After Levi’s and MOCA’s Skate Video event (which you can read about here), I was able to catch up with host Patrick O’Dell for a quick chat about life, the universe, and skating. In case you don’t know, O’Dell is the creator and host of VBS TV’s superlative series Epicly Later’d, where O’Dell links up with some of skating’s best youth (past & present) to find out exactly where their careers went, and what life holds for them and other profound shizz like that. Here’s what he had to say.

How much in conjunction with the Art in the Streets thing is [Skate Video Night] supposed to be?

O’Dell: It’s in conjunction a little bit. They brought it to me and yeah, I called Aaron Rose (Beautiful Losers) who curated Art in the Streets just to make sure. I mean it’s a part of it, but it’s not like Aaron Rose or Jefferey Deitch (related)… Jeffrey I don’t think is coming and Aaron is not … I mean he is coming but it’s not like… The show is the show it’s just an event to do something else. But, I feel like it’s cool because even the more I thought about the title Art in the Streets, I feel like that’s what a skate video is, so, it feels super connected to me even though it has nothing to do with graffiti culture.

What reaction do you think you will get from people in the crowd?

O’Dell: I don’t know, I mean I hope they enjoy it. I would enjoy if I was not me and was just sitting there, I’d be like, ‘This is sweet- skate videos;’ but then I look at the list and it’s like people’s girlfriends and like some random person that’s maybe coming in cause they’re siked on Spike’s (Jonze) movies, cause in the New York one, I remember when we went to questions, one was like about Where the Wild Things Are. I mean, that’s cool but a part of me was like ‘Whoa, there aren’t that many skaters here.’ I like the mix because you don’t always want to preach to the choir and I feel like I made at least a good introductory course to skate videos. I definitely don’t think it’s any kind of definitive history; a lot of people are like ‘You should have this and this and this person and not this person.’ It just is what it is.

Well it’s pretty damn close; You have some really big names…
O’Dell: But, I mean you could always have more. When I was editing the clips I would lay there at night and be like ‘Fuck! I didn’t put in you know, some video and I could just imagine someone watching and saying ‘Where’s Static 3, my favorite video?’

Is there anyone not on the panel that you wish you had?

O’Dell: I asked Jamie Thomas and he couldn’t make it. I thought that would be sweet because I think the Zero videos changed skating and started with Welcome to Hell. So I asked Jamie and he was just too busy. I would really love Mark Gonzales again but like I said, he is in Europe or whatever. We kind of moved the date for when Spike could do it and when we got Spike nailed in it was kind of like whatever else falls into place… He is super busy and like a miracle to get him. He said ‘I’ll be in LA these 3 days. We called the Vista, they said good so…

I always wondered what it was like for a bunch of skaters to go out filming with Spike Jonze because he is so well known (now), do you ever think about it that way?

O’Dell: I do, well, when I started working for VBS, he was the creative director and a couple weeks into it I met him and I was kind of mind blown not because of Being John Malkovich or the films but because of the skating; for me, even more his videos and photography. So, when he was shooting Guy Mariano and Gonz and had all the best people, we were tripping out: ‘Like this guy only shoots with my favorite skaters.’ I had so many pictures of his on the wall that I could just identify like some Jeremy Klein sequence; so I got really star struck not in like a ‘He’s famous’ kind of way but in a ‘This is the guy that made these movies’ way.

Talk about VBS and how Epicly Later’d is doing.

O’Dell: Josh Kalis was the most recent one; the next one is Brandon Westgate. I’m trying to do young (but) I mean sometimes I fall into ruts where it’s like, ‘I’ll do one guy and then get his friends that go ‘Dude, do me.’ I like there to be a little continuity, but with Westgate I was just like ‘This is the best guy out now’ like Dylan Rieder- this is what it’s like to be the best guy out now.

Epicly Later’d is all you right?

O’Dell: Yeah, I don’t edit it; we have some really sweet editors. I film it; sometimes stuff gets through that I don’t film, like if it’s somebody in New York and I’m not in there. I have a team in New York with really talented people and they do more than I do. Once I film it, the tapes get Fed Ex’d to VBS and Lauren S., Chris Grosso and Eileen Kennedy they put it together. I get to watch previews but I’m not slaving away on Final Cut. They always do a good job; I might have one or two changes but usually it will come in and I’ll just be like ‘Sweet, load it up.’

Whenever they show a post-apocalyptic world in which children are the last people remaining it’s always so dark. The kids have either turned on each other, resorting to cannibalism or some such things, or perhaps have enslaved any adult hangers-on, or have somehow stratified themselves into tribal hierarchies that usually end with the nice kid with glasses getting killed. That’s definitely not how it would go down.

I imagine kids would just skate around and throw water balloons at each other. And smoke mad weed and eat animal-style Double Double’s from In-N-Out before they expired then download a shitload of music from torrents without fear of legal repercussion because young kids are fucking good at technology these days. Anyway, check out this video that one of our streetwear affiliates in Malaysia, The Push, sent over of their skate team (fitted out with Mishka pom-pom hats) having a mounted water balloon fight. Now I am become water balloons, destroyer of hairstyles and temporary tattoos.

OK, so I don’t know about you guys but I believe transition skateboarding still plays a big role in today’s skate culture. Sure, street skate is where the money is at right now, but whenever I see young kids ripping it up at local skate parks I definitely see more passion in them than I do from a 16-year-old trying to get sponsored by one of those shops on Melrose and Fairfax here in LA.

A couple of weeks ago my friend told me there was going to be an indoor skate demo in his shop. I didn’t even ask what team was gonna be there I just showed up with a camera. Within a couple of minutes it became apparent that I was in for one of the sickest skate sessions in a while. No kidding, the energy from these kids was so intense.

First up to take to the mini ramp was Kai who has been taking part in some of the biggest “under 12-year-old” competitions this year. He was on the last “King of the Groms” competition and finished 8th overall. not bad considering he had only been skating for four months at the time.

Next up was Spencer. I had heard of her before but never actually saw footage of her skating. she’s pretty rad; she killed it! great job reppin’ all the chicks spencer!!

Curtis Croll is also new to the game but you wouldn’t be able to tell if you saw him skate. He was the youngest of all the kids that were there, but that didn’t keep him from showing everyone what’s up. He totally ripped it up that day.

Evan, the oldest of all the kids that were there, has been skating for a few years. He’s been featured on TV programs like Ripley’s believe it or not, and is credited as the “youngest skateboarder in the world.” He has his share of awards and titles in the world of vert and somehow hasn’t been corrupted by major sponsors and all that stuff that comes along with his kind of talent.

Finally Asher took to the half-pipe, and well, where do I start with this kid? Simply put, Asher is killing it by winning his age group in every competition he is part of. 2nd place usually comes in 20-30 points behind Asher. From different companies wanting to sponsor him to local news wanting to feature him on their broadcasts. I’m glad that he is doing so well at such a young age. I mean, he’s young and all, but you can already tell he will be huge when he gets older just from watching some of his videos.

A big shout out to Heidi Lemmon, manager of  Termite Skate team, for putting these kind of events together, allowing for all these kids to have fun and just enjoy being kids! Thanks Heidi!!

Мишка x Ellen Stagg x Kristen Pyles Skate Deck ($50.00)

You all remember this photo right? It’s testament enough to the power of the images (and the twin forces of nature contained within) that the words “lookbook Kristen” have fully integrated themselves into the vernacular of Мишка’s extended family and fans. There’s not a day that goes by where there isn’t a whole influx of people coming to our site searching specifically for lovely Kristen.

The work that Ellen Stagg and Kristen Pyles did on that special Fall ’10 lookbook was straight up bonershorts yo. We know it, you know it, the internet knows it. So, to commemorate that, we’ve given Kristen her very own skate deck and tee-shirt! How could we not? The deck is 7 3/4 and comes in five random color stains (Blue, Red, Purple, Green and Orange) on the reverse side.

Мишка x Ellen Stagg x Kristen Pyles Tee in Black & White ($32.00)

They’re both available right now, in-store and online! As you can see, the deck’ll garner you the sultry image of Kristen, undergarments ‘n all. The opposite side is a random color. Definitely a great buy, but you might be tempted to avoid grinding so as to preserve the sexiness. Just sayin’.

If you can’t skate, but still want to walk down the street and have people look at the chest on your chest, pick up the Kristen tee! It comes in white and black, and you basically get a meta-bear mop tee as well! It’s like having your erotica and watching it too. Only a handful of the decks and tees were produced so get’em quick, because these are bound to sell like hot cakes. Very hot cakes.

Мишка
350 Broadway
Brooklyn, NY
718-388-1725
—
Мишка LA
1547 Echo Park Ave
Los Angeles, CA

Maybe you’ve heard whispers about this deck on Twitter the past week or so, maybe not? Either way, we made a skate deck featuring our multi-colored collage pattern. It’s chock full of eyeballs, Bear Mops, Death Adders, Cyco Simons, Kill With Power pyramids and even Lobster Roll!

The deck comes in two sizes (7.75″ and 8″) and is made of Chapman wood. It’s seriously a beautiful deck! So for those of you who have emailed, tweeted, phones and asked us to make a deck here it is. Only 100 of these were made and you can only get them at Boundless NY (in-store and online). Oh and the best part is the deck comes packaged with 3 stickers!

Don’t sleep!

Tomorrow, Saturday June 19th my solo show Melting Flesh will be wrapping up it’s run.  If you have missed in the past 4 weeks, this will be your last time to see it. The Fuse Gallery is open tomorrow from 3-8pm, so go check it out!

I will be there along with Justine Joli from 6-8pm signing and selling the Living Proof Skate Decks. If you haven’t gotten one yet, get one tomorrow, signed and this way you don’t have to pay for shipping. See you there.

Closing Reception: Saturday June 19th, 6-8pm
Fuse Gallery
93 2nd Ave
New York, NY

This past Friday was the Toronto premiere of Vancouver’s very own skate epic, Machotaildrop. The Royal cinema on College street was full of sleeveless denim vests, greasy ponytails and tall cans. If Toronto’s skate army was a little trendier and more work-oriented I’m sure there would have been a slew of vintage motorcycles parked out front and more people wearing engineer boots. Maybe next summer Toronto.

Machotaildrop goes a little like this:

…Machotaildrop is a highly visual and fantastical journey about an amateur skateboarder, Walter Rhum, who realizes his dream of turning pro and riding for the world’s greatest skateboard company… Machotaildrop. Set in an anachronistic time and place, Machotaildrop is the greatest skateboard company of its day and the regal and grand sport of skateboarding has been thriving for many generations….

The movie is a very stylized depiction of big skate industry and its tendency to cannibalize trends. I suppose it’s a topic that is visited pretty regularly but Machotaildrop does a great job of addressing the subject without being too preachy. Matter in fact it’s kept fun and entertaining throughout.

I’ll admit that there are some rough cuts and pace issues with this movie but those are things I’m willing to overlook considering this a first time directing and writing effort from Corey Adams and Alex Craig. The acting was also a little cringe-worthy in parts but again, since the majority of people involved in this flick were skate rats, locals, pros and ex-pros it was a little endearing. Like watching an edit your friends bled and sweat to make for sound and video class that took all semester long..but with a huge budget from an action sports television station.

The real highlight of Machotaildrop were the costumes and art direction. It was kind of like Wes Anderson meets Clockwork Orange with great mix of dusty bourgeoisie and skate crust aesthetics. I’ve got to say that the taste-maker forest dwelling skate gang of ‘Man Wolfs’ really made this flick. Another highlight was John Rattray as french arch-nemesis and stalefish master, Victor LeBonte.

My only beef with Machotaildrop is Rick McCrank. Rick is a skate legend that reps Canada the hardest of any other pro and does a great rail session while on crutches. No doubt. However, he cannot act to save his life.

If you’re in Toronto now or soon go see Machotaildrop.

As you may have seen on Twitter, or on a bunch of the streetwear blogs, That Living Proof Magazine and I have collaborated on skateboard featuring the very beautiful and very naked Justine Joli. Well the deck is finally out and is now for sale!

Living Proof only made 100 of these decks, so if you’re interested in either skating it or hanging it on your wall, you might want to pick one up now before they all sell out. And oh, they will sell out!

I saw this over on Skate and Annoy and as an obsessive collector I just had to share it on here. Looks like Shiner Distribution, one of the oldest skateboarding distributors in the UK is opening up their vaults.

It has been rumored that Shiner has saved one of each and every board that they distributed over the years. Being in business for as long they have I’m sure you can only imagine the wealth of classic decks they’ve had go through their hands.  And as a teaser, this preview trailer gives a pretty impressive idea of what they had/still have in their coffers.