We spent Thursday night and Friday afternoon camped out with a few tins at both the House of Vans and Victoria Park in our backyard of Old London Town. Enjoy our edit of the Thrasher Vacation Tour with Grant Taylor, Ronnie Sandoval, Tommy Sandoval, Andy Scott and more.
Thanks to Dan Joyce whose drone came good with a different view to the pack and also our old buddy Ed Gill who took care of the view from the ground. Our full gallery of the House of Vans party is live, get down there before the 31st to see the exhibition.
The documentary on New Zealand skateboarding legend Lee Ralph‘s life has gone from web documentary to full blown release says Alex Dyer behind the lens and organisation of the project. Words with Dyer published here discuss the filming that is going down with various pro’s:
“Pretty much every story is funny and entertaining, as Lee has a way of spinning a classic almost Chopper-esque style yarn for every story. The only hard part is trying to get him to keep on a subject, or conversely to actually get to the point that he was aiming for before the memory cards run out. It’s fantastic though, most of the best stories have come from the informal nature of the questioning and the rambles that come from Lee’s encyclopaedic mind.”
We are patiently waiting but inside we are screaming to see it right now!
Keep up to speed with plans of ‘Barefoot – The Lee Ralph Story’ release here.
Stop what you are doing and just press the play button. Flip’s Bob Burnquist has returned with an absolutely jaw dropping 8 minutes of insane skateboarding taking Skate Edit of the Week hands down. No words other than…’kin ‘ell.
The details of letlive.’s long-awaited album ‘The Blackest Beautiful’ have been creeping across the internet in a sort of unofficial snail trail but this is the first actual music we’ve had the fortune of hearing. And bloody hell, was it worth the wait. letlive.’s furious melding of punk and hardcore with undeniable R&B influences comes to glorious life in this music video which showcases the band’s infamous live abilities. Having said that, the skills on show here are nothing compared to what you will witness at an actual live show so make sure this is one band you catch in the flesh (at the Vans Warped Tour in the US or headlining across Europe in Sept / Oct). They will melt your face off and rip your heart in two (metaphorically speaking, of course).
‘Banshee (Ghost Fame)’ has a bass driven groove and all the vocal melody, screams and spitting you could want. Jason Butler proves himself as one of the most versatile and skilled vocalists of the genre, whilst purveying some intense lyrical content. You can bet that this is a sign of things to come with the album itself which is set for release through Epitaph Records on 8th July. The term ‘highly anticipated’ doesn’t quite cut it in reference to this record which many are hailing as one of the albums of the decade. On the strength of this introduction, we can see that they might have a point…
Ambig Clothing’s latest visual endeavour is a short promo rather than a full length with only three riders releasing full parts, others taking up smaller montage roles and a flow rider section tagging on after the credits. The length of this flick didn’t bother me though, as the 16-minutes of footage delivered banger after banger.
Clive Dixon opens the box with a wide range of skating. I was really digging his part but the wailing soundtrack almost made it unbearable. My dog wasn’t too pleased with the music selection either. However, the skating made up for it tenfold, especially his FS bigspin lipslide that came out of nowhere. JT Aultz and Sean Conover then assault anything hand rail or hubba shaped. Sean even does a 360 flip 50-50 which is a total beer spiller. Moose then follows with his third video appearance of 2013, making him a good contender for the hardest working am this year. The Deathwish ripper shows us just how good he is at flipping into grinds, and once again delivers a solid section.
Next, we witness one of Ed Tempelton’s loyal pawns, Matt Bennett, who gets tech on some schoolyard tables. He shows us his legendary Bennett grind, taking some to handrails, and doing variations on picnic tables. This part (that also has a Dan Lutheran appearance) will make most people look forward to another Toy Machine video. Fingers crossed on that, especially as they have just acquired the services of Blake Carpenter.
The ender is closed by Birdhouse’s latest pro, Clint Walker. This part actually got leaked 4 weeks ago, leaving the internet in meltdown. He skates fast as fuck to Holograms’ ‘Monolith’ track and isn’t afraid to take a full tilt slam either. His all-out approach in this video makes it an instant classic. There are a plethora of tricks to mention from this section, but a the ollie body-varial down the huge triple set and his 50-50 down the weirdest triple kinker ends this on a huge high. This part will be up there as one of the very best at the end of the year and beyond. Sick stuff.
Watch it in full here with some extra’s from Walker’s section or even better, track down the DVD as it will be one to keep forever.
In an age where mainstream brands outside of skateboarding have come in and flexed muscles with large wads of cash with no scene history whatsoever, you have to admire the loyalty that Ryan Sheckler has shown to etnies. Fifteen years has gone by since he joined the brand and he is still one of the most consistent performers on a skateboard out there.
That loyalty is a rare sight in this corporately challenged landscape, especially in a recession, but I guess when you are dealing with a company that is 25 years young, and run by skaters who get out of bed for the right reasons everyday, it’s worth pledging your allegiance for. Take note.
So here it is, UK skate videographer Mike Manzoori and etnies have rolled out a tribute video looking back at those 15 years of service with Oliver Barton, Ricki Bedenbaugh, Atiba Jefferson, Manzoori himself and Arto Saari. Enjoy.
East Coast slapstick rapper Action Bronson returns with another dope slice of hip hop today with the release of his brand new track “Strictly 4 My Jeeps“. The video shot from the streets of Queens, New York City features Bronson pumping iron, pushing his weight across pavements via cart wheels and cruising with broads ahead of a meat filled BBQ romp.
Get a taste of what’s coming from Action Bronson’s new full length album titled ‘Saab Stories‘ that will be on the streets this June by all accounts.
The Quartersnacks lads have unleashed a smoking edit of Forrest Edwards over the weekend cut from a bunch of footage chosen and lifted from his Thrasher “Unhinged” part, the Crooks 2011 clip, Slap‘s “Dirty 30″ segment, and the Wild Power video.
If you are going to watch anything today, light this one up.
The battle of the Blag Flag’s continues. Watch this new footage of FLAG, which is the non-Ginn party playing My War at Redondo Beach where it all started back in the day.
The documentary on New Zealand skateboarding legend Lee Ralph‘s life has gone from web documentary to full blown release says Alex Dyer behind the lens and organisation of the project. Words with Dyer published 
The details of 
East Coast slapstick rapper 
The battle of the Blag Flag’s continues. Watch this new footage of FLAG, which is the non-Ginn party playing My War at Redondo Beach where it all started back in the day.