Eras in recent New York skateboarding are earmarked by shifts in the lowest of price points. For example: Up until it was phased out in maybe 2003, the chicken cutlet sandwich + can of soda for $2 deal at Universal News kept half the people I know fed. By late-2005, Little Debbie’s line of 25-cent snack cakes had doubled in price. Dollar menus were becoming dollar-and-up “value menus.” Some psychopaths really tried to charge tax on a dollar slice.
And now, the beverage that we lovingly spent our adolescence drinking, and punishing our blood sugar levels with, is trying to pull a fast one. You’re ranting about a generation of kids being homogenized by a skatepark; I’m more worried about the thought that they’ll have to pay $2 for an Arizona tall can, or $1 for 11.5 oz. of one.
The Warschauer Benches are on the shortlist of the funnest spots I’ve ever skated, and they’re nothing more than a better version of the Newport blocks from ~15 years ago. Kingpin has a full feature on their creation and history. Amazing how the formula for a perfect skate spot is no more sophisticated than decent ground + wooden benches + metal, and how often that goes ignored.
Isle’s Vase video is premiering on Thursday, November 19 at 8 P.M. and Paul Young’s Bleach video is premiering on Wednesday, November 25 at 8 P.M. Guess what theater? If you guessed the Imax on 68th Street, then you guessed wrong.
Did you know Fully Flared premiered eight years ago to the day? Village Psychic looked back on Anthony Pappalardo’s seminal yet at-the-time misunderstood section, which inspired legions of twenty-somethings to scour Bushwick for unchartered crust, caused a 5% spike in applications to Pratt’s sculpture program, and skyrocketed the demand for brown chino fabric among the world’s textile mills.
Footage of the 5050 + quick set-up barhop in front of Wavy’s is in the Local Express friends section, although no footage could really do justice to how crazy that is.
Dude you’re probably gonna be really bummed — but…the Hooters Rail is gone. What a fun spot! Shout out to Rodney Torres for being the first one to skate it, and to Connor Champion for switch nosesliding it just before the plaza got leveled.
Quote of the Week Kuz: “Just give me the word, I’ll quit my job and break up with my girlfriend.” Inquisitive Gentleman: “You have a girlfriend?” Kuz: “No, but if I did, I’d break up with her.”
We made it! Just one day shy of October — when it becomes truly embarrassing to post an “End of Summer” edit. Not that we haven’t been late on the Labor Day deadline or entirely missed an End of Summer clip before (obviously in 2009, the year multiple viewers of the ten-year clip pointed out as the turning point for when the party became a crucial part of QS office culture), but it’d be too sad to enter autumn without bidding da summa farewell.
In our defense, these past four months had multiple extracurricular video projects: “56 Tricks,” “Core” (some of the better iPhone angles from it made their way into this one), the all-too-important TM101 anniversary clip, and obviously the ten-year edit.
Features Matt Perez [finally] graduating high school, Antonio Durao, Johnny Wilson, Andrew Wilson, Hjalte Halberg, Andre Page, Chandy Khon, Cyrus Bennett, Alexander Mosley, Jesse Alba, Daniel Kim, Will Robson-Scott, Jack Sabback, Brendan Carroll, Mike Gigliotti, C.J, Genesis Evans, Troy Stilwell, Tober, and a mini Connor Champion part. Contributing filmers: Andre Page & John Diaz.
Just because video blogs slowed up in frequency and their filmer became a downtown #tastemaker, doesn’t mean that the Most Productive Crew™ relinquished the title they’ve held from Space Heater onward. “Rack” features all of Johnny Wilson’s A-roll footage since Sure dropped two months ago.
With New York Fashion Week one week away, “Rack” already goes in the direction of what will dominate skateboard runways for the remainder of 2015 and beyond — boardslide shove-its (both ways), and a more widespread adoption of “skate video house” #musicsupervision (see also), as initially popularized in Palace videos.
Also, someone will probably post a link to their boy’s year-old part half-filmed in Columbus, OH to counter this…BUT 95% sure this is the first video where someone successfully does a line at that bump-to-bar / ollie up / handicap rail in front of the deli on Houston and A. That thing has been the most claimed spot in city limits for the past ~three years; if four dudes are stuck at the light on Houston and A, at least one will claim it. Also be on the lookout for the best #good trick ever done at Three Up Three Down, a spot where #good tricks are otherwise irrelevant.
Features Oak, Drew, Genesis, Kohlton, Chief Keith, John Choi, Hjalte, Nick Boserio, Antonio doing switch tres, others. The Q.S.S.O.T.Y’s appearances are minimal, but that’s probably ok considering Sure got unofficially dubbed Max Palmer: The Video.
It may be gone by the time you read this, but the crew from Canal Wheels dropped off a new box at T.F. (Though it seems to have already switched sponsors.) Sorta wonder if a loose box stands to live a longer life at Delancey curb rather than T.F. these days.
SML Talk comes through with some detailed analysis of the “one down,” rather than the more popular “one up.” Unless there are photos of you running in next month’s Thrasher, A.B.Ds are an irrelevant concept in 2015. Chris Joslin or Shane O’Neill are always only a five-hour flight away. Somebody will be better than you, the guy who did the best tricks over the Flushing grate is someone you’ve probably never heard of, and nobody will ever look as cool as J.B. Gillet. Who cares if some nerd in brown pants did a better trick? Like, have fun dude ;) #sk8life
NY Skateboarding has some good photos of the Nike park in Greenpoint, if you have yet to go. It’s open Thursdays through Sundays from 11 A.M. to 7 P.M. until Labor Day, though I feel like someone was saying it’ll last til the end of September.
QS Sports Desk Play of the Week:Lamarcus Aldridge cancelled his scheduled meeting with the Knicks, back when his destination was still a question. The Spurs will be in the Finals next year, Timmy will have one more ring than Kobe, shrug it off, and walk into the sunset created by the pause screen of his favorite video game.
