For much of skateboarding’s history, we have enjoyed a fruitful non-aggression pact with grass. Grass was something to be skated over; Carlsbad, of course, was the landmark display of our disinterest in messing up the grass. Avoiding it was the entire point — sure, a few bails on ledges over grass gaps resulted in some collateral damage, but that’s the cost of doing business. The grass did not encroach on our hard surfaces, and in turn, we watched the grass grow.
Then, the grass became a hater.
Jk, jk ;) ♥
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 took three viewings to realize he was actually skating the Four Up Four Down that Rodrigo skated last year, but when you can nollie flip over Black Hubba, does it even make a difference? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ (Via Diego Nájera’s new part, btw.)
Everyone who saw this IG post and thought “Ja$onwear” was correct.
“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™.
Unsolicited links to Cliché-related QS remix videos: Lucas Puig, J.B. Gillet.
T.J. does a pretty wild kickflip over at Pyramid Ledges, and has an entry for the “Run and Gun” contest over on the Berrics.
Bobby will be the titleholder at the spot for years to come, but Trent McClung came through heavy at Three Up Three Down for his new Venture part.
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…
The Passport boys with one of 2016’s best “Summer Trip to New York” clips.
“I didn’t have a pager, I was just a skater.” Jenkem hung out with Quim Cardona at the new Astor Place :( aanndd part three of the “Right Coast” tour with Quim and Freddy stopping over in Boston is also up on Vimeo.
“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…
“Ciberwave 2” is the new video from Humidity Skateshop. It’s supposed to bubble :)
Boil the Ocean re: Guy Marino and Eric Koston’s new company.
Chill iPhone clip from the crew behind the Heaven’s Gate video.
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
Good place to start every morning from for the rest of the week ;)
