Issue 105 . March 2010
Bay Area Hideout with Paul Trep /// Kevin Wu: Tailored Goods Spencer Hamilton Down Under /// A Perfect 24 in Thailand
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Identity Bob Burnquist /// Five Spot Lucas Puig /// Sound Check Souls of Mischief /// Art Blender Tim Gough
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THE SHOES WE SKATE
issue 105 March
26
2010
Bay Area Hideout with
Paul Trep
“I was being a bit lazy, then I went down to ‘Frisco and got really hyped on all the spots.”
36
Kevin Wu interviewed
“…There’s the usual message board hate. I haven’t seen much besides ‘The kid’s gay’ or ‘He sucks at skating, he’s a robot.’”
46
Spencer Hamilton Down Under
“…Some people out there saw Strange Brew so they would talk to me about that. I was hyped.”
54
Thailand
A perfect 24 with oughton, chorney and machnau
“After the heavy morning hangovers settled in, we were left wondering what the remaining days would offer.”
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14 16 20 84 92 94 96 98
Exposure the photo gallery
Identity // Bob Burnquist Inventory Art Blender // Tim Gough Young Bloods video reviews Shoe Vaults // Duffs KCKs Sound Check // Souls of Mischief Five Spot // Lucas Puig
Toronto OG Paul Otvos takes it to the streets like he always has, and puts his signature pop to the test with this Ollie into a gnarsh bank.
contents: photo
geoff Clifford
Pop, Lock, and Drop cover photo and caption by
Dan Zaslavsky
This particular San Francisco session with Toronto’s LEE YANKOU happened after a full day of skating with some of his Stereo teammates. After showing Lee a photo of this bump-to-ledge in the Financial District (which Geoff Clifford had previously brought to my knowledge in the city I live in!), we decided to call it quits and reunite later that night. I was pretty skeptical about anyone’s ability to get something on this ledge – it’s stomach-high. Lee gave up on trying a 5-0 after landing a sketchy 50-50, then proceeded to do the most humanly proper SMITH GRIND on it. Pop, lock, and drop – plus a spark thrown in for good measure. After reviewing the photo we realized the smith was so dipped that Lee’s front truck was grazing the lower ledge. Concrete skateboarding
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issue 105
MARCH 2010
Keegan Sauder, ollie.
Camarillo photo
“You miss 100 percent of the shots you never take.” —Wayne Gretzky
Rise & Shine
Kyle Camarillo
At Concrete, we value the hard work of all our contributors. Rise & Shine provides us with the difficult task of selecting a standout contributor each issue, and Kyle Camarillo gets the ceremonious nod for #105. Kyle hails “a few blocks from Canada’s own Matt Irving” in Bernal Heights, San Francisco. The 25 year-old has been filming for 10 years, and chipped-in clips to numerous notable projects. His picks for favourite videos he’s pushed the red button for include Man Down, Yeah Right! and Fully Flared. As for how long he’s been shooting stills, Kyle says: “Since photography class in seventh grade – we had a darkroom and all. But I guess I really got into it in 2007.” Well, that also happens to be the year his first published skate photo (a Dennis Busenitz backside hip ollie) appeared in Skateboarder. Fast-forward to the April 2009 issue of Concrete, and you’ll find his clutch contribution of Jamie Tancowny’s first-ever Canadian cover. This issue, Kyle fired over some photos coupled with descriptive captions regarding Paul Trep’s stunning stunt-wood wizardry in SF [p.26]. getcreepy.com
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Concrete skateboarding
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photo bob burnquist archive
Identity
Bob Burnquist
14
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Inventory
top row:
bottom:
16
Flip - Shane Cross animation // Antihero - Frank Gerwer axl nose // Zoo York - Kevin Taylor master division // Darkstar - Ryan Decenzo diamond // Baker - Andrew Reynolds tattoo
Stereo - Chris Pastras obey // DGK - Josh Kalis abduction // Habitat charley harper series // Roger - get rad with your dad // Element - Chad Muska street art series 2
Concrete skateboarding
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Inventory Reynolds tee
RO
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Lowcard
AT E
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OBEY
THRASHER
limited series tees - Obey Horse + obey vulture
U Suck +
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Hippy ho
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BLOOD W IZARD
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A R T B L E N D E R // TIM GOUGH
T
im Gough is an illustrator, educator, designer, and artist who hails from the “City of Brotherly Love” and the birthplace of the American Revolution. He lives and works in an old Italian neighbourhood in South Philadelphia, and you may have seen his work on a variety of Foundation boards or on the many screened tees, art prints and posters he creates. He also produces a zine called Cut and Paste.
“I remember collaborating on board graphics with Tim, seeing his art and tripping on how cool it looked – all gritty and half-toned. It looked effortless.”
—Nathan Bell, former Foundation Art Director
clockwise from top left:
Cut and Paste 3 zine “More Scared” tee “Man with a Hole” art print Foundation deck series Lifetime Collective tee 20
Concrete skateboarding
Tim’s art is bold and filled with colour. Every piece contains the evidence of his creative hand – texture, overlaying and looseness defines the compositions, yet there’s careful thought and theory behind it all. Tim is one of those rare guys who’s taken leave of his “day job” as an Art Director at the Philadelphia Weekly in order to progress his body of work and venture into the freelance illustration game. Tim also teaches design
methods to the next generation of artists and illustrators at the University of the Arts in Philly. This October, his work will be featured in an opening with artist/illustrator Kris Chau [krischau.com] at the Rowan Morrision Gallery [rowanmorrison.com] in Oakland, CA. —Randy Laybourne
timgough.org
“Crime� by Tim Gough, from his personal collection.
visit concreteskateboarding.com to download exclusive art blender wallpapers for your computer and iphone.
photo: budro
photo: reynolds
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Photograph by: GrifďŹ n Collins
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Bay Area Hideout words
Frank Daniello
The fact that Paul Trep can manipulate a skateboard with skilled precision is far from uncommon knowledge at this point. While Vancouver skaters are used to seeing him handle things at the plaza, there was a wrinkle in time where his presence on Canada’s west coast seemingly evaporated. “I was in Vancouver most of the summer, just kinda not skating as much as I should’ve been. I was being a bit lazy,” Trep explains. “Then I went down to ‘Frisco and got really hyped on all the spots.” Shortly after first hearing about his mission to get re-energized in San Francisco for a few months over the fall and early winter of ’09, a YouTube video makes the rounds. It reveals footage of Trep pulling out his switch double heel over SF’s famed library gap as a shut-down move at a best trick contest. Come December, the Thrasher site posts up a new video stream – a “Double Rock” installation featuring Trep’s trickery at the mag’s indoor park. “I just wanna fuckin’ skate,” is revealed as his to-the-point mantra, and the following documentation of Trep’s retreat to the Bay Area proves just that.
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“Good morning, it’s 8am. I have no idea why my phone is ringing – no one ever calls me this early except maybe my grandma. But it’s Paul, and he’s calling from a pay phone. I didn’t even know pay phones still existed. ‘Damn, Paul… Yes, I’ll pick you up at 3rd and Army and we’ll go skate. See you at 11, I’m going back to bed.’”
-Kyle Camarillo
Where did you stay in the Bay? With my buddy Jordy Gillies and his brother Frasier from Calgary. They’re super tight and let me stay for three months without paying rent – I appreciated that a lot. Jordy skates a bit, and Frasier trains in Jiu-Jitsu and Muay Thai. I would just chill with those guys at the house, and went skatin’ as much as I could. They live in the Sunset District, right near the water. It’s pretty mellow there, but I’d just go bomb a hill if I got bored [laughs]. We’d watch a lot of football at the house; I was hoping for hockey to play more often. I saw a couple San Jose Sharks games on TV but that was about it. Not enough hockey [laughs].
What spots would you venture out to? There was a train right around the corner from where I was staying, so I figured out how to get to a lot of places on my own. Sometimes 28
Concrete skateboarding
I’d take the BART or MUNI trains solo just to check shit out and find spots. I’d go out to Oakland sometimes or skate the three-up three-down, and hit up 3rd and Army in SF – about 30 minutes away from where I was staying. That place is so fun, dude. Endless ledges that are kinda chunky, but whatever. I like it.
Who were some of the dudes you were rolling with down there? After the first month, I was skating with David Gravette a lot since he was staying not too far from my place. He fuckin’ rips. I’d check out some gnarly spots with him and he’d just annihilate shit. I skated with Jeremy Reeves and Jack Curtain a few times, too. I’d go out to shoot with Kyle Camarillo a lot, and I also went out with Dan Z, Dave Chami, Jeff Landi and Tadashi to shoot photos.
“3rd and Army is usually the warm-up spot or the place you end up when you’re out of ideas. This day we were out of ideas, plus Paul wanted to stop by to try and slang some product. Paul had pushed back his flight home to Van, so his funds were dwindling. It didn’t help that he got a ticket for fare evasion on the train ride over to meet me. Anyways, Paul brought the heat and flipped effortlessly into this SWITCH FLIP 5-0 180 every time.”
-Tadashi Yamaoda
“Paul tagged along on every SF mission he could. On this day filmer Anthony Claravall, Andrew Langi, Paul and I took a little drive down to my old stomping grounds at Stanford University. As most people know, Stanford is covered in well-known spots. The massive hubba, the street gaps, the rail gap…it goes on. There’s also spots that are more or less untouched, so Trep decided to take the gap less traveled with this FRONTSIDE FLIP .”
-Kyle Camarillo
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“This maneuver at a staple SF spot only proves Paul’s ability. It’s scary enough just to grind, but he wasn’t scared to handle this shit – a SWITCH POP SHUV NOSEGRIND multiple times in a row, I might add. Afterwards, on the way to check the next spot, I picked up a libation before Paul proceeded to effortlessly lay down yet another document worthy trick in his day.”
-Dan Zaslavsky
“Paul was without a cellphone for almost his whole stay in SF. I didn’t realize how much of a headache not being able to contact someone at any time was. If I’d miss his call it was pretty much over since he’d just borrow random people’s phones. I would call the strange number back, and the person would say, ‘Who? Yeah, he’s gone now.’ But on most days the plan would work smoothly and lead to something like this fourth-try SWITCH LIPSLIDE at a rail with rough, pebbled landing that detours most locals from skating it.”
-Kyle Camarillo
How did things play out at that best trick contest? That library gap thing was put on by Roughneck [rncksf.com], and Downtown Skate Supply [dwntwnsf.com] put up the money for it. There was some sick shit that went down. The gap isn’t massive, but it’s a good size. It’s legit, but nothing compared to the one beside it that Cairo Foster nollie heeled. Earlier that day, I remember sleeping on the couch where I was staying, and Justin Williams [Force trucks TM] came through to pick me up at about 6pm. He was like, “Yeah, we gotta get down there. That thing’s started.” We drove over and it was already half-done [laughs], so I jumped out and just started skatin’ it. I ended up winning and came up on $250. I think I spent it on a steak and a bottle of wine, then kept the rest for food later. 32
Concrete skateboarding
How long did it take to film that Thrasher web vid? The Thrasher park is fun as hell. It’s a little private park that’s in their warehouse, which is in an industrial area that’s kinda ghetto. The flat box there is sick, and the little double-set hubba is dope. I’d hit up Kyle Camarillo to go skate. He’s a photographer for Thrasher, so he’d bring me out to the park to film for that “Double Rock” video. We went there once or twice-a-week for about a month to get those clips. Paul Trep currently rides for Force trucks, Bones wheels and bearings, RDS apparel, DC Canada, Top of the World skateshop in Ottawa, and Elm [elmcompany.com] – “This company out of LA that makes dope hats,” he says.
“There was a light rain a-brewin’ and the sun was on its way out. We stopped by the nearby semi-covered Farmers Market ledges. The crew was Trep, Jeremy Reeves and Brian Heck. Paul kicked it off with an impressive first-try switch flip back 5-0 across the whole ledge. I think the only person not stoked was Paul, who kept a stoic look on his face. It’s hard to tell if he’s happy or not – the look on his face is monotone as he crushes spots. After landing this SWITCH BACKTAIL KICKFLIP OUT I’m pretty sure he cracked a pint-sized smile, but maybe not.”
-Tadashi Yamaoda
Bay Area Hideout
THE ORIGINAL AND STILL THE BEST BEARINGS FOR OVER 26 YEARS
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CHAMI
CAMARILLO
JERRY HSU SWITCH F/S NOSEGRIND POP OUT
bonesbearings.com U 30 S. La Patera Lane, Santa Barbara, CA 93117 U 805-964-1330
Tailored Goods intro Frank Daniello portraits andrew koronovich
Late one night, The Comedy Network re-aired a dated stand-up performance by the Greater Toronto Area’s Russell Peters. He warmed up with his standard fare, which generally consists of pointing out every different ethnic background in the crowd and subsequently making fun of them. But when he made his way to the people of Chinese decent, he actually made a somewhat thought-provoking statement along the lines of: “There’s no such language called Chinese.” “I think the official language in Hong Kong is still Cantonese, but the rest of China speaks Mandarin,” confirms 22 year-old Kevin Wu, who was born in Hong Kong. His family relocated to Halifax by the time he was one, and then to Richmond, BC soon after. “I can survive speaking and understanding Cantonese in Hong Kong, but I can’t really read or write it. I guess you could say I’m kind of dyslexic in China [laughs].
After what Wu refered to as a period of “experimenting”, skateboarding became his focus nearly 10 years ago. His clean work on the wood-wheel has led to support from éS shoes through Timebomb, SK8MAFIA through Ultimate, Livestock, and Matix flow through Supra Distribution. Wu is also an ambitious young man. In concert with being a sponsored skater, he’s also pursuing an Interior Design degree, pulling shifts at the family tailoring business, recovering from being a former landlord, and feeding a fierce Xbox addiction. Even meeting up for this interview session was somewhat of a procrastinatory pit-stop before heading off to the gym in order to maintain his skate-legs during Vancouver’s winter downpour. Read on for a custom line of questioning (not at all inspired by Russell Peters) that was stitched together by some of Wu’s homies.
Concrete skateboarding
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brian caissie
Switch frontside heelflip
Ian Twa: I hear you’re into Interior Design. How about creating a skateable line of furniture? As much as I’d like to create skateable furniture, I don’t think I could earn a living doing that [laughs]. There are a lot of misconceptions about Interior Design. First off, there’s a difference between interior decorating and interior design. There’s a lot to know such as lighting, space, concepts, colour, electrical, structural, materials, and the list goes on. The design shows on TV portray maybe 10 percent of the work. The amount of preparation and organization involves a lot more than some might think. Dane Collison: There’s not too many people who go from being a homeowner/landlord, to living in their mom’s house. Explain this transition. [Laughs] Harsh! It was my dad’s place, then he moved to China so he left me in charge of taking care of it. It’s an eight-bedroom house with two kitchens in East Van right near Rupert and Broadway – next to Supra Distribution. I rented rooms out to a bunch of friends like Mike Vince, Andrew Koronovich, Stash [Will Durie], Nelson Conway, Corey Klim, Joey
Williams, and Brian Gautreau. I had the house for around two years then we sold it because it had too many problems. I went back to school and moved in with my mom in Steveston [an area of Richmond, BC] to save money. The home cooked meals are amazing. Nelson Conway: could you tell us the biggest party foul you witnessed while lording the land in East Van? It happened during one of our first parties. My dad loved fish when he was a kid, so he bought like five fish tanks that were all in the living room upstairs on collapsible tables. They were pretty much right above my room downstairs. I guess some people were leaning against the biggest tank we had, and the table leg gave out. I was playing video games with a couple buddies downstairs when it happened, and water came pouring down the heat vent directly onto my Xbox and HD TV [laughs]. I threw the TV onto my bed to save it, then ran upstairs and the first thing I saw was two inches of water with fish flapping around on the carpet. The TV still works.
Concrete skateboarding
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dave christian
Tailored Goods
backside nosebluntslide
AJ McCallister: Is it true that you’re a tailor?
No, my mom does all the sewing and stuff. I helped manage my parents’ shop for a full year when my dad left for China. It’s called Balsam Custom Tailors located on 5th and West Boulevard in Kerrisdale, and it’s been around for about 10 years. We do alterations and make custom suits and shirts. I greet customers and measure them for suits, pin stuff for alterations, and pick out fabrics for custom garments. Now that I’m a parttime student at BCIT, I work at the shop twice-a-week to help my mom, and I skate whenever I can. Nelson Conway: I heard you used to go through razor scooters like disposable shaving razors? What was up with that? [Laughs] Well, I guess I did what most little kids do and experimented with a couple different sports. I’m not gonna lie, I rode a scooter and biked, I played basketball and soccer, and dare I say I even tried rollerblading. It all sucked, and by the time I was 12 skating was the only thing that stuck.
I notice you don’t really follow popular trends in skateboarding. An example might be the bulkier footwear you choose to skate in. Is this some kind of secret of yours? All the skate shoes now are vulcanized, and I wear them when I’m chillin’. But for skating I’m pretty sure they’re not good for your feet, and they wear down quick. When I jump down shit it hurts a lot, and when I watch guys like the Nuge ollieing off 20-foot drops with vulcs, I think it’s crazy. I’ve always been a fan of the early-2000 style of shoes like the éS “Scheme” and all that. I guess I like them a little bulkier because they keep their structure more. It just feels better, and the welfare of my feet is a bit more important than board feel [laughs]. I just like to be comfortable.
Mike Vince:
Concrete skateboarding
41
judah oakes Judah Oakes: What’s the best rumour that you’ve ever
heard about yourself? I haven’t really heard any rumours, but there’s the usual message board hate. It seems every skater has a group of people that will hate on them. I haven’t seen much besides “The kid’s gay” or “He sucks at skating, he’s a robot.” I don’t know [laughs]. frontside nosegrind
Andrew Koronovich: If you could take a little bit of style from three skaters to create a super stee, who would those people be? Well, not just because he’s Asian, but I’d say Jerry Hsu is my number one because his style’s sick. Corey Sheppard – I’ve always looked up to his skating since I started. The third is a clash between Appleyard and Creager, but I’d say Ronnie Creager – he’s just flawless. If I had a bonus pick I’d say Kenny Anderson – he’s probably one of the most light-footed skaters I’ve ever seen.
David Paris: When did your obsession with video games start? It started when I got my hands on the first Gameboy. Now I have a PSP, Xbox, and a Wii. I’m pretty much addicted to the Xbox. On PSP I like playing Tekken or Star Ocean; on Xbox it’s NHL 10 and I’m a huge fan of Rainbow Six Las Vegas – it’s one of the best strategy shooters. For Wii, I liked how you could buy the gun and put the control in it, so I’d say House of the Dead is my favourite for that.
Dane Collison: What are your top three Metro
China? It’s been awhile. I went in November ’06 and skated in Hong Kong and nearby Shenzhen a little bit. Not a lot of skaters were really going to Shenzhen at the time. I was like “Man, there’s skate spots all around here!” The ground’s kinda shitty, but there’s a lot of really cool looking granite spots. Hong Kong’s got a bunch of spots, too. I went again in March ’07 for my sister’s wedding and would just go skate the Mei Foo skatepark. I met a bunch of locals there and tagged along with them on some night missions. A couple of the guys actually came out to visit Vancouver last year and liked it a lot. I’m planning on going back to Hong Kong again soon.
Vancouver food spots? Peaceful [532 W. Broadway]: thanks to Judah Oakes for showing me that one. The beef rolls are amazing and the Xiao Long Bao (pork dumplings with soup inside) are so good. Pajo’s [at the Wharf] in Steveston has one of the best fish ‘n’ chips. There’s a place in East Van called Golden Phoenix [2425 Nanaimo St.], and they have some of the better dim sum I’ve had in Vancouver.
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AJ McCallister: When was the last time you went to
brian caissie
noseslide nollie heelflip out
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Having
already spent some time in the States, China and Korea, 20 year-old Spencer Hamilton is becoming less and less of a stranger when it comes to navigating the travel frontier. In late ’09 he took his first trip to Australia (with a little NZ in the mix) to enjoy the Southern Hemisphere’s opposite-season sun. “We started off in Melbourne, went to Canberra, and then went to Sydney before flying into Auckland, New Zealand,” he
The following is Spencer’s photo essay from the trip (with some shots fired by Shad Lambert).
Frank Daniello Spencer Hamilton
Down Under
Spenny
captions
“This was actually at the end of a fun little line I was filming at a school in Auckland. I did a 3-flip down a set of stairs, cruised a hill and did a powerslide or something, then did the KICKFLIP over the rail at the end. This happened on the last day of the trip, and I was tired as fuck.” 46
Autograph signings and demos coupled with street missions were the tasks at hand for Spencer and a few members of the Supra/ KR3W squad – including the illustrious Lizard King, Antwuan Dixon, Terry Kennedy, and Ramiro “Furby” Salcedo.
“The whole squad holds it down,” Spencer points out before adding: “I’ve never signed that many autographs before, but that’s just how it is when you roll with those guys. They’re fuckin’ famous, you know? One dude came up to me and just shouted out ‘Canuck!’ – some people out there saw Strange Brew so they would talk to me about that. I was hyped.”
Concrete skateboarding
shad lambert
intro
explains. “I flew over from LA and kinda had the States in my head, so it felt more like flying into Canada when we landed in Australia. It’s got that multicultural vibe, which made me feel at home right off the bat.”
MASSAGE CHAIR SESH
spencer hamilton
“I probably did two sessions on this massage chair at the Auckland airport. Lizard was going back to Sydney and I was going back to Cali. I’ve never sat in one of these before, and it blew my mind. Glorious [laughs].”
K3EW’S CREW
“This is Furby, TK, myself, Lizard, and ‘Twuan. We were in front of this skate shop in Auckland. We didn’t do a signing there, but we stopped in to get some shit. The guys runnin’ the shop were dope, they hooked it up. I got that board I’m holding, some wheels, and some grip. Ready to rock [laughs].”
spencer hamilton
CURB DOGS
“This group photo is from Melbourne, close to the water. I don’t remember most of their names, but they’re the Australian guys that helped us out. Furby, Terry and Antwuan are in there too. Terry’s the shit. He regulates. He’s got so much energy all the time and he handles his business proper. It’s motivating. Terry, Lizard, and ‘Twuan got so much love everywhere on this trip.”
spencer hamilton
shad lambert
“This tower in Auckland was connected to the hotel we were staying in. You can see it from pretty much anywhere in the city, and it reminded me of the CN Tower. The weather in Auckland was a lot like Vancouver’s – it would drizzle the same way and it was overcast quite a bit. I did a project on New Zealand when I was younger, and kiwi was their number one fruit export. Needless to say, I was eating a lot of kiwis the whole trip. The people are called Kiwis and the national bird is also called a kiwi.”
DOING THE WAVE
“Dean Parsons skates for Supra and KR3W in Australia, and he fuckin’ rips. He was one of the guys that showed us around Melbourne and Canberra. Here, Dean’s doing a kickflip shifty at a museum in Canberra. That place is so fun, but you’re lucky if you can get a trick there. You can drop-in on that wave thing, which is like a quarter-pipe, then there’s three or four little hips and a hill-bomb.” spencer hamilton
spencer hamilton
KIWI CITY TOWER
ABORIGINAL PROTEST
“These are from the old Parliament House in Canberra. The local Aborigines set up a bunch of protest shit and tents there. Some of them are out there all day, every day. They feel white society and the corporations are taking their land and profiting from it. The little sign next to where it says ‘Respect Our Land’ reads: ‘White Policy Kills Black Culture’. Real shit.”
counter-clockwise from the top:
Spenny and Furby
“That’s me and Furby while we were at this Melbourne mannyto-drop near the water that a lot of people skate. It’s sick. Furby holds it down silent but deadly. He’s so good at skating.”
King Antwuan
“This photo was shot at the Canberra Parliament House. Antwuan’s fuckin’ hilarious and he’s got some serious talent on a skateboard, that’s for sure. Some people know what’s up with him, but most people have no idea. Him on a session’s great – he gets me hyped to skate.”
Shoe-talk with Lizard
“We were about to do a signing at this shop in Canberra, just having some beers and listening to some jams. Antwuan was DJing for a while and played some Janis Joplin. We were kickin’ it outside the shop and Lizard did this interview about his new Supra shoe, so I snapped a photo. Lizard skates the craziest shit in a way that nobody else does. Everything’s suicide, pretty much. It’s exciting to watch.”
spencer hamilton
spencer hamilton
shad lambert
“This was in Canberra, right before a shop signing. The FRONTSIDE HEEL took about an hour to do, then I did it two times back-to-back – both pretty shitty, though. Furby backside flipped it, too. It was fun skating there, and there’s a little brick hip to pop off. All the homies were chillin’ and drinkin’ some brews.”
shad lambert
Concrete skateboarding
49
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words and photos
Brian Caissie
The words “elephants” and “tigers” were all I really needed to hear while deciding on whether or not to visit Thailand for two weeks with the likes of Ryan Oughton, Justin Chorney and Paul Machnau. Well, there’s also the beautiful beaches, 40-degree weather, an English-speaking skate guide, and the fact that Machnau’s girlfriend was doing some major modeling over there and had lots of hook-ups to parties in Bangkok. Once we were situated on the Thai-side, there was a perfect 24 hours that really stood out and made the whole trip. After Machnau first described what we’d be doing for 650 Thai Baht (about $20 Canadian), I thought there was no way it could be possible. It all started off at 5am when we got picked up in a mini-van by Simon Pellaux, our guide. With the AC cranked, we drove to the River Kwai in Kanchanaburi, and got to walk over the historic bridge (be sure to watch The Bridge on the River Kwai). We also got to hold a baby leopard at the local market, which was a good preview to the rest of the day. Every minute was planned out by our guide, so next up we were off to ride elephants through the jungle. I guess my elephant liked me because the driver and I switched places, which allowed me to steer the herd through the jungle. At the end of the day I even tipped my elephant five bucks (about 150 Baht), which he happily took before shaking my hand with his trunk! I kept asking everyone: “Could this day get any better?” When the afternoon heat started to set in, we were dropped off at the river to cool off with a swim and do some relaxing on bamboo
The markets in Bangkok: full of interesting sights, sounds and people. 54
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rafts. As we floated by a restaurant, Oughton entertained the dining tourists with a Canadian full moon. The next stop was a spot that none of us ever wanted to leave – the Sai Yok Noi waterfalls. It’s the most beautiful place you can go to relax and swim all day. The water is tepid and everyone just lays around eating and drinking for free. The anticipation was building for the last stop of the day, so after a huge dinner it was Tiger Temple time. The Wat Pa Luangta Bua Yannasampanno Forest Monastery is a large monk-operated compound where you can interact with tigers – an amazing experience. One might assume that the carnivorous cats are drugged, declawed, or behind bars, but they’re not. There has never been an attack, and they’re as playful as house cats. After spending hours at the temple, we headed back to Bangkok where we ran into our friend from Nelson, BC who played party-guide for the night. “Has this really only been one day?” we continuously muttered to ourselves as dawn approached. After the heavy morning hangovers settled in, we were left wondering what the remaining days would offer.
Tuk-tuk drivers follow no rules and use no seatbelts.
A friendly feline at the Wat Pa Luangta Bua Yannasampanno Forest Monastery, better known as Tiger Temple.
Agility is a must when playing Sepak Takraw – foot-volleyball. 56
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The waterfalls at Sai Yok National Park are a must-visit.
Long flights (this one was 16 hours) are always my least favourite thing about traveling, but hitting the open bar on an International flight helps. I knew there was going to be some problems after the flight attendant asked us to be quiet and sit down a few times. Five hours in I would be abruptly awoken from a slumber with things being thrown at me from three aisles up, while the trio was loudly laughing and pointing. Moments later I was awoken again, this time to the sound of profuse puking and the smell of warm red wine. Lo and behold, it was a shirtless PAUL MACHNAU sitting in his seat and puking all over the window. So that’s how the trip got started, and it actually set the tone for our two-week stay. On this day in Bangkok, a one-hour cab ride was needed with lots of zig-zagging around town to get to this spot – an impossible feat without a guide. I thought we’d get the boot here for sure, but it’s one of those rare skate-all-day spots. Paul got right into it and actually pulled this backside nosegrind at the end of a line.
In Bangkok, anything goes on the streets. No license, no problem. There’s no need for traffic lights and we even saw someone get nailed on their scooter. Apparently 30,000 people die each year in Bangkok traffic accidents. Things get hectic when the capital city of 12 million residents swells to nearly 20 million every day when people from other regions show up to work. So yeah, skating down the street is a bad idea, but JUSTIN CHORNEY did it more often than not. We got dropped off at our warm-up spot, a place with marble ground and 10-year-old ramps made of steel that you could sear a steak on. But what they do have that most locals didn’t seem to skate is this perfect marble dropledge surrounded by bamboo trees – the perfect setting for Justin’s half-cab noseslide 270 shuv.
Catching cabs in Bangkok is ridiculously cheap – a one-hour ride can cost you about $2.50 Canadian. In our case, giving directions was hellish because the map we had was in English and none of the cabbies could read it. Again, our guide Simon was a saviour not only for taking us to spots, but also when it came to dealing with cabs and ordering food. Our friend Alex Mizurov from Germany told us to meet him under this bridge, but we got held up in traffic because Thailand’s 82-year-old King Bhumibol Adulyadej was approaching. The police wouldn’t allow anyone near the bridge as he rolled through. This day ended up being one of the only rainy ones, and RYAN OUGHTON was itching to skate. Once we were able to make it below the bridge, he popped onto this high marble up-ledge for a backside 50-50.
This baby leopard near the River Kwai was no toy.
Full Moon Festival, downtown Bangkok. Concrete skateboarding
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Scooter and tuk-tuk madness on the streets of Bangkok.
Oughton and his new friend at the Tiger Temple.
There’s a lot of popular sports in Thailand, but the ones we got into were Muay Thai boxing and Sepak Takraw (volleyball with your feet using a small woven ball made from rattan – similar to bamboo). Cricket is also big-time in Thailand since the country is close Pakistan and India. After watching Cricket on TV for six hours one night we still couldn’t comprehend the rules, but it was fun imitating the announcers. Another national sport we were more familiar with was “Clubbing” – the act of dancing, drinking and watching babes. Bangkok is well known for its wild clubs and anything goes here including the dreaded Ladyboys, which you have to watch out for. Unless you’re completely inebriated, you’ll spot them pretty easily. The bars are cheap and the people are very friendly, especially if you’re a white guy because that means you’re probably a tourist with a favourable exchange rate. After a night of dodging Ladyboys, RYAN OUGHTON slid this frontside nose full-speed into a hairpin turn while a woman and her daughter worked the splits-machines.
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We randomly bumped into our friend Ryder Goulet from Nelson, BC who teaches English in Bangkok. He took a week off to act as our bar guide and show us some serious Thai partying techniques. On some of the days, Ryder would call us at 2pm to say he’s tired from doing tequila shots all morning and can’t show us around, but then he’d knock on our doors an hour later ready for action. Needless to say, skating in the heat with harsh all-day hangovers is just how it went sometimes. This spot is a two-minute walk from the hotel and it’s amazing, but after getting kicked out seven times we thought there’s no way in hell RYAN OUGHTON would get a chance to skate it. I wasn’t too worried about security, but was more concerned about the five-foot long Komodo Dragon lurking in the grass close to my camera gear while I was shooting this switch frontside blunt.
Skateboarding in Asia is usually a free-for-all, but that’s not really the case in Bangkok. I was a little surprised at how much security there was and how quickly they’d be on our backs, but it all made sense pretty quickly since it’s so cheap to hire a guard there. We got kicked out of a lot of spots, so without our guide Simon Pellaux unearthing the hidden gems, we would’ve come home with very few skate photos. “We can’t skate there, but I can get us a pass,” Simon says when we rolled up to this spot. A TV station was filming a piece on his skateshop and board company called Preduce [myspace.com/preduce], so we got a pass from the city to skate here for a few hours (a deal you can apparently swing at some spots). The pass was around $200, if you can believe that. There’s no run-up at all, so PAUL MACHNAU had to run through an outdoor gym to get at this frontside ollie.
Machnau and Britt trekking through the jungle.
A drink fit for a king.
One of the 400 Buddhist temples in Bangkok. Concrete skateboarding
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Elephants for hire.
Gold-leaf covered monk statues at a Buddhist temple in Bangkok.
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Bangkok has been recognized as the hottest city in the world. The temperatures consistently rise above 40˚C during the day, and the evening lows hover at around 30˚C. You’d never notice just by looking at the locals who wear sweaters and jackets while the tourists are constantly sweating. The sun rises and sets at pretty much the same time year-round here, 6am-6pm, which is great for skating. Our Canadian bodies were not used to skating in this heat, and four days worth of heat-stroke puking was felt after PAUL MACHNAU skated this spot. But when you travel or skate with guys like this (I call them soldiers), you know these hurdles won’t deter them. With security on our asses, Paul pushed for a quick make on this long-distance kickflip in the 50-district capital that spans five Thai provinces.
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YOUNG BLOODS
Mitch Donovan
Age: 18 Lives: Ajax, ON Sponsors: éS Footwear, Control Skateboards, Switch Skate & Snow
Regardless of what you call Mitch – Meetch, M-Dons or Donny – this kid is one of the sickest dudes you’ll have the pleasure of meeting. I’ve been filming with Mitch for about four years now, and he’s been throwing down since day one. Whether he’s skating some mini, ledges, mannies, sets or rails, he never fails to amaze me. The dude was born to ride. So get a good look at this face because you’re going to be seeing a lot more of it. —Jordan Moss
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Smiles, jokes, and wallies come to mind when thinking about Patafie. Definitely not one to be pigeonholed as a robot-grom, he has a unique style and bag of tricks to separate himself from the herd. Because of the Canadian climate, half the year is spent at indoor parks; it’s nice to catch Matt honing his skills on the daily, but it’s also a breath of fresh air to know he isn’t the type to perform a demo every time he drops in. He’s just doing his own thing and skates for the pure fun of it. At such a young age, plenty more of Matt will be seen in the future. —Ian Gauthier 86
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Videoreviews Back in 2005, DANE COLLISON escaped Vernon, BC’s omnipresent bar stars draped in Tap-Out gear to skate the Vancouver streets and chase down a few roll-soldiers with his VX. Four years later, Dane became Supra Distribution’s all-around sweet bro AKA the team manager, trip planner, and filmer/editor. You can check out his ongoing web videos at supradistribution.com, and you’ll also find his camera/editing work in the recently released TENS (featured last issue). Here and now, he’s got our guest review slot for Beauty and the Beast 2.
Beauty and the Beast 2: The Honeymoon’s Over Girl & Antihero You know that seeing the Girl and Antihero logos together on the cover of their second Beauty and the Beast video means you’ll be seeing tour-skating in its purest form. This one features 20 guys, three vans, a couple cameras, and a shitload of Pabst. When you pop in the disc you once again get the choice of watching the “Beauty Edit” or the “Beast Edit”. Even though a lot of the same shots were used in both edits, the different angles, cuts and music make them feel entirely different. I was bummed to see that Sean Malto, the young-buck, was injured at the start of the trip and had to go home. Luckily, fresh Chocolate blood Vincent Alvarez was
there to pick up the slack. Tony Trujillo ripped every spot the way you only wish you could, and little Robbie Russo is stupidly comfortable on a board – it looks like he crawled out of the womb and landed in the transition of a backyard pool. There’s also Rick McCrank’s fastplant off a dinosaur’s head, which makes a difficult task out of choosing an MVP. If you like the idea of a group of guys going on a skatepark-murdering road trip with camping, floating down rivers and crushing beers along the way, go get this video and hope that you can have as much fun as these guys when you’re 30-plus. —Dane Collison
Strange World Zero
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Strange World is by far the most important Zero video for us Canadians. It showcases the Pro debut of Keegan Sauder, while Sheldon Meleshinski shares a ripping part with Rattray, and rural Alberta’s own “Lil’ Fucky” (Jamie Tancowny) gets the well-deserved ender. Unlike some of the Zero projects of the past, this video is quick, colourful and less dramatic in a good way. It ranks up there with 1999’s Mislead Youth in terms of re-watchability, soundtrack and overall polish.
Beer bellies, tranny ripping, war propaganda and animal instincts are just some of the treats in store while viewing Slave’s first video offering: Radio-Television. Going the opposite route as Zero’s ultra-sharp and fast Strange World, Slave takes you on a near hourlong journey of what their team is all about. Through amazing skating and mischief, Radio-Television reveals what the modern skateboarding lifestyle is all about. You get a sense of the endless tall-cans, dirty hotel rooms, stinky tour vans and filthy shirts without leaving the comfort of your own bubble. In some ways, seeing how these guys get to live out their youth will make you jealous. But thanks to the fact that they’ve recorded it, we get to live vicariously through each of their respective sections.
Do yourself a favour: support the Canadians on Zero by grabbing a copy of Strange World, and while you’re at it pick up a board from Keegan’s first Pro model series. —Ben Stoddard
—Ben Stoddard
Hesh Law Creature Creature’s Hesh Law is an eerie demonic vision of what pure skateboarding and its macabre consequences represent to a few lost souls. Truman Hooker starts it all off by showing us he is a gnarly stuntman with skills to boot. Devin Appelo, Sean Conover, Adrian Mallory, and Silent Mike all have great parts that showcase their own grotesque uniqueness. Taylor Bingaman was definitely the standout AM of this flick – his part transgressed raw street to gnarly transitions, all with great style. David Gravette is the only Pro with his own part, and I’m pretty sure that all rails in existence now quake with fear at the mere mention of his name. Darren Navarrette, Al Partanen and the rest of the horde all have sick footy spread throughout the video in the various bowl, pool, tour, and exceptionally dark vert ender parts. Also included in the video is a sick Barrier Kult section of which the Depth Leviathan Dweller proclaims, “THE KNIVES TOUCH 92
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IN THE CIRCLE OF PLAGUE AND BLACK-ARTS ENCRUSTED BARRIER WORSHIP.” The Hesh Law Deluxe Edition also
features a sick horror flick done by the Creature crew, and the Depth Leviathan Dweller will fill you in on its gory details below… —Craig Williams
BLOOD SHED HORROR OF OLD. THE CREEPING OF THE PAINTED WOMEN IN THE DARK HOUSE. THE DARK AND CIRCLED MAKE-UP OF PRE-CODE VAMPS AND THE DARK PLAGUE WHORES OF NEW. THE POOL IS DESECRATED AND WORSHIPPED. THE SHALLOW END, TIGHT TRANSITION ENTITIES, AND THE DARK BOX AWAKENS THE OLD GODS OF THE KNIFE. THE PLAGUE SPREADS FURTHER AND THE BLOOD CREEPS ONTO THE BLACK ASPHALT SURFACE. WORSHIPPING AND VIOLENT MILITANCE IS DISPLAYED IN TWO DIFFERENT “MASSACRE” LINES OF MANGE AND DECAPITATION. —DEPTH LEVIATHAN DWELLER / BA.KU.
Shoe vaultsduffs kcks Dan Watson
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Despite their current reputation, in the early-to-mid ’90s World Industries was the shit, simple as that. They had the best riders, they made the best videos, and they had the best board companies affiliated with them. Blind, 101, Menace, and Plan B were all legendary brands that at one time sat under the World umbrella, which was held up by founder Steve Rocco. Alongside their arsenal of hardgoods was DuFFS – World’s shoe company that Rocco and Rodney Mullen started in 1994.
Kareem Campbell’s Pro shoe, which was loosely based on a classic Reebok model called the “Workout”. The well-received KCKs were released in solid black or white, both featuring a gum sole. As for style, the shoe was different enough to stand out at the time, but still simple and functional enough to skate. If you watch any of the Worldaffiliated videos from that era, you’ll see a who’s-who of legendary street Pros skating the KCKs regardless of whether they rode for DuFFS or not.
DuFFS has been off the radar for quite awhile, so it may be hard to imagine them as a really popular shoe company. However, being involved with World Industries back in the day meant that it was easy to get skaters from Rocco’s bevy of companies to ride for DuFFS. With legends like Rodney Mullen, Ronnie Creager, Jeremy Wray and Kareem Campbell, the stacked team definitely factored into the brand’s popularity. At the time, the DuFFS line relied almost solely on two models, the “Cobnobbler” and the “Strombolie”. By ’95, the brand decided to expand the line by releasing the KCKs – Kareem Campbell Kicks.
Despite the shoe’s popularity, and its current legendary status, the KCKs didn’t last too long. As the skate shoe market started to boom in the late ’90s, many riders left the once-popular DuFFS for greener shoe pastures. In an old Big Brother interview, Kareem Campbell talked about his displeasure with DuFFS using the sole he designed for the KCKs on other models without his permission. Whether it was indeed bad blood or simply just the waning popularity of DuFFS, Kareem left the brand by the end of 1996 to start Axion – his own shoe company that released its fair share of classic designs. In fact, Kareem’s first Axion model was obviously based on the KCKs. But over at DuFFS, the “KCK” letters were dropped from the shoe and it lasted another season before being dropped from the line altogether in early 1997.
Besides having a roster of wildly popular companies at the time, the World Industries of the early ’90s was also hugely influential in bringing an urban, inner-city hip-hop presence into the fast-evolving and dominant world of street skating. Without a doubt, Kareem Campbell was at the head of this movement, both in style and skating ability, so the decision to move forward with his first Pro shoe was definitely a solid choice. Another aspect that came alongside the emergence of hip-hop influence in skateboarding was the popularity of wearing nonskate clothing brands like Polo and Tommy Hilfiger, as well as shoe companies like Reebok, Adidas, and Nike (none of which ran skate programs at the time). Along with these influences came the design of 94
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A classic shoe designed by a legendary skater has all the makings of a Shoe Vaults classic. The KCKs really did stand the test of time as a great looking shoe and a symbol of an era in skateboarding that many people fondly remember as their favourite in our short history. Despite the long-time popularity of this shoe, there are very few of them floating around out there in good condition. Consider yourself a true collector (and very lucky) if you have a pair. As one of the pinnacle ’90s-era shoes that hasn’t been re-issued in some form yet, an original pair of DuFFS KCKs are definitely worth holding on to.
Sound Check
Souls of Mischief words
Jenny Charlesworth
The year was 1993. Mark Gonzales had just kickflipped the gap named after him at SF’s Embarcadero, and a crew of Oakland-based emcees were about to redefine alternative hip-hop with a little disc called 93 ‘til Infinity. It may seem like a lifetime ago, but a session with their latest album, Montezuma’s Revenge, is sure to bring it all flooding back. Those same rappers, now widely known as Souls of Mischief, are still making tracks that capture the spirit of hip-hop’s golden age. “We came out in a lane where you can be yourself,” emcee Tajai reminisces on the line from California. “We didn’t come out as these big gangster dudes, we just came out like, ‘Hey, we’re really fresh at making music,’ and we’ve maintained that.” Tajai isn’t shy about asserting Souls of Mischief’s rightful place in hip-hop’s hierarchy. There’s no question in the veteran emcee/producer’s mind that his posse – which pulls double-duty in Del tha Funkee Homosapien’s legendary Hieroglyphics collective – are still frontrunners in a genre plagued by bling-obsessed profiteers and Timbaland hand puppets. “Our get-down is not comprised of image,” Tajai says. “We don’t have to do anything special to be hip-hoppers… We’ve been down since the early years.” It’s those “early years” that usually come into play when people talk about Souls of 96
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Mischief. Just listen to the East Bay crew’s catalogue and it’s hard not to remark on the heavy old-school vibe flowing throughout. Even on late ’09’s Montezuma’s Revenge – a disc released nearly two decades after emcees Tajai, A-Plus, Opio and Phesto, first debuted – that same standout style that first hooked kids back in the day is well represented. “We stay relevant by actually being who we say we are,” Tajai proclaims. “I think if we stuck with what was relevant nowadays we’d suck, ‘cause look at hip-hop: 90 percent of the shit out there sucks.” With little interest in following the revolving door of one-hit wonders currently stinking up the hip-hop arena, Tajai prefers to spend his energy keeping the Souls of Mischief name in good standing. Well, having iconic producer Prince Paul on board for the latest album was certainly a power move that paid off. “He’s a humble dude, but it was still daunting before we started executing,” Tajai says of collaborating with the industry mogul. “Once we started hooking up with each other and working together, it wasn’t a big deal though.” While the chemistry has always been constant between the four emcees, Prince Paul took their connection to new heights this time around. Whether it’s the throwback beats in the spirited “Tour Stories” or the
supreme head-nodder “Hiero HQ” (a track that taps into vintage Hieroglyphics with the help of Del’s inimitable bravado), the A-list producer had no problem getting down with Souls of Mischief’s trademark formula. It might have taken the Cali rappers nine years to follow up their 2000 album Trilogy: Conflict, Climax, Resolution, but Tajai believes that the wait for Montezuma’s Revenge was worth it. “Really it’s about impressing our peers and making sure that we ourselves are happy with what we put out – that’s why this one took awhile,” he says before adding: “As far as the press and the media go, we’ve always had an on-andoff relationship. Records that people now consider classics, when they came out they were only given three mics. Critical acclaim is cool but that shit is fair-weather.” If recent reviews are any indication, things with the media seem to be very much “on” since the new disc appears to be the perfect offering for those who champion hip-hop of yester-year. And while there were some who feared Souls of Mischief had lost the plot because of so little action in recent years, Montezuma’s Revenge proves that Tajai and the crew are just as resolved as they’ve always been to do what they do best: keepin’ it real.
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Toulouse, France’s Lucas Puig drew attention to himself from this side of the pond thanks to video appearances in Cliché’s Bon Appetit [’03] and Freedom Fries [’04]. However, it was his impressive “French Connection” spot in ’07’s Fully Flared that really globalized his skating. Hell, you can even find Virtual Lucas in EA’s upcoming Skate 3, of which he claims: “It’s good to play when you chill”. Prepare to find wine, cheese, Oxmo Puccino and more in his Fiver.
1. JB Gillet 2. Gauthier Rouger 3. Romain Jorda 4. Etienne Baunin 5. Benoit Stevenot
1. Camembert 2. Fromages De Chèvres 3. Comté 4. Saint-Marcellin 5. French Emmental
1. My parents are so proud 2. My grandparents are so proud 3. It’s good to play when you chill 4. It’s good to visit the game shop and see the demo on the screen 5. Good memories for the future
1. Médoc 2. Saint-Émilion 3. Sauternes 4. Côtes de Bordeaux 5. Fronton
1. Pays Basque (Southwest France, at the Spanish border) 2. Australie (OZ) 3. Chine (China) 4. Maroc (Morocco) 5. N.Y.C.
1. W 2. E 3. E 4. D 5. S
1. Guy Mariano – Mouse 2. Gino Iannucci – Trilogy 3. Keenan Milton – 20 Shot Sequence 4. Mike Carroll – Modus Operandi 5. Nick Trapasso – Suffer The Joy
websites
1. crailtap.com 2. lakai.com 3. officialskateshop.com 4. skatevideosite.com 5. booska-p.com (French rap site)
Movies
1. The Godfather 2. Scarface 3. Casino 4. La Grande Vadrouille 5. Mesrine: Public Enemy No. 1
Albums
1. Oxmo Puccino - L’Amour Est Mort 2. Oxmo Puccino - Opéra Puccino 3. Rohff - Le Code De L’Honneur 4. Nas - Illmatic 5. Notorious B.I.G. - Ready To Die
98
Concrete skateboarding
kelly litzenberger
the FIVE SPOT
frontside flip late shove
evan collisson distributed by Ultimate
Momentumʼs original flat spot resistant urethane. The new Slim Profile wheels reduce weight and slide when you need them to. Cryptozoology series with artwork by Aye Jay. www.momentumskate.com
QUIKSILVER SKATEBOARDING IS: JAKE JOHNSON | AUSTYN GILLETTE | OMAR HASSAN | CHRISTIAN HOSOI ALEX OLSON | TONY HAWK | DAVID CLARK | JUSTIN BROCK | REESE FORBES ALEX DAVIS | KYLE LEEPER | DANNY GARCIA
quiksilver.com/skate
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SWITCH FLIP. blabac photo.
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