While you were hibernating this winter...

Rob Mentov and the Street Feet crew were out skating the whole time. I met up with them on a  couple of nights and we shot some photos while they were filming their newest feature "Equinox." The full feature can be seen when you follow the link below and it is well worth it. Enjoy another solid delivery from Mr. Mentov!

Equinox

Heavy contemplation on a very chilly night.

Scott, ollie onto the ice.

Ah yes, that pivotal moment when your skateboard

becomes a shovel. This doesn't happen too often.

Scott, 5-0.

Cruising on through.

Firsts

I'd have to say that one of the best parts to having my photos published in skateboard magazines is collaborating with my best friends and seeing their efforts come out in print. There can be days when it seems way easier just to focus your board, quit and take the walk of shame home but the days (or nights, in this case) that really shine through are when the session is a total success, celebrated with high fives and more often than not, victory beers.

In the newest issue of SBC Skateboard, Scott and I managed to get our first photo run together, and nothing really beats that feeling. We've both been out making the effort for a while so when things like this happen you can bet your ass that it feels good.

Here's to the first and not our last, my friend.

Backside 5050

The Forumla

The idea of trying to start and maintain a career in skateboarding is a daunting one. While we claim that there are "no rules" in skateboarding, we all know this is laughable and that bullshit cliques, fads and other weird trends run the show. If you don't cuff your jeans right, don't skate a certain way or don't vibe with certain people, the lights on your dreams and passions can easily be turned out by someone else with nothing but a piss-poor excuse.

The subject, Kevin Lowry, in this case, seems to have figured out the formula and is "doing it right" in skateboarding. As if style, speed and well thought-out skateboarding wasn't enough, Kevin manages to make it into just about every video ranging from different parts of the world including China, France, the UK, Canada and heavy coverage from the U.S.

What inspired this blog post on a chilly winter day? The answer can be found in Kevin's most recent video part below. Enjoy.

Smooth Operator

Al just dropped a pretty hefty clip for Habitat Footwear. I suppose these web parts are now the way to do skate videos but I can't help but trip out on the fact that such good skating goes straight to web, is forgotten days later and essentially wasted. Don't get me wrong, this was easily one of the better web parts I've watched in a while, but the whole motion of getting video parts out faster and more often just makes skateboarding so saturated and stale.

This video on the other hand is an excellent example of why speed, control, spot selection and style all matter. Well done Al.

Al, switch ollie in the rain.

                   

Back on Board

Plagued by injury after injury, Cephas went under the knife about four months ago to get his ankle fixed up. After a heavy chilling period that probably consisted of lots of Youtube skate videos, the homie is finally back on board skating. The other day the sun was out in full effect so we happened to snap a photo. Good to see you back skating buddy!

BTL-troit

Recently I got the chance to jump in the van with some of the Blue Tile Lounge guys and show them around Detroit. We met street people, saw a few(only a few) abandoned buildings and ate next level Mexican food. Check 'er out!

Cory Wozney, front blunt.

David putting on for the skateboarders. This guy is deaf

and the only legitimate street person I give money to down there

Don't be afraid to do the same or buy a chocolate bar off the dude.

Heavy ditch duty in Windsor. Ahhh camradery...

Mortal, switch backside nosegrind.

Pat, frontside tailslide to ditchwater bath(not pictured)

More good times in Detroit? Weird huh...

Scoot

Scott moved home for the summer and over the course of three months Kitchener locals had never seen anyone so motivated to go out, skateboard in the streets and get some shit done. The result? A solid three minutes of footage.

Frontside Heelflip

Estivate, filmed by Zac Elik.

 Keep your eyes peeled when the next issue of Kingshit drops. Now for the love of God, put down that bong and go skate!

Find Colin

The 2012 late summer issue of SBC is out and my boy Colin Findlater has a feature interview in  there. Colin did tricks, Sam Fidlin shot the photos and I asked him questions. Besides that, Adam Hopkins and Dan Redmond also have some pretty epic features in there. Check it!

Colin, crooked grind. This didn't make the cut

because Colin one-upped himself for the issue.

Few Words

What can I say? It's been a busy summer.

Now now, don't get all weird on me and assume I've been slacking on shooting just as much as I have been with this blog, that simply isn't the case. I've just been a little pre-occupied by skateboarding and some road-trips peppered in here and there. That, my friends, is a bonus for you. See below.

Tony Gomez, frontside lip.

Jim Tumey, ollie-wallie.

Bryan Wherry

Scott Varney has been in Kitchener and RIPPING.

Keep your eyes peeled, more from this cat soon.

I went to Cleveland and Tony did this back smith.

Style.

I went on an epic road trip out east and skated for 15

minutes. This is a photo with a bunch of fog in it.

Have you seen the new STYD site? Better check it out....

Posse Large

Judging by the harsh sun burns I've been getting every weekend it appears that mother nature and her sun are back in full force. That being said, the posses we've been rolling with have been pretty deep these days. Feels rad to get out when a gang of homies are there to let the good times roll.

Ahhh...skateboarders. Nothing like hanging out
in the scummiest parts of Windsor.

Mack, ollie over lipslide to 5-0. Homebwaye has been
hungry lately.

Essentials

BUSE!!! Frontside boardslide.

If you get it, you just get it.

Being a huge fan of Jake Johnson I went out of my way to purchase the new cinematographer issue put out by Transworld. It's been forever since I bought a Transworld but after gracing my tv with a part in Mindfield I was an instant fan. For a couple years there was a serious lack of Jake Johnson coverage due to a pretty bad injury so I was pretty damn hyped when I heard he was going pro because I knew his stuff wouldn't disappoint. As you'll see and read below, the dude is so on point with what is happening in skateboarding now. I've never read an interview before and felt like I could directly relate to the dude beyond the piece of wood they were riding. For the first time in a long time a skate magazine(Transworld, at that) has come out with some super solid content which I've posted below and encourage everyone to read. Don't be afraid to read Gilbert's interview either, that dude is just as on point with all the fuckery going on in skateboarding lately.


Click the photos to enlarge. Blogger isn't being too friendly with the size of the photos.

*Disclaimer: Don't be stupid, I didn't shoot any of these photos. I can only hope for the day Jake Johnson graces the front of my camera.

Pryme Time

Sometimes the memories that flood into your brain by simply looking at a photo can be amazing.

On this crisp fall day Mr. Pryma happened to be on his game and ready to battle with all sorts of rugged spots(which you'll be seeing in the future). After checking out spots all day, everyone decided that the Scarborough train track gap would be the last spot of the day. Thanks to good ol' daylight savings time kicking in the night before, the amount of sunlight we had was diminishing quickly. No sun? No problem. Mitch's random bursts of motivation proved once again that almost anything can happen....as long as he wants it to.

In his words, "Well I haven't done one of these in a while so I guess it's cool, right?"

Nollie backside flip.

21

If you know me you know that I'll use just about any excuse to make a Detroit trip happen. This case is no different. Being that I turned 21 recently I thought it'd be great to flex my legality in the U.S.A. and see what it feels like to be able to buy six 4Loko's at once. It felt alright but the skateboarding we did still felt better.

Adam, ollie to fakie on a spot that isn't.

You know those dudes with the quick

feet who can somehow land anything

no matter how awkward the spot/trick

is? Yeah...Adam, front shove to fakie.

T-Bird. He would probably be

bummed if I told everyone how much

he uses the word "SWAG".

Johnny, back smith.

Duke, switch front smeeth.

Winter Nights

It's no secret that Southern Ontario's winter has been unseasonably kind to us. Scott is a Kitchener to Toronto transplant and has been taking full advantage of the dry and actually-kind-of warm weather downtown in the big city. Check the video below for some goods from Scott, Jay Brown, John Lennie and more. Filmed by Rob Mentov.

Scott Varney - Winter Nights from Rob Bob on Vimeo.

The Beast

I miss skating with this buddy.

Beaster, frontside boardslide.

Style.

Redstar in Detroit

Near the end of the summer I trekked off to Detroit with the Redstar guys for a solid three days of skating. If you haven't got yourself a copy of the new issue then head over to the Concrete site and check out our article in full by clicking here. Enjoy!

Red Star: Dysfunctional in Detroit from Concrete Skateboarding on Vimeo.

What do you want to be when you grow up?

When I'm 35 with a wife and a child, I want to be able to shred just as hard and just as often as my buddy.

Next time some dude gives you that age old excuse, "Well I had to quit because I got a girlfriend/job." you can call them out for half-stepping because Mr. Jamie Jeffery does it all and then some as seen below in his new video part.

Nosegrind.

Bluntslide to fakie.

Feeble jump-over.

Thanks for the inspiration dawg!

Style and Grace

Although sequences are neither stylish or graceful, the subject in this case, is.

Joel, switch flip manual.

Slappy noseslides!

Have you seen the Labour of Love trailer yet? Better get a copy...

Annual Heartbreak

Well, it snowed today and some of it managed to stick around which means the annual heartbreak is here to stay. Anyways, here's some goodies that I logged over the happier times(also known as summer).

Will Marshall, switch inward heelflip.

Paul Machnau, wallride.

Jesse Brown, hardflip.

Josh Clark, fakie ollie.

J-S Lapierre, noseblunt.

Mikey Plantus, frontside flip.

Kevin Skutnik, ollie into the bank.

Those should keep you warm until you leave your house next.