The biggest news of the week is that Tompkins, NYC’s quintessential Shitty Flatground Spot, has been saved. Its asphalt will not be turned to astroturf, ensuring that skaters will be able to continue doing flip tricks over random pieces of debris there for years to come. Quartersnacks has the full scoop, of course, but we’d just like to add that this is yet another example of how the skate community kind of doesn’t know how much civic power it actually wields. Looking at cities like Malmö, or projects like Long Live South Bank, it’s easy to see what might happen if they realized it. As QS associate Charles Rivard put it, “Damn, can’t believe my flyer made the city change its mind.” Sometimes that’s all it takes!
Words by Tobias Coughlin-Bogue
Anyway, what else is going on on the skateboard internet? Well, i-D, Vice’s UK-based fashion magazine, has Tyshawn on the cover, which is pretty cool for him even the profile is kind of meh compared to Willy Staley’s one in the NYT Magazine. And even if it’s not an earth-shattering piece of writing, there’s always some delightful incongruity to seeing skaters become the darlings of high fashion. Personally, I love it because I destroy every single piece of clothing I wear, so I love the idea of someone giving Lucien Clarke (incidentally also an i-D cover model) a Louis Vuitton utility vest to skate in is just hilariously absurd. Like, fuck it, why not just absorb a counterculture based in large part on sliding across foul, slimy parking lot floors into fashion? The internet converts culture to marketing collateral almost instantaneously, nothing means anything, let’s all just go skate.
In slightly less ontologically complex news, Itzel Granados, who has been tearing a pink-haired streak through Mexico City, did an interview with our friend and photo contributor Norma Ibarra, for Yeah Girl Magazine. She’s also the subject of a pretty neat little documentary as part of Vice’s “Boardly” series. You’ll definitely see her on event podiums in the next few years, but it seems like she skates a fair bit of street too, so here’s hoping there’s a part. I for one would love to see the video of the front smith from her interview. Whenever I think I’ve seen every weird type of unintentionally skateable public art installation, something always surprises me. Norma’s shot in the interview is better, but here’s an alternate angle.
Also, it was the 18th anniversary of 9/11 last week. Not a big fan of how the attack was used to manipulate the American public into going along with forever war, institutionalized violations of civil liberties, and xenophobic border policies, but it’s still a somber moment in world history. So big props to Adam Abada (@gnarcotics), who put together the type of tribute that skaters of all political stripes can get behind for Quartersnacks. It features five mini-interviews with photographers whose skate (or…basketball?) photos prominently featured the twin towers. Really gives you a sense of how integral the towers were to New York City’s sense of place. Read it!
That all brings us to our clip of the week, from Candy Jacobs, who had a very sick interview in Issue 3, doing an absolute dream trick in an absolutely dream way at the dreamy park she built in her hometown with her dad. So many layers of perfect!
And of course, we’ll close with our brand new tradition:Â a quote from pro skater turned beatmaker turned vaguely arty self-help guru Chad Muska. Have a great weekend, and remember to wear a helmet while riding the waves of time and the winds of destiny!
There are signs all around me, in front of my face, always guiding me in the right direction, they never fully reveal themselves, yet I know they are there, the energy of angels, the winds of destiny, the waves of time.
— Chad Muska (@TheMuska) September 6, 2019
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Featured image: screenshot from Itzel Granados in “Boardly”.
