The new Emerica video is online, you guys. Word is that Thrasher is going to have it up for 3 days, then it might go to the Emerica website, then you'll have to buy it. If you skate, it is most definitely required viewing. It includes a surprise performance from Jeremy Leabres, plus Provost, Romero, and Westgate. Westgate of course was my favorite, as he seriously looks like he's trying to break himself on every single trick, including the flatground ones. Get there while you can!
Friday, September 13, 2013
Monday, September 9, 2013
Weekly "Why Haven't I Seen This?"-15
With the plethora of skate footage that's out there, it can be easy to
overlook things. And yet, so often we stumble upon a video that we've
never heard of and find ourselves asking why we hadn't seen it before.
Each week, I plan to post another lesser-known video that deserves more
recognition, for your viewing pleasure.
While I actually have a great deal of fun going through and finding these great skate videos to share, it does take a lot of time to watch enough footage in order to find the diamonds in the rough. What I have decided to do, as a result, is take a couple of weeks to find more great video parts that many of you haven't yet seen. From this point forward, I will probably keep doing seasons of 15 installments (meaning breaks at 30, 45, etc.) so that I don't have to resort to having a "quantity over quality" approach.
This week, I'm going to be featuring Tommy Fynn for his part in "Part & Parcel" which is an independent video that came out in 2009. Tommy Fynn has been killing it for a while and is pretty well known, but he's also on Stereo, which means that we can't expect him to move up in the skateboarding industry or put out a new part any time soon (unless it's from his shoe sponsor, DC). Still, it seems that such a well-done part deserves a great deal of recognition, and most certainly a few good watches. The skating really doesn't have that many frills to it- it's just really good skating. Every trick is damn near perfect, especially that backside lipslide at 2:21, which is almost freakishly perfect. The nollie flip that comes soon after that passes so quickly, but is so big that it defies logic. Even with all the perfection, though, Tommy manages to cram plenty of personality into his skating, and he does tricks in such a way that you notice things the second and third time around that make his tricks seem even better. Props. Enjoy, you guys.
While I actually have a great deal of fun going through and finding these great skate videos to share, it does take a lot of time to watch enough footage in order to find the diamonds in the rough. What I have decided to do, as a result, is take a couple of weeks to find more great video parts that many of you haven't yet seen. From this point forward, I will probably keep doing seasons of 15 installments (meaning breaks at 30, 45, etc.) so that I don't have to resort to having a "quantity over quality" approach.
This week, I'm going to be featuring Tommy Fynn for his part in "Part & Parcel" which is an independent video that came out in 2009. Tommy Fynn has been killing it for a while and is pretty well known, but he's also on Stereo, which means that we can't expect him to move up in the skateboarding industry or put out a new part any time soon (unless it's from his shoe sponsor, DC). Still, it seems that such a well-done part deserves a great deal of recognition, and most certainly a few good watches. The skating really doesn't have that many frills to it- it's just really good skating. Every trick is damn near perfect, especially that backside lipslide at 2:21, which is almost freakishly perfect. The nollie flip that comes soon after that passes so quickly, but is so big that it defies logic. Even with all the perfection, though, Tommy manages to cram plenty of personality into his skating, and he does tricks in such a way that you notice things the second and third time around that make his tricks seem even better. Props. Enjoy, you guys.
Monday, September 2, 2013
Weekly "Why Haven't I Seen This?"-14
With the plethora of skate footage that's out there, it can be easy to
overlook things. And yet, so often we stumble upon a video that we've
never heard of and find ourselves asking why we hadn't seen it before.
Each week, I plan to post another lesser-known video that deserves more
recognition, for your viewing pleasure.
Comin' out of NYC, we've got Shane McGrane, so first and foremost-why don't more people have names that rhyme like that? It's got a nice ring to it. Secondly, Shane's skating really gets me hyped, especially for a guy that I had never heard of before a couple weeks ago when exploring the internet for video parts I hadn't yet seen. Is it because he pulls the most insanely hard tricks? No. Is it because he's jumping down the biggest set of stairs? No. Is it because all of his tricks are perfect? Not really, but that's okay, because there is a hell of finer things to like about Shane McGrane. For one thing, he seems to be able to quick-set his feet for tricks on really gnarly spots with no trouble. He does some cool and different tricks, like whatever you call that thing at 2:40, or that fastplant thing that he does at 6:21. He also has a way of doing ordinary tricks in a way that makes them seem totally fresh. Like how he floats his pop shuvits sort of vertically before catching them perfectly or how he seems to get just a little more hangtime on his 360 flips than he deserves. All of these little things, tied in with him doing a couple tricks that I have just flat out never seen before make for a pretty awesome video, and for that reason, I am proud to present this video to you guys.
Comin' out of NYC, we've got Shane McGrane, so first and foremost-why don't more people have names that rhyme like that? It's got a nice ring to it. Secondly, Shane's skating really gets me hyped, especially for a guy that I had never heard of before a couple weeks ago when exploring the internet for video parts I hadn't yet seen. Is it because he pulls the most insanely hard tricks? No. Is it because he's jumping down the biggest set of stairs? No. Is it because all of his tricks are perfect? Not really, but that's okay, because there is a hell of finer things to like about Shane McGrane. For one thing, he seems to be able to quick-set his feet for tricks on really gnarly spots with no trouble. He does some cool and different tricks, like whatever you call that thing at 2:40, or that fastplant thing that he does at 6:21. He also has a way of doing ordinary tricks in a way that makes them seem totally fresh. Like how he floats his pop shuvits sort of vertically before catching them perfectly or how he seems to get just a little more hangtime on his 360 flips than he deserves. All of these little things, tied in with him doing a couple tricks that I have just flat out never seen before make for a pretty awesome video, and for that reason, I am proud to present this video to you guys.
Friday, August 30, 2013
Things I Really Don't Like Seeing in Skate Videos
I generally don't spew too much hate on this blog, but this is a concept that I think all skaters can relate to. We love watching skate videos, but there are certain things that we just hate to see. Maybe it's distracting, or seems unnecessary, or it just baffles us in some unexplainable way, but regardless, we see it done and it just flips our rage switch. These are my skate video pet peeves.
-Excessive Fakie Turnarounds
One of the reasons I decided to write this article in the first place is because of something that Ricky Oyola mentions at the veeeeerry end of this section of his "Epicly Later'd" episode. I understand that sometimes you're just cruising around and then you want go get back to regular to finish off the line strong, but if I see a skater do it more than a couple of times in a video part, it's as if you're saying one or all of these four things to me:
1. "I can't bring myself to skate switch, even for a second, so I'm going to turn back into my comfort zone."
2. "I don't understand the concept of flow in a line, so here are the hardest-looking tricks that I can do in a line."
3. "I can't slide my noseslides well enough to not land fakie, but my next trick has to be regular."
4. "I am too lazy to think of another trick to turn me back around."
As an extreme example, CJ Tambornino does not one, but TWO of these things in a line that starts at about 1:03
It's worth noting that CJ does some stupid-hard tricks, but I really am just not a fan of his style and seeing that was especially obnoxious. I mean, why couldn't he just have done a switch frontside flip instead of a nollie backside flip, then he would have been set up for his last trick AND he wouldn't have had to turn around twice. It just doesn't make sense.
-Excessive Fakie Turnarounds
One of the reasons I decided to write this article in the first place is because of something that Ricky Oyola mentions at the veeeeerry end of this section of his "Epicly Later'd" episode. I understand that sometimes you're just cruising around and then you want go get back to regular to finish off the line strong, but if I see a skater do it more than a couple of times in a video part, it's as if you're saying one or all of these four things to me:
1. "I can't bring myself to skate switch, even for a second, so I'm going to turn back into my comfort zone."
2. "I don't understand the concept of flow in a line, so here are the hardest-looking tricks that I can do in a line."
3. "I can't slide my noseslides well enough to not land fakie, but my next trick has to be regular."
4. "I am too lazy to think of another trick to turn me back around."
As an extreme example, CJ Tambornino does not one, but TWO of these things in a line that starts at about 1:03
It's worth noting that CJ does some stupid-hard tricks, but I really am just not a fan of his style and seeing that was especially obnoxious. I mean, why couldn't he just have done a switch frontside flip instead of a nollie backside flip, then he would have been set up for his last trick AND he wouldn't have had to turn around twice. It just doesn't make sense.
Thursday, August 29, 2013
KOTR 2013
Just in case you fools haven't been paying attention, King of the Road 2013 is about to go down. This year will be Enjoi, Real, Chocolate and Birdhouse. Birdhouse, as I mentioned previously, has an awesome team right now. Between JAWS, Raybourn, and Clint, there's really not a challenge too scary for that team to complete, and if they just pick a guy who can take care of some of the more technical tricks, they'll be golden. Call me crazy, but I think Shawn Hale or Willy Santos could probably hold down that position just fine. As for the other teams, I can almost guarantee that Enjoi will have the most fun (as their name implies) although, there have been rumors about some of those guys wanting to leave, so I suppose there's also a possibility of some tension, or a team that lacks both Jerry and Louie, which would ALMOST render their team pointless. As for who's going to win, I'd say it's a toss up between Birdhouse and Chocolate. Chocolate will most likely nail some of the more technical challenges, while Birdhouse will probably corner the market on the really gnarly ones, so it just depends on how the list turns out and who decides to bring their A-game. Of course Real will bring some heavy-hitters as well and they have such a huge team that they could wind up putting together some magic combination of skaters, Billy Beane style. Plus, a lot of those dudes are young and stupid enough to try even the most ridiculous challenges. I'll be watching this close, and you should be too. Here's the video, which is also my source:
Monday, August 26, 2013
A Brief Look Back at Street League Predictions
Ok, so clearly, I wasn't 100% right on all of my predictions for Street League. If you haven't seen them yet, check them out here. So now I'm going to go through all of the predictions and state how true they were, just for kicks and giggles.
1. Terrible camera work.
This was my most accurate prediction. For at least one trick, the camera was focused on a vacant quarter pipe WHILE PAUL RODRIGUEZ WAS ATTEMPTING A TRICK. Several other times, the camera cut away from the skaters at awkward times or didn't get the best angle. It was terrible.
2. Everyone is going to pull some especially difficult tricks.
Hell yea they did. Paul did a nollie 270 to switch back lip. Luan did a frontside flip disaster on that big 'ole quarter pipe. 'Twas sick.
1. Terrible camera work.
This was my most accurate prediction. For at least one trick, the camera was focused on a vacant quarter pipe WHILE PAUL RODRIGUEZ WAS ATTEMPTING A TRICK. Several other times, the camera cut away from the skaters at awkward times or didn't get the best angle. It was terrible.
2. Everyone is going to pull some especially difficult tricks.
Hell yea they did. Paul did a nollie 270 to switch back lip. Luan did a frontside flip disaster on that big 'ole quarter pipe. 'Twas sick.
Weekly "Why Haven't I Seen This?"-13
With the plethora of skate footage that's out there, it can be easy to
overlook things. And yet, so often we stumble upon a video that we've
never heard of and find ourselves asking why we hadn't seen it before.
Each week, I plan to post another lesser-known video that deserves more
recognition, for your viewing pleasure.
This week I stumbled upon a little independent video from the east coast titled, "In Crust We Trust". So you know this stuff is going to be sick. My favorite part was this gem from Sean Korney, who most definitely rips some crusty, chunky, true east coast spots. I don't know too much about the filmer or Sean Korney, but what I do know is the guy has a mean switch tre, and that nollie hard at the end makes me want to head out and get served on some spot. What I've also gathered is that these dudes are probably from somewhere in the greater Philadelphia area (possibly New Jersey) based on the spots- there's definitely some LOVE park footage in there. I suppose I can also conclude that these guys have some sweet taste in music. Anyway, I hope this makes you guys want to go skate as much as it made me want to.
This week I stumbled upon a little independent video from the east coast titled, "In Crust We Trust". So you know this stuff is going to be sick. My favorite part was this gem from Sean Korney, who most definitely rips some crusty, chunky, true east coast spots. I don't know too much about the filmer or Sean Korney, but what I do know is the guy has a mean switch tre, and that nollie hard at the end makes me want to head out and get served on some spot. What I've also gathered is that these dudes are probably from somewhere in the greater Philadelphia area (possibly New Jersey) based on the spots- there's definitely some LOVE park footage in there. I suppose I can also conclude that these guys have some sweet taste in music. Anyway, I hope this makes you guys want to go skate as much as it made me want to.
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