words: m. moronie • edit: s. deAngelis

This weekend, April 21st & 22nd, the third leg of the The Escape From New York Tour kicks off!! A few weeks ago, we [skatelife.TV & EFNY Film/Production Team] decided to launch an Online Edit Contest for any Bladers (within contest rules) to compete and WIN THEIR SPOT on the EFNY Tour.  From April 16th to April 19th until midnight, our skatelife.TV Facebook wall stayed opened to the masses, edits were posted, viewed and the voting began!

Minutes after the deadline: I started my hour long BLOODSHOT EYE inducing repetitive slash meticulous counting session of AUTHENTIC VOTES (cause you know…voting for yourself doesn’t count *wink wink*).  With my pseudo woes and Sam’s one of many late night CARPEL TUNNEL activating EDITING spells for his steady streaming clientele (busy guy I tell you), the ANTICIPATION to start filming for the third leg of the EFNY tour started creeping up the spine…FAST!!

Time is flying: Part three of EFNY starts pretty damn soon and right about now it’s 3:20 something in the AM on Friday. Sam D and myself [Moronie Moronie] are texting back and forth dishing out last minute ideas on how the winner of the EFNY Tour should be announced. Ahem *dramatically clears throat* …ghouls and ghoulettes, bladers and bladies, “Midnight is GONE and the contest is OVER…The Battle of the Blades is finally WON, it is now time to reveal the WINNER of The EFNY 2012 Tour…”

*drumroll please…and a shot of Jägermeister kind Sir* <– Dominik Swagner voice

Special thanks to all that participlated. The winner will shred along side Trevor Johnson, Jesus Medina, Jose Henriquez, and SPECIAL GUEST Brian Bruno.

Stay tuned to Skatelife.TV for live updates!!

The 2012 Escape from New York Tour Part 3: CONTEST WINNER from skatelife.TV on Vimeo.

words: s. deAngelis • edit: s. deAngelis

As the third installment of The Escape from New York Tour gets underway, we are proud to announce our special guest, Brian Bruno from Chicago.

A couple weeks before the road to Rochester, NY with Jose Henriquez, Trevor Johnson, and Jesus Medina; Brian Bruno sent us clips for his EFNY Special Guest Release Edit.  We are very excited to have Brian coming on tour with us and expect some serious BLADING from the entire crew as we head out to Rochester,NY on the weekend of April 21st and 22nd.

Stay tuned to Skatelife.TV for live updates

words: s. deAngelis • edit: s. deAngelis

• WATCH THE VIDEO & READ THE RULES BELOW… Wahoooo!!! •

CONTEST RULES…

1. YOU MUST BE AVAILABLE on the weekend of April 21-22
2. Your EFNY 2012 Contest Entry MUST be at least 30 seconds long.
3. New York skaters ONLY!
4. Your clips need be current and relevant.
5. Street clips ONLY!
6. We are looking for well-rounded BLADING.
7. The link to your entry is to be emailed to samueldeangelis@me.com by April 15th!
8. You MUST use the Official EFNY 2012 Online Contest intro to start your edit found here —–>YOU MUST DOWNLOAD THIS LINK FOR YOUR EDITS INTRO<-----

JUDGING…

• On April 16th Skatelife.TV will post all of the entries to their Facebook Page.
• From April 16th to April 19th at 11:59 PM you will be judged on how many likes your edit gets while up on Skatelife.TV’s Facebook Page.
• Views DO NOT COUNT… Only the number of “likes” your post on Skatelife.TV’s Facebook Page gets!!!!!!!
• The TOP 2 winners will face off & a panel of BLADERS will pick the GRAND PRIZE WINNER (WINNER CHICKEN DINNER).

REWARD…

Grand Prize
• You will be brought on EFNY Part 3 to Rochester, NY
• Filmed by Dan Fabiano and Sam DeAngelis
• Photographed by Ryan Loewy and Special Guest Photographer
• Travel expenses PAID!
• Hotel stay PAID!

Runner Up
• Invitation to the EFNY 2012 World Premiere in New York City
• FREE set of SCRIBE INDUSTRIES Wheels
• EFNY Sticker Package

The contest starts NOW so hit the streets and get to work!

words: s. deAngelis • photos: r. loewy

As the weekend for Part 2 of The Escape from New York Tour came upon us, I couldn’t help but expect the best from this crew.  With a lineup consisting of NY favorites Justin Brasco and Franco Cammayo there was no doubt in my mind that we would see some hammers this weekend.

We left my place in New Jersey at 9 AM and headed towards NYC to cut around to Route 95 North towards Hartford, CT.  Strange clouds and calls from Gabe Holm, who was waiting for us in Boston, kept us focused on the day to come.  Long roads and stops for gas, food, and Ryan’s over active bladder kept things moving.  Soon we passed through Hartford and before we knew it we crossed the line into Massachusetts.  As we entered MA we headed due east for the coastline.  A one way ticket to Boston.

Upon arriving in Boston we headed straight for the THURO skate shop.  We were overwhelmed with how great Gabe’s shop looked and how well it supported not only BLADING but also other industries such as surfing, snowboarding, and long boarding.  The shop is in a great location with tons of space for product and even an Art Gallery and Mini Ramp located upstairs.  We toured THURO, purchased some goods at a dope price, and headed out to see the beauty that is Boston skate architecture.

On both Saturday and Sunday, Gabe and friends toured us throughout some amazing spots.  Some have been seen throughout famous videos made by Gabe or other industry videographers exposing the versatility of Boston’s BLADE scene.  Lucky for us, Gabe also took us to some untapped areas for some exclusive Boston footage during the tour.  This excited guys like Franco and Justin Brasco who have been to Boston throughout their careers and BLADED just about anything in sight.  Dan, Ryan, and myself snapped away as New York’s finest shredded up the streets of Boston.

Our weekend spent in Boston was a complete success.  With free transportation and comfortable hotel living, the crew was about to perform to their full potential.  Gabe Holm showed us a great time as he led us through the city tagging each and every skate spot with THURO stickers; raising awareness that there is a new shop in town that refuses to go unnoticed.

Stay tuned for more from The 2012 Escape from New York Tour as we head up to Rochester, New York on the weekend of April 21st to meet up with Nate Hall and Roc City Skates.  We plan to kill one last city on this third leg of the tour before we compile our footage and prepare to premiere the piece in New York City in May/June 2012. Sam DeAngelis signing OFF…

words: m. obedoza • photos: j. labez (profile) • a. colunga

Sunny blue skies with white clouds racing in air, seven cars find parking next to each other in the empty lot at the warehouse that has an epic down ledge.  Three of the seven cars have individual drivers, each one just meeting up after prior engagements; work or family functions, but we’re lucky enough to have Jeremy, to keep everyone informed on where to meet.  Three more cars half way filled with BLADERS are all ready to shred the obstacle at hand. The last car has two people squeeze past the girlfriend in shotgun who has to recline her seat to release them.  She will be relaxing comfortably, while the boys go out and play.

As everyone settles in, BLADERS strap up, camera men get their gear together and look for the perfect magazine shot.  Other people from the group pull out a power screwdriver, unscrew the hand-rail that makes the down-ledge a lot more dangerous than fun, pop it out, holes patched, and any evidence is hidden.  Similar to James Bond stealthily coming from behind snapping the neck of a “goon” and hiding the person’s remains in the bush, everything occurring in one motion.

The session includes photos by Jon Labez, a second camera angle from Erick Rodriguez of a Backside Fast slide cross grab by Chris Calkins, Blindside top-acids by Geoff Leyva, Fishbones by Chuck Cauton, a back-side cross grab backslide by Soderburg himself.  After his trick, crazy spider landing included, he will pick the camera up and make sure everyone’s tricks were filmed and documented for his upcoming movie, “Take Your Time.”

Night falls on the session, the blades come off, and the hardest part of the day is here, when we have to say goodbye to the Saturday club.  We all look forward to next weekend, when we all get to escape into another BLADE adventure.  Jeremy will be the one to call since he is ready to shred anytime, any place, and will gladly let you know where the session’s at.  As many people that have came and gone in Rollerblading, it is a pleasure to see Jeremy BLADING thirteen years later as he keeps the Los Angeles blade community alive and doing well.

edit: a. veléz • photo: j. diaz

BLADE EDIT: Ale Veléz… VIVA PUERTO RICO! from skatelife.TV on Vimeo.

VIVA PUERTO RICO!!!

words: s. deAngelis • edit: s. deAngelis • photo: r. loewy

The 2012 Escape from New York Tour Part 2: SPECIAL GUEST ANNOUNCEMENT from skatelife.TV on Vimeo.

Throughout this leg of the tour Dan Fabiano, Ryan Loewy, and myself will be documenting these five bladers throughout Boston, MA. As we get there we will head right to the streets motivated to start off the tour with a bang. As Saturday night rolls through expect some world famous Boston night skating along with some St. Patrick’s day celebration

On Sunday we have arranged to meet up with Thuro Skate/Snow and Owner Gabe Holm. He plans to take us throughout the city to some old and new spots in order to stay on schedule.

In the afternoon make sure all of you Boston head make their way through Thuro Shop for a PRail demo and Meet the Bros Session!

The afternoon and night hope to bring appearances from Jeff Dalnas of RI and the Create Originals crew! Thanks for the support…

Stay tuned to www.skatelife.tv for updates!

words: p. firrincieli • editing: a. ryerson • photos: p. firrincieli

Hello. My names is Pietro Firrincieli. Here is the short and sweet on how I came to be where I am today.  I was born in Italy in 1985.  Five years later I owned my first pair of skates, and I started BLADING in 1996. At the age of eighteen, before I got into photography, I was doing graphic design and, with some friends, started a t-shirt company – Bisca – something no one should ever start.  We had an international team, including Marc Moreno, Ricardo Lino, Stephan Alfano and Remi Meister. ( Check out the company bio @ http://www.biscaclothing.com/news/info.html ) Some time passed and my interests evolved from graphic design to video production. I did a commercial for Bisca and some other small projects. One of them was bought by MTV Italy and starred my great friend Jason Adriani.  Sorry I never did a version with English subtitles. ( Here is a link to it @ https://vimeo.com/12642680 )

At that time, I was wondering how to do analog movies. And the cheapest way to learn the whole process was by starting photography. I picked up the camera at the end of 2007 and in early 2008 I was assisting Maurizio Marcato at his studio. It was an Interior Design and Architecture photography studio where I had learn how to light a whole set in a cinematic way … of course in the Italian cinema way, not Hollywood for sure. This full immersion into the job took me away from BLADING. For a time I was hardly present at the Italian rolling events, showing face only a couple times a year. When I worried about losing touch with BLADING I would say to myself, “it’s natural, I’m growing up.” Bullshit…

After two years, photography owned my life.  I left my job and moved to Milan to take a masterclass in photojournalism held by Contrasto. Contrasto is considered the most important Italian agency, the one that runs the distribution of Magnum, Italy, to give you an idea. While there I met people like Alberto Sinigaglia, who is my partner at Kassel & Wassel (a commercial photo studio we started together), and Chiara Fossati, who became a close friend. After the masterclass, Chiara went to intern at Cesuralab, a collective of young photojournalists founded by Alex Majoli. Majoli at the time was a Magnum photographer and now is the president of Magnum. ( http://www.magnumphotos.com/ ) One day Chiara asked me to visit her at Cesuralab and so I did. The people there were cool and they asked me to collaborate with them. Three days later, I was living there.  When I started I was a tech guy with no soul.  After getting to know the Cesuralab friends and the Magnum photographers that came to visit, I started to understand the significance of a project, and the meaning of being the photographer… to play an active role in your story. And of course, I had my story. I’m a blader. I decided to document the Winterclash.  So I made a few calls and in a few weeks was back at it, in a van, with my friends, on my way.  It was nuts, I was reborn. I felt so good. When I got back from Winterclash I left my job at Cesuralab and I also left my girlfriend. I had made enough money with Kassel and Wassel to be free a while, and started the Blade Diary. (You can CHECK IT @ http://www.pietrofirrincieli.com/ )

Since that day I make sure to never miss a chance to be with my friends and to document our lives, the pioneers of BLADING in Italy.  I am very proud. I’m proud of my friends and thankful that we were brought together through rollerblading, and I am thankful that BLADING helped make me the person I am today. The Blade Diary is now one year old. It’s been published several times on be-mag.com. I’m stoked how it comes out in such an organic way. Aside from The Blade Diary, which is my family album, I am focusing on another aspect of rollerblading.  At the risk of sounding like a Mindgame psyconaut, my experience leads me to believe we should show BLADING to the public in an elegant way, and not in the stereotypical 90′s Beastie Boys way, I’m sure you all know what I mean. After 20 years, the death lens/fish eye photography desensitized the public to the relationship between the athletic gesture and the space in which it is performed. I’m trying to capture the beauty of that relationship in the light it deserves. So to avoid the stereotypical Fisheye Thrasher shot, I show the true-to-life proportions of space and action that take place in our sport and the elegance of the BLADER against the ugliness of the concrete. When all is said and done, I’m not saying that fisheye photography or video sucks. The distorted and quick-cut style of our street culture is our own legitimate language and the best way to communicate and hype people up within our industry. But I also see the need for our art and lifestyle to be viewed by the non-BLADING community in a way that they can appreciate us and gain a better understanding of what we do where we’re coming from. It’s important for the rolling industry to be seen for what it is – legitimate, respectable, and with much to offer the world.

In the future, I’d really love to shoot the major competitions, as well as street skating around the world. I will document the first generation of bladers who will act as inspiration for generations to come. So… if you ever want to session with me I’ll be happy to sleep the night on your floor.  And if you want to crash at my house for a while, that would be cool too.  Just write me at info@pietrofirrincieli.com See you at Winterclash next February 2013!!!! My best, Pietro.

]]> http://www.skatelife.tv/2012/03/08/visionaries-pietro-firrincieli/feed/ 0 http://www.skatelife.tv/2012/03/02/spot-check-nyc-part-2of2-by-kyle-sola/ http://www.skatelife.tv/2012/03/02/spot-check-nyc-part-2of2-by-kyle-sola/#comments Sat, 03 Mar 2012 01:48:18 +0000 s. engler http://www.skatelife.tv/?p=1262

words: k. solá • photos: s. engler

PART 2 – “PERFORMA HALF-PIPE”

We get to the intersection of Prince and Mott St, and start scouring the area for signs of a ramp to skate. The neighborhood has crowded sidewalks, high end boutiques and expensive restaurants, with no sign of a space that would hold a ramp. We walk up and down the block until we decide to go into the blue lit hallway of Performa 11, a performance institute, thinking that someone there might be able to lead us in the right direction. When asked, the apathetic worker at the front desk just pointed into the courtyard and handed Dominik and I a waiver to share. We looked at each other in disbelief, signed it and walked into the space to find a half pipe sitting empty in the outdoor space. The find was unreal, the New Visual Arts Biennial was going on and we were able to skate one of the “sculptures” as people walked by, looking at the exhibition that we had become a part of. It was, and still is hard to make sense of it all, but thats how New York is. The more you learn about this city, the more you realize how infinite and uncertain it really is. There is beauty behind every wall and around every corner, you just have to be open to find it.

PART 1 – “PARTY RAIL”

words: s. engler • edit: c. macay • r. many

ON THE ROAD: BCSD XII… Edit by… Cesar Macay… Ryan Many… Cairo Trade Co… from skatelife.TV on Vimeo.

BOOM! Check out www.skatelife.tv for more on the BEST time you missed out on… Unless you were there of course. Special thanks to Cesar Macay & Ryan Many for putting this little GEM together for you guys to enjoy. Be on the LOOK OUT for a RE-CAP of the whole damn weekend by none other than KYLE GUILFORD… If he is still alive. HAHA!

CHECK OUT PREVIOUS POST FROM THE BCSD XII…. More to come SOON!

ON THE ROAD: BCSD XII… CairoTradeCo… Shenanigans…

ON THE ROAD: BCSD XII… Near Death… Pittsburgh, PA… Dancing GIFs…

ON THE ROAD: BCSD XII… Michelle Garard… Walt Austin… “The Rollerblading Project”…

words: s. engler • photos: s. engler

YOU ROCK! Way to throw an awesome GALLERY opening amongst one of the more stressful events in the U.S. of B.S. and have it GO OFF without a hitch. We were all sure that with the turn of events in Pittsburg, PA that there was no way any of our Dirt Bag ridden crew could have made it in time. We did. Thanks for not dying Kyle. Your two story brush with death is never going to escape you now. Thanks to all the BLADERS that supported this event and helped to bring it together.

Great job on the ramps and the ambiance. I look forward to others following in the footsteps of “The Rollerblading Project” to entice BLADERS to leave the comforts of Beer bottles and Hotel rooms. Oh yeah… Special thanks to Walt Austin who after a small brush with the Canadian Border Mounties still had the motivation roll up and take care of business. What a masterful walk of shame through Detroit that must have been with no warm clothes and a box full of dismantled GUN parts. Wahoooooooo! Best Weekend EVER! Until…….

photos: j. jenkins

words: s. engler • photos: s. engler • c. delfino • m. moronie • a. ryerson

Today we started the second leg of our BLOOD trip. We are behind schedule, our pride has been put aside (Dominik) and DEATH looms over us like the dirt & flies that always followed the Peanuts cartoon character PIGPEN. I am going to go as far to that, the actual second leg of our trip was last night in Pittsburgh staying with Jeremy Beightol. Let me explain…

We arrived in Pittsburgh yesterday expecting to have a night of catching up with friends, talks of business, and BEER (Duh…). Well the reality of the situation is that all of those things did happen, BUT at a price. First off, the night began at a TIKI Bar to refresh our thirst after the drive from NYC. TIKI Bars make me laugh. You always wonder what Asshole is going to order some funny drink with fruit, umbrella toothpicks, and exotic animal themed straws. That asshole was Moronie, hahaha. I’m pretty sure she regretted it. It was a disgustingly sweet drink that immediately grab the heckles of everyone else in our party. It was quick how the night clasped onto our ability to make any sort of sensible mature decisions. Oh how the mighty fall so quickly. Ok, back to the timeline. After our beach excursion to the TIKI bar we decided to head into the mountains to the LAVA Lounge. Yes, The LAVA Lounge. I have never been to two themed bars in one night so I think we could all tell how special this night was going to be. At LAVA the decor was pretty spectacular. Jeremy explained that it was owned by the same chap whom owned the TIKI Bar… Makes sense to me. While I could definitely see the Volcanic influences of this fine establishment it reminded me more of a “Beetlejuice” themed Bar so we acted accordingly.

At this point you are probably wondering why I’m giving you the play by play of some stupid bars. Well, I find “Themed bar to be funny and ludicrous. It all makes sense now seeing as how things turn out. Dominik’s pride was lost at our last bar of the night. It might be the last Place Jeremy took us to show us around but the kicker of the night comes later. The Polish Vets Club was the name of our last excursion into the night. This happy little after hours “Bar” was literally the trashiest most depressing place I have ever had the pleasure of visiting. It was called The Polish Vet Club, but you wouldn’t know it because there were neither signs nor windows. You had to know it was there to know it was there. The door was even locked and you had to be buzzed in to partake in the libations. Once we walked throughout the black unmarked door It went like this… We came, we saw, we gawked at the insanity, and then we had to save Dominik from a VIPER that was trying to have a bite to eat. This is the kind of place where people lose their lives. Almost felt like if a prison had a bar it would be modeled after The Polish Vet Club. I am very reluctant to even call this place a bar. Bright Florescent bulbs, Linoleum Flooring that would make your Grandmother cry, and what I suspect was a room full of METH addicts all added to the one of a kind ambiance that overloads your senses. A RETREAT WAS IN FULL EFFECT! This is when the night fell apart.

The bottom line is that there comes a time in everyone’s life when good conversation and comfortable bars are something enjoyable to do. I contribute the fall of this night to the intoxicating atmosphere of The Polish. Apparently after the party stops the party moves to the roof of Jeremy’s apartment. Now, living in NYC I love to take every chance I get to explore rooftops. There is no real way to sugar coat the fact that this evolved into a horrible idea. Well, not so much evolved, it was just a horrible decision PERIOD. I would love to write a long explanation of the accounts of the roof but the fact is that the events unfolded within 10 minutes of these guys getting to the top. Downstairs we heard the commotion. The sound feet trampling across the roof. Pitter patter that we wrote off as horse play after an informative night into the underbelly of Pittsburgh. It was two minutes later when Alex and Christian came down to tell us that Kyle Guilford had fallen nearly 30 feet from a second story roof. Now, hold on, I guess it was LESS graceful than a fall. He tried to jump to another roof which was pitched at more than a steep enough angle to suck him to the depths below. I can only imagine what was going through his head as he approached the edge and realized that the end was NIGH. Clambering to the last bit of asphalt roofing until it was all but gone and the only thing left below him was the cold chill of the Northern Air and the thought of his own mortality coming to fruition. When Alex and Christian first told us we thought it was a joke. Why wouldn’t we? I mean who falls off a roof? Oh yeah, Kyle does! “Is he dead” we asked. We could see by the look on their faces that he was. WTF! Really! KYLE GUILFORD IS DEAD! Haha. Well actually he wasn’t dead. I just made that part up. Apparently he fell to his demise onto a very large plastic trash can. Only some Floridian MNF’ER would be saved by a trash can. What an ASSHOLE! After a series of grunts and groans Kyle yelled up to everyone that he was indeed OK only to be echoed by Wild Bill yelling back asking if Kyle knew that he had just fallen off of the roof. Kyle did indeed recollect the two story 30 foot fall into oblivion that had just occurred. An ambulance was called to cart off his bird flying ass. KIDS DON’T TRY THIS AT HOME. Long story short it’s really nice to be able to laugh our asses off and give Kyle shit now that he is OK and still slugging around with the living. A word of advice Kyle… Get your shit together! Haha. You son of a bitch. After an overnight stay in the hospital and several staples in his head we were finally back on the road again heading to BCSD XII.

The road has not been kind to us today. The wind was strong enough to to flip a Simi-Truck on it’s side and then there was the short spell of the blizzard like downpour of snow. The troops are getting testy in this coffin of a van and the hotel, however horribly dirty it may be, sounds like a Palace to me. The worst part of this whole situation… Wait let me preface that statement with the fact that Kyle falling off the roof was not the worst part of this situation. Maybe it was for the night, but know that he is in the back of the van probably contemplating his mortality, his self-induced accident was actually a good thing. Ok, back to the “worst part of the situation.” We are so far behind our schedule that we are unfortunately not going to make it to Michelle Gerard’s “The Rollerblading Project” Gallery for the Opening. Sorry about that. At least Kyle is alive and I can sleep soundly knowing that if someone refers to another person as “Pulling a Kyle”, They might have fallen off of a roof, but they are OK and alive.

Actually we did make to the Gallery Opening. Better late than NEVER. Awesome show and mini skate park. LOOK for “The Rollerblading Project” post to be up soon. Sweet pic of WALT AUSTIN… WHAT!!!!!!

words: s. engler • photos: s. engler

Time FLIES when you’re on the road… So we decide to go HIGH as shit. The troops are rounded up and the event is burned into our retinas. We are wearing blinds and Bitter Cold XII is all we can see. BLOOD, SWEAT, & TEARS are in our future. This years DOG POUND is a blurry mix of BLADERS from all over the U.S. of Corporate GREED and the random GERMAN we acquired via a #winning game of RUSSIAN ROULETTE… All on the first furious leg of out trip to pick up Jeremy Beightol in Pittsburg, PA. Here is a little break down of the horses in the stable.

Kyle Solá – Savior of the trip. Renter of the WHIP. Lead Tour GUIDE. Sorry about the SUSPENDED license. Actually it’s kind of funny that a ticket I received during the 2011 NYC Invitational came back to bite me on the ASS last minute before BCSD XII. Coined the term “Don’t pull a Solá.”

Kyle Guilford – That guy from FLORIDA.. Yeah the dirtbag that wrote the best NYC Invitational story ever. We made sure to bring him back. I’m sure some sort of “regret” will be had about this decision. You the MAN!

Christian Delfino – Rocking out on camera before, during & after the BCSD.

Alex Ryerson – Roommate of the aforementioned and wrangler of the women. No funny stuff buddy. If you see the “RED & BLUES” I suggest you open the hatch, empty the drain, & get ready for a wild ride.

Moronie Moronie – Media Management EXTRAORDINAIRE… Heading the “Behind” the scenes action at CAIRO Trade Co. Wahoooooo! Bring IT!!!!!!

David Johns – Busting out the Blade SKILLS & then showing me that my photos suck and will never stack up to his. YOU BASTARD!

Wild Bill, a.k.a Mr. WET – Lead Gutiar, General Badass, & Road Warrior… Although I have yet to see him drive. I think we should probably be scared. On a similar note I am glad we actually made it out of the city after Solá had a slight automotive accident 15 minutes after we rented the car. Solá is now banned from using REVERSE! Yeah, Solá totally pulled a Solá.

Josh Diaz – PSYKO Clothing all the way. Designer, Collaborator & the mind behind the madness along with Beightol. I hear Mexico is nice this time of year… Don’t Germans come from Mexico? Speaking of Germans…

Dominik Wagner – Random German that happened upon us… Likes Fire, Bier & BLADING… For the record he DOES NOT like Nazis.

Jeremy Beightol – DOOM and GLOOM… since 1996.

AND Myself…

Shawn Engler – Skatelife.TV keeps me busy. I’m sure there are some other rather unfortunate opinions about me… Life goes on. Let’s BLADE.

Well that’s the crew of rag-a-ma-tags we have to offer on this trip. Stay tuned while we wade through the Northeast to our final destination where we will be adding a few more heads to the final count… i.e. Cesar Macay & Ryan Many on the VIDEO TIP. BITTER COLD SHOWDOWN! Wahooooo…..

photos: s. engler

words: k. solá • photos: s. engler

PART 1 – “PARTY RAIL”

This rail is a real hidden gem, tucked away in a locked courtyard of an old industrial building in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. We were crashing a house party when my good friend Jack discovered this rail, after drunkenly falling into it head first. Realizing he was okay, our attention segued to this amazing 90 degree curved down rail. Shawn and I decided then that we needed to come back here to shoot a photo for the site.

The next day, Kunga found that his passport was missing, and urgently needed to know where it was that we had been the night before, and who lived there. It was as much a mystery to him as it was to everyone else. After a series of phone calls, we were able to track down Alyssa, the girl who threw the party.  Kunga went by with no luck in finding his lost passport. The next week, still having the phone number, Shawn leaves a charming voicemail for Alyssa explaining that he is a friend of Kunga’s, and wanted to shoot some photos at the rail in her courtyard. She calls back, a bit confused, but offers to let us skate it the next day when she was going to be home. The rail had never been skated and was coated in a combination of rust and chipping paint. Luckily, our host had some candles available in her living room.

The day before, I received a message, from my friend Melissa, letting me know that there was a halfpipe that was open to the public at Prince and Mott St in Little Italy. Fortunately, we had some time before the sun was going to set. We finished up with some portraits at the spot and made our way over the bridge into Manhattan.

PART 2 – “PERFORMA HALF-PIPE.” COMING SOON!

words: b. anderson • photos: a. luke • j. anderson

When many of us started rollerblading it was huge.  It was on TV and INLINE, Inline Skater, Box and Daily Bread were all available at your neighborhood bookstore.  Senate shirts were even on the racks at Hot Topic and Pac Sun.  Most of us were young and not many people understood what we were doing or why we dressed the way we did.  We were always associated with the X-games or asked if we could backflip.

Since 1997 – the year I started blading – things have changed dramatically not only for our industry and sport but also what it is like to be a BLADER.  Our industry, what was once on its way to becoming mainstream, has now grown/withered/however you want to define it, to a hidden sub culture of individuals from all backgrounds connected by our passion for BLADING.

Along with our industry, our spots and perspectives have changed.  The variety of spots skated and diversity of skaters I personally feel are at the highest points they have ever been at in the short history of blading.  Feeding that is the maturity and aging of BLADERS.  For a lot of us as we grow in our personal careers and professions, it’s not a matter of getting kicked out of a spot or potentially getting a $100 trespassing ticket anymore, but it’s also about potentially losing client or career opportunity.  Given that is kind of dramatic but in many cases may be true depending on the city you live in and the interaction you have with the public and/or business owners.  What was once a simple risk with minor implications now can have consequences that are a little more complicated.  This is how I feel in my own life.

While returning home from a meeting south of Salt Lake City I spotted something off the freeway in an industrial area I had explored a hundred times.  A metal fabrication shop which rarely had anything more than a handful of trusses and structural beams, had curved sheets of steel laying out in its yard forming a perfect half-pipe. Just as it would have when I was 12, the spot stuck in my head and I went to check it out that night right after work.

You grow up and you get old, but blading keep a lot of us young.  It’s that “youth” inside that makes you forget the consequences, ignore the barbed wire fence and no trespassing signs, and lets you experience that rush and love for blading that’s kept you on skates since you were in middle school.  The experience and memory of the session or spot is what keeps it alive.

It’s not only the tricks.  It’s the hopping the fence late at night to shovel out the spot and put ice melt on it so that it will be ready the next morning, that you remember.  It’s the fact that you had to set the exposure, hop the fence, set up the flash, put your skates on, slip several times and then finally get the pic all in a matter of 5 minutes while a passing train is blaring its horn at you to get away from the tracks that makes you remember the moment.  That is why we BLADE.  We BLADE to capture it, to show it, to experience it all and to remember it.

-b. anderson

words: j. spira • photos: g. freeman • s. engler

2011. What a fucking shitty year. Not speaking for myself but for the world in general. I mean, a lot of famous influential people died. A bunch of wars and revolutions are fucking shit up. The economy and unemployment got worse. And yes, cops were still beating the living shit out of peaceful people. What else can I say, 2011′s a botch. Fuck it. We’ve now got less than one year before December 21st 2012, the supposed end of times predicted by the Mayans, to fix this little shit can up. It’s a Self-fulfilling prophecy anyway, like “hey look they said the world is gonna be over, so lets just give up on giving a fuck” so that it actually happens due to our laziness and neglect. Not that I’m saying most people believe 2012 is the end, but most of us westerners were raised on some kind of religion telling us “the end” could happen any day soon, so putting a year on it is like blowing out the birthday candles… or opening the presents. Doom and gloom is in our culture. You gotta ask, what is the “End”? According to many of the New Age researchers who made the 2012 predictions famous, it will be a “transformation of consciousness”. Good. There are way too many assholes walking around with a bad attitude.  Selfish, egotistical pricks who should be stuffed in a rocket and shot to the sun. Hope they transform’em good like. But seriously, its gonna take something huge to wake up billions of half asleep ding bats and I won’t be the one to try and predict what that will be. I am certain something IS coming though, just some feeling I have, some tension building, like what goes up must come down type business.

Didn’t really care or notice until I woke up and realized I had a child to look after, that will change your whole view on shit. When life is just about taking care of yourself you kind of forget about the fragility of it all. Now that I’m a dad I’ve got a lot to figure out that goes beyond the eat-shit-fuck-piss-sleep of ones life. LIKE, her health, school, fricken emotions and stuff. On this very subject the results of 2011 are in, and they are pretty fucking awesome. My daughter kicks ass. She knows her ABC’s, can count to ten in spanish, plays on a miniature drum set, yells VAGINA in public, and when I’m being a total dick on my computer ignoring her she will randomly come and hug my waist OUT OF NO WHERE. Yeah cool I’m a dad bragging about his kid blah blah blah… well you can just FUCK OFF! I think I’m actually good at this shit, maybe. I mean I sometimes feel like I might be good at rollerblading, or at being a husband (i fuck that up a lot) but this dad thing, not too shabby. So hey, here’s to another shitty year a.k.a. the last year on earth, a.k.a. the last year of the fucktard meatball heads, or hey here’s to another year of getting better at shit and saving the world… Why don’t ya?

-j. spira

Jeremy Spira Park Edit 2010 from SCUMPIRE on Vimeo.

Things you should know about my brother from another mother…

He’s a bad mamma jamma. He’s a huge Star Wars fan and has light sabers on a gun rack in his home. He’ll put you up for a place to sleep. He’s married to an awesome woman Sessy Spira who is loving, wonderful, caring and will not hesitate to beat some ass (her father was a world class boxer). He’s a father of a beautiful daughter, Arden Louan. And he also is a driving force behind SCUMPIRE.com. So peep game… Edit made by our main guy GREG FREEMAN.

Song: Devo – Watch Me Dance

www.scumpire.com
www.revolutionskate.com
www.nimhskate.com
www.rat-tail.com
www.inricloth.com

words: d. toro • photos: s. engler

James Perez has been skating for quite some time now and has always been known to kill every spot he goes to. On this particular day we were out filming for the next “ODNY edit” with a mindset to re-introduce James with a good amount of clips. The last time we were able to meet up and film was for ““The Beats!”” edit where James laces a combination of souls and top souls in smooth consecutive sickness at the Red Hook curve ledge.

Conflicting schedules has been the primary reason why we haven’t started working on this project sooner. With James now being a nine to five college student and maintaining a job with whatever free time he has, the kid barely gets to skate but still manages to get out there and stun people with his skills. The most memorable memory I have of James so far is seeing a photo of him at his graduation holding his USD’s at the time. If that’s not love and passion then I don’t know what is. “The homie is now riding Valo’s and has been skating those things like he’s had them on forever.”

Also, I must say that James is one of the most consistent skaters I’ve filmed with in a while. We literally spend no more than 10 minutes at a spot, if that, and skate in lines back to back and just rack footage like it’s an all you can lace 50% off, shove that shit in your camera and go, buffet. Be on the lookout. “The Shark is loose!”

-d. toro

One Day NY: The Beats! from One Day NY on Vimeo.

As of lately, I’ve been on a overall mission to get rid of all my footage before the summer starts. The following clips are a mixture of very recent material or footage that has been shot within the past three years.

We started ODNY really small with just a handful of local skaters in Queens, NY and have had the pleasure of expanding the crew and friends beyond the scope of our own city. While we continue to grow in very tiny increments, this edit is for everyone who has supported us from day one. If we’ve filmed with you before and have yet to see any of your footage in our edits, don’t worry you shall see your stuff soon. We have much bigger plans in stored for the summer like a new more user friendly site and possibly our first very own video production. Stay tuned.

onedayny.com/portfolio/one-day-ny-the-beats/

Follow us!
facebook.com/onedayny
twitter.com/onedayny
flickr.com/nysod

words: g. kieffer • edit: s. deAngelis


Putting together this session to make this edit was extremely tough. Between work, school, rides, gas money, injuries, and so on all contribute to the nightmare of trying to get all the shop riders at the shop/park at the same time. Our first attempt went sour when everyone was just too hyped and it ended up turning into a huge session, that was impossible to capture. A few weeks back, we finally gathered everyone again, and with the help of Sam DeAngelis and his brain hurricaning, we were finally able to put together a perfectly executed session so the entire evening could be captured the way Sam wanted it to look. Every single dude that skates for the shop, and a few TSS supporters, threw down hard from 9pm to about 2:30am when we finally wrapped everything up. After watching Sam’s edit, I don’t see the need to explain what a dope group of guys we have repping the shop everyday, because their skating, and Sam’s skills behind the lens captured it all.

Lastly, a huge thanks to Skatelife.Tv, because without them we wouldn’t have such an amazing venue to showcase Sam, and the entire TSS teams unreal skills and talent. Good night.

GO TO DROP IN SKATE PARK AND GET LOOSE!!!

-g. kieffer

GO TO DROP IN SKATE PARK AND GET LOOSE!!!

Sam DeAngelis

words: k. guilford • editor: a. ryerson • photos: s. engler

Wild “Gets the job done… all the way done” Bill, aka David “Wild Bill” Andrews, aka David Andrews (his birth name) is, well, The Man. David actually adopted the name “Wild Bill” from a shirt his father gave him that read “Wild Bill’s Saloon.” When David turned 19, and the shirt was nearing its last thread, he and I decided to find the infamous Wild Bill’s, a local biker bar deep in the Jacksonville, Florida ghetto – outlaw territory of the local biker gangs.

We found the bar, but I thought it was in my best interest to wait in the car – the dudes I saw were no spring chickens. But Bill cruised in beaming with 100% confidence. I didn’t think I’d be parking lot PIMPIN’ for the next hour but eventually Bill stumbled out of the bar to the car — all smiles, and with a ridiculous story in which booze played no small part.

Apparently the bar owner made a chicken fall asleep on the bar. Why there was a chicken in the bar, and how the owner knew chicken voodoo, I’ll never know. Then the owner had the bartender babe take her shirt off and lather whipped cream on her tits for Wild Bill to lick clean. His effort to get another shirt was not fruitless either. When all was said and done, underage Wild Bill got to drink with a bunch of hard-ass bikers, saw KUNG FU pressure point action performed on a chicken, licked some whipped cream off hot boobies, AND got the T-shirt he went there to get, for FREE!

Now that we’re clear on how the man became legend, who is the man BEHIND the legend? Most anyone who has met Wild Bill agree that he’s one of the nicest guys you will ever meet, cliche as that sounds. They’ll say he’s just your everyday average dude. But at the end of the day, after the bills are paid, and the kids are fed (he has no kids, btw), BLADING burns in the back of his brain. The burn becomes an itch and, well like any man with true passion for his art, it can get extreme.

If Bill goes too long without getting his fix he’s known to go on a BENDER. He’s drained his bank account to build a “training ground” in our backyard. He’s road-tripped across the country in search of the perfect clips – on a shoestring budget. And like any man after a BENDER he has his recovery time. For Bill it’s usually spent working as a lumberjack for his family’s tree business, a popular profession that puts paychecks in many a BLADER’S pocket who have traveled throughout Florida. One thing can be said about Bill, and that is: when it comes down to business, the job will be done, and it will be all the way done.

Watch him skate live and you will know first hand. He’s the first to strap on the boots and the last to leave, thorough and precise. Wild “David Andrews” Bill is nothing short of a great man, with a blue collar up to his ears and a Guinness pint full of “CLASS.”

-k guilford

Wild Bill Psyko edit by: Johnny Boy from psykoclothing on Vimeo.

words: r. loewy • photos: r. loewy

I met up with my friend and very talented BLADER Jordan Baez today to explore Roosevelt Island and see if we could come up with some interesting blade photographs. I’ve been to Roosevelt Island quite a few times to visit friends out there, but have never had the opportunity to shoot there. With a plethora of spots to choose from, we set out at some red rails right off the Tram.  I originally intended on shooting the whole thing with FILM, but after loading the back of the camera and shooting one frame, the camera locked up due to the battery being dead.  I was, to say the least, less than pleased with the situation. Jordan helped me pull through though, suggesting that, since we made it all this way, about an hours trip lugging around 20lbs of equipment, we might as well make the best of it and just shoot DIGITAL. So we kept exploring the island and came upon these red benches under a red metal sculpture. I originally shot from the ground but then readjusted my position to be above Jordan, threw on my 16mm lens and began shooting from atop the metal sculpture. Jordan hopped up and laced a clean Makio to fakie. We then proceeded to another spot that was right next to the water, with Jordan coming through again, this time with an AO Top Porn. Tired of lugging around 20lbs of equipment and feeling satisified with what we got, we called it a day and went our separate ways. Jordan’s persistency to get things done, on and off his BLADES, in order to support his local scene, is something to admire, and is something that I respect greatly.

-r. loewy

2010 quick clips with Jordan Baez from Jason Rivera on Vimeo.

Filmed with sony fx1000 and Canon 7d. Had more clips but lost the tapes lending them to a friend to edit. These were the only clips we can use.

words: g. kieffer • edit: s. deAngelis


There were countless reasons for originally having the thought to open a skate shop.  I wanted to work for myself, I wanted to work doing something I love and have been doing for 16+ years, and the list goes on and on.  One of the main reasons was because I wanted to create something I didn’t have growing up skating in the NJ/NY area.  I wanted to open a shop where kids could come and check out merchandise in person, meet other kids to skate with, and most importantly, a place where kids can come (very often at TSS!) and not just meet, but also SKATE with their idols.  This was something I rarely had the opportunity to do as a young skater because I didn’t have access to a local shop.  TSS was lucky enough to have Brian Shima come thru with the entire SSM team, as well as Psyko Clothings Josue Diaz and some Psyko riders.  SSM and Psyko being skater owned and operated businesses, Shima and Josue were generous enough to make the drive to the shop to do an autograph signing, but also actually skate with all the kids downstairs for quite sometime.  Seeing how happy the kids were(who’s shoes I was once in) when they meet and skate with their idols is an amazing feeling for me.  To be able to do something positive for the kids in the local blading community. The same loyal customers, who without, there would be no TSS.  I have been lucky enough to have almost all of the best BLADERS in the world come to TSS to meet and skate with the kids, some pro’s on more than 1 occasion.  TSS customers are lucky enough to have the opportunity to meet and skate with professional rollerbladers AT LEAST every few months here at TSS/Drop-In Skatepark.  The gratification I get out of seeing the looks on peoples faces who are skating right next to their favorite pro is an indescribable feeling, and that is why I opened Tri-State Skate.  Companies like SSM and Psyko (amongst MANY more) are the ones who help make it all happen.

- g. kieffer

words: c. macay • edit: c. macay

Val Vera 2011 Summer/Fall Edit from skatelife.TV on Vimeo.

Filmed and Edited By Cesar Macay

Additional Filmer: Jon Lopez

Finally after filming little by little throughout our travels, summertime going into fall, myself and Val have come up with this edit to show to you all. Another notch in the headboard will be added to the other edits I have sent your way. Val is one of the biggest reasons why I love editing. I did his first skate edit, which was also my first, with a tiny home video camera and iMovie. Happy B-DAY VAL, you are the man and always will be.

-Cesar Macay

words: t. taylor • photos: k. scott(portrait) • t. taylor


Now that Matty is living at the Shredweiser house in Oakland, we don’t get to see him as often.  Right before the end of summer he called me and said he was going home and wanted to make a stop in Montogmery, Alabama to see Marc Senn and skate a few spots. For those of you that don’t know, Montgomery is packed full of amazing session and hammer spots. Anyways, being in Atlanta, I decided to make a trip out of it and go see him.  It had been well over a year so I was anxious to see how much California had changed him (joke).  Besides being my best dude and the illest man to hang with, “The Schrock” has always been fun to shoot with because he’s an absolute madman and leaves nothing undone.  I can’t remember how many times he laced this Alley-oop fishbrain, but I know this one was PERFECT.  Typical Matty…

-Trace Taylor

90 SECONDS/SCHROCK/OCTOBER/2010 from Revolution Skate Shop on Vimeo.

3 Days 1 Night in Chicago from LOWLlFE on Vimeo.

words: j. johnson • photos: j. jenkins


We’ve been blessed in Arizona to have legendary icons involved with our scene. Back in the day, it’s safe to say you would have given anything to just meet Dustin Latimer, let alone skate with him. For our local Arizona skaters, it was a common thing to see Dustin skate in person, and witness his “god like” ability first hand. It’s a special thing to have someone like DL shape BLADING the way he did, and be able to say you were a part of that era.

Dominic Sagona made the move to Arizona earlier this year, it’s crazy to have yet another icon like Dom be a part of our scene. Dominic is such a humble person, he’s always down to skate with anyone, no matter who you are. What’s cool is he takes the initiative to motivate other skaters too. He lives on the west side of the valley, and sets up skate sessions at his local park – “T-Bird” during the week. Watching Dom skate is unreal, only a select few people can manipulate BLADING the way they want to. Dom is one of those skaters.

More often than not, it’s human nature to start taking a good thing for granted. Sometimes you have to take a step back and realize what’s in front of you. The featured photo of Dom makes you do just that. You step back and realize how special it is to have a skater like Dominic Sagona involved with BLADING. We’re fortunate.

-James Johnson – Revolution Skate Shop

Dominic Sagona @ Powerhouse “REHABCN” from TheConferenceTV on Vimeo.

http://www.usd-skate.com

After a long stretch of injury Dominic was brought to Powerhouse to commence his rehabilitation. Swagger ensued.

Shot and Edited by Richie Eisler.

Song is Daft Punk Derezzed (Glitch Mob Remix)

http://powerhouse.theconference.org for more.

http://facebook.com/theconference.org

Austin Paz is a BADASS! Can you argue with that? I guess you could, but then again you are probably the same person who would argue that your shit doesn’t stink just for the sake of “ARGUMENT.” Austin is one of the few BLADERS that can not only lace the best tricks, but can also take the top notch photos of other BLADERS lacing tricks as well. Brandon Smith & Jeff Sockwell are a few others that I would categorize as being part of this elite crew. PROPS for skill, style, & ambition goes out to Austin. This spot is something I have been holding on to for months now. Everyday I would walk past it, day after day, trying to think of the perfect person to handle it. This day in particular started at the Battery Park high ledge. As Austin was warming up I realized he was doing topsouls both ways on this ledge in his sleep. So, I decided that he was the perfect candidate to rid my brain of this spot. A few hours later we rolled up on the spot. The “BUMP” was slightly less than I remembered, due the fact that when you dream of getting a picture at a spot your brain sometimes tends to embellish to facts. Whoops! None the less Austin began to hammer away a few tries while I set up for the pic. Ten minutes later… END OF STORY! I’m sure you will be seeing more from him throughout the pages of skatelife.TV in the very near future.

-shawn engler

Anyone who has ever had the pleasure of meeting or skating with Pat instantly knows why everyone calls him “Crazy Pat”. When he puts on his skates, be prepared to stop what you’re doing and watch. Even the biggest haters can’t deny how tight BLADING is after watching him fly around a park or street spot jumping and grinding on every single thing he passes. On top of creating a name for himself in the local NYC scene, he also picked up Nimh, now S.S.M, as a flow sponsor through Tri-State Skate. If this is your first time hearing about “Crazy” Pat, I assure you it won’t be your last.

-Greg Kieffer

“Crazy” Pat Bernat Nimh flow edit for TSS from Tri-State Skate on Vimeo.

Pat is crazy.
Pat skates for TSS and is flow for S.S.M.

www.tristateskate.com

After a crazy week in Florida for the Pow-wow a few homies and I ended up driving around spot to spot in hopes of getting some sweet pics. You will see more of them shortly but Dafick is an up and coming in BLADER with sick solid style and good friendly intentions. HAHA!
shread…

p.s check out Shredweiser

-j.diaz

There is only one way to some up the crazy week in florida with the low life crew and the rest of the flock……

REGARDLESS from Brandon Negrete on Vimeo.

This is the first teaser for the new blade video by Brandon Negrete, “Regardless”.
starring:
Chris Haffey
Andrew Jacuzzi
Keaton Newsom
Erik Stokley
Erik Bailey
Kruise Sapstien
Chris Dafick
Ross Kuhn
Jeff Stockwell
and Jon Jon Bolino

available July 2011. for more info please visit www.themgoods.com

FESTER VIDEO TRAILER 1 from Fester Wheels on Vimeo.

“FESTER” VIDEO TRAILER 1 featuring Damien Wilson, Nick Wood, Lyle Shivak, Mathieu Ledoux, Casey McFarland, John Bolino, and Joey Chase.

COMING SOON

FESTER DAMIEN WILSON “COUCH POTATO” from Fester Wheels on Vimeo.

FESTER PRO DAMIEN WILSON “COUCH POTATO”

Damien takes offense when he’s called a “lazy pro.” Just because you haven’t seen much of him lately, doesn’t mean he’s been sitting on his couch. Damien has 2 Full Video Sections that are about to drop (FESTER & GC). So, this is what being called a “couch potato” means to him.

Filmed/Edited by Nick Wood

Contest Results:
1st – Franco Cammayo
2nd – Chauncey Jenkins
3rd – Jose Henriquez

Filmed and Edited By Cesar Macay

Additional Filmers: Shawn Engler and Christian Delfino

Thank You so much for your help filming guys !!!!

SPECIAL SHOUT OUT TO:
Victor Callendar
LORD Brian “Thanks GOD for Skating”
RAH – The “MYTH”, The “LEGEND”, The “DJ”
Wheels In Motion
ALL BLADERS WHO CAME OUT TO SUPPORT!

This is what BLADING is about. It’s about showing up late, but showing up; Thinking on your feet; Meeting new BLADERS; Respecting those who bring all of us together; Most of all…… Respecting each other as fellow BLADERS. GO SKATE! – GO FILM! – GO LIVE!

Filmed and Edited By Cesar Macay

Additional Filmer- Sam Williams

I met Ryan about 2 years ago one day hanging with Jon Ortiz during the time Jason Staine was filming for his video “Signature”. We went out shot some photos and b-roll for the video and kept linking up together afterwards to shoot some more photos of the cool weird stuff Ryan enjoys skating. One day he handed me his camera and told me to help film him. I was down to try filming being that all I’ve done with cameras is take photos. So from then on it was “I film, you skate.” I Want to say thank you to my friend for being the one to let me use a real camera to give me a chance to learn what filming is. Its F&*$#3N great. For this edit we both went out for the past few months and gathered up all this footage looking and finding spots even making them in the most random places of New York City. Here it is folks, enjoy the creativity from both ends whether you like it or not.

Thanks for showing me not to ever give up in BLADING and in LIFE amigo.

-Cesar Macay

words: k. guilford • editing: a. ryerson • photos: s. engler • d. johns • j. pagan

few shots from my trip to NY from itsjessep.com on Vimeo.

August 18th, 2011. It’s 3 AM. (Wild) Bill and myself (Kyle Guilford) sit on our porch drinking heavily. We’re talking about how sweet it would be to go to Brooklyn, NY for Billy O’Neill’s Invitational (2 days before the event, we’re in Florida mind you). In between one bottle cap and another, “want to go?” “Yeah, you?” “Yes.” Game over. Within minutes tickets were booked, phone calls were made, and the next thing I knew we were at Orlando International Airport emptying our pockets of contraband to make it safely through security. Our good buddies David Johns and Jesse Pagan (P.I.M.P.) agreed to join us on this masquerade. The flight goes by in a wink. There’s just enough time for Jesse to buy us Jack and Cokes on the flight, at 9 in the AM. Then: runway and the sobering rough landing that we are all accustomed to.

A quick phone call was made to Shawn Engler (Gangster) for directions through the maze that is the NYC metro system into Bed-Stuy (DO or DIE), Brooklyn. Anyone who’s been to the Big Apple knows it’s not easy to find your way around the city. But we ain’t no bitches. Like clockwork, 20 minutes later we were in front of Shawn’s with all (mischievous) handshakes and (devilish) smiles. Shawn shows us into his rad pad and immediately leaves, returning 30 minutes later with a car he rented so he could more easily exploit our skating talents. Then we were off to tear up the streets. We went to two spots by the house but then it was off to Manhattan to meet with James Johnson (Revolution), X-rated and Jorell Davis from Arizona. We had a quick meet and greet at Wall St. ledges, but security got the drop on us before we could even warm up. Parking lot pimpin’, we decided on mid-town. Where ever that was. We ended up getting stuck in rush hour traffic and loosing the people that we were supposed to be following. Fail. Time to get out of Dodge.

After two hours of Shawn driving like a bat out of hell, twisting and turning some of the shadiest maneuvers ever witnessed, Shawn used his nightrider driving skills to get us on track to the East River Bar in Williamsburg, BK to meet up with Alex Ryerson, Joey Chase and the Shima guys to get some drinks. But on the way there we spot a sick obstacle, impossible to pass up. An angle iron loading dock ledge with the most bent up, high, worthless piece of metal to skate but they weren’t taking “no” for an answer. David Johns and Wild Bill pulled some sweet pics, the ladies approved. A short celebration and it was back to the plan…. BAR! We arrived at the East River Bar in Brooklyn for a long night of swapping stories; bullshitting with old and soon to be friends. Jesse Pagan treated everyone to a round of whiskey shots like a TRUE G. A perfect way to start off this epic weekend. After a few rounds of pool (Ryerson murders), what seemed to be the whole bar retreated to Alex & Ryan Many’s rooftop for a nightcap.

Alex & Ryan’s spot is prime, a gorgeous view of the Manhattan skyline from his roof and sexy girls everywhere. At some point in the night Joey Chase fell down some wet elevator shaft stairs, no idea when or how it happened but I remember it. After a long while of hootin’ and hollerin’ Shawn, James and Jorell went to grab the car to swoop us up. Meanwhile, X, David, Bill and I sat on a curb eating bodega sandwiches while a street sweeper dusted us with some of Brooklyn’s finest. The car showed up and it dawned on us that we were eight deep in a four door baby dick sedan. We somehow managed to fit and made it home just fine (aside from Shawn getting his jollies off by hitting every speed hump and pot hole he could find), crushing our friendships closer together than ever before.

The morning after was a foggy one, I found myself getting up and wondering into Shawn’s roommate’s room(Sorry Billy ). Half dead, half-baked, and half stupid I tried to get in the roommate’s bed (while he was in it). Terrified, the poor guy just kept asking who I was and what I was doing in his room, to that I replied, “Relax dude I work here”. I sat on the edge of Billy’s bed trying figure everything out. Embarrassment kicked in, I realized I slept in the living room and that I’m in New York, so I apologized and dragged ass back to the living room floor. After everybody woke up and had their laughs at my expense, we peeled out to go skate.

First spot of the day was a rail in a park by Shawn’s house. Jorell and Wild Bill both handled biz there, then it was deep in to Brooklyn with just our skates, no car (at least 5 miles, DAMN you James). We met Jeremy Spira half way to the first spot, where Jeremy and James sessioned a disaster flat ledge. Down the street, David and Jeremy sessioned a gap to bank. Both were rad spots right next to each other. Then it was back to cruisin’. We ended up at Brooklyn hospital to meet up with Josh Diaz (Josue Diaz, owner of Psyko Clothing) with his car to help lighten the load on our way to Tri State Skate Park. We found ourselves stuck in more NYC traffic that turned out to be worth every mile. It was one of the dopest skate sessions I’ve ever been apart of. Everyone was laughing and lacing tricks and just having a good time, thanks to Greg Kieffer. After a long session consisting of the Shima crew, the Arizona dudes and the FL boys it was time to grub. After a fine meal at Williamsburger it was back to Alex’s rooftop. Which had already become too crazy, there were three times the amount of people than the night before. After some good byes and a couple drinks… and Jessie getting over 40 girls he saw on the street to take a picture with a sunflower, no exaggeration. We went on a quick beer run and commence to cramp 8 deep once again. To the house we went. “My mind is telling me no but my body, my body’s telling me yes!” rang out in the crammed car followed by a round of laughs lasting the rest of the car ride home. Ever played Chinese fire drill in a sardine can? David, Shawn and I burned the midnight oil taking pictures on Shawn’s rooftop ‘til dawn.

The day of the event we woke up in much hast due to the long night before. We all rushed to get to the contest by one o’ clock. Once again piling in to the car like circus clowns. We arrived at the event sight, which was under the BQE in the heart of Williamsburg, Brooklyn. What we saw was motivating to say the least. Kids, grown-ups, bikers, men and women of all ages included. Not to mention the innocent bystanders getting wind of our Swag, it was intense. You could only be apart of something like this in New York. On top of Billy’s buck wild event, there was a legit car show on the other side of the street harboring all walks of life, our kind and there’s mixing together, keeping the melting pot of NYC stirred. As the tension thickened and the masses grew, the first round began. Bill and Jessie took the high road and posted up on the top of a broke down SUV. David and X-rated threw on their designated (and stylish) media vests and went balls deep with the rest of the jackals to film. I needed a closer look so I quickly got hustled my own front row access. From there I watched all the amazing tricks and styles that flew through the course. Each round progressively got faster and more aggressive. It kept that pace up through the Finals. For the final round I took the high road upon a busted ass SUV with Bill, Josh and Shawn. Drinking beers with the dudes, watching it all go down at eye level. When it was all said and done, Broskow took it. All and all it was one of the best judged and well put together contests in my 14 years of blading. My hat goes off to Billy O’Neill and anyone else involved. If your gonna to do it, do it right. And Billy sure as hell did.

Keeping up the routine we regrouped at Alex & Ryan’s, something like 15 dudes stayed there for a week (RedRum). Alex and his roommate Ryan are fucking BOSSES. We walked to get some good ol’ fashioned Pizza at Brooklyn ZA and I used their clean sink to “wash my balls off in.” Sadly the cute girl at the register over heard me talking about cleaning my junk in their sink and I think she threw up in her mouth a bit. The after party for the competition was at Good Company bar only a couple blocks down the way. Greeted with free Brooklyn lager just for skating or being a “der” as someone referred to it earlier in the day. We witnessed a perfect game of oversized Jenga, played by Alex Ryerson and Chris Dafick. There were absolutely no moves left to be made. I didn’t think that was possible, BUT IT IS. The place was overrun with skaters within 30 minutes. Keeping up the trend of the trip we all had a bit too much booze (enough to kill a llama) but we were bound to keep it going. Lonnie Gallegos caught wind of a rooftop party and spilled the beans to Alex. After Alex almost fought the biggest dude at the bar for calling Trudy a bitch, he rounded up what troops he could and commandeered the stranger’s rooftop party for our own. We did the roof top thing for an hour or two, and then called it a night, there were still plenty of people who stayed on the roof through the morning.

Our last real day of skating was upon us, David and Jessie were leaving at 6 am the next day and Bill and I at 5:45pm so we made it count. We met up with Justin and some Jersey dudes (Justin Brasco, Joey Scannella, & Adam Caroselli) in Red Hook, which was awesome because we all wanted to see the statue of liberty and it’s right there. Lots of good skating went down and Wild Bill proves that no man can sweat as much as he can, ever (EVER). Eventually rain settled in, so it was time to get some food. Somehow I got into an argument with a native New Yorker cook, and after a short lecture on what a “square” was and how to order a square pizza, I deciphered him calling me a ganoosh! Which means gay according to www.urbandictionary.com!

This photographer, much like the MacGyver of photographers was out to catch a rainy day photo of James Johnson and David Johns. Shawn Engler (the MacGyver of photographers) whipped out his newly acquired umbrella and put bags over the flashes like a true professional. After all the biz was handled, Jorell, X-rated and James took the subway home to help lighten the load once again on the poor sedan. As we arrive at the house still laughing about some raunchy conversation we just had, we began to get ready for the Lone Wolf. THOR! Shawn had been talking about this bar since day one. We met Josh Diaz there, plenty shots and Guinness beer was had, as well as good times. The same could not be said for Shawn who found himself sleeping, nestled comfortably on the floor “some times it just calls your name”. None of the skating I saw on the trip was more impressive than seeing Shawn get into the cab. HILARIOUS! But we weren’t satisfied, not yet. So the rest of us headed to the levee bar which was fun because it was just us Florida kids: Me, Wild Bill, David, Jessie, and X-rated reminiscing and soaking up the night rays on our last evening in New York City. Around five in the morning the bartender put our last round of brew in koozies and in a grocery bag and set us loose on the streets. David, at that point was getting nervous because Jesse had walked a girl home an hour ago and wasn’t back yet and it was pushing 5:15 am, they needed to be to the airport by 6am. Wild Bill was asleep on the sidewalk, and X-rated was dancing for some reason ( Stir that POT X), David was calling a cab and I was hanging out with a “friend” I met at the contest. Around 5:30 Jesse shows up and everyone piled in the cab, I chose to stay behind to have my own “adventure.” Winning!

David and Jesse made it to the airport in enough time for their flight. I had no idea where I was in the city the next morning but I knew I could count on Shawn and sho nuff’, it took him no time to find me and scoop me up. Love that guy. No homo.

We returned in time to pack up and hit one more spot before getting on the subway to the airport. James, Jorell and I got in a quick last hurrah. In like an hour we were done and back home to grab our bags and say our goodbyes to those remaining. Bill and I found ourselves reminiscing before we even got on the A train to JFK.

New York, I can speak for everyone from Florida when I say this was the best trip I’ve ever have had outside of Florida. The contest, the bars, the laughs, Josh Diaz’s sick workshop and all the new friends we made on this trip were the BEST, for all of this, WE THANK YOU!!!

Special THANKS:

Caitlin 
Jorell Davis
James Johnson
Jon Jenkins (X-rated)
Josh Diaz (Sarah & the BABY) 
Billy O’Neill (Can’t WAIT till next year)
Duncan donuts (America BLADES on Duncan)
Skatelife.tv (Keep it FRESH)
Psyko clothing
BLADING
SHAWN ENGLER (Gangster)
The great city of New York.

cuzzi from theworst on Vimeo.

20 minutes before we got the boot.

I met Tyron Ballantine last February on my very unprepared last minute adventure to Winterclash. Erick Rodriguez and I both bought tickets to Amsterdam two days prior to leaving with no real plan in front of us. Upon arrival we found ourselves lost, homeless, and cold with thousands of dollars worth of equipment along with massive amounts of clothes in bags. Realizing we had nowhere to sleep, we spent a night in a hostel and decided we would find a skate park the very next day and try our luck. After getting lost and being given the wrong directions by a local, who we’d later find was setting us up to be robbed in the hood, a young girl on the train saved us and showed us the right way. Thank you random girl. We’d be f*%#$d if it weren’t for you.
Once we got to the park we watched, met, and were astonished by the young monster that is Tyron. Tyron kindly took the initiative to approach us and welcome us into his home. The two of us graciously accepted his invitation. For the next two weeks he warmly showed Erick, the always fashionably late Rachard Johnson, and I around the city to all of the best local spots that most tourists never find. His super-duper awesome mom let us borrow her car; she also cooked for us, which was a huge blessing. We still can’t thank her enough.
Now a year later, Tyron is here in the one and only Brooklyn, NY to display that he is not only a monster that will destroy anyone in his path but also a super humble party animal that many folks aspire to be. After only two weeks of filming, here are the fruits of his labor in the city that never sleeps. He’s better than you. Enjoy and be jealous ; ) Step yo game up New York!

-ryan many

TYRON BALLANTINE Nyc Edit from skatelife.TV on Vimeo.

filmed by Cesar Macay and Shawn Engler

Cesar Macay is out and about in NYC REPRESENT BLADING at all times. Even his LADY Hannah Todd is out their supporting the CAUSE. So, I would like to call on anyone and everyone to raise their glass high and SALUTE this fine young gentleman BLADER in a toast. ALSO, if any BLADING companies like what he does then I suggest you take the time to contact him and get him some product to rep for you. ALL that filming and love for “THE GAME” merits some fresh wheels, bearings, BLADES, or whatever. I THINK SO! DON’T YOU? Let’s leave the word “STINGY” out of your vocabulary for the time being.
-s. engler

Maloof skateplaza edit from skatelife.TV on Vimeo.

Back ONLINE, finally! I’m writing these words on a MASS TRANSIT bus to work this morning. As I type, the Guys from Arizona (j. jenkins, j. davis, & j. johnson) are most definitely wondering the city trying to figure out why I woke them up so freaking early and kicked them out of my place, HAHAHA. NO SLEEP FOR THE WICKED! Anyways, the NYC Invitational is officially over for us, here at Skatelife.tv, today. We tried to roll out updates consistently, but the biggest error of our plan is that, well, WE ARE BLADERS! BLADING IS IN OUR BLOOD! Just cause the “ACTUAL” competition was over didn’t mean the BLADING was going to STOP (or the PARTIES). I guess we could have been sitting at home figuring out what to write, who to get to do our jobs for us, and being just plain lazy; but a SESSION is a SESSION and we are IN IT TO WIN IT! Bitches ain’t sh1t but hoes and tricks; I’m not referring to the ladies either. We represented all weekend. Bladed EVERYDAY, took PHOTOS everyday, FILMED everyday, and unfortunately had a total of 24 (4 hours per day) hours of sleep over the course of the comp, which for us started last Wednesday and ended yesterday(as previously stated). So, I hope everyone understands that this break means you can expect many GLORIOUS updates of the finest caliber. Sorry we didn’t sit at home waiting for our material to be delivered to us, hope you understand NOW, enjoy this little gem(EDIT) that CESAR MACAY of Skatelife.tv has thrown together! Did I mention that we are all BLADERS here at Skatelife.tv? If you don’t know what we are or who we are I suggest you do some research. It’s not that hard to figure out who we are, who we support, & what we do. SINCERELY!
-s. engler

Welcome to day 3 of the NYC INVITATIONAL! Well, technically it’s day 4 and the comp is going on RIGHT NOW! I, on the other hand, am sitting in my rental car catching up on the post. BOOM! We, here at skatelife.tv are doing our best to bring you up to date coverage of not only this comp, but of BLADING in general. Blake Taylor challenged us to keep the updates coming, and I think we have been doing an “EXCEPTABLE” job, but DAMN this is a lot of work. Yes, that last statement was me opening my “BAG OF EXCUSES” and grabbing a big handful out.

I hope in the future we will be approached by BLADERS that want to help us be all that we can be. GO ARMY, haha. Quality and Speed(NOT DRUGS) are what we strive for. Enjoy these photos of Jeremy Spira busting out for us. MADD LOVE to ALL the people that like what we are doing. Don’t be a stranger. We are always up for contributions, Ideas and as ALWAYS we give CREDIT where CREDIT is due. SINCERLY! This is Shawn Engler signing OFF… Till the NEXT update. WAHOOOOO!

words: s. engler • photos: s. engler


Bad decisions can affect the people around you. Our worst decision was to go skate in Manhattan close to RUSH hour. I’m sure how it happened and why no one put their foot down, but the session went downhill really fast. In the morning(afternoon) we skated various spots in Brooklyn and things were ramping up to be a very eventful day. Just as everyone was warmed up wasa when it happened. WE ANSWERED THE PHONE & AGREED TO STRAY FROM OUR SESSION. Now, I’m definitely not blaming anyone cause we have all had our fair share of SHIT SESSIONS, but little did we know that a big ball of nothing was coming our way. So, we meet up at the WALL ST. Ledges, KICKED OUT. New ledges on the water a block away, KICKED OUT 3 TIMES. Then, the idea to go uptown, BAD. I know I didn’t kill anyone but I quite possibly could of caused some car to car damage. We zigged and zagged to find our way uptown. FUCKING TRAFFIC. WE QUIT! Not one clip. Not one photo. Not one NOTHING. So we coward our tails between our legs and headed to the EAST RIVER BAR session. On our way however we passed this loading dock you see before you. We drove a block passed it before I stopped the car and “FUCK this, who want to get a photo.” David Johns & Wild Bill were quick to eat that cake. We posted up and started shooting. Luckily the two pretty ladies you see in the photos, CAROLINE & MEGAN, were there to help us work through our anxiety from our disastrous day! THANK YOU FOR BEING GOOD SPORTS! Anyway after the business deal was completed it was time to take a load off & meet up with all the BLADERS at the BAR BASH! WAHOOOO! Remember kids DON’T DRINK till you are 21 years old & DON’T SMOKE EVER!!!!!

-s. engler

BAR BASH! WAHOOOO!

BAR BASH! WAHOOOO!

BAR BASH! WAHOOOO!

BAR BASH! WAHOOOO!

BAR BASH! WAHOOOO!

BAR BASH! WAHOOOO!

BAR BASH! WAHOOOO!

BAR BASH! WAHOOOO!

BAR BASH! WAHOOOO!

BAR BASH! WAHOOOO!

BAR BASH! WAHOOOO!

BAR BASH! WAHOOOO!

BAR BASH! WAHOOOO!

BAR BASH! WAHOOOO!

Well, HERE we go! The city is slowly being flooded with BLADERS from all over the WORLD. TIME to get down to BUSINESS. Shout out to Alex Ryerson & Ryan Many for WHORING out their house for the cause. If you live in the city and have an inch of space available, give it up to a fellow BLADER. MORE TO COME!!!!!

Alex Ryerson • Cross Grab Fish to Fakie • Brooklyn, NY • photo: s. engler

ENJOY: The photos below! They remind me of how the night progressed. IN IT TO WIN IT! WAHOOOO!

ROOF BASH!

ROOF BASH!

ROOF BASH!

ROOF BASH!

ROOF BASH!

ROOF BASH!

One thing will always be true in most aspects of your life, “The Little Things” ALWAYS matter. These small and seemingly insignificant events can get you a job, earn you respect, impress a lady, make someone happy, or become a sick clip that you never expected. Remember “The Little Things” count for so much more than most people give them credit for. RESPECT “The Little Things;” they have the ability to take you far. That being said, I give you Mr. James Johnson from REVOLUTION SKATE SHOP showing us how he has taken a TOOTHPICK and turned it into a TREE. STYLE IS BANGING!

-s.engler

90 SECONDS/JOHNSON/JULY/2011 from Revolution Skate Shop on Vimeo.

YES: Dave Lang ate your Blades for BREAKFAST. Now he is shitting HAMMERS all over your front porch! WOLF! WOLF!

-s. engler

Dave Lang Profile: 2011 from Dave Lang on Vimeo.

Nyc Edit Featuring Abdiel Coldberg, Ramelle Knight and more from skatelife.TV on Vimeo.

VIDEO: NYC Edit by Cesar Macay & Ryan Many

FEATURING: Abdiel Coldberg, Ramelle Knight, and more…

FILMED BY: Cesar Macay and Ryan Many

EDITED BY: Cesar Macay

EQUIPMENT: Canon T2i, Canon 50mm, Canon 18-55mm, Bower 8mm Fisheye, & Glidecam 2000.

Well what do we have here? None other than the man him self, “The Lion” Montre Livingston. More to come! Check out some of his latest internet sections.
-j.diaz

Montre Livingston – Psyko Clothing from psykoclothing on Vimeo.

CREATE ORIGINALS™ Introduces Montre’ Livingston To The 2010 Pro Team from Create Originals on Vimeo.

This is what rolling is all about. HANG LOSERS have it spot on! 13min 36sec of PURE fun. NOW, go check out their TUMBLR page and love what you see. GO SKATE! GO FILM! GO LIVE!

HANGLOSERS – Inner City Midnight Shred. from Vincent Lindgren on Vimeo.

Save the Planet, “GO GREEN”. Matty Schrock is the man! Hittin’ up the DIRTY DEVIL DITCH in Montgomery, Alabama.

90 SECONDS/SCHROCK/OCTOBER/2010 from Revolution Skate Shop on Vimeo.

3 Days 1 Night in Chicago from LOWLlFE on Vimeo.

Jon Ortiz has been holding it down for New York since back in the early stages of blading, here is Jon showing us why he is who he is by doing this stylish sweaty all up in your GRILL. BOOM!

The only reason for an adventure to Red Hook, NY is to skate this ledge or go to IKEA to become a drone. The ice cream is ok as well, mainly because it is so cheap. Just like everything else IKEA sells

Two birds with one stone! It was late when we arrived at this spot with the crew, but both Sams, Grimm & Williams, didn’t seem to mind. So I set up shop and started shooting. Then i noticed that Mr. Diaz was poaching my flashes. What an ass, haha not really, because he was able to capture the same moment in time as I did from a different perspective. Damn Poachers, hahahaha!!! (that last laugh was diabolical)

In 2001 Daily Bread had a New York profile where Franco was featured on the front cover. In the issues Franco had sick photo shot by Wilson which was a front torque at the 51. That was then this is now, may 2011.

After waiting around for Sam Williams for an HOUR to find this spot here he is Shredding this waist high fence rail down in SOHO.

Nathan’s Famous Hot Dogs ain’t got nothing on Franco’s Famous Tricks! Shredding in Coney Island, NY.