We are back with another instalment of the Echo Chamber! 2024 has really started with a bang with new video parts dropping left, right and centre. Don’t they all know that these videos will mean absolutely nothing in the run-up to SOTY? Hopefully not, as we all get to enjoy these offerings from the skate overlords during the lousiest time of the year. Keep that stoke lit and flick through my picks this month!
Table of contents
Etnies “Barge the Bloc” Video – Thrasher Magazine
If you were to ask me 5-6 years ago what I thought of Etnies, I’d have said something along the lines of bleep bleep BMX bleep bleep. Nowadays, I believe that to be incredibly incorrect. Over the past few years, Etnies has been curating a genuinely sick team.
This new Euro-based edit, mostly filmed and edited by Kevin Parrott is a perfect example of exactly this. Nassim, Barney Page, Joslin, Josef Skott Jatta, Fabiana Delfino and my ultimate fave Julian Lewis tear up Europe throughout this edit and that’s not even the whole squad! I only ever want to see endemic brands such as Etnies thrive, and edits such as this are the perfect way to get Etnies back on top!
Shocking Moments Caught On Video – Hockey Skateboards
Imagine waking up one day and thinking, “Well, today is the day I kickflip into that huge wall”, better yet, imagine waking up and thinking, “Well, today is the day I tail ollie off of a balcony onto a transitioned roof drop”. Both of these thoughts must have entered Joseph Campos’ mind at some point over the last year of filming this video part and I can’t quite comprehend that. I mean, I guess this is why I write about skateboarding for a living and not actually ride a skateboard for a living, I suck at it. Joseph certainly doesn’t suck and neither does this edit, heavy heavy clips throughout, sprinkled with clips from John Fitzgerald, Nik Stain and Andrew Allen. Now that’s a recipe for a very good edit.
Jordan Trahan “STATIC VI” PART – Theories Of Atlantis
This part is an absolute treat on the eyes. Jordan Trahan hails from New Orleans which is also known as the ‘Big Easy’ due to its laid-back lifestyle compared to those rushing around in places such as New York, and if anyone’s style on a skateboard represents this aspect of New Orleans, it has to be Jordan.
Josh Stewart and his Static series needs no introduction and for us to be able to watch this combination of two incredibly unique humans collaborating on this project is a genuine treat. This will be a part that will never age and will be watched over and over again… by me anyway.
Jante 9:19 – Free Skate Magazine
Fritte Söderström comes through yet again with another Jante edit. Filmed almost exclusively in Helsinki and featuring basically every European skater there is, this is definitely a must-watch. Amazing spots and even better skating throughout. I’ve got to say though, anything with Vincent Huhta is worth a watch, he just oozes a laid-back style with uncompromised board control that makes skating look super fun. I mean, skating is fun of course, but you know when you are freaking out trying a manual combo, I just feel as though Vincent doesn’t ever get there. I’m most likely wrong, but I refuse to let that be a reality.
“XXIV” – Habitat Skateboards
What do both Habitat Skateboards and Noah’s Ark have in common? They both have two goats on board!
This edit from Habitat is absolutely crammed with dope skating, but you really cannot go wrong with footage from Silas Baxter-Neal and Mark Suciu. Actually, I feel bad for not putting a few more dudes featured in this edit into the Goated category, but I’m quietly really happy with the intro to this bit, so I’m just going to run with it. Sorry to the rest of the team, I really love you guys too!
Circa “Its Time” (2006)
Initially, I was going to put Peter Ramondetta’s part from It’s Time here. But I’ll be honest, I couldn’t find the part on YouTube so I thought why not just do the whole video?
I got this video free with a Sidewalk when I was 11 years old and it is easily still one of the most watched videos of mine. I love it. This video is one of the very best ever made in my opinion and I don’t care how biased I am. Oh and just to double down on the biased opinions, this was the greatest era of skateboarding too, you will not change my mind.
Circa “Its Time” Soundtrack
Epicly Later’d: Don ‘Nuge’ Nguyen – Vice
Patrik O’Dell has been doing the lords’ work for years now, creating mini-documentaries on legendary skaters throughout the years and opening up aspects of their lives that perhaps no one was aware of at all.
This newest episode concentrates on Don ‘Nuge’ Nguyen and how he came to be a pro-skater, how he ended up being the first person to launch themselves down El Toro and much much more. If you’ve never seen an Epicly Later’d before, I envy you, there is a bottomless pit of these videos all full of absolute gold. This is like David Attenborough and Louis Theroux joined forces to make a documentary on skateboarders, and who could possibly say no to that?!