS update of the decade!Webstore purchases will ship as ordered. Everyone enjoy the rest of your break, take care of yourself, and thanks for all the support this year, decade, etc. ♥
Pretty much any group of skaters that has passed this spot these past ~20 years has stopped and debated whether it was possible or not. I remember somebody pointing out that if Brandon Westgate hadn’t done it yet (he definitely would’ve known about it), then maybe it was impossible. We even posed the rhetorical “how long until” on Twitter two years ago (that photo does the size of it zero justice, btw.) Really glad T.J. was the one to get it. The fact that an ollie is on the cover should tell you all you need to know about how crazy this is. (Well, that and the fact that it’s broad daylight in midtown Manhattan should color the narrative a bit, too.) Assuming everyone will be onboard the #TJSOTY train when that Supreme video drops, so yeah. Photo by Jared Sherbert.
Remember that Weed Maps clip we admitted to being a bit of a guilty pleasure on here last winter? Well, here’s the less jittery version of the same clip that features Jaws skating New York.
After getting shamed for not putting the new OG.2000 video (the dudes who made the “Mariah” video last year and um, ollied onto a Ferrari) in #QSTOP10 contention a week ago, we finally got around to watching it, and yeah, it got way less shine than it deserved on the skate internet. Tons of incredible Euro skating from names that will likely be unknown to you — though I’m sure some #trend-weary curmudgeons will find issue with something. These two tricks in Paris are fucked.
Brian Anderson is the latest guest on Lee Smith’s podcast. The interview is damn near two hours long. Maybe these could benefit from Soundcloud or Podcast links? Or did we miss that?
Looks like SML Talk is updating their site again. Here’s a listicle of 17 “beautiful” moments in skate video history. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and quite frankly, Jason Byoun’s Astor Place line from Life is Goodiegot robbed.
It’s no video blog, but Johnny went to Argentina to film the SB team a year ago, and made his own clip of the trip just now. Can’t wait for Beef Patty 2.
Back when Crailtap was a daily visit and the skateboard internet was a smaller place, they used to post these random digi cam tidbits (pre-iPhone obvs) on their site. Someone compiled all of them, 2003-2005.
The building got tired of replacing the rail in front of the out ledge at FedEx and just… knobbed the ledge instead.
Shout to Cosme Studio for coming through on a slightly higher quality digital copy of Continuum. These are maybe only 10-15% better quality than the ones that have been on YouTube for ages, but hey, slow motion is better than… Also we’ve certainly pontificated about it in the past, but wow was Jerry Fowler’s skateboarding ahead of its time. Jahmal’s is obvs timeless, but you knew that :)
In all honesty, we’ve been hoarding the idea of an all-Alexis Dime Comp for years — ultimately to accompany an interview with the OHHHHH YYYYYEAAAAAHHHH spokesman that we never ended up getting around to. (Pro tip to all aspiring content creators: The Dime Glory Challenge is not the most optimal event to try and accomplish #skate #journalism at.) Then, Skate Jawn beat us to it.
Now is as good a time as any to remind you that speed is an illusion.
It’s one of those “more words than videos” weeks :)
“But skateboarding’s worldview can often become so totalizing that commitment to it far into adulthood, past the age when it’s socially acceptable to ride around in a school bus smoking weed and listening to Slayer, can look like protracted adolescence. This is why skateboarding, for a large chunk of the country, will never fully outgrow its degenerate associations. And that’s fine.” It is notoriously difficult to produce a genuinely great piece of writing about skateboarding, but Noah Gallagher Shannon’s profile of Grant Taylor ticks all the boxes. Send it to your mom.
QS Sports Desk: More excited for the off-season, than we were for like, the entire second half of the postseason. And if you think Lebron is coming to the Knicks you need to move to Mars.
Quote of the Week: “Hell no I don’t watch soccer. A bunch of buddies kicking balls? I’m good.” — Meatball
QS is perpetually giving 90% of skate video editors a hard time for their uninspired marriage to Big L + and this idea that basically all rap still needs to sound like nineties rap (how boring does that sound tbh?), but we’ll throw you guys a bone here because there’s a substantial chance you haven’t heard this one before, and it’s really fun:
