In the winter, we do not go to Three Up Three Down. It is a frigid endeavor; the wind blowing off the Hudson pretty much makes you want to die. Suggesting that you go there on a tolerable day in January is doublespeak for “We’ll be drinking at The Ear by 4.”
In the spring, though — we goooooo to Three Up Three Down. The inaugural above-60 session is a QS office tradition. The spot holds a special place in our hearts because it facilitates for all: the average guy looking to brush up on a few stock flip tricks, your friend who put on a few pounds over the winter and might need some words of encouragement after he clips ollieing up a two-and-a-half stair, or, um, the Primitive team.
A wider net for skate interviews this past week than the typical guys talking about their first sponsor type of thing — 1)The Wall Street Journalinterviewed Beatrice Domond. There’s a pay-wall involved, but it seems like they let you rock on one free article. 2) “I just really like New York.” Elissa Steamer interviewed Alexis Sablone for Thrasher. 3)Skateisminterviewed Forrest Kirby, in what I believe is his first interview since he publicly came out last year.
“Are we already in the Matrix?” Skate Jawninterviewed Jawn Gardner about astrology, the afterlife and time travel + they also have a quick one with Kyota that includes some rad photos.
Though it was not the firestorm that followed our original M.N.M.F.T.B. post — no doubt one of this website’s most controversial moments — in 2014, we caught a bit of heat for denouncing some unknown child filming his Grizzly Grip sponsor me tape for waxing the top portion of Three Up Three Down.
We were called regressive. We were told that such rhetoric ran contrary to skateboarding’s “there’s no rules!” rule. We were bullies for imposing our worldview on this coveted piece of Tribeca land. We were labeled cowards for harking back to a time when a simple trick up / trick down was “enough” for the spot.
Everyone knows that nostalgia for a fairytale version of a greater past is in the first chapter of the authoritarian handbook, and here at the QS office, we like to think of ourselves as free spirits.
People make mistakes. People change. We come here today to ask for your forgiveness. We apologize not for saying that a forty-foot-long lipslide to tailslide across Three Up Three Down would look stupid, but for side-eyeing our much more talented colleagues for enjoying a #lowimpact spot that we tried to keep for ourselves.
Three Up Three Down belongs to anyone who cares to enjoy it. Bring your Shake Junt wax and your Grizzly Grip. Put angle iron on the side. Wax the top if you want — the last thing you want to be is some guy on the line to get into heaven, talking about how your only regret in life was not powersliding across the entire top surface of Three Up Three Down because some skateboard blog told you not to.
(Obviously you’d be going to hell if you did that.)
In extension of this olive branch, we’d like to commend the Primitive team for their work at our favorite skate spot. Though it has fallen out of the coverage circuit on QS as of late, you’re maybe a bit tired of seeing Meatball kickflip up it and tre flip down it for the third year in a row. Shout out to whoever is showing P-Rod’s friends around.
It was a great year for skateboarding — especially in New York, but also beyond — despite being especially rough on humans otherwise. Let’s get this one rolling :)
“Cliché may be gone, but the elan, the esprit de corps, and that certain je ne sais quoi that made the brand so fuckin’ dope live on in the various manifestations of EuroTech that permeate the continent. Indeed, the upside to living in a dystopian futureworld is the ability to—via the ‘gram, natch—to view the quotidien of Stalin, Macba, HDV, République, and Jarmers in real time.” Frozen in Carbonite gives us the most comprehensive and heartfelt eulogy for Cliché yet, by focusing on the brand of skateboarding that it helped bring to the world stage: Eurotech™.
Two solid clips from the LurkNYC crew: “Mean Streets Volume 7,” and “Playground Casino” for Hotel Blue. Kinda been wondering when someone was going to hit the rail and do the quick wallie in front of NYU on W. 3rd…
“Putting on a fedora to go skate is like bringing a guitar to a session; it’s clear that you had other plans for the day that didn’t include skating.” Ripped Laces looks back on skateboarding’s regrettable fedora era…
Adult Rappers is a good hour-long watch about dreams and what happens to them when you grow up. Not hard to imagine a lot over overlap with skateboarding here. Shout out to Dave Dowd for the recommendation ♥
QS Sports Russell Westbrook Desk:This must’ve been, uh, disorienting. #MVP.
Quote of the Week: “Instead of ‘Skater of the Year,’ there should also be an award that’s just ‘Best Skater,’ where it’s been Ishod for the past five years.” — Leroy Holmes
