The crew from 2018’s eastern European road trip video, “Glory Push,” is back — this time going further east into earth’s largest country.
Like Jacob Harris before him, Ben Chadourne also brought along Nik Stain to chase around in circles through marble remnants of the Soviet Union. Unlike the Atlantic Drift auteur, Ben shot his video on a camera that did not cease production in the same decade that the Soviet Union ceased to exist ;)
See everyone at One Police Plaza at 1 P.M. tomorrow, June 2.Flyer here.
It’s a strange time in our history to be solely concerned with skateboarding, so NY Mag has a running feature on how you can help support the fight against police brutality in America, which includes a list of organizations you can donate to if you have some spare coins. They provide context one what each one does, and you can choose what speaks the most to your heart. A lot have received overwhelming amounts of contributions, and are asking that donations now be directed elsewhere: the civil rights page on Charity Navigator is another helpful resource to find one.
We have donated to Campaign Zero, which advocates for the policy goals of Black Lives Matter to end police violence in America. You can read about their mission here.
Back in October, we asked QS visitors to choose their favorite video parts of the 2010s. If civilization and skateboarding were to end today, which five parts would you bury in a weather-and-nuclear-proof time capsule for post-apocalyptic earth dwellers to reference when they rediscover skate culture of these past ten years?
QS prides itself as being a destination for people who think a lot about skateboarding. Rather than poll a few close colleagues for their favorites, we felt we had a wide enough reverberation in the skate nerd universe to try and crowdsource a canon of the 2010s from anyone willing to sit down and think about it. I can emphatically say that in reviewing the mountain of ballots, everyone took their votes seriously — save maybe the guy who voted for five Micky Papa parts.
As we tallied the results, consistent trends in the count were apparent. Any fears about a recency bias went out the window; there’s only one part from 2019, and the average year of the top 25 is 2014. QS obviously has its own breed of skate nerd audience — this poll would look different if taken by Thrasher or Free — but I would bet that their lists wouldn’t be TOO far off from this one.
Presented without comment for the top 25-11, and then via a lot of favors from writer friends on the internet for the top 10: here are the 25 best video parts of the past ten years.
→ Please sign the petition to show your support for keeping the asphalt at the Tompkins Square Park courts. This space is as sacred to skateboarding and the East Village as the Rucker or the West 4th Street courts are to basketball. It would be a massive loss to the youth and cultural fabric of the neighborhood if they were covered with synthetic turf. We are a few hundred shy of 25,000 (!!!) signatures, so please please please share the petition with your friends, and on your respective social channels.
After many years of captivity, the Zipper Ledge is finally free and dressed with a fresh, yellow paintjob, as first reported by @mini_spots. (Don’t ask for pin! That’s like asking where the Empire State Building is!) If only the park starts opening the gate at Yellow Rail, then the entire Morningside little kid skate scene circa 2003 will be in full revival.
One of the hardest things about interviewing skateboarders is not asking the same ten things that the last few interviews they did asked. It’s special and rare when you get someone for their first one. Caleb Barnett did his first ever interview with the Slam City Skates blog.
Still late. Oh you thought the slump was over? New #content dropping tomorrow though :)
The roster and categories for the 2017 Dime Glory Challenge have been released. Tiago will be there. You can read Baker’s wonderful recap of last year’s event here.
An undercover cop wearing DC once asked us what DC stood for. We told him it stood for “Danny and Colin.” I guess we lied. Anyway, Droors Clothing is making a comeback. Alphanumeric up next?
Fucked up T.F. obstacle hall of fame, first ballot
“There’s no hierarchy there. No one tries to out cool each other. And I love that the place is a real public place in the sense that you meet other people there and you get to see real city life. It’s warm, it’s tough – it’s diverse.” Village Psychic with some more knowledge from the skateboard utopia that exists in Denmark’s capital city.
And like that, the trinity of 6th Ave. spots that defined our adolescent years is gone. Though it has been 70% skateblocked since 2011, Ziegfeld is now closed off for renovations. You might be able to skate the barrier off the ledge though ;)
“I learned a word the other day. Refurbish.” C’mon you know that’s a five.
Quote of the Week: “Two years from now, we’ll all be living in Maspeth.” — Max Palmer re: increasing rent costs in New York City