The only constant is change or some shit like that ;)
So much nineties New York footage on the #repost circuit is us re-mining R.B. Umali’s amazing archive over and over that it’s a shock to see something from then that you haven’t seen before. Alex Corporan started going through all his old tapes, and put together a montage as a preview for a Revisted-esque project he’s working on.
Photo via the tumbleweeds. Tumblr in 2019 is like that one ledge spot that was popping five years ago. Everyone used to meet there, get clips there, get stuck there. Now it’s chunked up, the bevel got as round as Blubba, and it sorta just sits there. Maybe a group of guys in their 30s will skate it for 20 minutes before they go to the bar. Maybe a pair of kids in #curated thrift store finds visiting from out of town will film each other do two-trick lines for their trip edit on it. The solitary man who shows up after work once every two weeks to ensure that he hasn’t lost his back tails is always a fixture. But sometimes, all three of those end up there together, and it’s fun — not fun like the old days, but enough to remind you that they existed ;)
NBC visited Tompkins to speak with Zhu and Yaje about how much that square of asphalt means to the community. Please sign the petition to preserve Tompkins Square courts as an asphalt space, if you have yet to do so.
Medium has an awesome feature with Justin Bohl, a guy who has been the go-to tour guide for skate teams visiting Detroit over the past eight years. He put together a twenty-minute video entitled Mint, which features a bunch of behind the scenes footage of all the traveling skaters who have come through the city as it became sought-after skate trip destination in the 2010s.
“Ultra” from Chris Burt is up there with the Bos brothers’ “Wide Open” for 2019’s best videos outside of the Thrasher/Insta content spiral. It’s a Minnesota video with three parts, mostly filmed in the suburbs, yet somehow feels all the right ways different than a lot of the other stuff you’ve watched this past week. Ender part from Frog’s Pat Gallaher.
Doubtful that anybody hasn’t watched it through at least once by now — Sour Solution II is fucking insane. Their first video was nuts, but they entered some new dimension of spots and sorcery with this one. Also, this video makes the whole “Barcelona footage is boring”-thing that people have been saying as of late just seem stupid. Then again, these ten guys are maybe the only ten guys who can skate the spots they skate ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
“Play – Part 2” is an iPhone video by Mateo deJesus featuring Marcello + a few of the Canal dudes, and really makes you happy to remember there’s this thing called summer that happens eventually. Can’t remember the last time anyone had footage from 3030 Park since they half-remodeled it either.
Two adults talking about adult skate shit… Chico Brenes chats with Tommy Guerrero about falling in love with skateboarding again, skating old school shapes, deciding to leave Chocolate, etc.
Blondey “Shorts in the Winter” McCoy and Shawn Powers build on the growing practice of skating the Banks’ exterior in “Serenity Now,” a shared part for Bronze. Shawn also has a quick video profile thing with …Manhattan Portage. (Honestly never registered the brand name of those red woven label bags until now. Content at work!)
Late to mention here, and it is more symbolic than anything, but Enid’s will be closing down at the end of March. It was the final North Brooklyn Barmuda Triangle institution still standing (Enid’s x No Name x Matchless), which aborted many day-after skate sessions before they even got started throughout the late-2000s and early-2010s. Its throne is now drunkenly held by the Bushwick Barmuda Triangle consisting of Carmelo’s x Birdy’s x Three Diamond Door. Shout out to that time Pryce and Waste held an Enid’s Christmas raffle with a chance to win a TV, and Marty won because he spent more on drinks than the TV itself costs ♥
QS Sports Desk Play of the Week:Steph to Giannis at All-Star, though who the hell paid any attention to the All-Star Game when you had the Sour video?
Quote of the Week Antonio Durao: “Yo! They’re selling hoodies for a dollar!” Inquisitive Gentleman: “You gonna buy one?” Antonio Durao: “…no.”
2018 feels like the first lllooonnnggg year in a while. Like, did the Cons video come out in 2016? But alas, we had to cuff up our macaroni denim before it went out of style, and recap just what the hell happened in this year that felt like three.
You might recognize Marcello as being the only person doing literal 540s over the trash can at Tompkins, or for being an early purveyor of the cab flip craze that took over flatground skating earlier in the #TRENDWATCH cycle. Mode is the new / first full-length video from Canal New York, and features his first part since the quick ender in Diego Garcia’s Goodily video from last year. Save a quick interlude at Eggs, it is entirely filmed in New York, and one of those rare parts that makes such good use out of every oft-traversed corner of the city that you feel stupid for complaining about there being nowhere to skate yesterday. (Though not stupid enough to forget that those Citi Field benches are nowhere near as fun IRL as videos make them look to be hehehe.)
Video by Esteban Jefferson, who says Mode will probably make its way online in full over the weekend.
