June 8, 2023 3:43 pm
[ Schrott! ]
…and now for something completely different, say hello to Schrott.Life
hi, you reached the website of some guy who is in deep love with skateboarding but pissed off by its industry.
…and now for something completely different, say hello to Schrott.Life
This is good read: The paranoid style of American skateboarding.
new sub-stance stuff is happening all the time, but updating conflicts with skateboarding. well, today updating wins, so here are some new decks.
new balance is known for still producing some shoe collections in great britain and the united states. now they enter the skateboarding market with its numeric line. what’s the outcome? a shoe made in china. fucking lame.
just uploaded a new entry to the random series. for viewing, go to the media page and click the text link. or just download the FullHD 1920×1080/50fps version here. in best movie tradition, there is even a tragic hero…
(on old computers this movie will lag. click the antenna icon in the video player and select “bandwidth: medium” to view a lower res version…)
the sincere folks from hagen rebuilt their awesome ramp in a new location, perfect for a lovely saturday night session.
maybe the city with the sickest skateboarding infrastructure, also because of the brandnew skatepark of copenhagen (fælledparken). some footage here. check these pics i made from the new park (flooded by disturbing scooter kids) and other locations like the wooden indoor bowl in christiania.
wow, timeless street skating, timeless style, awesome abilities, brandon westgate is just a pleasure to watch..
regarding videos: here is the “dude, i never heard of this guy” videopart: danijel stankovic makes a deep impression!
the sf feeling, there it is again… do yourself a favor and use the 720p setting.
i wanna ride this quarter-to-wall in the background. btw. this tre flip looks fantastic!
our local skatepark recently got ripped by these usual suspects from belgium.
finally found this video classic, inside out by gullwing trucks. let’s start with the soundtrack, which is a masterly mixture of styles and moods, mostly by bands, i never heard of, and with various styles. it creates a truly unique athmospere.
also the mix of personalities is awesome. it’s a clash of generations, legends and rookies, gator here and ron allen there, it is full of opposites.
few videos ever covered the transition of skateboarding from the 80’s to the 90’s better than this flick. almost like parallel universes you find the 80’s skateboarding vert rockstars in tie died vision streetwear clothing and plain dressed streetstyle amateurs exploring new possibilities. both seemingly unaware that they will be all part of a huge paradigm shift in skateboarding.
a person who really stands out here is chris miller. he really is timeless in any aspect.
i still remember when i first watched the movie around ’88, it was wintertime and we only had parking garages to escape the snow and rain for some skating. the movie fitted perfectly with its raw appearance. unusually for a skate movie in some parts it even seems that the weather conditions weren’t perfect either. i really love this part!
D.I.Y. America (1, 2, 3, 4) is an ambitious approach to show the values and perspectives skateboarding and doing things by yourself in general can teach you.
it is directed by aaron rose of beautiful losers fame. there are really good people speaking, but the documentation itself is produced by a subsidiary of wieden & kennedy, a major ad agency working for mainstream brands like nike, coca cola or levi’s. another sneaky effort of some ad agency to keep a fresh image?
i for myself gave up to explain the deeps of skateboarding a long time ago. it all comes down to this.
these wheels sound interesting. at least the folks at kontrol where able to add two fresh approaches to wheels: still 100% made in usa and eco-friendliness, which means nothing without certificates. still there is some goodwill compared to the staleness of the competition.
“All our wheels are 100% USA made, and with almost zero waste Kontrol wheels are the most Eco Friendly skateboard wheels in the world.”
because urethane can’t be very eco-friendly they seem to argue with less waste and higher efficiency.
regarding dwindle: does this look like a state of the art production facility?
“For the past three years, under the direction of Rodney Mullen, Dwindle Distribution has developed a secret weapon – The state of the art, Chinese production facility we call Chop Chop Wood Shop.”
so lets see how jart is doing. well, you get the picture.
awesome skater, but a surprising transformation in appearance from ghettorapper to folky dude. hopefully not just some kind of selfbranding.
unfortunately his sponsors are some of the lamest china-made-board-mass-stupification companies ever: almost and other dwindle distibution shit.
very thoughtful words regarding skateboarding, art and the industry by the remarkable don pendleton:
“Ultimately, the skaters are always going to decide where skating goes. So if they want something cheap made in China, they’re going to get it. If they demand something more, they’ll have that option as well.”
“These days, it seems less of a craft and more of a commodity unfortunately. Those transfer graphics are horrible and temporary but it almost seems kind of fitting for Chinese boards, doesn’t it? I mean, companies went from lovingly crafting these intricately created skateboards and hand screening the graphics color by color to lining up popsicle sticks in China and basically applying a big decal to it. Kind of sad in terms of history and what skateboarding leaves behind as it advances… but it may have helped some companies keep their doors open.”
“The sales force has become a part of the design process because they know what’s selling and what isn’t and the average company is chasing the dragon in terms of give them what they want.”
some fixed gear bike footage of cardiel cruising sacramentos skatespots.
wow, its unbelievable, but sub-stance just turned ten (whois: Created On: 1999-07-22 15:26:45 GMT). still many things kept the same, which is good.
so, what’s up with sub-stance?
since the beginning sub-stance was more of a project i did with the kind support of my friends. it started out because i got aware of the slave-like production conditions in the third world, and the fact, that more and more skateboard companies offshored their production to these countries for more profit.
the endless recycling of design clichés lend from punk, hiphop and skateboard traditions was another reason to do something more personal.
it’s not aimed to be profitable. i think the problems arise with being profitable. you have to act market driven and do things you don’t wanted to do in the first place. so the idea is not to sell but to give away stuff for a donation or trading.
because i have a regular job to earn money for a living, i don’t have to meet any standards but mine.
we are to small to produce our own blanks, so we searched for a really good, sweatshop-free factory.
our decks are blanks made by jart, which are produced in spain using canadian hard rock maple with the most advanced production processes. they are very nice folks with quality products.
since the beginning our shirts are made by american apparel sweatshop free in the usa. that was at a time when aa was only a startup blankshirt provider. as an option we have fair-trade shirts.
every shirt or deck is individually handmade for the donor. we have no stock. because of this we don’t use silk-screen printing which makes more sense for high volume productions. instead we use various other technologies like heat transfers, vinyl cutting, hand sewing and stamping…
i encourage everyone to make his own stuff. the scene would be much more fun and individual, and this would overcome all the generic crap we see today.
this year wasn’t very productive because of my main job, but i’m looking forward for much new stuff and posts in 2010!
many thanks for your kind support all these years. keep up keeping it up 😉
band reunions, most of the time they are boring. but i still love these guys: the stupids are back. and tommy stupid is still on the drums. besides that he is the well known drum and bass producer and dj “klute” with his own label commercial suicide. see a nice set here.
and does he still skate? Yes! just check this interview out.
i just found this miniramp part of the old “h-street shackle me not” video. i remember being totally stoked about the song, which resembles a classic hardcore style. until today i’m not shure who it is, but i guess it is the committed, a band featuring mario rubalcaba, who skated for h-street at the time of the video. at least the band is listed in the movie credits. any information regarding this band and their releases would be great.
all killer, no filler! awesome tracks.
some days plain suck. and you can see it coming days before. every day adds some little hurdle and it all will fit perfectly into one big disaster.
like last sunday. not a typical sunday but the sunday i yearned for. the first time to ride the new concrete skatepark (more on this later).
The whole week i had too much work to go there in the evening. and then i became aware that i lost my skate shoes in a rental car the weekend before! stupid me. these were the “vegetarian shoes” i wrote about some time ago. they were perfect ridden in and now gone.
ok, so i picked some old rowleys from the attic. i never thought i would skate in some sweatshop shoes again, but that’s all i had to save a session.
so saturday came and it rained. i had to wait for sunday. and sunday started with backache. without a reason, apart from the fact that my back is quite prone to this problem. but does it have to be today??? anyway i went to the park with my friends. needless to say it was quite crowded, the shoes sucked and the back ached. i should have relaxed but i wanted to ride. after some hours my back was completely fucked. i couldn’t even lace my shoes.
so now the weekend comes and i am still curing my back. but at least it rains…
imagine youself, skating for decades, progressing, innovating, living skateboarding. and then imagine an accident. you can’t feel your legs and may never walk again. an then, after months, there is this little feeling in your toe. and you have to learn to move your legs and to walk from the ground up. and imagine this one day, you can’t even walk proper again, but you grab your skateboard and start all over again. with a basic drop-in you learned decades ago. would you have the power to go through all this? i just can’t imagine… but cardiel can. heartbreaking.
i’m a big fan of the “1st & Hope” skateboard movie by brian lotti. and i’m even more curious about his new project: “free pegasus”. the trailer already looks promising.
we now have a new navigation entry: “media“. here you find the media player to view movies with ease. check it out! just move your trusty cursor to the “select” menu, click “media” and enjoy.
it’s time for some random shit again. after a crazy nightshift here it is:
randoms #2. you can find it in our new “media” section.
just a quick note: we made some t-shirts available. have a look if you like.
well, we all made mistakes in life: good choice, duane!
cool, the northbrigade has a new blogbased website up. i love this park and can’t wait to rip the new setup which got build while you read this.
get the newest bailgun mag and see promising pictures of the new skatepark in namur (belgium) and more parks, tours and art. as always a pleasure!
crazy things happen here. in a few weeks three of my oldest skatebuddies will leave or have already left to find their luck in australia, spain and munich. now skate sessions will get much smaller.
but nevertheless all the best to my bros, i hope we will still find ways to shred together!
join the rebel sell! go buy your own rebellion. spent all your money on stuff and clothing to be sure you will get the authentic rebel look.
but what happens when there are more rebels than average people? is being average the new rebellion? or may it be that you just can’t buy rebellion?
this is a really embarrassing document of police brutality against skateboarders. these kids got handled like terrorists.
i never visited palm springs, and, after seeing this, probably never will.
and it seems like this psycho is getting away with it.
what is a skateshoe? is it defined by its functionality or is it just a special look?
since the beginning there were shoes claiming to be made for skateboarding. but skateboarders had a long tradition in using stuff that was not especially made for skateboarding.
skateboarders had freely chosen what they wanted to skate, what worked and what fitted. may it terrain or clothing.
products from nike, converse, adidas or puma got used for decades, but these companies were never aware of skateboarding. it wasn’t a market for them and they didn’t support it.
nowadays it is different. these same industries see a market and buy themself into the scene to give their mass products a more alternative image. and skateboarders seem to follow…
so i searched for a real alternative, and found it at “vegetarian shoes”.
i’m very happy with this shoe. and it’s environmentally friendly, vegan (vegetarian?), made in portugal and perfect for skateboarding.
unfortunately as most skateshoes they take some time to get broken in.
you wonder why there are less posts over the last weeks? this is because i’m busy finalizing the board section.
here you find some samples of all the stuff we created and destroyed over the years (T-shirts will follow). it reflects our love for simplicity and d.i.y. ethics but also the hate for the usual visual stereotypes of corporate skateboarding.
oh yes, the price! well, you decide. just donate what you can spare. it’s based on honesty. sneek preview
here is a great interview with legendary artist jim phillips, the man behind many classic santa cruz designs of the 80’s. expect tons of delicious old school decks…
ooooh, all these poor pros, maybe just stop dating expensive chicks…
stop whining, innovate.
is there a need for any other skateboard truck? well, i don’t need anything else. but currently i wonder if they are still made in the usa… they are!
there was a time when i proudly bought decks from my favorite skateboard brands. everything was made in its own little eco-system and worth to be supported. nowadays boards are made in china and the us-woodshops are dying. nevertheless decks kept the same price and many brands are bought out by mainstream companies. if you dislike this whole situation, just buy blank decks or make your own.
and it seems like many people think this way. so this goes to you, mr. muska: if this industry with all its money is not able to produce new and innovative products but milking the same old technology for 20 years, the consequences are their own problem. corporate skateboarding can suck it!
hey, all you so called punkrockers out there, how long will it take to understand that skulls are the lamest shit on earth?
wow, this is the video i always wanted to do. just cruising the city with friends and being comfortable on your board. no handrail stunts, no cut every two seconds. just pure enjoyment.
what makes this film even better is the mix of generations from lance mountain to paul rodriguez. it shows people living their life but kept true to skating. the film is directed by brian lotti, who even contributed a spoken word audio layer. well done!
featured skaters are: Eric Dressen, Lance Mountain, Ocean Howell, Salman Agah, Dune, Tom Knox, Brian Lotti, Kenny Anderson, Mike Carroll, Marc Johnson, Ray Barbee, Caswell Berry, Paolo Diaz, Paul Rodriguez, Mark Appleyard und Brezinski, PJ Ladd and many more.
i just stumbled across this well done natas kaupas documentation. enjoy a great personality and the roots of modern streetskating.
skateboarding till 3:00 in the morning. the incredible area 51 skatehall in eindhoven. have a seat and take a look!
aaaahhh, memories… you remember this awesome part of brian lotti in planet earth‘s Now N’ Later? great lines, great soundtrack. this was 1991!
in contrast these one second cuts of todays skatevideos just suck. no flow, no enjoyment.
there are so many excellent skateboarding videos out there. made with the freshest equipment and the most talented filmers and skateboarders. but what about those odd little everyday life snippets with lousy tricks and no budget? do we have to delete them for some better footage? random footage must live!
to download directly, right-click the link and save the files to disk. quicktime is needed for viewing. if you don’t want to install quicktime, i recommend the excellent vlc player.
markus and gerd did it again: bailgun#4 with a delicious australia feature.
… keeps the pool full.
this supersecret place rocks!
the ground was dirty, and i fucked up my ankle, but it was fun anyway. the ditch in köln hürth. take a look.
on my daily ride to work i always have to look at these ugly bus seats. maybe this daily routine slowly fries my brain but i swear there is a hidden skateboarding silouette. it looks like a soulful nose manual, the ones scott oster was famous for.
as always highly enjoyable views on skateboarding. this time with an in-depth kopenhagen feature.
must be great. sleeping, eating, skating…
we all know that drained swimming pools are great for skateboarding. but imagine a complete waterless water park!
(warning, contains agressive inline skating, grrrr…)
the old, concrete beauty of cologne. enjoy…
suddenly all big sports brands love skateboarding. but in the end they just try to sell the same old shoe models.
in this case it's the adidas stan smith, supported by mark gonzales. same product, different image, different audience. easy.
“Thanks to corporations like Nike we can eat extreme pizza, drive Nissan's X-Terra suv, wear extreme deodorant, hire extreme consulting firms and invest in extreme equity funds. But if we are all extreme now, then where have the real rebels gone? Disappeared in a haze of Ritalin?”
This is an excellent article from adbuster featuring the consolidated dudes and even ocean howell. download the pdf here!
just stumbled across this old follow-up responding to this well known dwindle fact.
yeah, the summer is finally here and it’s time for billerbeck. (3-D view, quicktime needed)!
i know i'm a little bit late with this, but if you still don't know about bailgun it's your turn now. bailgun is an excellent, pdf based skate mag with a very unique perspective on skateboarding. and it is free! so if you dig it, support the makers with some feedback 🙂
…is coming to you with this little website. heart warming old school pics with a personal touch, even featuring some well known skaters like ronnie bertino (or some dude with the same name?), ed templeton and matt hensley as well as spots like del mar and fort miley.
on top you get an '89 ray barbee interview out of brian's old, selfmade skatemag. nice read.
i have to say i can't really resist this. really nice track. i wonder what happened to skatemaster tate?
this is a great read. jim gray, owner of abc board supply (scarecrow, acme…) talks about his views regarding the trend in the skateboard-industry to produce decks in china. especially the manifesto has interesting insights. in the end the scene has to decide what stuff it will buy and support.
i for myself tried to get abc blanks for my sub-stance boards, but as i'm dedicated to design only a few, handmade decks, abc's minimum purchase limit was still to high for me :-/
ok, this guy may be some motherfuckin’ hustler who just want to make money, but most of our beloved skateboard companies are doing the same while hiding behind their faked independent image.
american apparel is still one of the few companies producing under fair and guaranteed conditions.
in contrast, the major part of the garment industry, like hanes, fruit of the loom, or the like, run sweatshops in the third world or have subcontracts with these sweatshops. check: fruit of the loom, hanes…
so, the next time you buy some skate t-shirt, chances are big to get this mean punkass-skull-design printed on top of some bloodsucking t-shirt blank. take a closer look, fool!
you too hate skatehalls packed with inline-kids and managed by go-cart jocks? shitty music, high prices and stupid helmets? well, there is a way out: grab some friends, rent a hall and make one yourself. sadly it’s not that easy and without the commitment of all it will not work out.
but we pulled it. ladys and gentlemen, this is bluegrind:
www.bluegrind.de, more pics at flipskate…
crazy! this old mammoth is still there. check out the pictures. awesome. all i want is to carve that thing and pop some ollies! veterans like dave berghtold are already in action to save Carlsbad Skatepark.
in december 2003 the faux ami art collective started the exhibition “skateboardfieber”. a collection of decks, clothing, mags and the like represented 40 years of skateboarding history. if you missed it (like me) here is your second chance.
skateboardfieber, 16.-30.Oktober 2004, Berlin
poorly done and not even worth the battery charge. but it’s all there. and it still makes me wanna skate! random skateboarding
no, not playstation crap but some mindgames. close your eyes and try it yourself. can you see the videos? Disclaimer: you should have been skating for at least 10 years to see something!
video one, video two, video three, video four
stupid question? i don’t think so. do you really love music? or do you just pick a musical style to express your ego? to get an image? in times of worthless musical mutations like “toughguy hardcore” i wonder how much more music will get abused to create even more ego-islands…
so many moods, so many music, but sometimes there is the perfect balance. and i don’t care if it’s cool or not, just try.
ever wanted to know how to print your own boards? the typical method for this is silkscreening and with all the board-concave it’s not that easy. this brave guy shows you how:
screen it the d20 way!
like transworld, 411 got purchased a while ago. it seems that there ain’t no independent skateboarding industry anymore. one after the other they got eaten by the mainstream.
“The transition of 411 Productions from a fledgling idea to the dominant global producer of action sports content has been an exciting ride over the past 11 years. Since day one 411 has been committed to supporting and growing the sports we cover by providing authentic coverage to the widest audience possible”.
haha, thanks, but i don’t need your crap anyway.
there are still great mags out there. i always liked slap, europe got featured in my favorite mag kingpin and here in germany we have the respectable boardstein.
support your local magazine or make one yourself!
many of us grew up skating in vans or chucks. as a brand vans was a true symbol of skateboarding. a few decades ago they stumbled into the scene, did some things right and eventually grow to the industry giant we know today. nowadays they only live of their image like everone else do. trying to keep the “alternative” image while outsourcing production from the united states to the third world like the major players do. they had the chance to do something more and stand out but instead choose the opposite.
well, at least the shareholders will be happy…
“We are making growth happen, and we’re doing it with a powerful brand that resonates strongly with its core teen consumer base.”
watch out, someday the “core teen consumer base” may give you a major kick in the ass.
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