ISSUE 7 Cover
Welcome to Issue 7 of Art of Rolling!
Rider: Dave Lang - Backslide
This issue took a lot of work and continued to
Photo by Angelo Ferrer
flurish even though the winter scene hampered
Designed by David Toro
skaters rollin outdoors in frigid weather.
Articles
you for taing the time out to view this issue and I
Angelo Ferrer
hope you learn something and becone part of the scene.
Photography
Index
Angelo Ferrer
Cesar Mora Flushing Medows Skate Park
Contributions
Its All Good film
Thanks David Toro for hooking our logo/cover
Smart Crew
up in such short notice. Would like to thank
James Macay
Dustin Jamieson for creating page layouts for
Signature film
Adonis,Ramelle,Jose, and Danny sections. Many
Dave Lang
thanks goes out to David Hoffman who took time out to give us an exclusive indepth view into the legendary film ‘‘Its All Good’’. Would like to say thanks to Cesar Macay for hooking up photos of James Macay for his Profile. Special thanks to Bassa and Edwin Urena for their art contribution. Thanks Karyinthia Riveria for writing up the New Flushing Meadows skate park article. To SMART crew for putting themselves in the spotlight for our magazine. To all the companies who supported our magazine and bought advertisment space. And most of all to all the skaters who threw down sweat, blood, and guts to ensure the readers would be able to get a glimpse into NYC’S skate culture. For more info Visit www.ARTOFROLLING.NET Everything used in this magazine is property of Art of Rolling (NYC) and cannot be used, copied or reproduced without permission. Art of Rolling© 2009
Thank
. a r o M r a CCeessar Moorraa. . M r a Ces
r best u o y f o e m o s What are k then? c a b g in t a k s f memories o Too many to mention, I’ve been fortunate enough to visit villages in Peru to large, historic cities in Europe, Asian epicenters and most states of America, I’ve seen so many wonderful things, sad things, I have memories of winning big prize money competitions and tours but I also have everlasting memories of visiting places where the locals were far less fortunate than myself but somehow always had smiles. My time in Colombia was special; Puerto Rico and Thailand were beautiful. Going back to my native country Spain was quite a trip and certain parts of the states will always hold good memories for me, NY is just one of those places that just stays with you, You don’t really know why till you leave, then you miss it and u can’t wait to return,. It took me a few trips to work it out, but I just loved the energy, the honesty of the people, the totally different scenarios you faced every few blocks, The urban landscape seems the same but the people it contains vary. LA is a totally different vibe,, both coasts having much to offer and are rich in creativity. Some of my best competition memories are my 1st year touring, winning the x games in San Diego, winning the world championships in Vegas, winning the MTV contest in Austin, winning NISS at Venice beach and the ASA finals in NY where they blocked
the streets off and it was a full house. I have so many great memories of skating, I met lots of good folk, saw lots of beautiful places, achieved quite a lot more than I ever could have anticipated in skating, it was a dream and I lived it, I lived it, I loved it and I thank skating for coming into my life and taking me on a little ride. and it opened my eyes to many things,. It gave me an education no school could ever provide and I can hold my head up high and say that I left having given my best and contributed to such a wonderful sport with my own flavor of rolling, because we all know how boring an ice cream shop would be if they only sold vanilla.
Were you ever into street skating? I started street skating, I used to have a
your have to be quick, and security can be on your case in minutes. But
crappy pair of skates and I used to ride every-
to be honest, once I started vert skating I knew that my style was more
where, jump garbage bins, steps, skitch on the
adapted for ramp than street, I’m not very flexible and since I was still
back of cars, fly down hills, ride through traffic,
playing soccer at the time I was getting too many injuries, so I decided to
ride down stairs etc, till a friend of mine saw
concentrate on vert, although we still went out on street skates with the
me and told me I should try the mini ramp at
boys, I used to be amazed at the some of the rails they would do, scary
Bondi beach, I never really wanted to, I used
shit. I even competed in a few NISS and ASA Street events, but like I said, I
to go down there to play soccer and I used to
realized I was better suited for vert, so that’s where I put all my concentra-
watch the guy roll up and down it in amaze-
tion.
ment, but I never really thought I could do it, when I 1st tried it I slammed hard and didn’t do it again for a while, I then started doing rails, the old school way-take a long run up, go as fast as you can and hope for the best ,slash stance style, ha-ha. I did a lot of rails around Sydney, it’s a great place to skate, but
How has being outside of skating changed your perspective of skating now? Being away from skating has really made me appreciate how good we had it back when skating was at its high, it was too good to be true, and some skaters took the situation for granted, others made the most of it. I tried to make the most of every trip, every contest, every city I visited, I knew it was a good thing and I knew it wasn’t going to last forever, which is why I always tried to secure myself good contracts and sponsorships, I wasn’t going to spend years busting my ass for no reward, I didn’t exactly look at it as a job but more as insurance for myself, I knew no company was going to pay for my broken bones or busted hips once I was done skating, so I just made the most of it while I was at my peak. I always tried to give back, I was always looking for the next young skater to break through and help along. I skated from the heart mostly, everyone knows I could’ve skated for richer companies, I skated for Roces for free one year instead of skating for other companies that were offering good contracts, I skated for FR when Hyper was at my door every other week, and I have many situations like this, sometimes you have to sell out a bit, so I tried to do it where my heart told me to, I really loved the vibe and direction that FR was promoting, ok, it didn’t last, and it didn’t
make millions but the experience of living, skating and just being a part of that family-nick and the boys was priceless to me. It wasn’t just another check till I stopped winning contests, I was a family member with something different to offer, I feel that with my vert skating I helped put FR even further on the world map, it wasn’t just a good street wheel, it was also an excellent vert wheel that I still use to this day, I could’ve ridden cozmo before I ever had a chance to ride for FR but I wasn’t feeling the energy there, not of the riders but more of the ownership. I look back at skating from an outsider’s view, and it all seemed so innocent and young and creative and new. It was something special that can never be replicated, its like that 1st kiss, you cant get it back, it was new from one day to the next, we all waited for the next new trick, the next style, the next video or photo. It was precious, be grateful if you lived any part of it, I am.
When did you first start skating? I started skating end of 93, I was still playing soccer, street skating and vert skating right up until the 1st x games in 95, and I stopped playing soccer and didn’t kick another ball officially for 10 years. Skating was now my life.
Was vert a big part of skating back then? Vert became a big part of my life in 94 and then after the 1st x games in 95 it was my main focus. It allowed me to explore and express my creativity in a way I had never experienced before. Finding new ways to twist, to spin, to grab, I used to have runs and runs written down on paper I used to write when I was on planes, combinations of tricks back to back that I used to imagine and try to make reality, we used to sit around and talk about moves and combos, it was endless, I love vert and always tried to bring something new to the table, every year I would go home and change my style a bit, create new ways of coming out of tricks, spinning to disaster on coping to spin out, spins with numerous grabs, new twists and flips forwards and fakie, new airs, I mean true vert skating to me is where Chris Edwards was going with it back in the early days, huge airs ,many grabs, spins grabbed, flowy alley-oops, it’s a vert ramp, a big ramp, it should be used to fly, the tricks should be done in the air, not coping height, grinds shouldn’t occupy the majority of a run in vert, just as airs don’t make up the majority of the time in street, I had a vision, an opinion of what vert should be, and I had many arguments with judges and so-called experts about it, but all I can
say is just look at where vert is now and who is at the
a few ramps, I think it was Mulally in the Bronx, then another
top and how do they skate? Its big, tricks done nice
one somewhere else, the wheels on the ramp felt great, I
and high, using the whole ramp, only a few grinds
asked Nick for a new pair so I could ride the vert at the x
and a mixture of flips, spins and airs. I always skated
games, me and Tim Ward were the 1st ones to get to the x
the way I believed, I never compromised, sometimes
games and ride the ramps, it was just me and him sessioning
that worked against me, but that’s ok, I never started
in the heat of the day, the wheels were holding up and I was
skating to win every contest, I started skating because
going pretty high, I kept riding them and then it was actually
of the sensation it gave me, don’t get me wrong, I’m
me who approached Nick and asked him if I could ride for
a very competitive person in all aspects of life and I
FR, he liked me and said no problem, I kept giving him feed
did try to enter every contest to do my best, if I won it
back on the wheels and from there we formed a nice little
was a bonus, if I didn’t then I could at least walk away
partnership and it was then that I was slowly introduced to all
knowing I put on a show and did my best.
the FR members, I skated the x games, almost won it and the
how did you get the opportunity to skate for fr? This was quite by accident, before my 1st trip to the states in 95 I was offered to ride for cozmo, I declined, hyper had sent someone out to Sydney to speak with me about a wheel and a deal, I left it all up in the air, I really had no definitive wheel company I wanted to ride for. A few of us Australians-me, Matt Salerno, Tim Ward, Steve, Paul Malina, Manuel, etc flew into NY. We had no real plan, not a lot of money at all and no idea what was in our near futures. Our 1st stop was in NY, we met Nick, Ari, Shura, Eric etc, we didn’t know where we were going to stay, some of us stayed with Ari’s DJ friend, some with knick, we slept on floors, couches, wherever. I asked Nick for some throw away wheels that I could use to skate around the street and not wear out my vert wheels. I rode these fr wheels on the street, they felt nice, we went to a skate park with
rest is history. We continued our relationship, I was rewarded with a few pro model wheels, I understood the importance of such a privilege, there are only a certain amount of riders in each team that can receive a pro wheel, and always felt honored to be one of them. I can honestly say that not all batches of FR wheels produced were great, that’s because of the factory making the wheels at the wrong temps etc, but when the wheels were good, they were so good, I used them my whole career, and I still use them to this day. There was 1 occasion I used
realm wheels because I ran out of wheels and I was in luasanne and nick couldn’t get wheels to me in time, but apart from that time, I never rode another wheel from 95 to now. FR and its crew have always made me welcome and felt loved in the big apple or anywhere else we happen to meet. Big part of my skating life.
when people from the outside view skating they may see everything look alike my guess is when skating is to get popular the vert scene with ramps will play a big part because people will recognize more with that of which they understand , flips spins air etc. What are some of your opinions? This is interesting and has always been a point of misinterpretation, basically from a spectator’s point of view, vert is more spectacular and easier to digest, they see big flips and airs, it’s exciting, and it’s fast and easy to appreciate the aesthetics involved. Street skating is more subtle in its technicality, its more about the placement of the feet for different grinds, the average spectator can’t differentiate between a soul or alley-oop top soul. Some street courses have really provided for some exciting street skating with big jumps and launches but the crowd will never understand all the grinds and half cab ins and outs. That;s why vert has always been a useful tool in the
saw it, I know so many skaters that used to go nuts watching Chris
Edwards and went on to skate street, it doesn’t matter how someone is introduced to skating. For me it was watching tom fry at some night club doing flips in Sydney and then watching Chris Edwards dare to air, that was it, I knew what I wanted to do. Basically it doesn’t matter if you ride street or vert, just roll, enjoy it and don’t hate on each other. In Australia we all use to ride everything, bowls, mini ramps, verts, street etc, we didn’t discriminate. One of the reasons why in line is at the sad state its in right now is because we had street hating on vert and a certain few individuals poisoning the water all skaters drank from, so young impressionable skaters would grow up saying vert sucks, this and that, I said at an ASA awards night that we are too small to be segregated and separated, we need to roll together and stay strong. We have enough trouble with skate boarders, bikers etc putting us down, we don’t need to do it to each other. It should never have happened.
has always been that if a young boy or girl
What where your very first skates and what got you into aggressive skating?
sees a vert show and gets excited enough to
My 1st skates were some crappy fluro yellow plastic wheel shit things,
start skating then that’s a win situation, cause
they killed my feet, wouldn’t roll, but didn’t know any better, I thought
that boy or girl can then later choose to
they were great, I still have them, I have all my skates, I’ve kept them
ride street or vert or both, at least we have
all. Then I got some Taiwanese skates from where I worked, they were
recruited another skater. that’s how I always
better, I was rocking 80mm race wheels on vert, ha-ha, I was flying.
promotion of skating in general. My argument
It was quite a shock to me when I 1st put on a real set of flat hard wheels. I hated it, then I got used to it. I was working at a skate shop and got those skates, a guy who’s skates I was fixing asked me to go for a roll and showed me some tricks, I watched a few videos, dare to air and the new Zealand movie-city of volcanoes and that was it, before I
knew it was eating, sleeping, dreaming rollerblading.
Who are some skaters you feel deserve the respect and acknowledgement that may have been over looked? Too many to mention here, so many skaters in every city
for life. In central LA you had all the Latinos at the park,
helped push the sport but never really learnt to compete
in Texas you had Sean, champion, Corey etc, I could go
so they never got airplay therefore never got the recogni-
on and on, but what I’m saying is that in every city there
tion they deserved, we had Chris Edwards who was my
were the stars and then there were the little guys who
inspiration, Arlo came in and gave our sport a face and
did just as much to help progress and more importantly
loads of character, and lets not forget Arlo wasn’t only a
keep the sport afloat, they were the guys not getting, not
street skater, he was sick on vert in his day, we needed
getting airtime, no recognition, no sponsors, they just did
these key figures, the b, Hardings, Jackalones, Arlos,
it cause they loved it, and I can say that I went to a lot of
Edwards, Tom Frys, etc, we needed these characters to
cities and some so called pros wouldn’t skate because the
give our sport its identity, they were in all the videos and
locals were that good. Its not only the skaters who should
magazines, they had a persona, they played a part, they
get a mention here, a lot of the judges, videographers,
didn’t have to be the most talented, they gave our sport
magazine editors, company owners also did their part,
a flavor, the early videos really embraced the skaters
whether he hated or loved them, we needed them. They
and their personalities, we loved and hated them, who
contributed. How else was a young fan in a small town in
doesn’t remember Brooke Howard Smith and Rawlinson,
Argentina going to see what the new tricks were if they
Kollach and the long rails, Brian Bell, Matt Mantz, the
didn’t have a copy of the latest video or magazine? How
scribe boys, FR, Senate, Hyper, we had quieter but still as
were all those skate rats at the parks going to get that
influential figures like Julio, Sven, Billiris, Fry. You had guys
new grind down if certain companies didn’t make grind
all over NY, Joe, victor, Ortega, Ryan, ray mendes, turtle,
plates for them? Back home in Australia I could name so
the dislas, big black dude at malali doing back flips on the
many who contributed to skating and have never been
mini, I think his name was messy Marvin. Stylish gill, on the
recognized, Australia was such a rich pool of talent and
west coast you had the san fran boys, you had the skaters
energy, star skaters like matt salerno, Tim ward, tom fry,
in Portland, in LA you had all the senate crew, you had
Manuel, Sam fogarty, dion Anthony, josh Clarke, Shane
the little behind the scenes guys like ho-ho Joe –a friend
yost, Blake Dennis, Toby heslop, Scott Crawford, etc you
also had the Brisbane crew, boys from Perth, Adelaide, and massive numbers in Melbourne where we had early pioneers like jo Jones and the team apache, lots of young skaters on both vert and street just as good as most of the pros, to win an Australian title was almost to win a world title, it was that hard. Sydney is where I’m from and again, the list is huge, the manly boys and bill vertucci who still runs a successful skate shop there, the bondi boys and girls, Elliot, josh pinkus, Natalie, raffy, micro, the bondi boards and blades shop, Paul the roller skater, the vert x crew where Blake Dennis came out from, gill, karem, matt Clarke, Dempsey, salerno, staffy, Joel Dennis. Ian smith was another Sydney skater who was at the level of any pro vert rider around the world but luck didn’t favor him along the way, but in Sydney he contributed a lot both in street and vert. sorry if I missed anyone, cause I know I did, there was the whole Euro scene as well and the talents that came from there were amazing, Stefan, nel martin, Javier bujanda, rossignol, taig, tobias, Sven, Rafael sandoz, a lot of girls should be on these lists as well, busting their ass only to get put down at every skate park, but they kept insisting, girls like neda, dawn everet, ugghi cant remember all the names, but of course there
is fab, who confirmed my argument that there is no reason why a girl cant be as good as a guy on skates.
Cant forget the new Zealanders, crazy fuckers, love them all, these guys ride everything and they don’t give a shit, such a small country, such talent, always had a good time in new Zealand. The scene in Asia was huge, all the Japanese slaters led by the yasutoko family, the Canadians, even in south Africa there was a scene, all over south America, I saw talent in Uruguay, Peru, Argentina, and Colombia and of course Brazil.
What do you occupy your self with now a days? Now I study and work, I’m studying graphic design, I’ve always drawn, loved to draw and create, be original, but I could never get anything printed properly because I didn’t know how to get it on the computer and make it look clean and professional, and ready to print, I thought it would be a good idea to learn what the middle man does, I want
to be able to concept a piece, draw it out, clean it up
There is something to be said for originality in this
on computer and altered to however it needs to be
day and age.
then get it printed, but I soon realized graphic design is much more than that, its very involved, there are many areas you need to learn, marketing, product design, logo design, illustration, color understanding, fonts, web design, flash, art history, design history etc, but its been fun, I really enjoy it, it’s a world that’s changing fast, programs changing every year, learning to use all the programs etc. I love exercising, so I’m always at the gym, I’m always kicking a ball around,(if u got to youtube just type in moradona, and u can see what I do with spare time. I love running, going for long road runs, sometimes running with Carla down at the beach together. I think no matter what I do in life I will always exercise, eat well, I’ve never drank alcohol or smoked anything or taken any drugs and I never will, its just the way I have chosen lo lead my life. Its keeping me young so why change the formula? Ha-ha.
How has art played a role in your life?
what Were some of the last tricks you remember working on trying or doing when you stopped skating? When I stopped I was still doing most of my tricks, the last world championships I did was in Dallas and I surprised myself, cross grab head high 1080,double grab 720s and a new kind of rotation which is hard to explain, Arlo didn’t know who to describe it on the mic. Up until I broke my arm and wrist, I was always trying to push the envelope, go 1 spin more,1 ft higher,1 grab better, then after the break I came back and saw skating a little different, the industry had changed and had started its rapid decline, I had no ramps to skate back home, it was harder to travel, my injuries prevented me from skating as much as I used to, so I basically had to try to maintain the tricks I had and not get hurt, sometimes I couldn’t session for more than half an hour at a time, my hip flexor, groin, sciatica nerve etc were too painful, I hid it for as much as I could, but sometimes it became unbearable, I would fin-
Art has always been a big part of my life, whether it
ish a session and not be able to walk properly for hours
be drawing or thinking as an artist when I skate or play
afterwards, I was breaking down. My body needed a
soccer, in skating I have met a lot of creative people,
break, I was killing it on the ramps, I was killing it in the
it’s a creative sport, it attracts these kinds of people,
gym and on the road, I needed to stop if I was going to
some draw and paint, some write, some play music, its
live any sort of quality of life after skating. It worked, my
all part of displaying your art. I’ve always been an artist
body feels the best it has in years, my hip doesn’t bother
since I was a kid, that just means that I have always put
me, I haven’t walked with a limp in ages and overall I
my own little twist and interpretation on what I do. I
feel great.
don’t like to copy or be a clone of anyone else.
How are the skaters now a days with there 1080 flat spins able to do that as supposed to people doing that back then? Its all about progression, I remember being told that no one can do a 900 cause Chris Edwards cant do it, must not be possible. So that really urged me on to trying it till I got it, same for the 1080 and 1260,its all about
scared to throw it on the hard ramp. I always learnt my tricks on the
progression. It took carey hart to bust his back
ramp, metal or wood. But I have to admit all these knew innovations
on a moto x bike to prove that the bike can
have helped progress action sports, bmx, skateboarding, in lining have
actually flip, now every moto x guy and his
all benefited from these foam pits and skate camps. I’m not against it, I
dog is doing back flips, but it always takes
just never preferred it.
that 1st guy to take it that next step and prove
What are some of the things u loved about skating vert?
it can be done. Who the hell ever thought that anyone could ever slide down a rail till Chris bust his ass on it, it was amazing, then when hoax came out and guys were just killing it with different switch ups and transfers, it was insane, but those guys had to crack their nuts, hit their skulls, break their wrists for the rest of us to realize what is possible. Nowadays you have vert ramps with foam boxes and resin ramp mats etc, you got launch boxes with foam pits etc, you can actually try whatever variation flip you can think of and crash and not get hurt. Personally I never liked using the foam pits and resi mats, I felt that if I got too comfortable on the soft stuff I would be too
Lots of things I loved about vert, the feeling of being in the air, spinning and landing perfectly in the pocket of the transition landing fakie getting speed for the next wall. I loved the flow of it all. I loved the rewarding feeling of completing a near perfect run, landing everything you planned and finishing on top of the ramp. I loved performing for the people, I was an emotional skater, I used the crowd’s energy to go higher and spin bigger, cant really compare it to anything, its not a team sport, its just your effort raising the volume. Its your sweat and training, all those hours you put in just for that one run, that one trick at the right time. I loved the fact that vert is not something that just anyone can do, everyone can swing a racket or kick a ball, badly or decently well, everyone can sort of do these sports, but no one can just put on some skate and drop in on a vert ramp and ride. Its
exclusive, I used to skate at the beach and had hundreds watching all
my all to skating and now I have to redirect
day, it was great, people would give you money to throw a back flip.
my energies and look forward, stay healthy,
All in all I loved the fact that I could just invent a trick and that was it,
maintain a happy family and try to be the best
cause I sport was so knew, whatever we created was the future, it
person I can, inside and out.
strokes and hit have been made a million times before, its nothing new,
Can you tell me some competitions that you have won?
it’s a final result they are after, in skating, its all new, every week there
Hmm, make this brief, xgames usa, x games new
was progression in some part of the world, I loved the freshness of it, it
Zealand, planet x games Australia, Australian
evolved so fast, it was great to be a part of it.
titles, niss finals, niss overall, asa overall, asa
had never been done before, so therefore, anything we did on a daily basis formed the foundations for skating. In tennis for example all the
How would u best describe yourself as a person now a days?
world championships, iisa Australia, MTV, a lot of smaller comps, lots of asa stops and niss stops etc
Nowadays im more relaxed, I have a different outlook on life, I’ve
voted skater of the decade by NISS, awarded
seen a lot, I’m more patient with people, I try to understand their
judges choice by ASA, voted skaters choice by
situation before I judge, I don’t have time for small talk and fake
ASA, ranked number 1 for several years, I got
people, I’m happy with the decisions I’ve made in friendships, I still
to do the closing ceremony at the 96 Atlanta
have most of my old friends from before I started skating but I’m also
Olympics, I won the NEA award in Germany
lucky to have met and kept a lot good friends from skating who share
for skater of the year etc.
different interests etc. I’m married now, I’m actually writing this on a beach in kosamui-thailand on my honeymoon. I’m looking out at the ocean, its aqua, see through. Carla is looking hot sun baking and I’m feeling quite nostalgic as I write this interview, I would love to get Carla and get on a plane next week to NY, ha-ha, I actually even feel like getting some skates on and having a session. I have new goals, new focuses, I gave
What made you love rollerblading? The feeling of freedom it gave me, the creativeness, the feeling it gave me when I 1st saw it, it was something I didn’t plan or could control, it was new and fresh and I wanted in.
Any advice to the younger kids out there? Be original, copying someone else isn’t going to make you stand out, do it because you love it, not because you think you can make some fast cash from it or because it’s a trend that all the cool kids are into. Skate because it fits your lifestyle and its something that stimulates you mentally and emotionally, get creative, push the envelope, if you can make money from it then that’s your bonus, make the most of your time doing it and get the most of out if so you can look back and smile.
final words and friends in skating I have had the good fortune of meeting a lot of good people on the way, not just skaters but organizers, sponsors, judges etc I am going to forget to name a lot of you so forgive me but I’m going to give it a try, here goes-I want to thank all those people who let me sleep at their house-cara, nick, Justin(asa),Todd, mark shays, frosty yosty ,the yasutoko family who took care of me when I visited Japan and if you ever get a chance to sit down and talk to eito or takeshi you will find 2 of the nicest young men in or out of the sport, anyone that gave me a ride to the airport or helped me out with gear or anything along the way-Jason Hines for being a gentleman through good and bad times-a legend of a person, matt lindenmuth for the funny times at Woodward and letting me stay with his family, Maria from street rage, randy from eurfunk, action Jackson for the good
times, Rick stark, the guys at ASA and the guys at NISS, love em or hate em they did a lot for our sport. Mark billick-thank you bro, for everything, you are a good man, your gestures wont be soon forgotten. Boss bearings, fr wheels, roces skates-loved my years at roces, still using the majestics rereleased. Massimo, don’t be mad.k2 skates, especially super team manager matt lacross, you shouldn’t have left mate. Levis clothing, top company to skate for. Menace knee padsrip my friend. Kramar helmets, you almost did it,, ha-ha, I got to thank ESPN and any other station that broadcast our sport to the masses, how else were the x games going to be seen by every young aspiring skater out there? Also would like to thank bill vertucci and Ian pilch for believing in me and supporting me. On my travels I had to spend a lot of time with other skaters, some good ,some not so good, its not always easy rooming with people or traveling in each other’s pockets but I made some real friends along the way and I just want to finish off by thanking them for being a special part of my skating life and making it all that more pleasurable and exciting. Close friends around me who put up with my leave of absences and constant departures for months at a time, martin lochmann for all the great photographs, best in the business, and lots of good advice
C C
during sessions, still one of my best friends today. Blake Dennis for showing others how to take a small opportunity that’s presented to u and taking it to the full extent, you killed it, with skill and tact, proof u don’t need to pretend to be a badass or act overcool to be a great street skater, josh pinkus, we don’t talk much now but u were there from the start and helped me out
more than you know, salerno, ha-ha this is a funny one, you were one of the only skaters I could watch and feel like I wanted to skate, shame. I hope your
well where ever you are brother. Roces Australia for the start. Fabiola for being the woman that you are and your hospitality in brazil when I was there, you are a true champion, you should be proud of what you achieved girl. Mike budnik, very underrated all round skater, but a great friend, we shared a lot of ups and downs together, a lot of trips and comps, never forget you and Angela, I know you always had my back, I hope you know I always had yours too. Good luck with your fighting you crazy bastard. Tood Grossman for the filming, mr Hollywood. Woodward camp for everything, thank you. Nel martin-not only have you proven yourself to be one of the best on the ramp but also one of the best off the ramp, you have become one of my best friends, but you, your family and girlfriend jessi have treated me like a king for years, taken care of whenever I was in Spain and helped me through low times, wish you were at my wedding my friend, take care and thank
Cesar CCesar Mora esarMora. Mora. .
you for everything, hermanos para siempre, and thank you to anyone who supported me over the years, And thanks to you guys for reaching out and giving me this precious space in your magazine, I appreciate it, I wish you all the best for the future.
Tim franken
TTSoyale
New Skate Park to be open Inside story by Kary Rivera
ned in Flushing Meadows This June of 2010, Flushing Meadows Corona Park in Queens, NY will be the home of a newly built $1.8 million skatepark. With the Maloof Money Cup(MMC) working with the NYC Parks Department, the skatepark will be on top of the Astral Fountain, near the NYS Pavilion. The park will open on the 5-6 of June to host the MMC Competition for skateboarders but the one-of-a-kind skate park will be donated to the City after the event through the NYC Parks & Recreation Department’s “Adopt-a-Park” program, which helped build it. This park will consist of stairs, jumps and railings.The 16,000-square-foot concrete course was inspired by NY street spots within the five boroughs, such as: - Original Brooklyn Banks 9-stair replica rail - Union Square rail/steps - Police Plaza 7-stair rail/various stairs - Ziegfeld ledge - Chrystie Park ledge - Exchange Place street gap - JFK Banks - Con Ed Banks - Pyramid ledges - Flushing Meadows Park ledge-over-the-grate replica - Various rails in public parks and the aesthetics of many of the spots in Brooklyn. Flushing Meadows currently offers tennis, soccer, swimming, ice skating, cricket, Citi Field and more. Adding a world class skate park to be a part of it all is amazing news. With the Brooklyn Banks being closed for 4 years, the timing is perfect for not only the MMC but also Pier 62 skatepark. Many skaters have come and gone from Flushing Meadows to skate but there are so many tourists and residents of NYC in the way. Its nice to have a place all to ourselves that is not only pedestrian free, but also permanent. Construction of the 16,000-square-foot skatepark gets underway March of 2010.
Billy O’neil
Rocket Bio
Fakie 360
Chaunce Jenkins
A threat to the whole system of Rollerblading is among us. What we have here is the Killah from Washington Heights, an overall package. Chauncey is an all around skater. His skills are thrown down each time he skates. Watching him skate leaves you to wonder why he hasn’t reaped all the benefits from skating that he could possibly get. Unsponsered and non supported by our Industry, Chauncey shows why the love of the sport will keep you going even if things aren’t looking so well on the outside. We would put Chauncey in the top 5 best skaters in NYC list any day. We would like to invite you to a small sneak peek of Chauncey Jenkins. We will be covering a full profile on him in our next issue 8 but until then enjoy these few pictures of our talented skater.
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By Bassa
Anddy
Feliciano
180 G
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There will always be skate videos and skate films who portray our action sport participants. We can even take for granted that our top pro’s will be captured and remembered through videos dating back to the early days up until present. However every now and then a boundary will be pushed and a level of quality will be topped. David Hoffman’s film ITS ALL GOOD was a breaking stone in our industry because it showcased some of the most popular and glorified athletes before they achieved top positions in our sports history. While most sources of information came through the little input our industry did have at the time, most people relied on magazines and word of mouth through the skaters. When Senate and FR clashed in his film nobody would have imagined that the results could still be felt to this day. Our memories of this time of skating can almost be forgotten if there is no vcr in the house. That is why Art of Rolling felt it was extremely important to get a few words with David Hoffman to elaborate more in depth on the Hit Film ITS ALL GOOD.
The time was 1997 and 1998. I had been given money by an independent Silicon Valley investor to make a feature documentary on the subject of aggressive rollerblading, a sport that was just booming and looked like it would continue to skyrocket as kids all over the country, mostly boys, but some girls as well, took it up. My film was completed in late 1998 and called It’s All Good. It never made it into the theater circuit but it has consistently sold big-time via web DVD sales (www.theHoffmancollection.com). Team FR was decidedly New York culture. Great skaters who knew the streets and how to skate and stay alive and not get too badly hurt. And most importantly from my memory, team FR was made up of really decent folk. Nice people. Kind to each other. Not looking for a fight. No bullies in that group. Did they do their homework and were they “good boys”? Well by a large, they were not that interested in school. It was skating; it was magic and skating that they were passionate about. And they were athletes. Great athletes. With individual styles and extraordinarily personal life moves. It was part of New York culture. Whenever folks from other places watched team FR, they saw skaters who took it to a different level. Nick was the team coach and I believe it was he who coined the phrase “we are going to show up and present.” This meant they did not have to win and maybe would not be the best, but they would present. Present New York City. Present East Coast culture. Present honestly and decency. And present FR team members did. At the national competitions. On the streets of New York. Wherever they traveled inside the United States and around the world. Team FR members were generous. They supported one another. Yes they were competitors. But more importantly they just wanted to have fun and skate the streets of New York and when given the chance, tease and cajole skaters from LA. That is what my movie showed. And it was a documentary, my film. I did not have to do a lot of directing and pushing and manipulating to get the boys and girls (Neda and other NYC girls were also spectacular) to do it my way, because these kids were already dramatic as they moved across the New York landscape -- with finesse -- just having fun skating up and down and sideways -- jumping and scraping -- all the while traditional New York culture, personal and business, was doing its thing around them. I do not know what happened to most of the skaters. I hope that your magazine and this article pulls folks out of the woodwork so that they talk to one another and to us about whether or not they actually became “adults.” But I do know that I was, and I am, rooting for their successes and they deserve to have successes because, in this tough world that includes New York more often than not, team FR members stood for the best in how people could treat one another and survive, and enjoy life, and win. David Hoffman www.YouTube.com/allinaday www.theHoffmancollection.com
Larsen
Evan Grimball
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John Stephens 540
Whats up, would you like to explain to the readers out there who you are, what crew you represent and what your crew is about? SMART CREW writer’s club is based in NYC, USA with a majority of us coming from the land of Queens. We are a trouble-makers collective with little-to-no art background. Notable crew specialties include vandalizing, traveling, gambling, sports, racking, rapping, cooking, fine dining, reading, bootlegging, “creepin” and money-making. How does graffiti in NYC differ from other cities/countries as far as street-level bombing goes? As far as street bombing, I guess its a different scenario everywhere you go. In NYC, you just gotta paint in front of people/cars but you can also blend in with the crowd and not look suspicious walking around at any time of night. (This is true for Manhattan at least.) In other US cities where you have to get around by car, it may be completely dead out past midnight, but you could get stopped for just being on foot in certain areas. In rougher cities, it’s not the cops that you have to worry about. In some other countries, you can bomb in broad daylight as long as you do something colorful. People will love it and not even think of it as a crime. We are most definitely fans of foreign countries/cities where people still don’t understand the concept of graffiti. You can almost always talk your way out of trouble or just act like you just didn’t know it was illegal. One time, we were somewhere in Asia doin’ some fillins and
stopped when the cops rolled by. W of these unfinished fillins looking e couldn’t even put it together that we it. The cops just looked at us comp fiti and kept driving. Unless they ac they wouldn’t think someone would wall in the middle of the night.
Overall, politics, culture and econom factors throughout the world and yo conditions wherever you may be. H you can always get over anywhere y smart about it.
Do you feel its more important for t where or for it to be quality pieces d
The cliche answer would be to say a both quality and quantity. Quantity above all, LOCATION and finding factors as well.
What does it mean to you to be from the state of NYC is at now compare
A lot of people are moving in from nyc different real quick. Has any o lives personally? The first question we ask when you what JHS/HS you went to? I would shape who you become as a NY’er. everyone had tags growing up here
We just stood there in front extremely guilty and they e might have possibly done pletely ignorant to the grafctually saw us in the act, d be spraying paint on a
my are an ever-changing ou just have to adapt to the However, the point is that you are as long as you’re
the name to go up everydone throughout?
a well balanced diet of y is where the fun is at. But, spot niches are important
m NYC/what would you say ed to just a few years ago?
out of state and turning of that process affected your
u say you’re “from” NY is d say that those years really . As far as graffiti, almost so being into graffiti was
nothing out of the ordinary (at least for our generation.) I think that NYC has definitely changed a great deal, but you go to almost every major city in the world and people will always be saying “it’s not the same as it used to be” for whatever reasons they may have. If you really don’t like what NYC has become, you can either do something about it or easily move outta here and live even cheaper elsewhere. There’s too much complaining/excuses and nothing being done. As far as the out-of-towner thing, it’s mainly a problem for downtown Manhattan and Brooklyn (outta towners love Brooklyn for some reason.) Most of Bronx, Queens and Staten Island hasn’t really been affected as much yet. Mainly, the internet/technology is making the world smaller everyday, I think that will affect all our lives much more (for better or worse) than an outta-towner moving into NYC. How would you want your crew to be remembered in graffiti’s history? There’s way too many “has beens” who try to live off their past in this game. (Painting legal walls and canvases don’t really count as still being “active”) So, the goal would be to just stay relevant and never give anyone the chance to “reminisce” of what the crew was. Writers within crews will always come and go, but “smart crew”, as a whole, is something that can live on... Almost every writer says that they will never stop, but the fact is there’s only a handful in NY that have actually stayed
painting illegally over the years (consistently). There’s a lot more to life than graffiti and most of our crew just does it for fun. Some are more addicted than others, but everyone catches the fever every now and then. Stay tuned to the younger lot: GRAD, HSO, MARX. How important is trust in a graffiti crew please explain.? First off anyone down in smart gotta drop their ego and be down to put up the crew before their own tag. Everyone in the crew knows each other and it’s more than just the graffiti connection. As a matter of fact, there’s only about 4-5 members that are actually “active” writers at the moment. As far as trust in the terms of “snitching” or something like that, there’s nothing to worry about because smart crew has never done anything illegal before. What role does the internet play in SMART CREW? There’s all kinds of sites (blogs, twitter, facebook, flickr, etc...) dedicated to Smart Crew, but they aren’t run by nor affiliated with us directly. That would be pretty stupid to be a graffiti crew and have an internet presence right? Also, a word of advice if you want to become respected graffiti writers, DON’T DO INTERVIEWS! Keep that sense of mystery alive (unlike us.)
Smart crew is not your normal thug set it consist of well educated people, How are your pioneering ways in graffiti putting you guys ahead of the rest? No way can we say we are “ahead of the rest” cause there’s a lot more people doing a lot more than us in graffiti at the moment. Just keep it fun and don’t take it too serious. What does Polo mean to you what does that clothing style represent to yall? It’s kind of funny how Polo always gets brought up nowadays but I’d say about 90% of NYC writers in the 90’s were probably into lo/face at some point. It was just part of the uniform back then and then it died out shortly before the millennium. Some of us kept on collecting/rockin’ and lately Polo has been on the comeback from what I’ve seen. I guess Mey (one of the crew founders) put most of the crew onto the ‘lo way back. It was never as big in Queens as it was in Brooklyn/Manhattan but no one gets robbed for clothing/kicks these days like they used to. There’s also no sense of the “hunt” anymore because everyone is available on the internet for the right price. We can go on and on about it, but it’s just not the same as it was. We still got some deals though!
‘‘There’s way too many “has beens” who try to live off their past in this game. (Painting legal walls and canvases don’t really count as still being “active”) So, the goal would be to just stay relevant and never give anyone the chance to “reminisce” of what the crew was.’’
What are the most important things in graffiti young kids should know? If you ever get caught or beat up, just give up and stop writing. Learn your history (study those graffiti books/websites), become a graffiti nerd and stay away from the use of spray paint. Every time you actually do graffiti, make sure you flick it and post it all over the internet for that extra fame. When going over other graffiti, make sure you paint much smaller than whatever you are going over. Get a blog and a twitter setup to incriminate yourself. Other than that, just go out, have fun and don’t take it too serious (seriously.)
Trevor
Johnson
Andrew
Hendricks
Danny
Dagos
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Alex Paredes
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Jose Henriquez
to: Jimmy Giambrone st: Millie Mag
COUPON CODE: AOR
www.dubcaesar.bigcartel.com www.facebook.com/dubcaesar
James Macay Photos by Cesar Macay
Soul
What are your feelings’s about rollerblading in general? Rollerblading is something I enjoy doing a lot cause its been fun since the day I put on inline skates and tried to do sole grinds on a small ledge everyone used to skate when we started. How are you doing in school and does skating ever effect it? My grades are basically A’s, B’s and C’s no lie, skating affects it at times cause im really sore and tired the morning after and I have to be up by 7:30 AM. When you think of the future of rollerblading what kind of thoughts come into mind? Hopefully rollerblading will get more popular like skateboarding is now-a-days, and more and more people will see what it has become and see something they would like to try and learn on skates. What are some of your favorite memories about rollerblading? Skating my first Last Man Standing King of Queens competition in Flushing Meadow Park in 2007. Where do you see you’re self in the years ahead? I’m only in the 6th grade so ill be in school, skating and hopefully have some sort of sponsors. Do you get any pressure from other skaters because you’re younger than them? No, I get hyped up to skate harder. What are your favorite skate spots in New York? Favorite skate spots are the small marble down ledges by the courthouses downtown, La Guardia High school ledges and 85th Street park rails in Queens. What other hobbies do you take part in? Besides skating I’m always playing Call of Duty modern warfare 2 on ps3, my gamertag is crazyspuirle98 if you want to play.
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Lets roll ny
3 Victor Callendar giving the youth the 3 step program
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While looking at the format for all films to be made and released now a days you can’t help but notice there are some top notch production out there. Videos like ONE have set the bar in quality, while videos like WORDS have set the bar in tricks. But every so often you will find a film that contains both qualities’s and also brings something new to the table. Jason Staine’s film was premiered last night in lower Manhattan in what I would personally call great fashion. This premier was held in a huge theater. While buying tickets from a movie clerk may not be your once in the blue hobby to view a skate video, this event showed us why it would be great to see a skate film in a huge theater. Crowds of people showed up; it seems nothing can happen in NYC without the whole 5 boroughs coming in droves to show support. When watching a movie with your family {NYC Skate Scene} you already are having a good time. While I don’t want to leak anything from the movie in particular I would like to say Personality is a big factor in this movie. Anyone can do a hammer now a days but in a majority of these clips and sections you will see a smile or a laugh from the skaters. It seems they had an amazing fun time while shooting for Jason’s video and that transcends through the film into the viewer. On a difficulty and quality of this film I would rate it up there with the best and definitely one of the best NYC sections to stem out of NYC in the last few years. With tons of different spots you will feel like you’re on a road trip with the skaters visiting everything the world has to offer. While some of you may have been stuck outside on the line waiting to get in, a lot of us were inside watching history take place. The guys featured in Signature are going to be the next top all stars if not already.
S
Signature
By.. Jason Staine
Adonis Tay
ylor
In the mind of..
Dave Lan
ng
L
While discovering different faces with different stories and different talents we came across a remarkable individual. His name is Dave Lang. Within every skater lies a background and beginning. We at Art of Rolling would like to invite you on a personal journey into the mind and life of Dave Lang.
I came to New York four years ago with the original intention to live my dream of being in New York and skating it. Unfortunately, the summer before I came to NYC I was involved in a serious skating accident at an ASA Contest in Boca Raton, FL; which left my shoulder with a 3rd degree AC separation and a limited range of motion. Being that I could;t throw my arm to spin anymore I was restricted from doing what I love most in skating (spinning). When I finally arrived in 2006, it was difficult to get the motivation to get out and skate. The underlying fear of further injuring myself was a factor, but I was also discouraged because of the upset I faced in Florida.
All of my tricks were lost at this point, and all of my dreams of pursuing skating were shattered along with my shoulder. Being that I was already enrolled in college, I figured the best thing that I could do was to make the most of being here; and bettered myself as a person by pursuing my studies in film. There were times where I’d find myself in class fixated on the thought of skating. ’d make flip books out of post-it pads of stick figures spinning into grinds and flipping in the air. I’d think of tricks Id want to lace and jot down countless switch ups in my notebook, when I really should have been paying attention to my professors.
Finally, when I was finally released from my classes, I would bolt out the school doors and run back to my house to throw my skates on. The feeling that I would get anticipating going out was almost as good as rolling was itself. So I took all of the energy I had down to the east river only to become completely discouraged. Warming up with some basic tricks would get my blood flowing, but then when it came time to go into a grind A/O or true spin, my progression of tricks would be halted by my shoulder. After failing time and time again on tricks that were second nature; I finally accepted the fact that my body couldn’t keep up with how I was accustomed to skating. That day after I tried to session the FDR ledges, I rolled home with a big ball of heartache, knowing that I was washed out and unable to live up to my potential. So I hung the skates up for what I thought would be indefinitely.
It would be four years that I kept those Remz in storage. I couldn’t even look at them with the thought of not being able to use them the way I’d want to. So I kept myself busy by staying diligent with my film studies. In retrospect, looking back on what happened, it was all sort of a blessing; as ironic as that may sound. I now had a skill that I could use and it was something that I loved just as much as skating. I mean, after all, I found my love for the camera through skating. Four years fly by pretty quickly if you’re occupied, apparently. Late last August I was sitting at home in my current apartment on 34th Street. I’m pretty sure that was the hottest summer I had seen in New York. You couldn’t even sit by the window in a fully air-conditioned room without breaking a sweat. The weather was amazing though. And then the thought hit me like a ton of bricks, “Fuck, it’s so nice out. I want to skate.” So I opened up a box that had been sitting around since I moved from my place in L.E.S. And there they were. My rollerblades. Untouched. “Where can I skate?” I was clueless at this point. Though, I remembered passing a schoolyard skate park on 12th street every day going to and from school. So I strapped in and started skating as fast as I could down 2nd Ave. I don’t know how to explain the feeling that was running through my veins weaving in-between those cars. But for the first time in years, I felt human again. This feeling was me, it was everything that embodied my heart and my soul.
But when I got to 12th street and looked at those ramps, I remembered the frustration and disappointment that skating had shown me all those years ago. “Fuck it.” I thought “This is for me. I’m doing this for me.” I mean, what more could I have to lose after I’d already thought I’d lost everything? So, as per usual, I rolled into the park as the only rollerblader. I got up onto the mini ramp, and right as I’m dropping in it - like; everything came back to me.
It was after skating for a while, I realized that my shoulder hadn’t interfered with my skating. I thought, for a moment, that it was just a fluke; then Jordan Baez walks up to me with a crutch and a gimp leg. “Yo, I aint seen you around here, you from New York?” JB asked. Little did I know that Jordan’s introducing himself was about to bring me right back into the world of skating. That day was like a dream. Here I was in New York City, meeting all of the local NYC kids and skating at all of their usual spots. I was a little e kid in a candy store.
Only after I walked home from Ave. C that evening did I realize that this was my chance to really live out the dream that I set out to accomplish. So I did. I entered the Wheels in Motion/WRS Last Man Standing contest, upon Jordan’s suggestion. It had been years since I had competed, so I didn’t expect much out of myself. But when I went out there that morning with the intention to skate, I wanted to do my best; but it wasn’t about glory or exposure. It was something that I had to prove to myself. It wasn’t for everyone that was watching, it was for the kid who came to New York 4 years ago, with a big dream to be a New York skater. Now I’m finally living it and I couldn’t be happier.
Rest in
Co
n Peace
ozmik
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