There are tried-and-true tales of crust synonymous with New Jersey, Philly, Ohio and the greater midwest — but for some reason, as the eastern seaboard begins transitioning into seafood shacks and Ivy League schools, a lot of that narrative gets lost, despite the fact that spots in places like Connecticut are every bit as rugged as those of its crustaceous neighbors. “Your Big Cheesecake” is a 14-minute video out of Connecticut by Dave Sullivan that is well-worth your time, and full of spots that you haven’t grown tired of seeing ♥ It really ramps up a few octaves at the end …that nollie at Trinity in particular, wow.
And on that note, given that it’s cold, our streets are covered in ice + shit, and travel remains hobbled, let’s venture out to Europe for the first couple of links…
Usually the assumption on these posts is that you’ve already seen anything that Thrasher posted last week, but Jaakko Ojanen and Eetu Toropainen’s shared part is absolutely nuts. You’ll be hard pressed to find another recent part with this much mind-bending shit that still actually looks good. Nobody skates like Jaakko.
HUF uploaded a raw footy diary of a cross-country road trip with Mason Silva, which includes much of the Spitfire part. The New York portion runs from ~6:55 through the end. It’s rad to see him pay tribute to Jake Johnson Mind Field-era spots, and they do a good job of showing why that West Houston Street hubba was an NBD for so long.
“Everyone deserves a chance to show their heart.” Aaron Wiggs was the most recent guest on Lee Smith’s Mission Statement podcast, discussing the BLM sidewalk sale at McGolrick Park, losing family to coronavirus, and more heavy topics (there’s laughs too though.) An inspirational listen, and an affirmation that we’re all capable of making a difference ♥
Steve Mastorelli has a sick new edit out featuring a bunch of New Jersey dudes, a stubborn hubba ledge, a 10/10 frontside 180 nosegrind the helicopter way, etc.
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.
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:
