“Mired in gloom, to whom to look to for hope? A swaggering, bearded and sometimes-shirtless Frenchman beckons, modeling responsible social distancing behaviors from within a picturesque seaside flat. Lucas Puig is the COVID-19 therapeutic the world needs to see through these dark, blurring-together days.” Boil the Ocean throws Lucas Puig’s name in the hat for S.O.T.Q. — Skater of the Quarantine. And after that Biarritz edit, we are inclined to agree ♥
“In a sense, Jeff Grosso’s contributions to the world aren’t singular but part of an entire point of view — one that could reflect how ridiculous life is while also hugging what he viewed as important tightly in secret. That’s an art. The ability to make things like skateboarding that feel so disposable yet life-changing — tricks that last seconds, yet feel immortal.” — A Loveletter to Jeff Grosso.
Nah Yeah is an all Long Island video by Duran Murphy, which is a twenty-minute deep dive into a scene that we too often only associate with the most obvious names + an annual trip to the Rosyln Banks/pool. It’s also crazy how much a dude switching between éS, Etnies, Vans & Osiris in a single part stands out in 2019. Also, shout out to Mook.
A bit north and to the left, we have Concerned Citizen, a rad 15-minute video filmed all around upstate New York: Rochester, Elmira, Binghamton, Ithaca, et al. Noticed a lot of Homegrown tees and boards, so assuming they have something to do with it :) We really need to make it back up there next summer. “What the FUCK does ‘really’ mean?”
Congrats again to Antonio Durao on the pro board. Despite the recent growth of #skatetwitter, skateboarders are still way more partial to the ‘gram — so we’ll just leave the thread of Antonio odds ‘n ends that we have been compiling since July on here for the non-tweeters to peruse.
Genny is making edits again! His latest features some bro cam + a bunch of alternate angles from a handful of more proper projects released over the past twelve months. It ends with a sick iPhone slo mo of T.J’s fakie flip over Bond Street, which is basically just a barometer for believing anything done on a skateboard from now on, e.g. “Can you believe so-and-so did that?” “Well, T.J. fakie flipped Bond Street, so yeah.”
Quintessence is a new video from Sam Mccormick that was filmed from 2013 to 2019, and features an overview of every piece of New York crust or diamond-plate that was sought after in each of those years, kinda on a Now That’s What I Call Cellar Doors 2015 vibe. Includes full parts from Joseph Delgado and Neil Herrick at the end. (Jackmauh is a sick last name, btw.)
Lurker Lou is having an art show for his “Purple Shoe Lou” project this Saturday, May 4. 269 Humboldt Street. (Grand Street L train…does that thing run on weekends rn?) 7-10 P.M. Flyer here.
QS Sports Desk Play of the Week:C’mon. We’re sympathetic to the Thunder’s plight in that its oddly reminiscent of the “good” Knicks teams from earlier in the 2010s (moreso now in the Russ-only era…not the whole “drafting three MVPS and only having one left” thing), and we’re obvs massive Russ fans at the QS Sports Desk, but Dame’s shot was one of the most iconic playoff moments in any of our lifetimes. And apparently Portland-based skate filmer, Tristan Brillanceau-Lewis, who put out Portland Public Skating 2 last summer, in addition to a bunch of other videos, shot this close-up angle of Lillard’s game winner.
Quote of the Week: “This drink tastes like melted Spongebob ice cream.” — E.J.
Hearing there was a “b sides” Jay-Z concert at the re-opened Webster Hall the other night made me want to track this part down, so here it is. Zered pretty much has the two best Jay-Z song parts, and both are for “b-sides” (“Lobster & Shrimp” had a video and everything, but that shit is buried in the pile.)
There’s a special place in our hearts for people who wait until the hell weeks of winter to drop edits from a much warmer recent past. Though more of a ~vibe~ than a montage, Marcus Pulvermacher‘s “Plays Pretty For Genny” is one pinch a Genesis Evans cruiser vid, and another pinch Max Palmer reel via the evolving Spiker’s Island spot out in Brooklyn. In between it all, you’ll catch a bunch of familiar faces from Johnny Wilson edits, et al.
No matter how much you may resent the T.F. for the many false-starts it has served all of our lives, there’s no denying that last summer — when it reached full-fledged junk spot status for maybe the first time in its history — was a special moment to lurk there. (Provided you never set any grandiose ambitions for the day.)
Heitor might have the first great part of 2019, but this is the first edit to make spring 2019 in New York feel like a tangible thing.