About 2 years ago I wrote an article titled More than just tricks… and the time has come to follow it up.
That article got a ton of responses of clips that fit the mold of More than just tricks and now I get to highlight some of those. If you read the first article, this is just to refresh your memory; the point here is to look at moments from clips that are memorable, although they might not be a trick.
This time around, I connected with either the skater or filmer to get their perspective on the clip, enjoy.
Primitive followed up their AM video, DAYDREAM, by dropping one more video before 2024 came to a close, this one is titled WILDFIRE.
This video had a slightly different feel than most other Primitive videos; the 4×3 HD look included. WILDFIRE follows a format that seems to continue to increase in popularity, a few riders from a brand film full parts, and the rest of the team is included in a montage or two. Personally, as a viewer, I’m a fan of this format. If you compare it to a brand taking years working on a full length, it gives us more videos to watch, and they’re at more digestible lengths.
Along with the video premiere came the pro surprise for Kyonosuke, which was more than deserved. As Skatefol.io proved, Kyo’s been incredibly productive and has already left his mark on skating with his talent and creativity. Congrats on the pro nod, Kyo!
I decided to pick my favorite clip from each full part in this video and then chatted with Trent McClung and Eric Iwakura to get some behind-the-scenes stories on what went into these clips. Watch below for some commentary over raw footage, and then read the interview in its entirety below that. Enjoy…
This one’s special. Ed and I have known each other since elementary school and grew up skating together in the same crew through middle school and high school. We’d all watch the new videos together, we’d skate together after school, and go on missions of the weekends together, it’s an era that I know means a lot to both Ed and I, as well as everyone else in the crew.
Since then, Ed’s done so much for skateboarding, specifically the skate scene in San Diego. He’s worked at Slappy’s Garage for a handful of years, and when he’s not there, you can find him out filming or shooting photos on just about any session. As you’ll hear about in the interview below, he’s dropped two videos this year, with the most recent one being “leaveurbodyleaveurmind” which just premiered on Oct. 25th. We dove into the process of filming and editing, how it is working on a video with a big crew, and got some insight on some stand out clips. Enjoy!
If you’re not familiar with Matt Bublitz’ work, I’m excited for you, you’re going to enjoy his videos. If you are familiar with Matt’s work, I’m excited for you, you get to read about what went into his latest piece, BACKWASH, and you get to enjoy his videos, again.
A good ol’ homie video. Classic skateboarding.
🌀: What’s up Matt! Stoked to dive into the video with you! First off, being someone who is a filmer/editor for Thrasher, what keeps you motivated to continue to make homie videos?
It’s kind of a natural thing. I think it comes from my friend group being motivated, just us being good friends even outside of skateboarding. It’s a no-brainer, honestly. It’s not like, “Are we going to skate this weekend?” It’s pretty much every weekend my friends are hitting me up to go skate. They all have full-time jobs but they’re still motivated to try and get tricks. I don’t really like set out like, “In two or three years I’m going to make a full length.” We just get footage and then at a certain point, there’s enough to make it into something. With every video that I’ve worked on, I get to a point where I feel like I’m holding people’s footage hostage if I’m sitting on it for too long, so then I’m like, “Ok, it’s time to make something, and do my part of the job.”
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!
Skate shops are at the center of so many skate scenes. They’re so important; they bring people together, they teach people, and they become a second home. Slappy’s Garage truly embodies what a skate shop is about. They look out … Continue reading The Skate Loop x Slappy’s Garage
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