Ali Kermani Interview

In every sport theres always this one dude who always been around. Ali Kermani started out Shredding then quickly jumped to working for razor working as the team manager for that siick team we all wanted to be on as kids, he watched scooters roller coaster threw their popularity and stuck around for it all. When we started Trendkill  Ali was the first person that came to mind that I wanted to shoot the shit with and hear all these rad storys from the start of it all so Ali and I recently got to talking and got this on the go for all you shredders. The Man himself...Ali Kermani
So you were already barging concert on a skateboard before razor came to you with this foreign 2 wheeled object.. how did this come about n what were your first thoughts?

A few years before Razor started, I met a guy named Carlton Calvin at a local skatepark who was trying to make a skate video to help promote his company's new product called 'Finger Board' (predecessor to Tech Deck). His idea was to make a video that showed tricks on a skateboard and then the same tricks on one of his Finger Boards. After chatting a bit, he hired me to provide footage of the skateboard tricks. Then, a couple years after that Finger Board project had ended, Carlton hit me up one day out of the blue, asked me if I still skateboarded, and asked if I'd be willing to help him try to start a new sport using high quality folding aluminum scooters. Apparently he had read an article in the L.A. Times about how these scooters were a very popular mode of transportation for Japanese businessmen and thought that they might also be popular among American kids who were interested in action sports like skateboarding and BMX. So he hired me again, this time to provide footage of "whatever tricks I could come up with on a scooter". To be honest, my first thoughts were a mix of stoke and pride. I was stoked that this guy was going to pay me to fuck around with a cool looking toy. And my pride came in when I realized that making a dope looking video on a scooter with zero past experience was going to be a real challenge... and I love overcoming challenges.
 
hahaa how can you say no to that!! you had to see what he was talking about and take the dare. skateboarders always enjoy trying out my scooter and they all have that awkward way going about it, for you how was it stepping on er for the first time? since the biggest problem is compared to a skateboard it has that small deck and bars added in. how confident were you that you could over come the challenges that was brought to the table with knowing nothing about scooters, what did you first go for and barge?

To be honest, my initial plan was to handle the filming portion and get my friends that were way better skaters than me to do the tricks, but I quickly found that a lot of my homies were more concerned about their 'image' than about getting paid. At the time, I didn't understand them at all and didn't have time to waste, so I got someone else to film, and I got busy trying to learn tricks and stack clips. The main challenges I faced in transitioning from a skateboard to a scooter involved the handlebars. I didn't have a scooter growing up and my bikes always got stolen soon after I got them, so I didn't really have much handlebar experience. Since doing tricks on skateboards involves standing sideways and using your legs and upper body in a very specific coordinated manner, messing with that dynamic by tossing a handlebar in the mix was definitely a challenge at first, but it also opened a lot of new doors. Specifically, I remember one day early on when I was struggling to learn to tailwhip on flat and thought to myself... fuck this... I have handlebars... I'm going to just go fast and jump off some shit. There was a long and low 3 gap 3 at our local high school that I had broken myself off on countless times while trying to ollie it, so that was the first place I went. My record with that double set at that point was something like 3 landed ollies out of 420 attempts... so when I hopped down it with the scooter first try, it was game on! I spent the rest of that day and that summer hopping and 360ing down every street gap and stair set I could find. I always rode street spots, because that's basically all I had experience with and easy access to. This was like summer of 1999 I believe, and the only skatepark I knew of was an hour away in Huntington Beach (and it sucked), so I spent the summer learning how to shred a scooter in empty schools, parking lots, and local skate spots. Little did I know what was coming.

thats a pleasing thought knowing it mostly started in the streets. The first video i ever seen was a VHS called "scooterz" theres a section in it with bunch of dudes shreddin and you were actually one of the killers in it. i was soo stoked on it that i actually took your style from it n went with it. whats the story behind getting to hook up to film for that?

Todd Grossman, the guy that was making that video, was looking for some 'trick riders' and somehow got my number. I remember getting a call from some random guy that wanted to film me riding, and since the whole point of what I was doing for Razor at that point was to try to get a sport started, I said 'YES!' figuring any publicity was good publicity. Turned out that while that video was cheesy as hell, Todd was a super chill guy and we've actually become good friends over the past 13 years. There were actually a couple weird video/movie things that happened during that initial craze in 2000. I remember we went on a crazy trip to New York with Jarret Reid, John Wilkening, and Jason Fry where the director of that movie Demolition Man (with Sylvester Stallone) paid us to be chauffeured around downtown Manhattan from spot to spot in a stretched limo. LMAO - It was pretty ridiculous.

you should throw the idea of doing "scooterz 2" at him with this big up roar were having. you seen it blow up n first scooter craze begin you had to put together a team of shredders. how did you find and put together the first scooter dream team.. that was "Razor team USA"

In the very beginning, I tried recruiting my friends that could skate or bike and were open-minded. Like me, they mostly struggled and learned tricks based on sheer determination. Gotta give props to these guys because they paved the way for a lot of what's going on now, but they ate a lot more shit doing it! John Wilkening, for example, did the first legit boardslide down a handrail (9 stair at the Brooklyn Banks) I ever saw on a scooter... but he did it based on brute force. I don't think much of anything we did back then had great style... we were just trying to land tricks no matter what it took. Then, after the product hit shelves and were in thousands of kids' hands, we started seeing the real talent emerge. Jason Fry was the first person I remember being a natural talent. His whole family showed up at one of our team practice sessions with a VHS of him riding and a TV and VCR Jerry-rigged in their minivan. I remember thinking it was weird, but as soon as I saw him ride, it was obvious he was on a different comfort level. After Jason, we met Jarret Reid, who took things up another notch. Unlike Jason, who had only ever ridden scooters, Jarret was seasoned rollerblader/biker/skateboarder/acrobat/stuntman/nut ball who was gnarly on just about anything you handed him. Jarret was able to combine his skills and craziness to significantly raise the bar on what could be done on a scooter. In addition to the first backflip and backflip variations ever, Jarret also was the first person to hit and flip a mega ramp on a scooter. Although we had had a number of riders come and go in the past, I'd say the first legit team we had was Jarret, Jason, John, and your boy.


cheers to all the og og bro's toughing it out to get er done properly, you guys definitely knew what you were doing. Ive noticed you are bringin back all the hype with phase two?


Yeah bro, Phase Two is awesome. Basically, the riders and I convinced Razor to create a completely separate brand that is focused only creating top quality parts for serious scooter riders, and then let us run it however we see best. Razor backs us financially, but leaves all the product design and brand management in our hands... which is basically every rider's dream. The result has been great for everyone involved: The riders now have creative control over the design and development of the products they ride (and get paid for it); Razor gets a new core focused sub-brand that is run by the experts in the field: the riders; and the industry gets a company focused on raising the bar with respect to product quality and performance as evidenced by innovations like John Radtke’s Dirt Scoot and the new 110 Spotlight deck. Everyone wins.

hell yee! i was getting tired of that B model profile getting reused over and over again. that dirt scooter really blew up tho dude! really shows you guys are not messing around. whats the current team line up?

In the U.S. our crew includes John Radtke, Big Ron, Tanner Markley, Jason Beggs, Ricky Wernicke, Michael Pytel, Trevor Navarre, Dustin Nooner, Jeremy Malott, and Austin Kuentz, as well as Danny Rambert and Cameron Ward on our Phase Two Dirt Team. In Europe the crew is O.G. Martin Kimball, his brother Graham, Lewis Crampton, Scott Higgs, and Finn Murphy. And in Australia the crew consists of Royce King, Zac Everingham, and Reece Alderton, with Phil Lagettie as T.M. Basically a small Army.

Noiicce!! Thats pre sick you guys are doing a dirt scoot team also. Cant go wrong with phil lagettie managing the auss team. Whats up with videos? Full length or wha?

As you know, we used to put out full length DVDs back in the RVM days, but those only came out once every year or two and often the clips were pretty dated by the time people saw the DVDs. As Youtube got bigger and Razor started wanting content to post, I saw an opportunity to benefit Razor, the riders, and myself. I started a video production company called Acoustic Productions, hired talented riders to help me film and edit videos, and now make weekly videos for Razor's various YouTube Channels including www.youtube.com/teamrazorworldwide and www.youtube.com/phasetwoscooters. Team Razor O.G. Ricky Wernicke is the main editor and my partner in crime at Acoustic.


I was always stoked on those! People always wrap interviews up with asking bout last words n such but what i want from you are those inspiring words you told me when i was younger looking for a sponsorship n what needed to be done.

Not sure what I told you back then, but my advice today would be to focus on having fun instead of getting sponsored. Focus on the stoke of landing a new trick and on the laughs you share with your homies. Focus on being yourself and developing your own style; your own way of expressing the art of riding. If you do all that well, you can never go wrong... sponsorship or not.

Sounds bout right. Thanks for everything man, Interview n all. You will always kill er n have that impact on the sport that i enjoyed back in the day.


-Peasley

Throwback Thursdays : Andrew Broussard Interview

Andrew is without doubt one of the founding fathers of the U.S. scooter scene.  Without him, riders wouldn't have been able to link up through S.R. forums and the scooter riding wouldn't be where it's at today.  I remember when I first visited Andrew he was working out of a small garage sized space just welding forks and bars on his own.  It's crazy to look back and see how far he's come.  Andrew is the epitome of rider owned companies. It's dudes like him that give me hope that the sport is heading in the right direction.

"Never Stop Creating"

• 
  
• Alright brohem, being one of the first rider owned companies in the industry, what drove you to start Proto? Give me the basics.
  
  
  My name is Andrew David Broussard. I was born on December 25, 1985 in San Diego, California where I still call home and I love riding scooters. 10 years ago, as a high school senior (January 2003), I launched a website called The Scooter Resource with the “if you build it they will come” force driving the project forward in a time in the sports history when riders were so few and far between that most people’s only interactions with other riders were through digital pictures and videos on the internet. It was my field of dreams, people came and nearly everything I have done in this industry/life over the last decade since has stemmed from “SR” and its success as one of the largest information resources for our sport. After the first few years riders became united and a strong community had formed around SR; a community that shared their desire for quality parts that were designed for the demands of freestyle riding as well as their hopes and dreams of a sport and an industry that did not exist. I had what I thought were great ideas and designs based on peoples requests and my own riding experiences but with very little manufacturing knowledge and no money it was an impossible task to see my visions realized. In the Summer of 2005 I got fired from my job, moved from San Diego, California to New Iberia, Louisiana and proceeded to work 84 hours a week on an oil drilling rig just outside the Gulf of Mexico for 6 months with the help of my family in Louisiana. I basically had nothing going for me except a dream that required money that no one in their right mind was going to give me to invest in an industry that didn’t technically exist. I moved back to San Diego at the end of 2005 with all the money I made in the oil field in the bank and began working a series of manufacturing jobs which taught me most of what I needed to know at the time to begin prototyping my designs. I started with forks because they were one of the weakest components and were one of the easiest parts to manufacture from a technical standpoint. I developed the first threadless fork and compression system now known as Inverted Compression System (ICS) under the brand “SR Parts” and sold them through the “SR Store”. Next were “BUFF” Bars using a BMX like stem and an interchangeable crossbar. As time progressed more companies came into the industry who I wanted to have equal opportunity through The Scooter Resource but having everything branded under the “SR” umbrella caused some conflicts so SR Parts were renamed PROTO scooters in 2008 and the SR Store became Freestyle Depot in 2010 effectively creating 3 totally separate operations; wholesale, retail and community.
  
  
  
  
  Holy shit, soo deep.
  
  
  Duh, what'd you think you were getting into.
  
  
  
  
  Well moving on then, when you started Proto, who were the original dudes on the team? how do you go about choosing who rides for Proto now?
  
  
  
  
  The first PROTO lineup from 2008 was actually a rebranded/merged combination of the SR "Pro" Team which consisted of Anthony "Twan" Bustos, Brandon Kilbury and Brian Murphy and the SR "Am" Team which consisted of Dylan Kasson, Elmer Ferreiras and Alex Steadman. In that order.  My general rule of thumb is not to sponsor anyone until I know them personally. I try to associate with people who have the same vision and passion for our industry which is something impossible to know until you really get to know a rider. When people talk about their teams being a "family" that sounds all fine and dandy to the kids reading it but the truth about PROTO is that these guys really are some of my closest friends beyond the business. They have all shown a level of dedication and passion for this sport and life that is hard to match. Though some of them have taken different paths away from PROTO for their own reasons, they were closer to me than most will ever be and I wish them well.
  
  
  
  
  So you guys are a completely USA made company, how do you feel about that and what are your thoughts on companies who get their parts done in china?
  
  
  I am very proud to say that PROTO components are 100% made in the USA but not because I think America is somehow superior, I am just against big business and globalization. I like to support my local industries because at the end of the day I can literally see the fruits of their labor as well as my own which makes it easy to sleep at night knowing I'm not supporting a society revolving around monetary slavery on the other side of the planet. I really can't stomach the thought of people making pennies on the dollar building something that they will never in their lifetime have the opportunity to ride and enjoy like we do. Don't get me wrong, places like China are completely capable of making high quality products but that is not why companies go there. They go to save money; money that I would have to spend on prescription medications to ease my conscience if I ever did such a thing. Unfortunately with the state of global affairs it is literally impossible for some people to support local brands that cannot exist where they are from but if you can you should because they very well could be employing your friends or family which directly effects the very community you live in on a daily basis.
  
  
  
  
  How do you view the sport being involved as a both a rider/owner? Has running Proto cut out your time to ride? What keeps the fire burning?
  
  
  Sometimes I wish I could walk away from the business and ride just for the sake of riding but I am from an older generation of riders who never had that opportunity or luxury. My goal, since the day I committed to it, has always been to ride the best parts possible for as long as possible and the only way to really do that is to be the boss designing everything so that’s what I did. What I didn’t know when I signed up was the amount of stress and responsibility that go along with the territory. Business has definitely taken its toll on my riding. I haven’t progressed much technically in years because I don’t have the time or energy to keep up with all the new “tricks” kids are doing these days but I was always part of the “go big” mindset anyways. When I do find time to ride I try to push my own limits by going faster, higher and farther. Before I attempt anything gnarlier than the last I get the most pure clear headed terrifyingly addictive sense of euphoria which is what keeps me coming back for more!
  
  
  
  
  You lot are the only team to release two full length videos on DVD, Is there a specific reason why you guys don't just do web edits? Why do you guys prefer DVD's??
  
  
  
  
  All full length films are made to tell a story or to document events and translate the feelings and emotions of them to the viewer. When I make a movie I try to document not only the individual riders’ personality, style and dedication but also the way we actually interact as a team. I do my best to tell a visual story about all these things in the hopes of conveying to the viewer what it was like to be there and the process it took to get there while giving insight on each rider and the team/company as a whole showing why we operate the way we do in our never ending hunt for the next best spot and the journey we take to find them. None of these things are possible with a web edit. Web edits, at best, are good for getting recognized by a potential sponsor or a good promotional outlet for dumping B footy. Web edits, in general, are quick and easy to make and are just as quick and easy to forget. When a company actually takes the time to plan, prepare and execute a full length movie it really speaks of their level of dedication to the sport and will never be forgotten. I have dedicated my life to enhancing every facet of this industry and I want that to be undeniable by the quality of the films we produce.
  
  
  I remember when we spoke before the release of Armageddon you said you probably wouldn't have your own part, but then you turned out having one of the gnarliest part's in the video. What was going through your head during the backyard set up? How long did it take to nail your hammer?
  
  
  
  
  I pretty much work all the time. I’m a slave to a business I created and love but going into it I never realized how much of my time it was going to consume and how much it was going to deprive my ability to ride. After we finished Catalyst and I finished touring with Nitro Circus Live the industry was really starting to blossom and the business required my undivided attention which took me away from riding and filming which was about the time I started wondering if I was ever going to be able to finish another video part. I finally came to my senses and realized that I cannot tout the rider owned flag if I’m not out there doing what I set out to do; ride. That realization came about 9 months before the Armageddon premiere which was a fraction of the amount of time I had to film for Catalyst then to top it off, on Sunday, April 1, 2012, I decided to start filming again and broke my hand warming up. No joke. I lost another 3 months rehabilitating my hand and arm which really made me second guess if a full video part was even possible but with 6 months left to go I figured there was only one way to find out. I went on every filming trip until the video was complete, which is the only time I can focus 100% on riding and filming when I’m away from the business with the exception of my back yard Baby Mega. I started construction on that ramp in the Summer of 2003 after I watched Danny Way’s part in the DC video and it has since undergone many renovations and additions. I had joked about flipping into the rollin for awhile then with about a month until the Armageddon deadline I realized that all the other potential enders I had in mind I just wasn’t physically/mentally ready for so things on the backyard ramp got real serious. I talked Josh Young and Chema Cardenas into putting in a couple late nights with me building another rollin and kicker into the big rollin then with a week to go until the filming deadline we rented a boom lift to get the epic aerial angles and I started throwing myself off the roof. It took me 4 days, a lot of close calls and a purple body to work my way up to sticking that clip. It was easily the hardest I have ever worked for a single clip. I had originally intended to try a lot more on that setup but I literally ran out of time before the video so that is just going to have to wait for my next web edit…
  
  
  
  
  So seeing as you're a founding father of this sport with S.R. and whatnot, what do you see in the future of the sport? Where do you see Proto in the coming years?
  
  
  
  
  I really think our sport and industry have limitless potential to grow. My only real concern is with the sport growing too quickly without a solid rider driven foundation backing it which is something that we do not currently have. We have grown so quickly in the last few years but not because riders are getting involved with the industry but because business men and investors see a potential gold mine and are dumping small fortunes into it which is great for growth but also has the ability to usher in a total collapse. I would really love to see more riders starting companies and fighting the good fight for the future of our sport because if we ever fall on hard times the big profit companies will pull out and only the core will remain which is where we need our strength. If you have the opportunity to support a rider owned operation just consider the future of your sport and it should be an easy decision to make. As for PROTO I don’t see anything changing. We are going to keep riding, filming, innovating and seeking like minded individuals who fit the PROTO mold. Whatever successes or failures we experience in the future just go with the territory. We are in it for the long haul.
  
  
  In your words, how do you define Proto? if some dude came up to you and asked what are you guys all about, what's the image you'd want to portray?
  
  
  Obviously PROTO started as a scooter company but really it represents a mindset that drives us forward. The name itself is literally short for “prototype” which in essence means it can never be complete because it is forever evolving in a new direction. Whatever we are today, we are not. Whatever you see is merely a stepping stone for the next level of progression and the only way to see it through to completion is with persistence, determination, dedication and passion… even though it is impossible for it to ever be complete because there is always something bigger and better ahead of you.
  
  
  
  
  Damn that was beautiful. Thanks man, really appreciate it.
  
  
  - McKeen

Parrish 4 Basic Bunch

Parrish comes from an area where you wouldn't consider finding anywhere to ride. Many of us take it for granted that we have an unlimited supply of spots and nice parks to shred on the regular. It shows true dedication when you can make an edit out of spots that most riders wouldn't even take a second glance at. This is an edit Parrish threw together for the Basic Bunch, loving the chill lofi vibes.

- McKeen

Trendkill joins DoggScooters!

Doggscooters has decided to come out with a "news" feature on their website as another outlet for riders to access articles, videos, photos, & everything else you could think of in the scoota world.  From now on we'll be contributing to this site with our own section. Check it out at www.doggscooters.com/news and go on the facebook to enter in the free Proto/Ethic give away.

Tobias Mayer: Part & Interview

I just met Toby a couple months ago at the Montreux Contest, even though he didn't enter this dude was shredding harder than most of the riders there.  He loves his BEEER but can still get up and kill it the next day, hungover or not.  

Iiight Toby so how old are you? and what got you into riding?

I'm 16 years old and my older brother and my homie George have been riding on the skatepark back in the day and then they just brought me to the skatepark one day since that day I became in love with scootering.

Haha siick, so what's the scooter scene like in Austria?

Daamn it's growing but people are addicted to that flyout game.

You told me that you dropped out of school, what do you with your time besides ride scooters and drink BEEER?

Drinking more beer ahah no I am training as a metal worker that means I'll be a skilled metal worker in three years.

That's radd, so you gonna make some scoota parts?

I dunno, I was thinking about bars but I think asians can do better haha

Hahaha what's your favorite kind of BEEER?

Definitely Austrian and German beer!

What's next for you?

Going on an Austrian trip with the Austrian crew and then going to Copenhagen and Scoot Fest.  And hopefully back to America asap

Fuck yeah, that's what I like to hear.  Any shouts you wanna give?

Thanks to Stephan, G, FT, Max, Johan Grunwalk and Blaqe and for sure thanks to you matt for editing! And thanks to BEER

Check out Toby's part if you haven't already then go out n shred cause it's still the weekend sen


- McKeen

Point & Shoot with Tyler Wheeland

In this new age of technology there are few among us who properly take photos anymore.  Most of the photos we see are shot from someone's iphone, accompanied with some artsy filter or hashtags, and are lost in the void of social media.  It's refreshing when people make the effort to carry a real camera with them.  Tyler Wheeland still manages to bring a small point and shoot camera along on his riding trips.  These photos aren't necessarily spectacular but it gives you a look into the lifestyle of riding.  It gets me stoked to see what people are up to outside of all the contests and other bullshit.  Here's some photos from Tyler's trip to Paris back in May.

"I was fortunate enough to take a three week trip to Paris for the Jam. I brought my little point and shoot along with like 10 rolls of film. Heres are some of the results." 

This is Rob. The owner of Unfair. He was skitching cars and motorcycles at every given opportunity one night. I thought he was drinking with the rest of us but turns out he was completely sober, what a dude. 

This was during the end of the trip and Ralph was stressin' He had just lost an hour and a half battle with a trick and was taking a much needed rest.

Georgie doesn't like cops. 

Blake was sent to Paris so he could film a little video part for Lucky and gather content. He managed to get one clip at the Dissidence warehouse, tear a ligament trying to bunny hop the Bercy 5 block and drink a whole lot of alcohol. 

Riding with the Unfair crew was one of the highlights of the trip. A bunch of awesome dudes. 

Matt was shocked that Ralph and I didn't know how to sit on our handlebars and demonstrated for us after the first day of the jam.

I always manage to get rad photos of Ralph, one day he'll be on the cover of GQ. HA 

This was probably the coldest day in Paris and Balthazar scootered all day while Greg and I sat around and waited for the night.

This was the main crew for most of the trip.

We slept in one morning and met up with the crew later in the day. Upon rolling up we saw paramedics and apparently Jack half cab head bonked a sharp fence. He was bandaged up and cruising the streets later that day. 

Greg instagramming the Louvre and a couple taking their wedding photos. It was wild how many Asian couples I saw taking wedding photos at historic landmarks around Paris. 

I stayed at Sebastian’s flat for most of the trip with Hep, Travis House and Ralph. He had this rad little patio outside and we would go there at night to drink beers and listen to jazz.

"I think those photos summed up my trip pretty well. I shot a ton more that will probably end up on my tumblr or something. Thanks to Collin from Tilt for always coming through clutch."

- Twhee

Yara Haynes : Dissidence Promo & Interview

I met Yara last winter through Hep Greg & Logan Fuller when I came out to visit NYC for a weekend. He's relatively new to scene but you'll be hearing his name a lot more often. Yara's another rider who's got a style that's unmatched and he goes hard at every spot he encounters. Yara spent the last week in Philly with us. We got some photos and did a little interview. Peep the vid & enjoy!

How did you get into riding and what influences the way you ride?

Basically I always used to skate alot and ride bikes and one day saw my friend do a tailwhip and that just blew my mind. What influenced me was living in NYC streets so all I did the 1st year of riding was just jumping stairs all day and got comfortable wit just jumping before I did a tail whip. Also watching a lot of scooter videos influences me cause I didn't know there was a whole world of this going on so I just decide to stay wit somthing different than others









.

Alright so where about are you from in nyc? & who you ride with?










I'm from Bronx, New York and the first person I ever rode wit was Liam Gutowski my friend from the neighborhood






You hit a lotta fat gaps so why the hell do you ride 100s?











Cause I like 
being low to the ground. That's the first size I rode
 so ima stick wit what I'm comfortable.

Ight what’s your favorite thing about riding in NYC and the worst?






 




My favorite thing about the city is there are sooo many locations to chose from street and parks from the 5 boros, but the worst thing is that there’s a lot of cops angry people. It’s over populated almost everywhere which makes it hard to get footy.











How did you get the hook up through dissidence?











Cyrille from dissidence hit me up after filming some clips from the trip I took to philly and basically just sent me a complete no questions asked. Told me to make a PROMO so here we are now ;)

What’s next for you?

Probably do some traveling. I would love to ride CALI
 and go to FRANCE and go to a dissidence jam. Also I wanna keep making videos now that I got a new cam.

Any shout outs you wanna give to yo boys?

LIAM, Rayvon, and Greg for bringing me out there cause if didn’t know him I probably wouldn’t be getting hooked up




. Shout out to scooyork, everyone that rides in the city and everywhere. Aight 
thats it?











Yeah you want another question?











sure











why ya such a goon?











NYC MAN, IT DOES IT











- McKeen

A Sermon for Sunday

Scoot Nation writer/contributor Joshua Rochelle-Bates sent us an old article from Issue #9 with some words of wisdom that we think that many riders still need to read. Worth checkin out specially, if you live in the UK!

Scootering as a sport and industry in the past 3-4 years has developed very fast, with new companies and new riders joining the sport every day. The sport is almost at mainstream status, which means companies are pressuring people more to ride harder than ever before both for comps and media coverage. This pressure is being put on riders everywhere and affects almost everyone to the point of constant competition being seen both at events and public skate parks. As well as having negative effects socially, riding styles as a whole are being heavily influenced by the pressure companies are putting on the sport.

         
People now feel pressure to learn certain tricks by both companies, and the riding community and as a result of this most kids coming into the sport now are more or less the same. I think it is safe to say that at almost every competition, public skate park, or riding event there are going to be those that are doing footless rewinds, backflips, briflips or flairs, either on quarter/half pipes or on/over a box. 
Mainstreaming is causing riding to be seen as an obligation rather than something you can express yourself or be unique with. Across all action sports, riding is seen as a form of self-expression or a gateway to creativity. 
There is a spectrum to riding that I have noticed in recent years, and that is tricks being on one end and style being on the other. Scootering as a sport seems to be solely at the ‘let’s learn loads and loads of tricks that everyone else is doing so we look good’ side of the spectrum. A good rider can match the tricks he has with a sense of style or creativity, something that can make them selves different to everyone else. Most riders that are respected and revered in the sport are those that push the boundary in style and creativity, not because they can footjam.


Before you can even conceive about getting your own style, riders must ask themselves why they are in the sport in the first place, if you find yourself answering the question by saying ‘because I want to be sponsored’ or ‘I want to be famous’ then you shouldn’t be bothering at all. Riding is about creativity and self-expression. The music industry mirrors this very closely. Bands/artists that conform or do what everyone else is doing aren’t the ones that you remember or listen to. Riding is the same in every respect, the guys that do something different or have their own influences to both their tricks and styles are the ones that are sponsored and are also the ones that more people respect.


Every action sport ever conceived has the aim of conquering an obstacle. Whether it be riding something not conceived of before, or throwing a certain trick off something else. The more creative riders are able to take their tricks and do them off anything that is in front of them, whether it is park or street. The guys that ride the same obstacles and do the same tricks are the guys that when you ride a new obstacle can’t do anything at all. This is for both park AND street riders, despite street giving you more opportunities to be creative and different. I think it is really important to highlight at this stage that being creative doesn’t mean you have to ride street to do it, skateboarding and BMX have shown us that it is still possible to push the boundaries of park riding by interpreting a course or set up in a certain way and hitting it with different ideas on what can be done. I hate how some scooter riders approach sessions as a chance to show off or use it as an opportunity to get ‘sweaty’ from trying to land bangers all the time, whilst at the same time talking to no one and having their earphones in the whole time they ride. These ignorant riders personify what I hate about Scootering, they lack style, creativity and are generally un-cool to ride or speak to. The sad truth is that the number of these ‘sweaters’ are beginning to rise up in numbers which makes me sad, riding is about getting together and having a laugh, not about trying to show off and to be ignorant to everyone else on the park.


Riding to me is so much more enjoyable when I am with a few of my mates, riding a certain set up or obstacle and seeing what their perception on the set up is and seeing what lines and tricks they can pull out of it. To me, I don’t think there is a ‘best’ rider, which is why I disagree with all these competitions and events that try and find ‘the best’ rider. Riding is too broad to be narrowed down to one person being the best at everything, EVERYONE is good at something, and EVERYONE has a different style, no matter what any company tells you. Riders that play off their strengths and are influenced by the area, culture, music they listen to, the riders they individually admire and the people around them are the riders I find a lot more interesting to watch and are also the riders I tend to respect more than the ‘let’s do a gazillion tail whips/lets land a world first because I want to get money’ sort of people.
 Riders that lead rather than follow are the riders that have the capacity to be creative and stylish.


The final piece of wisdom I can give, is the fact that you should never allow to let yourself be pressure into doing a trick, whether it be by your mate or a company, because at the end of the day you want to be able to distinguish yourself from everyone else, and by doing that, you learn the tricks that you want to, not what everyone else is doing.

- Joshua Rochelle-Bates

5 Trick Fix with Alex Peasley

Peasleys friend wanted to try his hand of filming to get a hang of it, soo why not do a 5 trick fix to push him into the dark waters! here ya go Peasley's 5 trick fix.

Basic Bunch in NYC

The Basic Bunch came together for a trip in NYC last week & stopped in Philly for a day.  Here's the end result, with some classic Big L.  These boys are doing it right, holdin down the east coast for sure.

- McKeen