Anthony P’s Greatest Hits

TKO

Aside from a blockbusting line from Guru Khalsa, the simple pleasures of a Kenny Anderson backside 180 on flat, and assorted rippage from the likes of Vincent Alvarez, Silas Baxter-Neal and Dan Drehobl, what jumped out at me most about the new Elwood promo was Anthony Pappalardo’s continued devolution in terms of trick selection: three clips, five tricks, all ollies. Disregarding the more technical stuff in his Fully Flared section, up to and including what was probably the scorchingest backside tailslide I’ve seen in many a moon, let’s go ahead and wantonly extrapolate from this new APO footage what future direction his skating might take.

Comparisons to a Puleo-esque career arc have been made for some time now but I see another influence at work: none other than New Jersey’s warrior poet, Mike V. Morose loners both, raised in flannel and East Coast winters, disgruntled with the skate industry–might we see a part’s worth of eyes-to-the-ground pacing, purposeful pushing through urban climes and silhouetted rolling in the upcoming Chocolate feature? This is just one vision of Pappalardo’s future. I can think of more, involving slam poetry, backyard wrestling and bearded punk-metal, or a wild and shirtless combination of such elements. If he starts farming his hair, bulking up and whaling on security guards, you all owe me $10.

Tags: Anthony Pappalardo, Elwood, Mark Mothersbaugh, Mike Vallely, pro wrestling, the enduring legacy of Alan Gelfand