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ZERED BASSETT. SWITCH CROOKS TRANSFER.
FEATURING: ZERED “LIBERTY” PRO MODEL DECK EXPEDITION-ONE.COM
Table//ConTenTs
Table Of Contents March/april 2013 VOLUME NiNe ISSUE Two
10
forewords casTles & clowNs
14
guest editor rob briNk
16
soap box geTTiNg rad
18
hammertime Trick oF The MoNTh
20
fresh find Max caTasus
22
fresh find Nick bruNo
24
fresh find JohN diloreNzo
28
contest results rep215 park MoNTage
30
video daze TMkF
34 NaTTy selecT video daze
40 Toxic aVeNgers spot check
42 Tropical reTreaT road trippin’
50 eMMeT duFFy small talk
52 adaM hribar small talk
54 iNceNTiVes photo section
46 proVideNce, ri scenester oN The coVer: willy akers [boneless] phOtOgraphy :: luke darigaN coNTeNTs: MaTT laNe [frontside nosegrind] phOtOgraphy :: TreVor deNMaN
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coNTribuTiNg wriTers BUDDy BLECKLEy, aNDrEW CaNNON, ryaN gEE, LUKE DarIgaN, SOMa FULLEr, CLaIrE LaVEr, NIaLL NEESON, ChrIS NIEratKO, StEphEN OLIVEIra, ZaNDEr taKEtOMO, XENO tSarNaS, aLLEN yINg Interested in advertising and Supporting your Local Scene?
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Want to submit photos, editorial, or hate mail?
send submissions to info@focusskatemag.com or via snail mail to the address above Want to carry Focus? Just give us call to find out how! Join us on Facebook www.facebook.com/FocusskateMag Join us on twitter t www.twitter.com/FocusskateMag Join us on Instagram at @FocusskateMag general questions please email info@focusskatemag.com Focus Skateboarding Magazine is published bi-monthly, six times a year by Focus Skateboarding Magazine Inc. all contents are copyrighted by Focus Skateboarding Magazine Inc. 2013. reproduction of any material requires the written consent from the publishers. all letters, photos, editorial contributions, and advertisements are accepted upon the representation that they are original materials by the author and/or advertiser. the author and/or advertiser accept full responsibility for the entire content and subject matter of their ads and/or editorial contributions. Opinions expressed in the articles are those of the author and may not reflect the views and opinions of the editor, staff, or advertisers of Focus Skateboarding Magazine. any similarities between persons or places mentioned or alluded to in the fiction and real places or persons living or dead are purely coincidental. advertisers assume full responsibility for the entire content and subject matter of their advertisements. the author and/or advertisers also will indemnify and save Focus Skateboarding Magazine harmless from any legal claims.
Fore//Words
Chris McDonald
Mike Berdis decided he was in his own subculture when he put his gnar boots on and blasted this 360 flip out in Pittsburgh.
Castles & clowns
WORDS :: Mazur Photography :: Luke McKaye
Every time I write an introduction to the magazine I want it to be different, but I feel I continue to write the same things over and over… Without even realizing it, I do it. Shit, I’m doing it right now. I think I’ve written that whole first sentence before in about six or seven other issues. Am I going insane? Maybe. Or, it might just be this wacky Northeastern weather that I live in. Seriously, I love the change of seasons and all, but it’s a little frustrating when one day it’s sixty degrees and the next day it’s twenty and snowing and then the following day it’s back to being sixty and sunny out. Like, WTF?! Maybe it’s that in making this latest issue I turned the big 3-0! Yeah, I’m frickin’ thirty now. I know its cliché to say but seriously, where did the time go? I always get a little bummed around my birthday now, too. I don’t really get it ‘cause I’m actually pretty happy with where I’m at in life. Is there something hardwired into my subconscious that’s saying I should be living the American dream? The dream to get rich and live in a house disconnected from the rest of society. Should I live in a mountaintop castle some place, in an isolated nest where I pick and choose who is worthy enough to invite over for playtime? I’d like to think I’m a little past that, but who knows. Maybe I am just another haphazard clown that wants to live in the ivory towers of the north and point my finger at others. Point out their flaws, why they won’t make it, why they don’t fit in, why what they do is “weird.” Wait a second… That is what everyone does on Facebook, isn’t it? I don’t want that. But at the same time I find myself judging peoples status updates… And then I think to myself, do they judge mine? Why do I even care? Should I care? This is something sort of hard to admit. And, this might even be something you’ll judge me on. Do I care? I might, but I’ll never admit it. Or did I? Confused? Good.
focusskatemag.com
I think I contribute most of this confusion to my lifelong growing-crutch known as skateboarding. Yes, its cliché. But back when I started skating, you were different… All skaters were different and that’s what made us. Read Rob Brinks Guest Editor article in this issue for more of a reference. It honestly really made me think. Skateboarding was a subculture of the norm. But now it seems that even within skateboarding there are subcultures. The old men, like me, trying to hold on to what was and ride it out, the young bucks who are trying to reinvent tricks and style, the cool guys that dictate what is of par and what is not, the mega corporations that bring in real business models, the diehards that try to keep the truth of the sport alive, the users, the abusers, and everyone in between. It’s become a melting pot of a once beautiful decay of social acceptance. Does that even make sense? I don’t care…
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Skateboarding is supposed to just be child’s play… It’s fun! Why and when did it become so complicated? Well, that’s not us. I’m not going to let it happen. This is Focus Skateboarding Magazine, and while I might say the same things over and over, its ‘cause that’s who I am, and who we are. It’s the subculture of the subculture of skateboarding that we’ve chosen and I don’t want to make it more complicated any more than it is. This is Focus Skateboarding Magazine! Will show you the new skaters trying to come up, the photographers working on their craft, the East Coast scene, the ABD’s because we can, we’ll showcase the smaller companies… We are the melting pot of the skateboarding society.
TRAVIS GLOVER
OLLIE
KEVIN TIERNEY
BACK LIP FRONT 180
WATCH
AT ZOOYORK.COM
STARRING: CHAZ ORTIZ / FORREST KIRBY / AARON SUSKI / RON DEILY / KEVIN TAYLOR DAVE WILLIS / KEVIN TIERNEY / TRAVIS GLOVER / IAN TWA / BRANDON WESTGATE
STEPHAN MARTINEZ 360 FLIP
TEAMICECREAM.COM
EMMET DUFFY & JAMEL MARSHALL “CHILLIN IN THE SHADE, SIPPIN’ LEMONADE”
Multitudes WORDS :: Rob Brink
I kinda hate these things… You know, the front of the mag where some industry dude or mag editor twice the age of the kids reading the mag, who would be much better off spending his time skating, spews some cliché overly-emotional nonsense about how skateboarding “changed their life” and how the entire skateboarding community is some “brotherhood” or “family” across the globe. Or how skateboarders are sooooooo oppressed by society and the law and the government yet we can never be stopped ‘cuz we’re oh soooooo rebellious and bad-ass. What’s another one? Oh… About how skating has taught them soooooo much about life and given them soooo many experiences and lessons and friends or how skaters are suuuuuuch outcasts and sooooo influential and society rips them off and cashes in on them, even though said magazine editor’s publication has Army, Norelco, Toyota, Nike, Target and Monster Energy drink ads in it. If these articles were video, they’d be the super slowmo HD montage where the dude almost makes the trick and lays on the ground covered in blacktop grime and sweat, with one shoe off and his board broken beside him and his head in his hands, writing in agony before getting up and trying one last time on someone else’s board.
focusskatemag.com
And guess what? Stop proving your naiveté and saying skateboarding won’t be in the Olympics because it fucking will. We get it, magazine guy. We know we’re awesome. We know we have it tough sometimes too… And that skateboarding is the best, most fun thing on Earth. We eat and breathe and sleep and break ourselves for it… That’s how much we love it.
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But didn’t you read the last three decade’s worth of intros in the mag you work for? Or in the other mags you grew up reading for that matter? Do you even read them anymore? It’s the same hokey, warm ‘n fuzzy pseudo-Tony Robbins-esque article a few times a year in dozens of skate mags worldwide. And these are supposedly our thought leaders and influencers? Weird. No wonder “kids don’t read” and “print is dying.” Natural selection perhaps. Thankfully most of the skate content on the Internet doesn’t have
“A letter from the Editor.” It took me a while to figure out, but I realize now, having been out of New Jersey and in Southern California for close to a decade, that I moved to a conformist culture. Southern California, for the most part, has a very laid back, keeping-up-with-theJoneses mentality, compared to the northeast and many other parts of the country. And the same holds true for skateboarding. It has no choice really, because it’s primarily based in Conformityville. Hurry up and get your Smiths shirt and flannel and tattoos, bro, and make sure you post a photo of your computer screen while watching Pretty Sweet for the first time too! Where I came from was the opposite. I was proud to put thought and effort into being different, rather than laboring to have the same exact Vans and shoelace belt as 30 other kids in my class or skate crew. I’ve had my share challenges interacting and working with people out here in California because of it. Safe to say, if I played the “cool guy” game a little better and kissed the right ass and hung out at the right spots in LA, drinking PBR with the right people and scene-ing it up, I might have some serious skate fame or a bigger paycheck and all the top pros and brands tagging me on Instagram. Look at any skate shop shoe wall or through almost any skater’s Instagram feed these days and you’ll see how one-dimensional and predictable we’ve become. What’s more? We’ve actually grown accustomed to making fun of our own outcasts and trendsetters… Dylan Rieder, Ritchie Jackson, William Spencer, Ryan Sheckler, Jereme Rogers, Adam Miller and so on. Skateboarding, a subculture claiming to be “outcasts,” actually shits on it’s own “outcasts,” despite the fact that we should be thanking them for their contributions. That’s what fucking jocks do. They pick on people who are different than them because they are straight-up spineless, cowardly caveman dipshits. If you don’t abide by skateboarding’s unwritten laws of “cool,” you’re just blowing it maaaaaaaaan. So think about it… Think about what you really are as
Jeremy Weiss
Guest//editor
In the spirit of being different, we decided to flip Rob Brink’s ‘96 wallie throwback photo on its side. As an advocate of doing your own thing, we don’t think he’ll mind.
a skateboarder the next time you’re gonna post some shitty cliché on your social media or write another intro to a mag or go whining about how skaters have it so tough or how we’re one big “family.” What “brotherhood,” “family” or “outcast” goes online and anonymously shit talks one another every single day? What “influencer” writes the same shit, films the same shit, wears the same clothes and listens to the same music as hundreds and thousands of people before him and around him? What “rebel” is scared of what his friends might think if he does something for himself rather than the approval of the crew? How could you possibly be getting “ripped off” or “cashed in” on when you are spending you and your parent’s hard-earned money on products made by publicly traded mega-corporations, all who have NOTHING to do with skateboarding other than that they bought their way into it? Or better yet, you work in skateboarding and the money paying your bills comes from said corporations, the UFC or even the military? Skateboarders and skateboarding are cool as shit, don’t get me wrong. But we’d be a hell of a lot cooler if we’d step outside ourselves and look in for a minute. Because the way many outsiders see us is different than how we see ourselves. And what they see now, compared to what they saw in the first three decades of skateboarding, are a bunch of boring-ass clones… They see a subculture of self-important, arrogant, whining youth who think everyone wants to be like them and that their shit doesn’t stink. And they might be right. Try criticizing yourself first. Call yourself out. And be really honest with yourself. It takes time… It takes guts, but you’ll be a better person when you’re done. Especially because you might end up breaking the mold or pushing the envelope a little more than you used to. You won’t have the need to clown other skaters anymore either, and with that time and energy you’ll do something better for yourself and us all. It’s called progression. And progression isn’t just about adding another flip or another stair to what you are trying to learn on the board … If you can learn the trick to progressing your heart and mind first, the rest will be easy.
soap//box
Jay kloTz [backside noseslide]
GettinG Rad
WOrDS :: Jay kloTz phOtOgraphy graphy :: Marcello duarTe
focusskatemag.com
this noseslide is at a spot that I have known about for close to a decade because I grew up skating on this island. t typically, we would just do little wall rides here and that was about it. Over the summer, someone cut part of the railing above the wall, making the spot more versatile to skate. Unfortunately, the city has already repaired the fence, therefore it is back to being a wall ride spot once again. the spot sits next to the bridge that connects atlantic City to Brigantine. On the other side of this bridge, in Brigantine, is the only skate park in the atlantic City area. this was my first encounter with a skate park as a kid, and it sucked. It is the most outdated crusty snake run bowl, and was probably built sometime in the 1970’s.
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all that is about to change thanks to my homie Jay at the #SkateaC movement and the CrDa. this summer, atlantic City will be revealing a new $850,000 skate park that will be built near the train to philly and new outlet stores, making it easily accessible for all types of people.
We have so much to offer here that people just don’t realize. the city has amazing waves for all the surfers, tons of street spots, insane night clubs, constant shows, epic strip clubs, amazing food, and so much more. although it may have appeared run down for some years, all that is about to change.
greg Simmons, Julian giraldo, and myself have started a non-profit organization called the rad Movement (renaissance and Discovery). Our organization plans to raise awareness about skateboarding in the area with a focus on the youth who may end up in trouble due to boredom. We want to give the kids something to focus on. rad Movement will have contests, events, skating, filming lessons, and boards for the groms. Our goal is to provide a skate presence and influence in the area.
governor Christie may be running for president in 2016 and making atlantic City look nice… For some reason it is on his agenda. I’m not complaining. he has taken over the city and is pumping 150 Million dollars into revitalizing the streets and making it nice for families. the skate park will be a part of this money spent to revitalize the town. It’s already showing signs of serious change and the projects have just begun. Word around town is Shaq is going to be opening a huge facility for kids with movie theaters, arcade games, a bowling alley and much more.
there has been absolutely nothing positive in atlantic City for young people to do for a long time. Many of the kids I grew up skating with on this island quit because it was such a mission to skate and as a result got into heavily drugs. I know skateboarding may not change the world, but every little thing counts in a community. this park will channel all of that youthful energy in a progressive and productive way! t to have a bunch of young people hyped on skateboarding and the arts in aC will provide positive change in the community at large. the rad Movement plans to make sure that the youthful skaters of aC grow up and become creative, successful adults. We are working with Shut on an art show/concert in NyC soon to raise money for the movement. We can’t do any serious fund raising until we go down to city hall and get it registered, but that will happen very soon. atlantic City has an epic and original history to it, and I think with the emerging skateboard scene in the area we may witness a shift in the cultural relevance of the sport. Skateboarding to most people in this area has always been seen as a hobby, but now more than ever people are realizing that the sport is related to many professions and businesses. I hope that this island can catch up with the times and the kids around here will start skateboarding more and getting into trouble less. this city to me has the potential to be the East Coast Dogtown/Venice Beach.
I was born and raised here. I lived in other city’s like philadelphia, and Long Beach, and I realized how much more skateboarding goes on in those places and it makes me fiend-out to build a scene like that around here. I know how influential skateboarding can be to a young persons focus in life. If we can maintain a skate scene in this area, kids will learn first hand how they can literally imagine themselves doing something (a trick) in there mind and focus on it enough until it manifests. as skaters we are constantly using the universal law of attraction to our benefit… We hold ideas of what we want to do on our boards in our mind and watch them play out in reality. this lesson skateboarding teaches us is so important for us as skaters to realize because it can be used in all aspects of your life. I believe for the most part your thoughts are what you become, and if you think positively enough about what you want to be, you can get there. I think this noseslide and other tricks in aC are just the intro to a heavy flow of photography and videography coming out of the area revolving around skateboarding and all the fun stuff to do out here. Check out www.ClearlyFaded.com to see what’s cracking in the city and how to get more involved with developing the scene. We are covering all the contests, events and parties on the island!
NICK ghOBaShI
HaMMer//TiMe focusskatemag.com
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Josh swyeRs
50-50 To FroNTside boardslide WOrDS :: Mazur
50-50 to frontside boardslides are probably one of the first combo tricks any kid learns. and while it might look “stupid” or “simple” to a more advanced skater at the park or spot, the kid that just made it is super stoked and thinks he is bad-ass. Don’t be a dickhead… go ahead and give him props, ‘cause in his mind he’s the king of the park, or spot, that day and a little encouragement goes a long way in his future as a skateboarder.
Well, someone must have really encouraged Josh when he was younger. he kept that 50-50 to boardslide in his bag of tricks. It was probably deep in the bag, but it was there. It was a lasting memory from when he was younger and an older kid high-fived him after he spent the whole day trying it. Well, years came and went, and when he went to this spot and reached deep in the bag he found this gem. that great memory and feeling was reborn. and, that is why we choose this as our hammertime trick this month.
Photo: Acosta
Stephen Oliveira
FRESH//FIND “Max is a ripper, a really appreciative ripper. His post-session ‘thank you’ texts never fail. Whether it’s thanks for skating or thanks for shooting, it never fails. Just like his 50-50’s. They never fail. I have far too many 50-50 photos with him on gnarly rails now because of that. I’m not complaining though. Look out for our 32-page 50-50 gallery coming soon!”
focusskatemag.com
~Stephen Oliveira Friend/Photographer
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Max Catasus
Frontside 50-50
Hometown: Melbourne, FL Sponsors: Reliance Skateboards (flow), Filtrate Eyewear, Catalyst, Neff (flow), Tork Trux (flow), Ride Nature, Clothe Your Neighbor as Yourself Favorite Trick: Kickflips or Backside Smiths Trick You Just Suck At: Heelflips Favorite Non-Skateboarding Activity: Playing the drums. Last Words/Shout Outs: I would like to thank Jesus Christ my Lord and Savior, my parents and fiancé for all their love and support, all my sponsors, Matt Smith and Wade Sutton at Filtrate, Damin Lajun and Darren Wells at Reliance, Ryan Caravello, Dustin and Jeremy at Tork, Adam Hadden and David Morefield for always filming me, Matt Koch at Ride Nature, Stephen for always shooting the sickest photos, The Ocean Avenue Distribution crew, Josh, and all of the local homies I skate with everyday here in Brevard, and all my friends outside of skating for always supporting me. Look out for Brevard coming soon!
FRESH//FIND
“Bruno is a great kid and an amazing skateboarder. He’s from a small nearby town called Agawam. In that town there is a public skatepark that everyone calls ASP! He Lives There! We’ve known Bruno since he was little, I think he even bought his first skateboard from us. Since then we have grown a pretty good relationship with him and his family, especially his Mom, who would bring him to the shop weekly. Now, all grown up, he is amazing to watch skate! I am proud to have him as a friend and team rider. You can check out his part in the new Theory video called, ‘Chump Change.’”
Rob Collins
~Frank Langone Owner, Theory Skateshop
Nick Bruno focusskatemag.com
Gap to Crook
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Hometown: Agawam, MA Sponsors: Theory Skateshop Favorite Trick: 360 Flip Trick You Just Suck At: All flip tricks. Favorite Non-Skateboarding Activity: Instagramming Last Words/Shout Outs: Thanks to Rob, Mikey P., Greg, Everyone at Theory and ASP, and my family!
SPLITUSA.COM // PHOTO: ELY PHILLIPS
FACEBOOK.COM/SPLITCLOTHING // IG: @SPLITCLOTHING
MARQUIS PRESTON
FRESH//FIND
“John serves no purpose in this world other than to simply skateboard, and he’s pretty damn good too. During the making of him, something happened which has left him permanently in skate mode. John knows how to handle himself in any street skating situation; whether he needs to bump flips over fire hydrants, jump down the triple set (probably switch), or flip in and out of manuals and grinds, he always has something up his sleeve no matter where you go. John’s skating offers everything we love in a good East Coast skater, and everything we love in West Coast skaters as well. John is the people’s street skater, and one of the dopest people I’ve ever met. He’s gonna move mountains.”
Ben Kilpatrick
~Michael Magalhaes Friend
John Dilorenzo focusskatemag.com
Frontside 50-50
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Hometown: Jupiter, FL Sponsors: Organika, Cons, Split, Alchemy Grip, Nature Hardware, Shred Shed, Kevin Love Favorite Trick: Kickflip Trick You Just Suck At: Bluntslides on ledges Favorite Non-Skateboarding Activity: Breathing Last Words/Shout Outs: Thanks to my family, King Joe, Alex Yang, Kayo Jake, Shorty, Alchemy Mike, Kevin Love, Mikey and the Florida Daze Squad, Steaktage, Ben Kilpatrick and everyone skating for keeping it awesome.
1IPUP 3ZBO .JMMFS
5FBN 3JEFS "MFY (SJNFT
ConTesT//resulTs
Rep215 paRk MontaGe Contest WOrDS :: JusTiN heisTer
In the fall of 2012, Kyle Knoblauch of rep215.com approached us, Focus, with a fresh idea of how to break the monotony of the frigid winter skate schedule that was quickly encroaching upon us. he came up with the idea for doing a shop team, park montage video contest. rad, right? after just a couple revisions to the overall game plan, we were in to support the contest and feature the top three teams’ submissions in the mag as well as on our website. the idea for the contest was pretty straight forward, and the guidelines/requirements quite simple: Each shop’s edit must feature no more than 8 riders per team, be at least 3 minutes in length, and the best tricks, lines and the overall edit would determine who wins. the winning teams would each win a percentage of the total sum of the entry fees (50% going to first place, 30% and 20%, going to second and third places, respectively).
charm city’s keViN scoTT [bs tailslide] homebase’s JohN shaNahaN [fs bluntslide]
Kyle selected friends, Zander t taketomo and Sean Mcginnis, both of whom have great experience in photography and filmmaking, along with the staff of Focus to be the judges. after reviewing the entries we’ve selected the winners: 1st place: charm city - baltimore, Md 2nd place: homebase - bethlehem, pa 3rd place: cosmic skateshop - louisville, ky honorable Mention: pro Skateboard Shop - Belmar, NJ Fairman’s - West Chester, pa For rep215, this contest was a first, and hopefully it will continue to grow and become a platform for exposure that small businesses can use and riders appreciate. thank you to all who were involved in this contest, all of the edits are awesome. But now we need your help! as an added bonus, we’re holding an additional contest for the top 4 entries, however for this contest, yOU arE thE JUDgE! that’s right, we are adding a viewer’s choice award and need you to pick your favorite edit! this contest will be judged on which shop receives the most votes for best montage in the form of comments left on our website. the official page for the contest is: www.FocusskateMag.com/2013/02/montage-contest (So leave your comments here)
focusskatemag.com
you can also scaN here to watch and vote! y
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as a result of your votes, the winning shop will receive $250 of FrEE gear from Focus! We’ll also throw in some free gear for one lucky commenter, chosen at random. Which means that could be you! Viewer’s choice deadline is March 31st, 2013, so get your vote in before the poles close!
cosmic’s Micah wu [stalefish] pro skateboard shop’s daVe bohack [bs 180 melon]
ORFDO U X R \ W D H O E D O $YDL ate Shop k S r a t S g n i t u Ch W, Suite 105 1349 Old 41 Hwy N 0-7929 Marietta, GA 3006 (Phone) 1-770-445-4000 com (e-mail) gear@chutingstar. vd., Suite 19 1405 Flight Line Bl 2192 DeLand, FL 32724(Phone) 1-386-675-0874 r.com (e-mail) deland@chutingsta
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E T A C I F I T R $20 GIFT CE
RE OF $100 OR MO E S A H C R U P Y N NA WKH REDEEMABLE O WKLV FRXSRQ RU RQOLQH ZLWK te H ZLWK utingstarska h c : e d o (LWKHU LQ VWRU c n o p u co 4/30/2013 Valid through
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Video//Daze
Erich Bielefeldt [bs crook]
That’s a wrap
TMKF
Ty Beall [kickflip]
WORDS :: Mark Eyestone PHOTOGRAPHY :: Brent O’Donnell
focusskatemag.com
“‘Why is there thirty minutes of bullshit and only ten minutes of skateboarding?’ That’s a common response when discussing the Northern Virginia based Kevin O’Dell’s and Zachary Childer’s latest video entitled, ‘This Machine Kills Fascists.’ This skate video is ripe with provocative imagery, social commentary, and heavy on the political undertones. It’s easy for the average viewer to question why a skate video would choose to go so deep. Please understand, If you grow up close to Washington DC, politics are just your face. Furthermore, if you’re a punk-ass little kid listening to Fugazi and skating in front of these buildings where major world decisions are being made everyday, you might question what’s going on. Kevin and Zac are thinkers and did what we all want to do; they created something on their own terms.” - Mark Eyestone
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How did the title “This Machine Kills Fascists” come about? And how does it relate to skateboarding? Well Zac and I had been working on this project; we were filming with Caleb and Jack a bunch and knew we just didn’t know what to call it. We knew from the start that we wanted it to have the theme that it did and I just remember Zac calling me one night when I was on my way home from work saying that he thought of a name for the video, “This Machine Kills Fascists.” I remember being taken back at first but then he explained the relation to Woody Guthrie’s protest folk songs and him writing that slogan on his guitars and it just clicked. I mean Woody Guthrie is one of the most iconic and prolific folk musicians of all time, and he used his artistic medium, which were his songs and performances to expose corruption, promote freedom and empower people. So that worked in perfectly with what Zac and I wanted to do. You know?
You had to know that 99% of the dudes watching TMKF were going to hate on the interludes. At what point during editing did you decide to go all out and make no apologies? Yeah, for sure. I mean, we didn’t think that 99% wouldn’t be into it, we were only hoping to reach a small demographic at the end of the day. I guess we figured maybe somewhere between 80-90% would just skip through those segments, which with the menu we made it very easy for people to do that. It was just important to us to put out something we were psyched on, and put out something that was more than just another skate video, because these days these videos come out like every week. I also think just being older now and having a lot more on our minds than just skateboarding made it a priority. There was never a question about the theme. We definitely questioned what we were gonna use and what issues we wanted to touch on, but at the same time we didn’t want to force our views onto anyone so we left it really general.
Cale Bocasio [bs 180 nosegrind]
Rodent
Jack Beckett [bs boardslide]
What were some of skate videos that influenced you and the way that this video turned out? Oh man that’s tough. I mean if you saw my skate video collection, it’s pretty crazy. I have close to 300 skate videos between VHS and DVD, which is a funny story too. When I was a kid I had a bunch of videos and my brother and I would watch them everyday. But I wasn’t the most responsible kid, I didn’t really take care of them and I was always letting people borrow them and stuff… So I guess maybe 5 years ago or something, Erich came over to my house for the weekend to film or and hang out, and he’s like, “What videos do you have?” and I said, “Well I just have these few.” He was like, “Man I would’ve thought you’d have a bigger skate video collection.” Being a skate nerd too, I was kind of disappointed in my lack of skate videos. I mean I had the videos all memorized anyway from when I was a kid, but like then I went on like an eBay skate video buying binge and bought literally 200 skate videos within a month. Now I’m closer to 300, but I’m still missing a couple of the hard ones that were my some of my favorites growing up like, ‘Rhythm Genesis’ and ‘Maple-Seven Steps to Heaven,’ those are hard to find. As far as influential videos concerning TMKF I’d think it’s pretty obvious to any skate nerd. TMKF was pretty much directly influenced by 2 videos in particular; now of course there were a few others but I can pretty much narrow it down to 2 videos. ‘Foundation Art Bars: Subtitles & Seagulls,’ that video I’ve always felt like was just done so well, I mean because I think Jon West had a lot to do with that one, with the super 8 film and the editing. That one always stuck out as a huge influence for this video. The other one is ‘Alien Workshop - Memory Screen,’ and I think this kind of goes back to the videos perception by the people watching it. I didn’t get it. But dude, now that I’m older, I love that video. Like, I see what they were going for and I almost think it takes a mature eye to really appreciate it for what it is. That video wasn’t all skateboarding. There was a lot of other stuff in the video. Very weird imagery and really thought provoking. I mean whatever Alien Workshop was doing back then and still does today is just really sick. Their “Brainwash” graphic is just so relevant to me, you know, with the Capital building with a tube and a shower head dripping directly onto the brain. So how involved was Zac with the video after he moved to the other side of the country half way through the project? Man that was tough. Honestly, I didn’t know what I was going to do at first because Zac had been so involved with the direction of the video. I knew it was going to be so different from anything I’d put out before and I wanted it to be, but with him leaving I was worried and felt almost abandoned at first. You have to understand also that Zac and I were close friends, I mean we connected on so many levels… Skating, music, politics and all that. So, when he left, I didn’t know how involved it would or could still be,
but of course I hoped for the best. I mean he wasn’t around physically, but he was there, I would talk to him after every session and let him know what we did or didn’t accomplish. We would talk about ideas for tricks and editing and would send edits back and forth to each other. But we knew he’d have to fly back to really get into the full editing so he did just that. He flew back for 2 weeks and stayed in my basement and we just edited all night. I would go to work the next morning, and I’d get home and see what he’d accomplished and we’d keep going. It was brutal because he was also supposed to be home spending time with his family but he almost wasn’t at all. After the 2 weeks he left and we had a good chunk of the video edited, I’d say probably 30% or so, so we knew he’d have to again fly back out to finish up. I continued filming and Zac was out there mostly skating, not really filming, just skating at the park and he broke his ankle real bad. Full-on surgery, cast and crutches, the whole deal. At that point he was bummed, and you know when you’re injured you just crave being able to be a part of skateboarding again. I think for him, editing was like his number one priority, I think within a week of getting surgery, he got another plane ticket and flew out to edit. Again, for 2 weeks, it was the same thing. But this time we were both really driven. We could see it coming together and we were happy with it. By the end of that 2 weeks I’d say we had the video 95% done, so I would just have to add the finishing touches and last minute footage and he wouldn’t have to come out anymore. We were psyched and it was like a big weight was lifted off our shoulders. Zac’s involvement with this project was awesome, I really can’t express how much he really brought to the table as far as creativity and perfection goes. He is obsessed with details, and so am I, so I feel like the collaboration worked really well. What’s your favorite trick you’ve filmed on Gold Rail? Best trick ever? Erich’s kickflip front nose for sure. That was also probably my best-filmed trick ever, until his ender for TMKF. The kickflip front nose was just so rad man. Gold Rail is so timeless. I’m so bummed it’s gone, it was the best rail. But I am glad I got to the opportunity to film so many amazing tricks there. Billy Roper’s kickflip front board was the first ever flip-in trick ever done there, and I got to film that. Even though I was like 16, I still remember that like it was last night. Caleb’s backside 180 nosegrind was sick because he did it in 5 tries and that was like the last big session there before it got knobbed. But yeah, Erich’s kickflip front nose takes the cake. It was just so perfect and both angles turned out sick. As far as the best trick I’ve ever filmed, that would be Erich’s crooked grind down the 14-stair double kink in DC, and his ender for TMKF. We knew that we wanted that to be the last trick for the video. We knew Erich could do it, and he knew he could do it, but it was a lot of pressure, you know?
Sean Michon
Video//Daze
NATTY
Select WORDS :: Elliot Vecchia
I started filming ‘Natural Selection’ in early 2011, but I didn’t really start working on it until November of that year. You see, this was the first full-length video that I’ve made by myself from start to finish. It was a new experience, mostly good, sometimes bad. The whole video’s success was dependent on my ability to get footage… If I can’t get footage because of work or car problems etc.; the video comes to a grinding halt.
focusskatemag.com
For the first part of 2012, I was working a couple minimum wage jobs, but I couldn’t pay my bills so I started commuting home to Martha’s Vineyard to do landscaping for my family’s business for half the week. The other half of the week was spent filming in Boston/Lowell for Natty Select.
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Mark Suciu [switch bs 5-0]
XENO
daN Murphy: the first time Elliot mentioned his video, I was down. he came down to NC to visit with Xeno to shoot, film, and skate… y yeah, we partied too. Spring break for life! But this was before he even had a name for the video… he just knew he wanted to do a project. he got me hyped to skate, was down to barge some shit, risk it, fix a spot, drive hard, whatever it took to get ‘er done. that’s respectable in the industry. We got a crew in NC called the “Spot Doctors” that do exactly that. By code, we go hard. Make the unthinkable, skatable. We’re down for fixing a spot, making it work, so it can happen. Make a non-skatable, skatable. Never perfect, but better. My definition of ‘Natural Selection’: a number of naturally chosen things, with natural variance, that survive doing what they love, well, selectively (that spot, that trick, or that try ‘cause you had to). On accident or on purpose, skateboarding is the most pleasing thing to a skateboarder. Between passion and addiction, it’s the best thing in the world to all of us. ‘Natural Selection’ is a crew of talented and ill ma’fuckas and y’all gotta peep it for proof.
daN Murphy [kickflip]
JohN desiMas: I’ve been trying to film for ‘Natural Selection’ for about a year and a half. Seems like a long time to some people, but it’s really not. time flies when you’re having fun! We went on a few fun trips… Went to DC and stayed with the raddest dude, Kelly O’Brien. t took a trip to philly and stayed with the Skate Jawn dudes. philly has so many awesome spots. then of course there’s always NyC, with the Boppo Boys… always a good time. I give Elliott props for putting up with me and everyone else’s shit, especially on trips. With that all being said, it’s always fun getting to skate new spots.
XENO
SEaN MIChON
JohN desiMas [switch ollie]
Sean Michon
Video//Daze
I’m a born and raised islander. I moved to Boston in 2004 and lived there for 8 years. I know what you’re thinking, but let me stop you right there. My family ain’t rich! We work hard and we serve the wealthy people who come to Martha’s Vineyard. If anyone wants to come spend a day on the mow crew with me, you’re more than welcome. Just be ready to work from 7:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. Anyway, it’s been a long process of working with mostly guys from northern Mass. John Desimas was the first person to be involved in the project. John had last part in ‘Sea Level,’ a video that Chris Fiftal and I made, and after we released that John and I just kept filming whenever we could. Sean Hernandez and Jimmy Lake have also been around since the beginning of the project. Jay Clement later got involved and then Serges Murphy after that. In the spring of 2012 I started filming with Pedro Deoliveira, Steven Catizone and Eric Martinac, they are some of the younger dudes in Lowell. I’ve been filming with Dave Bachinsky for a while and I talked to him and Dan Murphy about sharing a part in the video. I also asked my friend Eric Desaro to film some stuff for the project.
focusskatemag.com
We have all put in a lot of our time and effort to come up with the best product possible. To me this project was driving, filming, finding spots, repeat. So many days of coming home after 12 hours on the mission and being too tired to even get out of my car for a good 5-to-10 minutes.
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One of the most defining parts of a video is where you spend your time shooting. The northeast is a place that has some of the oldest architecture in America and some of the harshest weather fluctuations in the country, leaving the average surface rough and cracked. The spots we have, have a certain character that many other places in this country lack. There are some very unique things in Boston and Lowell, MA, which give a specific look to the footage out here…
A look that many of us in the northeast find aesthetically pleasing. A good amount of this project has been filmed at night. In New England, about half of the year the sun sets by 6 p.m. or earlier. People having daytime obligations often leave us shooting at night. Using the lights and generator has been an integral part of this project. Even in the depths of the financial district in downtown Boston you can use lights and a generator if you’re careful. Filming at night and in the cold is a big part of skating out here, especially when your getting footage all year round. I am grateful that these talented skateboarders trusted me with their hard earned footage and let me make a video how I saw fit. There were many 12-hour days in the car and sleepless nights worrying about actually finishing the video. Sometimes it felt impossible, and sometimes it felt amazing. A day of filming skating can be like winning the lottery, or it can be like running a marathon. I spent about a month editing the video since I decided to move to Los Angeles for a while. I actually had to move home to my parents’ while the editing process was going on. I shot a lot of time lapses and extra filler footage using my 7D, which made the process slower than just editing VX footage. All in all I’m happy with how this video came out. I selected several individual skateboarders who’s style of skateboarding I liked, and put them together in a finished product. We weren’t really a crew of homies, but more a group of people working together to accomplish a goal. You will be able to get the video from Orchard, Eastern Boarder, Identity and several other shops. It will also be available online. I’m very thankful for everyone who helped me along the way. Thanks to JRV Designs for doing amazing artwork for me.
Sean Michon
Jimmy Lake [bs 180 fakie 5-0]
Jimmy Lake: While filming for ‘Natural Selection’ it occurred to me that it’s taken 20-plus years of skateboarding to finally film a part exactly how I wanted to. Filming for this video was great. I didn’t skate a single thing that I didn’t want to. Yeah, I know skateboarding is all about fun, but lets be honest… If you’re filming a part you usually push yourself and try things you wouldn’t normally do if not filming. This time around I had certain things in mind I wanted to do and film. However, they were based around terrain, texture, and aesthetic instead of difficulty of a trick. Plus, I got to leave Boston and actually skate New York, which is something I have always wanted to do, and I was super psyched on every trip down there. Hope you enjoy the video. Stay Positive, Support your local skateboarders and scene, and hopefully we will skate sometime. Peace.
Eric Martinac [switch big heel]
Eric Martinac: I’d like to start this off by thanking Elliott Vecchia for making this happen. This guy’s the fuckin’ man! Without you this video wouldn’t be happening. Filming for this video was really special… I have a lot of good memories being with the crew, out skating in the city, just havin’ the time of our lives and it all comes down to just skateboarding. That’s all you gotta remember. Never let anyone hate or put you down. You don’t need that in your life! Stay happy and keep shredding, no matter what. God bless.
Xeno
Dave Bachinsky: 5 a.m. city silhouettes with that generator and bondo smell, reminding us we had a rad mission… I woke up today to snow everywhere. Fuck it, go grab that flamethrower, were shredding today! That’s what’s going on in Boston. It’s been a couple years filming for ‘Natural Selection.’ We’ve traveled throughout most of the East Coast for this video. Just recently I came back from a trip and flew into Boston, within 6 hours of being in MA, I suggested we drive to Dan Murphy’s neck of the woods; Raleigh, North Cacka. After an 18-hour drive we were de-knobbing a rail and shredding with Murph. I’m hyped to be sharing a part with Murphy! It’s rad to be shredding with a person I’ve looked up to as a kid. Along with that, the new generation of city skate rats in Lowell. Being a part of this video has been super inspiring. Thanks Elliott Vecchia for all the epic missions. Get out and shred your city! Dave Bachinsky [bs 180 heelflip]
welcome to the team steven reeves ocramps.com
CAPITOL BOARD PRESS
skateboarder owned and operated low minimums with split delivery options small and large company capabilities high quality printing options contact us for more info: 717-610-0880 info@capitolboardpress.com www.capitolboardpress.com
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Spot//Check
Kevin Manning [nollie varial heel]
Toxic
Avengers
focusskatemag.com
WORDS and PHOTOGRAPHY :: Buddy Bleckley
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Jared Pimental [kickflip]
When my friend Matt Tomasello told me that he found a perfect ditch spot while riding the train to Providence, my ears perked up and I listened to every detail. There just aren’t any good ditch spots in New England. Matt was riding the train from Boston to Providence every weekend to see his girlfriend, and while on the hour-long train ride he would stare out the window. Once the leaves fell and things became a little more visible through the trees, he saw something; it looked like a drainage ditch, but couldn’t tell ‘cause he was flying by on a train. He then went on Google Maps, traced the rail lines and found the aerial view of the spot, and then went back later on and to check it out in person. We made plans to go down there and skate it the next weekend. The location is in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by a few houses and completely enclosed by a barbed wire fence. He scouted out a place where there was already a break in the wire, and we hopped the fence. Then we found the one of the 3 ditches and hoped another fence to get into it. We quickly went to work rub-bricking and waxing the ledges, sweeping the dirt, and pulling weeds. We skated for hours the first day, had a bunch of fun and managed to get a few photos and clips. We decided to head back again the next weekend. When we went back everything was fine, same as before, hopped a few fences and skated for hours. We had two cars this time and one car full of dudes had to leave before it was dark so it was just Matt, Kevin Manning, and myself left. We decided to head out shortly after our friends. When we got back to the first fence we had to hop, we saw three cop cars. There was one undercover car, and two regular ones. Being kicked out was nothing new so we just walked back to the fence and took the lecture. As the three or four officers spoke to us we saw that they already took things way out of proportion per usual. Apparently the guys before us left a gallon of water next to my car and it was covered in blood from where they washed off a cut or something. The cops immediately thought it was a homicide and we were ditching the body, so they immediately called the owner of the factory to unlock the gates. This is where we learned that it is a chemical plant with cancerous materials everywhere… Hence all the barbed wire fences. Awesome. I then checked my phone and had a voice mail from the police asking me to call them back. Never had that happen before. We gave them all our ID’s, they took our info, and told us to expect court summons for a variety of charges. We haven’t gotten anything yet, and we don’t expect to either.
Frankie Nash [backside tailslide]
road//TrippinÕ
tRopiCal
JoNNy herNaNdez [kickflip]
island RetReat WOrDS and phOtOgraphy graphy :: daV a e bachiNsky aV
I was invited to go on a 15-day escape, involving a paradise throughout the southern island known as puerto rico. the Island consists of: crystal clear waters, the only United States owned natural rainforest, beautiful woman, and a “bricky” (Dave Bachinsky) from Lowell, Massachusetts not knowing a lick of Spanish. this is our adventure leading up to the 2nd annual prince of puerto rico Contest ran by Manny Santiago.
focusskatemag.com
For the first five days we stayed in a city right outside of San Juan, on the eastern coast called, Luquillo. the local restaurant owner of pasta y pueblo, Freddy, let us stay at his house right across the street from the beach. We enjoyed falling asleep each night on the patio, swinging in our hammocks, listening to the coqui frogs calling and the ocean waves crashing. Early mornings Manny and I got straight to work, a 30-minute drive to a small town named Naguabo, where the EStE skatepark was. We had a hefty crew with all the essentials to make this place twice as good. I got to meet rey Davila, the main man in charge of EStE skatepark. he had been fixing up the park for years. he has the most passion, and being the biggest skate
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rat, he put in 100% effort. We were working on our 15-hour days filled with bottomless coffees, Medalla beer and smokes. I was burnt toast by the 4th day… after 59 hours of sawdust living, I watched the park reform into an amazing place. On the 6th day, we took an early morning drive to San Juan to the airport to pick up all our friends flying in; Dan Zaslavsky, the photographer for the trip, and the ammo squad: Spanish Mike, Deigo Najera, Jonny hernandez and Felix. after a quick delay with Felix’s bags not showing up, we headed straight to the coast to enjoy the southern beach life with tour guide, Fico rodz. after a day of getting situated, we started our 3-hour journey to the western coast to a city called Cabo rojo. Leaving the old city’s terrain behind us, we hit amazing views with silhouetted mountain landscapes all around us. after bypassing a dozen small cites we unexpectedly pulled over to a little connivance store with an older man outside with his hand high and a machete ready for the next fresh coconut drink. We all saluted cheers to the beginning of our western mission.
yariel MeleNdez [frontside feeble] y
With a fresh cup of coffee in hand and walking down cutty streets trying to find a gem to skate; my good friend back up in Boston, Ma a (Xeno), described us as being, “the modern day pioneers.” My mornings sure felt like it, ‘til once again I saw the view of palm trees ahead and the crew jumping off the local boat dock into the clear waters. We got regrouped in the van and met up with the locals: alexis rivera, y yariel Melendez, alfred ruiz and Juan Santo. hitting the small towns filled, we ran into some amazing spots. houses with the most vivid beachy colors surrounding an epic spot. the ground was rugged as hell, but our crew was ready to charge. It was amazing. We ended up skating this spot that was a 10-stair leading up to an 11-set. y yariel and Deigo were quick to get shredding, within 5 minutes Deigo nollie flipped the first set and backside 360’d the second set. It was a pretty epic to see something so raw get handled so easy. after all the hype, we all went to the local famous pizza place called “papa’s pizza.” the owner shreds and has made up over 50 different pizza tosses along with winning endless worldwide pizza contests. t to say at the least, thanks for all the pies and an awesome time in the west side of puerto rico! We started our drive back to the east side of the island, and along the highway we see these giant letters spelling out ponce. the city got their name shredded. Little Jonny climbed right up and started blasting kick flips while traffic built up and people started
honking their horns. the police arrived right as he caught an amazing one. he jumped down and we got yelled at for five minutes. after that, we got back on the road and headed back to Luquillo. On contest day, we drove down to the town of Naguabo where the park was. We were greeted with around 300 people when we first got there! the place was filled with screaming humans; the locals and people from all sides of the island came out to shred! Manny handed me a clipboard with about 30 skaters names on it. We did six heats, all jam format. the chaos started and everyone was charging… We narrowed down all the jams to the best dudes on the island: alexis rivera, robert Mont Lopez, yariel Melendez, and Dovier Chinea. the tricks and energy that was brought into that y park was pure raw. We rebuilt a park and first hand watched some southern epicness go down. at the end of it all, y yariel Melendez made some tricks that amounted to a WtF just happened situation. he became the 2012, “prince of puerto rico!” y yariel won the silver prince of pr ring, and took the trophy home! thanks so much for everyone that helped to contribute to restructure the EStE Skatepark! Everyone down there is like family. puerto rico, see you next year. “prince Of puerto rico tres,” keep shredding!
A SKATEBOARDING PODCAST HOSTED BY
ANTHONY SHETLER
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Hosted by Anthony Shetler
Scenester//Providence
Scenester
Providence, RI Providence’s Top Rippers: Jay Poirier - Not only does this dude rip apart any spot that you bring him to, he also works at the local shop. It’s an awesome shop with awesome employees. Jay’s the kind of dude that just flat out appreciates skateboarding. He skates fast and skates things how you would never think to. To find a local with so much board control and enthusiasm towards skateboarding is rare these days. Some of his recent footage just dropped in, “Borrowed Time,” a film by Thom Musso. Be on the lookout for it!
WORDS and PHOTOGRAPHY :: AJ Catholdi
Providence, RI, formerly a mafia controlled city, is now in the grasp of a subculture of skateboarders willing to do anything to keep their creative outlet thriving. Though the capital of the smallest state, Providence is one of the most artistic cities on the East Coast with one of the tightest-knit skate scenes I’ve seen to go with it. With all of the awesome local videos being put out, and the support that comes along with them, you couldn’t ask for anything better. From the new Civil PVD Skate Shop opening up (231 Westminster St.), to the Thursday night skate jams at the ice rink, the Providence skate scene is starting to flourish like never before. It’s impressive to see how gnarly these dudes can get with all the brick, cobble stone, and cracks that this victorian style city provides us. All the dudes around here are super friendly, so make a trip out here and enjoy our spots with us!
Justin Healey - Justin works at the other Civil location (86 Main St., East Greenwich, RI), and absolutely rips. At only 17 years old, he’s been on a tear through the city. You bring him to a spot and he’ll kill it within minutes. He has tons of potential and definitely has a bright future ahead of him in the skateboarding world, and he fully deserves it. Mark Poole - I used to see Mark ripping when I was just a little kid. Not much has changed to this day. The dude just lands trick after trick, seemingly without effort. He’s one of the few people out here hitting me up to go shoot photos on frigid winter nights while everyone else is sleeping. Commitment doesn’t even begin to describe his drive. This guy always comes through. With a full part coming soon in Pat Goulart’s new video, you will be hearing his name again in the near future. Providence’s Hottest Skate Spots: I think Providence is such a unique city due to its size. It’s small enough to skate around all day, but big enough to be littered with plenty of creative spots. Textron (40 Westminster St.), has marble ledge after marble ledge with smooth ground. It’s as good as it gets for lines, but the week day security tends to not like that as much as we do. It’s located at one of the largest buildings in our city, and they will straight up dump a bucket of water on you from the top. But still, this is hands down a huge favorite. There’s
focusskatemag.com
[Textron]
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Jay Poirer [wallie]
Justin Healey [ollie] even a hefty gap for you gnarly dudes out there, as seen in Nick Dompierre’s Solstice video part (backside 360 and nollie). Another of the batch is the RISD Ledges (55 Canal Walk). Located right outside of the Rhode Island School of Design, it was meant to be a relaxinging area for students to get their work done. It quickly became a legendary Providence spot. If you’ve ever seen a Providence video, you’ve seen this spot. It’s almost always the warm up spot for the day. Four big stairs that are, again, perfect for lines and are seemingly endless. You’re almost always guaranteed to see some locals here. It’s nice and relaxing right by the river, and if you’re a photographer or filmer, all the poles have working sockets. Charge up your gear! If you don’t know the city, come here and we’ll gladly show you some hidden gems. Bridgham (1655 Westminster St.) has perfect height granite ledges all around the school, as perfect as can be out here. It was actually shown in local legend Donny Barley’s Pro Spotlight a few years back. It’s an all around favorite for locals and out-of-towners as well. Don’t miss out on this spot if you come through. It’s nothing but fun. Providence’s Best Food Spots:
[Saki’s Pizza]
Jay Poirer [50-50 pop-over]
Among all the hipster cafes and disgusting food trucks, there’s definitely some good eats. Saki’s Pizza (199 Weybosset St.) is the absolute cheapest and most filling food in the city. Conveniently located in downtown Providence, this is a must stop for me on a nice city day. They have huge stuffed slices for just a few bucks, and a bar right upstairs. You just can’t go wrong. On the opposite side of the city, there’s another pizza shop that kills it. Nice Slice (267 Thayer St.), located in a former skate shop and well known for their huge New York style slices, is a lot of people’s favorite pizza shop. Tons of rad workers with delicious creative slices to go with it. They have some outdoor seating too, so grab a slice and get social. Just across the street from Nice Slice is Gordito Burrito (258 Thayer St.). Gordito Burrito the best Mexican food I’ve had in my life, and they have incredibly low prices. You can honestly get a full meal there for two dollars. It’s also surrounded by some rad stores and tons of crazy people with crazier stories. You can spend your entire night there without issue. Providence’s Nightlife: Providence has tons of bars, so chances are if you’re skating a spot, just look across the street and you’ll see some homies occupying them. There’s also tons of colleges around, so the weekends can get a little crazy. Just beware of the unfriendly cops. They are more than happy to flex their egos. Local Plugs: Civil PVD Skate Shop (231 Westminster Street) is such a rad shop, and they carry awesome gear. Whether you’re a sneaker head, you’re new to skateboarding, or just care about the old school brands, they can help you out. They’re ironically located right in the heart of Providence, and are the heart of Providence. If you make the trip here, please come support them!
Justin Healey [ollie]
Small//Talk
“Duffy-2-Racks, that’s my dude! He kills it on and off the board, lives that G-lifestyle for sure. I’ve known Emmet for a few months now from riding for team Ice Cream and it feels likes we’ve been bros for years. I always look forward to going on trips and skating and hanging with the bro. Emmet is always keeping the sesh hyped and he’s a good motivator. Stay on the look out for more of him! Keep killing it Emmet!” ~Jamel Marshall Friend/Teammate
EMMET DUFFY WORDS :: Mazur PHOTOGRAPHY :: SEAN CRONAN
What’s the deal with being called the Gold Goon? How’d that all start? Man, my Ice Cream teammates have all been homies for years. But them and me had never met. All they had ever seen of me was a part for Gold Wheels at “Da Playground.” Between that and skating a lot of ledges earned me that nickname, I guess…
How did skateboarding start for you? Me and my guy Mike Battista would watch my older brother and all these other kids on the block skating boxes and shit in the street. The local shop hooked up my neighbor and my brother and I remember going in there and copping some Daewon 2’s or 3’s, I think. And, like a Shorty’s board. The homies and me been skating ever since. Are you hyped on the current state of skateboarding? Do you wish you grew up in a different era of it? Nah, I feel like my timing was perfect. Came around when my brother and everyone were into Kails and Stevie, and skating boxes at the local schoolyard. From that, to watching cats like P Rod growing up. Seeing all the Transworld videos, 411’s, all the Girl/ Chocolate videos. Being around for the beginning of Nike SB as we know it today... All the amazing skaters now days, all the people I know, I feel blessed to be from this era for sure.
focusskatemag.com
Do you do any other sports besides skate? As a kid I played a grip of different sports. It all kinda died out in middle school when I really got into skating and going out into downtown Chicago and skating, which was a whole new world for us.
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What do you do for money these days? “I’m a Pisces, I do anything for money.” That is sorta vague to say you’d do ANYTHING... are you a male prostitute at times? Nothing comes for free. Gotta work hard to pay the bills. Wherever you work. I may be out here putting in work on the corner like one, luckily thanks to people like Reggie Destin (R.I.P. brother) and Dax Miller,
who kept me on track as a kid coming up in this city, my hours are spent in the streets skatin’ with my boys. Instead of in the streets doing some other bullshit. A lot of people aren’t fortunate enough to have those influential characters that keep your head on straight… I’m blessed to be surrounded by good people. So being from Chicago, what is you favorite sports team? Or do you not follow other sports? My mom and pops are both from South Side Irish families, so I’m a Sox fan by blood. But yeah I don’t really follow any sports these days. I’m assuming you mean the White Sox? That must be brutal. I think we won the World Series in 2005… I was a huge Michael Jordan fan growing up. I’ve heard you’re overly polite. Why’s that? Man, I used to just be a wild-ass little kid that probably said a lot of dumb shit. I basically learned my lesson young. I show cats the respect I want then to show me. As a young buck, what taught you your lesson early on for giving respect? Older people that had there shit together always surrounded me. Like my neighbor, Zach, who was a few years older than me had mad companies backing him, when I was young. He always had insight on how to be a better person/skater. As a young kid I would do dumb shit, and people never sugar coated shit. Like, I remember getting kicked off the local shop when I was super young. I was just a bad kid who did bad shit. My older homies would check me. Over the years it all adds up and you realize how your actions really define who you are. Cats go around disrespecting and wonder why no one is showing them any love back. It’s crazy. Care to talk about the jail time? Maybe clear some things up? Thank God I’ve never actually done jail time… But yeah, a few years ago CPD arrested me with some trees.
I didn’t have money to bond out. So, I basically just had to wait in the county jail for a few days until I got bonded out. Lesson learned: Don’t smoke weed where it’s not legal. What was the first trick you can remember being so stoked on learning when you first started shredding? I remember my homies and I had built this box, put metal on the edge and everything. I could boardslide it. But yo, grinding was the goal. I remember the first 50-50 I did being a big deal. The homies and me were mad hyped! It kinda all… Kinda started there… With ledges, I guess. What do you do mentally to prepare for a trick you wanna try? Like maybe a big trick... Just relax, usually. I’m pretty chill when it comes to trying tricks. I definitely practice whatever trick it is a lot. At least to get my confidence to the point were I’m itching to do the trick on something, rather than forcing myself. And, just get it done! All right, do you have any shout-outs or thanks? Krush Skatepark, Uprise Skate Shop, Nike SB, Gold Wheels, Zoo York, Ice Cream Shoes… All of Chicago, my mom and dad for always supporting me, Bob and everyone at Krush, Uriah and everyone at Uprise… Pharrell, RB Umali, Sean Cronan, Jamel, Andre, Stephan and everyone at Ice Cream. Ben Oleynik! Dax Miller and Reggie Destin… Wouldn’t be were I am if it wasn’t for you guys! Evan Bruce, Johnny Fonseca, Andre Taylor! My girlfriend Lianna! My man Javier and anyone who was ever a part of Affiliate Skateboards when it was around. Derrick Wilson, Ian Twa, Soma, my big bro Tim, Stufry and the Gunderson Block, First Gear, Slim, Gram Thomas, Rasul, Dane Vaughn, Justin White, Jake Mednik, Carter, Chavez, Stevie, Eli, Troy and everyone else over at Kayo! Erik, Roger and 40. My man Chaz Ortiz, Mike Battista, Al Boglio, Rob Sissi. Shout out anyone I’m leaving out that’s been there for me when I needed it. That’s a lot of names but I’m truly thankful for all these people. The people around you make you who you are.
Emmet Duffy [switch front crook]
Small//Talk
Basics first. How old are you, how long have you been skating, and are you getting the hookup from anybody right now? I am 23 years old, born and raised in Langhorne PA., and I got my first complete when I was 11 (a Birdhouse Birdman deck), so I have been skateboarding for 12 years. Huge shout-out to Reign Skate Shop, DC, and Flip for helping me out! Who did you grow up skating with? A couple years after getting my first board, and some basics down, I met up with John Note and Tom Asta, we had a pretty good crew going. Then it was strictly local spots, rolling around crusty spots with jenky-ass Hi8 and mini DV cameras. Then we upgraded to taking the train to Philadelphia. That was the shit! *PATCHWORK* Where do you live now? I’m currently living in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, but I come back to PA mostly for filming. I have a Cali trip coming up soon. As a first timer over there, I may consider moving there. We’ll see. Do you like skating in NYC or PA more? I know NYC has a lot to offer, but I don’t have the connections out here. I would have to say PA because the family, homies, filmers, photographers etc. are all in that area. Are you filming for something now? I’m in the process of filming for the Rep 215 video. Jon Twietmeyer is doing most of the filming and editing. As of now we are working out some concepts for the video and stacking clips whenever we can. Rep 215 (rep215.com) is a website ran by Kyle Knoblauch. The idea of the site is pretty much to support all dudes in the area. Check it out. The video should hopefully drop by fall 2013. Where around PA do you normally skate? Local park? Depending on the hype/mood or number of the crew, it goes from local spots, Philly spots, or whatever surprise spots Matt Steindl has in store for us. If I skate a park I like to go to the Black Diamond park at the Franklin Mills Mall. It’s a great park and still expanding.
focusskatemag.com
WORDS and PHOTOGRAPHY :: Luke Darigan
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You jump down some big shit. How do you get motivated to go for it, and what thoughts go through your head? It’s pretty much my comfort zone. Usually I get more fucked up skating a flat bar… Besides my knees and heels, I’m still feelin’ it. Depending on the spot, I feel it’s best to just brainstorm the trick or tricks you want for the day, then depending if you arrived at the key spots, it won’t be too necessary to warm up. Just be confident and huck it. A lot of times the trick you want can be achieved by really thinking of the physics of everything you need to do in order to stick it, and picturing the trick over and over again in your head. But there’s also the chance of being at a spot for 4 hours trying a trick.
I just started hucking down it. I slammed my knee pretty hard on the ground. It was a good time though. What is your favorite type of thing/spots to skate? I was just having this thought last night at House of Vans. I enjoy messing around on ledges learning new tricks, but would much rather skate a nice hubba or handrail. They had the gate open to the outside section with their double set rails and their hubbas, but it was soaking wet and raining, I was bumming out pretty hard. An ideal spot right now would be any of the 3,000 that John Note showed me from California! Is there any reason you’re always wearing ¾ sleeve baseball t-shirts these days? I can’t skate without seeing only 1/4th of my arms… I am not sure why, I just like the way they look and feel. You’ll see a few clips in tees. Do you have any pre-skate rituals? A good night sleep for sure. Go to Wawa, order an iced coffee, chicken sandwich with jalapeños, pepper jack cheese, and a good old-fashioned Wawa green tea. Do you have a favorite trick? And, what’s your least favorite trick? Uhhhhhh… Favorite trick would have to be a kickflip back lip. Nothing feels better than that, besides sex. Least favorite trick would have to be nollie any type of flip into a rail, because I don’t understand it… At all. What did your parents think about you wanting to skateboard for a living? They fully supported skateboarding from the start, they just thought it was best for me to have a career goal. Even though it put me pretty far behind with skateboarding, I’m glad I took their advice. You have a photography degree right? What kind of stuff do you enjoy shooting? Yep. I graduated from Hallmark Institute of Photography in 2009 and I am a full-time photographer for One Kings Lane, a photo studio in Manhattan. I’m also doing some freelance work for bands and friends with companies here in NYC. I enjoy shooting product photography, and skateboarding obviously. What’s your favorite skate video? Ride the sky. What’s your favorite ice cream? Chocolate, vanilla, or strawberry? Black and white. Duh. If you could go skate with 3 people right now, who would they be? It would be Shane Colville, Kyle Knoblauch, and Adam Vizy. Who’s the best Am that should be pro? Kyle Frederick hands down. He’s a homie of mine and was born to ride a skateboard. He also bowls strikes like it’s his job.
How do you huck in slip-ons? I have no idea. Nasty habits….
How about best flow rider that should be made Am? Ed Duff, dude shreds!
Is there any story behind the 5-0 photo that’s going along with this? I pretty much just got taken there by Matt Steindl. The hubba looked rad. It was a super rough virgin, but thankfully my homies had a rub brick. After smoothing it out and waxing it up,
Alright Adam, any last shout outs? I’d like to thank my family, all my homies in Pennsylvania and New York. I’d like to thank Reign Skate Shop, Flip and DC for supporting me. Also, Second Stroke Mopeds, GoPros, Shane’s Neck, and Hilf, you’re a stain…
“In high school, all Hribar cared about was photography, skateboarding, and being a fucking idiot. Dude got straight F’s almost every marking period. He just didn’t give a fuck. He would constantly be suspended and he came close to getting expelled multiple times; for reasons such as throwing razor blades at the emo kids in the hallways, or pissing on all of the theater kid’s sets for their plays. He jerked off in the bathroom and stuck his jizz-paper on the wall in the hallway and watched the aids pick it off the wall from his classroom door. Shit was hilarious, but fucked. He would shit on public trains, and light up hood-ass dudes in North Philly with air-soft guns. He’s passed the stage of being a fucking idiot, and now the same fucker is making close to 100 g’s a year taking photographs and is still killing it on a skateboard. He just does what he loves and doesn’t give a fuck about anything else. That’s what it’s all about. ” ~John Note Friend
Adam Hribar [frontside 5-0]
focusskatemag.com
IN CENTIVES
54 Rob Collins
P H OT O
Kevin Coakley [ollie into bank between poles]
Andy Enos
Nik Stain [ollie to tombstone]
Zander Taketomo
Joe Tookmanian [frontside nosegrind pop into bank]
David Newton
Derek Mclean [bump to backside 50-50]
Rob Collins
Greg Cotto [frontside noseslide]
JOEY PE PPE R PRO // SPR I NG 2013