This Little Girl Throws Down!!

So I was checking out the new postings on Aggressive.com today and I came across this link "360soul360"...
Now I am a fan of spin in-spin out tricks so I figured I'd give it a watch. What I saw there totally blew me away.
This girl, who lives in Thailand, is only 8 years old and she is throwing some serious tricks for someone of any age.
You have to watch out this video, posted by IQKamonluck on Aggressive.com.


Find more videos like this on Aggressive.com - Inline Skating

Stefan Horngacher Edit on RedBull.com

Red Bull sponsors a bunch of extreme sports pros, but this edit of rollerblader Stefan Horngacher is off the hook. Not only is he going 100 miles an hour the whole time, but he's throwing some of the most creative tricks/lines that I have seen in a video since Mindgame stopped making films.

Gap through a huge abstract-art structure... Three grinds around an angled loading dock ledge... and not to mention Soul to backflip...

You have to check out this video. Enjoy.

Learning Alley-Oop Grinds... the edit.

So I just started throwing Alley-Oop tricks, after all of these years skating, and I think I got the AO-soul dialed pretty good.

Here is a one-minute clip of me showing off my new trick. Enjoy.

Create Originals owner Hakeem Jimoh Appreciation Post (by Brian Lewis)

Ok so here is the deal. We went skating the other day and I was trying out some new flash rig that I made. I got this cool shot of Hakeem doing a switch backside backslide and I wanted to share it with you all. Then I started thinking about how lucky I am to have such great partners as Billy and Hakeem. Obviously, you all know lots about Billy. I am not so sure you guys are to up on the deal with Hakeem. So I thought I would create this thread and fill you in a bit on some interesting facts about Hakeem. He has done so much it is a little hard to start so I'm gonna just dive in....

I think a great place to start is with Chris Edwards and Arlo. Hakeem skated for both Chris Edwards Birth Clothing and Arlo's Super Computer Robot (short lived as it may have been). That means that he is possibly the only guy to ever skate for both of them. Any one know if anyone else did?

He toured with Edwards for the Birth and D-Tour for about 2 years. Don Bambrick once told me that he actually got to see Hakeem skate on tour when Don was 11 years old and he still remembers watching him shred.

He instructed at Woodward for a few summers having many students go on to be industry people like Adam Kilgore and Dre Powell to name a few.

He put out 5 videos through Nature Skate Video.

He and I bought a skatepark and lived under one of the ramps for 8 months. Best time ever.

He toured for 5 years doing vert and box jump demos with Maximum Velocity stunt team.

Now he has put everything he has both time and money wise into Create Originals.

So yeah he is a pretty crazy dude super devoted. 33 Years old and still killing it. There is so much more but I'm not gonna go on for ever. Enjoy the photo and I am posting an edit of him from the Maximum Velocity video. Enjoy!


MVST Hakeem Jimoh Inline from Penqua on Vimeo.

-Brian Lewis
http://www.createoriginals.com/

Downloads of the Month: May

It's time for a fresh batch of downloads from your friends at Skate Sessions.

The winner of our first readers choice poll was none other than the Disney made-for-TV flick Brink! (1998). It is available for download in AVI, M4V, and MP4 formats as well as a link to my TPB account where you can download the lot.

Andy "Brink" Brinker and his in-line skating friends, who call themselves "Soul-Skaters" (meaning they skate for the fun of it, and not the money), clash with a group of sponsored skaters - Team X-Bladz. When Brink discovers his family is in financial trouble, he decides to go over to the dark side of skating and joins Team X-Bladz for 200 dollars a week. His friends, who don't know about Brink's situation, begin thinking of him as a sell-out. For a short while they will not even talk to him.
But, after Brink begins a job at a dog grooming shop named "Pup 'N Suds" he gets an advance in his paycheck enough to sponsor himself and his friends in a local competition under the name "Team Pup 'N Suds". Up until the competition day, his fellow teammates know nothing of his plan. On the day of the competition Brink reveals that he wants to sponsor his friends. They overcome their differences and realize that the only way to skate is with the help of Brink.

So, as friends once-again, they compete in the competition. At the end of the competition, it comes down to Brink and his rival, and former captain of X-Bladz, Val. Although Brink tries to skate fair, Val uses all of his dirty tricks to secure the win. However, these tricks do not work and Brink wins the race, and the competition.

Immediately after the race, Val is fired from X-Bladz. The owner of the team offers Brink the captain position of the team. But, being the great friend and team player he is, he decides to stick with his friends and remain a Soul-Skater.

We are also throwing in a bonus download this month, to go along with our featured contributor Brian Lewis of Create Originals post about his friend and business partner Hakeem Jimoh. We will be adding the Nature Skate Video - One - to the downloads list. The video also features the third head in CO, Billy O'Neill.

One covers all five boroughs (Brooklyn, Bronx, Queens, Manhattan, and Staten Island) and also features sections on Boschi Pope, Austin Paz, Rafael Herrera, Ramelle Knight, Tom Lipani, Billy O’Neill, Alex Nunez, Paul Cortez, Keith Morris, Franco Cammayo, Justin Brasco, and Dustin Halleran. The video also covers the first IMYTA New York competition.

The video will be available in AVI, M4V, and MP4 formats, a TPB batch download, and we are also embedding the Vimeo video right here for instant gratification. We are all about taking care of your needs here at Skate Sessions.

Nature Skate Video - New York City ONE from The Blading Renaissance on Vimeo.

In non-skating related product, we are bringing you some of the hottest underground hip-hop talent Boston has to offer with :
Three 4 Da Stripes - Sonz of Boston
The Wreck Shop Mixtape
Tragic Allies Mixtape
and Purpose (from Tragic Allies)

Also. just because we don't think we've given you enough already this month, we're throwing in the YouTube Downloader 2.7.2 as well. This awesome program allows you to rip videos directly from video sharing sites with a few clicks of your mouse.

We hope you are enjoying all of these free offerings from the team here at Skate Sessions. Enjoy, and if you do leech from TPB please seed to a ratio of 1:1 so everyone can have the opportunity to get their hands on these videos and albums.

Did He Just Do That?!?

So I have been frequenting the Message Boards recently and there is always a lot of useless stuff being thrown up there. But I did come across this video post, from Vimeo, of a kid throwing down some amazing tricks on a POS rail in his garage.

The one thing about this video that blew my mind was the Citric Unity (or Citric Tabernacle?; the debate is still going on which it would be...) that the kid drops at the 20 second mark of the edit.

The trick is just bonkers! You have to check it out for yourself. Enjoy.


SNAIL from Johnny Helloearth on Vimeo.

Medford Grindbox Edit up on YouTube

So here's another edit I was working on. I kept this one a lot shorter so don't worry about that. These are some shots from a session I had at the Medford, MA skatepark over the weekend. I was tooling around on the grindbox to get a feel for my new boots - TRS Point-8's - that I picked up on the AMall message board.

They seem to be working great so far. They offer great support but allow for enough movement for topsides and negatives. I am loving them

Enjoy, and if you like what you see subscribe to my channel on YouTube so you will always be notified when new videos are posted.

New Downloads Posted...

So I have gone and added a new video to the Downloads section of the page. I will try to give you all a new video every month, and that video will come in both DVD (.avi, .mpg, .wmv....) and Handheld (.m4v or .mp4) formats.

Hope you are all enjoying this part of the blog, I know I am happy to have all these in my collection so I feel the need to share with the skating community.

This months download: Razors ‘Steal This Video’ (2002) - (.avi) (.mpg) (.m4v)

Jan Welch teamed up with Razors Skates to produce their first Amateur Team video. Everyone knows that Razors has had one of the best Amateur Teams in our sport and this video showcased their talent. This video has full profiles on Colin Kelso, Micah Yeager, Tory Treseder, Charles Dunkle, Jeff Stockwell, Jason Howard, Sean Kelso, Damien Wilson and features a shared section between Mike French, Eric Perkett, Dustin Jones and Tory Treseder. This video was filmed on location in San Diego, Orange County, Los Angeles, the San Francisco Bay Area, Humbolt County, Philadelphia, New York City, Tokyo, Osaka, as well as covering 14 states during the Razor Blitz Tour.

Sections - Artists - Tracks

Intro: Yeah Yeah Yeah - Miles Away

Sean Kelso: The Faint - Agenda Suicide

Micah Yeager: David Bowie - Moonage Daydream

Dustin Jones/Eric Perkett/Tory Treseder/Mike French: Iggy Pop and the Stooges - Be Your Dog

Tory Treseder: The Natural History - Telling Lies Will Get You Nowhere

Damien Wilson: Swollen Members (Rob the Viking) ? Reflection

Colin Kelso: Alkaline Trio - I Lied my Face Off

Jason Howard: Notorious B.I.G - Notorious Thugz

NYC: Ugly Duckling - I did it like this

Charles Dunkle: Neil Young - Southern Man

Jeff Stockwell: Modest Mouse - Edit the Sad Parts

Credits: Nirvana - Plateau


In addition to the new download, I have added new formats for Barely Dead and Words. So enjoy and if you download please seed as long as you can so everyone can get these as quickly as possible. The more I upload the more drain it has on my system.
 
Thanks, and as always, keep supporting the art!

Skatepark FAQ’s: Vol. 2

In Skatepark FAQ’s: Vol. 1, I talked about the “Can you do this trick?” question that I get all the time at parks. The question that almost always follows that one is “Are you sponsored?”

I always thought this was a funny question, because why would a sponsored skater be at a small park like Salem or Beverly? But I soon realized that there are varying degrees of sponsorship.

In about 2003, I was sponsored by Oddity Activewear; they were a very-small clothing company based out of the Boston area. For my participation with Oddity, I received a few tee-shirts, a used pair of Deshi skates, and my name in Daily Bread magazine.

Overall it was a great deal. If I ever had a problem with my skates, the kid in charge of Oddity would get me new parts. But none of this changed how, why, or where I skated. It was just a novelty, and when the company folded without notice to us rollers, it just became an interesting story to tell and a couple shirts to wear skating.

So now when I am asked the sponsorship question during my sessions I have an interesting response. “Yeah I was sponsored, they gave me this tee-shirt.”

New Video from Skate Sessions

After many hours of shooting and editing we have finally completed the fifth Skate Sessions park edit. This video chronicles four sessions in four days at the Beverly, MA skatepark. It is also the first to include a dedicated crash section.

Let us know what you think. And keep supporting the art by subscribing to our channel on YouTube

Airborne Review from "That Guy with the Glasses"

This is a hilarious video that all skaters should watch. If you haven't seen Airborne, there is a link to download it in .avi or .m4v right here at Skate Sessions. It is a cheesy 90's skate flick, but it does a bit to show how far rolling has come. This is a funny review, check it out.

Respect Earns Respect (by: Nikki Elliott)

Skate Sessions wants to thank Nikki Elliott (Nin ~Freestyle Roller~ on Aggressive.com) for her submission to the site.

So before I start ranting, I know of our sports history. If you do not know then please check out this documentary called Barely Dead. (note: Barely Dead is available for download right here at Skate Sessions)

There are many types of rollerblading, but most people only recognize two which are Recreational skating and Aggressive skating. Personally I do something called Freeskating/Freeriding.

Free skating: Also known as urban skating or free riding. Includes many tricks such as jumps, slides, and grinds. The emphasis of free skating is getting from A to B by the fastest possible route, by skating quickly through city streets and negotiating all obstacles.

Here are a few examples of freeskating:




Nicolas COLLIAUX Skatepark de Rouen, Freeskate Edit 2011 from SEBASKATES on Vimeo.


Now I noticed a lot of people who I showed what freeskating was trashed it completely. They would say things like "gay" and "stupid", etc. But isn't that what a lot of people think about rolling in general?

A lot of people ask me why rollerblading is not respected amongst others.

You want to know part of the reason why people can’t respect our sport? It's because we cannot respect ourselves. You hate on anything and everything that isn’t on a aggressive skate. People need to open their eyes and get their heads out your asses. We are all in it for the love of rollin and yet you want to trash other’s style?

Until we learn to respect each other and the skill and hard work it takes to do what we do whether on aggressive skates or slalom/freeride skates, we will remain underground.

It wouldn’t fix all our problems as far as the underground issue, but I’m tellin you it would make things a hell of a lot better for us rollers.
Roll 4 life.

Recon Missions: Willington Rest Area, I-84 CT

Located about 20 miles off of I-90 (the Mass Pike), the Willington Rest Area on I-84 in Connecticut offers a hidden jewel for those of you making trips between Mass. and Conn. or New York.

I happen to make the trip to New York a couple times a year, to visit my wife’s grandmother in Westchester County, and we always make a stop at this rest area, to use the facilities and stretch. Since the first time we stopped here, I couldn’t help but notice a sweet kinked rail tucked nicely on the right side of the rest area’s main building.

The right-sided thin-brown rail is metal with little to no rusting. It travels down three six-sets, kinking twice, before letting off on a little grassy patch behind the building. The launch is smooth cement, devoid of cracks; the landing is the only thing that isn’t top-notch about this spot, but it’s nothing that a nice piece of plywood couldn’t fix.

This rail makes this rest stop a lot more than a bathroom break for all of you rollers who like to do travelling. I recommend you check this out the next time you are out on I-84, and I assure you will find it as solid as I do.

Park Profiles: Beverly MA (with Skatepark Tours video)

The Beverly skate park, at the McPherson YMCA youth center, is a nice little concrete park. It is a skateboard/scooter dominated park, but a booter can have a decent session here.

Entering from the parking lot, the first object you encounter is the 6-6 ½’ mini ramp. This is well built and under used so it is in great condition; it has round metal copings.

In the back right corner of the park is a long-banked wall mainly used by boarders for stalls, but it does have a waxed lop edge that could be used for grinds.

Next to this is a metal picnic table. This is an interesting object because it is meant to be grinded not just turned into a grinding object. The benches are different heights, about 1’ and 2’, and the table top is about 3’ high. Perpendicular to the table, and parallel to the mini, is a long metal bench that is about 1- 1 ½’ high. This is great for long grinds and switch-ups.

In the center of the lot is the park’s main attractions; a small box line with bookend-ramps. The box is low, about 2’ high, with a flat rail running two-thirds of the ramp, splitting it into two sections. There are walls on either side, running the down-third, which have metal edges for grinds. The ramps are all flat; while one of the sides has a small 3-set for gaps instead of a ramp.

On the back side of the park is a 4’ flat roll-in which leads onto the box. This box rolls into a 3-piece quarter pipe. This pipe is made up of two banked ramps and a flat roll-in in the middle, making a nice small channel gap. The ramps are small, about 2- 3’ high, and the banked ones have round metal coping.

Overall this is a nice park, even though it is built quite small with mostly boarder friendly objects. I usually have short sessions here, but they are still a good time.

5 Things To Always Bring On Your Sessions

The worst thing that can happen to you while you’re out rolling is that you are missing something important and it ruins your session. Here are 5 essential items that you should always have with you before you head out to roll.

1. Camera: This could be a photo camera or a video camera, my digital Kodak happens to do both, but you should always document your sessions with something. This is the only way to share your art with the rolling community; it is also the only way your crew will believe you landed that sick trick on that monster rail. As we always said in my crew, “If you can’t prove it, it didn’t happen.”

2. Water: It is a fact that your body needs water when you are exerting yourself physically. This is most important during those hot summer sessions on concrete parks that have absolutely no shade. One thing that can really kill a session is having to run to the store for something to drink.

3. Wax: You should always keep a stash of wax with you. There is no worse feeling than finding an awesome rail or ledge and not being able to skate it because it isn’t waxed yet and you don’t have any. Toss a block of wax into a sandwich bag and keep it in your skates so you will always have it with you whenever you go out rolling.

4. Broom: I know this is probably the one thing on this list that you have never even thought of as a skate tool, but it is. The only thing worse than that unwaxed rail/ledge is the perfect rail/ledge with a debris filled approach. Having a broom on hand will allow you to clean away any rocks, dirt or glass that may make your spot almost unskateable. Simple windshield brushes will do the trick, but work-site push brooms are obviously faster and much more effective.

5. Your Gear: The most important thing to have when you go out to session is your gear. I know you are thinking that this is obvious, but it’s about more than just your skates. You should also always have a set of skate tools and spare parts with you at a session. The quickest way to end a session, other than busting your ass, is breaking your skates with no way to repair them. I also recommend keeping a helmet and pads as well. Some stunts should be attempted with safety in mind; you want to be sure you can roll another day.

I hope this list helps your sessions stay long, safe, and full of sick tricks that you will be able to share with Booters just like yourself.

Park Profiles: Burlington MA (with Skatepark Tours video)

I don’t get to skate outside of Essex County, so when I had to pick up my wonderful wife at work in Haverhill I decided to take this opportunity to go back to the Burlington mini-ramp. I had only been here twice before, but the ramp under the trees at Simonds park was one of a kind in this area, and worth the drive. If you noticed, I said was.
When Steph and I got to the park in Burlington I was quite disappointed to see that the mini-ramp was gone. Upon further inspection of the area we noticed that a whole skate park had been built in the back right corner of Simonds park (between the hockey court and tennis courts, behind the playground and bathrooms).

The park, which contains Woodward ramps made from some type of Skatelite material, is small but has great flow. All the elements in the park are linked extremely well and are in good condition.

To the right of the entrance is a 5-5 ½’ roll-in which leads onto the small two-tier box. The box has a metal edge on the high tier to grind and a low flat rail along the middle of the low tier.

To the left of the box is a two section banked quarter pipe that is about 3’ high with round metal coping. On the right side of this pipe is a one section banked quarter pipe that leads to another two sided quarter pipe in the far left corner of the park. The side of this ramp has a similar banked ramp, while the front side is a flat roll-in. This roll-in makes up the left side of a spine run. 

The spine is small, maybe 2- 2 ½’ high. On the right side of the spine-hip is a larger flat roll-in.

In the middle of the park is a metal picnic table, that is grindable, and two rails; one rail is a low-short flat one while the other is round with a small kink from about 1’ high down to about 3” off the ground.

On the far right side of the park is a new 6-6 ½’ concrete mini-ramp with round coping. This is a much better ramp than the decrepit one that I planned on riding.

Overall this is a good park with lots of options for skaters. It is one I recommend you check out.

Taking Videos of Myself

Like I had mentioned in the Taking Pictures of Myself post, I usually skate alone. But using my camera’s timer I have learned to get photos of myself skating. I also recently had another epiphany, my camera takes videos as well.


Using this option I have begun filming short clips of my sessions, mostly at the Gloucester MA park during my daily lunch sessions. The major downfall to this practice is the extra time that is on the clips. Since I have to start and stop the recording process myself there is always 5-6 seconds of empty video at the beginning and end of each of my shots.

At my recent session at the Burlington park, though, I was lucky enough to have my wonderful wife Stephanie shooting for me, so there is no extra time on these clips. Follow this link to see all of my videos at Aggressive.com.

Recon Missions: Marblehead

When I was married last year, my wonderful wife and I moved from our hometown of Salem to nearby Marblehead. Since Marblehead eliminated it’s skate park a couple years ago, I have been trying to find some street spots to session when I don’t have the time, or motivation, to drive to a park.

The first spot that I noticed was the ‘Snake Rail’ at the Abbott Public Library (235 Pleasant Street). This long black curved rail is the perfect height for grinds; and it’s odd shape makes it a great rail for video shoots. There is also a small rail and stair set on the side of the building. The only downfall here is that this spot can only be skated when the library is closed.

The next spot that I found is at St. Stephen’s United Methodist Church (67 Cornell Road) across from the Marblehead High School. On either side of the church there is a steep-red handrail down a 9-set of stairs. These aren’t for beginners, but can be fun for the more experienced booters. At this spot there are also small red-handrails and a handicap ramp with rails at the front entrance.

Another cool spot to roll in Marblehead is behind the Veterans Middle School (217 Pleasant St.). In it’s small courtyard there are two dual handrails, down 6-sets, that are small and smooth. There is also a low-waxed stone ledge, that is the bottom of the courtyard seating, that you can grind on. It is clearly marked that skating is prohibited here, though, so be prepared to get thrown out pretty quickly. On the other side of the school, there is also a tight 10-set stair gap that is not for amateurs, but is another great video spot.

By far the best spot in town, though, is the rail at the Old YMCA building on Pleasant St. This rail is the perfect height and I recently put a fresh coat of wax on it, so it rides like a dream. The best part is that this is a low-foot-traffic area, so there are almost never any interruptions. This has quickly become my favorite street spot on the North Shore.

So if you ever find yourself skating around Marblehead, be sure to check out these spots. You just might find me during a session over at the Old YMCA.

Park Profiles: Gloucester MA (with Skatepark Tours video)

In Park Profiles: Salem MA, I told you all that even though Salem is my home it wasn’t the first park I skated. Well, this one was.

The Gloucester skate park at O’Maley Middle School was one of the first concrete parks to be built on the North Shore, possibly one of the first parks in general. I credit it with motivating cities like Salem, Beverly, Manchester and Peabody to build parks of their own.

I remember how my brother and I used to beg our mother to drive us up 128 because we were too young to drive ourselves. Now that I work in Gloucester, and can obviously drive myself, I take my lunch breaks here, getting in quick sessions whenever I can.

The park is large. I think it is too large for what it contains. On the right, there is a long round rail with a slight kink at the end. There is a flat kicker that launches into the right corner of the park.

The park’s fun box, one with a flat front and banked sides, has a nice round coping but lacks any real roll-in as an approach. In the back right there is a double-bench that has been fitted with a metal-plated edge.

In the back center, there is a 4’ quarter-pipe, that is 3 blocks wide, which rolls towards a large flat pyramid in the middle of the lot. The pipe is too far from the pyramid to keep any speed though, so gaps are not easy to accomplish.




The pyramid is the park’s best feature. It’s two long sides are banked, while the two short are steep-flat roll-ins. It has two round rails from it; one runs off the corner near the fun box and another down the middle of the opposite side’s flat roll-in.

Between the entrance and the pyramid are two flat-top spines that are about 1 ½’ high. One has been fitted with a stone slab, that used to be for grinding, that makes it higher for gaps and stalls.

In the far left corner, a 3-block wide 4’ mini-ramp is the newest addition to the park. It has a flat roll-in on the park side, but this doesn’t lead into any object, so it seems like a waste.

The park also has a flat manual box, that has square metal copings along the long sides. It is placed between the mini-ramp and the pyramid.





This is a decent park, but not as great as I once thought it was. I could have been so much better if it was built in a smaller space with better flow. If you come here around noon on a weekday, you can find me during one of my lunch session; grinding around the park and taking pictures of myself.

Skatepark FAQ’s: Vol. 1

When you spend as much time at skate parks as I have especially ones filled with more little kids than skilled skaters, you get used to answering the same questions over and over again.

The first of these Frequently Asked Questions that I want to address is ‘Can you do this trick?’. When skating was at its hottest, this was the most asked question by far; since all the little grommets knew what the tricks were called but couldn’t do them themselves.

My response to this question used to be either, “I’m not here for your entertainment” or “I’ll do it for a dollar,” depending on how I felt that day.

During one of my recent sessions at the Salem park, I was posed this question again. “Can you do a porn star to Royal grind?” asked a young-ghetto Asian kid just sitting on the quarter pipe. I told him I could, and that it’s called a Royale, so obviously he wanted to see it. I asked him “What will you give me?” His response made me laugh. “Respect” he said matter of factly.

Since the combo is on I can do, I told him that Respect was enough for me and I threw the tricks with some ease. He didn’t respond at first, then he said “Can you 180 the spine?” I could see that he wasn’t easily impressed so I decided to one up him.

I went to the spine and tossed a quick 180-Mute over it. “Nice, nice,” he said, but I told him that I wasn’t done yet. I dropped back in and hucked a 360-Lui Kang over it this time, stalled on the quarter-pipe and then finished with a 540 back to the other side.

The kid was pretty stunned. “Respect,” he said, “much respect, that was sick.” I thanked him and went back to my session. It was one of those moments that remind me why I love skating, and one that I had almost forgotten was possible.

I hope you get to have experiences like this when you’re out rolling and progressing the art. If you have, please share them with me here. I would like to tell your stories on Skate Sessions, showing the world what our life is all about.