Get yourself down to Pioneer Skatepark in St Albans this Friday night for the evening sessions that have started up once again from 7-10pm. Here’s an old youtube clip with the ginger ninja Chris Oliver at the park to get you in the mood.
Category: Skateboarding
Black/Grey Pentagram
Venture Trucks have been a long time favourite truck for me as they very very rarely let me down. Having tried all the gimmicks out there, what it all boils down to in the end is a simple, solid truck that does what you want it to do, all the time.
These Venture Lows are no different from what I always expect from them. Bolt them on, a few carves to warm up the new bushings and you’re away.
The novelty of painted trucks is always fun for a while, as they provide near frictionless grinds for the first few weeks. Excellent for all you ledgetarians out there, but for those who prefer a more concrete coping diet, you’ll be best to wait until you wear down back to the raw metal. You can’t make paint spark anyway!
The only problem I ever had with Ventures was on one set that had a constantly slipping axle. Every few tricks you had to smash them back as one wheel would always lock up. No such problem to report with these black and grey ones, making me think I must have got a dud pair before.
This may sound strange but I am having problems skating these strapped to a black deck. It’s completely psychological, but not seeing a flash of silver or other colour, and instead a completely black underside of your board is pretty disconcerting. If, like me, you are a complete OCD tweaker with stuff like this, just don’t skate a black graphic deck. Easy enough, problem solved.
Saying that, it does look stealth as fuck. At night, no-one can see your board as it blends into the darkness. You can cruise around with just the roar of your wheels on concrete, pretending you’re a Stealth bomber pilot and people can only hear you coming. These new 5.0 Lows have just come out and are rad, nice work Venture!
Moose
Categories
Vote for Marley!
It may be Bob Marley’s Birthday this weekend but skate photography geezer and good friend Dom Marley is on the verge of greatness, well almost…
Maybe you can help him win this photo competition this week. Click here and vote for his photo steez to help him win loads of new camera gear so he can take even better shots. Go on, do it now you bum…
Categories
Alex Lally’s Zombie Zoo
Alex Lally features in the latest edit from the Three Amigos Skateshop in Camden. 3 top blokes, nice skateshop, good times. Enjoy.
Categories
We love Paying In Pain
America’s rawest underground skate site, Paying In Pain, has come a long way since it was a photocopied handout in SF. Go take a look at skating far away from the limelight.
Place your bets!
Gorgeous Dave Watson brings the ruckus: James Gardner on the edit.
Dagenham Dave from James Gardner on Vimeo.
Categories
Anti Hero- the lost tapes.
Scumbag footage from behind the sock drawer:
Having only really skated in very slim fitting shoes recently, it felt very odd putting these Etnies Thunder Barge’s on at first. After a few strolls down the shops in them though, I was glad of the extra padding in these Arctic conditions we’ve been having recently.
Feet nicely warm and snug inside, I set about trying to skate in them. Not an easy feat when it’s -3degrees outside, icy as a cold day in Hell, and a layer of snow just thick enough to make national news as a ‘disaster’. The only disaster here is that there’s not a dry patch of concrete for miles so skating is a no go. That is until I get desperate enough for a shred to annoy the neighbours and utilise the massive expanse of concrete warehouse that is my flat. Game of Skate to keep warm then!
With just enough room to stab a very pushes in, I can tell you the soft orange rubber sole gives excellent grip, even on painted concrete. Whilst not to everyone’s taste, the bright colour on the bottom will certainly get you noticed should you fall over feet-up in a snowdrift.
Even though these shoes aren’t advertised as mids, the ankle does feel slightly higher than normal. Not a bad thing as the extra support is always welcome, and it’s not so padded that you feel trapped inside them. The general styling does look very similar to Chukka Lows; it seems a lot of shoe companies are going with the old time-tested designs because they just work much better than anything else. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it as the say.
How Thunder contributed to the collaboration process on these is anyone’s guess. Other than their logo printed on the heel, which has gained more than one “Why are you wearing Greenday shoes?” comment, I can’t see anything. Not that it matter, Etnies know what’s up in the shoe department and this is the first pair of them that I’ve truly liked. Solid toe construction, always a thumbs-up from me.
I’d suggest swapping out the hiking boot style laces for thick whites straight away though to get these looking super-fresh. Etnies have won me over slightly to the thicker, more padded skate shoe, definitely until I stop seeing white rooftops and the lovely grey dry concrete colour comes back to us in the Spring.
Moose
Geoff Rowley & David Gonzales = gnar. Both of them vs 22 Stairs = gnarlier. Watch the Flip Skateboards team riders attempt to outdo this total beast.