The Pledge shirt by éS should deal with a British summer on 2 levels. Over the last 3 weeks, the weather has blown, hot, cold, hot, cold and somehow this shirt has sat right in the middle of it all and saved my skin. Due to its 100% cotton lightweight design, this baby blue number has provided warmth when the sun has disappeared and has tackled the heat with the sleeves rolled up with ease.
It comes with a double lining so when you get it out of the wash it doesn’t fall apart and is easy on the iron. It also has minimal branding and a tasty front pocket if you need to stash smokes or cards.
éS have some great lines of clothing out right now and this shirt comes highly recommended this summer. Treat yourself this weekend, you only live once.
Coming from Ohio where the winters are cold and wet, Kevin Terpening has traded his sheepskin and rabbit fur ear warmers for a tee shirt and shorts and moved to LA to get what he wanted in life, sponsorship and freedom to continue his motivation to skate all day and do nothing else.
Hooked up on Alien Workshop and éS this year, it’s all looking rosy for the dude that could well be the most siked bloke to ever grace this zine. Read on to find out why.
Easy Kevin, what’s going on?
Not much. Hanging out in the nice Californian weather.
How did you enter 2011?
Kept it pretty mellow. Just had some friends over and drank some beers.
You had a pretty good year on the board last year as the companies flowing you stuff recognised and made it all official… and now you’re on Alien Workshop proper. That’s gotta be a good start to a year right? Tell us how that all came together…
Alien has hooked me up for a long time and its always been my favorite company so I’m definitely siked. I think they seen some of the stuff we’ve done with éS and some videos and coverage and they were siked. It all came together at once. I’m siked to just keep it going this year and do more.
The Ohio collection must be sick, getting repped by a globally recognised company based in your hometown. Take us on a verbal journey back in time if you will… what was it like growing up skating there? Who got you into skating and what spots would you hit up?
I’m from a pretty small town that doesn’t have much to skate and has no skate scene whatsoever. My brother had been a skater growing up in the 80s and when I was around 10 he started skating again. I got siked on it and started rolling around with him and finally got my own board. He built a mini-ramp in our backyard and that’s what I learned to skate on. After that I built boxes and flatbars with my friends and we’d pretty much just skate in the driveway all day.
Do you miss it now that you live in California?
Yes. I think about it almost everyday. I can’t wait to go back in the spring.
Who set you up for that move and who were you living with to start off?
I graduated high school and went and visited my friend, Scott, in LA. He asked me if I wanted to get a job at val surf where he worked. I filled out an application and went home to Ohio. He called me and said they wanted to hire me so I moved in with him a few weeks later.
The idea is a little alien to us in the UK as our concentration of skating from the US is pretty evenly spread from coast to coast…but, like Kalis said on Quartersnacks, there seems to be this unwritten demand that skaters do their thing in Southern Cali. How much truth is there to this? Did you feel any pressure to move or was it strictly personal business?
I think it just makes it a little easier. The weather is amazing and there are tons of filmers/photographers. All the companies are here for the most part as well. People live in the middle of nowhere and still can skate and get coverage though. It’s not mandatory to live in California, I personally never moved to LA to just try to make it in skating. I wanted to move out of my situation in Ohio and do something new. I knew that it would be a little easier to make it in LA though. It’s funny, when I moved to LA and seen how things were, I didn’t really want to be a sponsored skater anymore.
BS 50-50 Photo: Anthony Acosta
Tell us your best story involving Cody Green…
NO more Cody stories. I love him.
I find it hard to imagine why you were kept flow for so long, especially after making the move and getting amongst it Cali. What were you doing other than skating to keep your head up?
Try to stay busy and work to pay bills and rent. I was lucky I had a lot of my friends from Ohio around to keep me happy. I was always just siked to be in LA and skating all around the city and taking buses. It was all so new to me.
I read a great little story in Skateboarder Mag about how you used to use the paper inside éS Shoes for toilet tissue… when they put you on fully did they give you some nicer paper or had you already grown accustomed to that crinkly stuff?
Haha! No but when I went to Sole Tech once, Rob Brink stole some toilet paper from the bathroom for my house!
Have you reached the point where you can wipe with your paycheck yet or is that a pleasure reserved only for those with a pro shoe?
Fuck no. I’m doing pretty good so I’m siked. I’m not rich though.
Nosebonk. Photo: Sam McGuire.
You’ve been in discussions with the designers at éS to make sure everything you rock is perfect right? Ever considered getting on a proper design tip and earning some dough? That’s like one step in the direction of completing skateboarding…
Things don’t have to be perfect. I just want things to fit right because it can be hard to find the right stuff sometimes. I’ll let the designers do the work though. I probably would fuck everything up!
So what have you got planned for this year? Any upcoming trips or edits to film for?
Just starting to film for an Alien Workshop project. Its early in the making but its gonna be rad. My friend Benny is filming for them now and he kills it so I’m siked.
That may be one of the first few times I’ve ever asked someone if they were filming for an ‘edit’ instead of a part in a video. What’s your view on the direction skate media is heading in?
I don’t know man. It is what it is. I don’t want to get to into it. I just want to film and skate with my friends and have a good time. People just want too much, too fast and that makes everything less quality. There’s also an overload of certain skaters.
Most, if not all the footage I’ve seen of you has been featured in online edits, with so many of them around it kind of leaves us lurkers in search of some radness a little over-satisfied, jaded and forgetful. Your éS Welcome Part was a total banger though… do you go out of your way to make your skating interesting or do you just skate how you want to skate and hope for the best?
I just try to skate what I’m siked on at the time. Some stuff you really think about and some stuff just happens. Sometimes you get burnt and just want to do fun shit. That’s where bean plants and shit come in handy!
Who out there in the US should we in the UK be paying attention to right now or expect to see great things from in 2011?
I’m not too sure haha! Stevie Perez is sick. He’s an éS flow rider. I’d like to see him come up.
What’s currently rocking your playlist the most?
I’ve been listening to the Minutemen a LOT.
Can you tell us of one specific moment in time, where everything is clicking and there is that moment of unparalleled clarity where you think ‘man, skateboarding is fucking rad’?
Me and Bobby (Worrest) skated the quarter pipe in my backyard for like two hours learning tricks the other night. It felt like were little kids again just siked to skate and learn shit. We got sparked. I guess just those days where you just get siked like you did when you were younger is what keeps me going.
In the not-so-distant era of last summer, éS Footwear welcomed Kevin Terpening onto the team to the tune of this amazing video. Now, having ripped it on the To Europe With Love Tour and held it down in the months since the summer he’s now been welcomed aboard the stellar Alien Workshop roster. Great stuff Kevin!
See below for the official poster that welcomes the Sovereign Sect’s latest fresh blood.
éS have posted an interview with the very rad Kellen James, complete with fresh pictures and footage on their website.
In the interview he talks about the new éS X SK8MAFIA collab, why burgundy colourways makes you hyped to look at your feet and his time in Barcelona. The pictures are dopalicious and the footage is super swish too.
Read the full piece here and enjoy the footage below.
Having a sheltered spot at this time of year is not only crucial to keeping those tricks on lock but it’s also a quintessential part of British skating. Nothing beats getting a few of your mates, finding a warehouse or empty carpark, building some ramps and collectively giving Old Man Winter the finger.
Nicky Howells has done just that in this little edit knocked up by James Harris for éS Europe. As expected, there’s some bonkers flippery in here that only Nicky’s legs could achieve. Watch and enjoy below…
Below: Bobby getting rubbed up in the Soletech HQ (Photo: Stanley)
Bobby Worrest is one of those rare folk in skateboarding who seem to embody what many a self-proclaimed ‘true’ skateboarder associates with both skateboarding and the extended culture that comes inherant within it. Devoid of any artsy pretense, Bobby tears up streets in the same way he’d tear through a six pack of beer, drunkenly roar through a capella renditions of Slayer or cover grotty walls with spray paint.
Bobby gives a shit about the things that matter and doesn’t waste time with the things that don’t, so you can be guaranteed that with the Bobby Worrest approved garb that éS unloaded on stores this autumn that you’ll get what you pay for. Solid materials, no-bullshit design and stuff that gets the job done in the raddest way possible. Just like his First Blood shoe (which happens to be one of our absolute favourites from the last decade) before it, we were a little more than stoked to try out some of his signature clothes.
Read on below for a top-to-toe review of Bobby’s Wrecker Cap, Chop Jacket and Worrest 2 Jean and follow this link for our linguistic rimjob of his First Blood shoe.
Wrecker Starter Hat
So let’s tackle these from the head down. Now, New Era might be what first springs to mind when thinking of fitted caps but Starter were the definitive hat brand in the late 80s and early 90s, rocking that snapped back harder than your 9-year-old self did on summer holiday trips to the seaside. Bobby’s collab with the hat-champs is a rocking callback not to awkward family trips, but thankfully recalls the styles of early east coast subway graffiti writers and b-boys alike. Awesome.
It fits nice and tight, even on my ridiculously shaped head, is super comfortable and the custom twill patch logo on the front looks dope too. Very Bobby so far…
Chop Jacket (Tobacco)
At first glance, this cotton quilted garage jacket may remind you of those that tend to frequent buses so much that they have their own pass and somehow know everyone on-board. Maybe it’s the mouldy tobacco colourway that evoked these connotations but on second glance I’m already kind of into it. In fact, my reaction to this jacket kind of went remarkably like this.
It’s as comfortable as what I’d imagine wearing your bed would be, only it’s ever so slightly more casual and inconspicuous than leaving the house in a king size duvet. So when it’s spuds-u-like outside (like the perpetually freezing east coast) you can keep cozy. Want proof? Try to imagine Bobby Worrest shivering… you can’t. Bobby Worrest doesn’t shiver.
The colourway itself is so beige it’s actually rad, plus the twin front pockets are deep enough to carry all your bus passes, bits of tissue and snack size mars bars. If you’re not sold on first glance, then you’ll be surprised how styling you could be in this. It does the jacket job, and it does it well.
Eli Shirt (Gold)
A collection can never be without a woven plaid flannel number, and the Eli is a fine example of how to fully complete a clothing line. The Eli comes in a traditional red/black colourway for all those who love buying into all that wood-chopping, animal-loving, cigarette-smoking, beer-swilling malarky and in this mustardy gold/yellow that we were told to wear and tear. Generally, it’s as hard to stand-out with flannel shirt design as it is to go wrong with it, but this particular colourway is a rare gem that you won’t find in the local market.
The Eli is a mid-weight flannel that serves as a solid layer to aid you in your constant battle against the bitter winds of winter but not feel too bulky while out skating. There’s dual chest pocket action providing a miniature time capsule into the 50s should you choose to keep a comb or pack of smokes close to your heart. Overall, a versatile piece of comfortable cotton in traditional buffalo plaid and a worthy addition to your wardrobe that’s probably filled with substitute picnic blankets as it already is.
Worrest 2 (Midnight Wash)
These denim wonders are nowhere near as poetic as the colourway ‘midnight wash’ might implicate, a definite good thing. If my arguement why you should be repping Worrest’s signature gear is primarily concerned with how it replicates the ‘get shit done’ mentality then these jeans would be the perfect example. These are a refreshingly plain pair of jeans that combine cotton with stretch denim to provide that massively comfortable bit of give. They are a regular fit and haven’t once irritated the areas most frustratingly prone to irritation. That’s right gents, your balls are safe. Bobby wouldn’t have it any other way.
The usual five pockets are there in the usual places, the fly zips up and down easily, the little shield éS logo is a nice touch and it even comes complete with a patterned shoelace belt to save you raiding your wardrobe for a spare. I couldn’t ask for a better pair of jeans. Bobby and éS come up trumps yet again with these. Highly recommended.
The Pledge shirt by éS should deal with a British summer on 2 levels. Over the last 3 weeks, the weather has blown, hot, cold, hot, cold and somehow this shirt has sat right in the middle of it all and saved my skin. Due to its 100% cotton lightweight design, this baby blue number has provided warmth when the sun has disappeared and has tackled the heat with the sleeves rolled up with ease.
éS have posted an interview with the very rad Kellen James, complete with fresh pictures and footage on their website.
Having a sheltered spot at this time of year is not only crucial to keeping those tricks on lock but it’s also a quintessential part of British skating. Nothing beats getting a few of your mates, finding a warehouse or empty carpark, building some ramps and collectively giving Old Man Winter the finger.
Bobby Worrest is one of those rare folk in skateboarding who seem to embody what many a self-proclaimed ‘true’ skateboarder associates with both skateboarding and the extended culture that comes inherant within it. Devoid of any artsy pretense, Bobby tears up streets in the same way he’d tear through a six pack of beer, drunkenly roar through a capella renditions of Slayer or cover grotty walls with spray paint.
Wrecker Starter Hat
Chop Jacket (Tobacco)
Eli Shirt (Gold)
Worrest 2 (Midnight Wash)