One of the many beautiful things about street skating is that you can only plan it out so much. As I wrote that I realized that it’s also one of the things that makes street skating so hard and sometimes frustrating. You never know when a pedestrian might appear out of no where and be in your way, or when a car is going to honk mid-line, or if someone will yell out of their car window “DO A KICKFLIP”; as if you’re there for their entertainment.

The point is, a lot of what’s going on around you in the streets is out of your control. The same goes for the spot you’re at; you can bondo a crack if you want, but at the end of the day you’re going to be dealing with elements that make skating a spot a tough task.

With all that being said, I decided to look at some clips that are memorable to me personally, not necessarily for the tricks done, but for something like a kick-turn, a push, dodging a crack, etc.

Well, there was only one way to start this off, Guy’s kick-turn in Mouse. This clip is iconic. Just look how cool he looks! It’s funny that Guy did this to then just follow it up with another switch trick, but I think we’re all thankful that he did. In my opinion, making a mid-line kick-turn look cool isn’t easy, but Guy showed that it’s possible. The Switch Back Tail before this and then Switch Shuv Noseslide that follow it are both great, but no part of this line is stuck in my brain as much as the kick-turn. Thanks for the lesson in style, Guy!

Continue reading “More than just tricks…”