This used to be called the ’180 shove-it kickflip’ since it’s basically a combination of the straight kickflip and the basic pop shove-it, but ‘varial’ obviously sounds cooler, so we’ll run with that.
Put your feet in the position you do a kickflip.
You’re going to do the Shove-It motion with your back foot and the flip motion with your front foot.
Pop it, shove it, flip it, wait for it to do a 180 on the flip. While it’s going around, see your grip tape, catch it, land it, and roll away.
Boston filmer Sam McCormick has posted new full length video enitled ‘Dingus Collective’, featuring James Pilczak, Taylor Clark, Ryan Miranda, Shawn Macmillan, Colin Wissmar, Caleb Kaiser, and Marc O’Malley.
Skaters Atlas has posted its second episode with Chet Childress armed with numerous moments of social commentary, a batch of new artwork and some mileage and exercise on the bike. Via skatedaily
Question: Are Your Skate Shoes "Good"? - What Makes Good Skateboard Shoes?
Having a strong opinion about skate shoes is a skater's God given right. But how do you know which skater shoes are good, and which ones are garbage?
Answer: There are several ways to help decide which skate shoes are good and which should be tossed into the nearest wood chipper.
The most common way is to ask your skater friends. If they hate Etnies, then YOU hate Etnies. This method works for a short time, but there are some dangers. Your friends might get sick of you always following along and never having your own opinions. Or, more likely, your friends might be wrong. They probably are. The more you find out about skate shoes, the more you will discover that you think EVERYONE is wrong. That's normal. That's part of being a skater.
The next best method is to try them out. This works a lot better than just asking friends, but it will get expensive. And, the more you buy shoes that don't work out, the more frustrated you might become.
The third way is to actually figure out what makes a pair of skate shoes GOOD, and then look at each pair on a case-by-case basis. I like this method. Here are some things to look for on skate shoes, to tell wether or not they are worth your cash:
Stitching - look around the shoe, and make sure that they are actualy stitched together. Not just glued. And, they should be largely double stitched, or even tripple stitched (that means that there will be two or three little stitch lines running along togther, instead of just one). Good quality skateboard shoes need to be stitched together. It helps them hold together longer.
Material - what is the shoe made from? Canvas? Throw it out, unless you never plan to do anything too aggressive. Leather? How thick? Is it treated? Are there layers? Strong skate shoes are usually made out of leather or suede, or something synthetic that is just as strong. But be careful - Fallen is the only brand I know of that makes good strong synthetic leather. Some brands promise extra strong leather.
Reinforcement - just having a shoe made of leather isn't enough - you need lots of reinforcement. You aren't just walking in these shoes, you're skating. And skating destroys shoes - that's just a fact. What you want are shoes that will last as long as possible! Look for extra layers on the toe cap (I like several layers on the toe), some on the side where you will be dragging your foot during ollies, along the lace eyelets, around the heel ... the more the shoe looks like it could survive a nuclear attack, the better.
Weight - here's the balance. All that reinforcement is great, but if the shoes are now concrete blocks, you won't be pulling off many tricks with them. All of this technology and design needs to be light enough to not drag you down. But not too light - if the shoe feels miraculously light, then it might be miraculously flimsy. Be careful!
Grip - the sole needs to be made of a grippy gum rubber. Not just regular street shoe rubber. You need these things to grip the board. Most large name skate shoe brands will be grippy enough, but not all shoes made by any given company are made equal...
Padding - this is a matter of taste. Personally, I like padded tongues and heel collars, and a good cushy heel pad. But that doesn't matter as much as you might think. Padding is all for comfort.
Lace Protection - this is a little thing that a lot of skaters miss when looking at shoes. Are the lace holes reinforced with metal? If not, you can rip through them easily. Does the shoe come with flaps for the lower lace holes, that will protect your laces when you do flip tricks? If not, you will probably burn through your laces fast.
Pro Signature - having a pro's name on the shoe does NOT make it a good shoe. At all. But, here's the weird part - a pro who has a good name will not want his or her name slapped onto a crappy shoe. That's BAD advertising. So, if the shoe has a well known, well respected pro's name on it, then it's a good chance it will be a good shoe. But there are some exceptions - if the pro has his or her own entire shoe brand (like Hawk), then that doesn't mean all of those shoes are good. At that point, he or she isn't really involved as much with each individual shoe anymore.
Style - the least important feature as far as skatability, but most skaters put it on the top of this list! It's not un-important to think about style - you gotta like your shoes! But, it should be down the list, taking a back seat to some other concerns!
I hope this list will help you in your skate shoe shopping. I have my best skate shoes list, and you can look at that for ideas, but by all means come up with a list of your own! Have an opinion, and enjoy fighting about it!
Skateboard decks come and go. Sometimes you are into the graphic, sometimes all you want is the right size and shape. Well consider this the next time you are looking to set up a fresh one - the Element Make It Count decks are made with Element's Thriftwood Construction meaning you get all the performance at a lower cost!
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Check out this heavy HD footage Chris Thiessen stacked with Dolan Stearns and a quick interview below about what he’s been up to. Peep Dolan and the rest of the lurkers in Meet The Lurkers if you haven’t already, and check out his Brain Floss in our August Am Issue.
For starters, what have you been up to this summer?
This summer I’ve just been working, filming another VX part, doing art stuff, getting ready for my first solo show, so I’m pretty hyped on that. Just staying busy pretty much. Good summer so far.
How was the process of filming for Meet The Lurkers?
The filming for MTL wasn’t that bad. I’d already been filming for a little while before we even decided to start filming for the viedo. Times were hard though with any viedo part you’re filming for, getting broke off, being sore for a week after a couple days of heavy skating, but it’s always in good fun just skating with the lurkers.
Who has your favorite part in Meet The Lurkers and why?
Dang, that’s a hard one, I think everyone killed it for sure. But probably BK [Brendan Keaveny] or David [Cobb]‘s parts. BK’s part was just insane, I was there on most of those tricks that went down and just to watch him do that shit is insane. BK should’ve been pro years ago [laughs]. And David’s part just because he pulled it together like the last week of filming, which I thought was pretty rad getting some pretty heavy tricks, and just because David’s a G. His style kills it. Oh yeah, also Mike Abarta, he gets buck on them railslides.
What skaters inspire you the most?
This is also a hard one, there’re so many good skaters out there today with cool style. But I really enjoy watching Alex Campbell, Dylan [Rieder] is always good to watch as well as Austyn [Gillette]. Just skating with friends too. It’s always good to have a good dude to skate with to hype you up.
What’s a typical day in San Diego like for you?
Let’s see. Wake up around 4 [a.m.] because the cat wants food, go back to sleep ’til 8 [a.m.] or so. Make some coffee, sourdough baguette, pesto, tomato with avocado. Then I might draw a little, instalurk. Then I’ll skate to work and paint for a couple hours, cruise back home do some more art. Maybe go skate around some more. Get a Cali burrito. Do some more art. Then get a beer and chill with the gal and do some art, maybe tattoo myself [laughs]. Pretty typical day right there.
How did you get into doing artwork?
I’m not sure really how I got into doing art. I just remember always drawing when I was in school and I never stopped since. I love that stuff [laughs]. Heck yeah, LBFK.
Video and interview by Chris Thiessen, photo by Cameron Strand
Backside tailslides might be the best ledge trick you could possibly have. They’re the best looking and they’ll never get old. JT Aultz has it dialed: ledges, hubbas, rails, and even tranny. Get a great How To from a master.
Kellen’s back with another How To for you. This time it’s half Cab crooked grinds—a trick that looks good on its own or in a line. Kellen’s got this one dialed. Learn a thing or two right here
A film by Jesse Anthony. Starring Josh Palmer, Mark Feero, Whitney Slipp, Greg Brewer, Eric "Ceeb" Claybourne, Jimmy Mackinley, Becky Forbes, Jon Blizzard, Josh "Biscuit" Gaudet, Matt Carr, Lex Gigeroff, Hallie Rose.
The best of skateboarding. I love skateboarding, I really get excited when I see skaters enjoying it and having fun doing it. Keep on skating!
Checkout these amazing riders
Trent McClung Davis Torgerson Morgan Smith Eric Koston Dennis Busenitz Ishod Wair Wes Kremer Manny Santiago Sewa Kroetkov Felipe Gustavo David Gonzalez
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The best of skateboarding. Amazing, awesome, craziest skate tricks very inspiration and makes you wanna go out and skate till you can't skate anymore!~Checkout these amazing riders Matt MillerChaz Ortiz Brad Cromer Moose Bastien Salabanzi Tom Asta PJ Ladd Nick Tucker Torey Pudwill Keelan Dadd Billy Marks Cory Kennedy MikeMo Capaldi Austyn Gillette
he best of skateboarding. "It's amazing how a piece of wood can make a lot of people happy" Watch Street League 2013 Checkout these amazing riders BASTIEN SALABANZI LUAN OLIVEIRA JEREMY ROGERS BRANDON WESTGATE AUNTWAN DIXON MARQUISE HENRY PJ LADD MANNY SANTIAGO SEAN MALTO TRENT MCCLUNG ISHOD WAIR FELIPE GUSTAVO KEELAN DADD TOMMY FYNN TOREY PUDWILL EVAN SMITH MORGAN SMITH MOOSE
Put your feet in the position you do a kickflip.
