Village Psychic put together all of Zered’s footage from the objectively bad skatepark next to the B.Q.E. They call it “Bad Park.” Zered calls it “Shit Park.” Queue up Z’s quote from when the park first opened: “Yeah, it’s terrible…but I’ll still skate it all the time.”
Ok, let’s get all the remaining 2020 Year-in-Review content out of the way now, lest we ever need to discuss it again. (More as a courtesy to all the people #creating #content, not for nostalgia’s sake.)
Anyone already fatigued by the onslaught of skateboarding’s de facto Oscars season should check the new one from Gangcorp for a nice change of pace…
Naquan just uploaded “Jamrock Jerk” — their first video in HD — which looks like it covers everything they’ve been up to since Black Business premiered back in the spring. Includes a trip to Paris at the start, a visit to every new rail at the new-spot-a-month Seaport redevelopment, and a wild session down the Fulton Street subway steps — effectively the premier skate destination on MTA property now that Indoor Ten has receded nearly half-a-decade into adolescent memory.
Gang Corp is an organically formed group of friends, born of their love for skating and curiosity for the world, and aided by social media — but not governed by it. Fort Greene native Naquan Rollings just released their second full-length video, Black Business, which is their best yet. We hit him up to try and get some insight into the ingredients and process behind Gang Corp doing what they do.
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Where are you from, and how old are you?
I was born in Fort Greene, Brooklyn. I actually just moved — I live in East New York now. I’ve lived in Brooklyn my whole life. I turned 21 last September. I’m getting old super fast. I still feel like I’m 18.
When did you start skating?
That’s always a weird question that I can never really answer. I remember when I was around 10 years old, I had a board but didn’t take it seriously. If it wasn’t for my sister, I don’t know if I would’ve gotten into it. She’s 10 years older than me. When she was in school, she knew about Supreme and all that stuff. She kind of put me on, I guess you can say.
She always wanted a skateboard and my grandma ended up getting her one of those fake ones from Target. I would just ride around on it. I thought I was never gonna try all that trick shit, but I guess the more I was on it, the more I wanted to. I would start meeting people around Fort Greene who skated. I lived right across the street from the park, so anytime people came to skate it, I would hear it from my window, then would go outside and check it out.
Jk, it’s gonna be 85 degrees on Tuesday, put your Northface away you lunatic.
Rest in Peace, House of Vans, which will begin demolition today. You were good to us for many miserable winters. You were a safe haven on cold nights that otherwise would have been squandered at bars, and an unofficial place to hold listening parties for new Future albums. You will be missed ♥
If you grew up watching old Zoo videos, Jamie Reyes was no doubt the first girl you saw getting footage all over the city. (Jamie is also one of three women to have a Thrasher cover.) Our good friend Jilleen interviewed her about coming up as a female pro in 90s New York, and just how much the industry has changed since.
Not sure on which planet this constitutes as throwaway footage, but here are some “extras” from Nick Michel’s (the dude who boardslide the double rails at Battery Park) World Peath part, including some New York footage at the end. (The Front Street Ledge ollie is cool.)
That bad manual pad at the UPS building on the westside is no longer skateable. Honestly have no clue how long this has been the case, as we rarely go down this street after the Parks Department 86ed Gay Ledges. Shout out to Zered Bassett and Eli Reed.
Every pull-quote you have ever read about the differences between California: The Home of the Skate Industry and New York: The Summer Home of the Skate Industry, has pontificated about how easy it is to get “caught up” in the, um, “party scene” here. It will be interesting to see how much of California’s competitive advantage will be shaved off after the state legislature voted to extend last call until 4 A.M. last week.
Quote of the Week: “It looks like something a coke dealer in Montauk would wear.” — Sweet Waste
This has always felt like one of those parts that everyone forgets to mention as a favorite (well, everyone besides Aaron Herrington), but the second someone brings it up, people begin fanning out on it. Also don’t know a single person who doesn’t love that song — though maybe not as much as Big Boi hehe.
