Concrete Skateboarding Issue 123

Issue 123 / 2013 / free

canada’s original skateboard magazine

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Issue 123 / 2013

Art Blender todd francis store wars axis Sound Check the soft moon Five Spot walker ryan

GRIFFIN MORE INFO AT LAKAI.COM

LA KAI L I M I T E D F O O T WEA R THE S H O E S W E S K AT E BIEBEL / JOHNSON / MARIANO / CARROLL / HOWARD / WELSH / ALVAREZ / GILLET / BRADY JENSEN / SILVAS / FERNANDEZ / TERSHY / ESPINOZA / HAWK / WALKER / PEREZ photo by colen / lakai.com / supradistribution.com / lakaistickers@supradistribution.com

INTRODUCING

MIKE MO CAPALDI

SWITCH FLIP

THE NEW MIKE MO SIGNATURE SHOE

DESIGNED FROM THE INSIDE / OUT. 1 / FIT

2 / PROTECTION

3 / BOARD FEEL

4 / DURABILITY

See it from the inside/out at DCSHOES.COM/MO

BLABAC PHOTO

5 / VENTILATION

issue 123 / 2013

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ll a v a a v a L s L i s x i A Ax STORE WARS WINNERS CA 2012 C1R aaiinn R R e h e T h T n On TTaakkiinnggSO E TORM H T N O S R RIDE r e r t e a t l a d l n d i n i F F n C CoolliinKING? O WHAT’S CO yy r e r e w e w e Br K B Beeaauu’A’ssTEBBr THE 6-PAC O T G IN D OAR SK A BRINGING

Hardly Mellow cover photo & caption by

Terry Worona

After relocating from Ottawa to the opposite side of the continent (and to a foreign land), I was yearning for any bit of Canadiana I could find State-side. So when I discovered that Toronto’s LEE YANKOU lived a short skate down the street from my apartment in San Francisco, it was on! I was having a particularly rough morning on the day this photo was captured, so the goal was to hit up a couple of burritos, slappy some curbs and wash it down with a few beers; the type of stuff you do whenever you can, but don’t because life always seems to get in the way. The mellowness of the day had me resort to shooting with available light, but there’s nothing mellow about the trick or spot. It’s a really fuckin’ high 5-0 that led to Lee’s second Concrete cover.

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Concrete skateboarding

TJ Rogers

backside smith grind photo James Morley

Joey Guevara kickflip

photo Will Jivcoff

10 10 14 14 18 18 50 50 80 80

issue 123 / 2013

Past PastBlast Blast ISSUE 10 / 1994 Inventory Inventory Art ArtBlender Blender TODD FRANCIS Exposure Exposure PHOTO FEATURE Young YoungBloods Bloods PATERSON / LEPORE / FLEMMING

88 88 Sound SoundCheck Check THE SOFT MOON 90 90 Video VideoLinks Links 92 92 Five FiveSpot Spot WALKER RYAN 8

Concrete skateboarding

brittany daigle

Departments Departments

Rise & Shine – Sam Fidlin words matt meadows

Steel Town— also known as Hamilton, Ontario—has a few notable exports, including the Hamilton Tiger Cats, Martin Short, Eugene Levy and more recently, 21-year-old Sam Fidlin. A graduate of the Applied Photography Program at Sheridan College, he’s been hooked on life behind the lens since his parents bought him his first SLR for his 16th birthday.

Sam tends to gain inspiration from photographers who seek constant progression “whether it’s different camera formats, interesting angles or experimenting with post processing.”

When he’s not out shooting his next photo, he can usually be found at Flatspot Skateshop or out searching for a new food item he can add hot sauce to. You’ll find a fine sample of Sam’s work by flipping to the What’s Cooking With Colin Findlater? feature (p.64). samfidlin.tumblr.com

RYAN SHECKLER SWITCH KICK FLIP / COLOGNE, GERMANY

ETNIES.COM

TIMEBOMBTRADING.COM FACEBOOK.COM/TIMEBOMBTRADING

Existing as Canada’s longest-running skate magazine has its privileges, one being a deep archive that spans back to 1990.

So each issue we take a random look at the past…

ISSUE #10 1994

Sam Devlin frontside bluntslide [o] Jody Morris

To me, this photo of Sam Devlin represents one of those definite moments in life that you can point to as a real fork in the road.

This is a downtown Vancouver spot we called “across from Bentalls”— a long ledge over stairs with a sidewalk-width final stair to land on or gap over. Sam did this front blunt and popped out forward over the last stair, but at the last second he shiftied it to fakie. No one had done or seen anything like it at that point. I was working for World Industries at the time and was going through photos with Rodney Mullen and Steve Rocco.

Steve studied the sequence for a few minutes and laid out an offer: if Sam could put together a full video part he would be lined up as the next World Pro. Just like that.

Unfortunately, Sam’s life went in a different direction; the streets of Vancouver’s Eastside proved to have a stronger pull on him. Sam’s skills would’ve placed him amongst the top Pros Canada has produced, but instead left him as a lost legend. I haven’t seen Sam in probably a decade, but still hear of sightings, and see glimpses of his “MEGA” tag on alleyway walls around East Van. —Jody Morris

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OSCARMEZA

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SKRWR E\ (O\ 3KLOOLSV

distributed by ultimate

([FH SW 7KH 7R\ 0 DFKLQH '58*

/LO· %LOO VD\V 1RSH WR 'RSH DQG ´Uggµ WR GUXJV DUH EHHU DQG FLJDUHWWHV GUXJV" %LOO\ KDWHV SROLWLFV DQG FODLPV WR KDYH QHYHU HYHQ VHHQ D ´KLSVWHU µ :KDW DUH WKRVH" /LO· %LOO VD\V 1RSH WR 'RSH DQG ´

collection compiled by

casey jones

FOURSTAR

C1RCA

The Walker After a lot of sweat and mad effort, Walker Ryan has his first Pro shoe in C1RCA’s Fall ’13 lineup. A delightful mid-top with an outdoor vibe on its very own chassis.

Malto Jacket Sean Malto just dropped a new varsity jacket that caught our eye. It’s a classic college snap-up with contrasting sleeves, Fourstar detailing and quality to boot. Much like Malto, this offering is timeless. fourstarclothing.com

c1rca.com

ALTAMONT

Flintlock Jacket This heritage Americana work wear-inspired piece is part of the Reynolds Collection. Commonly referred to as a “shacket” or shirt-jacket, this piece features a rugged cotton outer that’s fleece-lined to sort you out when the temperature dips. altamontapparel.com

HABITAT X GREEN APPLE

Collaborative Deck Designed by Habitat’s Joe Castrucci, with input from Mike McDermott and Ryan McGuigan from Winnipeg’s Green Apple Skateboard Shop, this deck is limited to 50 per size (7.75”, 8” and 8.25”). Nice touch with the bison to give it that prairie vibe. habitatskateboards.com / greenappleshop.ca

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DC shoes

Mike Mo Signature Mike Mo Capaldi’s well-deserved first Pro shoe from DC was built from the inside out, with a focus on fit, protection, board feel, durability and ventilation. Another sign that what’s good for your feet is what’s up with skate shoes these days. dcshoes.com/skate

Emerica

The Herman G6 Bryan Herman’s fourth signature shoe is in shops now, and revisits the more tech days of shoes combined with all that was good with his best-selling G-Codes.

Lightweight and durable, G6 is the future of skate shoes. emerica.com

ZOO YORK

Ian Twa International Pro Deck Calgary to Vancouver transplant Ian Twa joins Andrew McGraw as the latest Pro on Zoo’s International squad.

As a nod to his hometown roots, Twa’s well-deserved board is a shout out to his hometown Flames. zooyork.com

LAKAI x pretty sweet

Manchester Select Combining a popular silhouette with Girl and Chocolate’s very popular feature-length, Lakai is on point with this limited-edition Manchester.

Classic vulc construction, the very familiar words Pretty and Sweet on the heel tabs, and more custom features lace this Select. lakai.com / prettysweetvideo.com

ESWIC

Icon Pullover / Romero Denim Launched by Jimmy Arrighi, ESWIC is independently owned and features fashionforward basics that are heavily influenced by its stacked team. With a roster featuring Leo Romero, Ed Templeton, James Hardy, Dakota Servold, Cairo Foster and Stevie Perez, it makes perfect sense. eswic.com

ETNIES

Marana Seen here in the Ryan Sheckler colourway, the Marana was carefully crafted to endure professional skateboarding. Durability and comfort stand out, with a reinforced rubber toe cap, an STI Evolution Foam midsole that doesn’t pack out, and much more. etnies.com/skate

follow all your favourite brands at: ultimateskateboarddist.com facebook.com/ultimatedistribution instagram: @ultimatedist

ART BLENDER

todd francis

T

odd Francis is one of those humans that can draw anything asked of him. Give him an ultra random topic and he’ll knock it out of the park. Since his start in 1993 he’s been working as a staff and freelance artist for too many skateboard companies to name.

Los Angeles is Todd’s place of birth and where he currently resides with his family. He did his college education at the University of California, Santa Barbara and graduated with a BA in Studio Art. After college, Todd spent eight years in San Francisco working with Deluxe Distribution’s wide range of brands. Subsequently, he moved back to LA where he worked both independently and in-house with brands like Element, New Deal, 411, Nike, Oakley, Vans, Stance and many more. Currently he’s back to freelancing after a few years as the hardgoods Art Director at Element, where he learned how to inject lectures and presentations with absurdities such as bear costumes and preacher’s robes.

Living in a bastion of consumerism and fame has given Todd a cynical and bleak sense of humour. “First thing I do every morning is read the newspaper,” he mentions. “It’s pretty easy to stay motivated and angry by reading about what’s going on in the world.”

Todd recently worked on an Anti Hero series, “Eat Shit And Die”, that’s one of his all-time favourites. And his book, Look Away: The Art of Todd Francis, will be available soon. That is, if a flock of pigeons doesn’t seek revenge by crapping all over it. —Randy Laybourne toddfrancis.com

“I think of Todd as the Gandalf of skateboard artists. Not in age, but in wisdom and strength. During the months that go by while I’m waiting on him to return my calls, I like to pretend that he’s on some epic journey that involves his harmonica, sword fights, magic and dragons, which are really giant pigeons that breathe fire.”—Don Pendleton

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clockwise from top left: Anti Hero “Two Chicks One Dick” deck Anti Hero “Eat Shit And Die” Trujillo deck Anti Hero “Eat Shit And Die” Pfanner deck Anti Hero “Eat Shit And Die” Miorana deck Anti Hero “Eat Shit And Die” Cardiel deck Element “Muska Animalism II” deck Element “Mackrodt Elemental” deck Anti Hero “Pigeon” Gerwer deck Element “Mountain Man” Margera wheel Element “Endangered Tiger Fire” tee Element “Endangered Bear Water” tee ‘“Tis The Season For Suicide” ornaments

“Beanie Pigeon� by Todd Francis. Created exclusively for Concrete Skateboarding. visit concreteskateboarding.com to download art blender wallpapers for your computer & mobile device.

follow all your favourite brands at: ultimateskateboarddist.com facebook.com/ultimatedistribution instagram: @ultimatedist

@happyhourshades

#whatsyourhappyhour

TA N C OW N Y F.U.B.A.R.

Herman / Braydon / Figgy / Nuge / Dollin / Chima / Tancowny / Kevin Romar / Duncombe / Beagle Trevor Colden / Jon Dickson / Riley Hawk / Thomas Bonilla / Cyril Jackson / Dee Ostrander / Bo Ried / Kyle Walker Pat Rumney / Taylor Kirby / Mike White / Taylor Smith / Skyler Kehr / Flip Nasty / Chief Dogg

happyhourshades.com

THE PHOTOGRAPHY OF pierre-luc gagnon intro

Matt Meadows

stills and captions

PLG

Few skateboarders have become well known enough to transcend the boundaries of our sport and find themselves becoming part of the mainstream media lexicon. Thanks to events like the X Games, Dew Tour and other notable ESPN broadcasted contests, names like Shaun White and Ryan Sheckler are now as recognizable as Tom Brady or Sidney Crosby.

Finding their way into our homes nearly every other weekend via television, we have come to grow up with these sports legends, joining in on their successes and failures from the comfort of our couches. Among those larger-than-life characters is Pierre-Luc Gagnon. Born and raised in Boucherville, Quebec, PLG successfully climbed the vert contest ladder to become one of the most respected and progressive skaters in the game. After years of traveling the world and collecting X Games golds, Maloof Money Cup and Dew Tour wins, he shows no signs of slowing down.

Offering a glimpse into his day-to-day existence that stems from his present hometown of Carlsbad, California, the Darkstar Pro recently picked up a Polaroid 360 Land Camera—a fickle automatic rangefinder that was in production from 1969-1971. From spending time with his girl and their French Bulldogs to skating and taking cooking lessons from his professional boxing trainer, PL’s routine is far from ordinary. So take a moment to peruse his Polaroids and perhaps you’ll get a better idea of the life of a man you only thought you knew.

Varial Heelflip Photo: Mike Blabac Photo: Mikendo

The Duffman

“Corey Duffel and I ride for Osiris so we always go on trips together to promote the brand. This time we were on our way to Mexico City for two days to do a signing. I shot this at the airport right after we checked in. I feel like Duffel has an interesting look, so I like this photo.”

Inverted

“I went to the Monster/DC ramp on New Year’s Day and was a little hungover, but decided to sweat it out anyways.

I wasn’t really feeling it; I just sat down and shot some pictures of Alex Perelson doing inverts. It was a little more challenging ‘cause the warehouse gets dark pretty early, so I put a spotlight on him. That’s why he looks a little overexposed, but at least he’s not blurry [laughs].”

Fully Chill

“I’m hyped on how this photo of my girlfriend Denise and our French Bulldog Zoey turned out; the light came out pretty cool. It’s really hard a lot of the time to shoot photos of dogs ‘cause they’re always looking in other directions and running around or whatever. You just have to catch them in a moment when they’re really chill.”

Vertical Therapy

“I met Chany Jeanguenin in Switzerland a bunch of years ago. He also speaks French so we ended up becoming good friends. Chany skates vert really well, and after a bunch of problems with his knee and back I think it’s a good way for him to get his legs back in shape without having to jump down something gnarly in the streets.”

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Crooked Grind to fakie Photo: Brian Fick

Cook Out

“This is my friend Rob Garcia making lunch for middleweight boxing champion Peter Quillin. Rob is a strength and conditioning trainer who was working with Oscar De La Hoya for a number of years. Living in the San Diego area, I ended up meeting him and we became good friends. He’s helped me really get in good shape and work on some training outside of skating.”

Metal Head

“Mathias Ringstrom was my first roommate down here and we’re still good friends. In 2000 I did pretty good at X Games and had a little money saved up so I thought, ‘Fuck it!’ I drove my car out to Encinitas from Quebec and moved in with him. Colin McKay used to live there but ended up buying his own place, so the room freed up [laughs].”

Fick To Fakie

“Brian Fick is a photographer who also skates vert. I think this is the first skate photo taken with my Polaroid camera. I shot a photo of him doing this pivot fakie and just thought it was cool to shoot the photographer skating vert instead of the other way around [laughs].”

Embedded Ink

“This is Denise at Power Tattoo in Vista. Ben Grillo has done pretty much all of her tattoos, and mine as well. He’s famous for super-detailed, fine line work. I found him years ago on Facebook while looking at art, and after meeting we became pretty good friends. Ben was actually the one who inspired me to buy this camera.”

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Team Zissou

“This photo of our other French Bulldog, Zissou, is the first photo I ever shot with the camera that turned out. The camera’s flash is so strong that it took me like a roll of film to get this photo right. In the end I put paper towel over the flash to soften the light on Zissou, who’s just chillin’.”

Up In Smoke

“I don’t even smoke weed to be honest! Danny Mayer came over and left half of a joint so I shot this [laughs]. If you look on my right arm there are two bright spots on the photo; it happens if you don’t clean the rollers in the camera really well before loading film. I learned this trick a little later on.”

Break Time

“I grew up skating with Max Dufour from when I was a little kid; him, Barry Walsh and Marc Tison. Now he lives in San Marcos, California, about 10 minutes away from my place, so we always meet up at the ramp. It’s cool ‘cause Max has done a lot for me and he is definitely one of my mentors.”

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Like Father, Like Son

“When I first shot this photo of Zach Miller at the ramp he was wearing a black shirt and was getting lost in the ceiling, so I had him change into a white shirt instead.

Chris Miller has the best frontside airs, so it only makes sense that his son has amazing ones as well.”

method Photo: Brian Fick

photo: brooks fritz

58MM | 101A PARK FORMULA WHEELS

C1RCA STORE WARS 2012 WINNERS

words

matt meadows

year has come and gone since Universe claimed their C1RCA Store Wars victory; two since Coastal

Riders had cemented theirs. Like its previous incarnations, C1RCA Store Wars 2012 brought out the best and brightest in Canadian skateboarding and filmmaking. Inviting C1RCA retailers “from sea to shining sea” to submit original videos showcasing their top shop talent, submissions poured in from across the country.

The initial round of the contest had staffers from Concrete, C1RCA Canada and the now-defunct Push.ca narrowing 20-plus submissions down to a Top 10. Once the hard decisions were made, crowd-sourced online voting was held to help decide the overall champion, as well as determine which entry would be chosen as the “Fan Favourite.” Steve Berra and Eric Koston also chimed in by selecting the Skullcandy “Best Skater” from the entries.

patrick pouliot

Having said all that; below is the tale of how Laval, Quebec’s, Axis Boardshop was able to jump through all the necessary hoops and check off all the right boxes in order to secure the 2012 C1RCA Store Wars title.

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Gab Proulx FRONTSIDE AIR

Francis Gagnon 5-0

[o] Marc-Olivier Lebrun

“THIS YEAR WE WANTED TO DO THINGS DIFFERENT AND PUT IN A GOOD ENTRY.” ALEX HALLé

FRONTSIDE TAILSLIDE KICKFLIP TO FAKIE [o] Phil Bernard

A LITTLE BACKGROUND Originally starting in the heart of the Laurentians, just north of Montreal, in a town called Saint-Sauveur, Axis was founded in 2002 by friends Scott Reeves, Alex Giroux and Philip Chouinard. Not limiting themselves to one outdoor activity, the shop flourished throughout Quebec and subsequently opened seven more locations.

While their skate team may originally hail from various corners of La Belle Province, it’s headquartered at their Laval location. “The style of the shop is totally different from the others,” said team manager Philippe Charlebois. “I think it’s ‘cause we are closer to Montreal.

We’re all about skating, whereas a lot of the other shops near the hills may be more known for snowboarding. So while it’s one team for the whole chain of stores, all the riders happen to be from this location. The skate team is all about Laval. We manage the team from here, and all the skaters spend most of their time here as well.”

NEW STRATEGY FOR 2012 Hardly newcomers to C1RCA Store Wars, Axis had submitted an entry previously. Learning from the experience, Philippe and his team decided to implement a new strategy: “It all started in 2011.

We shot all summer long and didn’t know what to do with our footage, so at the last minute we decided to use it for the contest.

This time was a little different. We consciously decided at the beginning of the summer to start filming specifically for Store Wars.

So we gathered footage with one purpose in mind.”

With their new filming strategy came a new video concept and more team involvement. Axis team rider Gab Proulx remembered: “I think it was good that we made the montage all together. We all had a part in the editing process, where last time was more just the filmer who put it together. So that definitely was a change. We threw around a lot different ideas and took more time to gather footage and film for this year’s video. There was more motivation ‘cause in 2011 we made the Top 10 but didn’t win. It was obvious that we would have to do a lot better of a job if we wanted to compete.”

Team involvement and motivation didn’t stop behind the editing desk; throughout the summer the Axis crew took several trips to gather footage in places that wouldn’t be as recognizable to the Canadian public. “Yeah, at the beginning of the summer, after we did a couple of trips to Boston, we decided we were going to keep all our footage for the contest,” says Alex Hallé. “This year we wanted to do things different and put in a good entry.”

Cementing themselves as a force to be reckoned with, Axis also took second place in the vote-based “Fan Favourite” award just behind Senate Skate & Snow, who nabbed first. Taking to the web, Philippe and his fellow shop mates made sure that all their friends did their daily duty by voting for the team online. “I’m not sure if it was because we were popular or more because we promoted ourselves online all the time. Like on Facebook or on our blog, we would constantly tell people to vote. There would always be comments like: ‘Go vote! Go vote! Have you voted today?’ I guess it worked!”

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THE COASTAL RIDERS AND SK8 SKATES FACTOR While there are many worthy challengers that enter C1RCA Store Wars, few instill fear into their fellow entrants than Langley, BC’s Coastal Riders and Winnipeg , MB’s Sk8 Skates. Speaking separately to Philippe, Gab and Alex, there was no question they were all on the same page in terms of both admiring and fearing the two shops’ entries.

When asked who they most revered, Alex said, “Sk8 Skates for sure. I mean, every year that I’ve seen C1RCA Store Wars they have had a pretty amazing video. It’s always full of bangers. I’m not sure if they’ve won before but they always have a good feel when it comes to the lifestyle, music and everything else. As far as individual skaters go, I was stoked to see Magnus Hanson in the contest. When I saw his part in the Digital video Smoke and Mirrors years ago, I was blown away. So when I saw that he was in the contest I thought our chances of a win dropped drastically! I mean, half-cab nose 270 heel on some ledge?! I was like, ‘Oh shit, that’s another level!’”

Similarity Gab noted, “Coastal Riders were the ones I was watching the whole time. The quality of the tricks and the riders are just amazing.”

UNDER THE EYES OF LEGENDS As part of the 2012 C1RCA Store Wars contest, Skullcandy’s Eric Koston and Steve Berra also judged entries. While trying to determine who would be crowned “Best Skater” of the contest (which we later found out would be Coastal Riders’ Magnus Hanson), the two poured over hours of video clips. So how did the crew at Axis feel about being dissected by professional eyes?

“A bunch of our skaters had no clue they would be watching the videos,” Philippe mentioned. “Like one day I said to Francis: ‘Man, it’s awesome that your part will be judged by Eric Koston and Steve Berra.’ He was like: ‘Aw, seriously?! Maybe we could get invited to The Berrics.’ I just laughed and told him to chill out.”

For his part, Alex felt the crew was never really star struck or nervous about having their footage watched by the Skullcandy legends. “When we found out Berra and Koston would be watching our footage we were definitely hyped. Hopefully they were stoked on what they saw. I think after we submitted we may have liked to put more shots in that we were saving for other projects, but we were just stoked that we knew they watched our footage.”

Gab had similar thoughts on the matter. “Yeah, actually I was a little nervous. Well, maybe not nervous per se but more happy. It’s rad that they got to see our footage.”

No Signs of Slowing Down So now that the shop has garnered the respect and admiration of C1RCA retailers across the country it must be time to kick back with a coldie and relax, right? Hardly!

Since their win, Axis team riders have also dropped three new parts. Alex remarked: “Yeah, I had some more Boston footage that we put together for a new Vimeo channel some of us created called The Lurkers Program. So all of us from Axis are posting on that.

We try to keep it moving by posting new footage every week so people can see what we’re doing. We’ve posted some more throwaway footage as well as a short part from Francis Gagnon. We want everyone to know that we’re not just sitting on our asses.”

So with C1RCA Store Wars 2012 now a wrap and Axis in the thick of picking out how to spend their hard-earned $5,000 electronics prize pack, along with designing a custom C1RCA x Axis shoe and listening to tunes with their custom Skullcandy headphones, one can only speculate what the shop and its skaters have in store for us in the coming year. One thing is certain, I’m sure this isn’t the last we’ve heard from Laval’s Axis.

axisboutique.com

GAB PROULX

NOSEBLUNT PULL-IN [o] Phil Bernard

C1RCA STORE WARS 2012 WINNERS

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follow all your favourite brands at: ultimateskateboarddist.com facebook.com/ultimatedistribution instagram: @ultimatedist

@ M AT I XC L O T H I N G

– M AT I XC LOT H I N G .CO M –

FA C EB O O K .C O M / M AT I X

SUPRADISTRIBUTION.COM

M AT I X S T I C K E R S @ S U P R A D I S T R I B U T I O N . C O M

– DAEWON SONG –

TAKING ON THE RAIN

words & photos

BRIAN CAISSIE

o

nce in a while you see a video or a photo shot in the rain, and there are a few reasons as to why it doesn’t happen often— the major one being that it’s dangerous. As Montreal’s Josh Clark says: “When you skate in the rain everything tends to feel like it’s been waxed by rollerbladers.”

Aside from the danger factor, the wet conditions can obviously ruin your board, as Winnipeg’s Jamie Mospanchuk points out: “It’s challenging because your griptape loses grip, your board gets waterlogged and your bearings get fucked,” while Tyler Holm takes the high road when it comes to a soaked setup: “I know that it’ll be my board that pays the price, but as long as it’s an affordable price it’s worth it to get a few wet tricks in.”

Rain skating doesn’t have to mean there’s a dark cloud over your head: “It’s funny seeing people with umbrellas and newspapers, trying to block every drop of rain while we’re just ripping full force through puddles and shit,” says Max Fine.

Being very familiar with wet skies, Vancouver’s Nick Moore backs up the fun side of a moist session: “When you’re all bundled up and sweating, but still soaking wet at the same time, it’s actually a pretty good feeling. It’s like being a kid again, playing in the rain.”

I’ve been working on this article for over a year now—a pretty long stretch because it’s definitely not easy getting people to skate in the rain. And when you do, it’s not easy to shoot the difficult tricks that please you, the reader. The brave souls in this feature took it upon themselves to soak their boards, shoes and bodies, while skating slippery surfaces in a few different cities.

I’ll always remember Pat Duffy skating in the rain to “Riders On The Storm” in 1992’s Questionable, Ronnie Creager’s rain footage in the Blind section of 1997’s Rodney Mullen vs. Daewon Song, and Kyle Leeper in 2010’s Rain or Shine by Mike Manzoori. Now it’s our turn to take on the rain…

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Jamie Mospanchuk Backside Tailslide

“We had taken a quick trip down to Minneapolis for a Sk8 Skates article and our only full day down there was rained out, but I didn’t really care. The ground at this spot was hella slippery and my grip was fucked at this point, so I was stoked to roll away after a couple slip-outs.”

“IF I COULDN’T DO A TRICK, I’D JUST BLAME IT ON THE RAIN.” -MAX FINE

JS Lapierre

Impossible

“Cruising around Montreal in the rain is the best, but this trick was kinda hard to get; the fact that my board was all wet didn’t help to make the impossible wrap. And security was about to kick us out, but luckily I got it on the last try.”

“Sometimes you have to bite the bullet and make it happen.”

-Tyler Holm

“Having an umbrella in hand and trying this in the pouring rain made for a really fun session, even though my bushings were all fucked up and my griptape felt like it was 100 years old.”

Josh Clark Tailslide

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“The forecast called for rain so a small crew of us embraced it. We had the Montreal streets to ourselves while everybody else was waiting out the storm. This was one of the last spots, and probably my favourite. The feeling you get when you grind this bank-to-ledge is addictive!”

Nick Moore 5-0

Max Fine Kickflip

“We were skating around downtown Montreal, and I was in the mood where you just try to grind every little curb or ollie random shit—just super hyped on being out in the rain. I ollied this bar a couple times, before somehow flicking my board over it [laughs].”

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Tyler Holm

Front Blunt shuv out

“I actually showed up to the Cambie spot in Vancouver thinking I could get in a dry session. It started raining and I thought to myself, ‘Fuck it’ and jumped on some front blunts, almost sacking myself once. I managed to roll one away, and it was even more satisfying because it was pissing out.”

“You pretty much have no cont

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trol, but it’s still super fun.”

-josh clark

Mike Mo Capaldi

Showcase

TE Koop

ShopHex.com

Little Burgundy

Facebook.com/shophex

Twitter.com/shophex

Spareparts

Instagram.com/shophex

Apple

cameo wilson

gap to backside 50-50 photo Brian Caissie

Exposure Concrete skateboarding

51

matt berger

ollie over to backside noseblunt photo Andrew Norton

52

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jon cosentino

switch kickflip

photo James Morley

chad dickson nollie 180 heelflip photos Andrew Norton

54

Concrete skateboarding

brandon del bianco

switch backside 180 photo Sam Fidlin

jordan hoffart frontside flip

photo Deville Nunes

Exposure 56

Concrete skateboarding

zander mitchell

backside tailslide gap out photo Brian Caissie

will marshall

360 flip

photo Josh Hotz

cain lambert

frontside crooked grind photo Brian Caissie

Concrete skateboarding

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brandon bandula

backside lipslide front shuv out photos Brian Caissie

Exposure Concrete skateboarding

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CHARTING UNCONVENTIONAL COURSES

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CONCRETE SKATEBOARDING

What’s Cooking with Colin Findlater?

Words: Jordan Guzyk Photos: Sam Fidlin Design: Randy Laybourne

A

fter a long day of skating during a visit to Vancouver we arrived back at the residence of our gracious hosts— Josh Kline and Chad Dickson. As most of us began eating dinner, Colin Findlater started cooking nothing but frozen corn. Standing in the kitchen wearing only sweaty boxers, Colin strained said corn, put it in a bowl, and topped it off with salt and pepper. He failed to notice that Brian Caissie and a few other guys had come over for some pizza, so when Colin was ready to eat his corn, he turned around to find a group of skaters staring at him. “Put on some clothes, dude!” snapped Chad, which drew a response from Colin that was reminiscent of an irritated housewife: “You didn’t tell me we were having company!”

Colin’s popularity within the Canadian scene has been on the rise throughout the past few years. With RDS, Mystery, Fallen and The Boardshop backing his cause, he isn’t the kind of guy who likes to be the centre of attention. Colin keeps to himself, working overnight at a grocery store called Metro in his hometown of London, Ontario, and skating all day long.

This 21-year-old is an awesome dude to be friends with; shy at first, but he gradually speaks out.

As for his eating habits? Well, let’s just call them “innovative.”

d Frontside smith grin A lot of people think you have a really strange diet. What do you eat in a day?

I don’t think what I eat is that strange. Like, in the morning I’ll almost always start with a couple eggs, some toast, and probably a couple bowls of cereal after that. I munch pretty hard in the morning ‘cause I don’t eat very much during the day. While skating I’ll usually cop a bag of candy for $2. Get those sugar levels up. My mom usually tries to make me normal food at night, like taters, corn, and meat—stuff like that. But if I come home late from skating, I’ll just eat more cereal or jalapeño Doritos.

se

ed Chee

rill Pizza G

bread tco rated) es of 2 slic sliced or g el from Cos ( e a bag z ) z n i Chees e p l o -size ly st 1 bite eferab in a ha (pr Srirac , inutes t 15 m r the bread u o b a en te or izza f t 350°. But andwich, th a p k o o s a C h ve wit ese in r oven toaste zza and che piness. Ser pi cris . d g e n r place i i p s to de or dip grill acha f f Srir side o

What are some recent food favourites?

Costco has these boneless chicken wings that are pretty freakin’ good [laughs]. And you can pretty much throw anything between bread, like mini pizza bagels from Costco [see recipe below]. Eat Sriracha with everything—shit’s good.

with your buddies to get in on the sesh, you know? It’s easier to keep in contact with sponsors, too. I should do that more. It’s way more fun now that I have it. I don’t know why it took me so long, actually. Money? I was lazy? But I’m glad I got it ‘cause Instagram’s the best thing in the world.

Follow me: @pbitnutter.

Not very light on the carbs. Why did you only eat corn and candy while we were in Vancouver?

So now that you’re on that Insta tip, what’s your favourite thing to lurk on there?

I think this was when I tried watching what I ate.

I thought corn was really healthy; you can pepper that stuff up and eat as much as you want and you won’t blow up like a balloon. Plus, we got a candy hook-up, but maybe we should keep that on the DL [laughs].

The girlfriend’s always got some funny photos, ‘cause her friends are weird, and they’re the best.

But after that, weed photos [laughs], or skaters like Nyjah Huston and Ryan Decenzo. Nyjah’s Instagram gets me hyped ‘cause he’ll post gnarlier skate photos than we shoot, so it’s hype.

I’ll never understand your diet, man. You recently got a new cell phone after being on a seven-month hiatus. What took you so long?

You work overnight shifts at Metro pretty often. Do you ever get some strange characters coming in late-night?

I don’t know, man. I get stressed out when I have messages and I know people are waiting to hear back from me, so I kinda took the time to enjoy it. But now I know it’s necessary to keep in touch

Well, I used to work cash overnight and all the liquor stores and beer stores are closed at that time. So one time this woman comes in hammered and she’s probably at least 50-years-old. She comes up with a big bottle of Listerine, so I knew

Nollie bigspin

CONCRETE SKATEBOARDING

67

Frontside nosebl unt

what was going on. She wants to pay with her credit card so she’s chatting me up, calling me sweetie. I just felt bad for her so I was like, “Fuck it, I’m gonna sell this girl some Listerine. I hope it sorts out her problems.”

Between working overnight at Metro and skating all the time, do you still party?

Oh yeah, every Wednesday. London has a ritual; everyone goes to Jack’s for $1 beers. We’ve got homies that work for CDN Entertainment taking photos and videos. It’s always a hype time. Usually those nights I work until 10 p.m. and we end up going to the bar at like 11 or something. It gets pretty sloppy sometimes—all the time [laughs].

Have you ever been kicked out of the bar before?

I know I have. I’ve gone to the bathroom, puked, and then came out looking for my friends. The bouncers were like: “You gotta go, you gotta go.”

I don’t think I was being rude, but I ended up almost getting beaten down outside, man [laughs].

That’s not even an uncommon occurrence at Jack’s. Jesse Belrose got tossed down the stairs.

What about that time at Jesse’s apartment when you locked yourself in the bathroom?

I just woke up to my girlfriend and her friends knocking at the bathroom ‘cause they had to go to work. They finally got me out by finding me passed out in a shower curtain, which is a great

blanket if you’re ever at a party and you pass out in the bathroom [laughs]. So they literally drag me out of there in the curtain, I crawl into some closet and try to light a cigarette in there, which is obviously a dumb idea.

You’re clearly prone to hilarious situations; what happened when you took your parents’ car without telling them?

This has actually been happening to me a lot recently, but this is probably the best story of it happening. I had driven to Guelph that morning with some homies to meet up with Byron [Ready], who drove us to Toronto to skate the Scarborough junkyard spot. I had my keys on me the whole time,

Frontside 5-0

T he Findlater Fav

but when we started skating I put them down. We get back to Guelph around 9 p.m. and my brother had to work in like two hours. Guelph is like an hour-and-a-half away from London, so I start looking for the keys to my car and can’t find them.

Classic move.

I started freaking out. We knew almost right away they’re in goddamn Toronto. Then came the dreaded call to the parents that I feel like I’ve made so many times [laughs]. Thank God they were cool about it and let my brother borrow their car, but no one could get home because of me.

Luckily we ended up finding my keys, but I felt pretty crummy.

What’s your pet peeve when you’re skating a spot?

Cars driving by is always a big thing. It shouldn’t be, but it just annoys me more than anything.

Also, people fidgeting at the bottom of the set that are just watching and creating noise. I don’t know, I’m a real scaredy cat when I’m about to jump on something, so I need full silence.

There must be more…

Oh, if I’m trying a trick and my board lands wrong—not necessarily getting chipped, but when I ding it and it gets soft—I always have to rip the grip off and sand it down a lot. That’s a huge pet peeve. If you think your board’s soft, you don’t think you’re gonna land the trick, you know? It’s all mental shit.

2 eggs 1 English muffin Cheese (2 slices , or grated) Jalapenos Sriracha

ourite

Fry eggs on a med ium, or high hea “The higher the t. heat, the faster you’ll eat” —Al ex Hann. Break the yolks in the pan to avoid runniness. Toast the English muffin.

Flip the eggs, add sal t n’ pepper, and cheese. Take the add two eggs and cre an egg-cheese-e ate gg patty. Top wit h Sriracha. Perfec t for breakfast or as a soggy treat whe n out skating.

CONCRETE SKATEBOARDING

69

Frontside 50-50

“

“

I think I’d rather have cancer than be fat. And I know I’m going to regret saying that one day.

s

Boobies and Egg n boob 1 frozen chicke egg 1 1 tortilla Sriracha

ody likes salthoroughly; nob 40 minutes, Cook the boob ut abo leaves you chop up the monella. This , egg the Scramble t thought so get baked. jus d, ice -sl m pre boob (or buy the tortilla. Roll the in it ow thr of that), and with a side of bie and serve it up like a doo g. pin dip Sriracha for

T he Desperado

2 boneless chicke n wings from Cos tco 1 bun Sriracha Microwave chicke n wings on high for a minute and a hal f. Flip half way through. Slap on bun and smother in Sriracha. Grilli ng optional.

CONCRETE SKATEBOARDING

71

p ial heelfli Switch var

T he Milky Way

Oreos Favourite cere al Milk Sriracha

Pretty self ex planatory, du mp your Oreos in your milk and cere al often dabble in this becaus . I don’t e of the amount of calo ries. Add Srir acha if needed.

You’ve recently been skating spots without a filmer and just getting photos. Do you not care about footage?

I care a lot about footage, but it all just comes down to filmers being busy at work or school. So, if you’re someone like me who’s just working and skating all the time, you have to use the resources you have. Thankfully Sam Fidlin is always down to sesh and we usually come up with some stuff.

It’s a bummer, though, because the majority of the stuff we’ve shot hasn’t been filmed. The video part is coming along a little slower than I’d hoped for, but we’re getting some stuff. At least we’re getting photos. They just mean different things than footage sometimes. Different end of the spectrum, you know?

You’re really modest when it comes to asking for product, or getting people to film or shoot photos with you. Why? I don’t feel like I’m a very confident person and I just keep to myself. All through high school I kept to myself and got my work done. Thankfully I didn’t smoke weed back then or else I might still be there [laughs]. I get really nervous around people and feel like I’m always being judged. I don’t know if I judge people a lot, but I’m just 72

CONCRETE SKATEBOARDING

constantly worried about how this person’s going to feel about what I just did. I’m a nervous guy. I don’t know how I got me a girlfriend.

Do you feel a lot of pressure to produce footage and photos for your sponsors?

Of course I do. I see other dudes on RDS like Micky Papa, who’s always putting out the gnarliest photos, ads and footage. He skates contests better than a lot of Pros. So I see things that other people on the team are coming out with and I try to use that as motivation. I’m getting a little older now, but it’s still fun. We’re at the point now where we have to skate spots a lot differently than we used to ‘cause we’re skating the same spots that we’ve been skating for years. It always ends up being more gnarly or more technical. More stressful, too. But the final product always ends up being better.

Why diet soda over regular soda?

Don’t you know that shit is bad for you?

Well, I’ve heard that from many people. I like Aspartame, and if I’m not mistaken, doesn’t it cause cancer? Well, I may speak for myself on this one, but I think I’d rather have cancer than be fat.

And I know I’m going to regret saying that one day.

Backside noseblunt

L

ocated in the small, sleepy town of Vankleek Hill, Ontario, about

an hour outside of Ottawa, lies Beau’s All Natural Brewing Co. They generously invited us to transform the brewery into our own private park as a part of Good Things—a collaborative project involving Beau’s, Antique Skateshop, N-Product, Fancy Boys and TacoLot. The outcome? A day filled with complimentary bottles of Beau’s, fresh tacos, live music, good people and a beer-soaked skate paradise.

Our reluctance to fully utilize the space was let go after a few boards flying into the fancy equipment was met with a thumbs up from the brewmaster. It began to feel like we were little kids again with nothing to do all day but have fun. Freedom was enjoyed in the form of some rickety banks, a makeshift booter, wallrides, manny pads and a kicker pole jam. Even the forklifts were adjusted to serve as crude flatbars.

Adam Scarabelli must have had a vendetta with the brewery and decided that jumping off the highest point in each room would be his sweet revenge. He went for a 12-foot-high noseblunt pull-in with a sketchy keg ramp landing, and grinded the only handrail in the building. He then took the forklift flatbar to flyboy level, raising it to the highest setting and using a wobbly kicker for a boost. Scarbs laid down everything he could, and when it was time to go he was the only one left standing.

Normally, when you’re invited to go skate a backyard ramp, it’s customary to bring the gracious host a six-pack. This time around, the traditional tables were turned when we were given the opportunity to bring skateboarding to the six-pack. antiqueskate.com • beaus.ca

Adam Scarabelli Frontside Nosegrind

Andrew Bartle Brewer at Beau’s

Adam Scarabelli Boardslide

76

Concrete skateboarding

“Our reluctance to fully utilize the space was let go after a few boards flying into the fancy equipment was met with a thumbs up from the brewmaster.�

photos james morley

BEN PATERSON Frontside 180 Switch Crook

80

Concrete skateboarding

lives: Oakville, ON , Volcom, age: 18 chine, Fallen sponsors: Toy Ma Skatepark Momentum, CBMK

sion. homies to have at a ses t, most entertaining ore, but his bef ht nig Ben is one of the sickes the ng tyi tter-brained from par an overall good time.

He might be a bit sca to an adventure and ds lea ays alw few de itu att no-stress had in mind within a t only land the trick he getting is g tin ska ’s Ben At the spot he will no ll. ing way gnarlier as we eth som w. ly no bab m pro fro rs but tries, is a few yea ’t wait to see where he to be insane, and I can —James Morley

RAFFO | BACKSIDE FLIP | PHOTO: JOE BROOK PHOTO: WES TONASCIA

& VIDEO CLIPS BLACKLABEL SKATES | NEVER BE BOUGHT NEVER BE SOLD | CHECK THE BLACK LABEL SITE FOR THE LATEST PRODUCTS BLACKLABELSKATES .CO follow all your favourite brands at: ultimateskateboarddist.com facebook.com/ultimatedistribution instagram: @ultimatedist

M

andrew norton

Ryan Lepore

lives: Tsawwassen, BC age: 18 Canada (flow), sponsors: Red Star (flow), Vans Pacific Boarder

antosh cimoszko

Switch Heelflip

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Concrete skateboarding

ted skateboarders with Tsawwassen has bred some very talen like Jeremy Ricketts and Sean guys ; years the over style ary ordin extra s that immediately grabs your style out stand those of one Hayes. Ryan has selection and the way he trick his t abou attention. There’s just something itely going to want defin e said, you’r flawlessly executes them. That being r! caree to follow this skate rat’s —Paul Machnau

follow all your favourite brands at: ultimateskateboarddist.com facebook.com/ultimatedistribution instagram: @ultimatedist

LifeExtentionSkateboardGroup>LEskateboards.com

photos michael kazimierczuk

Kickflip

Dalton Flemming Guelph, ON age: 21 lives: (flow), (flow), Fallen sponsors: RDS ark & Shop ep at Sk rd Wa The

a fuck. He’s n just doesn’t give es to mind is Dalto anyone. But ss pre im to ing First thing that com try ving fun, and isn’t ha , gets gnarly life de ing du liv s re thi out the time to get serious, it’s en wh , one serious ed s ist ha don’t get it tw ng him to. He also on any spot you bri ving such n’ ha rti to hu ret a ts sec pu his d an Cola. Maybe that’s caCo ing nk dri to addiction a mean flick. czuk —Michael Kazimier

84

Concrete skateboarding

Nick Moore

frontside nosegrind photo Brian Caissie

concrete Est. 1990: Canada’s original skateboard magazine

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skateboarding.com view issues on your desktop & mobile device for free

PUBLISHER Kevin Harris EDITOR-in-chief Frank daniello

frank@concreteskateboarding.com

PHOTO EDITOR Brian Caissie

brian@concreteskateboarding.com

ART DIRECTOR Dave Keras

davek@concreteskateboarding.com

Ad Sales Manager Casey Jones

casey@concreteskateboarding.com

associate designer Randy Laybourne Video Specialist David Ehrenreich

Contributing Photographers terry worona, james morley will jivcoff, brittany daigle jody morris, pierre-luc gagnon mike blabac, brian fick patrick pouliot, marc-andre lebrun phil bernard, andrew norton sam fidlin, deville nunes, josh hotz andrew szeto, michael kazimierczuk julie bonato Contributing Writers terry worona, matt meadows jody morris, casey jones jordan guzyk, aaron cayer james morley, paul machnau michael kazimierczuk, john lucas david ehrenreich, sierra fellers

dave@justdontsleep.com

copy editor Stephanie lake Administration Dave Buhr social media thor media designs

concrete accepts unsolicited submissions, but is not responsible if such materials are lost or damaged. submissions sent via letter-mail must include a self-addressed stamped envelope for return sending. for further submission inquiries, contact submissions@concreteskateboarding.com. for retailer inquiries in regards to carrying concrete, please contact info@concreteskateboarding.com.

Instagram @concreteskatemag facebook @concreteskateboarding twitter @concreteskate vimeo.com concreteskate Concrete skateboarding is Distributed 6 times annually by Ultimate Skateboard Distributors inc. // east: 705.749.2998 // west: 604.279.8408 Subscriptions: 1 Year for $19.95 (includes shipping / taxes) – 6 issues including The Photo Annual subscribe online at concreteskateboarding.com or send cheque / money order to: Concrete Skateboarding Subscriptions 150 - 11780 River Rd. | Richmond, BC | V6X 1Z7

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julie bonato words

John Lucas

Needless to say, the Mayan apocalypse didn’t happen back in December like a few wing nuts predicted it would. If it had, however, Luis Vasquez would have been ready for it. You might say the San Francisco-based musician has been preparing for the end times all his life, albeit not consciously.

“Since I was little, I’ve had over a hundred recurring dreams of the world ending,” says the frontman for The Soft Moon. “And they all end differently every time. It’s pretty crazy. I’m kind of fascinated by it, and every time it happens to me in my dream, I accept it. It’s very overwhelming and scary, but necessary, in the way I feel in the dream. I just sit down, and as it’s happening—as the world’s kind of crumbling—I close my eyes and let it happen. I like to interpret that through my music, so it’s kind of like recreating my dreams sometimes. I like to create what it looks like in my head through music.”

It probably goes without saying that The Soft Moon’s songs aren’t all sunshine and lollipops.

On the project’s most recent long-player, Zeros, Vasquez (who records solo but plays with a full band live) paints the world in 10 shades of black. From the churning industrial noise and motorik pulse of “Machines” to the haunted-man atmospherics of “Insides” and the bass-driven tribal minimalism of “Remembering the Future,”

the album is an oddly exhilarating descent into the depths of one man’s end-of-all-things anxiety.

There aren’t a lot of hooks to be found, and it’s pretty much impossible to make out anything Vasquez is singing. He admits that he obscures his vocals on purpose. “I like to treat my voice more as an extra instrument, on top of all the other layers of instrumentation,” he says. “But there’s also another reason. My whole life, I’ve always struggled with words to communicate my feelings. So there’s frustration in that.

Thankfully I have music to express myself, but that frustration comes out in my music, where you can’t tell if the vocals are another instrument or if I’m actually singing—I’m either screaming, yelping, or I’m burying my vocals in the mix. And that’s just to represent the frustration I have with communicating through words.”

The Soft Moon invariably garners comparisons to first-wave British post-punk groups, and there’s a good reason for that. Listening to Zeros, it’s hard not to be reminded of the fire-dance intensity of Killing Joke, the encircling gloom of Joy Division, or the claustrophobic moping of 1982’s Pornography by The Cure. Ask Vasquez to name his influences, however, and he’s more likely to list Prince, Slayer, and Duran Duran.

“A lot of the comparisons I get with my music are to bands I never really got into as much, so I always kind of sit back and wonder why I happen to sound like these bands, because I don’t disagree,” he notes. “But it’s weird. It’s almost like there’s this kindred-spirit thing, or like I live in the same world as bands like Bauhaus, or the musicians that were in Joy Division, or things like that.”

Those bands also stuck to the dark side of the street, and found themselves labelled “gothic rock” by the music press of the day, much to their horror. Vasquez doesn’t recoil at the sound of “the G word,” but that might be due to the fact that he’s not sure exactly what it means.

“I don’t know if I’ve ever really met a true goth person,” he says, then quickly reconsiders. “I think I met one, this one guy in Leeds. He proudly considered himself a real goth, and he was a lot older. My stereotype on goths is what I know from high school, and I don’t even know if those are real. You know: they dressed in black and kind of looked like Robert Smith a little bit.”

“I am open to whatever people consider my music, because I don’t know what I’m doing, honestly,” Vasquez concludes. “So if people out there know what it’s called, then they can call it whatever it’s called.”

thesoftmoon.com

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timebombtrading.com facebook.com/timebombtrading

curated and written by

David Ehrenreich

Late 2012 brought conveyors of skateboarding a little added inspiration in the form of a looming apocalypse. But we are still alive this winter, with a grip of new videos to enjoy. This time around we present three geographically diverse Canadian videos—neither of which are from Toronto or Vancouver—but both cities are given some nice little cameos, showing just how connected our thriving Canadian skate scene really is. Hard copies are available for all four videos, so track them down and support the cause.

VIDEO X

PARENTAL ADVISORY

I remember leaving the premiere of Green Apple’s Modern Love in disbelief. Coming from a generation that missed Memory Screen and Timecode (until they were later online), Ryan McGuigan’s video mixtape approach was a fresh, unconventional way to present skateboarding. He’s since gained a deep cult following, and could even be credited for inspiring an entire generation of editors to wade though foreign films and old VHS tapes looking for the perfect clips to splice into their videos. Video X is different than his previous projects, but in that way, right on track. Using Ginsburg/ McCartney’s “The Ballad of the Skeletons” is a music supervision pinnacle topped only by the follow-up of Paul Liliani skating to the Hickhiker’s Guide theme song.

Ryan makes the only skate videos that leave me wanting to go watch documentaries and read books more than going skating. Thank you, Winnipeg.

After years of print advertising accompanied by little video evidence, no one outside of the DGK inner circle was sure what to make of Parental Advisory.

During the lead-up to the brand’s December 2012 release, our only expectations were high-budget skits and some bangers from the AMs. I’m pleased to say, the veterans delivered. And DGK’s first full-length video has better skating than I could have possibly imagined. Wade DesArmo has the opener, proof of Stevie’s tasteful selection of skateboard talent. Josh Kalis skates to Action Bronson, and there are full parts from Marcus McBride, Rodrigo TX and Jack Curtin. After some skits, including an underage ecstasy trip in a club, Stevie held the finale. Seeing him switch three flip to some early 2000 rap evokes memories of his days on Chocolate and wishing you could afford his $150 DC Pro model. It’s a perfect end to any video.

g r e e n a ppl e s hop.c a

TURD SEASON

di m e m t l . com/ video s / dime- t ur d- s e a s on

For the third year in a row, the boys of Montreal’s Dimestore, now officially Dime, have produced some comedic gold. They’ve brought us Hugo Balek’s famous Square Berri bank temper tantrum, public masturbation, animals fucking, Peace Park hand-jobs and throwing rocks through the window of a church. They’ve solidified Gab Ekoe brown-bagging it in a park as the single most notorious Canadian “skateboard” clip of the last five years. Turd Season, along with its tweaked humour, has great skating from all the usual suspects, assembled into a couple montages you hope will never end. Antoine Asselin, Chucky Rivard, Hugo, Alexis Lacroix, and JS Lapierre reappear throughout the video and could all have full parts if the project was compiled more conventionally. Phil Lavoie did an amazing job on the Dime trilogy; I hope the rumours are wrong and they bless us with a new one again next year.

90 Concrete skateboarding

d gk .com

SERENITY NOW

you tu.be/VS t Yzym jRAM

There is nothing more exciting in Canadian skateboarding right now than what’s happening in Calgary. Dime and Green Apple released new videos that were incredible, but both were highly anticipated follow-ups that we knew would be good. Cory McNeil and all the boys from Calgary had no expectations placed on them at all because most people outside of their city had no idea who they were.

Then comes the one-two punch of Serenity Now and its follow-up, A Summer in Calgary (youtu.be/qb9RBlDMC88), which features all the homies in two montages, split up by the time of day, then full parts from Riley Boland and Jed Anderson. As for Serenity Now, it’s brilliantly edited entirely to ignorant rap and has full parts from Jed, Tyler Warren, Denis Tyson, Ben Blundell, Kevin Lowry and Dustin Henry. Visit the best new filmer in Canada’s YouTube page: youtube.com/user/CoryBMcNeil.

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brian caissie

Walker has always been so humble in his skating, and in how educated he is. Most people don’t know that he has a degree in Sociology, not because he needs it as a back-up after skating, but because he genuinely wants to learn and get to know more about the people he meets. Walker is one of most talented skaters I’ve met, and has the ability to find a spot anywhere.

Even if everyone thinks the spot sucks, Walker is the guy who will start skating it and make everyone else excited to give it a try. If I could describe him in one word, I’d say “positive” sums him up best because he tries to make every experience he has a positive one.

—Sierra Fellers

Websites

Travel Essentials

Pro Perks

1. npr.com 2. khanacademy.com 3. jenkemmag.com 4. visualtraveling.com 5. kayo.tv

1. Book/Kindle 2. Skateboard 3. Moleskins 4. Chargers 5. Inflatable pillow

1. Dream came true 2. Only the beginning 3. Can actually claim it 4. Travel opportunities 5. I get to ride my skateboard a lot

Go-To Tracks

Obscure Destinations

Instagrammers

1. “The Thrill is Gone,” B.B. King 2. “I’d Rather Go Blind,” Etta James 3. “Perpetual Blues Machine,” Keb’ Mo’ 4. “Try a Little Tenderness,” Otis Redding 5. “Danger Zone,” Big L

1. Bangladesh 2. Myanmar 3. Kazakhstan 4. Sri Lanka 5. Nebraska

1. @frekleface 2. @tonyhawk 3. @shufflcrew 4. @bartjones 5. @DGK

Underdogs

Books

Napa Valley Wineries

1. Miles Silvas 2. David Cole 3. Dave Abair 4. Austin Kanfoush 5. Josh Anderson

1. The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas 2. Tom Perrotta’s novels 3. Nick Hornby’s novels 4. Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe 5. The Millennium Trilogy novels by Stieg Larsson

1. Karl Lawrence Cellars 2. Caymus Vineyards 3. Taken Wine Company 4. Pott Wine 5. Erna Schein

Canadians

C1RCA Alumni

Nicknames

1. Spencer Hamilton 2. Wade Desarmo 3. Scott Decenzo 4. Lee Yankou 5. Magnus Hanson

92

Concrete skateboarding

1. Mark Appleyard 2. Dennis Durrant 3. Scott Decenzo 4. Tony Tave 5. Colt Cannon

1. Walker Texas Ryan 2. Walkdiggity 3. The Ginger 4. Nutty Professor 5. Ryan (but I take a huge offence to it)

JOSH MATTHEWS

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