It would be impossible (well not impossible I'm just not nearly motivated enough) to review all the videos that are available these days. Whether it be an actual companies release, a tour video, shop video, homey video, from all over the world that are available literally at the click of a few buttons, there are a tonnnn of vids out there. The reality of it is, the majority of them aren't all that great. That being said however, a lot of them are. Following in the mindset I set out with when I started this blog, one of "If I have nothing nice to say, don't say anything at all" I resigned myself to talking only about the videos I'm super stoked on. Think Skateboards newest release "Business as Usual" is just that; a video I'm super stoked on. This video rips. As far as brands go, Think, which also distributes Venture trucks and Lucky bearings, is a company that tends to fly surprisingly under the radar despite their longevity and presence within the skateboard industry. I'm not exactly sure what this lack of popularity can be attributed to, but I definitely do think it exists. It is not that Think as a brand is hated on or even cracked on, it just doesn't seem to be all that popular, at least with the kids skating in Toronto. I think partially at least, the reason for this, albeit honorably, is that Think tends to focus more on the actual skating and skaters abilities rather then their personalities and marketability. In an age when kids want to know everything about their favorite skater, some whom go by monikers like Lizard King and Slash, Think riders tend to keep a relatively low profile. I think this is actual pretty cool and really adds some legitimacy with everything they do. That being said, Think has always sponsored amazing skateboarders and put out quality videos with an abundance of San Fran footy which is always heartwarming to any Canadian skater.
Business As Usual is no exception. A bit more on the artsy side then their previous releases, the vid opens with a mellow intro showing glimpses of the skaters featured within. All the parts in the video are super sick, but there are definitely a few standouts.
It opens with a part from Josh Matthews.I don't know too much about this dude, other then he was on es before it went under and he comes from a huge family (I remember reading that somewhere). This guy fucking rips though, I definitely dig his skating. So many bangers in one part. Some personal favorites are his opening line with the back board through the choppy ledge, half cab tail to regular and the kickflip back lip. The front 180 switch 5050 down the right that's tight against the wall and fs 180 over the hedge were both super gnarly and so was the nollie flip over the bump to gap. I think my favorite clip in his part though was the sw 5050 drop down sw 5050 on the orange ledges or the gap to 5-0 the newspaper box. Both sooo sick. I also really liked his back blunt kickflip out on the 3 up 3 down, the sw bs flip over the rail in the dark, the switch feeble on the rail and his sick ender, the gap ollie into that super weird landing. Like I mentioned above, Think riders generally don't rely too heavily on image, and this is the case with Matthews. He's a sick skater, with good style who does cool tricks. After this part, he can definitely count me as a fan.
Without a doubt, one of my favorite parts in the entire video is Russ Milligan's. I've been a fan of this dude since he was on City, and it has nothing to do with the fact that he's Canadian. Actually, that's a lie, it totally has to do with the fact that he's Canadian, but he also rips. He seems like a pretty big dude and I've always been a fan of burly skaters. It took me a while to figure out this dudes stance when I first started paying attention to him a while ago, and if this was the first part of his I had seen, I probably would have thought he was goofy. Milligan is seriously on some Baptista shit with his switch skating. It's insane how interchangeable his stances are, and how good he makes his switch look. He has some really cool tricks in this part and it was edited pretty tightly. Some of the ones that stick out in my mind are the bs flip over the blue handicap ramp rail, fakie bigspin flip over the fence gap and the sw bs 360 off the bump. I loved the fs 180 bench then sw ollie the concrete ball line, sw 5-0 front shuv the ledge and sw bs flip at 3rd and Army, that all got rewound fa sho.
Adrian Williams has a cool part. It kind of sticks out from the rest of the video in it's vibe. Kind of like Kalis' part in Mindfield. Much like Kalis' part as well, Williams has some amazing skating and who doesn't love a good Wu Tang song.
Danny Fuenzalida, the Fuenz, has been on Think forever and is such an under rated skater. All the parts he has put out have been amazing and this one is no difference. He skates really cool spots and the song "Jaya" by Sad City is rad.
Undoubtedly my favorite part in the video and the natural curtains is that of Lee Yankou. This dude is a local Toronto skater and since making the move to San Fran years ago, has been making well deserved waves in skating. He is such a talented skateboarder with an amazing outlook on everything so it is really excited to see all the coverage he has been getting as of late, he deserves every bit of it. His part in this video is seriously amazing in my opinion. His skating is super original, super creative and super gnarly, an amazing combination. It's bangers from start to finish and I'm not going to name them all but seriously, watch it. He does grinds and slides on super tall shit, and he doesn't seem like he's a tall dude. The first 3 tricks and fs noseslide on the window sill are evidence of this, as that shit is talll. The line with the kickflip smith, front lip on the tall green picnic table and then the tre flip is maybe my favorite thing in the whole video, so rad. He actually has some really cool lines in this part, especially the ollie up the stairs, tre flip, glorious fs 360 and then the frontside flip over the rail and the downhill line where he nollie heels the dirt gap, back blunt pops out and bs threes off the curb. There are seriously so many amazing tricks in this part, my mind is exploding just thinking about it. I thought the bs smith on the water fountain against the wall, indy grab wall ride into the bank and fs 180 smith stall on the big green electrical box were bonkers and rewind worthy for sure. The kick flip over the rail to hill bomb was gnar and his ender kinker boardslide was super sick, especially his reaction. Congrats Lee, amazing part!! Can't wait to see what you have in store for skateboarding in the future.
I would probably buy this vid to add to my collection if there were physical copies of it. There aren't however, but silver lining is it's offered for free online, which although common these days, is still pretty cool. Watch it, watch it again and then go skate!
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