Posts Tagged ‘DC’
transworld skateboarding 2009’s Skate and Create
Transworld Skateboarding has followed up with its sophomore effort of its Skate and Create team challenge. Each of four selected teams (DVS, etnies, C1RCA and DC) were provided a 4500 sq foot warehouse space with modular obstacles to get down and document the process over 9 long days this past spring.
Last year’s reigning champs, DVS kicks it off properly with teamriders, Daewon Song, Torey Pudwill, Andrew Brophy, Zered Bassett, Kenny Hoyle, and Jimmy Cao mixing it up on the “doubles” tip in their creative film below titled “Wood”. Sit back and witness just how far skateboarding and filmmaking has come with the video below, and stay tuned for the three remaining films in the weeks ahead.
DANNY WAY – BIGGER & BETTER
Just because Danny Way’s out of Big Air doesn’t mean he’s done.
Courtesy X Games 3D: The Movie
Danny wants to keep prgressing beyond anywhere he’s been before.
When you watch something like Danny Way’s dramatic slam at X Games 14, it’s not hard to see why some people call him skateboarding’s Evel Knievel. Way has been pro for almost 20 years and spent the first half of it competing like any other skater. But over the last 10 years his name became synonymous with large ramps and record-breaking stunts. First was the Super Ramp and his bomb drop from a helicopter. Then came the Mega Ramp and his jump over the Great Wall Of China. Then the drop in from the Hard Rock sign in Las Vegas, and on and on.
Way was instrumental in bringing the MegaRamp to the X Games in 2004, going on to win the event three times. But on Friday, Way announced he’s opting out of the Big Air at XG15 to focus on the Rail Jam that he’s convinced X Games to hold on this year’s Mega. He says the move will allow him to focus on what he loves most: innovation and progression. “My mindset with skateboarding, from a little kid until now,” Way told ESPN Skateboarding, “was always, ‘What’s next?’ You know, looking to the future. What drives me is progression.”
The MegaRamp was first seen in Way’s closing segment for the 2004 “DC Video,” and Big Air has since become a staple of the X Games. In Way’s eyes it now stands on its own. “The MegaRamp was a part of the progression. I skated that out in the desert and knew it had a life of it’s own beyond just myself in a video part. To see it in the X Games, it’s at a point where I feel that with or without me it’s a genre in skateboarding.”
“Bob [Burnquist], Jake [Brown], and Pierre [Luc Gagnon]—those were the guys that I felt would be caught up to speed and be competitive real quickly and you look at the results and they have done the best,” Way said. “Creating a genre like this within our sport and seeing it stand on its own, was amazing for me.”
Way seems content with what he has done in the Big Air event. He will continue to be instrumental in the Big Air and all other MegaRamp events, whether through his MegaRamp company, which he part-owns along with Bob Burnquist or as a commentator alongside Tony Hawk at this year’s broadcast. But he wants to look to the future.
Courtesy X Games 3D: The Movie
Danny takes a spin on Bob Burnquist’s backyard monstrosity.
Way stressed that he’s not “backing out” of Big Air; rather, he feels he’s returning to where he’s most comfortable: skateboarding’s cutting edge. And for him, that’s now the Rail Jam. The event will take place on the MegaRamp, with a rainbow rail placed to span the gap of the initial jump. “I did the rail five years ago and it’s taken five years to get the rail in the X Games. This year will be the first year and it is important. My sole purpose for skating Mega was not to prove myself above or beyond anyone else. It was driven by pushing myself and now I feel the next thing is the Rail Jam.”
Recently, Lizard King, Ryan Sheckler, and Pat Duffy all stepped to the MegaRamp and landed the gap. However, Lizard King and Sheckler slid out before the vert quarterpipe and Duffy tried but failed to skate the vert ramp, breaking his tibia in the process. Way feels their ability to pull the gap suggests a possible merging of the Mega with street elements and different kinds of vert elements.
“Lizard, Sheckler, and Duffy had the same issue—they all aired the gap but jumped off at the quarterpipe because they don’t know how to skate vert. All the street guys want to jump the gap, but they don’t have the skill set to skate the quarterpipe. So, my mindset is, ‘How do I create the event to get all of those guys involved?” says Way.
Way’s answer is something he’s calling “The Hawaii Project.” Located on a piece of property he purchased in Hawaii, Way is circumspect on any details of the Project since it’s still in the planning stages. But the gist is a giant MegaRamp course with street and pool elements—huge jumps and huge hips. “I have this really crazy plan that I’m going to start working on. It’s a new kind of structure—I think there are so many other things on the MegaRamp scale that are possible.”
Plz visit Josh Brooks blog and view the original interview @: http://espn.go.com/action/skateboarding/blog?post=4340201
TWS 10 Best Video Parts: A Decade Of Digital Daggers
Through the years, it’s fair to say a vast majority of TWS Award wins have been open to debate. And, honestly, it would suck if that were not the case. The difficulty in unanimously pinning the word “winner” or “loser” on anything involving skateboarding, let alone an entire year of it, is a welcome reminder as to why most of us chose to shun the jock strap, referees, and uniforms in the first place. Skateboarding is subjective. The one thing we can agree on is that we disagree. That being said, the year’s Best Video Part lineup feels pretty solid. With number eleven on the shelf in the ’09, here are the last ten years’ winners.
1. 1999—Peter Smolik—Shorty’s, Fulfill The Dream, 1998
1999 was a Shorty’s certified Malibu mudslide. On the heels of the first video (as a board brand) they clocked Best Street (Muska), Best Style (Smolik), Best Video (Fulfill The Dream), Readers’ Choice (Muska), Best Team, and Best Video Part of ’98 through Alkasmolik. No matter where you stand with the Mafia, you can’t deny the gusto of Smolik back tail kickflipping with authority at San Marcos to the tune of the Rocky anthem. Keg Rap Don.
2. 2000—Jamie Thomas—Zero, Misled Youth, 1999
“Out here in the fields…” Chief fought for this meal. The Who’s lyrics became an instant at-the-spot go-to. I heard Mike Carroll singing “Teenage Wasteland” at L.A. High right after it dropped. This has to be one of the purest Thomas parts to date. Welcome To Hell (’96) is dramatically do or die; Maiden can do that to a part. Misled Youth, on the other hand, is just old-fashioned blue-collar grit. Edging out Stevie’s Chocolate Tour (’99) part and Daewon’s Round 2 (’99) ender is no small task either.
Jamie Thomas, Misled Youth Part 2
3. 2001—Eric Koston—éS, Menikmati, 2000
Whenever I see Fred, I still enjoy gently prodding him over the dramatic music laid down over Menikmati. Truth is, however, electro instrumentals aside, his rolling long lens, international locales, and later DVD-bound Penny retrospective bonus segment make éS’ first video a Willennium landmark. Koston’s curtains undeniably topped the barrel. First switch front blunt on a rail, Le Dome back five-0, that Med Choice switch heel, nollie heel noseslide the Wilshire 10, and back noseblunt Bricktown. Koston, pow.
4. 2002—Heath Kirchart—TWS, Sight Unseen, 2001
This part is just transcendent. “Nights In White Satin” (’67) fits religiously. Cardiel’s Unseen part was also nominated and, barring Heath, should have won. But Kirchart’s ender is unquestionably one of the best parts of the decade. The rollout on the UC Irvine back noseblunt slide, pretty much the first rendition ever on a legit sized rail (actually shot before Koston’s aforementioned éS banger) is unforgettable. The tuck knee dismount on the UCLA rail to stair-drop tailside just deads it.
5. 2003—PJ Ladd—Coliseum, Wonderful Horrible Life, 2002
Shocking. If this part hadn’t won, I think we could pretty much scrap the whole show. Tucked into a casual Boston shop video, PJ comes out of nowhere with a contender for the best part of all time. Inventing tricks and looking like he thought them up right then and there, the ledge combos half a decade before Lakai got to Mercado, switch frontside 360 heelflip, toying with the vert ramp like Tom Penny, a pressure flip/rolling flip binge, and that closing line. I don’t think there is much more to say. Go watch it.
6. 2004—Danny Way—DC, The DC Video, 2003
After Heath and PJ, Danny Way’s win completes a trifecta of unquestionable picks. The “traditional” vert footage felt like some of the first innovation on that front since, well, last time Danny dropped a full part with Colin six years earlier (The Revolution, ’97). Switch 540 ollies off that DC extension. The switch tre. Switch flip back five-0s. Beyond that—a rodeo flip into the pool’s shallow. Backside 360 MACBA. A mega gap 720. Two world records and a 23.5-foot backside air? Seriously. Gnar boots.
7. 2005—Justin Strubing—Foundation, That’s Life, 2004
I really like that Strubing took this one. F—k it. I’m biased. Justin is one of those dudes who’s been doing it right for a long time now—fast, proper, and full tilt. No half-cocked tailslides here. His That’s Life part is a step-by-step instructional guide to raw urban skateboard deconstruction in both Barcelona and San Francisco. And, unlike many video parts that get nominated, it has that “someone just happened to be filming” vibe. In our day and age of heavy one-clip hammers, it was rad to see a dude just out to cruise nab the trophy. Even if, his cruising happens to be five times faster than mine.
8. 2006—Daewon Song—DVS, Skate More, 2005
It would be comical to argue that Daewon is not one of the most tech proficient skateboarders of all time. Few people are handed such a gift. But when they are, there is still a further question as to how they will take said talent and apply it creatively. After all, talent without creativity is as questionable as creativity without talent, possibly worse. In his Skate More part, Daewon scoops up his cream of the crop precision skills and applies them mercilessly to any and all terrains shy of a vert ramp and mega gap.
9. 2007—Jerry Hsu—enjoi, Bag Of Suck, 2006
Holding down the two-song last part of 2006-certified Best Video, Hsu went all in for BOS. This is what Tiltmode looks like when the gloves come off. Jerry, like Heath, is one of the few guys who can finesse impact-heavy skating. The rainbow rail back Smith. The cruisy S.F. no-push switch heel line with the haunting Sonic Youth Carpenters cover. Switch bluntslide off that ledge to dirt gap. The three bump-to-rail crushers. The nollie back heel ender down the Lincoln thirteen. Uzi does it.
10. 2008—Guy Mariano—Lakai, Fully Flared, 2007
Hopefully Patrick O’Dell’s Later’d series earlier this year further enlightened some of the younger readers out there as to why this part meant so much to anyone old enough to know a G Bag from G Code. Then again, as explained in last year’s convenient Award rationalizing text, Guy also took the Readers’ Choice in ’08… Meaning kids voted his part a winner with or without any knowledge of the incredible redemption background story. Whatever the reasoning, I don’t believe much else on this list could have held a light to the MJ part(s). Taking the trophy over that speaks more than I could ever muster.
Here is the original article, plz check it out: http://skateboarding.transworld.net/2009/08/04/tws-10-decade-of-digital-daggers-award-winning-video-parts/
