Frustration, excitement, anger, happiness, vulnerability, courage, these are a few of a Spazz’s feelings. It doesn’t take long into the video to realize Spazz isn’t your traditional skate video. From the number of rough cuts to the make-up scene, Chandler Burton’s latest video is an ode to emotions on and off the board.
Words: Emanuele Barbier
It took two months, one of filming and one of editing, for Burton and Dale Decker to put out Spazz. While Burton appeared in some friends’ skate videos, Spazz is his first solo part. “I am really excited about it, it has been so near and dear to me,” said Burton. “Filming with Dale was really natural, we quickly matched creative eyes,” he said. “I was able to prove to myself a lot of things I didn’t believe I could do.”
Spazz compiles a lot of gnarly drops (including one catwalk death-drop) and explosive skating. The most challenging for him wasn’t the intro’s bs flip or the closing boneless to 50-50, but rather the switch transfer to blunt stall 180 out. “It was a lot of blood, sweat and tears,” said the L.A. based skater.
Spazz takes you on a journey, exposing you to Burton’s raw feelings, through his creative vision. The title itself is a reflection of Burton’s energy. “I remember telling [Dale] how much of an Aries I am, how I am all over the place,” he added, “I told him ‘I am such a Spazz’ and I think he remembered that.”
“I like putting on make-up, dancing, doing death drops, that’s just me.”
With the filming process, he wished to create a short film guided by a storyline different from most skate videos. “Spazz is showing that there is more to skateboarding than the polished video parts and the contests,” he said. The soundtrack reflects this, ranging from anarcho-punk and Americana sung in falsetto, to electronica. A nod to Burton’s view of skateboarding roots and his values of diversity in the community. “I am very inspired by the roots of skateboarding, the punk, the grunge, the outcast,” he said. “Skateboarding has become really jocky, it’s gotten away from its roots,” said Burton. Being a gay man in skateboarding hasn’t been without challenges for him. He has found himself feeling like he didn’t belong in the community, without the possibility to appear feminine or androgynous in skateparks has he wished he could. “I like putting on make-up, dancing, doing death drops, that’s just me.”
Midway through Spazz, to the sound of the iconic Cement Garden lines mixed by Arca, Burton applies eyeshadow and lipgloss. This scene can be interpreted as a representation of queer life and skateboarding intersecting. Yet, the ending of the section with Burton having taken out only one side of the make-up shows how ultimately this intersection is still frowned upon from part of the skateboarding community.
In spite of the growing uniformity the community is facing, Burton is thankful for initiatives like There Skateboards and Unity, both of which he is part of. “I think There and Unity have been bringing back that diversity to skateboarding,” he said. When asked how he feels being on There, Burton cannot contain his happiness remembering his first interaction with them. “I remember when we first met, they asked me if I was queer and I said ‘as queer as a three dollar bill!’”
The premiere, presented by Decker’s Slammin Worldwide, in Los Angeles was an illustration of how supportive the community can be. “People were really positive and supportive, it was all love,” Burton added, “I received some bad comments on [Dale’s] youtube but it was expected.”
Not letting himself being affected by those comments, he hopes Spazz can touch skaters and non-skaters alike. “I just hope people will like it and feel inspired to skate, but also feel inspired in life.” Burton wishes the film would invite people to collaborate with him, to travel, to skate, to be queer.
Spazz is only the beginning for Burton as he hinted a few more videos being filmed, including some featuring his friends. You can expect more art, more rawness and less elusiveness as Burton said, “Spazz is just the beginning.”
