Concrete Skateboarding Issue 125 by Concrete Skateboarding Magazine

Issue 125 / 2013 / free

inside 1611 east

DC canada in AZ

paul trep

Art Blender andy jenkins Sound Check sonreal above & beyond micky papa Five Spot mark suciu

LAKAI LI MI TE D FOOTWE AR THE S HOE S WE S K ATE BIEBEL / JOHNSON / MARIANO / CARROLL / HOWARD / ALVAREZ / GILLET / BRADY / JENSEN / FERNANDEZ TERSHY / ESPINOZA / HAWK / WALKER / PEREZ / SILVAS / photo by colen / ad #168 / lakai.com + crailtap.com supradistribution.com / lakaistickers@supradistribution.com

DCSHOES.COM/NYJAH

INTRODUCING THE

WITH

B/S NOSEBLUNT | BLABAC PHOTO

Lucas Pro

issue 125 / 2013

FEATURES 22 On the radar michael ray

28 welcome to 1611

east

34 paul trep interview 48 exposure gallery

60 DC canada in Arizona

Weekend Warrior cover photo & caption by

Brian Caissie

Driving all the way to Seattle to finish off an interview can create some pressure. I mean, so many things can happen. Luckily, the two days we spent there were a breeze, minus the long border waits. Garfield High is a staple go-to, whether it’s to warm-up or skate there all day, and these concrete rails have definitely seen some action. Doing a SWITCH BACKSIDE NOSEBLUNT on a rail is pretty rare—it’s only been handled by a few in the world, and PAUL TREP is now one of them. We thought it was fitting to lay this photo out in its natural state, which led to our first horizontal cover. Behind the scenes, Paul landed it three times so he could get the perfect roll-away, and understandably said: “That shit made my day, dude!” It was pretty damn amazing to watch, and you’ll find much more from him starting on p.34.

Andrew wenckstern backside tailslide photo sam fidlin

Cory lakeman

frontside boardslide photo brian caissie

DEPARTMENTS

issue 125 / 2013

12 past blast issue 65 / 2003 14 inventory 18 art blender andy jenkins 46 freestyle lives! 76 young bloods bono / keller / palazzese

84 sound check sonreal 86 video links 88 5 spot mark suciu 90 above & beyond micky papa

Rise & Shine – Antosh Cimoszko words Frank Daniello

For someone who’s wrapping up Grade 12 and has only been shooting photos seriously for three years, Tsawwassen, BC’s Antosh Cimoszko is doing a good job of making things happen. Probably helps that his dad handed over an Olympus OM-10 as a first camera when he was 12, and it doesn’t hurt that he appreciates much of Ed Templeton’s shutter work. Other than that, he’s pretty much in teenager mode–working as a Panago Pizza delivery boy when he’s not shooting, lurking rapradar.com on the regular, inhaling proper aunt-prepared Polish meals and considering a post-secondary stint at the Emily Carr University of Art + Design in Vancouver. Antosh contributes to Concrete regularly, and this time around he shot a couple photos and interviewed his good friend Michael Ray for an On The Radar feature on p.22.

antosh.ca

BLACK / WHITE #15YEARSSTRONG

TIMEBOMBTRADING.COM

FACEBOOK.COM/TIMEBOMBTRADING

Existing as Canada’s longest-running skate magazine has its benefits, one being a deep archive that spans back to 1990. So each issue we take a random look at the past…

ISSUE #65 2003

chris haslam fakie ollie lipslide [o] seu trinH

“Apart from my obvious fashion dilemma—I look like a cross between Bret Michaels and a homosexual motorcycle gang member—the only thing I can really remember about this cover is that it was the first time I’d ever done this move down anything,” Chris Haslam weighs in on his second of three Concrete covers he’s had to date. “While I was doing it,” he continues, “I was thinking about how it would look weird with the rest of the tricks in my Fajsha part, which I was filming for at the time. I guess this was when I started being super conscious about how my video part would flow. My process of making a video part changed even more after the Round Three video in 2004 because I was skating with Rodney and Daewon a bunch by then, and also from hearing what people liked and disliked in my skating.” Photographer Seu Trinh digs into the memory bank as well: “At the time, Chris would come visit from Canada and stay at my house in Los Angeles for weeks and sometimes months on end. He was always hungry— eager to skate and stay busy. Success seemed to be on his mind and it’s definitely what he got!”

collection compiled by

casey jones

The Hundreds

Valenzuela Low Après-skate? Why not keep it casual with the simple, clean and classically influenced Valenzuela by Los Angeles-based street wear brand, The Hundreds? The colour choices are vast, and they’re available in canvas, suede and leather. thehundreds.com

emerica

Provost All-terrain gnarler @bakedbaldhead comes through with a signature shoe from the black and gold. Rightfully so, Collin’s vulc joint was inspired by the brand’s highly skateable and Reynolds Cruisers. emerica.com

Skull Skates X Antisocial

Collaborative tees When asked about these limited edition T-shirts, Skull Skates’ PD emailed over: “Skateboarding good, Antisocial good, Skull Skates good, collaboration good... smooshed-up logo shirts from Vancouver’s two most dedicated skateboard shops, get ‘em while you can.” skullskates.com / antisocialshop.com

LRG

Always coming through with solid offerings, we thought the striped Henley tee, Five snap-back and straight-leg chino shorts with a slight stretch really hit the summer mark. LRG keeps it relevant. l-r-g.com

adidas Skateboarding

Busenitz Pro Based on adidas’ legendary Copa Mundial, Dennis Busenitz continues to stoke us with the skate-ready version of this remarkable cupsole shoe, which includes recessed eyelets and a high-abrasion suede and canvas upper. adidas.com/skateboarding

CHOCOLATE

It’s the year of the Trunk Boyz, with Elijah Berle, Raven Tershy and Stevie Perez as the latest back panel bros to turn Pro, with their premiere decks done up in classic Chocolate Chunk fashion. chocolateskateboards.com

DC Shoes

Nyjah S Nyjah Huston has more than proven what he’s capable of in the streets, so it seems only fitting that his first DC signature shoe features a high-impact cupsole with the new Impact G technology. dcshoes.com/skate

LAKAI

Alvarez It’s about time. After a killer opening part in 2012 VOTY Pretty Sweet, VA gets his first Pro shoe for Fall ’13, featuring classic soccer styling. The high-speed big spins are up to you. lakai.com

HUF

For the warm months, we thought this grip of HUF goods (Die Hippy Scum tank, Script tee and the Militia cargo shorts) would be good to go get whatever you want to go get. Got it? hufworldwide.com

CHROME

Cardiel Collection OG John Cardiel is the man behind this three-bag travel system—the Shank fanny pack, Orp roll-top pack, and water-resistant Fortnight backpack—which can be utilized separately or together, depending on the mission. chromeindustries.com

R YAL SKATEBOARD TRUCK CO. JERRY HSU ROYAL

FREE: ROYALSTICKERS@SUPRADISTRIBUTION.COM / SUPRADISTRIBUTION.COM

RAW

ROYALSKATEBOARDTRUCK.COM

ART BLENDER

andy jenkins

his year being his 20th at Girl Skateboards, Andy Jenkins is a true veteran of art and design. Needless to say, his work continues to have a profound influence on both seasoned and aspiring designers. Andy was born in Sevilla, Spain, where his mother is from, and his father is from Jackson, Mississippi. Having grown up on Air Force bases around the world and within the United States, Andy has been able to channel his diverse background into his personal and professional work. After gaining an associate degree at the Colorado Institute of Art, Andy relocated to Southern California in 1984 to work with Mark Lewman and Spike Jonze at Freestylin’, BMX Action and Homeboy, among other magazines. He spent nine years doing a variety of magazine tasks such as editing, writing, illustrating and designing. Andy also has a knack for creating ‘zines and comic strips, with his iconic Lettus Bee character from Wrench Pilot still showing up now and again after first being published by TransWorld in 1989. In 1993 Andy was hired by Girl and has been there to this day. Whether it’s a board series, T-shirt, advertisement, catalogue or video, every day delivers a new challenge. As head “tinkerer” at The Art Dump, he helps manage the load and keeps things rolling smoothly. With such a large body of creative work and skills in so many areas of art, design and illustration, it’s impossible to point at one thing and say, “This is what Andy does.” —Randy Laybourne bendpress.com

left to right: Girl “Mechanical Bird” Howard Girl “Howard” Rick Howard Girl “Constellation” Wilson Girl “Mechanical Robot” Mariano Blockhead “Street Standard” “Bless This Ramp” illustration Blind “Cat In The Hat” Jason Lee Fuel “Jenkins Artist Series” Girl “Eric Koston” Girl “Wrench Pilot” Howard Girl “Bad Dog #2” Howard Girl Yeah Right! logo Girl/Chocolate Pretty Sweet logo Wooden Girl - Sean Sheffey Wooden Girl - Howard Skateboarder cover - June 2001 18

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Red MC2â&#x20AC;? by Andy Jenkins. Created exclusively for Concrete Skateboarding. visit concreteskateboarding.com to download art blender wallpapers for your computer & mobile device.

JAMIE PALMORE IT’S NOW OR NEVER

W W W. J S LV C O R P. C O M

distributed by ultimate

MICHAEL RAY

antosh cimoszko

ON THE RADAR

.0210186495089 51604890.90825 0.249058698.07 .5614.08950.85 8470230.064.20 .20148902.9802 99.6489001.2.8 28549120.89408 984083154084.4 5047140.6802.8 89140.1498.894 2.35847.206948 58.478960.2896 .2089474.04848 478960.1468948 72848920.48941 528910.2847861 3204820.489087 10561.68410.68 84.05448640.87 6140.46.048108 854160.614.046 4681560.1468.8 854163.4168447 47.20478.98478 014.215102.547 824.4084084.45 540.2545.0.453 35470.840.4874 .87486740.5745

words

Antosh Cimoszko

’ve known Michael ever since Grade One. We both grew up in Boundary Bay, B.C., and his waterfront home was the spot for countless sessions; it had a drop, a three stair and at one point a tattered quarter pipe. At 17 he’s already had the opportunity to experience a few states in America, and earlier this year he made his way to China. Riding for Toy Machine, C1RCA, Thunder, Volcom, Nixon and Pacific Boarder, Michael is moving on up in the Canadian scene. Off the board he’s consistently on the honour roll and is president of his high school, South Delta Secondary, in Tsawwassen. He’s also planning on attending post secondary next year to keep his options open and possibly go into the medical field, just as his parents did. Michael and his family are some of the most modest and genuine people I’ve ever met. You’ll rarely see him without a nicely packed lunch from his mother, and his dad helps keep most of the Tsawwassen skateboarders in check when it comes to injuries. Michael is an all-around solid skateboarder with a great attitude—he deserves to go far.

41201.20141200 58100.89258010 58214201802.14 .0210186495089 51604890.90825 0.249058698.07 .5614.08950.85 8470230.064.20 .20148902.9802 99.6489001.2.8 28549120.89408 984083154084.4 5047140.6802.8 89140.1498.894 2.35847.206948 58.478960.2896 .2089474.04848 478960.1468948 72848920.48941 528910.2847861 3204820.489087 10561.68410.68 84.05448640.87 6140.46.048108 854160.614.046 4681560.1468.8 854163.4168447 47.20478.98478 014.215102.547 824.4084084.45 540.2545.0.453 35470.840.4874

brian caissie

switch frontside bigspin

How’s day-to-day life in Tsawwassen? When school is happening I get off at like 1:30 p.m., then I’ll either skate or go to work at my parents’ office and do homework at night. If it’s raining, I usually just sit in my house and do nothing, and if it’s sunny and I don’t feel like skating, I’ll go swimming or hang out with my girlfriend or something. Have you been filming for any video projects? I’ve been filming with Ethan Craig for his video, Daze, and I’m also filming with my friend Jason Bergen for a video called R.I.P.

Your laptop screen looks like a cracked car windshield. How come? In China, our guide Will Cui told us we were late for the train from Guangzhou to Shenzhen, but I think it ended up being a joke. So we were all skating trying to make it because we had to catch a flight the following day. I’m really clumsy and hit a rock while I was skating—my shit flew everywhere. My laptop flew out my bag and cracked and I fell right on my face. A bunch of Chinese people were staring and laughing. It sucked.

antosh cimoszko

frontside crook

I want to try and be a nurse. I’ve always been really fascinated with biology and how the human body works.

How was the China trip overall? I didn’t get food poisoning, which was good. The spots are incredible. It’s interesting how nobody speaks English there; you could try and talk but no one understands. When I got home I found myself using my hands a lot to communicate for the first week because I was so used to doing that in China. How is it that are you’re on Instagram (@mikeymray) when you have a flip phone? I signed up for it with my mom’s iPhone. I just lurk on my computer and if I ever think there’s something cool in my house that I want to Instagram, I’ll do it on her phone [laughs]. Who are you usually out skating with? People from Tsawwassen, like my friend Ryan Lepore, Andrew Classon or you. There’s Aleka [Lang] and Mick [Bey], who are youngins coming up at the park. Sometimes I’ll meet up with David Stevens, Steven Burke, Jordan Zazula, Magnus Hanson and Tyler Burke.

brian caissie

hurricane grind

I heard while you were in Calgary you had your first bar experience, and it wasn’t a good one. Yeah, my friend snuck me in to one during the Stampede. There was a bunch of cowboy jocks there and my friend ended up getting a fight with one of them. One of the cowboy’s buddies jumped in and sucker punched me in the jaw. It still makes little cracking noises.

Where do you want to go in the medical field? I want to try and be a nurse. I’ve always been really fascinated with biology and how the human body works. Growing up around a doctor’s office and watching my parents, I already have a sense of how a patient should be treated. My mom used to be a nurse and suggested that I look into it.

Your parents like going up to Whistler, but Why are you over snowboarding? I broke my collarbone three times, when I was eight, 10 and 12. Then one year I broke it snowboarding, and two years later I broke it again. It put me out of skating for a while, and my doctor said if I broke it one more time I’d need to get surgery, so I decided to stop snowboarding.

What injuries has your dad had to deal with when it comes to local skateboarders? My dad actually specializes in injuries that happen while playing sports, so whenever I have a friend who gets hurt pretty bad I usually call him and see if he can help over the phone at all. He’s helped a bunch of my friends out with ankles and knees a few times. He looked after you when you tore ligaments in your knee.

How is it being the student president at your high school? It’s good. My friend convinced me to join last year. The teacher said we were doing good and told us to run, so we did and ended up winning, which was cool. At school I don’t do anything at lunchtime, so it gives me something to do.

for sure. What does your mom pack in those lunches when you head out to skate? She usually puts in a sandwich, some juice, a banana, a granola bar and a cookie [laughs]. She’s even packed a lunch for other people I go skating with. It’s sick because then I don’t have to buy really shitty food if I’m out skating. 25

skelatorrr The Petting Zoo

photo: brian fick

skate photos: doug weaver

667 likes skelatorrr Took me awhile to tame these beasts. #giddyup #brokeback #lawrenceofarabia #barebackduckface @sector9skateboards view all 14985 comments tyler_martin you'll do anything for free food... alexisrivera ¡El Vaquero Joto! ¡Andalé! gullwingtruckco YOU SUCK summyunguy If I was a horse, would u ride me?

words

ty james

photos

Brian Caissie

or the players who live in Vancouver, it’s not easy to leave the house during a winter afternoon thinking you’re going to get buck. For us it was kind of a blessing in disguise that started with our landlord coming through with some wack news towards the end of 2012. He basically told us that our beloved crib, 1611 East, would be getting demolished in order to put up some New Age townhouse garbage. Clearly we weren’t stoked, and given the state of affairs, we starting trashing the crib thinking we all needed to find a new place in two months. With the news arriving in the winter, we decided the best idea would be to skate inside the house until the rain stopped.

CainE cripps kickFlip backside tailslide

Bryan Wherry Noseslide

With the initial gut-wrenching feeling that we were all gonna be homeless in a matter of months, we went in hard. Joey Williams got juiced and started smashing the wall with Ian Twa, who described their handiwork as the “new skate rack #RIP1611” on Instagram. After more wall smashing and some indoor soccer games, Twa told us the quarterpipe we gave to a neighbourhood kid was back in the driveway. I guess the kid broke himself off and his dad wasn’t hyped, so they returned it. While Joey and Twa brought it inside, Bryan Wherry, LJ Brownlee and myself started skating and filming. Wherry claimed a noseslide on the waisthigh built-in cabinet and got it first T. That got us all hyped, and after the quarter was set up we brought in Robbie Pellack’s old plastic bench from the yard and set it up in front of the fireplace. Despite the bad news about the crib, we had an indoor spot to skate during the rainy season and everyone was down as fuck. LJ copped the first house line; two laps, super G. After that night the skating got a bit more serious. I’d be getting home from work and could hear the shralping going down from a block away. It hyped me up to be honest—the feeling of getting kicked out was taken over by the feeling of skateboarding. The weeks went by and we skated inside almost every day. We would pretty much only “shut the park down” for maintenance or for dinner, but someone would be skating flat almost all the time. Eventually the word spread and homies started coming over to skate. Cameo Wilson was a regular, same with Jordan Bucholz, and there was the odd appearance by Mike Vince. 29

ian twa backside noseblunt

joey williams frontside wallride

After about three weeks of heavy house shralping, Brian Caissie hit us up and asked if we wanted to shoot some photos in the crib. Everyone was down right away and business was handled; I even got a few G clips of Caissie thrashing the QP. It got pretty rowdy, and I remember one morning while waiting outside for my ride to work, our neighbour who we call “The Snitch” asked: “Are you guys skateboarding in your house?” I replied calmly, “Yeah, the house is dust,” which I don’t think she really understood too well because she got in her car and drove away looking at me like I was super fried. I got home from work one day and Joey was on the couch doing Joey. He started talking my ear off about a big wave surfing, so we put a plan together to move all the couches and slide the QP so Joey could do a big wallride in the living-room. I shot Caissie a text and asked him to roll over, and within a half-hour Joey started ripping frontside wallers and eventually put the sickest one down, no issue. It was probably one of my favourite moments during the crib-skating era.

#1611East

By February our landlord returned, this time with super-good news about the house. He told us the permits for the townhouse development were going to take a while and offered us the house for another year. So we figured we should clean up a bit and maybe fix the “skate rack” wall. But when it rains in Vancouver and you’re walking down 22nd Ave., don’t be alarmed if you hear skating inside of a house. It’s just 1611 East.

All portraits Brian Caissie

Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t Call It A ComePAUL back Words Matt Meadows

TREP 35

It’s

safe to say there are very few people who truly know Paul Trep. The sometimes elusive and soft-spoken Aylmer, Quebec native is not one to run his mouth, instead commanding an audience at the Vancouver Plaza or in the streets with his uncanny skills and consistency on a skateboard. Paul is in his own world when he skates, seemingly detached from what’s going on around him. Skateboarding provides him with true focus, and all it takes is witnessing one session to see that his talent on a board speaks leagues for him. Often referred to as one of the most underrated Canadian skaters, Paul could still easily be the next PJ Ladd or Paul Rodriguez. However, fame and fortune has never been something that he’s chased. Content with living in Canada amongst his friends and family, his wants and needs are simple: skate as often as possible. Finding comments online that read “Trep deserves to be Pro” will now be a thing of the past since Red Star, the Canadian board brand he’s been on for three years, has gone ahead and done just that. With pro status on his mind, Paul is more motivated than ever. The stunning imagery on these pages will give you a sense of what it’s like to take a seat and watch what unfolds when Trep steps on his board.

Switch Backside Flip [o] Will Jivcoff

Switch Crook [o] Will Jivcoff 38

“Paul is absolutely mind blowing on a skateboard. Seeing him skate live is basically like watching an action, comedy and horror movie all wrapped up in one.” —Spencer HamiltoN

Switch Heelflip [o] Brian Caissie How does a kid from a small town like Aylmer, Quebec, become so well known?

I heard that you were selfmotivated early on, like you had no one to skate with in Aylmer.

I guess it started because I saw a couple of guys from my school skate this basketball court; I knew after watching them it was something I wanted to do. In Grade 5 I waxed a curb outside of my house and would skate that thing for hours instead of doing my homework. Of course, I wasn’t doing too good in school because I was always skating [laughs].

All my friends ended up quitting not long after I actually started skating, so I skated solo for years. I would often go take the bus to downtown Ottawa or Portage. What really kept me motivated were a few videos that I had—Zoo York’s Mixtape from 1998 in particular. I really fell in love with skating when I was 12 because you don’t have to depend on anyone. You can pick up your board and just go out and do whatever you want.

“I’ve known Trep since he was 13 years old, and have seen all the stages he’s gone through to get where he is now. His skating is in direct relation to the way he is as a person—very casual and laid back to the point where you’re wondering if he even cares. You ever witness someone switch back noseblunt a rail and then be more psyched on the kickflip you just did on flat? That’s Trep in a nutshell. Humble, nonchalant and genuine. He’s pretty much an enigma, but the absolute real deal at the same time.” —Wade Desarmo

Backside Flip Switch Manual [o] Rich Odam 40

Switch Tail 270 Out [o] Brian Caissie So you’re part of the second generation of Red Dragons, like Mike Hastie and Arron Johnson. Being from a small town, how did you end up getting hooked up with RDS? I rode for Top [Ottawa’s Top Of The World] and I flew out to Vancouver. Moses [Itkonen] started giving me RDS stuff; I think he was originally hyped on my Top Dollar part. I was stoked, and I pretty much started filming for Skateboard Party right away. It’s crazy to think back ‘cause I got on RDS awhile ago. They’ve been really good to me.

After that came Darkstar, which had a tight knit crew of Canadians, with Hastie, Machnau and Gailea Momolu in the mix.

Yeah, it started when I was skating with Gailea a bunch; I guess he talked to Chet Thomas, who pretty much just put me on. I respect Chet. I used to watch A-Team stuff with him and Gershon Mosley in it. I was 17 or 18 and just hyped to be a part of something like that. I honestly expected things to go further than they did, but there was a recession and shit—it was out of Chet’s control.

I think most would agree, you are one of the most underrated skateboarders in Canada that should have blown up to become a top tier Pro. I remember Machnau saying that I was one of the most underrated. That shit motivates me, how can it not? But I don’t really think about stuff like that much. I skate for myself.

“The skater’s skater. Someone you could watch at a park for hours and never get bored. In fact, I find myself watching him more than actually skating when he’s around because I don’t want to miss anything. Everything Paul does looks the way it should, it’s like he was programmed to skate. King Of The Road 2006 sold me on his undeniable skills, having to work on tricks he’d never tried or even heard of before. I couldn’t imagine how good it would feel to be able to skate like him for just one day. A true legend!” —Paul Machnau

It seems like you were flying under the radar for a bit recently. Is it safe to say you’ve been on a mission lately? Yeah, there was a recent Red Star Seattle trip with [Brian] Caissie, [Dan] Opyc, and Machnau. That Jordan [Zazula] kid came and killed it, too. Seattle is full of awesome spots and it’s really close, so it’s rad to get out of Vancouver and go down there. When you hit new spots it’s just cool ‘cause you can think of something different. In Vancouver you can get a little lazy sometimes [laughs].

Is the Vancouver Plaza still your home base nowadays? For sure, pretty much all my homies chill there. Like Wade Desarmo and Spencer Hamilton…

Sounds like all the Ottawa kids! What’s up with the Red Star video slated to come out? Are you going to have a full part? It’s coming out in July. I’ve got about two minutes so far. I still need to go get a few tricks, but I’m not stressing. Just have to get out whenever it’s sunny!

How does it feel to finally turn Pro? Are you nervous or do you feel it’s time? I am totally ready, that shit is motivating! My plan is to go even harder with a Pro board. I feel like there is a standard I’ll have to reach to be happy with knowing I’m Pro. So instead of chilling on sunny days, I’ll make sure I’m out skating and getting stuff done! I think if you have a board you should put in more work, even if it’s just going out to the park and skating with some homies I haven’t seen in awhile; at least I’m out working on shit, you know? No days off [laughs].

5-0 [o] Rich Odam

fellipe francisco

clockwise from left: 1. Rene Shigueto 2. World Round-Up contestants 3. Mike Osterman 4. Guenter Mokulys 5. World Round-Up pro finalists

words

Sam McKinlay

photos

jim goodrich

May 17-20, 2013, marked the second annual World Freestyle Round-Up competition held in Cloverdale, B.C., which once again boasted an impressive $10,000 prize purse. Last year, I got to see first-hand some of the culture that surrounds the largely underground contemporary freestyle world. I also remember the Expo ’86 pro skateboard contest, with all of the different cultures and theoretical attributes of the freestylers on display. It’s no secret that freestyle snuck itself into core contemporary skateboarding with its infiltration of technicality into the late ’80s and early ’90s street skateboarders’ repertoire. One can only find it interesting how rooted today’s marketable street personalities are in the world of freestyle; one example being the “celebrated” games of S-K-A-T-E that are a glorified and form of freestyle for the 2000s. Conceptually, most forms of street skateboarding can be considered “freestyle,” unless you’re doing various cult manoeuvres in a bowl or a pool. The shrapnel from powerful ’80s freestyle skateboarders such as Rodney Mullen, Per Welinder and Kevin Harris has helped to influence a new breed of contemporary and obsessed freestylers (everything that street skaters do on flat, but add creative pogo variations, etc.) like Sean Burke, Per Canguru and Mike Osterman and to name a few. Freestyle has never gone away, it’s just been underground.

World Round-Up 2013 Results AM 1. Ryan Brynelson (Canada) 2. Kaue Araujo (Brazil) 3. Andy Anderson (Canada) 4. Jacob Whitt (USA) 5. Thomas Nascimento (Brazil)

PRO 1. Guenter Mokulys (Germany) 2. Seiya Nakano (Japan) 3. Mike Osterman (USA) 4. Masahiro Fujii (Japan) 5. Per Canguru (Brazil) #worldroundup

theworldroundup.com

taylor johnston

backside feeble

[o] michael kazimierczuk

clayton uhlig

frontside 5-0 [o] jay delaney

shayne eldridge

bigspin flip frontboard fakie [o] eIrik dunlop

nile osborn

kickflip

[o] david bloom

sean lowe

crooked grind nollie 180 flip [o] rich odam

jordan zazula

hurricane grind [o] brian caissie

magnus hanson

kickflip front crook [o] brian caissie

keegan sauder lipslide

[o] dan zaslavsky

ben raybourn

backside ollie [o] garric ray

follow all your favourite brands at: ultimateskateboarddist.com facebook.com/ultimatedistribution instagram: @ultimatedist

DC Canada in Arizona words

Josh Clark

photos

Brian Caissie

uring the spring, myself, Chad Dickson, Sascha Daley, Micky Papa, Will Marshall, Bobby De Keyzer, Charles Deschamps and Morgan Smith from DC Canada packed up and headed down to the desert for two weeks. Tempe, Arizona, was our destination, a small city outside Phoenix full of calm residential neighbourhoods occupied mostly by old retired people. Our house worked out perfectly and had everything we needed: a private hot tub, a big kitchen where everyone cooked together, and nice big TVs so Chad could enjoy his episodes of Nip/Tuck uninterrupted. The vets occupied the top floor, with Sascha and Morgan sharing the double room, while Chad and Micky shared the big king-size bed. On the ground floor some of the guys had air mattresses in odd locations. Will occupied the kitchen dining room with a homemade wall made from sheets and duct tape. Charles chose a nice corner behind the main dining room table, and little Bobby found himself a private getaway in the closet under the stairs that was just the right size for him. Photographer Brian Caissie and I had the master bedroom downstairs and filmer Brian Shannon owned the couch space.

Mitch Barrette unfortunately got denied access into the country, so Sascha had to take over as hype man, waking everyone up early with his speaker on blast. Each day started with a mandatory dip in the pool before hitting the streets in our 15-passenger van. Sascha would keep everyone’s energy up with the Juicy J tunes, and to pass the time during the longer drives, I got notebooks for everyone so they could keep obscure personal journals about the trip by writing or drawing in them. The whole crew was motivated to skate, which made for long days that would stretch through the night and into the following morning. Whether you were the one skating or not, everyone was in good spirits—cheering someone on or rolling away from a trick themselves. DC Canada has such a sick group of guys; everyone killed it and had each other’s back. Enjoy the tricks, notebook doodles and good times in AZ…

Varial heelflip

Will Marshall Big Willy loves to sleep. I hated having to wake him up in the morning because I knew the first 10 minutes would be the worst. But once he’s up you know he’ll kill it on his board no matter what. I don’t even think he’s concerned or thinking about skating until he steps on his board. Will went through some battles on this trip, but got his revenge on the above varial heel over a rail, which took him out for a couple days during the earlier stages of the trip. This time, and to start off the last night session, he rolled away bolts faster than it took to set the lights up.

tailslide front bigspin

laser heelflip

switch heelflip

Micky Papa Micky, the Italian gigolo, has a nice head of hair. Sometimes a bit too nice. He would skate all day and usually be the first to bed, avoiding the party scene. This is likely the reason why he’s so on point and able to do some of the most amazing tricks I’ve ever witnessed in my life. However, on the last night, Micky was definitely drinking Mickey’s during our big pizza and 40 party at the house. His iPod was used as comic relief in the van during some of our road trips through the desert. With everything from Backstreet Boys to Spice Girls, I don’t think he’s deleted anything off it since he was 14, but at times it was exactly what we needed to keep up the good spirits.

Morgan Smith Morgan was the nutritionist on the trip, with an eye for the organic produce section in every grocery store. He even brought his own blender to make sure he could have big jugs of green smoothie in-hand at all times. This influenced some of the others to switch from greasy breakfasts to smoothies in the mornings. Morgan would be one of the first up in the morning, lending a hand by cleaning up the previous night’s mess before drinking a couple litres of green juice and beating everyone at S-K-A-T-E.

front nose

backside 360 kickflip

Bobby De Keyzer Unfortunately, Bobby is the victim of being the youngest on every trip. He has to deal with being picked on a bit more, but handles it like a man. The closet under the stairs that he occupied started to smell like a dirty hockey bag after two weeks; maybe we just didn’t throw him in the pool enough. After an entire day of Bobby telling me I looked like Javier Bardem in No Country for Old Men, I decided to let him loose with the scissors and cut my hair. Turns out his barber skills are mediocre at best, and I’m stuck with a weird lesbian haircut that can only be covered up by greasing it back.

switch ollie

Chad Dickson You’d find Chad chilling out back having a few soda pops around the hot tub, or upstairs indulging in his guilty television pleasure, Nip/Tuck. One evening, after finishing a whole season of the show, Morgan asked for what would become the world’s longest haircut. Chad looked like he knew what he was doing and the final product looked great, but it took almost two days to complete. He’s much better at skating than he is at cutting hair, and he’s the type of guy who skates big stuff. Whether rolling away in a few tries, or breaking his board (or a piece of himself), Chad definitely goes for it!

Josh Clark Obviously the team manager from hell, Josh drives all day, fixes and skates every spot, and gets a ton of clips or films second angles if he isn’t skating. He manages the shit out of everyone, always with his shirt off, and is the dictionary definition of “gettin’ ‘er done.” —Morgan Smith 68

180 nosegrind

bluntslide pop-in

back 180 nosegrind

Charles Deschamps Our French assassin, Charles skated almost every spot we went to and came through with much more than a trick or two. For those who don’t know, Charles is the newest addition to the DC Canada team, and he’s a super good guy to have around. He’s fully bilingual now, but still has some funny pronunciations that made the whole crew laugh; like a good sport this wouldn’t bother Charles one bit. He’s one of the most motivated kids I’ve met in a while—down to build or fix any spot at any time. He even helped me rip out a parking curb to skate a bank. Sascha would put him to work cleaning up the house on separate occasions, and Charles would put himself to work in the streets, handling his first team trip like a champ.

lipslide

Sascha Daley Sascha is very grateful for any opportunity skateboarding brings his way and led by example at all times. He’s got the perfect mix of partying and taking things seriously, making him a key player in the success of this trip. He would start off every morning blasting “Bad Boys” by Inner Circle on his speaker to wake up the crew, touring it through each person’s room or little corner they where sleeping in. One night, after lighting up a spot in Phoenix for Will, we returned back to the house where Sascha had been ice bathing in preparation for a Tucson spot, an hour-and-a-half away, where he handled two bangers like a boss just before the sun rose. 72

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s naturally good at skating, whether Jayden is just one of those kids who’ twice his size, skating ledges or gaps and he’s jumping down handrails ing it all together, Jayden isn’t your some tranny. With a solid style bring tricks most skaters would envy and of bag a got average 15-year-old. He’s at in the next few years. he’s I can’t wait to see the level of skating k ierczu —Michael Kazim

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He’s a model. He’s a brother. He’s a Mickenzie is not just a skateboarder. you out, but he’ll still beat you in a help to can beast. He’ll do whatever he his sister. He loves chicks. He loves game of S-K-A-T-E. He’ll let you date st one you know. What he loves bigge the to him huge rails, too. So take find him @mickenziekeller. so most is getting Instagram followers, ff —Briggs Oglo

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only visually spectacular, but thanks Skating with Dave is a treat. It’s not he’s got a leg up attitude-wise ling, trave some and to a supportive base s to me that he’s among a Seem up. over other young dudes on the come y rippers throwing out the old refreshing niche of notable, young trann . game ’s cliché that vert is an old man —Nicky Young

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SonReal has done his share of interviews, as befits a rising Canadian hip-hop star, but he’s especially stoked about talking to Concrete. That’s because he harboured dreams of becoming a professional skateboarder before he ever picked up a microphone. “Oh, hell yeah,” he confirms. “When I first started, all I wanted to be was a pro skater. I always wanted to be hanging with, like, Eric Koston and Mike Carroll.”

a small town, you’re surrounded by small-town shit,” says the rapper, born Aaron Hoffman. “You become a big fish in a small pond, for instance. I go back, and a lot of the people I used to know are in the exact same spot, in the exact same clothes, drinking the same beer, you know what I mean? So I just had to get out of that, because I knew it was something I had to do personally in order to pursue my career.”

The 27-year-old rapper credits the skateboarding world with introducing him to the music that would become his passion. The skate vids he watched as a kid had soundtracks filled with classic cuts by the Beatnuts, Nas, A Tribe Called Quest, and the older skaters in his hometown of Vernon, B.C., dabbled in rap.

And that career has been doing just fine, as a matter of fact. Now based in Vancouver, SonReal had a productive 2012, releasing two mixtapes (Words I Said and Good News) and a Junonominated collaborative album with Toronto MC Rich Kidd called The Closers. All of the above showcase SonReal’s skills on the microphone, which begin with spitting smart, smooth rhymes, along with an unusually musical approach and a lot of honest-to-God singing. His knack for writing melodic hooks is evident from the choruses of his singles “Alone” and “Bomb”.

“In my music, I have references once in a while to skating just because that’s really where I come from, and that’s where a lot of my inspiration is, too,” SonReal says. “When I skate, I find inspiration for my music.” He discovered his love for both while living in Vernon—a North Okanagan ski town with a population under 40,000—but when he decided that music was his true calling, SonReal knew that he had to move on. “The thing that a lot of people don’t understand is that when you’re in

“Ever since I started rapping, I’ve always wanted to sing,” SonReal notes. “I look back on the first tracks I did, just on my computer mic, and I was definitely singing on lots of them. Then came a period when I was almost ashamed to sing because I was, like, trying to be hard and stuff when I was in my teens. It’s just something that

I’ve always loved doing, and something that I’ve always felt compelled to do without even trying. It’s just kind of been second nature.” If that invites comparisons to a certain other singing MC from Canada whose career has blown up worldwide, SonReal doesn’t mind. “Drake opened up a door that was bigger than Canada had ever seen,” he explains. “He unlocked something that was completely nuts; artists like myself and Rich Kidd, who are doing our own original thing, that’s something we should capitalize on, and that’s something we should use to our advantage. I see a lot of people dogging Drake for whatever reasons, but that man did something for our country in this genre of music that nobody else has done, so you’ve got to hand it to him, for sure.” Any up-and-coming rapper would love to be in Drake’s position, and while SonReal is no different, he insists he won’t compromise his vision to get there. “I can make a pop record, I can make something that sounds fairly mainstream, but I always maintain my integrity, and I always try to say something real, and say something that’s true to myself,” he affirms, which means we can still count on some lyrical references that only other skateboarders will get.

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Our barren Canadian winter and soaked spring are over, so into the sun we go. Video Links are more crucial during this time because TV and web minutes are limited once we go outside and stay there. The following releases, on top of the free Creature CSFU and Ambig Modern Art videos, should be enough action to gawk over for a while. I’d also recommend looking up The Philadelphia Experiment and Worship Friendship. Enjoy the sun.

ROAD TO REMULAK

ALEX DOYLE

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Remulak is the planet from which the Coneheads are from, and Vancouver Island is where you’ll find British Columbia’s capital city of Victoria. Much like Remulak, the Island runs at its own low-key pace, which is all part of the allure. Looking back at Victorian Touch, and more recently The 204 Video, you’ll see incredible skateboarding from a bunch of guys doing it for all the right reasons; Road To Remulak follows in the tradition of Island skateboarding that not enough people get to see. Everyone has a strong showing, but the most well known of the Coneheads featured is Dane Pryds, who, along with Leon Breton, have some of the best new Canadian parts this year. Thanks to Cyrus Stafford and Erik Sorenson, Road To Remulak has tight filming, a rad soundtrack and a short playtime—all the necessary ingredients for maximum summer stoke.

Winnipeg’s Alex Doyle is a YouTube celebrity. His impressive online catalogue boasts well over 400 videos, mostly edited to Top 40s pop music, with an emphasis on pressure flips, kickflip stinkbugs and beaming the camera. I imagine Doyle in his room at night, streaming the newest, hottest dance track and being overwhelmed by the urge to film a “monty” to it. YouTube user Mounman comments: “Really nice filming. I appreciate the smooth transition from wide screen to standard def. I have one question though, do you guys actually like pop music or are you doing it for a joke? I see you’re editing some of the clips to the music so you’re putting in effort, but why don’t you use music that matches the skating instead of lame pop music? There are so many other songs that could do this skating justice.” YouTube user Alex Doyle replies: “No there aren’t.”

BON VOYAGE

THE DEATHWISH VIDEO

Cliché always titles their videos with French words, but this video is nothing like their earlier releases. Someone should have stopped at some point during the editing process and noticed that many of the amazing attributes of a classic Cliché production are sadly absent, likely due to the absence of “French” Fred Mortagne. Overall, Bon Voyage is a great watch, but the Lyon-based company’s magic seems to have changed now that they’re in the American mainstream. However, they are faring better than Blueprint’s recent U.S. shift, and the homogenized versions of these European brands do open doors for new upstarts that are full of piss and vinegar, ready to leave a mark. If you’re nostalgic, like myself, for 2004’s Bon Appetit!, Lucas Puig and Flo Mirtain bring it hard with incredible parts and great songs in the latest Cliché flick, while skating in sweet Euro gear like adidas track suits.

Before being a skateboard company, Death Wish was an action film series starring the very badass Charles Bronson. They played regularly on TV when I was a kid, especially Death Wish 3. The movies were categorized as “Punk Exploitation,” just like Deathwish Skateboards, promoting and glorifying the antiheroes and antagonists, just like Deathwish Skateboards. This new offering by the professional piles over at Bakerboys Distribution have proved once again that skateboarding is their priority and one true love. There are a couple of big stories coming out of the video, the first being Jim Greco’s attack of launch ramps and darkslides, outdoing his previous best part from over 10 years ago in Baker 2G. The second—and the video’s standout in my eyes—is Erik Ellington, who also has his best showing to date. Opposite to Jim’s psychotic and technical approach, Erik is the smoothest we’ve ever seen him. Support these two and go get the video.

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Who needs a thesaurus when you have Mark Suciu around? I’m sure he could come up with better adjectives to use than determined, scholarly, well-read, poetic and talented. I can’t, unfortunately, but we can add pedantic to that list. I just learned that one. With Mark around what you’re going to get is lots of footage, and you’ll also learn a thing or two, like how to open a beer bottle with a belt buckle. You sure as hell won’t learn who wrote the poem April is the Cruelest Month. That’s because Mark is different. This is his moment, but you know what they say: the star that shines twice as bright falls twice as hard. You hear that, Mark? Here’s wishing you the best in all your endeavours, whether it be skating, schooling or photographing. Do it well you lil’ idiot. —Brennan Conroy

Go-To Tracks

Philly Food Spots

Purchases

1. “Son Of Sam,” Elliott Smith 2. “A Sunday Smile,” Beirut 3. “Baltimore Blues No.1,” Deer Tick 4. “Something On Your Mind,” Karen Dalton 5. “Step Into My Office, Baby,” Belle & Sebastian

1. Wawa 2. Pizza Rustica 3. The Foodery 4. Temple Crepe Truck 5. Wing Night

1. Plane tickets 2. Hostels 3. Cameras 4. Film 5. Gas

Cities You’ve Skated

Road Trip Essentials

Creative Lines

1. Lyon 2. Vienna 3. Philadelphia 4. Paris 5. Saratoga

1. Toothbrush 2. iPhone 3. Books 4. Passport 5. Camera

1. Dennis Busenitz 2. Silas Baxter-Neal 3. Mark Gonzales 4. Mike Carroll 5. Van Wastell

Habitat Alumni

Video Parts

Dream Destinations

1. Tim O 2. Silas 3. Pluhowski 4. Wenning 5. Renaud

1. Mike Carroll, Modus Operandi 2. Pappalardo, Photosynthesis 3. Bobby Puleo, Static II 4. Tim O’Connor, Element World Tour 5. Daryl Angel, 411 #14.4

1. Japan 2. London 3. Russia 4. China 5. Australia

Books

Homies

Canadians

1. The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera 2. If on a Winter’s Night a Traveler by Italo Calvino 3. Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury 4. The Love of the Last Tycoon by F. Scott Fitzgerald 5. Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov

1. Miguel Valle 2. Justin Ching 3. Justin Albert 4. Dan Z. 5. Penny

1. Rick Howard 2. Rick McCrank 3. Nelly Furtado 4. Neo (Keanu Reeves) 5. Mike McDermott

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words & photos

Brian Caissie

During the DC Canada trip to Arizona [p.60], every photographer’s worse nightmare came to life—my camera broke during a pivotal trick. I’ve never had this happen, but it’s always in the back of my mind, especially while shooting a trick like Micky Papa’s nollie flip overcrook on a 10-stair rail at 3 a.m. After many attempts my flashes started to misfire and I chalked it up as a battery issue. Then out of nowhere my camera’s shutter broke at around 90,000 clicks, right when Micky was grinding to the bottom. My heart sank and I thought I would miss one of the best tricks I’ve ever seen on a handrail. What could I do? I remembered that back in the early ’90s the magazines used to run video grab sequences shot on Hi-8 cameras. Today’s HD cameras have remarkable image quality, and luckily I brought my Panasonic GH-2. So I put it in video mode and filmed Micky’s trick for your viewing pleasure. This is actually a video grab sequence from the clip, but it’s hard to tell. Missing this move would’ve been a huge upset. 90

“Caissie told me what happened, but I just went back into my focus zone and decided to trust his camera magic. Next thing you know we had a super-sized celebration with all the boys!” —Micky Papa

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