SKATE NEWS

VAN WASTELL ( 1984 - 2008 )

Skateboarding suffered a tragic loss today: Van Wastell has passed away at the age of 24. The details surrounding his death remain unconfirmed, but we will update this post when they become available. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the Wastell family and their loved ones.

“There are some things in life you can never prepare for. On Friday Sept. 5th, Van Wastell fell from a Berlin hotel window to his death.
From Matix,This is devastating news for all of us here at Matix, as Van was our friend, our team rider and a close homie of mine. he will continue his journey in mind and spirit. Our hearts goes out to the Wastell family during this time of confusion and sadness. WE ALREADY MISS YOU MUCH VAN…”


Adidas Footwear

Silas Laces Up With Adidas
Silas Baxter-Neal has had a big-ass year. Aside from getting a ridiculous amount of coverage in every form of skateboard media, he dropped an amazing part in Habitat's Inhabitants, picked up a new clothing sponsor (Elwood), nabbed Transworld Skateboarding's "Best Rookie" award and was part of their "Best Team" award as well (Habitat). Now the dude who can skate just about everything has made a big move by leaving eS' Footwear to take up residence as an Adidas team rider. Go to the Adidas site to check out exclusive photos of Silas skating in a full-on Adidas get-up. On the topic of eS', the site's team page is missing Raymond Molinar. Word on the gravel is that Raymond is riding for the newly formed Converse skate team, alongside Pops, Sammy Baca and Kenny Anderson. But these are just rumors. No official word yet.

Creation Skateboards

Creation Nation Deck and Ron Allen Enchanted Forest Deck
So here's the review portion of this revolutionary post. I got me a hold of some Creation Skateboards recently thanks to Mr. Craig Nejedly. It's been a while since I rode a Creation board and in my momentary hiatus, I forgot just how solid Creation boards are. Super stiff with prominent concave and kicks, just the way I like'em. The first board I rode was a Ron Allen deck. This thing clocks in at 7.875 X 31.375. It's a nice width for feeling centered on ones board, while allowing one to maintain the flip tricks that could be lost at any minute (I lose tricks all the time). I rode the f*&k out of this thing and it lasted, all while holding it's pop the entire time. No mush on these boards at all. The other Creation board I rode was a much bigger one. The Creation Nation model is 8.25 X 31.75. It felt real good to ride a bigger board after I had recently revisited my 7.75 days. Super nice, sharp concave and kick on this one as well. In fact I'm still riding this bitch and after two weeks it's still solid under my feet. Go buy a Creation board now so you know just what I'm talking about.

Satori Wheel Movement

Satori Little Nugs
I'm a big fan of the cruiser board. Here in Brooklyn, the rugged pavement can be your worst enemy if you're not careful. Turn a corner, hit a pot hole or large crack and you're done. So when you're not into getting real serious with the sesh, it's cruiser territory for us New Yorkers. I've been riding a Zoo York Zinger for a while with some big, soft 65MM wheels on it. While it was fun to push around on them, doing any tricks with wheels that big was difficult. Sh*t, ollieing up a curb sucked with those tires. All my cruiser woes were put to rest when I started riding these Satori "Little Nugs." These wheels are super soft, 78A, and are small enough (54mm) to be able to lose the riser pads and skate your cruiser like a real board. Kickflips, Tre Flips and even Nollie Flips have suddenly been introduced to my life as a cruiser. So stoked on these wheels. I recommend these Satori Lil' Nugs for anyone who likes to "cruise" but do tricks along the way.

PRESS RELEASE

This week the DC Skate program is proud to officially announce a new member to the amateur team: Wes Kremer. Visit dcshoes.com for the goods on Wes, including photos and bio on his team page plus a new video with Wes footage.

Born and raised in San Diego, Wes just graduated from high school. Skateboarding-wise, he’s a product of his environment—influences like Cardiel and Penny, laid back S.D. style, and afternoon sessions and skate P.E., strangely, to dial his skating.

Though just officially announced as a team member this month, he’s been traveling and skating with the DC team for nearly a year now.

While you’re flipping through this month’s mags look for Wes’ welcome ad… or ads, more appropriately. Each of the three major skate publications feature a different sequence, so watch out for ’em all.

Check out a welcome video edit of Wes at skate.dcshoes.com. Posted this morning to go along with his new ad(s), it’s not only Wes’ official welcome to the am team, but also your best way to get familiar with him if you don’t know Wes or his skating yet.

ASR

Friday at ASR, Grind For Life held a high ollie contest. Little Aldrin Garcia came up a few inches short of the world record but still pulled through with a 40 inch ollie, the highest ollie of the day, and $1,500 cash.

SKBSG