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.
March 8th, 2021 · 12:00 amComments Off on Fool’s Spring
Adrian Vega via Giovanni Reda. This photo really does justice to how gnar tricks on this bank are.
Zach Moore (director of last summer’s remix blockbuster, “Jake Johnson: The Movie“) is front-running for delivering 2021’s best laughs so far. A) “The Ultimate Skate Songs Collection” envisions skate videos’ most iconic music in the format of a late-night TV commercial for a CD box set. The plot twist in this one is so brilliant. B) “A Caption To Die For” pays tribute to Thrasher‘s often absurd video captions in the form of old-timey newspapermen by way of classic Hollywood film noir. Give Zach Moore his skate Oscar.
When you look back at the skaters who feel like they clocked the most footage in the 2010s, the first wave candidates are obvious: Bobby, Ishod, Tiago.
Jake Johnson, on the other hand, has always felt like an elusive anomaly; the secretive lead-up to both his Static IV and Purple parts played into this mythological place Jake holds in the footage canon. Ben Chadourne once said, “If you get something out of Jake, it’s a piece of gold.”
But what if that wasn’t the case? What if we lived in a footage economy where Jake Johnson clips were every bit as accessible as the most visible skaters of the past decade?
…and, what if that actually is where we’ve been all along?
“A disc jockey, prison guard and a lumberjack walk into a vape lounge. A lounge team member looks up and says: ‘I know you folks. You must be coming from Human Resources Online’s list of the worst professions in 2018, ranked in terms of average salary and advancement opportunities, right?’ Before they can answer, a pro skateboarder wanders in behind them.” — Boil the Ocean explores the dynamics of skateboarding’s shrinking middle class as we approach the 2020s.
Dudes skating Everson between piles of snow: “…Or Get Off The Pot” is a new Syracuse edit from Lukas Reed.
Village Psychic had a couple nice pieces on their site recently. First, they caught up with contributors to Transworld, old and new, to get some recollections on the mag, and they also got Tony Hawk on the horn about where he (as someone who has had the widest range of endorsement deals in existence) draws the line on corporate sponsors.
Even a bunch of dudes from Germany who haven’t grown tired of skating the same downtown spots summer after summer aren’t resistant to T.F. West’s magnetic pull. “Transit Ride” is a half New York / half L.A. mini video by Paul Herrman. (And also confirms that you aren’t really dating yourself by pointing out Gang Starr in the most oft-skated to rap artist conversation.)
Yet another reminder to watch Minding The Gap if you still haven’t summoned the nerve to type in your card # for that free Hulu trial… Free interviewed the film’s director, Bing Liu. They were slow to get to it at first too, but became instant fans once they watched the film.
Ricardo Napoli’s video, Ciao, is premiering at The Woods in Williamsburg (48 S 4th Street) tonight at 7 P.M. You can watch his last video, Making It Happen, here.
Spot Updates — 1) The ledges on 110th and Central Park West had chunks taken out of all of them by the city. 2) Haven’t seen footage of it in a bit, but recently received an email tip that Queens’ Broadway Park is currently fenced off for construction.
QS Sports Desk Play of the Week: Haven’t had Russ on here in a minute.
Quote of the Week: “You know what, his style isn’t fake. He’s just ugly.” — Stafhon
“If 2016’s tale of political and social upset is one of old against young and the educated against the left-behind, actually sharing space and interacting with different kinds of people is more important than it’s ever been.” Caught in the Crossfire has an incredible piece on Malmö, Sweden’s status as the world’s most forward-thinking small city with regard to skateable public space.
Can’t remember the last time the word “beautiful” came to mind watching a skate video, but this remix of all Jesus Fernandez’s footage since Pretty Sweet to “Hang On To Your Love” is perfect. Perhaps more than any other skater, Jesus has a remarkable ability to make tricks that have no business looking good look incredible.
Skateboarding x Black History Month via Mehrathon. Stay tuned for something special with the guy who opens up that montage later this week. (Not Paul Mooney.)
Someone remixed a bunch of arbitrary Johnny Wilson footage for a clip called “Fountain.” We’d like a give a special shout out to the one video blog clip a week era.
Pretty sure we were in Spain when this happened (maybe its even older news than that), but official final R.I.P. to 12th & A. They repaved the entire court with shitty, soft blacktop. And there’s a “No Skateboarding” sign for the first time ever…at a school that once included skateboard classes in its phys ed curriculum. Cool.
