Categories
Skateboarding News

Fred Mortagne Leica SL Los Angeles edit

fred_mortagne_skate

Fred Mortagne has been testing out some new Leica photography gear in LA with Nassim Guammaz, Dominik Walker, Nick Garcia, Julian Davidson, Brandon Westgate and Mason Silva. Top stuff as usual.

Categories
Skateboarding News

Brandon Westgate – Welcome to Element

insta

So we all noticed a couple weeks ago that Brandon Westgate fell off of the Zoo York team page and rumours started flying, so who went quids in and guessed Element? For now, settle with this welcome clip, which is still a banger, expect a full part in the near future.

Categories
Skateboarding News

Watch Zoo York skate the Yankee Stadium

brandon_westgate

The Zoo York team are flexing muscles this morning by taking over the Yankee Stadium for a private session. Watch this edit with Chaz Ortiz, Dave Willis and Brandon Westgate on the shred through the stadium whilst indulging in a popcorn party.

Categories
Skateboarding News

Brandon Westgate Skates Boston

When you think of Brandon Westgate those huge flips and that big, bad pop spring to mind. Click play for new footage of Brandon skating Boston’s streets. RIP all who suffered in this week’s terrible bombings.

Categories
Skateboarding News

Watch Cinematographer Project with Westgate, Bassett +

RB Umali has released his production filmed for Transworld Skateboarding‘s 24th video, The Cinematographer Project. This must see footage has parts from Dave Willis, Brandon Westgate, Zered Bassett, Ron Deily, Kevin Tierney, Eli Reed, Travis Glover, and Chaz Ortiz.

Click Westgate’s deck for the treats.

Categories
Skateboarding News

Emerica in Europe with Reynolds, Westgate and more

The Emerica team flew into Europe this July to skate demos and spots in Germany, Norway and Finland and came back with some footage for you to wtch today.

Click below for an edit released today featuring Leo Romero, Brandon Westgate, Andrew Reynolds, Bryan Herman, Kevin ‘Spanky’ Long and Jerry Hsu, plus European team riders Eniz Fazliov, Tom Knox, Rob Maatman, Vladik Scholz and Helder Lima.

Categories
Skateboarding News

New Brandon Westgate street footage

brandonwestgateMore amazing Brandon Westgate footage has arrived today as part of a comp to win a bunch of dollars at this years X-Games in July.

Click here to see more footage of him from our interview this year.

Categories
Skateboarding News

Brandon Westgate Emerica Stay Gold B-Side

It’s Brandon Westgate‘s turn to share his B-sides with us today so sit back and take in 12 minutes of goodness from Emerica’s brightest talent.

If you our interview with Brandon in April then click here for the feature.

Categories
Competitions Win

Win Brandon Westgate shoes, deck, wheels & bearings!

westgateemericacomp

Read the Brandon Westgate interview yet? If not then start reading to help you find the answer to this month’s competition to win his Zoo York deck, Swiss Bones Bearings, Hubba Wheels and a pair of his new Emerica signature shoes.

To enter, like our Facebook page and answer the question here.

[competition_17]

Categories
Features

Brandon Westgate Interview

Portrait/sequence courtesy of Emerica and Atiba Jefferson

brandonwestgate2010 was a cracking year for Brandon Westgate. Not only did his official pro status on Zoo York come to fruition, his part in Emerica’s most anticipated DVD Stay Gold kicked off smiles for miles as his technically gifted style stomped through the streets of SF and beyond.

His pro shoe on Emerica released last month brought another edit that swept the web and kept his skating do the talking so we decided to share a few of our own words with the Massachusetts kid that keeps himself one step ahead of the game by wielding some seriously devestating pop.

Easy Brandon, what’s going on?

Nothing much just got back from my shoe party in LA.

New Year’s Eve wasn’t too long ago, do you remember it?

It wasn’t messy, my girlfriend and I went to her sister’s and she had this karaoke machine set up and everyone got drunk and sung songs all night, it was fun.

Turns out you’re a month younger than me. That’s bonkers. I haven’t even bombed a hill in SF yet? How did that feel the first time you did it?

It was the best feeling and every time it gets better, you really have to get out there one time.

Compared with many other skaters in recent years, very little is known about your personality and life off the board. Was it a conscious decision to not let the world’s collide and let your skating do any necessary talking or are you just being you?

I guess I’m just being me. I like being out here and Massachusetts, away from everything.

Even a recent interview with Chris Nieratko didn’t disclose too much about you. So let’s just talk straight skateboarding for the rest of the interview: last time we interviewed you was in 2006, has skating changed for you at all during those four years or is it still the raddest thing ever?

It’s for sure still the raddest thing ever, I’ve learned how to skate different and learned new tricks I never would have thought about then. Thats the best thing about skateboarding you can learn whatever you want.

Over the last few years who has helped you out or inspired you to get you where you are right now?

There’s a lot of people who inspired me and helped me out: Jeff, Timothy, Miner, Seamus, Suski, Leo, Shetler, Herman, Reynolds, Figgy…

Your shoe has just arrived and everyone is mad stoked on it. Looks a little similar to the Hsu model (very good thing). Was the design inspired by that model at all?

I always really liked the Jerry’s so I started off that, but I just tried to make a really comfortable skate shoe that skated good and held up.

Think back to when you first got a pro deck, what were you more hyped on: a graphic with your name on or a shoe?

I was so stoked on both but if I had to say probably the shoe. it’s really hard to get your name on a shoe and you get full advantage to make the best shoe you always want to skate.

How about the part itself… was it made up from leftovers from Stay Gold? You can’t have had much time to gather new footage so soon after Stay Gold come out…

There’s some left overs, but there’s a lot of new footage. Miner and I worked really hard together on this one. It was mainly just us and not the whole team so I think it easier to focus. To begin with they just wanted to use leftovers to make a little clip online then we ended up coming up with a lot of new stuff given the time.

As a pro skater this side of the decade, do you feel under any pressure at all to produce more content as the online edit takes over the skate DVD?

I feel the same amount of pressure either way people see it and online more people see it sooner than a DVD.

What surprised many is how both parts could essentially be interchangeable, they’re both so good. What approach to filming did you prefer, the long-term project approach of the short but exciting turnaround of footage?

I liked them both. The short-term project was a lot more stressful because I didn’t have much time and it was a clip of only me, not the whole team. I prefer the long term just because it’s easier to get the tricks you want for your part.

Are you stoked with how both parts come out?

Yeah I’m stoked on them, there’s always more tricks I wish I could have got for them but time just runs out. I think Miner killed it putting it together. I think that makes it more enjoyable to watch when they’re edited really good.

You have a good mix of East and West coast skating in your parts… what elements of each do you enjoy skating the most and why?

I really like skating the West because SF is so fun. There’s nothing like bombing those hills and skating all the natural bumps- it’s truly like nowhere else. I like skating the East because the spots are a little bit more beat up so you usually have to do some fixing up and the spots turn into a challenge to skate.

Who had your favorite part in Stay Gold?

My favorite part was Leo’s, just seeing him skate is so gnarly and he just loves to skate. Herman also had one of my favorites; all those picnic table lines are amazing. I love everyone’s part though for their own way of skating.

Leo obviously was a deserved winner of SOTY but was there anyone you skate with often that kills it that you think was overlooked a little?

There’s definitely a lot of skaters who kill it but Leo I think deserved it by far.

Ph: Brandon shows Atiba one of his favourite FS 180 5050’s in China.

brandonwestgate

What trip in 2010 did you enjoy being a part of the most?

My favorite trip in 2010 was to China with Emerica filming for Stay Gold. It was a fun crew and awesome skate spots.

You just got a house right? What’s it like? Got any plans for it?

Yeah it’s cool, big back yard, farmer’s porch, fire place, garage, it’s just really comfortable. I’ve been doing work here and there a lot the whole time I’ve had it, mainly tile, painting and yard work. I’m planning on making a sick ramp in the back yard this summer.

What about when you hang up your trucks?

I would like to own some cranberry bogs I think they would be fun to try and run. Plus, I just like all the land that comes with it.

What would you be doing right now if skateboards were never invented?

I was going to a tech school which is a school where you do regular class work like your math and science, and the next is your shop class, I was in marine machines where I worked on boats. I would probably have tried to get a job in that field.

Finally, any words of wisdom?

Just keep skating and have fun.

Win a package of Brandon Westgate ‘s sponsors that includes a Zoo York board, Bones Swiss Bearings, Hubba Wheels and a pair of his Emerica signature shoes here this weekend.