Features

"VELVET" / Spencer Legebokoff / INTERVIEW

Spencer Legebokoff has been shooting skate photos and videos in Canada for a long time now, but especially got his name out there on the international scale a fistful of years ago with « WALTZ » - an edit filmed around his region of origin that is West Kootenay, British Columbia - which he submitted and came to showcase at the 2018 edition of Vladimir Film Festival, the now classic independent event and cultural phenomenon occuring yearly thanks to the passion-driven locals of Fažana, Croatia. Being the uplifting experience it's really crafted to be, Spencer then came back home inspired to fully pursue his own vision in his skate filmmaking and what logically ensued is this new piece: « VELVET », a video willing to lean towards a more contemplative direction - but not at the expense of some great, sincere local skateboarding - which we are happy to bring you today, alongside a full interview with Spencer himself regarding the project, just below!

PREMIERE / "Blunt x TACo." / Alfredo Franco / INTERVIEW

"I met Alfredo “Blunt” Franco on a skate trip in Mexico City back in 2006. At the ripe young age of twenty-one, I was immediately impressed this thirty-one-year-old was skating as hard as he was - still seeking out spots, filming, and getting photos, doing legitimately impressive stuff. This was the mid 2000's, where staple nineties pros were about the same age, and we were just beginning to learn what longevity is. And here's this guy from an unfamiliar skate scene, skating just as hard (or harder), but doing it only for the love.

I had a blast skating with him, hearing the early stories of Mexican skateboarding, and checking some of his spots; crazy transitioned fountains and old skateparks. We stayed friends and have been in regular contact since, visiting each other's cities.

As years progressed, my skating has slowed down, but Blunt seems to only progress. At my 36, I look at his 46, and can only be in awe. He's in the small group of skaters that seem to have found the fountain of youth.

But there's another layer for Blunt; he’s one of the originators in Mexico, skating since the eighties, and still keeping it moving to this day. He's seen his scene grow from nothing, evolve, progress, and explode. I can say from my first trip in 2006, every time I've returned I've noticed the changes: more skaters, more skateparks, brands, videos, and the level of skating has grown and grown. Blunt has lived it since its infancy, and still keeps the wheels turning as the years pass." - Brett Nichols

Greg Hunt / Interview

From professional for Stereo Skateboards, Jason Lee and Chris Pastras's company, in the late nineties to author of some of the most crucial skate videos of the past two decades - including the famous Dylan Rieder Gravis part (yes, this one), TransWorld videos such as "SIGHT UNSEEN" and various other cultural institutions ("THE DC VIDEO""MINDFIELD"...) - Greg Hunt's background is as atypical as it is rich and diverse. Now, if the arty aesthetics of the first Stereo videos - paired up with a special, and quite the impactful gift from Gabe Morford - encouraged him towards literal film work rather early on, his equally sincere interest in still photography persists, maybe, as more low-key celebrated than his legacy of technically moving pictures - in spite of quite the relentless activity, publishing-wise. As though to highlight the intrinsic importance of his subjects, presence and style throughout the years, "20TH CENTURY SUMMER", his new book, just dropped via Filmphotographic and features a selection of forty-one previously unreleased photos - all curated from some of the very first rolls of film Greg ever shot in his life; and what finer context for one's such experiments than a skate tour throughout the United States in the dead midst of summer 1995... Getting curious already? Well hopefully Greg himself will address all your possible questions - via this interview, below!

PREMIERE / Bears Skateshop "BEARS VIDEO" / INTERVIEW

The Rennes scene has been renowned for its constantly bubbling activity for a good while, now; the most diligent of now-O.G. heads definitely remember Pacôme Gabrillagues' video works, most notably the full-length "CROSSWALK" back in 2010 - at the dawn of the rise in popularity and traction of independent european creation - or maybe more contemporarily, the entire Galerie 126 adventure. Théo Le Guével's newest full-length VX-1000 video, "UNCENSO-RENNES", bears witness to how the recent generations have been insisting to honor such a rich cultural legacy ever since and, in between more Rennes activists throughout the ages, Laurent Ségal also fits right in since at the wheel of Bears Skateshop, formerly Bamboo, open on location since 2004. Thus in a way, it's almost two decades that the release of this "BEARS VIDEO" by Yoann Cailleteau is celebrating - but not just that as, given the variety in the profiles composing its sum, it also reflects the human adventure aspect of skateboarding, on one hand; and healthy doses of elbow grease smoothness, on the other hand. Checking in on everyone involved just had to be done, as to duly honor the Rennes scene as far as we're concerned - and they all turned out to have plenty to say, too, as the joined interview can attest, below!

Ruben Spelta / 5 W's!

Ah, the Ruben case… The elusive one, unless maybe we’re talking around the corner of this or that random street in Milan, whose silhouette is very particularly distinguishable on skateboard and yet had never really been granted the opportunity to express himself in words in skate media up until now. Well today, here he is making both forms meet, in 5 W's form complete with skate rat wisdom and also with a brand new part, which we hope you’ll find some of your own inspiration in!

PREMIERE / "SHIT PIE" / Nebojša Resanović & Hana Piščević / INTERVIEW

Recommending someone "SHIT PIE" for breakfast, lunch or dinner normally wouldn't communicate the best of intents regarding their sensorial satisfaction nor their general well-being and yet, this one from Serbia is a specialty LIVE is proud to be serving red hot as the recipe here really consists in a mix of authenticity, creativity and weighs in at just as many calories as the next ten Instagram accounts of motivational memes. Live, laugh, love, Nebojša Resanović and Hana Piščević definitely did all of that during the cooking of "SHIT PIE", filmed throughout the heaviest of the local lockdown hours - the result being a fresh skate short film in beautiful settings, showcasing untouched spots in just one Belgrade neighborhood, inventive tricks, raw enthusiasm and impatient drivers, LIVE just had to catch up with the couple for a slice - now feel free to help yourself in the interview, below!

Mount Vladimir

Unless from under a rock or out of the loop, by now, the average curious skateboarder should spontaneously associate September with skate festival season via, in Croatia, the classic Vladimir Film Festival - now flaunting a brand new website, complete with the 2021 dates and program to also celebrate its supposedly tenth, really eleventh edition and, in Bulgaria, the more recent but just as motivationally driven Summit of the Non-Aligned, which LIVE has highlighted before - most notably here. Summit is taking place right now, this September 9-12th in Belgrade, followed by Vladimir this September 16-19th in Fažana and Pula.

So in order to efficiently echo this stream of great news, what's better than an exclusive recap of the previous edition of Vladimir - one that did take the hit of all the pandemic-related circumstances, but did happen in 2020 - from the perspective of the Amnesia Skateshop crew from Sliven, Bulgaria. To be accurate, the words are by Martin Dechev and Yavor Ski; the photos courtesy of Veliko Balabanov, already the author of this Deo Katunga edit for Stinky Socks and of the new Витошa Skateboards video, scheduled for screening at Vladimir this year; and as far as the accompanying moving pictures are concerned, then that is their former production for Amnesia that they already shot with the 2020 festival in mind.

Once again, feel free to do yourself a favor and keep in touch with the imminent frenzy of Vladimir here (and word on the streets is, their platform is bound to keep getting more and more interesting), and with the one of the Summit here. Feeling like an even deeper dive into the myth? You can also (re-)read our recap of Vladimir 2019, loaded with Josh Stewart artefacts but really cool surprises of many other kinds, here!

Marius Chanut / 5W's!

Marius Chanut is one flamboyant product of the Parisian suburbs, skates for Supreme and studies art history. He's also a photography enthusiast, and that's exactly what the recently established Galerie Bête, in the basement of Arrow and Beast, just so happens to be celebrating right now with the exhibition "TO FATHOM", on display till July 22nd. Marius also handicrafted a new zine for the event, of which fifty copies are made available. For the luckiest of you to browse through on the metro whilst on their way there, here's the following conversation we just had with him, 5W's style as usual!

Pachito

Remember: Gerardo Sosa was recounting his experience skateboarding in Argentina, last year, via "SITUACIÓN DE CALLE", a Buenos Aires video which happened to raise enough questions for a LIVE interview with its author. Well now, it's by the means of another full-length piece: "PACHITO" that we get to travel on his dime again - and to his hometown of Guatemala City this time! Once again, the perfect occasion to discover the incredible spots, original styles and vivid colors of an underrepresented scene, documented by Gerardo with no less style, sincerity and passion - for the surrounding street life, too! We're talking thirty-five minutes, an exclusive photo gallery - below - and, if all goes well, you can expect even more from Gerardo on LIVE, soon!

STREET FEET "Radio Sessions" Vol. 4 / PREMIERE

Finally, it's out: the new chapter in "RADIO SESSIONS", Rob Mentov's series of analog video montages of skateboarding in and around Toronto, under the now longtime local Street Feet moniker. "VOL. 4" features the usual heads: Juan Osorio, Malcolm-Emilio Yarde, Scott Balkwill, Matt Roberts, Will Baigent, Josh Forgues and also Jake Borchenko who, once again, contributed some shots to the photo gallery for you to browse on this very page (including one of Aaron Jones, otherwise uncredited in the video... this time!). Get ready for your intake of sweet sweet nighttime street groove as usual, and inspired to go experience a similar feeling first-hand! Or, if it's raining, well, you can always catch up and binge watch the former episodes, here.

PREMIERE / "Trois Trois Trois" / Arthur Du Sordet / INTERVIEW

Arthur Du Sordet, aka. Arthur Dus, already had briefly summed up his activity as a Nyon, Switzerland-based skate filmmaker for us the first time we shared some of his works; for those who might be struggling to keep up, he's the official camera operator and editing timeline specialist of local collective  Cranscityclub, whose new full-length video "TROIS TROIS TROIS" just dropped; and, if some of its sections have already been shared online before (which LIVE was teasing here), it is in its complete glory that today, we're getting to share this little audiovisual gem that's rooted in independent skateboarding as well as the authenticity of a motivated regional scene. As a complement, and in order to better retrace who's who and who did what before your next session (bound to happen as soon as your viewing is over) - you know the drill by now - we went to, again, question Arthur; you will find the full report from the interrogation room below, illustrated with a selection of photos by Albert Lopes!

Felipe Oliveira / INTERVIEW

The Felipe Oliveira case is one of the many LIVE has been closely watching for quite the years now; a post-modern style dictated by a persistently free spirit, dozens of more or less local appearances throughout the years, a constantly boiling Instagram feed and, from now on, the head of a project of his own: WorldXit, really the direct extension of his creativity and approach to daily life via original textile-based productions, but not just that. Indeed, right now, it is audiovisual matter Felipe is just about to drop, under the form of a new self-edited "web part" (as they say): "WORLDXIT PART 3", the receptacle of footage contributed by Converse Brazil camera maestro Guilherme Guimarães then reinterpreted by the skater himself, on LIVE as soon as tomorrow. To keep you waiting, in addition to reposting this other recent clip of Felipe, here are his answers to our questions that obviously raised themselves by themselves and he didn't sleep on as one more opportunity to express himself with enthusiasm - if not a certain urgency.

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