Once upon a time, this media outlet’s entire summer brandwas dedicated totraveling there. In recent years, it’s been tougher to wind up in Denmark 2x in two months. We get to go other places — it’s fine. (Also, we were there in ’22, it’s not that dire…)
But if there was anyone you could choose to send to Copenhagen in your place, it’d probably have to be someone classically trained on grey plaza ledges with harsh winters barking at their heels, right? Someone who perfected their craft at Eggs, maybe? It’d probably be helpful if they had a Kalis-ian pair of fakie flips to show the world, right?
Well yeah: our friends at Eighteen East had the same idea. They sent QS-favorite Ben Tenner out there to weave some lines, and earn a bonus on exemplary varial heelflip form.
It is tough to come up with an unjustified hyperbole about Copenhagen. I watched a board shoot out into an old lady’s bike the other day, and she smiled it off, waved goodbye and went about her business. We were skating a playground in a place that by some Scandinavian stretch, had Bushwick playground vibes, and accidentally almost crashed into a five-year-old. The response was “try and watch out for the kids” — not “fam I’m deadass about to get all my cousins to pull up and shoot you.” The place is a perfect concoction of people not giving a shit about what you’re doing, and people caring so much about what you do because they’ll line every modern public space with some sort of perfectly skateable object.
The T.F. here doesn’t have its boxes taken away in 48 hour cycles. In the summer, you spend zero time inside a car or train. Places will serve you sexy cocktails to go. You can enjoy a beer or six, and some guy will not be far off waiting to collect your empty can moments after you finish. Every spot is parallel to some of the earth’s luckiest bike seats ♥. Even drunk street meat decisions don’t seem to be as much of a gastrointestinal threat as they do stateside. Sure, it’s expensive and cold in the winter, but we live in New York. Don’t sit here and tell me about expensive and cold when your boy just found the deal of a lifetime for a $1300 10 x 10 off the Myrtle-Broadway stop that he needs to still buy a spaceheater for, but still sleeps in his socks.
“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.
Pretty sick that people could fly to New York all the way from Denmark and still be down to session Three Up Three Down instead of hucking themselves down the Courthouse Drop or something more tourist-like.
The ratio of lifestyle footage to skateboarding in Alex Carolino New York clip is horrible, but there are a few cool clips in there. Skating over trashcans off those high benches on Wall Street and South Street is getting real popular now, huh?
Depending on your tolerance for absurd northeastern conceptions of what a skate spot is, you may find that Hurricane Irene left some new terrain behind following last weekend. (Not sure how to skate that particular obstacle in the link though.)
Spot Updates: 1. They replaced the clunky ground on the Maiden Lane C-Benches with even more clunky ground. 2. NYU put new knobs on the recently unknobbed frontside for regular/backside for goofy up ledge on Mercer and Third. If you just moved to New York and are beginning school at NYU this semester, you will be expected to remove all the knobs from this spot. 3. Budweiser 24 oz. cans are now available in 3 packs.
Rumor of the Week: “Alex Olson has a longboard.” — Tron Jenkins
Quote of the Week: “Are you guys hipsters?” — A girl in shorts and lime green Doc Marten’s with an Electric Zoo ($250 electro/techno festival) wristband on the 6 train
