David Pescovitz is Boing Boing's co-editor/managing partner. He's also a research director at Institute for the Future. On Instagram, he's @pesco.

  • http://www.KladniFigures.com/ Scooter Jackson

    Yeah, rinse your palate of that circus crap with some real style. Ben Raybourn’s closer in the new Bones Wheels vid “New Ground”
    http://vimeo.com/59678420#t=1718

    • L_Mariachi

      I used to see guys doing two-board tricks like this all the time near touristy areas — jumping over five burning garbage cans and what not, onto a second waiting board. But you don’t see much if any of that in skate videos or X-Games or whatever. I’m not a skater so I don‘t know why that seems to be looked down on by ”real” skaters. Anyone?

      • Mike A

        You’re right, stuff like this was popular back in the day, when people were still figuring out what was possible with a skateboard. Skateboarding is all about pushing the definition of ‘skateboarding’, & at this point, we’ve moved past this sort of thing (along with streetplants, launch ramps, inverts, etc..), which is why people who do follow modern skateboarding dismiss this as ‘party tricks’. Hardflipping a large set of stairs, or riding down a long handrail… whatever you think about it, its visually impressive & the current vanguard of skateboarding, so that’s the type of riding we aspire to.

        But that doesn’t take away from what this guy is doing! Some people might think so, but hey, if you skate, you skate. Let the hippie ride, whatever. However skateboarding as an industry definitely doesn’t promote ‘party tricks’ & that’s where the sentiment expressed by the parent commenter comes from. If you spend your whole life (literally) getting better at kickflipping down a large set of cement stairs, obviously you’re going to look down on someone who can get attention for doing something that really isn’t actually that difficult.

        The problem is that its hard for the uninitiated viewer to even understand what is happening or why something is difficult in street skateboarding. Since its more approachable to people new to skateboarding there’s alot  of this ‘party trick’ stuff going on in skateboarding right now. Check out:
        > http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VG7YaQJulPQ william spencer, colorado local> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cbSbbY5ibas kilian martin, freestyle tricks to street> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVGgqvsz3qA Gou Miyagi.. if you watch one of these videos.. watch this one.. very different from anything you’ve seen on a skateboard & very gnarly

        For comparison  this is probably the best example of “popular/mainstream” street skateboarding today. Hopefully its obvious to you the difference in skill level required to do this sort of stuff:
        http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9aXgIUQ-Cw8 Justin Figueroa

        • Syn -

          These were very, very enjoyable. Hadn’t been this surprised and entertained since i first saw the darkslide. Thank you!

          Kilian Martin and Gou Miyagi… god damn. I’ll share these around! 

  • Rhyolite

    Ouch

  • http://twitter.com/amanicdroid Dr. Chronobiologist

     If at first you don’t succeed your skin will be retextured.

  • entireleaves

    Since my own body is barely capable of rising out of this chair I am in awe of people who can leap up in the air and perform back flips (never mind landing on or not landing on a skateboard).  I feel there must be witchery involved. 

  • Sam Piip

    Shouldn’t he be wearing safety gear? At least a freaking helmet?

    • noah django

       no.

      • MrKahuna

        Why not?

        • http://profiles.google.com/joshuabardwell Joshua Bardwell

          Because people are allowed to hurt themselves if they want to.

      • Snig

        You a shill for the neurosurgical industry?

    • justaddh3o

      I agree. It’s a bit irresponsible for Ride to publish this sans helmet

    • http://www.ikaink.net Itsumishi

      Should he? Probably. 

      Should I cease drinking beer, snowboarding and smoking weed (frequently at the same time)? Probably, but life sure is fun sometimes when there are risks involved.

  • bo1n6bo1n6

    Killer trick.

  • Preston Sturges

    This totally needs to be in one of those asinine “I have what it takes to go to college” commercials. 

  • http://twitter.com/guy_jin guy f

    wow, does this guy have rubber bones or what?

  • http://www.facebook.com/kurtoons Kurt Gallagher

    I used to ride A LOT in the 70s/80s. My goal was to never, ever fall off the thing. The joy for me was doing moves that I could actually DO. And you wouldn’t catch me dead carrying my board. It drives me NUTZ to see kids carrying around their boards and when they do decide to get on it, I see them trying to do a bunch of stuff that they can’t actually DO.

    • Alex Rudnick

      Congratulations!

      • http://www.facebook.com/kurtoons Kurt Gallagher

        I know, Hey you kids, get off my lawn.

    • http://www.ikaink.net Itsumishi

      I’m interested in how you learnt new tricks without ever trying something you couldn’t do.

  • Paul Birchenough

    Not seen this before, really (not a skateboarding aficionado). Skateboarding cinema is the cinema of found and lost spaces it seems. To be able to show show skill (even in a gag reel) is fantastic, to be doing it in such a way to reclaim the public commons and even better, the lost spaces, open to no-one, even the ‘rights-holders’, is a testament to individualism.

    Kudos.

    • saucy stranger

       Speaking as a skateboarder of 15 years, congratulations on completely hitting the nail on the head on your first attempt.. it’s about having fun and being creative, no matter how you do it/how good you are at doing so.

    • http://disqus.com/Kimmoth/ Kimmo

      Reminds me of this track: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bgd4d-lswG8

      I can’t skate two metres myself, but I’ve had skater mates so I know how much harder it is than it looks… although I didn’t find it worth all the effort and pain, myself.

      But this kind of kinetic art is close to my heart; as a cyclist and anarchist carving a path through traffic, I combine the utilitarian concept of serious locomotion with a good portion of the skater ethos: disregard for a system that disregards me, performing a kind of life-affirming art on wheels, and helmets spoil the fun.

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=8834925 Chauncey Scott

    I thought it was cool. I like how he performs the back flip as he glides sideways. I can’t do it, so I most definitely cannot hate on it.

  • http://www.linkedin.com/in/kenahoo Ken Williams

    HELMET HELMET HELMET HELMET HELMET HELMET HELMET HELMET HELMET HELMET!

    • http://disqus.com/Kimmoth/ Kimmo

      It’s his head, man. Sure, he looks crazy to you or me, but neither of us can say how justified or otherwise his confidence is.

      People who cry HELMET seem to completely fail to grasp their utterances are as nothing next to gambling the contents of one’s skull. The helmetless have already demonstrated brain damage isn’t a concern; what do you think you could ever say to tip the scales?

      Obviously they find quite a lot of value in wind in the hair that you simply don’t/can’t understand.

      On the other hand of course, if peer pressure is a significant factor, naturally that’s pretty fucked up.

      • phuzz

        It’s not so much the health and safety thing, it’s just, if he’s a professional skateboarder and he brakes something practising for that trick, then he can’t do the trick and won’t get paid.  And won’t be able to skate for a while, which is probably a bigger concern to him.
        I’d have at least worn a pair of gloves.

        • http://disqus.com/Kimmoth/ Kimmo

          Me too, but I’m almost certainly not as good at bailing as him.

  • http://profiles.google.com/macrumpton Michael Crumpton

    He will be unable to do anything using his ankles or knees by the time he is 50.

    • http://www.ikaink.net Itsumishi

      Yeah, but he’s probably had more fun leading up to his 40s than you’ll have in your lifetime.