PS118 Issue 4: Art, Culture, Skateboarding

ISSUE 4

PS118

ART CULTURE SKATEBOARDING

MILES CANEVELLO

PS118 CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS MATTHEW PRICE JAYSN VALENTINE PETER VLAD ANDY WISSMAN ERIC ANDERSON GAGE HELLYER PATRICK DRISCOLL JUSTIN GUTHRIE

COPY EDITOR ARI SHIFFRIN

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS BRIAN MASTERSON CONNOR HOWITT ZAK ROSEBRUGH MAXWELL DOPE

note from the publisher Dear reader, During the past three months we’ve strived to put together a magazine that not only delivers some of the best of the best in Arizona skateboarding, but also informs and entices the like minds of our culture through artist interviews, skater profiles, and relevant advertisements. We’ve focused on producing powerful imagery and captivating articles that are specifically meaningful to the skateboarding community that Arizona has fostered. Thank you for taking the time to check out this magazine. It’s full of uniquely talented people that I’m happy to call my friends, and I’m stoked to have the opportunity to document their lifestyles. I hope you have as much fun looking through it as I had making it!

Tommy Kowalski, Tommy Kowalski Creator

WWW.PS118MAGAZINE.COM

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TUNAGE

AARON GOURE

KEA SMITH

VLADS CORNER

ROBBIE BROCKEL

JACKONS GIBBS

PHOTOG: DRISCOLL

RAD ONE TAKES OVER

THE PHOENIX LIGHTS

04 CALEB SCHRANK

EXPOSURES

ANTICRAP

DECK PARK

WORDS

TUSCONIANS

ANDREW JACQUEZ

“

JOHN ONEAL

BRIMLEY BROS

PS118

Jeremy Sneath

BACK CRAILSLIDE

GAP TO LIP | OLLIE TO STREET

Dakoda Osusky

TUNAGE

{What the hell are youths listening to nowadays }

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BRIGHT BLOOMS FOR DARK CORNERS (ADEODAT WARFIELD)Ryan Sublette is always creating new post electric style music to get creative to, and not only on a skateboard.

FUZZ (FUZZ)Long time Garage Punk Ty Segall teams up with bandmates Charles Moothart and Roland Cosio to bring back an old era of sabbath sounding metal with some punk.

EAT LIKE LISA ACT LIKE BART (JAPANTHER)The post punk noise of Japanther, coming all the way from New York, has been hitting the ear buds of AZ’s mini shredders.

MADVILLANY (MADVILLAN)- One of the most influencial experimental hip hop albums, madvillan takes 1950’s audio samples and makes art.

MERRIWEATHER POST PAVILLION(ANIMAL COLLECTIVE)-The dudes from animal collective make an indie feel good electronic vibe sound that’s great to skate to.

(self titled) FIDLAR- Skater punk band fidlar combines loud lyrics about beer and wasted youth with chord guitar riffs.

ALL COVER ART COURTESY OF THE ARTISTS BLOGS

PHOTOS: KOWALSKI

ISSUE 4

WillBlaty 10

BS TAILSLIDE

PHOTOS: ERIC ANDRERSON

Steven Snyder

FAKIE OLLIE

AARON GOURE {Third Eye Activate }

Crustacean Frustration, Igoure1, therealofficialgourmay – the many Instagram pseudonyms of Aaron Goure.

Aaron has been killing the game for quite a while now. He’s the sort of skater you really enjoy skating with, even if it’s the gnarliest green curved rail you have ever seen. When you watch him skate, it’s like he casts you as a supporting character in his own TV show – the Aaron Goure Variety Hour on CBS or some shit. Suddenly you’re participating in something really gnarly, but somehow the vibe is nothing to stress over. On this occasion, Aaron told Will Blaty to climb onto the trampoline-like canopy that covers this spot, and from those antics an image was captured: Aaron hosting a smith down this curved rail of death while Will throws out a sidekick selfie for the audience. Cheers to that.

ISSUE 4

PHOTO: GAGE HELLYER

SEQUENTIAL

JOSH HAWKINS Backside Noseslide 270

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FILMERS SPEAK KEA SMITH AS TOLD

BY BRIAN MASTERSON

K

He’s one of the nicest

We’ve only been working

first started skating seven

guys I know and is almost

on this video for about six

years ago he was already

too humble. Whenever I

months and he already

killin’ it. Everyone at free-

suggest a trick for him he

has three minutes of solid

stone already knew about

gives me a weird look like

footage.His next part is

him back then and I never

he doesn’t think he can do

gonna be mind blowing.

thought I would know him

it. He’s one of my favorite

personally, let alone film

people to film with.

ea is insane. When I

him.

NOSESLIDE BIGSPIN

“We’ve only been working on this video for about six months and he already has three minutes of solid footage.His next part is gonna be mind blowing.”

WATCH KEAS EXTRA FOOTAGE

PS118

JOHN ONEAL AS TOLD BY CONNOR HOWITT

John Oneal is the kind of guy that dosent give a fuck whatsoever. He is such a badass that one time when we were getting breakfast at a local bagel shop, they made his sandwich the wrong way and instead of complaining, that son’o’bitch just jumped the counter, punched the cashier in the face, and started making his own sandwich. I actually saw him physically pick up and throw a scooter kid out of a park once. Not only is he a badass at life, he knows how to ride a skateboard. He will grind your girlfriend or that handrail. John dosen’t give a fuck, he will grind a cop car. Don’t doubt this insane motherfucker. He is a crazy good skateboarder and it is always a blast filming him.

He has a effortless style and a good attitude about anything and everything. Watch out for this guy....

ISSUE 4

BACKSIDE FLIP \ KICKFLIP \ OLLIE UP

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BLUNT \ FAKIE FRONTSIDE FLIP \ NOSEGRIND 180 \ OLLIE TO GRASS

CALEB SCHRANK

AS TOLD BY ZAK ROSEBRUGH

I would have at one time considered Caleb to be a good friend of mine, but, I had to reevaluate that after six years of skating with him on a very regular basis, and still being introduced by him as “his filmer”. Which, upon examination, really makes sense. The guy has little to no regard for my personal life, and clearly understands me no further than the hours I spend pointing my camera at him.

The interactions we have beyond this come in the form of text messages he sends demanding his footage and needing an affirmation that he really is sicker than anyone else in Arizona. I don’t know what his deal is, but it’s really apparent to us who have to be around him that he has some sort of complex that makes him think he is better than anyone else. I’ve had some good friendships compromised because of his incessant need to vibe out, as he often puts it, the “randos” that come around.

I’m just joshing, Caleb is one of the best friends I’ve ever had, and is undoubtedly one of the most good-natured dudes I know. I feel very fortunate to be able to skate with someone like him, as well as call him a friend.

CHECK OUT TINOS ART HERE

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BS Bigspin \ BS Tail

Tino Rincon

Sean Conrad FS NOSEGRIND/ FS NOSESLIDE

ISSUE 4

Exposures

VLADS CORNER CHRIS MILIC PRESTON HARPER XAVIER ORTEGA

ALL PHOTOS: PETER VLAD

PHOTOS: ERIC ANDRERSON

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Robbie brockel PHOTOS: TOMMY KOWALSKI

CLICK HERE WATCH BROCKEL IN SLOPPY SECONDS

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Cory Cavennaugh BS TAILSLIDE | FRONTSIDE NOSEGRIND

ISSUE 4

SEQUENTIAL

PETE GRANNIS Nose Manual Dropdown Lip

THE ART OF JACKSON GIBBS. F

irst time I started hearing about Jackson he was around skating Tempe park and wandering Tempe alleyways shooting photos of abandoned couches from who knows where, just for the hell of it. You may say that is a complete waste of time, but he built an art form out of it with the instagram hashtag “#urbancouch� encompassing couches in rural and urban areas, pretty damn amazing if you ask me.

This certainly sparked interest to peek more into his lifestyle and he happens to be quite an amazing skateboarder and artist, having some of his stuff sold, made into clothing and in local shops in the valley.

How long have you been doing this? and how long have you been skating?

I have been painting and drawing for about 7 years, but doodling my whole life, i suppose. I have been skating for the better part of ten years, on and off.

Is there any inspiration that you come across to make what you make? or is it sort of spontaneous.

Its a combination of both, id say.

Different things inspire me as i go, from seeing a face to thoughts of the universe.

Satan and triangles seem to be trendy, so sometimes i add that in.

Does the life of being a skater have an influence in what you choose to create?

Yea. I definitely recognize the lifestyle of skating. This can make for some vulgarity.

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Describe what you mean by vulgarity.

Some people love the thought of boozin and being a scumbag, which could be bad, but I think its awesome and fun to paint.

what are some of your favorite artists, does their work have any influence on what you create?

Basquiat and Paul Davis. They seem to love doodling and doodling is the best type of art. Neck Face is Tight.

if you could relate what you do with your art to something, what would it be and why?

Maybe a parallel universe. I’m not sure

CHECK OUT JACKSONS WEBSITE HERE

THE ANTICRAP PHOTOSHOW JUSTIN GUTHRIE’S UNIQUE APPROACH ON PHOTOS

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There’s something about Justin’s photography that has its own individualism.

He captures things from an interesting perspective and inspires the people around him. This hometown suburban youth vibe, in combination with pieces from his recent show displaying his claymation series, shows the essence of his unique style.

ISSUE 4

Deck Park can easily be labeled one of Arizona’s most legendary spots. The park, built in 1992 above the I-10 tunnel, has a street plaza layout that was destined for industrious skateboarders and the napping homeless. The ground is rough and the general placement of things may seem a bit off, but the open floor plan of ledges and stairs provides ample opportunities for a variety of interesting lines and tricks.

It’s no Love Park, but it’s the closest thing we’ve got to a city plaza, and hidden somewhere behind the stench of public urination lies a rich history that’s worth appreciating.

Deck Park was one of the first Phoenix spots to get much coverage in famous skate videos. Some younger kids might not remember the years before the map was dotted with perfect concrete parks, but in those days pros rarely came through town and any coverage that Arizona did get was something worth fanning out on.

Scott Copalman, Gershon Mosley, and Joey Pepper all had footage there, not to mention a segment from the Spring 2001 ON Video where “Elissa [Steamer] gets served in Arizona” after Shane Heyl convinced her to try nollie tailsliding the out ledge. She walked away with eleven stitches, twelve chipped teeth, and a legendary Deck Park tale to share. Still today, after all these years of being skated, when a new trick goes down, word gets around and for whatever reason we all feel like it’s somehow significant.

After years of rumors regarding the fate of Deck Park, the City of Phoenix has officially begun plans for renovations. Now it’s up to the skate community to take action and show the city that we care enough to have our voices heard and have an influence on Deck Park’s future. A meeting was held on January 22nd to discuss a master plan to renew the park in its entirety, including our precious plaza. The design team plans to demolish and renovate the plaza itself, and add a 30,000 square foot skate park on the west side of the Central Avenue bridge. Construction won’t likely begin for a few years, leaving us with limited and precious time to take care of unfinished business and cherish the plaza while we’ve still got it. For some this may be a loss, and a real bummer to see this spot torn out, but for many it presents an opportunity to take action in the community. A new skate park means a new design, and with appropriate local input there’s an opportunity to make this park a rad urban plaza to carry on Deck Park’s legacy, to sit as a landmark, and to be the first skate park in Phoenix’s historic downtown area.

FOR MORE INFO ON THE HANCE PROJECT, CLICK HERE

Deck Park Spotlight

Co-written by Tommy Kowalski and Maxwell Dope

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SEQUENTIAL

DASHAWN JORDAN Kickflip Noseblunt Fakie

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I

was enroute to meet up with a crew of skaters, some of whom I’ve only met once or twice. Midwesterners are frequent this time of year in the valley with the holidays and all.

Hopping over the piles of clothes, dirty socks, and dirty dishes in my room, I managed to squeeze out the door. I popped in Radical Face before heading on the road, tossing my coffee mug on the ever-growing abundance of ASU parking tickets in my center console from prior sessions.

W

WORDS Relatable experiences in the lives of skateboarders

I had come to the red light on Mill and took a quick scroll through the text messages that greeted me, hit a few people up on skate plans and continued through the intersection. Suddenly it was almost as if I had caught myself, the actions that I had just completed re-ran through my head. Why didn’t I clean my room? Why am I meeting up with people I don’t know at all? How the hell am I gonna pay all these parking tickets?!?

Somehow all of these common life questions, that I didn’t much care about at all, popped into my head. As if I was in this mindset, this everlasting groove that was skateboarding itself.

I hadn’t thought about these basic needs solely due to the fact that skating had taken its number one priority in life. The progressiveness of people landing their tricks, getting footage, and skating for the sole purpose of loving and enjoying the culture had just taken over.

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Josh Eberhard SLAPPY SMITH

Peter Vlad NO COMPLY WALLRIDE

PS118

Xavier Ortega FASTPLANT ISSUE 4

SMILES Spectacular human and amazing skater.

Miles Canevello

Miles is the type of guy that wakes up early as fuck to cook some bomb ass eggs and bacon, and then maybe go skate a 21 stair handrail, like it’s good times. To others it may be something really fucked up, but for him it’s just what makes the day a great day. At the day’s end, you know he’ll toss on some old reggae from the 60’s just to always keep a cool vibe on things and have fun on his damn skateboard, period.

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PHOTOS BY PATRICK DRISCOLL

DYLAN MESSER \ FRONT FEEBLE CHRISTIAN MAALOUF / FAKIE FLIP

ISSUE 4

ALL PHOTOS : JAYSN VALENTINE

THE FLORES BROTHERS / ANDREW MIHALKO

LIFESTYLES with JAYSN VALENTINE

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SEQUENTIAL

KEVIN BRAUN Switch Front 360

FROM UP ABOVE Pyramid Country’s Phoenix Lights premieres on University.

A

nother unique masterpiece hits the big screen in style with a cool warehouse venue, rad DJ vibes, 80’s Street Fighter arcades, and an art show as the icing on the cake. It’s events like these that really boost creativity in the local scene. Cheers to the dudes for putting on a good one!

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ISSUE 4

CHEESE NOSEBONK

TUSCONIANS Shawn Patrick and Brad Evans explain the change of view in an ever growing Tuscon skate scene.

The Tucson scene has really been growing lately. How have the skateparks down there, or lack thereof, played a role in that?

BRAD: Haha. I think it’s pretty miraculous anyone can learn to skateboard at all with the parks we have here. We all pretty much learned how to skate at spots. That’s what’s sick about Tucson.

SHAWN: Hell yeah, that seriously is the best part. We all grew up with very limited crusty skateparks, so we’d take the bus or get dropped off by a skate mom downtown and just skate around all day. I remember doing this at least 100 times

before any of my friends were old enough to drive.

How do the spots and parks of Tucson differ from Phoenix?

SHAWN: Haha, it’s funny.

Whenever I go skating with anyone from Phoenix, they’re always pointing out the worst, crustiest spots with barely any landing or road that will take your skin off if you fall and they’re like “Look! It’s a Tucson spot!” or “It’s a cheese spot!”

Haha. Anyone that’s been to Tucson for the street spots knows how crusty the spots can be. Don’t get me wrong. There are some amazing spots in Tucson. It doesn’t really get any better than Ironwood Ridge High School with the perfect stairs and handrails, or the blocks downtown. Even though it’s mostly bricks and crusty ledges, it’s still one of those spots that’s just so fun to skate around on the bricks. Something about skating on bricks that just feels so good under my feet.

BRAD: A lot of spots in Tucson that look really small are actually a lot gnarlier and sketchier than they look. But I’d say that applies to all AZ spots in general.

From what I’ve heard there’s a new shop down there called The Blocks. How have they contributed to the scene?

BRAD: It’s not so new, but the BLX have been helping me out since they opened.

Since it’s right downtown, we always go there to get drinks, wax, tools, and other stuff and Erik also gives boards and gear to a few of us since we all quit Starr.

Erik’s the dude who made all the old “GPK” Tucson videos and his newest, more controversial video called “fuckabitch.” It’s really the only place we have to go down here as far as a skateshop, besides a Zumiez, so I’m definitely grateful for it.

SHAWN: BLX is holding it down in Tucson for sure.

Their shop decks always have awesome artwork on them and it’s got a good skate scene going in Tucson again. It’s rad!

Does University of Arizona contribute to spots as much as ASU does to skaters up here?

SHAWN: U of A has amazing spots but it’s a pretty big bust. Gotta make a mission to film at any spots there.

BRAD EVANS: Completely different situations. I’ve skated ASU a bunch of times with no problems. I don’t know if I’ve been lucky but at U of A there’s a 9/10 chance you’re gonna have to run from cops. I’ve seen Ted Schmitz get his board taken by cops for trying to kickflip into a hubba just a few times. Any footage I’ve seen from U of A gets a lot of respect from me because we know the situation.

Everything has to be in a few tries.

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Tyler Gould FS SMITH

CJ Kelly BONELESS

Shawn Patrick WALLIE HIPPIE JUMP

Jacob Evans NOLLIE INWARD HEEL

PHOTO: HELLYER

Jahir Carbajal

BS TAILSLIDE

ISSUE 4

SEQUENTIAL

ut

lide Popo LATE NITE LINK Nollie Flip Noses

BS FEEBLE

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Andrew Jacquez

FRONTSIDE BLUNT

Chris Sorini

Chris Milic DUMPTRUCK PHOTO: PRICE

Ryan Lay BOARDSLIDE POPOVER PHOTO: PRICE

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MARTY MURAWSKI

PHOTO: PRICE

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