If you have never seen Chris Mulhern’s DVD This Time Tomorrow then this section could well be the best introduction to it yet.
Last night Jimmy McDonald‘s full part was introduced to Chris’ vimeo channel so stop whatever you were doing and take all of this in.
When most companies are struggling to push as much content as possible onto the web, it’s nice to see a company take their time to prepare a proper DVD with quality footage and a great soundtrack.
Kill City have chosen to start the year off with a bang by releasing their full length video Rookies featuring Dave Davies, Sam Pulley, Nicky Howells, Jess Young, Joe Lynskey, Jake Collins and Caradog Emanuel. Head honcho Lee Dainton took the role of filming and general hypeman duties for the team and has worked his magic over and above expectations. Watching Rookies gives you the feeling that Kill City is a tight team of friends based in England and Wales where sessions are more about fun than business, which backs up Dainton’s legacy of his team tenfold.
Rookies introduces us to the next generation of UK skateboard royalty and beyond. You would think the video was edited backwards when you witness Dave Davies’ amazing two-song opening section. Joe Lynsky and Nicky Howells take care of the ledge techniques and switch skating, whilst Sam Pulley and Jake Collins mix things up with all-terrain skills. Jake’s all round gnar just landed him on the Quiksilver team so expect his talents to be traveling even more than usual this year. Jess Young has grown up during the filming of his section. He has gone from a gnarly kid leaping consecutive big sets of stairs into a young man with no fear of grinding down rails with 15-foot drops off the side. If he doesn’t kill himself, Jess has a great future ahead of him. Finally, there is Caradog Emanuel for the finish and he closes the video off in style. You can understand why he gets last part when you witness the talent he has on board. Caradog is quick to dish out 360 shove-its switch manuals down a steep bank, long backside lipslides through fountain ledges or a picture perfect heelflip over a rail into a massive bank – skills that make him a name to look out for in the future.
Overall, Rookies is a solid video that you can watch from start to finish without skipping sections or wandering off to make a cup of tea. Great skateboarding all round. The soundtrack also gets thumbs up with music varying from Mobb Deep and Biggie Smalls to Sebadoh and the Butthole Surfers. Finally, the extra credits are probably the funniest 4 minutes I’ve seen in a long time, get a copy today.
This DVD is highly recommended and available right now in your local skate shop.
Ralph Lloyd-Davis
Cut-Out Team Red (8″ x 32″)
Polar Skateboards is the brand new brainchild of Swedish über-skater Pontus Alv. Pontus has already established himself as a freethinking individual with his numerous cinematographic and cement mixed solo projects. It was only natural for someone with such an abundance of talent to push the “Do-it-yourself” ethic into a fully-fledged business. I’m not sure business is the right word though because Polar Skateboards is definitely focused on the aesthetic value of its products and team riders more than the simple profitability. That said, the Cut-Out Red team board I have been riding recently is worth every penny, kroner or cent on the tag.
Already, the graphic is great taking inspiration from French modern artist Henri Matisse with statuesque silhouettes laid from nose to tail. See the Blue Nude II for inspiration. Pontus has taken a bold step in his art direction and the use of bright colour and simple imagery places his product head and shoulders above the usual hogwash of cartoons and skulls that emblazon a lot of mainstream board company decks these days.
Pontus likes to ride everything so the Polar boards come with enough concave to carry your board and body over the steepest wallies and roughest surfaces. The nose of this particular model is rounded off to exactly 7 inches with the tail running just shy of 6.5 inches, which makes it easy to handle either way around. I imagine poor weather conditions were on his mind when Pontus went looking for the best manufacturer for Polar boards. The board was pressed in Germany and has so far withheld the terrible damp of winter and the brunt of unfortunate cracks in the pavement.
Check out Polar Skateboards at http://www.polarskateco.com or via Pontus’ blog.
Ralph Lloyd-Davis
Beibel’s yard gets smoked in this Spliff All Star visit.
Last week Huck Magazine brought a new art show to town with Jimbo Phillips, French, Schoph Schophield, Stu Smith, Owen Tozer, Benjamin JeanJean and TCOLondon designing decks for Rolling Back The Years. Here’s what went down at the pop up shop on the night.
Network have rewound time this week to look back at some raw footage of James Brockman and Tommy Sandoval filmed for Zero’s ‘New Blood’ DVD. This also has a couple of tricks of Garrett Hill and Ryan Bobier, most of it made the DVD but some of it that has never been aired until now.
Both Jake Collins and Kyron Davies have been announced as Quiksilver UK riders today. They will join the rest of the UK contingent that already consists of Sam Bosworth, Alex Decuhna and Dan McDermott.
Quik’s team manager James Stentiford is stoked to have them both onboard: ‘Jake and Kyron are two of the biggest talents in the UK, I can’t wait to get out on the road and see them smash it up.’
Look out for welcome edits and visit the Quiksilver blog for news, updates and podcasts from the new additions and the whole UK team.
The magic box of skateboard history will be opened once again this month as Stacy Peralta’s new documentary on The Bones Brigade is set to premiere at the Sundance Festival on the 21st January in the US.
Bones Brigade: An Autobiography features archival footage and moving first-person accounts from Brigade members Steve Caballero, Tommy Guerrero, Tony Hawk, Mike McGill, Lance Mountain, and Rodney Mullen, among many others.
The film documents the phenomenal scene that the team inspired at the time with their amazing skateboarding and goofy characters. Whether you are young or older, this will be a documentary that is a must see if you are a skateboarder. Tony Hawk talked to us briefly about the film in this recent video interview that you can view below, look out for the inevitable European screening announcements soon.
Real have unleashed a full bonus section of new new pro Ishod Wair from the Since Day One video that dropped last year. Ridiculous to think that this footage didn’t make the final cut as it’s stomping. This should put a smile on your face today. Press play for treats.
Mark Baines has joined the Etnies UK team today and has filmed a new winter edit that you can watch below.
Speaking on the etnies website this week, Baines discusses the various changes he has gone through in terms of sponsorship:
“Yeah it’s been a pretty crazy few months. It really made me look at my overall situation. I was on the full DVS team, but I felt like I was lost in the mix. Before that it felt like we had relevance even though we were on the Euro thing they had set up, but at least we knew our place kind of thing? Basically with leaving DVS and Blueprint focused and based in America I felt like it wasn’t right for me and where I’m at currently. The decision to leave Blueprint was so tough because these are some of my oldest friends, but I had to do what was right for me. Being part of Fabric Skateboards, which is focused on the UK and Europe made sense. The one thing that always made Blueprint stand out was that it wasn’t just another American company and I guess I still think of it in that way. This year I’m just carrying on skating as I always have, nothing changes. My problem is that I always said you should always aim to put out better parts than your previous one and once you’re way off the mark then its time to have a rethink, I am still trying to put out better parts and I have that same drive so I just want to bring all that to etnies. Give me a project and I’m happy.”