It’s one of those “more words than videos” weeks :)
“But skateboarding’s worldview can often become so totalizing that commitment to it far into adulthood, past the age when it’s socially acceptable to ride around in a school bus smoking weed and listening to Slayer, can look like protracted adolescence. This is why skateboarding, for a large chunk of the country, will never fully outgrow its degenerate associations. And that’s fine.” It is notoriously difficult to produce a genuinely great piece of writing about skateboarding, but Noah Gallagher Shannon’s profile of Grant Taylor ticks all the boxes. Send it to your mom.
The cutest skate interview you’ll ever read: Skate Jawn spoke with Alexis LaCroix about life with his Instagram-famous cat, Rita.
Supreme has a quick Hi-8 Insta clip with Gonz, T.J, Rowan et al. for their upcoming collaboration with Spitfire.
“Love gave you this feeling, and I can’t explain it. Muni does not. At least for me it doesn’t.” Brian Panebianco checks in on a Love-less Philadelphia skate scene.
Sidewalk interviewed the mind behind Science Versus Life, and touched on the connections between New York and London skate history a bit. Your photo incentive check is in the mail btw ;)
With Ripped Laces effectively dormant in 2018 (no shade), The Hundreds blog has oddly been publishing some dece coverage related to the world of skate shoes: “Retracing the Strange History of Shoe Design” + a #listicle of five non-skate shoes that still became tied to skateboarding.
Stefani Nurding has an op-ed piece about how “Girls Nights” have bolstered the acceptance of femininity in skateboarding. I know this place unfortunately oftentimes reads like a boys club, but the coolest fucking thing in the world is a cop, security guard, or annoying concerned citizen pulling up to a place to vibe us out — only to see young girls, old men, black kids, brown kids, white kids, reptilian kids all enjoying a singular thing. How do you not feel like an idiot saying “no” to that?
An interview with one of everyone’s favorites, Justin Henry, where he reveals that Lebron James does, in fact, have more J.R. Smith in him than he cares to admit hehe.
This goes a good deal more in depth than his Epicly Later’d, though he isn’t as amorous with nature in it: Jamie Thomas talks to Chad Muska for an hour.
A decent bit of New York footage in feel-good Rob Hall part.
Spot Updates — 1) As you probably caught on already, Skate Jawn built a box to go over the cobblestones at Blue Park. 2) Columbus Park will probably be fine. Fingers crossed. 3) The building moved the planters back in front of the ledge at CBS.
QS Sports Desk: More excited for the off-season, than we were for like, the entire second half of the postseason. And if you think Lebron is coming to the Knicks you need to move to Mars.
Quote of the Week: “Hell no I don’t watch soccer. A bunch of buddies kicking balls? I’m good.” — Meatball
QS is perpetually giving 90% of skate video editors a hard time for their uninspired marriage to Big L + and this idea that basically all rap still needs to sound like nineties rap (how boring does that sound tbh?), but we’ll throw you guys a bone here because there’s a substantial chance you haven’t heard this one before, and it’s really fun:
