The Echo Chamber is back!! I know you have all been waiting each morning, every weekend with bated breath, hoping another ready-made selection of skate videos drops from us, helping you get hyped to get out into the cold and shred around. I’m sorry it has taken this long for me to create another one of these, I will do my very best to keep these coming more regularly in the future.
For those who are perhaps new to the Echo Chamber blogs, this is a place for me to present the best skate videos/parts I’ve watched recently and give you my two cents on them. Anyway, now I’ve grovelled away my guilt, let’s have a look into my selections from the past few weeks!
Vans Shop Riot European Finals 2023 in Manchester England – Flatspot Mag
I’m going to start this off with a shameless plug. This year we entered our very first Vans Shop Riot event in Cardiff and our boys, Josh Mayson, Joe Hill and Joe Hinson absolutely smashed it and ended up winning the thing! This meant we qualified for the Finals, competing against all of the winners of their respective domestic Shop Riot comps.
The video here is the round-up edit created by the guys over at Flatspot Magazine in the Netherlands. This edit perfectly encapsulates the insane standard of skating throughout the weekend as well as giving you a glimpse of the feel-good vibes emitted from everyone the whole time. Give it a watch and see how our boys got into the finals of the Finals!
TJ Rogers Video Part | KEEP SMILING
TJ Rogers is one of the very best out there. His newest part for Red Bull proves exactly that with this part being absolutely crammed with both gnarly and tech goodness. Some clips even involve both, one of my favourite clips in this edit has got to be the half-cab heel down the stair-set to nollie BS heel down the curb straight after. The half-cab heel could have easily made the edit, but the ability to be able to instantly pop a nollie BS heel off the curb just shows how much board control this dude has.
My only gripe with TJ is when he tucks his vest into those elasticated trousers. His fits are usually absolutely golden, but I get incredibly sad when I see that tucked-in vest. Shout out to his dog Baby Bella though, glad to see her in the edit, the ‘lil cutie!
April skateboards “Dashawn Jordan”
I generally do not subscribe to the belief that skateboarders are athletes, aside from a chosen few. Dashawn Jordan is an athlete, no question at all. Dashawn strikes me as the kind of dude who if he didn’t get into skateboarding, would have ended up being a big name in the NFL or MLB.
Lucky for us all, he did get into skateboarding. This cheeky little two-minute edit, welcoming him to April Skateboards is full of crazy clips, the standout clip, however, has got to be his bs bluntslide around the corner of the raised curb. It’s nowhere near the gnarliest trick in the edit, nor the most complicated, but the way he does it is amazing, the pop back into the curb at the end is just beautiful.
EVISEN & PASS~PORT PRESENT “HOT~POT”
I’m not sure anything will ever top the Beauty and the Beast tour, but it is still so rad to see two separate brands join forces and film an edit together. This collaboration between Evisen and Pass~Port skateboards is not only full of unbelievable skating, but it also highlights the difference in skating between the two crews.
It’s a really cool eye-opener to watch someone such as Matlok Bennett-Jones skate a spot a certain way and then for a skater like Kento Yoshioko (Super Rat) to skate the same spot in an almost totally different way. It’s like when a random shredder turns up at your local park and finds lines you’ve never thought of before. You get to see how open for interpretation street skating is, and the fewer rules you apply to it, the more your imagination can run wild!
Theories Brand – CONDUIT
I absolutely adore Theories Of Atlantis, so when I saw an edit was released of the crew skating in Detroit, I already knew I was going to love it. Ryan Alvero opens the edit up with basically a whole part filmed from this trip, which is just silly when you think about it. His two-minute opener is sick, with a mix of rough and rugged spots combined with his uber-smooth skating. Keeping to the classic Theories style with it being filmed on a VX and fantastic trick selection throughout. Theories never-ever disappoint!
Jack O’Grady’s “SQUISH” Pass~Port Part
Do you get hyped watching video parts that are so gnarly you almost feel scared watching them? Well, Jack O’Grady’s new part with Pass~Port is exactly that.
I would love to see what a mellow skate is for this dude… Not only does he bs 50 a 20+ stair handrail into gravel, he k-grinds one of the gnarliest hubbas out there at the moment. In fact, he may have one of the most impressive collections of k-grinds out there. Zero self-preservation, 100% commitment!
John Shanahan’s Double Down – DGK
The yet to be announced 2023 SOTY (hopefully) has dropped another heavy part this year. John has been on a mad one all year, dropping parts everywhere you look. This is another top-level part, with great skating, an amazing song and even a Bam Margera FDR cameo!
That cameo had me thinking, who else could drop a part shredding FDR and Muni like John does? He really is one of the most individual dudes out there at the moment.
Thrasher Vacation: Canada
Rick McCrank is the GOAT, enough said.
Supereight Office Playlist
Outside of my Echo Chamber, we have decided to bring back the Supereight Spotify playlist! This new playlist is going to be filled with songs selected by everyone here, employees and bosses alike. Collectively we have an incredibly eclectic taste in music, with almost every genre being played at some point either in the office or in the warehouse. There will be a decent chunk of this playlist that has been inspired by skate videos of the past, so if you are in the market for a bit of a nostalgia hit this is definitely a playlist to follow.
Additionally, there are a few dudes here that are all about finding brand-new releases from artists I’ve never heard of, so there really will be something for everyone here. Check it out, and when you do stumble upon one of these weird modern songs, drop us an email and let our Warehouse Manager Joey know how bad they are!
