“Shut up and skate!” That is a refrain I have seen written and analyzed more than actually spoken or practiced, but its dumb ethos echoes through so much of that which is considered “real” skating.
With the mindset of getting into the “summer vibe” (or something like that), I recently watched Dogtown & Z-Boys. Sean Penn’s bitter post-Spicoli narration about the [then] worst drought in California history doesn’t specifically say “shut up and skate,” but it lays claim to the temperament that it comes from. The film made me think about skateboarding’s connection to the world: the weather, school, roads, family, class, economics, substance use, housing. The film claims modern skating was born out of a drought.
Like everything else, when we skate, we bring the outside world to it. I do want to skate, but I don’t want to shut up about it! These three authors’ — all of whom skate — books, ideas, and studies help show that we can bring whatever we please to skateboarding to make it something that pleases us.
Free Skate Mag has another Lucas Puig Instagram remix, edited to that Young Thug song that everyone really tried to make happen #in #da #club at the start of the summer but already forgot about. Works great for the vid though.
The “Summer Trip to New York” edits are finally starting to roll in! As is the DS2 music supervision! Thought it was a drought! D.C’s Palace 5ive rolled up to New York for a bit and came back with a five-minute VX montage.
Whatever, DJ Khaled is still one of my favorite skaters.
Amazing that a lot of these European D.I.Y. spots started with a single quarterpipe. Or that, like, they’ve been allowed to exist for as long as they have.
In case you haven’t already heard / seen: the NYPD installed a police tower in the middle of Tompkins. Be careful doing whippits behind the basketball court after you lose on a nollie flip in S.K.A.T.E.
Yo shout out Norway and Norwegians: “For Snøhetta’s Opera House in Oslo, architects consulted skateboarders regarding surface textures and materials, leading to parts of the building and its immediate surroundings being kitted out with skateable marble ledges, kerbs, bench-like blocks and railings.” Damn, that’d be chill if we got consulted for the Lincoln Center renovation.
Boil the Ocean on Cliché’s Gypsy Life video. Also #lol @ “Arcadian manual-pad mixologist who had languished for a time in a kind of post-Tyron Olson teammate limbo” re: Joey Brezinski.
Ripped Laces has a lengthy interview with Franck Boistel, the guy who designed a bunch of the most well-known skate shoes from the late nineties and early 2000s.
Yaje has a new part filmed during a three-week period out in southern California. A lot of hot moves. (“It’s cool, but it’s still Cali.” — E.J.)
It’s chill that Jeezy chose to cash out at the best slice spot in Manhattan, out of all places.
Given the tremendous momentum of the #phatstylez movement, the QS Fashion Desk will slowly be streamlined into a dedicated Phat Stylez website. Until that happens, you can browse recent happenings in the world of Phat Stylez through the movement’s Instagram tag.
A bunch of Swedes took a trip to New York in 1998, and uploaded the 15-year-old video of their journey online. Features a backside flip over the Trump Tower six rail from the illustrious Geo Moya, mad Rhythm cargo pants (#phatstylez?), and too many reasons to tear up over long-gone spots. Shout to the Broadway Bump.
“Kelly Green Wave Rider” is an iPhone clip featuring Zered Bassett, Joey Pepper, Sweet Waste, Gangsta Boo, and a modern rendition of Mark Morrison’s 1996 masterpiece.
The Grove Street PATH station in Jersey City seems pretty trife these days. This same thing probably happened 10 times over this past weekend after that awful St. Patrick’s Day Parade.
“Tyga Held At Gunpoint In Canada & Forced To Dance To ‘Rack City?’” Already the news headline of the year. But it kept getting better: “It was funny to see Tyga dancing with his doggie bag under his arm. While Tyga was dancing he said ‘Oh my god, what’s going on.'”
Four years ago, Dobbin Block, New York’s most notorious skate house, uploaded a trailer for their upcoming video project. Many assumed its production had been marred by alcohol and other familiar trappings of New York. We feared it would never be released. Well, several inside sources revealed that the finished product is upon us, and set for release this month. Revisit the original Useless Times trailer below.
