Issue 117 March 2012 free
JORDAN HOfFART home s w eet home
LAS VEGAS wilson moore redmond summersides
Issue 117 march 2012
HASLAM
MACHNAU The bangkok experience
Five Spot Bryan Herman Art Blender Joe Castrucci shut down john hanlon BArrier kult deer man
DANNY BRADY F R O N T S I D E
5 - 0
BRADY BELMONT XLK
MORE INFO AT LAKAI.COM
CARLO
MORE INFO AT LAKAI.COM
LAKAI LI MI TE D FOOTWE AR THE S HOE S WE S K ATE JOHNSON / MARIANO / CARROLL / HOWARD / WELSH / BIEBEL / LENOCE / FERNANDEZ / ALVAREZ / TERSHY ESPINOZA / HAWK / WALKER / GILLET / BRADY / JENSEN / photo by Matt Price / ad #152 / lakai.com + crailtap.com supradistribution.com / lakaistickers@supradistribution.com
issue 117 • March 2012
Features
24 Store Wars 2011
Universe Boardshop
30 Everyday
toronto
Landen • Liliani • mortal
haslam & machnau
38 Skate bros
the bangkok experience
50 home is where
the hoff is
the Jordan Hoffart interview
summersides • moore
62 Las vegas sun wilson • redmond Burrito Sacrifice cover photo & caption by
Saeed Rahbaran
CAMEO WILSON is one of the most consistent skateboarders I’ve had the pleasure of photographing. He currently lives in Vancouver and comes back to Las Vegas about twice-a-year to visit his family and skate as much as possible. On this particular day I was incredibly hungry, so I decided to get a burrito at the Baja Fresh right at the top of the famous six-flat-six in Vegas. Through the window I was watching Cameo warm up with some ollies. He opened the door and told me he wanted to land a 360 FLIP first before shooting it. So I tossed my food, grabbed the gear, and by the time I walked to the set he did one perfectly. But, as promised, Cameo landed an even better one for his first-ever cover on a Canadian magazine.
Mitch Barrette - Backside nosegrind
photo
josh hotz
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visit concreteskateboarding com on your desktop or mobile device to watch the issue 117 commercial.
Concrete skateboarding
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Colby hanson - 50-50
photo
jeff delong
issue 117 • March 2012
lara mahaffey
DEPARTMENTS 10
Rise & Shine – Matt Meadows Working from home isn’t for everyone, but certainly has its advantages— one being that you can earn your keep without even putting pants on. We’ll call it the Jeffrey Lebowski Option, which is an open door for Port Moody, BC’s Matt Meadows. When he’s not dismantling scrums between Dewey the feline and Benson the Boston Terrier, Matt holds it down at his casa as a content manager for Push.ca and a regular contributor here at Concrete. Having graduated with a B.A. in Political Science from Simon Fraser University and possessing 12 years of skate mag writing experience means this deadline-driven Ottawa transplant has earned the refined palate rewards of Macallan 18-year Sherry Oak Scotch. So pour yourself two fingers neat and enjoy his piece about the 2011 C1RCA Store Wars winners (p.24), and his comprehensive Las Vegas Sun feature (p.62). mattbmeadows.blogspot.com
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14 18 20 36 76 80 88 90 92
BA.KU. Propaganda deer man of dark woods Inventory Art Blender joe castrucci past blast concrete #16 / june 1995 2011 photography statistics shut down john hanlon young bloods zazula / touchette / davies video links Sound Check nardwuar is busy doing nothing The Five Spot bryan herman
nick ia garc
backside noseblunt / barcelona, spain etnies.com
timebombtrading.com facebook.com/timebombtrading
DCSHOES.COM/SKATEBOARDING
BarRi er kult / The Range of Propaganda chapter 6: deer man of dark woods photos dylan doubt
SPREADING IDEOLAGY AS A PLAGUE begins with a powerful message and timeless actions. This becomes the vehicle that transports the “plague” great distances, and further propagating it. So it’s here that we end at the beginning, with Deer Man Of Dark Woods. Australia, Japan, China, the UK, South America, Hungary, Norway—these are just a few of the countries with subcultures influenced by his tight transition and nature worship. Often symbolically regarded as lead figure behind the Barrier Kult, it comes as no surprise that D.M.O.D.W. was summoned for the cover of our retrospective 100th issue back in 2009. This chapter consists of an entry penned by Deer Man himself, tracing back to 2002—the year when he was transformed by a new ideal, and the year when the Barrier Kult was spawned. —Frank Daniello
Still living in the British Columbia interior. The nights here along the forested roads are darker than one can imagine as there are no street lights for miles. While rolling home two nights ago, I noticed something 20 feet into the trees from the roadside ditch. I stopped to investigate, and saw an animal with a human head; the body contorted backwards so that it walked on arms and legs almost like a spider - a bastardized deer. The head had subtle elk-like horns and stared through me abysmally, looking toward the violent transition of a tree trunk with nature spiraling toward the black night sky and drawing down the moon. The sight drove me mad. I turned and ran back to the road, stumbling and flailing against the violent, grating walls of the asphalt ditch. The next day, I was changed. A renewed mindset forced me to leave any semblance of “normal” skateboarding, and the sponsors that weren’t representative of this new violent mandate were severed in order to retain purity. The Deer Man in the forest has left my brain swirling with a new mania. Violent transitions—the roadside barriers of asphalt and concrete are the driving force of this new haunted possession. The days of my skateboarding in the early ‘80s have manifested themselves into a new ascended skateboarding direction—a blood-ridden disconnect from today’s version of glorified freestyle skateboarding. I have possessed dreams of skills taken from the bastardly ‘90s that will help to spread propaganda for this new Kult movement and its eventual plagued followers. The experience has drawn one last addition to my now devoted mandate. A completion of what will become my life’s allegiance. Upon witnessing the wonderment and exquisiteness of such a beast as the Deer Man, my life’s work will be devoted to total equality between animal and man. I will go to war, defending the natural world against the torment they are forced to endure from religion and its false claims of superiority over animals. Swords drawn... to the death. —Deer Man Of Dark Woods, 2002 10
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deer man of dark woods - Pivot to Front shuv
FIFTEEN YEARS
B RIAN AN DERS O N FO URS TAR CELEB RAT ES 15 Y EA R S BLEDSOE BROPHY CARROLL GONZALES HOWARD KOSTON MALTO MARIANO O’NEILL PUIG SCHAAF TRUJILLO WAIR F O U R S TA R S T I C K E R S @ S U P R A D I S T R I B U T I O N . C O M
W W W. S U P R A D I S T R I B U T I O N . C O M
we may need to partake in the re-education of Collin Provost...
distributed by Ultimate
BOREL
KROOKED
Borel is a new Canadian company making some really dope accessory pieces, including rubber colourized belts with interchangeable buckles and functional silicone wallets with magnetic closures. Each belt and wallet is free of animal products, fully recyclable, won’t set off airport metal detectors, and they smell like lemons—for real. The belts are available in 10 colours, while the wallets have six to choose from. Fresh, functional and durable.
The art of Mark Gonzales has to be mentioned at least once in Inventory pages throughout the year, so we thought this was a cool piece to do just that. You can’t go wrong by donning a high-quality hoody to battle winter’s wrath, especially when it’s one that has Mona Lisa spoofed with the classic Krooked “Shmoo” character. Simple, effective and iconic. Thanks again, Gonz.
NEFF
LRG
Reviewing headwear can be as exciting as watching paint dry. That is, until we saw these crazy suckers! There’s no category between love and hate for the Willy 100% polyester trucker-fit snapbacks, so kudos to Neff for keeping things interesting. Stand out with these ’80s revival game changers from the Winter ’12 line.
The Lifted Research Group continues to impress and expand on its overground effectiveness with the Latitude—a classic diver’s watch look with a rotating bezel, soft silicone rubber strap, Japanese movement and a mineral crystal face. This one translates properly with most looks and is available in a host of cool colours. Give it up to LRG for continuing the evolution.
belts & wallets
MONA LISA HOODY
dlxsf.com
collection compiled by casey jones
borelinc.com
WILLY HAT
neffheadwear.com
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LATITUDE WATCH
l-r-g.com
distributed by Ultimate
LAKAI x CREATURE PICO
Not your typical collab but that’s what’s cool about it—the unexpected. Lakai teamed up with the misfits over at Creature to bring you one killer piece to skate. Flexible vulcanized construction, a tacky gum rubber outsole and a full-length shock absorbing foot bed will allow you to skate longer than it takes to convert a hearse into a road-ready vehicle. Available at finer skateshops only. lakai.com
/
creatureskateboards.com
C1RCA MAXSON
C1RCA is pushing its new shoe hard right now and for a good reason: it’s one of the lightest-yetwell-made skate shoes out there. The Maxson comes complete with a clean and stitchless toe box, a Phylon midsole, patented Fusion Grip bottom tread, and it weighs in at a mere 12 ounces. Props to C1RCA for coming through with a tech shoe that’s ready to be skated hard. c1rca.com
EMERICA x ENJOI HSU 2 LOW
It only seems proper to unite Jerry Hsu’s shoe and board sponsors in a collab. His second Pro model shoe from the black and gold now comes in a low, with a premium pig suede upper and STI Fusion Technology below. Simply put, that means a longerlasting, more flexible vulcanized construction. Now go make Jerry rich and enjoi the new shoes. emerica.com
/
enjoico.com
HUF
CHOICE
HUF is getting more and more play these days thanks to their clean pieces. Keith Hufnagel has been at it forever when it comes to the streetwear and sneaker game, so it’s only fitting that he’s at the helm here. The Choice is a straight lo-pro vulc classic that comes stacked with lots of meat underfoot, all the while looking SF-fresh. hufsf.com
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distributed by Ultimate
B
orn on the bottom left side of the Buckeye State, in Cincinnati to be exact, Joe Castrucci has traveled the world, but has always returned to the quietness and varied seasons of Ohio. For the past 13 years, Joe has been involved with all the creative aspects of Habitat Skateboards, from decks, to tees, to ads and especially videos such as 2003’s Mosaic. These days his focus is on the art that Habitat is well-known for. Rather than go to college, Joe worked at his dad’s car dealership after attending a vocational high school for commercial art. Washing cars and delivering parts wasn’t his calling, so his first
creative endeavour was at the now-defunct Strength Magazine. That is, until he answered a newspaper job posting at DNA Distribution (Alien Workshop, Habitat and other brands throughout the years) in 1998. He was hired and was there for the birth of Habitat in1999, but the brand didn’t release products until the winter of 2000. From the start Habitat has been influenced by Joe’s love of graphic design from the ’50s to ’70s, especially the work of Alexander Girard, Saul Bass, Paul Rand and Mary Blair. The look is clean yet hand done with a fine balance of tone and colour. Joe’s attention to geometry and typography is very
“Joe is one of the hardest-working humans I’ve ever met. His artwork stands alone, and I consider him a pioneer in skateboarding’s aesthetic. Habitat is unique, much like Joe. C’mon, the man-made Photosynthesis for God’s sake!” —Michael McDermott // Habitat International Pro
clockwise from top left:
Habitat TransWorld Skateboarding Ad Habitat “Bamboo Janoski” deck Habitat “Chronicle Of Time Garcia” deck Habitat “Cork Janoski” deck Habitat “Silas” deck Habitat “Lion Heart” O’Connor deck Habitat “Hole Gillette” deck Habitat “Hinderland Angel” deck Habitat “In4mation” deck Habitat “Bamboo Leaf” longboard Habitat “Mayan” beanies Habitat “Garcia” insoles 18
Concrete skateboarding
refined and classic. He also played a part in the branding aesthetic of Mike McDermott’s Green Apple Skateboard Shop in Winnipeg, MB, and hopes to do more with them when time allows. The consistency and quality of his artistic vision has set Habitat apart from many other skate brands that tend to recycle the same ideas and board layouts. While the graphics Joe creates translate easily onto skateboards, they can be just as dynamic hanging on the wall as pieces of art. —Randy Laybourne habitatskateboards.com
“Collage� By Joe Castrucci. Created exclusively for Concrete Skateboarding.
visit concreteskateboarding.com to download art blender wallpapers for your computer and iphone.
Existing as Canada’s longest-running skate magazine has its advantages, one being a deep archive that spans back to 1990. So each issue we’ll take a random look at our past…
Issue 16
June 1995 Rick McCrank switch ollie [o] Scott Serfas
Rick McCrank had just moved to Whistler to try his hand at professional snowboarding. I met him at the skatepark, and he was killing it. At the time, I was working for Thrasher and decided to invite him down to Vancouver to shoot with Moses Itkonen and Sam Devlin. We started off at some ledges out in Tsawwassen, and Moses was skating an old, beat-up board. So he grabbed a new one from the stack of freshies in the car. I remember Rick shyly asked if he could have the old one, which was is way better condition than his. I shot a few sequences of Moses before hitting New Spot downtown, where Rick asked if I would shoot him doing a switch ollie over the rail. I did just that using a Canon EOS 1V with a 15mm fisheye, Provia 100 film and a Sunpak 555 flash. It’s funny to look back at this cover and see Moses’ old board. I’m pretty sure this was the day that launched Rick’s career, because after Moses and Sam saw him skate they were blown away. That led to him skating with Colin McKay and Sluggo, which helped lead him to getting his first big-time sponsor. —Scott Serfas
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ph
: oto
jt r
es
ad
ho
RIDING HIGH UNIVERSE BOARDSHOP words
Matt Meadows
We are taught from a young age that no matter what the odds are, the only way to succeed in life is to try. Having said that, C1RCA Store Wars 2011 is proof positive that your parents and teachers were right! Somewhat of a “Cinderella story,” a small Quebec shop consisting of relatively unknown skaters came out of nowhere to win themselves a custom, limited-edition C1RCA shoe, $10,000 in electronics and media coverage from both Push.ca and Concrete. So just how did this clan from La Belle Province manage to beat out 17 other shops including heavy-hitters like Underworld and Winnipeg’s Sk8 Skates? That, my friends, is what you are about to find out.
Located in Repentigny, Que., just north of Canada’s secondlargest city, Montreal, is Universe Boardshop. With a team comprised of friends Francis Bellefeuille, Jeff Denommé, Jonathan Dawe, Alban Bachand, Alex Ryan, Félix Boisclair and filmer/editor Ben Lachance, Universe’s choice to enter Store Wars came about rather organically. “I was the first to hear about it and thought it would be great idea to enter,” says Lachance. “I ended up talking to the Quebec rep for C1RCA, and since we just got back from Barcelona, he said: ‘If you have some footage, you guys should just try!’ That was about it.” Having been working on their upcoming shop video, Sparks, the team was already sitting on a fair amount of footage that had been filmed over the previous months. And while everyone was supportive of Lachance’s choice to enter Store Wars, some had reservations on what footy to use. “It was awesome because we had been filming for the movie, and we ended up using some stuff that was going to be in Sparks,” team member Jonathan Dawe mentions. “But if we
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felix faucher
Alex Ryan frontside hurricane
would have lost, the footage couldn’t be re-used, and I guess Ben would’ve been in trouble. So, thankfully, we won!” Working with a good base of footage featuring a variety of exotic spots might have given Universe an edge in the beginning, but the team did not want to rely strictly on that. They continued to film on a regular basis, and Dawe remembered the rigorous schedule: “For the last three months, we were on a mission to finish the movie, and it got pretty serious, I suppose. Before that, we would just try to get out there and skate every chance we got.” Upon submission, the crew had time to reflect on their work and gauge the contest. Humbly, no one involved really believed that they were going to make it to the finals. With his own work being judged, even Lachance had his own personal favourite shop entry. “Since it was our first year, we didn’t really know how it would go down. I thought the Sk8 Skates clip was amazing. With such great editing and skating, I was sure they were going to take it.”
Jeff Denommé ollie over rail
Needless to say, once the team received the official word on Nov. 1, 2011 that they had won, everyone involved was shocked and ecstatic. Perhaps the most animated description of the pivotal moment came from Dawe: “Well, I was working and Jeff [Denommé] phoned me up. He told me we won, but initially I didn’t really believe him since he’s always messing with me. So I called Ben to find out for sure, still only half-believing it was true. Once I found out it was real, I was mega-stoked!” So now that the contest has wrapped up and the team is busy working on their C1RCA shoe concept as part of their prize, the question remains: Have things changed since their win? Not at all. We can safely report, in a rather ironic twist, the news was such a positive charge for this group of friends that
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instead of attending their own celebration party held at a local bar, they went back out skating. “We were just so motivated and hyped to skate again!” adds Jeff Denommé. On top of their big Store Wars win and the release of Sparks, the Universe team continues to ride a perpetual high. Even with snow falling on the city they call home, they refuse to let their spirits be dampened by the white blanket. Working on several web exclusives for Push.ca and another European skate getaway in the works for Spring 2012, we’ll be seeing more from the Repentigny shop in the near future. universeboardshop.com/wordpress
nathan ethier-myette
distributed by Ultimate
WWW TIMEBOMBTRADING COM WWW FACEBOOK COM TIMEBOMBTRADING
KYLE FREDERICK
"LUNTSLIDE 0HOTO "LABAC WWW OMITAPPAREL COM
words & photos
MIKENDO
To start this story off, let’s get a few details out of the way: My name is Mike Stanfield a.k.a. “Mikendo.” Yes, I am a Yank, for better or for worse, and yes, my claim to fame is my nasty-yeteclectic moustache. The only time I was in Toronto prior to this trip was during a random stint with the Hollywood Skateboards team back in 2003 to visit the Kill Cheerleader band and film the team demo at a hockey rink. This preceded a long night of debauchery that ended in half the team receiving third-degree burns. Not to worry, though, we took full advantage of the free Canadian
health care before we were off to re-achieve our party goals. For all I knew at the time, this could’ve been an everyday thing in Toronto So, how does a lazy, borderline-retarded American make his way to the largest city in this great Canada-land for the second time? A couple beers and exactly two emails, that’s how. Again, for all I know, handling things this way might be an everyday thing in Toronto. And just for your viewing pleasure, I shot every photo in this article half-drunk.
JESSE LANDEN - FRONTSIDE 50-50
It’s been a long time since I’ve seen a person with as much skateboarding passion as Jesse. Going on 15 years of skating, he’s been in magazines numerous times and has nothing to prove. Yet he treats every day like it might be his last day to skate. Truly a person with great heart and soul (and has a pretty good guitar strum, too), this 50-50 is very impressive considering the Mickey Mouse Canadian roll-up.
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Unlike my home of Los Angeles, California, the first thing that fascinated me about Toronto was the lack of cliques. It seemed everyone skated together, from hesh to fresh, black to white, high to sober. You get the picture. I enjoyed this aspect and the fact that everyone was beyond cool. But, again, maybe that too is just an everyday thing in Toronto. Due to the “off-season,” we visited a non-iced hockey rink on the corner of Dundas and Bathurst—aptly named Dunbat, which some of you are already familiar with. I found that it called us at least once a day, even if it was just a short, intimate visit. With ground so smooth, it had a few wooden contraptions that formed sweet manuals and ledges. A perfect meeting location, and beer was only a short downhill away. I often found myself zoned at Dunbat, watching Paul Liliani on the manny pad, or another local skater, who would partake in a “Shitake” ritual and popped
JAY BROWN - BACKSIDE TAILSLIDE
around the park fueled by the intoxicating fungus (watch the evidence here: youtu.be/hoXlzZjEn-Q). Although I’m not used to this, it appeared that a full skate scene in a hockey rink is clearly an everyday thing in Toronto. Most days were spent scouring the city with Jesse Landen, in search of new spots or recreating those that have already been skated. Oskar Szydlowski or Rob Lane from Blue Tile Lounge would be out filming, and we would be joined by fellow BTLers Jay Brown, Liliani and Pat O’Rourke, as well as Nate Olokun and Glencoe Hogle the Third. The first days in Toronto I felt at home and embraced by the local skate crowd. It became apparent that for my future visits, I would be welcomed with a couch to sleep on and a fresh beer in my hand. Maybe I just don’t notice that kind of hospitality in L.A., but it seems to be an everyday thing in Toronto.
Toronto probably has the most spots in Canada, but not enough to the locals who strive to lurk something brand new and make it skateable. With major Bondo, heavy waxing and plenty of grinding while cleverly incorporating sarcastic jokes and minor truth, Dr. Jay does a backtail correctly on this made-to-order spot by Nate Olokun and Jesse Landen.
PAUL LILIANI - BACKSIDE KICKFLIP
Paul and I spent a couple drunken nights and Dunbat days together. He skates with so much control and finesse that you don’t want to turn your head and miss a single detail. Early one evening, I captured him cranking this stylish and effortless backside flip before our regularly scheduled night nonsense.
From what everyone told me, I brought the sun, so it didn’t rain the entire time I was there, except the last day. What exactly do skaters in Toronto do when it rains (or snows, for that matter)? I wouldn’t know—I live in L.A.! So, on my one rainy Toronto day, Liliani offered to tour me down all the fancy streets, which included a hipster zone called Kensington Market. It was there that I feasted in a famous hole-in-the-wall: Patty King (187 Baldwin St.), which had a delicious beef patty modified into a sandwich. We also visited the Crows Nest (35 Kensington Ave.), which I found out is the skater-preferred barbershop, simply because the barber understands all the slang about nosebonks and lipslides. Not every city has these things, but they’re everyday amenities in Toronto. On my flight back home to L.A., I found I already missed certain things, like the streetcar that would take me to some random bar where my American swag failed to get me more than a kiss from a townie, or not landing tricks on the ultra-buttery ground at Dunbat. But mainly I missed how fucking cool everyone was! And that, my friends, is an everyday thing in Toronto.
ADAM McLAUGHLIN - DROP-IN 50-50
It takes a special eye to discover and skate something that’s new and unique, and this spot is exactly both. I didn’t know Mortal before shooting this move on the edge of a bridge, and I didn’t really see him around afterwards, but it’s evident that he’s capable of skating remarkable and dangerous spots.
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ISSUE 113 JULY 2011 FREE
20 11 Photography Statistics
THE
CHINA
SLUB BUCKS L.A. SCHOOLS INVADED
REPO RT
ISSUE 113 JULY 2011
PRESENTED BY ANDREW SZETO NEIL MAGADZIA
1.
COVER VOTE
TJ ROGERS NOLLIE KICKFLIP PHOTO · RICH ODAM ISSUE 111 · MARCH 2011 1,827 VOTES · 38%
JAN. 2 - JAN. 9 4,809 VOTES 7 COVERS
MAGAZINE TOTALS NUMBER OF PHOTOS · 285 SKATEBOARDERS ·164 PHOTOGRAPHERS · 59
PORTUGAL RECOLLECTED
PAUL LILIANI BLACKS OUT
IDENTITY ERIK ELLINGTON FIVE SPOT JOHNNY LAYTON SOUND CHECK CHAD VANGAALEN ART BLENDER ERIC WOLLAM
3.
WILSON 2. 360CORY FLIP TO FAKIE
PHOTO · BRIAN CAISSIE ISSUE 113 · JULY 2011 1,395 VOTES · 29%
TYPE OF PHOTO
STREET SPOT TYPE
STILL · 203 PHOTOS · 71.23% SEQUENCE · 82 PHOTOS · 28.77%
LEDGES · 68 PHOTOS · 27.20% RAILS · 61 PHOTOS · 24.40% GAPS · 41 PHOTOS · 16.40% BANKS · 34 PHOTOS · 13.60% STAIRS · 34 PHOTOS · 13.60%
STREET VS TRANNY STREET · 250 PHOTOS · 87.72% TRANNY · 35 PHOTOS · 12.28%
INV
ENT
ORY
RICHARD SARRAZIN FAKIE 5-0 REVERT PHOTO · ANDREW SZETO PHOTO ANNUAL · AUGUST 2011 866 VOTES · 18%
S TI L L
S TR E
LE DG E
ET
A PI E JS L
BR IA
KI CKF
RRE
IS N CA
S
LIP
SIE
FEATURED TRICKS
SKATEBOARDERS JS LAPIERRE · 9 PHOTOS · 3.17% MAGNUS HANSON · 9 PHOTOS · 3.17% CAMEO WILSON · 8 PHOTOS · 2.82% DEREK SWAIM · 8 PHOTOS · 2.82% WILL MARSHALL · 7 PHOTOS · 2.46% 36
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PHOTOGRAPHERS
KICKFLIP · 12 PHOTOS · 4.23% BS TAILSLIDE · 10 PHOTOS · 3.52% BACKSIDE FLIP · 9 PHOTOS · 3.17% 360 FLIP · 7 PHOTOS · 2.46% BS NOSEBLUNT · 6 PHOTOS · 2.11%
BRIAN CAISSIE · 75 PHOTOS · 26.32% RICH ODAM · 36 PHOTOS · 12.63% DYLAN DOUBT · 21 PHOTOS · 7.37% GEOFF CLIFFORD · 12 PHOTOS · 4.21% HENDRIK HERZMANN · 11 PHOTOS · 3.86%
M AT I XC LOT H I N G . C O M
TOREY PUDWILL SU PRADI STR I UTION.COM M AT I X ST I C K E R S @ S U P R A D I ST R I B U T I O N . C O M
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don’t know if you can put a number on that,” Paul Machnau mentions when asked how many skate trips abroad him and Chris Haslam have teamed up on over the years. “The first one was Chile, around ’06, when I was on Globe. We had to fly him in to skate the demos because it was just me and David Gonzalez. I was hating that trip until we met up with Chris, then it was one of the best times.” “That was my first trip with a big company,” Haslam chimes in. “I tend to travel by myself, but we’ve been to Australia together like five times, Hawaii, Barcelona, random stops in Canada and America, and now Thailand.” While navigating foreign lands, challenging situations do arise on and off the board. So there’s something to be said about having the confidence of rollin’ with a tried, tested and true Skate Bro. “We know what we’re gonna get,” Machnau says with a laugh. “That’s why I like traveling with Chris a lot. We’re pretty much the same as far as our goals of being on a trip.” “If it comes down to it, we can do our own thing or we can hang out,” Haslam adds. “We don’t have any weird drama or issues with each other. I know what’s going to happen with Paul, and that’s hard to find these days.” This successful dynamic was put to the test once again during an interestingly timed two-week trip to the bustling city of Bangkok, which was partly inspired by thoughts of tropical weather, an amazing Baht-to-Canadian dollar ratio (their huge five-bedroom penthouse was $150-a-night) and spots galore. But, as you’ll learn in the moderated conversation that follows, the heat was intense and there was a very real possibility of being stranded in Southeast Asia due to Thailand’s worst flood in 50 years. Fifty-eight out of 76 provinces were affected, including areas of Bangkok, as floodwaters covered nearly 15 million acres of land. But that didn’t stop Haslam and Machnau from adding identical stamps to their passports once again.
“
Singapore Sling “Chris and I have been talking about doing this sort of trip for a couple years,” Machnau begins. “At first we were trying to get out to Singapore, since he’s actually from there.” “I was in California when they asked me to do those Epicly Later’d videos,” Haslam mentions, “and I didn’t have anything to show that my real youth skating was in Singapore. I’ve always wanted to go back there and film something, like a weird history. That’s how I started thinking about this trip and it just went from there.” “But when the time came we didn’t really have a plan,” Machnau clarifies. “My girl was already in Bangkok for work, so I just asked Chris if he wanted to go there.” “I’ve been to Phuket in Thailand before, but never to Bangkok,” Haslam says. “It’s not Singapore, but it kinda reminded me of it.”
Rolling the Dice “We still didn’t know whether we were going or not until a week or two beforehand,” Machnau remembers the decision grind leading up to departure. “Everyone was just telling us not to go, and there were Government of Canada warnings about avoiding the Bangkok area because of the floods. So every day I was checking flights and reading the news. My girl mentioned first-hand that the city itself was dry for the most part, so we jumped on the plane knowing that not getting anything was a possibility.” “Going in I knew there were health issues with stagnant water and Dengue fever,” Haslam adds. “I only went from what Paul said and got messages that were all mixed up because I didn’t have a phone at the time. He’d be like, ‘I don’t know if we can go, it’s too floody,’ then I’d get a message that said: ‘Let’s do this!’ I really didn’t know what was going on, but I was down [laughs]. As a precaution, every store in Bangkok had sandbags or these cement barriers in front. A lot of people were scared.”
Heat Score “We ended up being there during the hottest two weeks,” Machnau mentions with a laugh. “It was 43°C, with like 80% humidity. Both of us would skate a spot for five minutes and our bodies were just completely soaked. You couldn’t breathe, and any time you were in the actual sun, it would drain you so fast. I’d say the first week was a struggle to get to that comfortable point where going outside was OK without wanting to run back in for air conditioning [laughs]. It was a super-slow start.” “Oh, yeah,” Haslam shakes his head in disbelief. “I was getting heatstroke every day. I wasn’t puking or anything, just insane headaches. It was easy to get really frustrated.” “I think the skate scene there is more of a night thing,” Machnau says before Haslam sarcastically points out: “They’re not as dumb as their North American friends who try to skate in 43°C, midday.”
Chris Haslam. switch frontside bluntslide.
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Chris Haslam. ollie up to quick-footed nosebluntslide.
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The Cab Hustle “We didn’t really have a tour guide for the first couple days,” Haslam explains. “The communication and language barrier with the cab guys was a nightmare. So we would basically just drive in circles.” “Then I lost my iPhone in a cab like the second day,” Machnau remembers disappointingly. “I was trying to get directions in a cab and I had two phones: my iPhone and the phone I was on with the driver of the other cab our guys were in. We were looking for a spot, and all three attempts failed. Some of the cabbies are really good there, but some of them say ‘yeah, yeah’ and take you to a random spot. They don’t seem to have street numbers in Bangkok, either.” Haslam continues: “If you go by a street name, there’s like three different places with that same name. Half of the cabbies don’t even want to mess with it, plus a third of them left Bangkok because of the floods and went back home.” “After struggling to get around for the first few days, this guy named ‘Jane’ [Janchai Montrelerdasme] helped us,” Machnau explains as the trip’s TSN turning point. “He films for Preduce Skateboards in Bangkok and speaks perfect English and Thai, so he would talk to all the cab drivers for us. As soon as we got him it was on; we were going to all these super-good spots.”
Sketchy Scene “There’s no concept of personal space there like we have in North America, especially if you’re a white guy,” Haslam begins, describing the scene in a busy bar district literally used as a location for The Hangover Part II. “They’re all in your face with signs for pussy shows. Paul almost got in a fight with one of them.” “The guy shoved one of his signs in my face, so I grabbed it out of his hand and was pretending to read it,” Machnau begins explaining the altercation. “I ended up just putting it down on another stand and it fell to the ground. So the guy came up and smacked me on the back twice! I was all pissed and bumped into him; it all just kind of escalated from there. Next thing I know, all these dudes were running up and it got sketchy so I started walking away. Luckily, that was it.” “This is all in the area where these dudes were selling knives, Tasers and Wolverine hands with spikes on them, just random stuff,” Haslam adds. “One of his homies could have had something, so we just got the hell out of there before it became a bad scene and no one would’ve known we were in Bangkok, you know?”
Paul Machnau. backside 5-0 bigflip out.
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Pay to Play “I bought my entrance into one of those bars that put on the crazy shows,” Haslam says dryly when asked about any “unique purchases” he made on the trip. “There was a vagina playing the trumpet, one that shot darts, and Paul’s brother got some weird plantain shot at him. Jordan Mayfield, who came with us to film, had a ping-pong ball shot at him that he hit back with a paddle [laughs]. I’m the sober guy and it changed from a cheap show into an expensive show real quick because you have to buy drinks.” “I got to walk a full-size tiger, it was insane,” Machnau steers the topic towards an admission fee that he was more than happy to pay. “Monks raise the tigers or whatever; we got to pet them and take them for a walk using a leash. Actually, they walk you [laughs]. There’s a monk with you in case it gets away from you, but all it would take for you to be a goner is if the tiger turned around and whacked you.”
“I missed that whole day because I wasn’t feeling too good,” Haslam says. “I just walked through the Grand Palace and checked out the Emerald Buddha temple, then laid by the pool after.” Paul explains the post-tiger-walking festivities: “We ended up at the Sai Yok Noi Waterfalls, a place me and Brian Caissie had been to before, then jumped into this party van that had disco balls, crazy lights, and a TV in it. It seemed like a four-hour trip home, and at one point I had to take a piss and the van driver wouldn’t stop. So I opened the van door and we were ripping through floodwaters. I’m just like, ‘What?’ So I’m taking a leak and my foot is dangling in the water.”
Paul Machnau. kickflip into bank.
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Chris Haslam. ride on 50-50 to pipe jam.
Magic Flick “It’s the best warm-up,” Machnau mentions when asked about playing games of S.K.A.T.E. with Haslam during their spot hustle in Bangkok. “I never play him to win, just to warm up [laughs].” “You got some tech moves on that trip,” Haslam points out. “Paul did that back 5-0 bigspin flip out, something he’s never done before. I remember the trick he was trying originally didn’t work, then he tried a different one that screwed up wrong and flipped. But once he started trying it, it was going every single time.” “Well, that’s a good thing about skating with Chris on trips,” Machnau starts into yet another upside to their long-standing Skate Bro dynamic: “I’ll learn something that I wouldn’t normally do.”
Still Standing “The first week I didn’t do shit,” Haslam admits. “I couldn’t get any photos, and I rolled my bad ankle like three times. But it was so hot, which made my foot pretty loose; it would just slip in my shoes so the rolls weren’t as bad as they probably should’ve been. I think that saved me. I took a little break and then everything I got pretty much happened in one day. I wish I knew that going into the trip, then I would’ve been less stressed [laughs]. Paul had some weird heel thing going on…” “Yeah, I blew up my shoe or something and thought I got a heel bruise,” says Machnau. “But it ended up being a giant, black blister on the back of it from sweating and sliding around in my shoe. It was close to the last day at that point; Chris and I both agreed that we were done [laughs].” With another one in the books, Machnau reflects on the duo’s challenge-riddled Bangkok experience one last time: “We knew what we were getting into and it was definitely worth it.”
Catch all the clips from this trip on February 28th at push.ca/thaivideo
SPACECRAFT // WINTER // 2012 distributed by Ultimate
The Jordan Hoffart Interview
“I’m
going up to Santa Barbra tomorrow for a screening of the new Bones Brigade documentary.” Jordan Hoffart tells me over the phone when I call him from my San Diego hotel room. Jordan is one of the lucky few that gets to see the final cut of the film before anyone else. Sure, he’s lucky, Jordan tells me, but it also means more time away from his baby. “Last night I woke up at three in the morning and started in on it again,” he says. No, the stork didn’t recently visit the Hoffart residence. “I just started cutting floorboards,” he continues. Jordan’s baby is a recently foreclosed home that Jordan snapped up for next-to-nothing (in real estate terms) in Vista, California—just outside San Diego. His curious, and in this case, insomniainducing drive doesn’t surprise Sean Hayes,
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“If I was going to describe it in one word, I would say tenacity.” No longer FSUing with security and the like, Sean now has the somewhat more awesome job of performance coach to some of modern skating’s all stars, Ryan Decenzo, Scheckler, and Jordan was one of his first clients. Think of Sean as the Tony Robbins of the skate world, except I would picture more medicine balls and ankle exercises than infomercials and sharp suits. “He just goes after it and won’t stop until he’s done. He’s either successful or dead,” Sean laughs when we spoke on the phone. A few days later, I’m en route from the Carlsbad Motel 6, passing In-N-Outs and mini putt courses on the 78 freeway looking for the Vista exit. I’m getting a firsthand look at chez Hoffart as well as an opportunity to pick his brain, so long as I don’t have to help with the grouting.
Words: Andrew Norton Design: Randy Laybourne
“I came into this completely blind.”
Feeble grind pop-out Photo: Deville Nunes I wind down a narrow street trying to pick out which bungalow on this palm tree-lined block is Jordan’s. When I see a white pick-up with a Powell sticker on the back window and a black Nova with OHHNOVA plates, I have a suspicion I’ve arrived. I’m here at 11 a.m., a foreign hour for most skaters. Jordan hollers at me from the bedroom window to let myself in. I ask how the Nova is working. He just laughs. I take that as a cue to stop asking about it. The living room is completely torn up except for a freshly refinished fireplace. The rest of the house is in a similar state of disrepair… makeshift tool benches have all sorts of fancy and dangerous-looking power tools set up on them. Scattered about are new appliances, outlets and other odds and ends.
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It almost looks as if Jordan knows what he’s doing. Just then he comes out of the only part of the house that resembles a normal, livable room to give me a formal tour of the joint, starting with where he plans on making a bookcase that reveals a secret passage. I mean, where else would you start? Jordan’s tiny French bulldog, Elfie, and Dragon, his scrappy Brussels Griffon, burst out of his room chasing each other. “No. Fuck, no!” Jordan tells me in earnest when I ask if he’s naturally a handyman. “I came into this completely blind.” Lucky for him, his girlfriend, who moved into this bargain “fixer-upper,” Jordan also has another partner in this project: his longtime Bones and Powell
frontside kickflip Photo: Deville Nunes teammate, Josh Hawkins. “I don’t know where he learned how to do it, but he can do everything. It’s really weird. But once I start taking shit apart, you kinda understand how to put it back together, you know what I mean?” Jordan says as we finish our tour of what someone with a lot of imagination would call the master bath. “Except electrical and plumbing… you kinda don’t want to fuck that up.” He adds. I hesitate to ask if he’s speaking from experience. “Josh was kind of feeling removed in AZ I think, so I just told him he could help me renovate this house and live here for free and then we could just go skate every day, ya know?” It’s not often in Southern California that an alien enlists the help
of an American to help with his home reno, but the deal seems to be working out for Jordan and Josh. This is nothing new for them, really. “Honestly, it’s so cliche to say it’s a family kind of thing, but I mean, I’ve ridden for Skate One [Bones, Powell] for 10 years, so it really is a family at that point. Josh is like my brother pretty much and then Jared [Lucas, Bones TM], we’ve been best friends forever, you know what I mean? BFFs.” Jordan laughs, but going from a bright-eyed kid with a penchant for neon mesh clothes in Maple Ridge to an established Pro living in California is a dream many have tried to pull off, but few have. Jordan says that without clicking with the dudes at Powell and Bones—Hawkins, Jared and Powell TM and photographer Deville
nollie 5-0 Photos: Bart Jones Nunes—he wouldn’t be where he’s at right now. Missing an opportunity to give himself a pat on the back, Jared was quick to downplay his own role. “He’s always known what he needs in order to make it being a Canadian skater and tried to break the mold.” According to Jared though, Jordan does perpetuate one nasty Canadian stereotype: niceness. “Hanging out with his mom, his dad, his sister and a lot of his friends, I think it’s a product of your environment scenario,” he continues. “No one in his family ever really talks about themselves unless you ask them. They are so interested in what’s going on in your life.” Weird, right?
Back at his place in Vista, Jordan cracks open the glass door to his three-tiered backyard and his dogs rush past us. The lush yard, complete with a massive avocado tree, takes up twice the real estate of his actual house. “Enjoy what you’ve got and build on that.” Jordan tells me when I bust out my best Barbara Walters interview question and ask what advice would he give to himself when he was first coming to California. It’s a surprisingly concise bit of wisdom considering I put him on the spot. Come to think of it, maybe he just ripped it off of a Home Depot commercial. But I forgot that I’m talking to a dude who has his Pro model Adio shoe sitting in his bedroom closet—a shoe that was set to be produced but never saw the light of day. It even had a release date: Summer 2011. That must sting, even for someone who is used to the ups
“Electrical and plumbing… you kinda don’t want to fuck that up.”
bluntslide Photo: Deville Nunes Concrete skateboarding
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“Enjoy what you’ve got and build on that.”
nosegrind pop-out Photo: Rodent and downs of grinding as a professional skater. “I should have never gotten my hopes up 100 per cent, but when I had the shoe in my hand, I was pretty confident that it was going to happen. Then they kind of just pulled the plug out of nowhere. We didn’t see it coming. “But it’s like, ‘Dude your riding a skateboard,’ it’s not like you’re providing a service. People are hooking you up to do what you do anyway,” adds Jordan with the air of someone whose been through worse. But if Adio was the last low point in his career, his latest board graphic with Powell is no doubt the high point, and a pretty damn good one. Thanks to Stacy Peralta getting back on board and bringing the other half of the Powell-Peralta namesake with him earlier this year, legendary
skate artist VCJ [Vernon Courtland Johnson] was also back into the fold. If you’re not old enough for that name to conjure up images without a Google search, think the OG Hawk skull, the Cab dragon, or the legendary ripper. And the latest item in VCJ’s legendary Powell-Peralta portfolio? An original board graphic for Mr. Hoffart. And this isn’t something he just scribbled down for a pay cheque. Jordan was invited to his compound in Santa Barbara, complete with babbling brook out front where VCJ then proceeded to tell Jordan about his past lives as a warrior. “I was just standing there like, ‘Alright.’ So he showed me a book of all the past drawings he did and then we had like a little peace pipe smoking sesh, and then we just kind of took it from there.” Wherever the ride was going, Jordan was right there. “I’m not gonna pretend I know how it works, you know?” Like some sort of ritualistic right of passage straight from
360 flip Photo: Bart Jones Animal Chin, Jordan got a glimpse into the mind of one of skateboarding’s forefathers. He flipped through hundreds of sketches VCJ had been working on for him—a project he dedicated six months to. In the end, Jordan got the original sketch of the epic Pegasus permanently inked onto his arm, a spot he had reserved ever since he first knew the collaboration was happening. “How many people get to say that they’ve got a VCJ original graphic made for them?” Fair enough. Jordan is under the avocado tree at the far end of his backyard gesturing with his hands showing me where the roll-in and the channel is going to be for the Guacamole Bowl, a backyard pool him and Hawkins plan on making a reality. Oh and some hubbas coming off the back porch to hit before you roll into the bowl.
Looks like besides being his head contractor, Hawkins’ unique, weird-yet-awesome penchant for spots has rubbed off on Jordan as he shows me where he plans on building a snake run that ends in a quarterpipe on the driveway. Just then his French bulldog drops the ball in his mouth, makes a hideous noise, pukes on the deck and runs away. Jordan doesn’t miss a beat. “It’s gonna be a little skate land, dude.” With the help of the obstacles he’s building at his place, Jordan wants to go off the beaten path and take his powerful skating to some new canvases, rather than just larger stair counts for his next video project. An idea most Pros don’t have click until their third ankle surgery. It isn’t that far from what Jordan has been doing in his Concrete skateboarding
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tailslide 360 shuv Photo: Deville Nunes latest parts anyways. “He’s always thinking of weirder stuff to do and it just works for him. For instance, in the Bones video, where he did the nollie back heel noseslide-tailslide down the bank. We’ll film a lot of stuff like that.” Jared tells me. “Young kids are throwing themselves down stuff trying to get famous. Let’s do something different, something fun—keep skating interesting.” Jordan says from his back porch. “We want to make a video to pump kids to, like, do that shit.”
Him and Hawkins are currently working on their own take on an “Internet part” with the house playing a starring role. In the spirit of Powell-Peralta’s classics that go beyond on-board action, the dudes want to make sure the video is more than just hammer after hammer. Skate hammer that is, the other kind... he better get used to. Ryan Erie (the electrician), Josh Hawkins, and Jordan.
“How many people get to say that they’ve got a VCJ original graphic made for them?”
kickflip noseslide Photo: Bart Jones
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QUIKSILVER
SKATEBOARDING
COLLECTION
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Weekday Edition
No. 117, Monday, February 20, 2012
Sun
L a s Vegas words
Las Vegas has always been an American enigma. A town popularized by the dream of hitting it big but built on the backs of those who lose it all. Simply put, love it or hate it, the city is a beast unto itself. Today’s Las Vegas has become somewhat of a paradox in my eyes. Perhaps it’s how the tourism industry has sold its image in recent years. While it still embraces the steadfast principles of gambling, clubbing and a no-holds-bars spray tan adventure, it
Matt Meadows
photos
Rich Odam
design
Kelly Litzenberger
has also pushed to become a family friendly destination. With such a dichotomy, I have always imagined there was more to the city than meets the eye. That’s why when I heard that Rich Odam and Brian Caissie had gathered a crew of Canada’s finest young talent and taken them to the desert city, I needed to find out what the real Las Vegas was all about! I mean… there must be a reason these two veterans
of skate documentation choose Vegas over a more straightforward and standard California skate trip, right? So, with notepad in hand and mission in mind, I began to gather all the info I could on their trip to “Sin City.” After having accumulated varying accounts of the week-long voyage, for once it can safely be said: “What happened in Vegas is not staying there.”
TODAY
TOMORROW
97 /74
95 /73
o
o
fahrenheit outlook
Dan Redmond..................64-65,70 Drew Summersides................66-67 Cory Wilson..........................68-69 Nick Moore...........................71-73
Not quite Ocean’s Eleven, but close
I
t seems like in every film you see, the choice to head to Vegas is made on a whim. Typically, a group of disillusioned men become frustrated with their everyday mundane lives and make a snap decision, after which hilarity ensues. And while there exists the common theme of the need to break with the every day, the foundations for this trip were laid some time back. Initially spawned from the minds of Brian Caissie, Rich Odam and Paul Machnau, the legendary Red Star skater was forced to back out due to pre-existing engagements. Never ones to give up on a plan until it’s seen through to fruition, Caissie and Odam pulled out their proverbial “little black books” and sent out an open invitation to those they thought could come. Enter Cory
Wilson, Dan Redmond, Andrew Summersides and Nick Moore. With the promise of avoiding Vancouver’s fall rain and not a lot of time to hit up their sponsors, each skater dug deep into their pockets to make the seven-day trip happen. Upon the crew’s arrival Stateside, all seemed to have gone rather smoothly—until Odam realized one member missed his flight, and that member would be “Nugget” [Nick Moore]. “I’m not even sure how he missed it ’cause it’s not like he could’ve slept in for a flight that leaves at 6 p.m.,” Odam explains. “So he had to get a flight the next day. After we went to pick him up from the airport, we went straight to a spot and he ended up getting the first photo, straight off the plane—a pretty sick comeback!”
Dan Redmond
Switch flip nose manny shuv-out
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Drew Summersides nollie flip
Vegas, baby. It’s all business!
O
ne can only imagine the trouble that can ensue when you let four up-and-coming Canadian AMs loose in Sin City. Up 24/7, fraternizing with the seedy Las Vegas underbelly and women of the night… trouble indeed! Although, when you have your eye on the prize, there is no time for shenanigans of this sort. Amongst the pillars of work ethic and professionalism, Dan Redmond recounted how the crew ended up breaking all the stereotypes.
“None of us really gambled, but we hit the odd slots and lost a few bucks,” Redmond recalls. “That was pretty much it for gambling. Cory Wilson, Nick Moore and Drew Summersides were all businessmen when it came down to skating and having fun, which made the trip a blast. “As far as staying away from the nightlife, we were all pretty good. Considering we skated all day, every day, it didn’t leave much energy other then to have a couple brews at the hotel afterwards. But, I would say, I was more of the abstainer out of the crew seeing how I don’t party or drink much these days.”
Drew Summersides backside 180
Doubling down: Summersides skates like a boss
W
hether it was determination stemming from the desire to impress on his first major trip, or perhaps it was merely the energy of a skate-minded youth, we will never really know. Yet one fact is known for certain—Andrew Summersides made the most of his time south of the border. Often leaving Odam unprepared, the photographer remembered, “Summersides was definitely handling business. He’s really good and a bit of a newcomer, and
this was one of his bigger trips. Caissie and I would just be chilling at a spot while people were warming up, then out of nowhere Andrew would just throw down a hammer when no one was expecting it. We weren’t prepared to shoot, so we’d tell him: ‘You gotta go do it again.’ Then Andrew would just rattle off a bunch of tricks first-try. We tried to let him know that we need a heads-up! He is just one of those dudes that gets something in his head and just does it right away.”
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Cory Wilson
ollie up to frontside ollie
The Dew Tour and rolling like PLG
S
ince the crew maintained a strict regiment of skating, by week’s end there was time to blow off a little steam. Like an omen from the party gods, it just so happened that the Dew Tour finals had wrapped up that day. Connecting with fellow Canucks Jordan Hoffart, the Decenzo brothers and PLG, a Vegas-style night out was unavoidable. “The Hard Rock has this crazy-ass club that’s all snazzy,” Odam begins recalling the evening. “But basically, we were at this little bar at the casino with all
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homies, so once the time comes to roll to the club, it was like: ‘Let’s roll with PLG!’ So about 30 of us rolled behind him to the club, and all of us skipped the line full of all these dudes dressed up for the $30 cover. We just walked through in T-shirts and jeans! Straight up, we got this one dude escorting us through the club to the VIP lounge with bottle service. We had big-ass bottles of Grey Goose and whatever you wanted to mix with it! That was the way to do it, but I was all crackers and water the next day.”
Cory Wilson Bigger flip
Dan Redmond
Nollie backside flip to fakie manny 180
The quintessential Vegas story
T
here exists an unwritten rule that states: Anyone who visits Las Vegas must leave with an unimaginable, jaw-dropping story. Not surprisingly, one member of the group had to pay the dues for everyone else to escape such a tale. So, much like a scene from the film The Hangover, Nick Moore described the rest of the Dew Tour Night.
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“Ryan Decenzo and PLG ended up winning the damn Dew Tour, which led to a crazy night of partying at the Hard Rock. By the end of the night, I found myself in handcuffs and banned for life from the Cosmopolitan Hotel [laughs]. Long story short, Rich, Brian, and I went to this hotel late in the night. Brian knew these Jäger girls doing some promo in Vegas, and they had this ballin’ room for the weekend. Anyways, Rich was blackout
Nick Moore ollie
and puked in the living room without anybody noticing. We left the room shortly after and just as we got outta the elevator, two dudes that were paying for the room came after us and started pushin’ Rich around and confronting him about the puke. Rich was way too drunk to know what was going on, so I ended up stepping in and slapped the dude pretty good. Next thing I know, I was in cuffs and being questioned by a bunch of cops; they read me my rights and told me I’m never allowed to set foot in the hotel again.” Concrete skateboarding
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Knocking it off the bucket list
N
ow having visited one of the “must-see” cities in the world, I was curious to find out whether the guys would be interested in returning. “I will go back as soon as I have the funds again,” noted Dan Redmond. “I highly recommend anyone who skates to make a trip out there.” Even after being banned from the Cosmo, Nick Moore still gave the city a glowing review: “I’d love to go back too! It’s a cheap winter getaway with tons of good skating and enough touristy shit to keep yourself busy for days.” So, as the city continues to remain paradoxical by reputation, it has now been proven you can leave Vegas with money in your wallet and good memories to boot. Who knew?
Catch all the clips from this trip on March 6th at push.ca/vegasvideo
Nick Moore switch blunt
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"!22)%2+5,42)$%3 3+5,,7).'02/4(2%%3
$)342)"54%$ "9 5,4)-!4% photo: judah oakes
with
words and photos
Brian Caissie
John Hanlon
Heelflip
One spot. One session. Three serious moves with sequential evidence as proof. Finding new spots to skate in Vancouver can be quite the hunt, especially a perfect one like this. To be honest, I only came across the place because I was lost. Sometimes all it takes is a little luck. After finding this double set, I figured I better take some people there quick before the next guy does. To my knowledge, John Hanlon was the first to get tricks there. He gave it an ollie first, and got a true sense of just how long it is and how fast he needed to go. There were some cranky old people that weren’t happy with us skating there, so we had to go before the cops came.
But John is the type of skater who just goes for it, so the heelflip happened first try. Then, after a few attempts, he landed a high-speed hardflip as well. Totally satisfied he sat down to take a rest, thinking it was the end of the session. I just mentioned that he should try 3-flipping it and, of course without hesitation, he conquered it a few tries later. All in, it was about a 30-minute session. To me that’s a perfect day—no injuries and getting three sequences on a newly built, never-been-skated double. You’re a true inspiration, John. 360 Flip
Hardflip
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).42/$5#).'
$%3425#4/IGJ8@H #/-รณรณรณ\รณรณรณ&!#%"//+ #/- 9:HIGJ8ID425#+3รณรณรณO รณ0(/4/รณ รณ6GID3!!2)รณรณรณรณ distributed by Ultimate
รณDH86G-%:!
age:
20
sponsors:
lives:
Cloverdale, BC Coastal Riders Shop, Osiris Shoes (flow), Red Star Skateboards (flow)
The first time I really met Jordan was a couple years back when I was trying to film a line with him at UBC. After a couple attempts, he said, “Hey, think you could maybe back up? You’re sketchin’ me out.” In my head I was like, “Pfft, I’m over filming this kid.” Now he’s one of the first dudes I call up because he’s positive and super down to skate. Even if he doesn’t have a trick for the spot, he’ll just soul skate it to keep the homies hyped. I’m real stoked people are startin’ to back Zaz. —David-Wayne Stevens 80
Concrete skateboarding
photos brian caissie
Frontside Crook shuv
age:
23
sponsors:
lives:
Quebec city, QC Empire, ULC skateboards, LRG, Vans, Is eyewear and Ifound
Gab has been a royal pain in the ass these past few years. Not because he’s a dick or anything, it’s just that I’m stubborn about the whole corruption-of-the-system-Illuminati deal that he militates for so badly. While on missions, I thought that if Gab didn’t land his trick he might finally soften up and admit that it was all just a big joke. Well, it’s been a while now, and guess what? I give up, because Touchette is an Illuminati and always gets his tricks. I now believe. —Reno Gagnon 82
Concrete skateboarding
photos reno gagnon
KIckflip
distributed by Ultimate
photos jay delaney
back tail backside flip
age:
20
sponsors:
lives:
Vancouver, BC HUF, Santa Cruz, Filmbot Grip
Adam recently moved to Vancouver from Australia to chase the “Canadian dream,” so not many have seen nor conceived the ass whoopin’ he’s about to put on our rain-battered concrete. Right out of the gates, Adam has been on a mission that our winter weather can’t even stop. It’s great to see the passion, hard work and good attitude he brings to his skateboarding. Look out for him in 2012. —Jay Delaney
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Concrete skateboarding
concreteskateboarding concreteskateboarding.com .com
mitch pryma nollie backside kickflip photo photo will will jivcoff jivcoff
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Est. 1990: Canada’s original skateboard magazine
PUBLISHER Kevin Harris
EDITOR-in-chief Frank daniello
frank@concreteskateboarding.com
Ad Sales Manager Casey Jones
PHOTO EDITOR / staff photographer Brian Caissie brian@concreteskateboarding.com
ART DIRECTOR Dave Keras
davek@concreteskateboarding.com
casey@concreteskateboarding.com
dave@justdontsleep.com
Video Specialist David Ehrenreich
associate designers Randy Laybourne Kelly Litzenberger
copy editor Stephanie lake
Administration Dave Buhr
Intern Keaten Saba
Contributing Photographers Saeed Rahbaran, Josh Hotz, Jeff Delong Lara Mahaffey, Dylan Doubt, Felix Faucher Nathan Ethier-Myette, Mikendo, Deville Nunes Bart Jones, Rodent, Rich Odam, Reno Gagnon Jay Delaney, Will Jivcoff, William R. Jans
Contributing Writers Saeed Rahbaran, Deer Man Of Dark Woods, Casey Jones, Randy Laybourne, Scott Serfas, Matt Meadows, Mikendo, Andrew Norton, David-Wayne Stevens, Reno Gagnon, Jay Delaney, David Ehrenreich, Jenny Charlesworth, Robert Brink
Concrete skateboarding is Distributed 6 times annually by Ultimate Skateboard Distributors inc. // east: 705.749.2998 // west: 604.279.8408 Subscriptions: 1 Year for $19.95 (includes shipping / taxes) – 6 issues including The Photo Annual subscribe online at concreteskateboarding.com or send cheque / money order to: Concrete Skateboarding Subscriptions | 150 - 11780 River Rd. | Richmond, BC | V6X 1Z7 concrete accepts unsolicited submissions, but is not responsible if such materials are lost or damaged. submissions sent via letter-mail must include a self-addressed stamped envelope for return sending. for further submission inquiries, contact submissions@concreteskateboarding.com. for retailer inquiries in regards to carrying concrete, please contact info@concreteskateboarding.com.
NEXT ISSUE: issue 118 // April 16, 2012
hubbawheels.com
exclusively distributed by Ultimate
curated and written by
David Ehrenreich
A year ago the general consensus in the skate world was that Emerica’s Stay Gold might be skateboarding’s last big production, and that web videos would crush the full-length format. Maybe the budgets for exotic international filming missions have diminished, but the people have found a way and amazing videos keep pouring out…
THE S B C H RON IC L E S VOL . 1
CHICKEN BONE NOW ISON
itunes.apple.com/ca/movie/nike-sb-chronicles-vol.-01/id483151794
shakejunt.com/chickenbone
More so than anyone else over the last couple years, Jason Hernandez has been known for converting even the most diehard hard VX fans to HD. He helped launch dolly tracks and GoPros into the skateboard filmer’s repertoire then stopped using them, even before they were played out. He’s used emerging technology to make skating look great, not to gloat and show it off. Long story short, the ever-impressive Hernandez released yet another entertaining, fast-paced and well-shot skateboard video for Nike SB. This one happens to star, most notably, SOTY Grant Taylor and Stefan Janoski. These two are great subjects for any videographer, considering most of us would watch upside-down Blackberry footage of them filmed by my mom. This one’s an iTunes purchase that’s well worth the $4.99, and Wieger Van Wageningen’s part gets my vote for Best Song In A 2011 Video Part with David Bowie’s “Big Brother.”
Dustin Dollin is one of the most entertaining skateboarders of all time. I read an interview where he credits recklessness for his success in skateboarding; despite an undeniable level of skill, I think he’s right. Dustin’s complete lack of regard concerning bodily harm makes him spontaneous and amazing to watch in Shake Junt’s latest offering. My second-favourite section features Justin “Figgy” Figueroa and Don “Nuge” Nguyen skating fast to rock ‘n’ roll. Third favourite part goes to Reynolds and Herman, who skate to UGK’s “International Players Anthem,” which is awesome. You get where this is going—Shake Junt made an hour-long video, and all your favourite Baker and Deathwish heads are represented. It’s another gift to skateboarding from the guys who almost lost it all to drugs but spun a 180 and made some of the best skateboard videos of the last 10 years.
PO I S O N O U S P ROD U C T S
116TH PRODUCTIONS
theoriesofatlantis.com/site/store/poisonous_products_dvd
y outube.com/ 116thPr oductions
As the story goes, weeks after finishing his previous video in 2010, Elephant Direct, Jeremy Elkin relocated to the Big Apple from his home in Montreal. He immediately began production on another independent video, Poisonous Products, named after the 1992 track released on Boogie Down Productions’ Sex and Violence album. Whether or not Jeremy’s concept was clear from the start, the project became an ambitious undertaking: all lines, all New York, all set to New York hiphop recorded off vinyl. Lucky for us, his self-enforced constraints have once again created an absolute gem that showcases East Coast legends: Bobby Worrest and Jimmy McDonald to Dan Pensyl and German Nieves. The flow and edit is so quick that no one is highlighted specifically except for the city and its streets. Search around because you’ll want to hold on to a hard copy of this video.
David-Wayne Stevens has been documenting the rise of Lower Mainland skaters from Surrey, North Delta and beyond for years, and he recently enlisted Ethan Craig as a 116th Productions contributor. A quick peruse through the YouTube channel will turn up heavy-hitters: Magnus Hanson, Mike “Hashbrown” Schulze, Sascha Daley, Paul Machnau [see more of him in The Bangkok Experience feature on p.38], the Decenzo brothers, and John Hanlon [find his three-trick Shut Down on p.76]. David was also the man behind the lens for Coastal Riders’ winning entry in the 2010 C1RCA Store Wars video contest. The CSTL crew got custom shoes out of the deal, and David was outfitted with $5,000 worth of the latestand-greatest from the camera gear department. Now he’s tasked with keeping it safe out in the mean streets of Surrey, BC.
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Concrete skateboarding
william r. jans words
Jenny Charlesworth
Nardwuar the Human Serviette deals in Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon for a living. So to hear the Canadian icon explain the premise behind his Busy Doing Nothing compilation is nothing short of impressive. In typical fashion, the interviewer extraordinaire rattles off a hodgepodge of dates and obscure music trivia detailing the new album, which features tracks by his own band The Evaporators as well as acts likes Andrew W.K., Franz Ferdinand and Sage Francis covering The Dishrags and other seminal Vancouver bands. “I just totally love the idea of Franz Ferdinand, from England, covering The Pointed Sticks, and The Pointed Sticks are one-time signed to an English label Stiff, so it’s like the Pointed Sticks are going back to England,” Nardwaur tells Concrete in a succession of TV-ready sound bites. This isn’t the first comp the man in plaid has compiled. There was 1989’s Oh God, My Mom’s on Channel 10! followed by Clam Chowder & Ice vs. Big Macs & Bombers in ’91. But if you’re going to break things down Nardwaur-style, it’s 1995’s Skookum Chief Powered... Teenage Zit Rock Angst that’s responsible for Busy Doing Nothing as it was the 2009 Andrew W.K./Evaporators split seven-inch single A Wild Pear that inspired this latest project. 90
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“This girl Sue from Caroline Records really enjoyed Skookum… and she was an early mentor to Andrew W.K., or at least lent him some of my records and a video tape,” says Nardwaur. “So, he’d actually seen my interview with Sonic Youth on VHS tape before he did an interview with me. And he told me, ‘I am the way I am today in interviews because I saw the way Sonic Youth treated you. I said to myself: I never want to treat someone that way.’” Nardwaur has a way of winning people over with his guerilla tactics (though sometimes it’s more “F-U!” than “Doot Doo!” as you’ll see from that brutal chat with Thurston Moore and Co. back in ’91—look it up on YouTube). In fact, Busy Doing Nothing’s all-star contributors have all been in the ring with the tenacious music junkie. But there’s one Nardwuar vs. regular who, despite once inviting Nardwaur to drop by his decked-out mansion, couldn’t commit to the 12-track/oneinterview compilation album. “We have a song called ‘Hot Dog High’ and Sage Francis raps on it, but I also wanted Snoop Dogg on it,” says Nardwuar. “I did contact him and his people got back to me. It just didn’t work out, but I really wanted him to sing a verse.” Snoop might not be dropping rhymes on the LP, but the guests on the disc do it more than
justice—so, too, does the companion punk rock calendar courtesy of renowned Vancouver music photographer Bev Davies. “I’m more of a Post-It notes guy; I put my PostIt notes right into my Day-Timer, or I put them on my phone, on my food… but I really love a calendar as art,” says Nardwaur. “Every picture in the 40-page punk rock calendar comes with commentary from the bands involved in the record. So, you can have Andrew W.K. telling a story about a picture of Iggy Pop like, that Iggy’s first band, The Iguanas, played a gig at a house that Andrew W.K.’s parents once ended up moving into—incredible stuff like that.” That Nardwuar is able to hunt down such factoids is what’s truly incredible. But then, after starting your career with a beat-down from Sonic Youth, you’d probably have incentive to dig deep for lesser-known details, too. Some might say it’s a case of being “busy doing nothing,” but others, N.E.R.D.’s Pharrell for instance, will tell you that it paves the way for “one of the most impressive interviews I’ve ever experienced in my life.” Either way, you know Nardwaur is going to “keep on rockin’ in the free world.”
nardwuar.com
Bryan Herman Not sure if you’ve noticed or not, but Bryan Herman has slowly become one of those skaters … you know, the kind who’s footage is so proper and enjoyable that there never seems to be enough of it.
brian caissie
Some dudes do their tricks well, but Bryan has a knack for doing them as good as they can possibly be done. Effortless. One might argue he created a picnic table resurgence and then practically, if not totally, shut it down all in one video part—Stay Gold. Sometimes I wonder if he’s even trying. Bryan makes you smile: it’s in his voice, his vocabulary, his demeanour, and his answers to questions and reactions to what goes on around him. He always appears to be having fun on board and off. And if you haven’t figured that out by now, it’ll be pretty obvious once you finish reading his Five Spot. —Robert Brink
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Canadians
Pocket Items
Nicknames
1. Jamie Tancowny 2. Cameo Wilson 3. Rick Howard 4. Colin McKay 5. Josh Evin R.I.P.
1. Smokes 2. Lighter 3. Papers 4. Sticky icky 5. Always gotta have a lil’ cash
1. “Bherm” 2. “Hermdog” 3. “White Diamond” 4. “Hermanator” 5. “Big Herm”
Tricks
Websites
SKate Destinations
1. Hardflip 2. Tre Flip 3. Nollie Flip 4. Nollie Inward Heel a.k.a. Inguardo 5. Switch Frontside Flip, luh dat!
1. shakejunt.com 2. pharmacyboardshop.com 3. emericaskate.com 4. thrashermag.com 5. skateparkoftampa.com
1. Wilshire 10/15 2. Gardner picnic tables 3. Picnic table spot with the oranges 4. NoHo Skatepark 5. The Biebel park
Dream Cars
Albums
Beverages
1. 1963 Split-Window Corvette Coupe 2. 1964 Chevelle Malibu SS 3. 1956 210 Handyman Chevy Station Wagon 4. 1967 AMC Rebel 5. 1965 Chevy 2 Nova
1. Project Pat: Ghetty Green 2. Pink Floyd: The Dark Side of the Moon 3. Black Sabbath: The Best of Black Sabbath 4. Graveyard: Graveyard 5. SKS: Labor Day
1. Coors Light 2. CL smooth 3. Jameson 4. Coke 5. Coffee
Off-board activities
Shake junters
Tour Bros
1. Ping-pong 2. Chillin at PHARMACY Hollywood 3. Building hot rods at Pacific Paint & Body in Hesperia/Victorville 4. Gardening 5. More ping-pong!
1. Flip Nasty 2. Neen Williams 3. Shane Heyl a.k.a. the GOAT 4. Brian Michaud a.k.a. B! 5. Erik Hamamoto a.k.a. Mkultra
1. Kevin “Spanky” Long 2. Brian “Slash” Hansen 3. Don “The Nuge” Nguyen 4. Andrew Reynolds 5. Beagle One-Ism
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