I’m not sure the first time I saw Aaron Feinberg skate. Could have been the X-Games. could have been an early VG or Hoax when he was still wearing a helmet. VG9: Back to Basics was his first profile I paid close attention to, mostly because of the extensive S.C.R.A.P. and The Pit footage, two of our first skateparks here in northern Illinois.

But his Standfast section was the first time I considered he might be the greatest of all time. This is the Feinberg section where, after years of ASA domination, I finally thought of him as a street skater first. The use of Weezer’s “Say it Aint So” was an inspired choice, coming eight years after the song’s original release, but before the band gained its resurgent popularity. Like the best video songs, it was instantly recognizable and built momentum throughout. The black and white made the video look more professional and timeless. And, man, the tricks were unreal. The soul to backside to mistrial on the separated kinker midway through was named trick of the year in Box Magazine for 1999, but anything from the last 30 seconds could have easily qualified. It’s the casual boardslide on the 12-stair in the middle of it all that felt the cockiest. As if he was making it perfectly clear, “if I really wanted to, I could be the best skateboarder in the world, too.”