Frozen in Carbonite Presents: Song of the Summer x Video Part of the Summer 2023

Words by Frozen in Carbonite

This year, the owners of my local bar revived an institution from The Before Times™: music trivia.

I call it music trivia, but it mostly consists of “name that tune” — the DJ plays 12 snippets (usually in a category like Eighties, Nineties, Songs about Beer ‘n Trucks) and you have to name the artist and title. Eighties is my shit; country my achilles heel. ANYWAY, this was the first time playing without drinking. Whenever I go to a bar, if they don’t have legit NA beers, I get a Red Bull and some appetizers because I feel like a dummy hanging out for hours and not spending any money. You pay for the experience. The ambience.

ANYWAY, I won ten bucks. I was psyched, but even more psyched at the end of the night when I saw the name the bartender entered for my tab.

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From a Shoelace Belt to the Movie Set

We went to this iconic chunk of New Jersey crust last summer, and somebody in the car was like, “I heard some Brazilian dude frontside flipped into this.” Didn’t doubt it, because, you know — Brazilian skaters — but wow. The footage dropped in Retta Skateshop’s Atemporal video that went live on Free last week. It’s in Rafael Gomes’ incredible closer part, which includes an ender at another famous nearby Jersey bank. *Prepares for somebody to say “Tony Macaroni from Lodi actually already frontside flipped into that in 1912.”*

Brianna Delaney has a new, all-Barcelona part out for Grand Collection and Converse. In a career full of incredible back tails, that ender still belongs in the hall of fame.

Our guy Rafael Pereira B.K.A. Haffa dropped a new part filmed on his travels throughout Latin America, with some impeccable switch heel form to close things out.

Hardbody Beast Coast Tour — Part 1.

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Bed, Snacks & Beyond

📷 via @mariosk8

Zered is the latest subject of the Lookback Library’s “Cover Discussions” series, chatting about his three Transworld covers and three Skateboarder covers. (Crazy he hasn’t had a Thrasher one before, especially given the Massachusetts connection with Phelps.)

“Caller 10” is a crustaceous journey by Pittsburgh’s Radio Skateshop through one of the roughest cities for skate spots. Includes a great Zach Funk part to close it out.

While we’re on the topic of crust, peep Adam Meuller’s part in Justin Bohl’s Detroit video, Minted, which includes everything from lines on broken boats through abandoned buildings to polejams out of snow piles.

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The Brotherhood of the Tri-Color Camo Pants — An Interview With Stephen Lawyer

Intro & Interview by Frozen in Carbonite
Top Collage by Requiem For A Screen

From time to time, skating functions as a nexus point for a cultural #moment. Case in point: the old X-Large store on Vermont in L.A. — a locale squarely in the middle of a venn diagram of streetwear, rap, and what we now know as street skating:

1. Backed by the Beastie Boys, who used footage from Questionable in the video for “Time for Livin’”
2. Neighbored by Los Feliz School, home of legendary hip/bump/stairs etc.
3. Frequented by the most progressive World/Girl/Choc riders of the time, who, as Clyde Singleton noted in his legendary 20 Shot Sequence commentary, blew thousands of dollars on Pumas and “weird Ben Davis pants.”

The internet — or more specifically, the only thing on it that anyone cares about, Instagram — functions as the modern-day X-Large store. And in a few short years, Sk8mafia rider Stephen Lawyer has mastered this convergence by capitalizing on both the #attentioneconomy and Instagram-as-Content-Management-System.

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Where are you from, and how did you get into skating?

I’m from San Diego. I was playing hella baseball as a kid, and I saw some neighborhood kids skating. I got a board together and started skating to practice ‘n shit. And one day at practice I was just like “Man, I’m tired of this shit. I just wanna skate with the homies.” I quit baseball and here I am.

Who was most influential on your skating coming up?

I’m sure you’ve heard of Jordan Taylor. I was best friends with his little brother, and we always used to skate together. It was pretty dope watching Jordan and all the other homies do their thing. They had a crew called More for Less, and they’d always make videos and shit. We pretty much followed in their footsteps.

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