So what? It took 3 years more to create than originally slated. It started as one thing and ended as something completely different. It pushed skaters to the point where skating wasn’t fun anymore. So What!?
An instantly classic skate video and behind the scenes documentary, came from Lakai’s uber-anticipated Final Flare video. Here is Guy Mariano’s award winning part which blends smooth lines and single trick bangers so well…not to mention 2 aptly chosen Band of Horses melodies. Also, check the Finally Flared documentary further below with the Guy Mariano comeback piece, which feels like a storytale. The Phelper said it best, “He’s the only guy that we’ve been waiting for”
Take it away
Here is the 6 part documentary called Finally Flared which recaps the whole process behind putting together the video which arguably boasts the the best skateboarders in the world: Eric Koston (the legend), Guy Mariano (killer comeback), Marc Johnson (footage workhorse/SOTY), Brandon Biebel (motivates), Mike “Mo” Capaldi (Battle of Berrics Champ), Cairo Foster (the Reason) and a bunch of other rippers.
The US Open of Surfing is the biggest surf contest in the mainland United States and typically it is a circus of bikinis, music, and action sports despite the measly Southern California summer waves. This summer, the surf was anything but measly. The waves were so big that the contest organizers decided to provide jet skis to tow surfers into the line up rather than let them waste time and energy paddling against the 10 foot plus waves. I suppose the record breaking $100K prize for 1st place also helped make this the most memorable US Open in history.
Here is Kelly Slater’s 10 point ride. He said that it was the biggest he had ever seen Huntington Beach.
HB may have been firing record breaking contest waves, but the Wedge in Newport Beach was something entirely different.
A couple months ago the Battle at the Berrics brought together some of the best skaters in the world to compete in a bracket style SKATE tournament. Here is an article which covers some of the action. Well it’s back and the roster is even more impressive. They also added some pre/post game interviews with the competitors.
So far it is only in the early stages, but “He-Man” Mike V had a classic match with the accomplished Chris Cole. I’ll let you watch for yourself to see the winner, but this match is unique because they allow Mike V to use his signature old school moves.
Here’s the pre game:
The actual match:
…and the post game:
See the Berrics site to know more about the action from Battle of the Berrics 2.
Everyone knows that the quickest way to someone’s heart is sending them a picture of a cute baby animal. But it seems like one site isn’t impressed with that approach. F*** You Penguin is a feisty site which has the tagline, “A blog where I tell cute animals what’s what.”
The concept is hilarious despite being little more than a bitter rant. I would think that they would get tired of talking trash to cute animals, but they keep thinking of new ways to call them out. Here are 2 great examples:
Another random cute animal site which is actually responsible for a whole new style of internet slang is icanhascheezburger. This site has pictures of cute animals (mostly cats, which are named Lol Cats) and displays quotes from the animal. At first, the site is only slightly odd, but after you check out a few of these posts and the comments that people leave, the site feels like an Alice in Wonderland-style trip. It is all very strange, but forward a few of these pics to your sweetie and she will forgive you for nearly anything. Trust!
Miranda Priestly from the Devil Wears Prada lives! Maybe not exactly, but many aspects of her character are embodied by Jake Phelps, Editor at Thrasher Magazine.
Based in the heart of the rawest skateboarding city, San Francisco, Thrasher is the most well known skateboarding mag in history. Over the years, the magazine has earned a rep for refusing to compromise its content to appease corporate sponsors. Phelps’s tenure at this institution has put him in a powerful position in skateboarding. Aside from being the Dark Lord at Thrasher, he is a Big Trick Contest Promoter, and a respected authority/historian/archivist for the sport.
His dedication to skating is unrivaled, but he has ruffled a lot of feathers with his blunt style. He tells it like he sees it and is a habitual line stepper, but he is very often correct…and always entertaining. Just don’t get on his bad side. Here he is tearing into pro skateboarder Frank Hirata. It may sound harsh, but being omitted from the pages of Thrasher is way harsher.
(this video was pulled from you tube, but believe me…Phelps rips Hirata a new one)
He has also done a lot for the sport by putting on Big Trick Contests like Bust or Bail. Solid performances by Andrew Reynolds, Ryan Sheckler, and some guy named…Moose?
Here he is with Quicksilver’s Reese Forbes hyping the next contest at the soon to be torn down Wallenberg Gap in SF. “Back to the Berg” is going down on May 30th at Wallenberg High School.
Who is the world’s most famous skateboarder? Even more than Tony Hawk, Rob Dyrdek, and Bam Margera, I vote Bart Simpson as the most recognizable skater on the planet. Because of this, it is no shock that he appears on the cover of Skatebook #3. This large hard cover book by Lance Mountain and Salman Agah (follow him on twitter here) is packed with great photos and articles. The book feels like a skate mag without the heavy advertising.
One of the best sections is “Bart Simpson Droppin Hammers!” This 4 fingered mustard yellow kid rips some of the most iconic skate spots in the world like:
The Leap of Faith
…and now some real footage:
Carlsbad Gap
…and now some real footage:
El Toro Rail
…and now some real footage:
Wallenberg Stairs
…and now some real footage:
Hollywood High 16 Stair
…and now some real footage:
Wilshire Rail
Maxin’ with Terry Kennedy
He even wins the Skater of the Century award; further confirming his place as the world’s most famous skateboarder.
In the last few years, a new subculture has emerged in cities all over the globe. The Hipster is cultured, artsy, enigmatic, pretentious, and annoying all at the same time. In case you are not sure if you or people you know are hipsters, here are common characteristics:
Drinks Pabst Blue Ribbon
Unkempt Beards
Enjoys only obscure music and literature
Wears dark glasses from the Eighties (ex: Oakley Frogskins)
Resides in Silverlake (Los Angeles) OR Williamsburg (Brooklyn)
Hatred of anything mainstream
Denial of being a hipster
It’s a tough call with hipsters. They get a bad rap, but there are some positive traits of hipsters. They are usually creative and appreciate various types of art, music, and food. Here are a few of my favorite hipster contributions to society:
The Mandrake - A cool bar in Los Angeles which plays a great mix of hip hop, rock, and oldies music. They also have a great Happy Hour and patio area.
Wurstküche -Rattlesnake and Rabbit sausage anyone? This and most of their other gourmet sausages are solid lunch options if you are in Downtown Los Angeles.
Indie/Progressive Rock - So maybe not all Indie/Prog Rock comes from Hipsterdom, but enough of it does. Wanna fight about it?
OK. OK. I will admit that it is waaay more fun to make fun of hipsters than to search for their admirable traits. It looks like there is plenty of that going on already. Enjoy!
yourscenesucks - No one is safe on this site which takes aim at the trendier subcultures with sarcastic bios and hilarious cartoons.
DieHipster - Ouch, that’s rough. This blog seems to blame all of the worlds problems on Brooklyn, NY hipsters.
Well into 2009, but better late than never. Snowboarding has spoken and Travis Rice is the new Guru. That’s It That’s All is the most entertaining, intense, and terrifying snowboard video to date. It has many other riders, but you know Travis’s tricks because he comes in with twice the speed, hops, and trick difficulty while still riding away clean. Here is the teaser from the video “That’s It, That’s All”, which may still be sold out in stores. Make it through the long intro and you will be rewarded.
For surfing, the “Chosen One” isn’t quite as clear, but some of the best footage that I saw in 2008 was from a POV cam mounted on the back of Brian Conley’s board as he pushes through some lengthy tube rides in the South Pacific. Here’s a teaser for that.
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. This large hard cover book by Lance Mountain and Salman Agah (follow him on twitter 
