T.J. 4 S.O.T.Y.

Pretty much any group of skaters that has passed this spot these past ~20 years has stopped and debated whether it was possible or not. I remember somebody pointing out that if Brandon Westgate hadn’t done it yet (he definitely would’ve known about it), then maybe it was impossible. We even posed the rhetorical “how long until” on Twitter two years ago (that photo does the size of it zero justice, btw.) Really glad T.J. was the one to get it. The fact that an ollie is on the cover should tell you all you need to know about how crazy this is. (Well, that and the fact that it’s broad daylight in midtown Manhattan should color the narrative a bit, too.) Assuming everyone will be onboard the #TJSOTY train when that Supreme video drops, so yeah. Photo by Jared Sherbert.

And on that note, Boil the Ocean makes an assessment of the past eleven months to decide who should be eligible for S.O.T.Y.

The match-up you’ve all been waiting for: Nyjah Houston v.s. Alexis Lacroix.

Here is a #longform, Pineapple Express-based Nick Ferro b-sides remix, and here is a #longform, lo-def Memphis/Texas/(?) rap-based Dick Rizzo b-sides remix.

Office favorite, Jawn Gardner, has a new part over on Thrasher full of hairy spots. Glad you’re ok John! ♥

Remember that Weed Maps clip we admitted to being a bit of a guilty pleasure on here last winter? Well, here’s the less jittery version of the same clip that features Jaws skating New York.

Been a fan of this guy since he skated to People Under the Stairs (yeah…) in 411 — if you need some style inspo for the day, Free managed to unearth a ton of unseen Javier Sarmiento footage from the start of the millennium.

After getting shamed for not putting the new OG.2000 video (the dudes who made the “Mariah” video last year and um, ollied onto a Ferrari) in #QSTOP10 contention a week ago, we finally got around to watching it, and yeah, it got way less shine than it deserved on the skate internet. Tons of incredible Euro skating from names that will likely be unknown to you — though I’m sure some #trend-weary curmudgeons will find issue with something. These two tricks in Paris are fucked.

Brian Anderson is the latest guest on Lee Smith’s podcast. The interview is damn near two hours long. Maybe these could benefit from Soundcloud or Podcast links? Or did we miss that?

Looks like SML Talk is updating their site again. Here’s a listicle of 17 “beautiful” moments in skate video history. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and quite frankly, Jason Byoun’s Astor Place line from Life is Goodie got robbed.

It’s no video blog, but Johnny went to Argentina to film the SB team a year ago, and made his own clip of the trip just now. Can’t wait for Beef Patty 2.

Back when Crailtap was a daily visit and the skateboard internet was a smaller place, they used to post these random digi cam tidbits (pre-iPhone obvs) on their site. Someone compiled all of them, 2003-2005.

The building got tired of replacing the rail in front of the out ledge at FedEx and just… knobbed the ledge instead.

QS Sports Desk Play of the Week: Hell ya Louuuuuuuu.

Quote of the Week: “I could see myself adding a nice siesta to my daily routine.” — E.J.

Shout to Cosme Studio for coming through on a slightly higher quality digital copy of Continuum. These are maybe only 10-15% better quality than the ones that have been on YouTube for ages, but hey, slow motion is better than… Also we’ve certainly pontificated about it in the past, but wow was Jerry Fowler’s skateboarding ahead of its time. Jahmal’s is obvs timeless, but you knew that :)

Oh, Perfect.

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DANY video JFK Terminal 1 premiere. Coming soon.

Noseslides on handrails have remained dormant since the peak Muska years, Koston/Frankhouse nosesliding the curved 20 at City Hall era, etc. It’s been a long 10+ years, but we may have to consider a plain and simple noseslide down a handrail as a current frontrunner for N.S.O.T.Y. Shout to Mostly Skateboarding for the tip.

EggsTech™ without the Eggs. The boy Dana Ericson hit up Barcelona for a lot of heavy noseslide and shove nosegrind maneuverings. [*Mandatory mention that he skates a lot of non-stock Barcelona spots :) *]

/ end noseslide related content

Some heavy start of summer vibes in Genesis’ new iPhone clip, and MDW edit from Buck Prichard featuring Caddo, Brendan Carroll + others.

Beef Patty alumni v.s. Connecticut concrete parks via Max Hull.

“Let’s not forget that skateboarding has been multi-platform media since the Bones Brigade videos.” Skateboard Story ran a brutally blunt and honest interview with Eben Sterling, a guy who’s worked at Thrasher for over two decades, about the mag’s continued success as we decry the imminent collapse of print media, and how you’re definitely a dick if you’re on the QS comments section in 2016 thinking Rihanna being the god is some Urban Outfitters “irony” shit.

On same-but-different note, Village Psychic has a feature about Scotland’s North magazine, which only shoots and runs photos on film.

Bobshirt has a video interview with backside nosegrind popout pioneer, Jerry Fowler.

“The way they let the hill bombs run out with no music has an intensity impossible to concoct with slow-motion drone filmography, and its montage structuring is refreshingly dense, difficult to digest in even a few watches…” Boil the Ocean gets its #filmtheory on to juxtapose the GX1000 video with um, skateboarding in the Olympics.

There’s tons of heavy shit in the new Kyron Davis part, including a full-on front board up that thing in the Columbus Park playground that only BMXers hit up.

A topic that has more-or-less steered skate conversations for 20 years: pants.

Although this has to do with one of the worst qualities of American culture, here’s an interesting interview with a lawyer who skates handrails, and took his proficiency at talking to cops to specialize in skateboard related legal-cases.

QS Sports Desk Play of the Week: This is going five, right? …four?

Quote of the Week: “Anthony Bourdain ruined dating because now you have to take a girl to like, Thailand.” — T-Bird

Out of the country for a bit, so be aware of a potential delay in reply time if you’re trying to get in touch re: anything xoxo :)

A Godfather of Six-Figure Ledge Skating [#TBT]

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So I often ask the subjects of these interviews who they consider to be the most underrated skater of the 1990s and your name has come up more than a few times. Do you think there were aspects of your career that went underappreciated or didn’t get their proper due?

Do I feel like I didn’t get enough shine? No. I don’t feel that way at all. To hear that people think that is awesome but I don’t feel that I’m owed anything or that something should’ve have gotten more praise than it did. At the end of the day, I don’t know what I could’ve done more than what I did. But that’s cool to hear.The Chrome Ball Incident / November 2, 2012

Nobody was as much of a precursor to today’s brand of highbrow ledge tricks as Jerry Fowler. Look no further than onetime six-figure ledge skater, Brian Wenning, admitting last week that the origin of the backside nosegrind pop-out craze (which very much still resonates in today’s fickle beanplanted times) leads back to a jack-move pulled on Jerry’s west coast-bred, east coast-honed bag of tricks.

Everyone knows that the “this could come out today and still hold up”-hyperbole is wishful thinking 95% of the time. Wenning says it about Photosynthesis in the aforementioned interview, but we have gotten lightyears past the new AM being able to end off his first part with a switch 360 flip down nine. Although his 411 section gets the most burn on the social media circuit, watch Jerry Fowler’s DNA Continuum part. You’ll see the half cab nosegrind revert fishhooks that Puig does, the frontside 180 no comply fakie 5-0s that Aaron Herrington does, and the backside shove-its into backside grinds that Hjalte does — a decade-plus before said tricks would come to occupy the minds of today’s most #trickselection savvy skateboarders.

Six-Figure Ledge Skating: The “Hundred Dollar Autograph” of the Skateboard World ;)

Wishy Washy

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Smoking is lame, but this photo is cool. Via Jersey Dave. Dave is also selling photo tees over on his website, so give him some money if you’re feeling generous today.

If you need some skate spot pornography to cheer you up on this rainy day, Kingpin ran a listicle of the “Top 25” skate plazas in the world. FWIW, Bercy is gone and Republiqué (see 1:33) took its place, and Para-lel is unfortunately on its way out soon. The #stalinplaza tag on IG is also a great way to kill a half-hour fantasizing.

Also, how could you forget about Eggs? The northeast’s last great ledge spot / plaza north of the Beltway.

Shorty’s Guilty is sorta the Caligula of skate videos.

This seems like an occasionally horrific endeavor: Two dudes snuck into an abandoned psych ward out in New York state…so they could skate inside it.

Here’s an an A.V.E. Gardner line and an A.V.E. interview.

It’s really cool to see Jerry Fowler still at it. His 411 Profile and tricks in the Rhythm industry section rank as some of the most frequent 411 revisitations, and even Strobeck admitted that he was the catalyst behind the backside nosegrind pop out’s development, which Pappalardo and Wenning later popularized among New Jerseyians in baggy jeans and DC Lynxes. Simply seeing the dude do a noseslide is sick. You can catch other parts from Orchard’s Stone Soup video here.

A wood pallet up to the never-functional water fountain at T.F. may be the most desperate Tompkins obstacle of 2014, but then, we are reminded of this.

Jerome Campbell likely locked up “360 Flip of the Year” honors earlier this fall, but Al Davis might’ve just snagged the switch title.

Slam City Skates has a cool feature about his five favorite photographs, which acts as a springboard for some stories behind the scenes of the past few Static videos.

Not a whole lot of subtlety going on in the Chocolate Epicly Later’d finale.

Five years later, still #relevant in this fashion game. Available for consulting, etc.

FYI: Mentioned this on Twitter, but all of you privy to riding the occasional “loose” Citi bike you may stumble upon — be careful. Got stopped for “running a red light,” only to have the cops run a serial number check to verify that it wasn’t stolen. Was completely random, and not in a sketchy zone at all. Be careful.

QS Sports Desk Play of the Week: J.R. Smith’s face after Trey Burke hit that game winner is priceless, especially since he hit the most J.R. Smith-esque game winner of the season, not by J.R. Smith, who hasn’t hit any game winners.

Quote of the Week: “I dead-ass saw him slap some dude dumb bigger than him.” — Andre Page

Friendly reminder that the best trick ever done down the Flushing six-stair manual pad wasn’t even a manual trick. New Jersey’s finest, 1999ish: