The world isn’t off to the best start in 2020, so you’d be well advised to watch this uplifting video about two Afghan girls who moved to Berlin from a refugee camp, and completely fell in love with skateboarding there. Lovingly put together by our friends at Place.
“Back then it was all a blur.” Yo these Bobshirt interviews are all so special. The latest installment is with Rodney Torres and is loaded with nineties New York nostalgia and stories, e.g it pretty much mentions three decades worth of skate shops in the city, and harks back to a time when New York coverage was limited to a montage here and there every couple years in a bigger video. (Also #lol on this YouTube comment.)
The youth has good tre flips. “Practice” is a very rad homie video by Cesar Fuentes featuring a bunch of up and coming skaters from The Bronx.
2019 was a year where the the past was rousted up to contend with the future — we listened to new Max B off a DatPiff stream while acknowledging that our existence rests at the mercy of rats plotting a takeover of mankind. Jeremy Lin became an NBA champion, the Knicks lost the lottery, and the gods just laughed and laughed.
Here are the developments that loosely defined the past 12 months in New York skateboarding.
Pretty much any group of skaters that has passed this spot these past ~20 years has stopped and debated whether it was possible or not. I remember somebody pointing out that if Brandon Westgate hadn’t done it yet (he definitely would’ve known about it), then maybe it was impossible. We even posed the rhetorical “how long until” on Twitter two years ago (that photo does the size of it zero justice, btw.) Really glad T.J. was the one to get it. The fact that an ollie is on the cover should tell you all you need to know about how crazy this is. (Well, that and the fact that it’s broad daylight in midtown Manhattan should color the narrative a bit, too.) Assuming everyone will be onboard the #TJSOTY train when that Supreme video drops, so yeah. Photo by Jared Sherbert.
Remember that Weed Maps clip we admitted to being a bit of a guilty pleasure on here last winter? Well, here’s the less jittery version of the same clip that features Jaws skating New York.
After getting shamed for not putting the new OG.2000 video (the dudes who made the “Mariah” video last year and um, ollied onto a Ferrari) in #QSTOP10 contention a week ago, we finally got around to watching it, and yeah, it got way less shine than it deserved on the skate internet. Tons of incredible Euro skating from names that will likely be unknown to you — though I’m sure some #trend-weary curmudgeons will find issue with something. These two tricks in Paris are fucked.
Brian Anderson is the latest guest on Lee Smith’s podcast. The interview is damn near two hours long. Maybe these could benefit from Soundcloud or Podcast links? Or did we miss that?
Looks like SML Talk is updating their site again. Here’s a listicle of 17 “beautiful” moments in skate video history. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and quite frankly, Jason Byoun’s Astor Place line from Life is Goodiegot robbed.
It’s no video blog, but Johnny went to Argentina to film the SB team a year ago, and made his own clip of the trip just now. Can’t wait for Beef Patty 2.
Back when Crailtap was a daily visit and the skateboard internet was a smaller place, they used to post these random digi cam tidbits (pre-iPhone obvs) on their site. Someone compiled all of them, 2003-2005.
The building got tired of replacing the rail in front of the out ledge at FedEx and just… knobbed the ledge instead.
Shout to Cosme Studio for coming through on a slightly higher quality digital copy of Continuum. These are maybe only 10-15% better quality than the ones that have been on YouTube for ages, but hey, slow motion is better than… Also we’ve certainly pontificated about it in the past, but wow was Jerry Fowler’s skateboarding ahead of its time. Jahmal’s is obvs timeless, but you knew that :)
With it being high season for trips out to Rockaway (back up to 92 degrees tomorrow…) that include a pitstop at the charmingly bad beach 90th skatepark, it is worth pointing out that the park just got a bunch of new ramps. Unclear as to whether it is better now or before. Hopefully, before the world ends, both the bowl and mini ramp there will get replaced with cement versions of the exact same thing.
Gangcorp threw a BBQ and best trick contest at L.E.S. Park on July 4th. Here’s the recap video.
“Best of all, skateboarding’s independent streak means it fosters a healthily rebellious worldview — no small accomplishment as our society drifts toward bland authoritarianism. To be sure, there is money to be made in ignoring this drift, in remaining beholden to libertarian corporatism.” Hanson O’Haver’s “A Crime and a Pastime” piece looks at the underbelly of the skateboard business and its eerie house-of-cards-isms.
New London clip from the POP boys. That nosegrind revert / 3x flat tricks / switch nosegrind revert line reminds me of something that would’ve been in an old 411.
Some Canadians offer up one of the first entries to what will no doubt be an eventful “Summer Trip to New York” clip season. What % of people appearing in S.T.T.N.Y. clips do you think end up moving here? Thirty five? Eighty?
Anthony Pappalardo — 5050 in the rain. Stolen from the SkateboarderDaily Film Blog.
The new DGK video, Parental Advisory, will be premiering this Thursday, December 13, at Sunshine Cinemas on Houston and Forsyth (same place as the Pretty Sweet premiere.) Click here for the flyer and more info. There will be a 7 P.M. and a 9 P.M. showing. Be sure to RSVP via the address in the flyer.
This line is in the extras when you buy the Pretty Sweet DVD. Noseslides!
Sex.com takes a break from pornography and weighs in on the controversial 2012 Thrasher Skater of the Year selection. Funny how people are in such an uproar over something that obviously favors those involved with Thrasher-created content.
Long Island’s most beloved child star, Billy Lynch, has been blessed with a tribute remix to the sounds of Shyne’s first album. All of the footage is 2006-ish.
A bunch of promos for upcoming videos went online recently, so let’s group them together. “Schleyer Video” features Tyshawn Jones, James “King of the Grate” Reres and others. Battylife is a video by Sam Fickinger that will be premiering at the end of the month. Cathode is a video featuring Elijah Cole, Bill Pierce and others.
Spot Updates: 1) The FedEx stairs are under scaffolding…again. 2) Aficionados of bad spots might enjoy these recently liberated bankthings across from the pedestrian entrance on the Brooklyn side of the Manhattan Bridge.
There’s some shit video of Jason Lee cruising around New York on one of those vinyl cruisers online now. This is one of the comments on it: “Lol for some reason, the soles of my feet hurt everytime I get off a cruiser, possibly due to them being constantly arched to stay on the board?” …wow. Anyway, go watch A Visual Sound.
Quote of the Week: “What are all these white people doing here? This ain’t the line for the Blink 182 concert.” — Overheard at the 2 Chainz show on Saturday
