The Best Skateboard Videos of the 2010s — QS Reader Survey Results

Illustration by Cosme Studio

This was the decade that the full-length skate video was supposed to die. We began the 2010s with everyone insisting that Stay Gold would be the last full-length skate video. Then, Pretty Sweet was supposed to be the last full-length video. Some people thought that Static IV would be it — the end, no more full-lengths after that. But I feel like I heard someone say Josh was working on something new a couple months back? Idk.

The experience might’ve changed. We’re not huddling around a skate house’s TV covered in stickers to watch a DVD bought from a shop anymore (if this past weekend is any indication, it’s more like AirPlaying a leaked .mp4 file via a link obtained from a guy who knows a guy), but the experience of viewing a fully realized skate video with your friends for the first, second or twentieth time is still sacred.

Just as we asked for your votes for the five best video parts, we did the same for the five best full-lengths: if you could choose the five videos that defined the 2010s, what would they be? The results were a bit more surprising than the parts tally in some ways, given that it felt like independent, regional and newer, small brand videos dominated the decade, yet Big Shoe Brands™ and Girl + Chocolate still made their way into the list. The top-heaviness of some companies or collectives was less of a surprise, in that certain creators loomed large over the 2010s.

Like the installment before it, this list is sans comment for 20-11, and then via favors from writer friends for the top ten: here are the twenty best skate videos of the past ten years.

More »

All Good Things Must…

All the stuff from the longest T.F. obstacle run in the spot’s history is gone, as of last week. Sometimes you need to cleanse your palette so new flavors can flourish, and we’re excited to see what sort of debris tumbles into Tompkins for 2019. (Still kind of curious about how they let us rock for AN. ENTIRE. SUMMER. — softball leagues and all — then finally decided to get rid of it in…November? Not complaining though.)

“Nevertheless, the same 2018 skateboarding memes exist in each city. Wherever you go there will be the body varial guy. Someone, eyes closed, will spin their board one handed above a precipice. It is now universally accepted that baggy pants give you the illusion of having more grace on a skateboard, you simply have to be very good to throw the right shapes in skinny jeans. There will always be a bottle tosser.” — LOVED this. Daryl Mersom offers up some observations on skateboarding via his travels in post-Soviet Eastern Europeans counties. We out to Estonia, and shout out to apple trees.

Watermelonism has a new clip up from a wallie jam at Parque Las Chimeneas A.K.A. Colombian J-Kwon, and Alex has a bunch of new gear up on his site, Watermelonism.com.

Good vibes, some wild tricks (that Battery Park City pop-over into the rock wall…), and a profound dedication to Three Up Three Down that even exceeds our own in Stephen Ostrowski’s wonderful “Ether” video.

“Someone told me you got into a fight with Wu-Tang a while back?” To follow-up the jump ramp story, Mackenzie uploaded the full audio of his ~15-year-old interview with Macaulay Culkin’s friend, Harold Hunter.

Skate Jawn interviewed Josh Stewart (yeah, I wish Keith skated more too…), and Josh Stewart interviewed Steve Brandi.

Mobster Children paid a visit to Jahmal Williams’ art studio.

Vice has a profile on Supreme on the eve of the “BLESSED” release. The video is due out this Friday btw.

Wasn’t expecting Theories to post a video that had 6ix9ine songs and crooked grind nollie front foot flips in it, but 2018 has been all about expanding your horizons, yaknow. “Legana” is a 20-minute video from a Peruvian skate crew that’s 50% filmed in New York.

Grey interviewed J.B. Gillet about his favorite plazas, and he made me want to get a coffee bean chain.

Boil the Ocean takes issue with Palace picking on Alien and Habitat circa 2018.

And on that note, The Atlantic has a wild article about why we’re all not hooking up enough. (There’s a SoundCloud embed on there that you can listen to in the event you don’t want to read a 10,000 word article about not having sex.)

QS Sports Desk Play of the Week: Looks like the whole Philly thing worked out for Jimmy Butler. Sheesh.

Quote of the Week:

— Slicky Boy

Recently went out for dinner in a place that had no real traces of being a skater-run establishment, but for whatever reason, they were playing Pretty Sweet. None of us had watched it in full since roughly around the time it came out. Two things became obvious: that we’re okay with not seeing it in full for another five years (…sorry), and that Kenny Anderson had fire footage in that video, which seemed to float under the radar during its initial release. The whole “it’s a *normal* Marc Johnson part!”- narrative kind of took the reigns when Pretty Sweet dropped, but Kenny really did have the best bits of the video as far as Girl’s 30-years+ riders at the time were concerned.

We were gassing up this Tennyson remix hard back when it first dropped, but you should give it a whirl if you haven’t in a while. It’s the best part from Pretty Sweet ;)

Sorry For Not Realizing How Awesome This Was When It Actually Came Out – Volume 2: The Kenny Anderson Pretty Sweet Tennyson Corp. Remix

tennyson

(Volume one being the late pass on Chrome Ball’s Daewon interview.)

2013 had the odd distinction of being the first year when Girl and Chocolate weren’t indisputably the best skateboard companies in existence. That is not to say they weren’t still many people’s favorites or not among the elite — just that for the decade-and-a-half prior, it was them, and then everything else in skating following suit. A variety of factors are responsible: decreasing #relevance of the company video, a booming interest in smaller companies, and many of those who grew up with Girl and Chocolate adjusting to their favorites fading behind the scenes.

Those qualified to speak on the matter said Pretty Sweet was about the guys who never had Girl/Chocolate parts. Malto and Vincent Alvarez had been on for deep, and the video featured their first real parts, so it made sense. The thing that didn’t make sense is why Kenny Anderson, a dude who also never really had a full Chocolate section either, got relegated to shared part status. (Even though Hot Chocolate is great and has all the hallmarks of a “real” part, it’s still tempting to think of it as “Oh, that was a tour video.”) Lord knows Pretty Sweet was already long enough, but a “Kenny and Friends” part felt like an odd concession, especially given skateboarding’s current infatuation with handsomeness ;) ♥

Beyond being an antidote to anyone going through first and second generation Girl withdrawal, last year’s barrage of Tennyson remixes also remedied a lot of known issues with Pretty Sweet. They made a Kenny Anderson part, for one. (Plus they used an Al Green song straight out of the companies’ 1993-1999 “maybe” music supervision pile. Made it feel more Mouse than Pretty Sweet.) Snack Pack somehow got lost in the shuffle. Better late than never. Watch the full thing here. Follow the Tennyson Vimeo page, too.

A-list skateboard companies outsourcing reedits from fans is becoming less and less taboo. Is it really that unreasonable for Girl to mail this guy two hard drives of raw footage, a box of boards, and a few racks to re-edit Pretty Sweet in its entirety a la what DGK did earlier this week?

Onto more important matters…Who has recent history’s cooler post-trick turnaround maneuver: Kenny Anderson or Busenitz?

More »

Stay Down With My Day One Spots & We In The Video Screaming ‘No New Spots, No New Spots, No No New…’

ryan bubble banks

Ryan Hickey at the Bubble Banks (R.I.P) #nonewspots — Photo by Ryan Gee

“Take the subway? The J train? Where the fuck am I gonna go on the J train?”

Here’s a “new” old Dobbin Block clip. Dave Caddo does some sick stuff and Tufty has the best outfit in it. (Previously: Useless Times, A Quick One.)

Hey, how about a non fancy camera / regular motion Pretty Sweet remix video? Because these normal shots of Carroll’s tricks are great.

New Lurk NYC clip with a lot of noseslides (#NYNoseslides) and an overted crisis involving being hit by a delivery guy’s bike chain.

The Man Who Films put together a cool montage for Mood NYC, shot between New York and Providence. The visual effects and nondescript hip-hop instrumental loop make it feel like something that would’ve been at the end of an E.S.T. issue.

Richard Quintero edited a New York montage for Transworld as part of their “NYC Rising” series. It features every skater who lives in New York or has visited here in the past year. Good to see Houston Bump tricks making a comeback.

Chicago’s Uprise Skate Shop has a new video coming out entitled Downtown Wig Wam. We’ve talked about music supervision in Uprise videos before, and the jazzy black and white vibe of the trailer looks promising.

“Spot Rape,” a song about Bobby Puleo. “A set of stairs to a cellar door, you goddamn right, Bobby been here before.”

Well this certainly looks dangerous.

2nd Nature now has a location in Bushwick, Brooklyn, in a shared space with Post Bike Shop. Maybe that’s a place you could take the J train to?

Watch Joey Boullianne’s part in Nevermind and get emotional, and then watch the video’s friends section and collect interest off of extortions to settle your score.

Who the hell does this dude think he is to go the wrong way at Three Up Three Down?

QS Sports Desk Play of the Week: Tony Parker’s buzzer beater that made no sense.

The investigation begins: Who moved the most recent Tompkins rail to the pedestrian path of the Williamsburg Bridge? And please don’t let it be because of some moronic, artsy photo…

First Post of 2013

jeezy moet

Happy (belated?) 2013. Had to take the first week off. Anyone else make it through 2012 without finding out what Honey Boo Boo was or actually hearing “Gangnam Style?”

The First & Possibly Last Ever Installment of QS Sneaker News: 1) This is what New Balance skate shoes look like. P.J. Ladd seems to be their first teamrider, but bringing in Larry David might’ve been more of a power move. When is Saucony jumping in? 2) This is what Dylan Reider’s Alex Olson’s Vans pro model would’ve looked like. 3) Guess who else is making skate shoes? Got ’em. 4) Looking for crusty size 13 Jordan 4s that were retroed in 1999? Skate around the West Village.

ATTN British people and other Europeans: Lost Art out in Liverpool will be carrying QS tees online and in-store this week, in the event that you don’t want to pay $30 shipping from the U.S. for a $25 shirt. For everyone else, black larges are sold out but all other sizes/colors are still available in our webstore.

Crailtap released a minute-long clip of Brian Anderson Pretty Sweet B-sides, and as a result, Quartersnacks will be offering its first ever internship position. We’re looking for part-time interns to re-dub skate noises over full quality Pretty Sweet footage of anyone in the video over 30 and Alex Olson’s part (Cory Kennedy’s pleasant surprise of a part is perfect as is) for re-edit purposes. Compensation will come in the form of maybe $100, drink tickets and first dibs on the aforementioned and any future pair of Jordans discovered on the street.

This clip contains more Rob Campbell footage than any other in recent history and a Woody Allen homage at the beginning.

Sweet Waste’s 2012 send-off clip featuring a grip of fools.

The teaser for the new PIT Crew video has a Tyler Tufty cameo (sorry about the Redskins) and looks like it will be an all-around sick video.

There’s a new follow up to last year’s Be Pretty video and draws inspiration for its music supervision from a much beloved New York skate video. Teaser here.

QS Sports Desk Play of the Week: What else could it be? J.R. Smith’s ultra fast-motion reverse alley oop off a pass that was too low for an alley oop. (Honorable mention: JaVale Mcgee dunking on two of his own teammates.)

Quote of the Week:

plan b fan

Some Guy Who Likes Plan B Maybe a Bit TOO Much, via the Hella Clips comments on the first teaser for the Plan B video. (Would Plan B’s upcoming video project imply that full-length videos aren’t dead, contrary to previous reports?)

Updates should resume as normal this week. Have a good one.