‘Swoosh’ — The Latest One From Supreme & Strobeck

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Before the concept of a “skateboarding shoe” really began maturing and booming in the nineties, a lot of “skate shoes” came from discount stores. Nike’s GTS was a canvas tennis shoe that covered sales racks at Marshalls two decades ago. It has largely been forgotten, beyond the fact it made its way into a bunch of skate photos and video parts, mostly on the feet of dudes who paid attention to their gear as much as the tricks they were doing. Today, with about 1/5th of the kids at a peak-hour L.E.S. session trying to look like they stepped out a Marshalls in 1995, it makes sense to revisit a cult-classic — which in many ways, was a proto-Janoski.

Supreme is releasing a run of GTS Nikes later this week. In the lead-up for it, they got Brian Anderson, Kevin Bradley and Alex Olson to skate both the most iconic plaza spot that still exists, and the most photogenic new plaza spot to be built in the past ~three years. With so many new skate videos (at least the ones filmed in cities) taking a spots-that-aren’t-really-spots approach, there’s now something refreshing about seeing B.A. do his first-ever Love line in a twenty-year-spanning skate career, or Challex doing improvisational turn-around lines at Republique that aren’t far off from Stevie’s wandering Love lines in The Reason. And shit, when’s the last time a pro simply did a crook fakie on a ledge to start off a line? Like 1999? That was nice to see.

We got the shoes, now how do we bring the plazas back? :(

Previously: the red devil, Joyride

Let Your People Wear Your T-Shirts

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Photo via Baptiste

Our webstore has relaunched with new summer items. New tees, Snackman tanks, a tote bag for your girl, and a Golden State Warriors colorway of the basketball shorts if you missed them on the first go-around. The guys at Alltimers also have some chill new hats available in their shop today.

Bronze + Palace drops Friday :)

Alex Olson from Bianca Chandon doing a cool regular stance three hundred and sixty degree kickflip where his body doesn’t turn and Ishod Wair from New Jersey doing a cool switch stance three hundred and sixty degree kickflip where his body does turn.

Welcome Leeds interviewed Jordan Trahan, another prolific 360 flipper.

The Mostly Skate pod has a tale about Lenny Kirk’s dumpster fall from Memory Screen and his subsequent discovery of religion. “Thank God he never killed anybody.”

Marty Murawski remains in the lead for 2015’s “Noseslider of the Year” award, though Hjalte allegedly has a new part on the way, so all of that may change soon…

Vice has a mini doc feature about the boom of skateboard-based travel in China. How ironic is it that a communist country is the most popular place for skate companies to travel and get footage worry-free? (Also related.)

Everyone talks about the frontside flips and hardflips, but SMLTalk opted to break down Mike Carroll’s five best backside smith grinds. The one down the rail in Pretty Sweet might be one of the most memorable tricks in that entire video, along with the last Cory Kennedy line and Milan grate back 180 nosegrind shuv.

How skateboard distribution companies operate.

Puerto Rico is still trending in June.

Boil the Ocean on skate companies’ indifference to tenured riders leaving for more fruitful sponsorship opportunities. Skate companies are sort of like the Knicks.

Here’s a compilation of all (most?) of the tricks done down the Love Gap, though when people are doing shit like this on Hollywood High, quantifying ABDs may be useless.

Diamond Days #81.

Soft Apples Volume 2,” a quick all-New York mini video.

QS Sports Desk Play of the Week: Iman Thug and J.R. Smith are in the NBA Finals. #L #O #L @ the New York Knicks’ poor ass life. Forgot who said it, but “Hoping for a Knicks decision to go well is like hoping that the sun won’t set that day.” Here’s a 2011-2012 reel of J.R. and Iman’s best plays to “Hard in the Paint.”

Quote of the Week:

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Listen to ‘Lito. One of the few rappers who feels like a real human. No offense to the rappers who don’t feel like real humans, you guys are cool too. Just need a break sometimes. Also, wtf is it with rappers and that Route 94 song?

An Ode to the Chris Cole Who Wore Yellow T-Shirts

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I’ve been to two Street Leagues in my life. Between the mush of free alcohol and conversations with #industry #friendz who you otherwise only see at such events, memories of tricks at those contests are foggy. Except one.

Chris Cole needed some high score to avoid elimination (pretty sure that’s what was going on…), and there weren’t a lot of tricks available that would yield a score high enough, especially with one try at his disposal. The dude rolled up to a handrail frontside, did an alley-oop frontside 270 over it (he’s not rolling backside so nobody say it’s a 270 lip), and front boards down it. No test run, no warm-up. Just threw his board down and did it. Needless to say, he got whatever score he needed.

Other than that, I can’t remember a single Chris Cole part since he got on Zero. Not “hating” at all — the dude is probably one of the top five skateboarders working today if you’re using raw talent as your metric. Either Cole or Mariano are the first names that pop up to answer the question “Has anyone ever done..?” His skating just never crossed that 1% threshold of relate-ability required for repeat viewings of a part for an adult sk8r boy. It’s on another planet.

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25 Nights

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Photo via The Local Weather

Labor and Supreme (tees only) both have spring QS gear in stock. Other U.S. shops (Black Sheep, Commissary, Exit, Homebase, NJ, Orchard, Seasons, Supreme L.A. & Uprise) will be receiving it this week. Internationally next week. Webstore opens at midnight E.S.T. on April 6th. (Next Monday, but technically Sunday night.)

Max Palmer shout out bro. Jack Greer got bars.

We have a new frontrunner for 2015’s Noseslider of the Year.

Ja$onwear Pace University double-set attempts, circa 2004. Has nobody still ollied this thing? Feel like this is a prime “So-and-so did it in some midwest video that nobody has seen”-scenario. Expecting a Vimeo link in the comments :)

Fat Kid Spot is getting turned into a skate plaza.

“Through it all the shoe has come to be regarded as the most immediate extension of the seven-ply-trucks-and-urethane configuration, but the past decade’s footwear fetishization mainly serves to obscure a decades-long struggle with pants.” Boil the Ocean uses Nakel’s floral TWS cover as a springboard to examine the current condition skateboarders’ favorite topic: pants.

Two months late on this, but someone re-edited a bunch of Alex Olson B-roll from Johnny Wilson’s clips to a song that Alex Olson would probably maybe might skate to. Someone at L.E.S. is trying to body varial out of a grind as you read this.

Mike Anderson has to be one of the most underrated dudes out there. Part is a year old, but Krooked uploaded his “Yellow Van” ender as a standalone thing.

SMLTalk has an abbreviated history of the salad grind, including an interesting theory that Chris Dobstaff was the principal reason behind its fall from popularity.

New obstacle at 12th & A!

The city of Philadelphia will review a plan for the remodeling of Love Park at the end of April. Construction is slated to begin at the end of next winter. You think someone nollie back heels or fakie flips the gap before it gets torn down in a year?

Gino has been doing quite a few interviews as of late.

Slicky Boy got new sounds to bump on the T.F. bench this spring.

Here’s the original trailer for the first Static video.

Remember when Reynolds started a shoe company in the mid-2000s? Me either.

QS Sports Desk: OMG @ Timofey Mozgov’s local Cleveland TV commercial.

Quote of the Week:

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Cherish your favorite QS tees, because sometimes, they won’t get reprinted ;)

Gotta love Rihanna. Who else is recording bangers that relate to the struggles of freelancers in New York still waiting on checks from 2014? Love you girl ♥

Snack Queen

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Bagel via Tompkins Square Bagels via Digital Ashtray

Who has a tractor trailer? Let’s bring all the Long Island City ramps to Tompkins.

“He took a look at my shoes, grilled me and asked, ‘What’s this shoveling for?’ I responded, ‘My grandma fell here last week and I don’t want anybody else to get hurt.’ He said ‘Nah, you’re a skateboarder, leave the park now or I’ll call the cops. We have a guy that shovels the park.'” Philly’s hatred of skateboarding never fails to reach new heights. An interview with Tracy Gorman about skating Love Park this past winter.

Speaking of which, Sabotage 4 should be a good time.

Dug this video’s #chill #vibes: Nassau by Derek Heydle. All New York stuff.

Gino talks about boards, shoes and gear for nine minutes.

In the Bity,” a three-and-a-half minute montage featuring most of the Bronze guys and some rad Shawn Powers Tompkins night lines.

2015 is all about ushering in a wave of redhead acceptance in skateboarding. Weiger’s all iPhone birthday part was great. If a genie granted me the chance to skate ledges like any pro but said I couldn’t pick a Spaniard, I’d probably pick Weiger.

Transworld’s “ABD Archive” GIF-itized most of the prominent tricks to go down over picnic tables. Chris Franzen’s switch front shove is still the coolest.

Dunno about calling the L.E.S. Park “iconic,” but this “Day in the Life”-esque thing with Billy Rohan was cool. “Chanel makes you smell like your Rolex is real.”

The Paych guys, Will R.S. and Zered at House of Vans.

If you want to watch more Aaron Herrington re-edits, here are the contest winners.

The book about the history of the ollie is 912 pages long.

Here’s what the first run of Mother Collective boards looks like.

Haven’t heard Waka rap in like ~two years at this point (the volatility of the rap spotlight is insane huh?), but something about his voice sounds weird now.

This is the best Kendrick Lamar song.

QS Sports Desk: Kyrie Irving is only the third most fun-to-watch guard in the NBA.

Quote of the Week: “Biebel became one of my favorite skaters this year because of Instagram.” — Jack Sabback

YRN: The Album drops June 16th. Kinda got the feeling that those guys made every sort of song there was for them to make after their last mixtape, but would love to be proved wrong :)