I turned 40 this summer. Eschewing a crazy-ass party, trip or any other type of midlife crisis-type behavior, I kept it mellow and went out to my local™ bar. Street skating over forty is unknown territory, but if you manage to stay fit, there’s what I call the Reggie Miller Effect: one’s physique remains essentially static, but one’s capabilities — whether because of reflexes or vision deteriorating — decline exponentially. It’s all about managing expectations. 360 flips might flip slower than in the past, but maybe one adds backside nosegrind reverts on small ledges to the repertoire. Other summer activities function in a similar manner; one might not be able to make it to OVO Fest, but maybe one could chill at one of those tiny New York hotel pools with a bag of tequila taped to one’s thigh.
This #frame gives one hope heading into the fall A.K.A. skate season. Indeed, while this may be the first S.O.T.S. x V.P.O.T.S. post without a part from an according-to-Hoyle physical release, at press time, we were still digesting the 917 and Traffic vids, plus anticipating the release of Sabotage 5. So with an eye towards hoody season, let’s take a look back at the songs and video parts that fueled summer ’17.
A one-spot part was once a natural occurrence and a reflection of habit. Just as partying ate into the time we spent dedicated to night clips, a nationwide depletion of friendly plaza space pushed us into the crust. It now takes a concerted effort to film an entire part in [or mostly in] one place. On a week where we are mourning the loss of skateboarding’s most serendipitous crossroad with public space, let us not forget to celebrate the living.
By previous conservative definitions, Eggs wouldn’t have been considered a plaza. It’s in central Boston, but tucked away in central Boston; the nearest store is still a bit of skate away, rendering the “run, skate, chill, go to the store”-litmus test a fail. As center-city spots turned to memories over the last decade-and-a-half and our friends went searching for cellar doors, we had to widen the classification.
In 2016, Flushing’s a plaza, Third and Army is a plaza and Eggs is a plaza. We had to look past how far they were situated from sustenance. They had open space, they had a history and they had a culture.
Today, we celebrate Eggs with Gavin Nolan, via the lens of perhaps the most well-regarded one-spot part in skate video history. The rest is just a bonus reel. After all, how much actual footage of the subject was there in that 4:30 Reason part ;) ?
Filmed by R.B. Umali, Tom Gorelik, Evan Walsh & Elliott Vecchia. Also maybe the most boom-bap QS remix / clip ever, even though it has a guy from the Bay rapping on it :)
“Would the take-aways from your story be: find your passion, go to school if it interests you, travel, meet new people, get out of your comfort zone, don’t be scared to move somewhere new, be good to people, and work really hard?”
“I’d say focus on the first and the last two things you just mentioned and everything else will fall into place.” Skateboard Story has an interview with Torey Goodall, one of the five or seven greatest living skateboarders, about turning #good #drunk times into a career at a fashion-forward British skateboard enterprise.
This dude switch 5050ed the Hooters rail in the new Waylon Bone edit. Sorta surprised that spot hasn’t been getting more burn in the “Summer Trip to New York” footage cycle considering the actual Hooters has been out of commission for a minute.
Volume 12 of LurkNYC’s “New York York Times” throwaway series went live this past weekend. Some people really really hate skateboarding yaknow?
“Our culture has produced an amazing array of photographers and filmmakers and even sculptors, so it’s not a lack of work ethic or creative energy that’s stopping us from producing poets. But I don’t see it as dumbed down as much as hesitant and cautious. Look around: it’s not just that we’re unsure what skateboarding means, but we’re unsure whether it’s even a good idea to consider its meaning. Skateboarding is supposed to be fun, after all, it’s the most fun thing. Taking it too seriously can dampen or even kill this fun, so, you know, fuck it. Let’s look at the pictures.” The Deaf Lens interviewed Kyle Beachy, a guy who is really good at writing about skateboarding.
“We’re out there breaking our ass trying to find this kid, and you’re up there fucking around in Nyack.” A teaser for Bleach, Paul Young’s new video featuring Dick Rizzo, Erik Martinez, Josh Wilson, Mark Humienik and others.
Found this rather interesting: the world famous Sants spot in Barcelona is unmodifiable, on account of it receiving an architecture award in 1983. The city is, however, starting to build designated places to skate in each district of the city, which could stir things up a bit in what’s basically the skate spot capital of Europe.
After much deliberation, the Nosesliders Guild of America has awarded Hjatle Halberg its “Noseslider of the Year” award based on recentoutput. This is an unprecedented event, as no foreigner has ever won the coveted title. Photo above by Mike O’Meally.
Seeing Michael Mackrodt skate in real life is genuinely one of the most impressive things you could ever witness in skateboarding. His consistency and quick footedness is absurd (personal top 3 most impressive IRL pros.) The next best thing is seeing him skate on video, via this new all-lines part filmed out in the Parisian suburbs. (He also had a New York “Fishing Lines” part in 2010, in case you didn’t know.)
Until Travis Porter fulfills recent promises of bringing the “fun” back to music, Rae Sremmeueurururd is the Rap Desk’s fill-in vote for “funnest” rap group of the moment:
[Late] Spot Updates: 1) Not many people caught onto this spot, but it had a short lifespan. 2) Those round flatbars on 22nd and Fifth near the Flatiron Building are gone. 3) The two-second bust Marriott Banks are also gone.
QS Sports Desk Play of the Week:What else? Klay Thompson went 13-of-13 from the field (nine of which were contested three-pointers) against the Sacramento Kings earlier this week, in what was an utter video game of a single quarter. He now holds the record for most points in a NBA quarter with 37. The Golden State Warriors will be at Madison Square Garden on Saturday :)
Quote of the Week: “Oh Fifty Shades of Grey, I want to read that when the movie comes out.” — E.J.
