Consensus in the skateboard world is a rare and fleeting thing.
But for a sweet moment in time there, we agreed on a few things.
For example: if a ledge is on fire, it is not the best place to administer a switch crook. Or that a pond of toxic sludge is not the ideal place to roll away from an ollie.
But even those onetime uncontroversial viewpoints have been shaken in recent months; the lessons from those two beautiful idiots with the gas can have — shockingly — been learned.
Four years after the Parks Department sabotaged the best obstacle at New York’s most famous still-standing skate spot, it has returned with a vengeance. Photo via Kyota.
It seems like we traded our annual office tradition of late posts on the Monday during Fashion Week for late posts on the Monday after Glory Challenge. No seasoned QS reader expected an on-time update today though, let’s be honest ;)
Before we get started, let’s talk about perseverance in the face of adversity. No matter what skate trick got away from you, what job interview didn’t call you back, what crush blocked your number…there is always hope. Even if it’s four years, and four broken boards later — maybe you too, one day, will be the recipient of a celebratory “oooohhhhh yeaaaaaahhh” from Alexis Lacroix. It is all a matter of patience and dedication.
FYI: Most remaining stuff in our webstore is on sale.
I know Vice articles about skateboarding tend to get a bad rap on the comments here, but this one is actually pretty good! Zach Harris on the “trend” of skateboarders not treating their bodies like garbage cans anymore. (Save everyone who spent the last three days in Montreal, I imagine.)
And on that note: “Will skateboarding’s notoriously rapid generational churn soon spur a backlash against sober, thoughtful life choices, and bring about a new era of ‘hammer’ tricks, illegitimate children and unpaid debt?” …probably?
Zered has an interview with Juxtapoz mag about his Paper Skaters project.
Village Psychic interrogates Nick Boserio about whether or not skating street on 60mm wheels is “cheating.” Try and read it in his voice.
Noted sweatpants engineer and our good friend Jimmy Gorecki has a nearly two-hour interview on The Nine Club.
Crazy Ass Paterson Skaters uploaded a 12-minute-long raw footy log.
It is wild how much the spot selection in even a skate heaven like Barcelona managed to change over the course of a decade. Tombo uploaded some old footage from a trip out there in 2005 with Puleo, a young Brandon Westgate, and others.
The Traffic team talks about riding a bus from Washington to New York with a pantless man who thought he was the Road Runner, and other stories from when they were filming for their last video.
New York resident Mark Suciu has a longform interview with North.
Here’s a new iPhone edit from Kyota.
Quote of the Week: “Speaking French is 10% pronunciation and 90% attitude.” — Young Lady Giving Impromptu French Lessons at Glory Challenge
The QS webstore is restocked with new colors of the swim shorts, a couple new tees, and bags for summer Rockaway trips :) Thank you for the support ♥
Chris Jones’ Spirit Quest section is now playing over at Free. Really sick Soho noseslide opener, and generally some of the most creative (not in an annoying way obvs) + good-looking New York footage in recent memory. Perfect part.
Mehring put together a rad article about those couple of weeks that the Banks were open for The Skateboard Mag. See everyone there again in 2023 ;)
Every time Dustin Henry footage comes out, I remember that he’s my favorite skater that I’d be O.K. with my non-existent daughter dating. Jake Kuzyk uploaded “Savers,” his first clip since The Antisocial Video dropped last year, which features a bunch of those guys + Alltimers, Dime, etc. affiliates.
Would rather watch T.J. skate flat at T.F. than ________. That half cab flip was bomb.
Looks just like most skaters’ apartments in Chinatown, tbh.
Erik Ellington tries on some snakeskin Palace Chelsea boots with Jenkem.
There are some chill Rowan Zorilla clips in Genesis’ summer iPhone montage.
The Bunt talks to Eli Reed about how the hell he figured out to be good at skating that manual pad at the Boston Aquarium and what was up with the “Taking Care of Business” #musicsupervision in State of Mind. Is switch tre into the Courthouse still an N.B.D? P.S. Eli, that switch 5050 hubba in the Bronx is gone man.
Somehow missed this a week ago, but “Putnam Avenue” is a formidable entry into this year’s “Summer Trip to New York”-clip cycle, featuring a couple Euros.
Merchants of Ill in Montreal via Max Hull. See everyone tomorrow :) ♥
Boil the Ocean points you in the direction of Danny Garcia’s “All City roots” for the site’s annual summer video mixtape series.
Quote of the Week
Inquisitive Gentleman: “Who was the best skater at your wedding?”
Nick Boserio: “Me.”
Love it when a Migos song about buying expensive stuff for girls gets turned into an anthem about starting businesses and shit.
Sorry 4 da wait today, love you :)
The QS webstore relaunches this Wednesday, November 2 @ midnight New York time. Small preview of the new QS merch here. Our bud Colin Sussingham also shot a lil’ Warehouse Mondays lookbook with the boys for his Tumblr. Available in U.S. shops this week. International soon. Photo by Pat Buckley.
Honestly, every skater should have Hjalte film and edit their parts. Got more stoked watching this one he made of Jonas Skrøder than anything in recent memory.
“I didn’t know you knew about Supreme.” — Stevie Williams’ 12-year-old daughter to Stevie Williams. The Bunt’s latest one is with Stevie Williams, and covers everything from early Philly days, to the origin of the switch shove revert (unexpectedly Danny Way inspired), the first pass at Reebok skate shoes, etc. Also shout out to Stevie for calling out when skateboarding looks like rollerblading :)
“The increasingly inscrutable Daniel Kim is on some Sampson deal where his trick spread (now including switch Japan airs and a switch kickflip tailgrab) seems to grow woollier in direct relation to his hair length.” — Boil the Ocean on Spirit Quest, which includes a part from my favorite skater and frontrunner for hair of the year, Daniel Kim.
Bryce Kanights tells the story behind the photo of Sheffey and Coco Santiago doing double ollies at the Fuji Building in 1989, which is probably tied with Dimitry’s photo of Bici at World Trade for greatest skate photo shot in this city.
Still Rich Gang mixtape forever ♥ The 30 Purse crew put together an awesome five-minute New York edit to an abridged version of the song that started my day Sept 2014-prob Sept 2015. Kudos on the wide-ranging spot selection. Haven’t seen anyone skate that black marble out ledge on 30th and 1st this decade.
An interview with the guy with the voice and new Polar pro, Nick Boserio.
NY Skateboarding has a new clip and interview from filmer Declan Mulligan, who shines a light on some underrepresented corners of Long Island.
Someone found Tom Penny in Chile.
A guy named Beaver from S.D. with a chill “Summer Trip to New York” clip.
Uploaded this a few weeks ago because it vanished from the internet, but kept forgetting to link it on here: Dobbin Block’s “S.O.N” video from 2009.
“I never missed filming a session from 2000 forward because it became critical for my film and for my journey to the final level.” *Desperately awaiting intel on the New York premiere of the Todd Falcon film*
The Vancouver boys came to New York for a few days: Skate Sundays #59.
Jason Byoun skates the Financial District in 1996.
Lurker Lou is having a Card Boards show this Friday at 175 Roebling Street. 7-10 P.M. A bunch will be for sale. Flyer here. Interview about Card Boards from 2014 here.
QS Sports Desk Russell Westbrook Desk: 51-13-10. OKC-GSW can’t wait :)
Quote of the Week
Inquisitive Gentleman: “Why does everyone in Canada move to Montreal?”
Keith Henry: “Because nobody needs a job there. You find your rent on the floor.”
Heard Petey Pablo in #theclub out in Tokyo this past week, and was reminded of the far-reaching majesty of the great state of North Carolina. Congrats to the Endless Grind crew on thirty years. This one’s for you? Uh-uh. This one’s for who? Us, us, us.
When you’re constantly reminded how underrated something is, it runs the risk of becoming overrated. These past several years, the dozen or so skate sites with words on them have used up (admittedly infinite) webspace to defend the varial flip, quantify the varial flip, revisit the varial flip, and draw up colorful analogies about the varial flip. It wasn’t cool for a long time and now it is — people get it by now.
Do you know what has spent a longer amount of time in uncool trick purgatory? Heelflips, especially on flatground. The heelflip’s history over the past twenty years is something like this: the one Mariano did on flat after ducking under the volleyball net, Kerel Roach, Lindsey Robertson, Lewis Marnell, Neen. Generally speaking, skateboarding allots space for a “heelflip pro” every five years.
Talk about a guy who kinda-sorta-maybe-at-one-point-skated and try and get a gauge of exactly how far into it he got…
“Oh damn, he used to skate? Could he like kickflip and shit?”
“Nah, he probably did a heelflip a few times though.”
