Jimmy Chung

Some "Mantis" footage in this montage, regrettably it's the one from Best of #2 and not the original version with the Guru track.

Tim O'Connor

Not only is the pop on this kickflip unbelievable, the fact that he did it while wearing Air Force Ones(impossible to skate in, for me at least) makes it that much more special. I don't think that Tim O'Connor gets nearly enough credit for his progressive ledge game over the years, and I feel that along with a couple of other dudes he really sparked the awkward 180 or shove-it out of a grind in the middle of a ledge thing, although he makes it look about as far from awkward as you can get. Which was even more impressive considering he did it when everybody else seemed to be stuck flipping into crooked grinds or slithering across orange plastic barriers with jump ramp assistance.

(Anyone else remember that old Firm commercial from 411 where Ray Barbee laced a f/s nosegrind revert in the middle of a ledge? That's the kind of shit I'm referring to.)

Greg Hunt

Not sure if this one has been posted anywhere else before, but I came across it today and thought it worth posting. When I was younger I found this pro spotlight and this video part somewhat boring, even though I liked Greg's photos and footage in other stuff. Now both have really grown on me, especially the awkward 50-50 tricks in Tincan, specifically the nollie f/s 180 switch f/s 50-50 180 out(followed by a killer "jazz push"*) and the switch f/s 180 50-50 to b/s 180 out in the middle of the ledge. The beauty and innovation contained in such subtle maneuvers was lost on me when I was younger, much to my regret.

*I was going to go off on a tangent about the contrived "jazz push" as executed(twice in one line, no less) by Marc Johnson in Yeah Right! and how it was perhaps some sort of homage considering MJ listed that Tincan part as one of his top five favorite video parts and has admitted to consciously referencing tricks done by other skaters in his Fully Flared part. However, something makes me not want to bash Marc Johnson on here (I like him sometimes) or get too analytical about the "jazz push", a term which I assume was coined either on the SLAP boards or by the folks over at YouWillSoon. I guess I sort of went off on a tangent anyway.

Serenity now...

Still not in possession of all of my faculties AKA a closet full of mags and shitty scanner but I got some gems left on my computer and they happen to be on topic for whatever it is I want to say. Which is mainly that mid-90's New York footage still kills anything else - this sentiment of mine was strongly reaffirmed upon discovering this and especially this, both of which popped up on youtube sometime this week. I feel like I have been waiting too long to see footage of this sequence, thank you "mrkeekee" for granting my wish. Now someone tell me how to get my hands on those N.Y. Revisited videos, please.

The other thing I wanted to mention was the abundance of Javier Nunez coverage as of late, a phenomenon which was nicely addressed here. Best-trick victories, Transworld Interviews, etc. Good stuff. Kind of surreal, actually. Axion is back, Javier is killing it, Steven Cales is free and apparently skating, Pupecki had that interview at Bobshirt, and I have heard whispers of an Epicly Later'd Menace series. Weird and awesome shit.