‘What Is Dime?’ — An Interview With Antoine Asselin & Phil Lavoie

dime-lotus

This originally appeared in Dank Skate Mag issue number 8. We felt this was worth sharing online, given the slim chance that you have difficulty obtaining Norwegian skateboard magazines where you live.

Dime is one of the greatest “things” in skateboarding. I say “things” because even they don’t exactly know what they are. A brand, a crew, a series of videos, something? Being funny is hard enough, but being a funny skate crew — without falling into the same overused tropes of weed and dick humor as every other skater on Instagram — is impossible. These dudes somehow figured it out, all while embracing the relative invisibility of Canadians in skateboarding.

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What is Dime?

Phil: It’s a bit different than what it started out as. Now, it’s a brand, but it became one accidentally. At first it was a crew, and we just skated together and made videos.

Antoine: It started as a shitty website that we never updated. We were fifteen-years-old, just posting shitty web clips. We started making full-lengths and it grew from there.

P: We sell some clothes, but it’s not really a clothing brand or a skate video brand. Everything we make is just for fun.

It’s kind of a good era with the internet and all to have the luxury of not knowing what you’re doing.

A: We’re not too sure what it is ourselves. We’re just going with the flow. I think people like not knowing what it is.

P: It’s nice being able to do whatever you want whenever you want. Whenever we have a good idea, we do it. Real clothing companies have timed fall drops, and we’re completely lost on that. We’re trying to learn everything as we go along.

Alexis Lacroix in the back: No definition, no limits.

P: Our goal is to skate. Anything to keep us around skateboarding. That’s what we like to do. I’m never going to become a professional skateboarder, so I might as well make something I want to do in skateboarding. Antoine makes money off his sponsors and all, but I quit my job to focus on Dime.

So, the goal of Dime is to keep you dudes from having real jobs for as long as possible?

A: To us, it’s not work. Now, we have clothing in stores, so we have to be more on point, but it doesn’t feel like work. We want to do this.

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In the Back Playing the Guitar

tony montgomery

No idea who shot this photo (it comes from the creditless abyss known as Tumblr) the photo was taken by Andrej Tur, but it is amazing. Tony Montgomery, a long time ago. Also: watch this.

Nobody should have any issues with this year’s skater of the year selection — unless your issue is that Pat Pasquale got robbed, in which case, you have a valid point, and should go vote for his Theatrix part as the best part of the year over on the TWS site.

BTW, Wes Kremer met his connect in Costa Rica.

Jerry Mraz is a true American hero who has contributed to skateboarding in this city in many ways. Credit to Jenkem for shining a light on his untold story.

An interview with Antoine Asselin, Real teamrider and one of the main minds behind modern skateboarding’s greatest thinktank.

Found this really interesting: How the business of clearing music rights for skate videos works. (Though I personally would’ve asked how the hell Plan B cleared Rolling Stones’ “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” for Torey Pudwill’s part, since she worked on the clearance for True. Clearing a Stones song for a skate video seems almost as impressive as a 20-foot-long back noseblunt pop-out.)

If riding a shaped board in 2014 is akin to using a flip phone in 2014, when is Rihanna for Welcome going to drop? Fwiw, Nokia bricks > flip phones.

Wow @ the 5050 transfer (3:10) at Love Park in this “Lawrence of Gnarabia” edit. Never really see anyone skate that ledge. Shout out Peter O’Toole.

The Broadway Bump was one of the funnest midtown spots ever (Keenan Choc Tour opener), though by today’s standards, it’d barely be considered a spot for most kids.

J.B. Gillet bought Makaveli on cassette the first day it came out.

Can’t wait for Beastern Exposure.

Lottery Boiz II, a new NY-based video from some guys who really like Chief Keef.

Sick line at Chase — not at the three-up-five-down — in this Coda crew clip.

So much for that remark about Houston Street construction yielding less popular spots as of late

Rich..Gang throwaway tracks omg.

QS Sports Desk Play of the Week: Need to embed this.

The QS Sports Desk is an anti-Lakers establishment #2011mavs4ever, but wow Nick Young is perfect (even though he stole the opening bit to his interview from Kosmo Kramer.) Kobe will probably strangle him by the end of the season.

Quote of the Week:

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Thanks to anyone who purchased something from the webstore last week. We should be caught up with shipping out orders today, or Tuesday at the absolute latest.

QS in Print: ‘What is Dime?’

dime in dank

Had the opportunity to interview Antoine Asselin and Phil Lavoie, two of the principal figureheads behind Dime, for Dank, everyone’s favorite grown and sexy Norwegian skateboard magazine. We discussed their origins, the invisibility of Canadian skateboarders, Peace Park, the mythology behind Eric Reidl, and more.

In the opinion of our award-winning international low impact skateboard media institution, Dime is the finest skateboard thinktank in operation today. There are a few great companies and crews out right now, but there is no other crew that incites envious feelings of “Damn, why didn’t I think of that?” to the extent that Dime does with their consistently brilliant output. (Check yesterday’s “Legend of Joe Valdez” video.) They make you laugh, say “holy shit,” and hyped to go skate all at the same time.

For a sample of the Dime crew’s ability to do all three of those things, we compiled a bunch of their Instagram videos into one ten-minute compilation a la Worldstar.

Dank No. 8 should be available in the States soon. Theories typically stocks copies, and Labor has sold them in the past. It’s pretty much the only magazine worth keeping back issues of going today. This edition also has a cool Bobby Worrest feature :)

Excerpt from the Dime interview below.

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Why did you guys stop using the logo with the girl throwing up the devil horns? What’s the story behind her?

Antoine Asselin: That girl fueled everything there is to know about Dime.

Phil Lavoie: There was a website called DoYouLookGood.com, which was like a Hot or Not sort of website. You put a picture up, and people rate it. Hugo Balek sent us a photo of this young girl throwing up devil horns, saying “Check out my new girlfriend” as a joke. We go “Ha ha Hugo, nice one,” and forgot all about it. A few years later, my homie is going through my computer and finds a photo of that chick way down in my downloads folder. He goes “Who’s this?” and we started getting so hyped on her.

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We Never Hungover

dre perez

Quartersnacks colorway Alltimers Lambo cruisers now available at Supreme NY. They have tees, too. Webstore is still cracking, but we’re sold out of cruisers.

Skateboard tricks are sorta just stupid now.

Diamond Days #76. This one is fairly street.

New Ishod and Seaport 5.1-heavy video blog from Johnny Wilson and friends.

Blonde Reider is pretty sick. 99% sure he’s the first one to skate the second level of the Columbus Circle statue ledge from flat. Someone good should noseslide it.

You probably caught the Puleo and Wenning sections from In Absentia, but you might’ve missed the more under-the-radar parts from Rodney Torres, who has always been a bit ahead of his time, especially by east coast standards, and Andy Bautista, which contains tons of Logic #6 B-sides. R.I.P. Hoboken Ledges.

“This is a bad example, but you know like in Dodgeball, when the evil team comes out and they’ve got the best uniform, and everyone else has mixed shirts? I like that look.” Complex has a rather detailed interview with Lev Tanju.

DC Shoes is five years late on trying to merge the scene with the board. Who on their team is even partyboy-enough (in the #nyfw sense of the word) to legitimately be the face behind that shoe? Is Nyjah poised for a more fashionable rebrand?

This is what skateboarding in Alaska looks like.

The landing for that first 360 flip is literally cobblestones.

The Gonz doesn’t like Brooklyn, and Kevin Lowry cruising around non name brand New York spots is a fun watch. (Do any NBA fans find it confusing that there is a Canadian skateboarder named Kevin Lowry, and a basketball player on a Canadian team named Kyle Lowry? Or is this only a problem in the QS office?)

VHS Mag has a new interview with the first or second best skater from New Jersey, Quim Cardona.

“Best duo since Outkast” might be a hyperbole, but who really cares.

Quote of the Week: “We wanted to send PLG [Pierre-Luc Gagnon] some Dime gear, and asked him what size he was. He goes, ‘I’ll take larges for skating, and mediums for the club.'” — Antoine Asselin

How long is that new T.F. box going to stick around? How long until there’s a 24-hour police patrol at that new concreted spot downtown? Sorry for so many questions today. We are feeling very #existential.