Danijel Stankovic in the “Grey Area” video:

I don’t know what it is but there’s something about this guy’s flow that makes his skating look particularly spontaneous and dynamic. I remember thinking the same thing after watching his part in Pontus’ In Search Of The Miraculous but he seems even more natural here. His lines give the impression that he’s skating around in exactly the same way as he would if he wasn’t being filmed. There’s a good illustration of what I mean at 01:37. After landing the feeble grind he does a 360 flip (one of the best I’ve seen in ages) and smiles as he swerves to hit the next part of the spot. When is the last time you saw a “pro” smile mid line? It sounds like nothing but seeing that hint of emotion on a skater’s face as he cruises between tricks just makes the whole process of filming seem a little less rehearsed.

 

Bobby Puleo:

How the hell does Bobby Puleo do it? Just as everyone was starting to think that the Pushed documentary was the last we would see of skateboarding’s greatest spot hunter, the man comes out with his most mysterious part yet. Why mysterious? Firstly because nobody is completely sure about its source. Theories of Atlantis seems to say he posted the video himself, which is plausible considering we are talking about Bobby Puleo here, although still quite surprising for a “professional” skateboarder in 2013. The fact that’s he’s wearing the same trousers as fifteen years ago and skating I-Paths even though he stopped riding for them a wile back also adds to the enigma. How old really is this footage? I know we all want to believe that it’s recent but how can we possibly tell? It’s not like the spots will give us any clues either as 99% of them are completely new to us.
It probably sounds like I’m frustrated about the lack of info but I’m actually quite impressed. With smartphones documenting our every move it must be harder and harder for him to maintain this “ghost” status. I’m glad he has though, because to me it’s in this obscure timelessness that resides the beauty of a Puleo part. There’s something almost magical about it that nobody has quite managed to imitate yet. My theory is that he lives in some sort of time capsule that completely protects his skating from being influenced by trends or the weakened by age. It’s the only thing that could explain why he is still as smooth and quick footed as ever. How else could his desire to go rummaging through the darkness to find spots that make rattling noises still be intact after all these years?

 

Enrique Lorenzo’s Skateboarder part.

This one obviously isn’t as mysterious as Bobby’s but there are still a few things it left me wondering about. One of them is “why did this come out as a Skateboarder part”? I’m not saying he shouldn’t have released it with them, but if he really did part ways with Expedition wouldn’t it have made more sense to keep all this incredible footage for a “welcome” clip? And why has there not been an official press release announcing that he no longer rides for them? People on Slap only realised he wasn’t on anymore because his name wasn’t in the latest adds…
Anyway, this is still some of the best stuff our smooth Spaniard has put out in a while and seeing it edited to Sixto Rodriguez was quite a treat. It’s sick to see that he’s still ripping after all these years, because apart from him Daniel Lebron and Jesus Fernandez there aren’t that many dudes from the whole L.A county era who’s low-impact skating is still relevant in 2013.
I’m also usually not a fan of switch-ups but I have to admit that Enrique’s ender is one of the best NBD ledge tricks I’ve seen in a while…

 

40 years later – Long Live Southbank

As the prospect of seeing the undercroft disappear slowly scared more and more of us, London’s dedicated filmer and Long Live Southbank spokesman Henry Edwards-Wood decided to give Londoners an extra special dose of hope and motivation. He did this by putting together a six-minute compilation of SB footage (old and new) that featured everyone from Nick Jensen and Chewy Cannon to “Little Eric”. The best thing about it is that it did more than help locals relive some of their fondest Southbank memories, it reminded the skateboarding community (25,00 views…) about the impact a historical spot like this can have on a city.
If London has one of the most influential scenes in the world it’s partly thanks to Southbank: it’s heritage, the iconic skateboarders it has raised and the community that has established itself around it. I felt like this having footage from unknown locals in there as well big names, giving viewers an idea of the place’s atmosphere and showing Casper’s “evolution” were all quite effective ways of conveying this.

 

X Games “Highlights”

My first intention was to have Casper’s SB edit amongst the selection but after rethinking about it I realised that 2 Southbanks clips might be a bit much. This left me with a last minute gap to fill and the first thing that came to mind was this hilarious X Games “Highlights” edit. It’s not exactly a skate “part” but it’s definitely one of the most entertaining clips I saw last month. Everything from P-Rod’s snapback OCD moment, to Nyjah’s self-props ender is pure gold. Damn, it’s been a rough month for Nyjah…