Vintage

Aymeric Nocus - 17/10/2117/10/21

"Movie This" (1991)

... Or the joy of stumbling upon a gem of a skate video by chance, around a random YouTube corner, to then realize - upon further investigation - that it in fact happens to double up as some of the earliest works of a now universally renowned movie director. "MOVIE THIS" was sculpted and polished back in Oslo sometime in prehistory (circa 1991), and Jørgen Johannessen just dug it up for public display. A time capsule that testifies of how sharply up-to-date the locals were at the time (with advanced tricks that really don't blemish from the comparison with then-contemporary U.S. productions such as "1281"), but also of an era at large - maybe representative of the general skate energy in Europe that was before the New World Order.

Jørgen Johannessen, YouTube king of the day, tells the story:

"'MOVIE THIS' (1991) is the very first film by now acclaimed director Joachim Trier ('REPRISE', 'OSLO, AUGUST 31ST', 'THE WORST PERSON IN THE WORLD'). Trier was a champion skateboarder in Norway around 1989-92, and made two skate videos (including my personal favorite: 'GÆRRALONG GÆNG' from 1992), before moving onto film school and film production.

A lot of the footy in 'MOVIE THIS' is from a local, Oslo skatepark called Rikshallen (the national indoor arena, 1990-1994), where I first met Trier, his crew and several of my best friends today. The place was loosely run by late teens and had pretty much zero rules. The older skaters still treated us kids OK, and I have great memories from the place.

Since the film is now thirty years old, I hit up Trier about putting the whole thing on YouTube, and he was totally cool about it. The line-up in the film is massive, some of the guys are alive and well, some no longer among us. Anyway, it's a great trip down memory lane seeing the film today, as well as it serves as a document over a time and place that no longer exists." - Jørgen Johannessen

Read more about "Movie This" (1991)

Tags:

Joachim Trier, Aksel Esseth, Mohammed Saidali, Øystein Greni, Alexander Kayiambakis, Fredrik Kolverud, Adil Dyani, Espen Røed, Jørgen Johannessen

article: Aymeric Nocus - 14/03/2114/03/21

PREMIERE / "L'ELDORADO" / "Chronicles of the Past" Nantes / INTERVIEW

Today, on LIVE, we're not introducing you to just one exclusive local video production, but rather two - as an attempt to a general representation of the skate scene in Nantes, France, as nurtured throughout several decades by successive generations of activists working hard at putting not just their practice but also their localization on great display. This strongly historic landmark of French skateboarding has fed the prowess of - amongst others - Thibaud Fradin back when his sponsor at the time, Cliché Skateboards, Jérémie Daclin's iconic company, was literally and figuratively taking off overseas, or also David Couliau's adventures on either side of both the lens and industry. Nowadays, in comparison, some might argue that it's blending into the general landscape a little more - maybe due to the lack of encouraging local policies for skateboarding, but maybe also due to a lack of attention on their own end because indeed, the scene really seems just as vibrant in the year twenty twenty-one looking at the hyperactivity of several shops (NDJ, Banc Public, Milk) but first and foremost of the ever-so-passionate locals, some of them even running their own skate mag: Ob'Session. "L'ELDORADO" is the name of the new full-length video the latter crew just issued; and we're talking a conceptual enterprise here, supported by the notorious Sony VX-2000 and the local poetry of then - via a constant parallel with Jacques Demy's cinematography - and now - by the means of home-made animations by Rose Moreau, some timeless theatrics and of course excellent skateboarding by the crew. So, just as we were getting excited to share said piece already is also exactly when Franck Pierron contacted us (remember "TRACKED MOVEMENTS" and LIVE's original interview with Franck, here), too, to show us his new vintage gem; an anachronism only more complete upon viewing, "CHRONICLES OF THE PAST: NANTES EDITION" is a true time capsule of the authentic nineties, and quite the four-minute journey into the past of Nantes and some historic kickflips. Obviously, the temptation of federating all these different energies into one major article ended up overcoming; so, here's your occasion to discover or rediscover Nantes through quite the transgenerational prism, including questions to all parties involved - a virtual cultural trip we're inviting you on here and now!

Read more about PREMIERE / "L'ELDORADO" / "Chronicles of the Past" Nantes / INTERVIEW

Aymeric Nocus - 29/06/2029/06/20

Abstract

In the same timeless, classic vein as "CLOSURE", the video retrospective of Dan Wolfe's works throughout the years that LIVE also shared recently, but with a more accute emphasis on the Philadelphia and New Jersey scenes this time (with some San Francisco still thrown in the mix for good measure), and far less renowned: that is "ABSTRACT", by Vern Laird. That first video effort of his came out just in time for the beginning of the twenty-first century after having been filmed (on both a VX-1000 and a VX-3) between 1997 and 1999, and judging from the impeccable roster, Vern knew the right talents to pick: bear witness to just that, a historical section by Tim Achille (for the longest time, the only one available online), a part for Rich Adler then in developing embryo form, an insane friends section featuring all the epoch's monarchs (from Bobby Puleo to Jake Rupp without forgetting about Tony Cox, Josh Kalis and Stevie Williams - already an iconic duo, Brian Wenning, Andre Page, Pat Corcoran, A.J. Mazzu, Sergei Trudnowski, Will Harmon or even Rob Pluhowski...), accompanying footage of quite the speedy, aggressive yet original Damian Smith and of Brennan John, claiming the curtains to a Bad Brains song. Oh and Vern has his own segment, too! All for a VHS that only came in five hundred copies, and the content of which only just recently reached the shores of the Internet. Now, what a relief for the culture!

Read more about Abstract

Tags:

Vern Laird, Tim Achille, Rich Adler, Damian Smith, Brannon John, Brian Wenning, Andre Page, Pat Corcoran, AJ Mazzu, Sergei Trudnowski, Will Harmon, Bobby Puleo, Jake Rupp, Stevie Williams, Josh Kalis, Tony Cox, Rob Pluhowski

Aymeric Nocus - 12/12/1812/12/18

Viva Via!

Avid LIVE Skateboard Media readers should remember the noise around the latest Traffic Skateboards (East coast pioneer Ricky Oyola's board company) full-length video release: "Look Left", as it wasn't without causing quite some waves amid the underground scene last year and we also jumped on the opportunity to interview team riders Mark Wetzel and Joe Yates. For the past few years now, Theories of Atlantis' Josh Stewart (of "Static" independent series fame) and Pat Stiener have had a hand in the image and distribution of the company, something in the name of which they just put up its first ever full-length offering from 2006: "Via", on their YouTube channel, in its entirety. Along with Josh's "Static II", that film is a true pearl of culture in that it helped shine some more light towards an East coast scene that really had never slowed down since Dan Wolfe's "Eastern Exposure" saga ten years back, or the Zoo York "Mixtape" video from a few years prior. Of course, Ricky's direction for Traffic had to be pure street only, straight from some of its best East coast representatives with a visionary eye for trick and spot aesthetics - something that's become a standard since, but those guys were part of setting that whole imagery! Namely Mark Wetzel, Ricky Oyola, Pat Stiener, the incredible Rich Adler, Henry Panza, Andy Bautista, Brannon John, Shaun Williams and some guests of choice along the likes of Bobby Puleo all make appearances. The twenty-minute format makes "Via" a perfect pre-skate watch, oh and the soundtrack is as incredible as the skating. Homework of a pleasurable kind!

Tags:

traffic skateboards, Ricky Oyola, Bobby Puleo, Jack Sabback, Mark Wetzel, Pat Stiener, Rich Adler, Henry Panza, Andy Bautista, Brannon John, Shaun Williams, surfer dude

article: Aymeric Nocus - 28/11/1828/11/18

Franck Pierron / PREMIERE / "Tracked Movements"

Here comes an improbable U.F.O.! If the name of filmer Franck Pierron doesn't ring a bell to you, you don't necessarily have to question your street cred: Franck was always the man in the shadows, masterfully documenting skateboarding from afar out of pure passion without ever feeling the need to put himself out there, as to keep it all nothing but pure fun. From the nineties to the mid-naughts (the era of the French Chill Magazine, for those who remember), Franck has been shooting every format from VX-1000 video to Super 8 or 16 mm film. His eye is of the kind that cultivates the detail and celebrates the energy; and his genuine excitement seems to translates over into the resulting footage, as his drawers are full of tapes and film imprinted by timeless stylings performed by some of the most classic skaters. The years went by and Franck ended up pursuing an audiovisuel career in the television field, but thankfully for us he never shed his youthful first love for skateboarding away and last month after we asked him if he had any unseen footage to contribute he would be sitting on that we could screen at the (now recent) Das Days Movie Night in Paris, he did not hesitate once. #Fortheculture! What this whole exchange eventually resulted in is this clip: "Tracked Movements", an improvised project title reflecting the process of that quest for lost footage, but also the one of the basic act of filming skateboarding to begin with as well as many more, even deeper meanings we will leave up to your imagination as you duly deserve. Regardless of its designation, what counts is how Francks's passion and enthusiasm have survived the past fifteen years time span and today, LIVE Skateboard Media is proud to get to present it to you under the form of this time capsule of an edit, timelessly tracking the movements of many a Parisian skate activist who eventually contributed a lot to the local culture, history and scene, each in their own respective ways. And of course, we caught up with Monsieur Franck long enough to introduce him to our classic "5 W's" treatment!

Tags:

franck pierron, das days, Lucas Puig, vassili ritter, Stefan Janoski, greg bachorek, Vincent Bressol, william phan, Reese Forbes, fabrizio santos, wilfried mandereau, geoffroy leblanc, julien deniau, Stéphane Larance

Aymeric Nocus - 21/10/1821/10/18

Classic New Spot!

Good ol' "New Spot" was the inspired, original local nickname of the location that later blossomed in terms of worldwide popularity under the other alias of "Pier 7", located barely a two-minute skate away from a then declining Embarcadero.

From then on, the most intense skate sessions would ensue at that place, gathering a community of die-hard locals taking their self-assigned duty to push the limits of tech and style simultaneously very seriously. Whoever got in the way of said craft mid-line would get his board thrown into the sea (Embarcadero wasn't far, remember), but the iconic skateboarding that went down at that spot in that era really is what the most memorable should be.

TransWorld SKATEboarding just dropped this recap of raw files featuring all the Kings of (that small chunk of) SF (among others): Henry Sanchez (of course), Karl Watson, Marcus and Lavar McBride, Rob Welsh, Mike York, JB Gillet, Pat Washington, Andy Honen, John Igei, Shamil Randle, Brad Johnson, Stevie Williams, Spencer Fujimoto... Most of the OG's are present and represent, under the form of slick, unaltered raw VX clips filmed and compiled by Victor Neyra, whose Instagram account you should follow!

Tags:

pier 7, new spot, victor nayra

02/03/1802/03/18

Huf-ology

Yes, weekend is among us and, with it, time to go push around the proverbial city –even if it might be more of a fantasy in your very own village– with all your friends… And here is a serious dose of inspiration to do so, and do it right, with a sure push or flip trick in between moving and potentially hostile yellow cabs. With the poster by for such activity, AKA Keith Hufnagel, and a retrospective of all his parts for Real Skateboards, and therefore a full career of never being intimidated by any sort of street furniture, no matter how local or exotic, with always the option of just flying over it. But let's not limit our appreciation of Huf to his big ollie, oh no! Enjoy the history class about a guy that is way more than a shoe brand…

Read more about Huf-ology

Tags:

Keith Hufnagel

28/08/1728/08/17

Rising sons

All right, let's stir away from the "new new" to look back at a 10 years old part, that still look relevant in the skating it displays! So, back in 2007, one Masakazu Aiso was skating with more than proper style (one could mention JB Gillet and Shinpei Ueno without going overboard) and total class on the spots that are now attached to what has become worldly known as the "Japanese Style". With the ledge game getting back in style, have a look at how it should be done!

Tags:

Masakazu Aiso

20/03/1720/03/17

Waiting For The World

History being an eternal cycle, the good people of Slam City Skates put the spotlight on one of the video production celebrating one of the golden age of British Skateboarding, the best possible way, the best possible way, by giving you a Who's Who of 2000 in the best possible quality. Make yourself a good cup of tea, and (re-)discover Dan Magee's masterpiece.

Tags:

Scott Palmer, Nick Jensen, Paul Shier, Mark Baines, Paul Carter, Carl Shipman, Channon King, Colin Kennedy, Andres Holguin, John Rattray

30/10/1630/10/16

Your Lennie mixtape!

A reminder on one of our most intense character ever, and the occasion to watch once gain his part in the 1997 Time Code. A classic, if there ever was one… And if you are interested in learning more about Lennie's story, his old friend Dennis McGrath recently published the Heaven book.

Tags:

Lennie Kirk

23/10/1623/10/16

Memories…

Tags:

Dylan Rieder

14/09/1614/09/16

Oldies but goldies!

A little look back, to the blessed (?) era of the Year 2000, when pants were baggier and with horrible cuts, and the shoes… Ah, the shoes… But let's stay focused on what matters: a time when Girl and Chocolate were at the top of the food chain, and for one reason –and the best of all– a team unduplicable (if that's even a word) for its talent pool of course, but also its styles. And, no, that post is not addressing only to those of us that are trying to hide a burgeoning belly under a hat from the latest drop. No, and this is the true beauty of skateboarding: it can be timeless, like a flatland switch pop shove-it by Stevie Williams. Yes, you read right. Why don't you check for yourself? You could get inspired…

Tags: