Copenhagen | Quartersnacks

Red Code — A Tribute to a T.F. Across the Atlantic

Daily News February 27th, 2018 · 5:33 am · 2

The first time we ever went to Copenhagen’s Red Plaza, a disgruntled guy told us some shit in Danish, which we ignored considering none of us spoke the language. He sought out our Danish-speaking guide, flashed some sketchy blade, and told him that he was selling hash and if we keep skating there, he’s going to stab all of us (*queue up the Chris Rock “97 people deserved it” joke*). We went to the next spot.

“Red Code” is a [mostly] one-spot video in the recent tradition of the all Oslo City Hall video, or the London Gillette Square one from the summer. Unlike those two cities, “Red Code” hails from a place doused with some of the best spots on earth. So why skate a big empty space, with a short bank, wood scraps, and a D.I.Y. ledge? (The park is even across the street from an admittedly shitty but charming skatepark.)

Big, empty and centrally-located spaces with nice ground are malleable. It’s tempting to call the Red Plaza “Copenhagen’s T.F.,” but it’s actually more like an O.G. Astor Place closed off to vehicular traffic. It sits in the middle of city life. People bike, walk, skate and wheelchair through at all hours. You skate what winds up there until it falls apart beyond recognition. You interact, you create, you reshape.

For all its merits as a skateboard mecca, the one nitpicky criticism you can pass Copenhagen’s way is that a lot of its best spots occupy a grey zone between skate spot and skatepark (obviously because these multi-use spaces are designed with skater input.) I’ve watched Johnny Wilson and all those guys skate past some of the most amazing spots simply because they didn’t look interesting enough. And it’s like, yeah, fair — you want your video to look different.

“Red Code” is a tribute to the infinite, simple and universal joy of nice ground :)

(From what I understand, the drug dealers and skateboarders have made their peace. Shout out to the magic of unregulated public space! ♥)

Edited by Anton Juul. Filmed by Anton Juul, Søren Nordal Enevoldsen, Anders Jørgensen. Features every single blonde-haired skateboarder in the world besides Pryce Holmes.

Somewhat Related: Keep Skateboarding Romantic

Enough Moncler For 16 Winters

Daily News December 4th, 2017 · 1:18 pm

The aliens took it.

The webstore is now open with holiday goods. Arriving at European shops this week. Available in U.S. and Japan shops now. Arriving Korea, Canada and Australia next week. Thanks every for the support, really means a lot ♥♥♥ Stockist list here.

You’ve seen Keith work a 9-to-5, now see him shred Pulaski!

With Canada Day a mere seven months away, let’s get the party started with some videos from our neighbors to the north! Our bud and Dime logistics extraordinaire, Guillaume Thibault, has a new 20-minute video entitled Parkour. If Dime videos are Baker vids, this is like…a Shake Junt video…or something? It’s a good time. And the Swiss O.G. 2000 boys linked up with Clubgear for a ten-minute video entitled Cialis. Stoked for the comments to get flooded with spam links for dick pills. Perfect.

Others are less enthused about Canada Day being around the corner. “Absolutely No Dime Clothing. Shit is ugly AF.”

House of Vans is slated to close after this coming summer :(

“I mean, you can’t go too far with it. You don’t want to make it perfect, you know? But fixing a spot, modifying a spot is all right. As long as you don’t go too far with it.” New Jersey Governor, Fred Gall, talks to Village Psychic about the unwritten codes behind fixing crusty spots and finding guns stashed at skate spots.

Kevin Coakley wants all da smoke. Theories is also hosting a remix contest for his Traffic part. Shout out to the Jason Byoun remix contest though.

“Dirt River” is a montage out of Copenhagen with a lot of friends in it. Cameos from Nik Stain, Hjalte, Chris Millic, etc.

I think this new “Summer Trip to New York” iPhone edit is actually the first footage of someone skating the back hubba on the Amsterdam side of Lincoln Center? Or no? The runway is shit but surprised more people haven’t gone for it.

Worried about everyone’s mental health if and when another store opens up at the liquor store bump in Bed-Stuy. Sleep Skateboards has a new, mostly-NY montage.

QS Sports Desk Play of the Week: Honestly didn’t watch any games last week, but here’s Demarcus Cousins explaining the plot of Titanic, although this will forever be the best piece of Titanic-related #content.

Quote of the Week: “I wonder how good Jesse would be if he took skateboarding seriously. Probably like…Shane O’Neill.” — Corey Rubin re: Jesse Alba

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Chit Chat

Daily News August 7th, 2017 · 2:33 pm · 4

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.

Manchild has some New York clips in his raw B-sides video from The Flare (check the 5:18 mark), Bobby De Keyzer has some New York clips in his now-online Riddles part, and Paul Young has a quick compilation video from the Bronx Courthouse ledge-to-bank, one of the few New York spots to appear in a 411 opener.

Jason Byoun has a clip from the pool people have been skating in the purgatory abyss of Midwood. Be careful, because people have been getting tickets.

“Was Nyjah’s rave the most 1990s thing so far this summer?”

To supplement Mike Arnold’s incredible “Lloyd’s” part, Sidewalk threw together a two part history of England’s second most famous skate spot :)

With one-spot parts trending hard these past several years, Politic’s sister brand, The Vacation, put together a remix video of Ross Norman (a.k.a. the guy Hjalte stole all his tricks from) at Legislative Plaza, one of the few remaining plaza™ spots in the U.S.

“That is what skating does: it fills the cracks in society…”

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 on that note, Max Hull has a video recap of the drunkest skateboard contest on earth. It’s the only bit of CPH Open coverage I’ve managed to watch in full.

The Northern Co. boys skate the Willy B Momument, Delancey curbs + the Banks.

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

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Keep Skateboarding Romantic

Video & Remixes July 20th, 2017 · 1:35 am · 6

“What does that even mean?”

Nothing. Or at least, something different for everybody.

Torey Goodall said it one time, and it always stuck with me. As you age, “romance” in skateboarding doesn’t get less abundant, but it does stubbornly confine itself to specific memories. It ties itself to finding the feeling of why you’re still doing it in the first place. Do it long enough and on some days, skateboarding feels like a routine — your past three attempts at having fun remind you of why you hate the spots that you hate. But it’s there. Somewhere. Though not necessarily at home.

Between 2014 and 2017, various incarnations of the Quartersnacks office have visited Copenhagen six times. No place is perfect, but Copenhagen is perfect. Is it perfect to people who have lived there for years? Of course not. They hate Copenhagen how we hate New York. Anytime we show up and ask them to take us to some spot that quite literally has no equivalent on our continent, what’s the response?

“Oh, I haven’t been there in over a year. That’s a tourist spot.”

Just as the monotony of taking a group of out-of-towners around New York’s Financial District is only quelled by vicariously living through someone having fun at a spot you haven’t enjoyed in half a decade, you find it in unexpected places. Our romantic notion of a marble ledge with good ground and no bust is someone else’s dream of slappying a curb that only exists in this hot, annoying, expensive city.

There’s some cheesy metaphor in there about junkies chasing their first high, but I think like six hundred other people have used it before.

We just want a straight [fucking] ledge, man.

Alternate YouTube Link

Contributing Filmer: Anton Juul

Quartersnacks for Street Machine will be available at Street Machine [online & in-store], Civilist, Arrow & Beast, Ben-G, Lockwood, Slam City Skates and Labor tomorrow. Available on the webstore at midnight.

~Positivity is Sexy~

Daily News September 6th, 2016 · 11:14 am · 4

Free beer to whoever disses it with a Tas Pappas tag. Photo via The Shady One

“One thing I realized once I started being in the world of Instagram was that people don’t let go of things. If something has emotionally affected somebody in some powerful way sometime in their life, that doesn’t fade. If anything, social media kind of fans the flame of that and almost reestablishes that emotional connection.” With so much discussion of social media and its pros/cons in any skate interview these days, it’s nice to hear that it actually does have a way of bringing about some greater good from one of the happiest people to ever ride a skateboard, Ray Barbee.

“With a skater like Jamal Williams, Ricky Oyola or even Pat Steiner, people aren’t pulling out the yardstick to measure how high they’re ollieing. It’s more the feelings people get by watching that person on a skateboard.” Also with a good bit of social media talk + skaters having an impact on people’s lives, Get Born Mag has a detailed interview with Josh Stewart. ~feelings~

Hotel Blue is the new board company from the LurkNYC camp, and Nick just dropped a nine-minute promo featuring the entire team over the weekend. Back smith backside flip on the Leonard Street ledge was wild.

Bobshirt has a 25-minute interview with Bill Strobeck detailing pretty much every last anecdote about the prime era of Alien Workshop + Habitat. Includes a special guest appearance from a former orange-beanied colleague halfway in ;)

Huf gave Jenkem a tour of some of the places he grew up skating in Manhattan.

Boil the Ocean on Anti-Hero’s persistence in an increasingly tense landscape of board brand longevity, and a potential Daan Van Der Linden S.O.T.Y. run.

Some warm-ups from Yaje Popson and friends at the L.E.S. Park.

Village Psychic has a content monopoly on anything having to do with the little guys keeping the romance in printed skate media alive. An interview with the minds behind Germany’s Solo mag.

Mushrooms to switch flip into a bowl + other debauchery from CPH Open.

Part two of The Bunt’s interview with Spencer Hamilton is now live.

Well, this is the first instance of someone skating in Polo shoes I can remember, which re-opens the hypothetical discussion of what the Ralph skate team would look like…

Quote of the Week: “Positivity is sexy. Creativity is even sexier.” — Andrew Wilson

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Thank you for everything Gene Wilder.