RTFM

Struggling man

This week of course was marked by the earth-shaking news of Eric Koston’s abrupt coop-flying from Lakai, a major departure from the usual team moves (for instance, Koston’s migration to Lakai only three short years ago) that are telegraphed months in advance by whimsically named personalities on the SLAP board. That Frost Man, with a Berrics/4-Star/Koston shoe company out of Podium apparently ruled out, is reported to be making the most of playing the footwear field amid talk of Nike and Vans shopping sprees. With the most likely scenario (at least in our limited imaginations here at BTO) being that Koston fell on the financial sword for his erstwhile partners in the Flare, taking his sizable paycheck off the table to let Lakai live in the means to which it has become accustomed despite a crushing economic downturn, this may be the last great deal Koston does, so why not grab the brass ring? One has to wonder if he watches Donny’s final, fatal missed strike and, hours later, wakes up sweating and tormented by visions of fakie 360 flip switch frontside boardslides and the damning realization that nothing is forever… before easing back into his giant pile of money and snuggling amongst his several comely concubines.

But yet, that wasn’t THE most shocking bit of recent news, nor was it this bit of batty boarding courtesy of Chris Cole, Pennsylvanian Barbarian. (via the Plat)

No no, it is the fact that the skate video project that dare not speak its name may indeed become a reality: Tactical Manual 2 is apparently in the works and will include a full Tyrone Olson part. Now, if you don’t remember Tactical Manual there isn’t much hope or help for you on the internet, except for Snyderman’s part on youtube along with another dude twirling a dolphin flip down some stairs. However, it is still available on VHS. I wonder if VCRs are like rotary-dial phones to “kids today.”

Working For the Weekend

Ain’t trickin if you got it

If I had a nickel for every skateboarder done wrong by the industry I could probably save deck merchants from the scourge of blank boards, bail out PacSun and have enough left over to take Dave Duncan and Fred Gall out for buffalo wings (not even on 5 cent night). However, on rare instances I get to wondering what’s lost when the industry effectively closes the door on some former hot shoe’s career, for what are usually pretty subjective reasons. The fickle tides of footwear choice and waistlines, etc.

I got thinking on this recently when two Wisco boys, Brian Emmers and Aaron Snyder, popped up in various media via The Skateboard Mag – Emmers with the pic above in the photo issue and Snyder with this “Mag Minute” video feature a couple weeks ago. While as far as I know neither one’s got any kind of major-league sponsors backing them right now, both clearly remain ready and willing to skate up to and possibly beyond current standards. Which is cool from a soul-brah-pure-love-of-skateboarding perspective of course and interesting as far as their willingness to continue pushing their personal trick envelopes.

I’m still a fan of Brian Emmers’ part in Plan B’s “Revolution” and remember being blown away by the nollie cab backside lipslide shove-it out, which still isn’t a trick you see done much at all today. Aside from some stylistic quibbles the part holds up pretty well, as does his contribution to the rag-tag group of misfits Evol video, which anticipates the rise of Brian Wenning minus the Yosiris ender. The question on my mind: in an age where camera-ready park pros wax poetic on their frontside feeble grinds, would Emmers’ “respect the skills” transgression still get him drummed out of the industry?

Likewise, when dudes up to and including a skater of the year can get away with fudging a sequence and Photoshopping is par for the course, you wonder whether Aaron Snyder’s fiasco with the Big Brother sequence would be such a big deal. Spilled milk aside, the dude hasn’t lost many steps with the TSM clip. His last two tricks are genuinely insane.