Stoke of the Year! 2020 "Highlights"
OK, 2020 wasn't a year full of what you might usually call highlights. There were a lot of lowlights.
The one thing which kept our spirits high was skateboarding (as usual!).
Most skateparks had to close, some run by our friends (we're talking about you, Campus Skateparks!) and although they had the problems that so many other businesses experienced due to COVID, they took the downtime to freshen things up and come back stronger!
Skating deserted car parks due to the pandemic was like going back to the 90s. No security guards! No-one to kick you out! CURBS!
During some stages (Semi-lockdown!? Tier 2!?) we managed to make the most of light summer evenings and got some really fun sessions in. One balmy evening we were skating a skatepark and some boy racers were letting off fireworks in the car park in-between doughnuts. Someone must've called the police, because soon two cops, complete with face masks were stumbling up the hill towards us. It was obvious they'd thought these "young lads playing skateboards" must've been the firework culprits, but as they approached they realised there were more beards, wrinkles and grey hairs than they were expecting. We pointed out the boy racers and they called for backup! At least we didn't get done for anti-social distancing.
If you can manage to think back to the early stages of the lockdown, there were a lot of skate related Instagram challenges going on. This was quite a nice way to keep up with your mates, at a time when you couldn't really meet up for a skate in the usual way. These challenges were pretty fun, especially when you knew others would have a huge task to get a trick they couldn't do. I cheated once, posing with my board backwards to make a bog-standard heelflip look like a nollie heel!
But the real highlights of 2020 for skateboarders was kinda the same as any other year - SKATE VIDEOS!! Somehow, pro skaters the world over were managing to get out there and film some really bangin' video parts. Here are a few of our favourites from 2020...
Mason Silva's Spitfire Part
This rad video part had people mumbling SOTY back in November, and he did it! This years SOTY! The first trick is a mind blower, and the fact that the spots brought back memories of Phil Shao and Natas was cool.
GODSPEED by Davonte Jolly / Illegal Civ
Ishod on section two (Ishod has to be one of the ultimate skaters) and Alex Midler sealing it with the ender part. That ender is what Really Stoked is all about! Wow, the Sunset Carwash has seen some heavy action since Gonz and Cardiel put it on the map! Some solid music choices (Frank Ocean, so my kids would like it) and massive bonus points for actually time stamping each section on Youtube. No vert button necessary!
Austyn Gilette in FORMER's "Cheap Perfume" Video
Gillette kicks off this video with fine style and trademark finesse. There's also a Thrasher Rough Cut of Austyn's part - click here to watch. (Those Rough Cuts are always worth a watch).
The Tony Alva Story - Jeff Grosso’s Loveletters
A truly rad, in-depth look at the skate career and life of skateboarding's first rock star, Tony Alva by skate documentarians, Six-Stair. If you're too young to remember him from first time round (even I am!), you'll still dig the sex and drugs and rock-n-roll lifestyle Alva lived. He really was a worldwide star on an insane level, but more than that, he was also one of the most progressive early skaters. Not the final loveletter filmed, but the last to be released to the general public, watching this is bittersweet after the death of the world's favourite skateboard enthusiast, Jeff Grosso. RIP Jeff - we will miss hearing "Welcome back to the letters" so much. x
Deedz's "Føkk Dude" Part
Deedz is Didrik Galasso. I think he suffers from the lazy tendency to label anyone with a tricky European name with a snappy nickname (see also Rodrigo Teixeira). It's pretty unique to see a vert Caballaerial in the street, straight into a wallride!
Tom Knox - Atlantic Drift (episode 11)
This is basically a VisitLondon advert for skateboarders. Although the reality of cobbled streets and crusty, moss covered spots could ruin the illusion. Tom makes it look easy. Would've been nice to see a British SOTY wouldn't it!?
John Shanahan's "Cargo Sneaker" DC Shoes Part
We're British, so we have some affinity with the East Coast skaters due to our experience of cold and damp, although most of this video looks like it was filmed on the sunniest days of the year. The wallride off of that golden statue looks amazing (there's also an amazing photo of it out there, that's worth tracking down!).
Abnormal Communication: Episode 3
It might not be a "proper" skate video, but it's fun watching Gonz pull a perfect frontside boardslide and skate a scary looking gap, on a crazy shaped board, and skating with his ol' mucker Blondey!
Daryl Dominguez - Pissing Grounds
Another British skate section, which only dropped a few days ago and it's a beauty! Daryl has been a favourite for years, and it was a nice surprise to see some new footage from him. The precision on the kickflip over that pyramid thingy is wondrous!
- - - - - - - - - - -
RIP Jeff Grosso