Puffed up, ready to square up against god
Remembering some D3 guys, introducing some Village PM guys, Tony Hawk's vert charm offensive, Cab doesn't know what Clickhole is, and more.
The definitive weekly ranking and analysis of all the skateboarding and other things online that I cannot stop consuming and how it makes me feel, personally.
Puffed up, ready to square up against god
Rank: (D)3
Mood: 🀄
Last October, I stood outside of Rogers Arena, waiting in line for the home opener of the Vancouver Canucks. Rain fell in short, syncopated bursts. Umbrellas opened, then closed, only to open again, as if sending Morse code to whatever puckish god managed the skies. Fellow attendees stood idle, sipped from tall cans tucked into their jackets, and pulled on vapes whose plumes sat like fog in the damp evening air.
I looked at the ground. Really, I couldn't look away. In front of me was a man wearing bright red Osiris D3s. A shoe that, in the early aughts, was a cultural benchmark, and didn't make professional skateboarder Dave Mayhew, who designed it, as much money as it should have.
The sight of Osiris D3s is not an unexpected event. The shoe brand still exists, they still sell D3s, and there will always be curious pockets of people who find these bulbous, brain-bugs-with-laces appealing. Whether that's the clashing earnest irony of early-aughts-pilled raver youth, the elder-millennial skater who came of age in the D3's heyday and retains an attachment, or the bucket I believe this man belonged to.
You see, there are whole generations of people who grew up adjacent to skateboarding and skateboarders. Influenced by the culture, they aped its looks and mingled with its participants. That's fine. Great, even. Aesthetic cross-pollination will always happen. To that end, there is one niche sartorial subdivision that exists primarily in rural and mid-sized Canadian cities, whose look was inspired then and continues to be now by a once-dominant national force: the Red Dragons.
For those who didn't grow up during the 2000s in the locus of RDS' power, the western Canadian provinces of Alberta and British Columbia, this may be hard to comprehend, but there are folks, in attitude and dress, who are the living embodiment and descendants of this apparel brand. Because, for many in that era, RDS symbolized both an anti-authority bent (see Moses Itkonen fighting security guards) and a hyper-masculine identity outside of the mainstream, defined by videos like RDS/FSU/2002, where badass skateboarders flung themselves down giant handrails, partied until they puked, and women whose consent was unclear bared their breasts for the camera. Plus — and this shouldn't be overlooked in regards to its local influence — the brand is Canadian.
That archetype RDS and its branding filled already existed in spirit, and could just as easily be described as "nu-metal enjoyer," but that bubbling angst from the '90s and aughts was harnessed and became concrete for many through the RDS logo, itself a stylized version of the Chinese character zhōng, meaning "middle," which adorns the "red dragon" mahjong tile. That logo was pasted, stitched, and screenprinted onto entire landfills worth of FlexFit hats, boxy tall-tees, stiff jeans, sweatpants, web belts, and was best complemented by the puffiest, blockiest shoes available — the D3 being an apex pairing. This look wasn't just easily consumable, but a readily available signifier that you belonged to a hardened contingent of a Canadian cultural class: baked, blue-collared, and tired of this shit.
Obviously, there isn't available data to back this up, but I think it's safe to say that the highest concentration of RDS-branded gear you'll find today is in work camps up in the Alberta oil patch. When I saw the man outside Rogers Arena in his D3s, I immediately assumed he was on the home leg of working two weeks on, one week off on some godforsaken lease in the middle of the violently marred Albertan wilderness. The bright, clean D3s and home-opener tickets a splurge. The spoils of the legitimately grinding toils.
Admittedly, my only evidence of this connection was his shoes, ill-fitting jeans, and Calgary Flames FlexFit hat (the Flames would beat the Canucks 6-5 in overtime), but I still felt a certain kinship with this man. He didn't bring an umbrella and kept his chest puffed out as the rain came down as though ready to square up against god tinkering with the faucet above. He was a striking image of the people I grew up around, worked with, and was perhaps myself at one point — in some bygone closet sits well-worn RDS gear of my own.
If I am to wantonly generalize further, these folks were often rough, crude, and more than willing to give you a beer if you were out or out of money. Their Facebook profile pictures are taken in the front seat of their extended-cab pickup trucks, which, if you think about it, is a beautiful display of sincerity. There is no pretense; just a person and what their hard-earned money afforded them. A life or something like it. Not much different than anyone else's. Most are people who just want to believe in something, whether it's the power of the dollar, the allure of an authoritarian who promises them power, the immortal ooh, wah-ah-ah-ah of Distrubed, or that a bright red pair of D3s will make them whole, or at least sate whatever voice is calling out from the soft tendrils of their souls.
Or, you know, he's just a guy in some shoes.
Speaking of shoes
Rank: 1
Mood: 🫦
Oh, you want to start a new shoe company? One based in Europe with an already well-defined aesthetic and, from what we can see, a genuinely interesting-looking product? That is represented by a handful of talented young skateboarders who are not yet big names but may, with the proper promotion, become something more? And you want to launch your brand with a fantastic edit featuring those skateboarders and a live event whose massive attendance at a famous Parisian boutique would spill out into the street?
Well, please, do that, Village PM. Seriously. This is great. Keep at it.
Publishing freely
Rank: 1!
Mood: 🇫🇷
It is pretty interesting how fluid the skateboarding media ecosystem has become. Last Friday, Ben Chadourne released DANCEUR, a new video part by Hjalte Halberg. The project, ostensibly under Halberg's brand Dancer, lives on Chadourne's YouTube channel, not Dancer's.
It's not immediately clear why that is, but one assumes it's because Chadourne is one of the best filmmakers in the skateboarding space, and it gives it more weight, cache, or whatever you want to call it, to have it live on Chadourne's channel. Similar to the also excellent Bobby DeKeyzer part BOBBY, which is another Chadourne classic.
That does give more credence to the idea that the individual brand has become more powerful than the collective or corporate, both in skateboarding and nearly every other commodified space. It's why you see some professional skateboarders, like Ishod Wair or Dylan Jaeb, post video parts to their personal YouTube channels.
Of course, this was not an individual effort. It required Halberg and Chadourne to make the magic work, and boy, did it ever.
The vert charm offensive
Rank: 1
Mood: 🌀
If you've been paying attention to Tony Hawk at any point these last few years, he has likely been proselytizing the many virtues of vert skateboarding. That makes sense, it is the discipline where he made his name, life, and a singularly successful career. He also, in a sense, shaped it in his image, which is perhaps why vert shrinking into the background as street style took over all those years ago has never sat well with the Birdman.
And, so, he's been doing something about it. From mentoring young phenoms like Reese Nelson to championing his Vert Alert contest series, these have all been small steps toward Hawk's master plan of a vert skateboarding resurgence. The next stage, and the likely lynchpin of that plan, appears to be getting vert included as an official Olympic event.
A New York Times article from this week, written by Lindsey Adler, details Hawk's history, regailing us with the legend of the 900 as most Hawk-related pieces must do, while also touching on the current and upcoming slate of vertical skateboarding superstars, like Tom Schaar and Arisa Trew, before laying out Hawk's somewhat sweaty charm offensive, noting that "he is desperate to turn [vert's] momentum into a return of the event at the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles."
“I would give them my ramp,” Mr. Hawk said feverishly. “I would say ‘Here’s the terrain. Find a place for it, and it’s all yours.’ I have the best vert ramp in the world, and it’s portable. It can be assembled in a couple of hours. It’s all yours.”
For Hawk's sake, hopefully the right people read the Times because "The International Olympic Committee will issue its final decision on vert and other events for the 2028 Olympics at its next executive board meeting on April 9."
The man doesn't ask for much, just give it to him, IOC.
Cab doesn't know what Clickhole is
Rank: 1
Mood: 🖱️🕳️
Last week, Steve Caballero appeared in the comment section of the above Instagram post from Clickhole, where he spent his time not understanding what Clickhole is.
What’s funny about this post is I “NEVER” said any of these quoted comments and if I did, please post the video of me saying all this 😂😂😂
The game isn’t about who’s stats are better, it’s about challenging yourself to finish the game with the stats you are given as anyone can choose their favorite skater “first” then try and beat the game with another skater (who’s stats are completely different) to unlock their favorite skaters promo video at the end of the game….
Now go ahead and quote this, instead of someone else’s personal opinion, that is trying to reflect on mine🫵🏼🤪
He'd get it eventually.
well ….whatever it is, it’s dishonest and misleading and that’s how rumors start💁🏻♂️🤪
Honestly, that level of earnestness is kind of sweet.
Something to consider:
Kaveh Akbar
Good thing:
The Editors
Another good thing:
Good thing about bad things:
David Roth
Good thing about good things: Skate Bylines just launched a culture and media events board, which they describe as a "global schedule of events, talks, workshops and more rooted in skateboarding, creative media and cultural storytelling." Tap in!
Good pod things:
Posted by
Templeton
A long-ass thing from Tuesday:
Cole Nowicki
Until next week… depending on where you are, cherry blossoms may be blooming. Take them in while you can.
Laser Quit Smoking Massage
NEWEST PRESS
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My new collection of essays is available now. I think you might like it. The Edmonton Journal thinks it's a "local book set to make a mark in 2024." The CBC called it "quirky yet insightful." lol.
Book cover by Hiller Goodspeed.
Right, Down + Circle
ECW PRESS
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I wrote a book about the history and cultural impact of Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater that you can find at your local bookshop or order online now. I think you might like this one, too.
Here’s what Michael Christie, Giller Prize-nominated author of the novels Greenwood and If I Fall, If I Die, had to say about the thing.
“With incisive and heartfelt writing, Cole Nowicki unlocks the source code of the massively influential cultural phenomenon that is Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater, and finds wonderful Easter-eggs of meaning within. Even non-skaters will be wowed by this examination of youth, community, risk, and authenticity and gain a new appreciation of skateboarding’s massive influence upon our larger culture. This is my new favorite book about skateboarding, which isn’t really about skateboarding — it’s about everything.”
Photo via The Palomino.
