Alan Hughes / December 1st, 2011 / Now Showing
NOW SHOWING #2: SSM, SK and Stockwell

It’s a blurry line sometimes between “edit” and “video.” If it is a measurement of quality, then none of these edits would be deserving of such a derogatory term, but we call them that anyways because they are online and basically free to consumers. So make sure to lace up your skates, tighten your frames, and lube up your bearings because these edits will have you ready to shred.

SSM Montage#3:

With such private Vimeo account settings, at first I was hesitant to write a review of the latest Shima Skate Manufacturing edit. I didn’t want to become the Julian Assange of top secret skate videos. But then I figured, fuck it. Seriously though, it is very difficult to review this edit, as it is one of the rare times that you really have to stretch to find something to critique. The sneak peek clips of the new skates at the beginning run kind of long and make it hard to post to Facebook when you want to show off to your friends how totally “un-gay” you are for being a rollerblader, knowing that a lot of them will just lose interest and quit watching before the shredding even begins. At first the song bugged me, reminding me too much of the music that the terrible radio stations along the Ohio River Valley play, but not quite to that Nickelback extent. And after a few watches it grew on me. The color grading is a bit too heavy in some clips, but never blown out. Other than that, I thought this edit was perfect.

Your main man Keith Stone opens the edit up with some really impressive clips. You will cringe from a mile away when you first see he is about to attempt to farv through a series of dropping square handicap rails. Matty Schrock, John Bolino, Adam Brierly, and Leon Humphries all really come through with some impressive clips. The great thing about the SSM team that they all seem to have in common is that they are all or nothing. You never see hesitation. Even if they are about to eat serious shit, you would never know by their body language. They are still going for the trick regardless of how out of control they may be. Old man BJ Burnhardt ends the edit with a very crazy soul around what appears to be a very quick, almost 180 degree curved down ledge, next to a rail. Along with the first two SSM montages and the recent Remy Meister and Marc Moreno profiles, you basically have an entire video that is more than motivating to watch before you lace up.

Sean Kelso — “Originals” Part 1:

Probably best described by Dre Powell (I think) as Sean “My feet move so fast you can’t tell what trick I’m doing” Kelso. Now, that is equally as much a compliment as it is criticism. When I first saw this edit I had just woken up and was pretty groggy. My mind wasn’t moving fast enough to figure out what he was doing and it ended up just looking like a bunch of arms and legs flailing around. Later on I watched it after a frustrating day at work while finishing off an energy drink and I felt really motivated to go destroy a p-rail or ankle high somewhere.

Sean’s style has become more and more defined and uniquely his over the years. A lot of times vaguely lost in his brother’s shadow, he has always been this relentlessly technical skater that hits switches harder than Ike Turner (if anybody actually understands that inappropriate reference). His trick vocabulary or preferences have changed just slightly. Though still very technical, he does a lot of creative style tricks, big spins, and long lines. One stand out tech trick was 360 to farside negative mistrial down a seven stair rail. There is also a truespin 360 to makio on a small ledge to torque on a similar ledge next to it at about a 45 degree angle, and then 360 out.

His ender took me a minute to really appreciate. A makio next to a wall down a 15- or 20-stair in itself was impressive, but the weird texture of the wall consisted of small, circular holes that could probably mangle the crap out of your fingers, and fighting the urge to touch or pat a wall that close can be almost impossible. All around this was a very impressive edit, more than deserving of Blue-Ray status, and is probably bringing all of his sponsors more sales every day.

Jeff Stockwell — Themgoods Pro Series:

One of the greatest things about online edits has always been their sort of reverse-hype. Not having to live up to any expectations, you just appreciate whatever it is for what it is, and if it is a pro skater, it is awesome. So I guess an unfortunate side effect of the changing times would be hype created for edits. Not that there was a lot of advertising for this, but when you see an ad on the Themgoods website you know: it is being vouched for by Jon Julio (one of the most respected dudes), it is probably being filmed and edited by Ivan Narez (who most people have grown accustomed to his very high-end work), and it is Jeff Stockwell (for Christ’s sake). This edit has to be awesome! Reverse reverse-hype has now been achieved along with ridiculously high expectations.

In comes the actual edit. Shorter than I had hoped, with a run time of 2:22 including a handful of “personality” clips or whatever term you prefer. A lot of really solid tricks but nothing too difficult, it is mostly about cruising around and skating fast, during what looks to have been a weekend in San Francisco. The ending banger top soul on a stair rail to hill bomb can be kind of confusing at first, seeing the 27.83 different angles, until the last two that show how much ass he was hauling. And then it ends. The overall feel of the edit is great, everything fits into place stylistically really well and I’m sure it would be a great promotional piece to show people who don’t know anything about us. But for Stockwell fans, it may leave you wanting something more.

Discussion / NOW SHOWING #2: SSM, SK and Stockwell

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  • Dragonslayer - December 2nd, 2011

    Cool reviews, agree with most things…. One thing i really like about the Stockwell edit is that it actually showcases the product being promoted. I’ve seen lots of bearing promos in the past that show skaters sessioning grinds with no shots of actual rolling…. With the Stock edit you really get the impression of the speed and smoothness of his movements and you get a sense of the quality of the bearings.

    To me, this makes the Edit one of the most effective promos I’ve seen in years…

    Loving these reviews, as edits come and go so quick nowadays it can be easy to forget them after a month or so… It’s a good idea to highlight the decent ones.

  • Oscar - December 3rd, 2011

    Loving the Online Edit Reviews! They’re such a big part of not only blading but every action sport nowadays that it was time that somebody, with the back up for such a PowerHouse as One is, started doing them.

    SSM edit is impressive, very very high quality and in tune with the image they portray, Rusty blading at its best

  • kb - December 7th, 2011

    Great reviews, I agree with Oscar, great online edits are really something worth talking about, so please keep on doing them!

  • dan bond - December 20th, 2011

    “…show off to your friends how totally un-gay you are for being a rollerblader”

    Can we leave this shit at the door please?

  • Alan Hughes - January 12th, 2012

    No, its already been inside the door for a couple decades so you might as well joke about it.

  • Justin Barr - February 21st, 2012

    I pretty much just want to punch you after reading that.

  • Alan Hughes - February 21st, 2012

    word

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