Summer Reading Round-Up: Skateboarding and __________

Words & Images by Adam Abada

“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.

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‘Nice To Meet You, I Run a Core Skate Brand’

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^ #core #skateboarding

“I can’t talk to these people about Thug Motivation when we have fake money in the boxes.” Thanks for everything man #july26ththeboydeliveredaclassic

Damn, the dude on the New Yorker cover can barely even ollie.

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.

Someone made a new Cyrus Bennett remix with a bunch of his HD video blog footage.

Kareem Campbell still got it.

Quick two-minute montage with a bunch of Bronze affiliates and a three-minute montage with a bunch of dudes from the Bronx.

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.

Fakie Hill Bomb has a cool interview with Iain Borden, one of the most vocal pro-skateboarding architecture academics, about the future of integrating skating into modern public spaces (e.g. hopefully this.)

Diamond Days #82.

Making It Happen is a new all-New York vid coming out later this year. Teaser here.

The Times put together a “where are they now?” feature for that movie that skaters really like on the occasion of its 20-year-anniversary.

Spot Checks: There’s a new wallie thing behind T.F. and a BMW at Lenox.

Quote of the Week: “I watched Wild, it was like a fakeass Into the Wild.” — E.J.

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.

Constantly Chilling

vacation

We restocked the webstore with a few spring items that were sold out before. This will be the last go-around for these. #supportyourlocalskatesite ;) ♥ ♥ ♥

Zered Bassett v.s. the Yonkers white hubba.

Another Brian Brown sighting. What’s the most-trick record for a single IG line?

25 minutes of raw footage extras from Life is Goodie. Buy a DVD copy here.

Someone compiled all of @olsonstuff’s Instagram footage.

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.

Great John Choi footage in this Puerto Rico B-sides clip with the Paych dudes.

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.

On the topic of French people, got a kick out of this Youtube account, which has a bunch of spot compilations for name-brand French skate spots e.g. the Lyon hubba, the Bercy blocks, the Le Dome hubba, etc.

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.)

Mike Carroll recreates a ~30-year-old photo of Mickey Reyes.

#1 in this week’s Worldstar Vine Comp

The Times ran a cool New York skateboarding photo feature.

Listicles: Theories of Atlantis on the greatest switch and nollie hardflips, and SMLTalk on the ten best credits sections from skate videos.

The Vans vid will be on iTunes May 5. New York premiere access info here.

QS Sports Desk Play of the Week: This wasn’t as surprising as it would’ve been for any other player in the NBA. Which is scary.

Quote of the Week: “I want to get really good at skating gnarly shit.” — Yaje Popson

Free Rob and the S.O.T.Y. Keep y’all heads up :(

4 Young Jeezy Albums > 4 Years of College

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.

Skateboarders are essential for our cities — From a lecture by Iain Borden, the director of architectural history and theory, delivered at University College London.”

“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.

With a few more Jordan-inspired skate shoes coming out these days, which skate shoe company is going to be the first to re-imagine the Ewing 33 Hi?

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.

Future’s “Gone To The Moon” = Nina Simone cover? Sick.

Previously: Dobbin Block 2011 Flip Cam, “New footage” edit from 2006, Dobbin does Flushing, Dobbin 2010 4th of July.

Quote of the Week:


It’s going to be 60 on Wednesday, and 65 on Thursday. Quit your job, cut school, etc.