What We're Watching - August Week 1
We asked the lads to pick some of their favourites, here's what they've been turning on lately, here's what a few of them had to say.
ETHAN JOHNSTON & DUSTIN TONDI - STELLA AIHA - HARRISON
“I first saw Stella in Majick's videos, but didn’t know how good she really was until this one dropped. This part actually made me start a YouTube playlist of videos to watch to get me hyped to go try and film stuff. I couldn’t possibly do anything in this part but something about it makes me want to go out and try. She skates everything, so many of the spots are so sick. It’s filmed and edited well and the song choice is brilliant." - Ethan
"One of my favourite vids I've been watching a lot lately is "Stella Aiha". Her trick selection is so unique and cool. It always hypes me up to skate. Some of my favourite tricks in that vid is her hippy jump 360 over a seat and back blunt on a hubba to wallie off a wall after. That hippy jump is so technical but so buck at the same time. I really like the song choices as well, and it suits her skating a lot" - Dusty
RYAN VIERTEL - SANTINO GAGLIARDUCCI - LIMOSINE - PAYMASTER
"Limosine’s first video was a nuke on the industry. The certified coolest skaters ditching their previous board sponsor to create something new. It’s no longer a given that superteam-esque companies will work out, but in this case, it sure did. Paymaster is obviously littered with standout parts; Karim and Nelly made their mark and became the talk of the town, Hugo’s closeout part was a statement and the usual suspects (Max and Cyrus) did their thing as always. However, nestled towards the front of the video is my favourite section, belonging to Santino Gagliarducci. Coming immediately after Cyrus’ part, it presents such a nice shift in pace. It feels so carefree and enjoyable, completely the opposite to how Cyrus’ skating reads to me. The unreleased Ween song is such a great choice, and Santino’s skating fits so well with it. If I need a reminder to not take skating so seriously, this is the part I’ll watch. (See also: Logan Lara in Killer Skaters 2)"
SAM FAIRWEATHER - KEIRAN WOOLLEY OPERA PART
“Kizza is really good lad”
LOGAN DAVOREN - KYONOSUKE YAMASHITA - ASICS - A GUIDED TOUR
“Lotta good manuals in the Asics vid. If you haven’t seen it, I highly suggest watching it. If you have seen it, I highly suggest rewatching it. Despite Kyo not having heaps of footage, I particularly love his part due to the way he navigates spots. My favourite from his section is the one with the powerslide - he barely moves his feet. I also love Victor’s combo on Kyo’s ender spot, and Evan’s kickflip in the rain to A Subtle Plague’s - The Weak and Deprived."
KAI SHIMAKAGE - GRANT TAYLOR RIDES FOR ANTIHERO
“The frontside flip he does at 0:37 is the best, and the whole half pipe section at 1:43-2:35 is insane. This one is always a go-to before I go out skating just to get hyped."
ANTHONY AMADOR - FAITH IN BRO - DANIEL DENT
"The music is so f***ing good. It was the first video I’d seen from Daniel, then I watched his other videos. Especially "With the Apple" and I understand why Chris’s dream is to see Oski skate the banks. I reckon everything in this vid is perfect fr. I’ve watched it at least 30 times, big homie vibes.”
WILL THOMAS - CRAPPY VID - JESSE ALBA
"I have distinct memories of watching it when it first came out in 2014 and it still pops into my head all the time. It was my introduction to both Siouxsie and the Banshees and Strawberry Switchblade. Ava Adore became one of, if not my favourite Smashing Pumpkins song after this video. I remember watching it in high school next to my friend Jack and him immediately recognising Sloane Peterson from Ferris Bueller's Day Off in some of the b-roll; I told him I’d never seen the movie and he was so shocked. I ended up getting sick and watched it that same week I think. Wylan Kell was always one of my favourites when I was younger. I love the back smith he does at 5:50, it’s an amazing trick for the spot. You can fully hear his kingpin catch on the concrete too, which is something that happens so often with back smiths on anything beyond a ledge with metal coping.
The kickflip he does out of the grate at 6:08 is perfect and times incredibly with the music. Brady Sullivan has the last trick to this song at 6:11, the shot of him looking anxious is so dope and the roll on 5050 he does is amazing. I don’t really care about how much scrutiny that trick has come under recently, this video is 12 years old. To me, the video really shows just how important music is in skate videos, it plays a massive role in how they will age. This was just someone filming all of his friends for the love of the game. The video feels incredibly honest and sincere, and I think that is what makes it really special. I actually can’t say with any certainty whether or not the two skaters I mentioned before still skate; but I think it’s incredibly obvious just how much they loved it at this point in their lives.”
