Square is a strong advocate for European skating with hand-picked riders from the UK, Germany, Spain, France, Norway etc… They also handle a well rounded team that will travel to your local spot and kill it. You got full pipes? They can handle it. You got rails? That’s covered too. How about ledges? Are you kidding?!? Here’s how No place like home… demonstrates these skills:
The first guy to open the show is Matthieu Hilaire who lives approximately 100 meters away from a Lyon’s main street spot- Hotel de Ville. Matt has already got necks hurting from a lot of head-turning in France, so I guess that’s because of all the training he can get in at Hotel. Remember his name.
Next up are a few twin sections where riders pair up and get busy in the streets. Take note that each rider gets his or her share of the limelight, and the general mood comes across as being one of good friendship.
In France, Baptiste Myzor and William Phan serve out some serious tips in line building. Baptiste leaps on a couple of rails, whilst William takes his time to let his flawless steez flow.
Dan Wileman and Lucien Clarke double up for a great part of stumpwood annihilation. While Dan attacks everything with fearless speed, Lucien puts down some buttery hammers with a smile on his face.
Don’t let the blonde hair, blue eyes and cheeky smile fool you! Steffi Weiss is set to push female street skating, and introduces herself well to those who doubt the opposite sex.
Elsewhere, Alexis Jauzion fills the shoes of the gnarly ATV by charging at more than one high risk spot, and Raul Fernandez shows us that being a team manager doesn’t mean you skate less.
Stefan Bircher has a short but sweet part, and actually takes the time to bow down from the pro ranks in order to concentrate on making films about women being jiggled around in the gym(???).
Thibaud Fradin looks a lot more relaxed than previous footage would suggest and varies up his trick selection. The result is a pretty mental part.
Two of Spain’s greatest street skaters join forces to produce a part that could blow many a top pro out of the water. Dani Lebron and Jesus Fernandez are the tech twins that have skills to pay the bills, and the authority to film lines at Macba.
Finally, the Norwegian version of precision engineering- Henning Braaten. Santa Cruz just picked up Henning, and despite not doing him justice in their DVD, Square definitely put this Northerner on the map. You might be blown away by his switch pop or his 360 flips, but please take note of the switch backfoot flip mid-line ??? Henning murks it!
I will add that Square took the time to interlace the video with funny skits involving various riders. These skits serve their purpose and bring a wry smile to any Euro face watching this DVD. There are also various bonus features including some of the pros commentating their sections, the flow team and alternate angles.
Overall, Square’s No place like home… makes you feel proud of your European roots and the talent our continent can raise.
Ralph Lloyd-Davis
24/01/2006
I wonder how long you have to hold a grind for to get a pro model? Well, Tony Trujillo has obviously ground his Indys down to the axle because he’s looking to get his pro endorsement on very soon.
Sometimes you just have to envy professional skaters… The lucky bastards over at Flip are currently travelling all over the world gathering footage for the next Flip video.