Some free flowing finesse from Gorleston’s finest:
Categories
Category: Skateboarding
Categories
I-Path Langston
In all honesty my feet had not graced a pair of I-Path‘s for more than 10 years. When the Cats came out in 1998 they changed the way skate shoes could feel, they were actually really comfortable instead of flat and unprotected, in fact so comfortable that skating in them was a dream but buying a spare pair for chilling in was also a must thanks to Matt Field’s vision.
A decade later the Langston turn up in a box shipped from up North and my feet are feeling exactly the same way as my debut. There’s no breaking-in to be done here, they slip straight on with no fuss and are ready to go straight out of the box bringing what can only be described as instant comfort, a happiness that can only come from an I-Path shoe.
These latest kicks backed by Timberland are made of suede but do come in a coffee hemp finish and look dope. They come with a volcanised sole, organic cotton stitching and of course the trademark stash pocket under the tongue so you can hide your personals.
The suede versions feel and look like moon boots due to their soft feel and bold gray and white colourways, so expect your first mission in these to be out of this world! Go hunt these down as they are the perfect skate shoe for when the sun is shining.
Emilio Gonzales
Our good friend French has been busy as ever. This month his latest art for Independent Trucks makes it onto cotton and can be found in stores right now.
Mischief has the latest Indy tee designs online so go there and pick one up.
Death Skateboard‘s Californian ripper Zarosh gets paid a visit by Santa Cruz to check out his mammoth collection of classic decks, enjoy this latest Strangenotes video episode from across the pond and reminisce on the wood of yesteryear. Also in related Death news if you are a Patrick Melcher fan then click here for an interview with him in GQ Magazine. Yes you read correctly…
Zarosh’s pad from SANTA CRUZ SKATEBOARDS on Vimeo.
The Harmony have dropped their Spring catalogue this weekend with a fresh video edit featuring Joe Gavin, Jak Pietryga, Ali Drummond, Tyrone O’Hanrahan, Danny Jack, Tony DaSilva and latest addition Pablo Aresu. Get it all here.
Categories
Blueprint: 5 Bridges demo edit
The Blueprint team have completed their MFWTCB UK tour this week so look out for various edits being posted online from the many demos that went down. Here’s a fresh one from Josh Paxton who covered the 5 Bridges demo up in Gateshead, Tyne & Wear featuring the team riding with the locals plus Jerome Campbell explains how Danny Brady sabotaged his latest rig! Get in the van.
We are proud to announce that we will reveal the full line up at our Camden Crawl night at The Barfly Club this coming Monday. On Sunday 2nd May this venue will host 4 amazing live acts playing throughout the night and will end with sets from special guest DJs until 3am.
Click here for the line up of acts and spread the word this week by inviting friends to our Facebook Event page.
Ticket info can be found online and don’t forget that this event sells out every year as it’s the biggest underground music festival in London. We will not have a guest list for this event as we are guests ourselves so sort your tickets out here.
This one was too good not to post!
Categories
Gettin’ Wood with A Third Foot
Words and photos by James Brewer and thanks to Tom Gillespie
A Third Foot are a company I have been surrounded by since I first started skateboarding 9 years ago. Growing up in the Black Country/Birmingham scene it was pretty much impossible to miss them but this isn’t just your standard ‘local board company’, they’re a company that has been on the UK scene for many years now and has nurtured some of the UK’s finest talent including the likes of Olly Todd, Kris Vile and Ozzy Ben.
Not only that, but they have always been more than ‘just a board company’ as they are the only wood shop the UK actually has to offer. They have printed boards for a lot of your favourite companies and probably your local shop.
There was actually a spotlight interview on them on this website in 2005 where it was pointed out how there are only a few wood shops in the world, and a lot of them are fighting for work thanks to the mammoth production rate from China. So for myself, seeing a few blokes from Birmingham making top quality boards is refreshing- to say the least.
The company is all about quality over quantity which has shone through with not only the goods they produce, but the edits they bring out once in every blue moon. Most notably the recent ‘Summer Vacation Tour‘ which saw Ben Blake, Tom Brown, Woody, Doug McLaughlan and flow bro’s Phil Shore and Jason Caines get freaky up North.
This is a company that I back hard, and it’s not because I am from the same area, it’s because I know how hard these guys work and know how much love they have for skateboarding. The past couple of years has seen a couple of ‘Guerrilla Jams‘ organised by them in the back streets of Birmingham. The last jam was in the summer of 2009 at Birmingham’s hot spot ‘Demo’ – A3F owners Ken and Joel put together a series of ‘ghetto’ flatbanks, kickers to drums, rails and ledges and then were happy enough to leave them at the spot for locals to session (unfortunately these were soon destroyed by the local council).
I went down to their factory to have a chat with the owners behind the project Ken and Joel about how the current credit crunch has affected them, and to actually find out what goes into making a board in the UK…
So let’s start with your history. A Third Foot has been around for nearly 13 years now, with a lot of companies struggling to a point where they have to call it a day: how have you managed to stay around and stay prominent for so long?
I think the key difference between us and any other UK board company is that we’re the only manufacturer. With the income from both our A Third Foot boards, and the boards we produce for other companies from our wood shop, we’ve managed to stay afloat for all these years. We’ve also hooked some some undeniably great skaters throughout the years – Kris Vile, Olly Todd, Woody.
How did A Third Foot initially start and how did the name come about?
We were fed up of America ruling us with it’s wooden fist! We were influenced by the D.I.Y punk scene heavily whilst growing up skating, and we decided to have a go for ourselves. We started the company with some Princes Trust start-up money and used it to have a hydraulic press fabricated. Back then, we were pretty much out there on our own. There was no manufacturing guide or help websites to turn to! Occasionally you caught a glimpse of a press in a skate video. At first, we kind of made it up as we went, learning how to use the machinery properly to get the shapes and concave that we wanted. The initial challenge for us was to produce a board that was of the same standard as the American wood everyone was used to.
As for the name, Joel’s ex girlfriend thought of it. It implies that the skateboard is part of the rider. Skating down a street fast. Not even tricks, controlling the board as if it were your foot.
Talking of D.I.Y, what’s the idea behind the infamous ‘Guerrilla Jam’?
The Guerrilla Jam was intended as a bit of a wake up call to skaters. We wanted to show how much potential fun you and your mates could have out of some scrap wood, nails and a bit of effort. Don’t wait for someone to come and build somewhere to skate for you. Do it yourself. I think the first Guerrilla Jam cost us about £5 to put on. The entire budget was spent on screws. The rest of the materials we acquired from skips and cobbled together! We then dragged them round to a quiet street behind the factory and held a competition. No permission, no rules, and certainly no energy drink sponsors in sight!
Over the past few years the whole economy has gone into crisis, this has had a big impact on a lot of companies throughout skateboarding. How has the economic crisis effected you?
It hasn’t really effected us much, as we’ve been in crisis since day one! The falling dollar has helped us if anything, by making it even more cost effective for people in this country to buy British rather than head to China for their wood. We held our prices, and picked up some more business.
Has it ever been difficult to run a skateboard brand while running a wood shop at the same time?
Yes. Apologies to all the people who buy our boards and want to see a full length video. We want to see it too! The brand should be so much more in the public eye. We’d love to be able to employ a full- time team manager. The team past and present all deserve to be paid and go as far as they can within skateboarding with us. We have barely done any marketing which is pretty much all the other brands do. We’re too busy making boards!
The majority of the team are now heading towards their 30’s. On top of that, with the recent departure of Ozzy Ben, does this mean you guys will be looking out for new riders?
There’s more sponsored people in the country now than there’s ever been and we take our time whilst choosing team riders. Usually, the team bring a skater to our attention who we investigate further. Unfortunately being in the wood shop all week doesn’t really allow us to get to all the events or parks to scout for talent ourselves. Our message to people who think they’re of sponsorship standard is: don’t find us, we’ll find you.
You have taken part in two Big Push events, how did you find those?
The Big Push is probably one of the best events that’s been run in this country. It’s a fool proof plan, having all the best skaters in the country going on road trips and competing with each other for the best team award. For us, we found it brought the best out of our riders, who when faced with a deadline pushed themselves to the limit for the cause! We’re well up for the next one Sidewalk if you’re reading this!
You’re always coming out with new shapes/concave for your boards: are there any secret plans we can reveal?
We are planning to copy Anti-Hero shapes any minute now. Also, water down our shapes so they look like every other Chinese board you see. Seriously though, we got our shape dialed perfectly from day one. NOT!
Which is your favourite graphic that A Third Foot have put out over the years?
Both the “Chain” board and the “Flogging a Dead Horse” board are favourites of ours because they mean something to us outside of skateboarding. The Frank Lentini board is special to us because it was all done by hand, we didn’t use a computer on that one at all. All the films were made by hand and then they were screen printed. Also, any of the artwork Chris Bourke has produced for us over the years, he’s a very talented guy and we’re stoked to see his work being used by other companies now. The “Tribute” series are also close to our hearts as we based them on bands and records that we grew up listening to.
What’s your most memorable experience you’ve had running the company?
One day we got stoned at work with Stu Banner and nearly decided to close the business!
What’s the weirdest board shape/graphic request you’ve had to deal with?
We got a request from a guy years ago who’d never stepped on a board in his life. He asked us to create a 3 wheeled monster with a shopping trolley wheel stuck in the middle for traveling sideways. He swore it would revolutionize skateboarding forever! Also, some twat asked us to copy an Enuff shape once!
And finally, the obligatory thank you’s.
Everyone who’s supported A Third Foot over the years. All our past and present riders who’ve represented us, and all the magazines and industry bods that have helped us out. Thank you all.
Keep up to date with A Third Foot on the interweb at www.athirdfoot.co.uk and explore their Spring 2010 Catalogue featuring all of their new decks pressed right here in the UK and their Factory Outlet Sale. This ‘Summer Vacation Tour’ filmed and edited by Tom Gillespie says it all, get involved.
A Third Foot Skateboards – Summer Vacation from Tom Gillespie on Vimeo.
Categories
This Time Tomorrow
This Time Tomorrow has been long in the making, and Chris Mulhern has overseen the whole project from start to finish. 3 years since capturing the first tricks for this video Chris has travelled from his native Philly streets, all across America and spent the best part of a year in Europe linking up with core street skaters and filming in Paris, London, Athens and Berlin. I dread to think how much footage was edited down here, but the end result in video has to justify the means – and here we have a perfect example of that.
Right, on to the film – this video is LONG, I’m talking best part of an hour here, with a mixture of US as well as UK riders, too many to list them all in this review. The video kicks off a montage of cityscapes, the feel of the production and edit is akin to a Fred Montagne Cliché release, or a Habitat film. The slick graphics and intros lead not into seasoned pro’s at perfect spots – but in to street soldiers in some unforgiving street battlegrounds. Jimmy McDonald and Devon Connell definitely get commendations for quick footed, harsh terrain abuse. The American skaters carry on taking the East Coast apart with Stereo Field Agent Curtis Rapp leading the line, showing his recovery from a particularly nasty car crash hasn’t stripped him of any style.
The UK steps up, no place has grimy spots like here, London should be a prim, shiny marble skate mecca……it’s not. Spots 90% of pro skaters would turn their noses up at are systematically destroyed with the focus on intelligent tight lines rather than the simplicity of “going big”. Rory Milanes likes to do awkward tricks, gaps to grind, flip gaps to manual – all as standard in his repertoire. Steph Morgan shows he can match the East coasters with quick, tight lines, while Lucien Clarke takes the longer section with his laid back style managing to avoid the clichéd spots in London to bust out his bag of tricks and innovation.
This DVD stands out for a few reasons, the editing is crazy tight with a perspective on a rolling day of footage, sections starting off light and working through to dusk and with London’s short days the night time footage takes up a bulk of the minutes. All in the video will appeal to fans of Static and the earlier Zoo York releases; not one for the ESPN viewers but undoubtedly a must for all the 1am skaters, the innovative skaters, the street soldiers out there holding it down in every town and city with the “everywhere is a spot” attitude – hats off to Mr Mulhern, this is a great vid, order it now and enjoy these offcuts that went live today.
PP