(Featured: Sidewalk Magazine, 15th May 2015.)
âWhat if AVE skates to really bad hip hop in his Vans video part. âSorry we spent twenty grand on this camera, itâs all we could afford.ââ read a text message of genuine concern from a friend of mine. To say that Propeller, the Vans video, has been highly anticipated is an understatement. Talk of the video has come around a least once a session over the last six months, from who will have the opener, last part (itâs an easy guess), how much of Vansâ legends will feature, song choices and so on. Now that Propeller has been released, this discussion has only escalated more so with me and my skateboarding friends and with the raw files being released on a weekly basis, itâs hard to picture Propeller being a video that gets brushed to the side despite the attention span on my generation lasting around fifteen seconds, literally.
Undertaking making a video for Vans, the oldest skateboard footwear company in existence is no easy feat. There are few videographers I could have imagine taking on such a duty aside from Greg Hunt. With his past productions such as the DC Video and Mind Field, Hunt was either given a guideline for the format of the video, or with Alien Workshop, had a rich tapestry of art direction and influences to draw in the production. With this in mind, it could be argued that Propeller is as much the Vans video as it is âthe Greg Hunt videoâ as he had complete free reign over the project.
A debate about the Vans video so far has been whether it lacks identity. Personally, I donât feel that it does, I just had a different vision of what the video would look like and while it doesnât match this vision, by no means does Propeller disappoint. Propeller is very much âless is moreâ in many aspects, the editing is never over the top and even the intro is short and sweet. Starting with Tony Alva skating down a sidewalk and then a backyard pool; fittingly, the areas where not just Vans, but skateboarding was pioneered by him and his peers. Age is also an imaginary barrier to Christian Hosoi, Steve Caballero and Jeff Grosso, perfectly content shredding a half pipe while Steve Van Dorenâs gleeful face pops out of a window to salute them. Ray Barbee delivers the most euphoric no comply of the year moments afterwards and even John Cardiel blasts a Frontside slash grind that no doubt sent premiers wild. Along with many other Vans heads that are all in the video appearing throughout. Itâs hard to not have a boyish grin on your face as Rowley gleefully pushes down the street, knowing youâre about to see the best footage of him in five years. Those that follow Greg Hunt closely will find this light-hearted intro a nice contrast the emotional bagpipe fuelled oeuvre for Mind Field he last brought to us. The trailer for Propeller gave off a more serious vibe than the end result actually yields and while it may sound like this makes for a cheesy intro; it taps into the ten year old version of your current self, brimming with exciting to see another skate video. While for the older skateboarders that have spent their time on the board dedicated to the waffle sole, Iâm sure it will be more so.
Chima Ferguson takes the videoâs opening part, switch stance tanking it first over a road gap, then through a school yard over a picnic table. Though surprising and not who I expected as an opener, with likely the best selling Vans model right now, it makes sense to give Chima the opener and he certainly deserves it. Gaps and stairs are flown over, all of which become more impressive after noticing Chimaâs shoe of choice for most of filming Propeller seems to be a pair of Authentics. Which which made my feet hurt just watching the part, imagining taking those sort of drops in a shoe so thin. Regardless, Chima is unrelenting, even pulling off what most would consider questionable Heelflip variations in perfect style.
Following on is latest addition to the team and Propeller poster boy Rowan Zorilla. An little ATV in every sense of it, as far as first video parts go (scene videos such as Shep Dogs aside) itâs nothing short of rad. The appearance of a coonskin cap will also give you a few laughs but coincidentally (maybe) whenever this item appears on Rowanâs head; itâs at some of the heaviest moments of this part. There are few skateboarders that could both Frontside Disaster up a five feet vert extension and handle a five kink handrail, so hopefully that will give a better perspective of his broad range of terrain heâs capable with. This could have easily been an opening section for the video with no complaints and you should definitely keep an eye out for Rowan in the future and rinse his back catalogue when you get chance.
Following on is adult ATV Tony Trujillo with a Slayer accompanied onslaught taking place on all sorts of seemingly unskate-able terrain. Transition is torn up, with some Super 8 cam of TNT at Burnside being particularly astounding for an unexpected grab to Fingerflip while footplant based manoeuvres are plentiful, yet never overdone. Appropriately Elijah Berle follows on by disgruntling a tourist with a part that is less transition heavy than I expected, but those skills do not go to waste, most notably placing a perfect (yet awkward) Backside Revert in from Front Noseblunt in an early ditch line.
Going into Chris Pfannerâs part, you may be expecting big Ollies by the handful. First off, you arenât wrong and second, you wonât be bored by them. Obviously there is way more to Pfannerâs part than big pop. Handrail grinds get held in length and rolled away from in style, but personally I think Pfanner is at his best either powering over waist high objects and football field sized road gaps. A few late Bigpsins (as in Backside 180 Late Shove It) are casually tossed over said gaps and even into a ditch at one point in a proper display of what âpowerâ looks like. Pfannerâs section will leave your eyebrows raised well into Curren Caplesâ part which follows on. Filled with his signature smooth surfer style cruising across many a bowl deep end, handrail and bank. Out of the whole video Currenâs part seemed the shortest, but by no means is it cut prematurely but more due to him going full on Road Runner speed throughout. Props to the âthe most beautiful child on a skateboardâ…
As expected, with Greg Hunt behind the wheel, Propeller does not slack when it comes to music. While all the song choices werenât to my personal taste, each track and the skater it accompanies all fits incredibly well and ranges from Iggy Pop to Souixsie and the Banshees and even Ray Barbee providing his guitar skills over the credits. Daniel Lutheran definitely had one of, if not the, best and most well-matched songs of the whole video. I definitely feel Lutheran was a bit underrated before the video and, rightly so, the aftermath of this part should see in the spotlight more so. Laid back and loose, smashing stairs and handrails â often those embedded into walls and unafraid to flip onto them in this scenario. Whatâs most endearing and amusing about Lutheranâs skating, apart from his Christmas jumper which makes a few appearances – the fashion hammers in this video need a separate review… Is that whether it be B-Roll clips, rolling away from his tricks or sometimes even mid manoeuvre, itâs rare that Lutheran doesnât have a smile on his face. I honestly left this part in a better mood and Lutheran is a pleasant reminder that thereâs still fun to be had behind the gruelling years of filming that go in these sort of productions. Further props given for possible the best/most stylish save/ride away on a skinny landing documented on a video.
Taking what could have been a flawless double song ender, is Gilbert Crockett. After the release of his extra raw footage from the video, Iâm sure Hunt couldâve left it all in and given Olâ Gil a three song part and nobody would have complained. The shitkicking country boy goes hard, fast, high and oozes style consistently. The first half of his part sets up more feels like a nice intro, though the skating is brilliant, whereas the second half feels more like a section youâd expect from Gilbert. Perhaps due to his Old Dominion part being a main point of reference for him to many, as he skates to a song by the same band he skated to in that part (Magnolia Electric Co.). While night footage and glimpses of his hometown of Richmond, Virginia aid to this. Prior to watching the video Iâd read interview with Crockett were he stated âFilming for this video has been long. Pre-tattoo footage, weird pant phases, hair, no hair, donât judge me.â and also âI want to grind a twenty stair handrail.â With both these thoughts in mind, I did not expect to witness Crockett 5050 a double kink wearing a neckerchief. Now, Iâm aware Gilbert feels handrail skating is, largely, not relatable to a lot of skateboarders. So at least Gilbert had the initiative to spice things up by making arguable the most âmachoâ aspect of skateboarding, a bit less so. Iâm backing that scarf more than AVEâs sheep skin jacket anyhow… Power, finesse pop, after all those web clips Gilbert put out last year, itâs amazing to see that he still came through with what could be considered a definitive video part for him.
Itâs very surprising and a credit to both Greg Hunt and Cody Green, the other main filmer on this project, that there is a real lack of shared parts. With a team as stacked as Vans, I think a lot of people saw this as inevitability. The only shared part in the video is Andrew Allen and Dustin Dollin. Whether it was their decision or Gregâs for them to share a part, two people could not have worked better together. Arriving on the scene looking like he fell backwards through the Miami Vice wardrobe department, Allen alleyoops out of curb cuts before traversing walls and incredibly steep banks in to Nosegrinds, both switch a regular. Dustin takes the latter half of the part of his usual hap hazard demeanour, throwing a surprising Shove It Tail Grab to wheel biter filled ride away and ending with a monster of a 180 to Nosegrind. However itâs Dollinâs utilisation of the Noseslide that stands out. Taking one to a double kink and placing one perfectly in the middle of a double barrelled rail that beckons an injury are just a couple of the trick that may have been lost a bit, but is gaining momentum again…
The prospect of another full length Geoff Rowley part has definitely held hopes up high in the time leading up to Propellerâs release. More so by UK skateboarders than our US friends and I imagine the response to Geoffâs part from the Lost Art crew and Liverpool heads in general was through the roof, especially at the opening trick. Whether or not this will be Geoffâs last part is unknown however at the age of 38, we wouldnât blame him and if it is, heâs gone out on a banger. We know Mr Rowley has a fairly long relationship with Motorhead so it doesnât come as too much of a surprise that Lemmyâs rough throated lyrics accompany Geoff in this outing and it works fantastically. Predominantly, Geoffâs part features him skating ditches. No ordinary selection of ditches though, as what ensues is the greatest assortment of âgnarly ditch techâ ever put to video. The âHellâs Mouthâ ditch gets an barrage of Bluntslide variations while Geoff throws the most spectacular of Backside 360s into. A Fakie Flip on another mountainous drainage reserve will leave your eyes widened and heart pounding at the thought of catapulting down something so treacherous, backwards. Basically, imagine that for every stairset Geoff jumped in Sorry, you had a ditch instead and youâll have a vague idea of what his Propeller part looks like. At fear of spoiling too much of definitely one of the best parts in the video, Iâll leave it at this. Time and time again this once âpint sized agroâ has done us proud and Propeller is no exception (and heâs fucking 38!).
Brazilian vert beast Pedro Barros is the last of Vans transition focused shredders to feature. Burnside, backyard parks and a wide assortment of transition you probably would even drop in on are fearlessly grinded, aired out of and up and Omar Hassan also appears for a few cameo tricks. The length of the lines here are simply mesmerising, one of which takes three camera angles to fit the whole run in while another sees a Full Cab Backside Tail delivered at warp speed.
Taking the penultimate part is Kyle Walker who delivers the second breakout part of this video with a well rounded mix of speed, long and mellow handrails with dashes ledge tech here and there. Frontside 360s are a favourite trick of mine and often lesser seen, so Walker casually stretching one across a gap was much to my delight whilst Reynolds-esque Full Cabs, both Fakie and Nollie are thrown across hefty distances. When not down stairs, railings are occasionally gapped from and in one instance flipped out of to a road and 5050s and Feeble grinds are always either extensive or Backside 180d out of. Iâm looking forward to what Walker delivers in the coming months but after this part I think itâs safe to say his name should be making his way onto a Real board very soon…
Fifteen years ago, Chris Carter uttered the famous words to Jason Dill âyou know what the last part means right?â At the time, Dill understood and evidently his best friend Anthony Van Engelen did too; who, as expected, rounds off Propeller. There is so much yet to said about AVEâs part but I could leave it âthis is what skating a like a man looks likeâ and quite sure Iâd get a unanimous agreement from skateboarders the world over. As if foreshadowing what the following four minutes will bring, a water feature explodes as AVE turns to face the camera, then powers his way into a schoolyard shut down. Ozzy bellows as AVE charges across the Los Angeles landscape, Switch skating is in abundance, whether it be powerfully and pristinely flicking a Kickflip across a grass gap (mid line…) or into Switch Nose Manual with a surprising Half Cab out. Bringing me back to the video lacking personality debate, I think simply, because of the expectations riding on Propeller, on the first viewing you may feel a bit too blown away to process it, I did. The thought that this is âthe Vans videoâ lingers during your first viewing that itâs so easy just to absorb the sheer âhammer factorâ of everything. However after that, itâs far easier to appreciate the more minute details like Dollinâs sunglasses cascading off as he lies battered from a handrail gone astray, the subtle dust dispersion that flies from under Gilbertâs wheels as he forcefully stomps down a Fliptrick. Even AVEâs body language of sweet relief is framed within a chain link fence for once brief moment after gapping to Switch Crook… Before balance takes its toll and he plummets backwards towards to camera revealing a shirt blackened from slams.
Furthermore, and this is applicable to other skaters in the video but more so with AVE, but I find it refreshing to see more than one trick on the same spots throughout his part. Perhaps itâs more prevalent here as heâs known for having somewhat of an âitâs never enoughâ attitude and has proclaimed âI feel my best when Iâm absolutely fucking thrashed.â His long time partner in crime, Jason Dill, has a few tricks within his part. All are good however it becomes disappointing considering just how good Dillâs brief appearance is, that a full part could really have been something. Guy Mariano also appears for a guest trick which made me wonder, considering both have battled similar demons, after Mind Field being the comeback part, is Propeller to AVE what Pretty Sweet was Mariano? Going back to the level of switch skating here, itâs not just the frequency or straight balls to the wall switch skating we know AVE is capable of, but the complexity of it too. I came into this part expecting AVE at his best, what I didnât expect was back to back to back picnic bench line consisting of a Switch Backside Lipslide followed by Switch Backside Noseblunt. If youâve followed AVE closely leading up this, the majority of notable tricks heâs had as adverts over the last few years is here. Switch Crook Flip Out on a picnic bench, perfect and the Feeble, THAT Feeble, he Backside 180s out of it. As this year goes on and we endlessly hear whoâs âgunningâ for SOTY, those that watched Propeller will be sure it doesnât matter and will be stunned if he doesnât take it this year. Encouragingly, it wonât be from tiresome, energy drink clad âcampaign trailsâ that we see every other year, but largely on the strength of this part. Bringing a switchblade to the proverbial gunfight and walking away dusted, bloodied, blond hair filled with grit and victorious. Because as I said the start of this review – less is more.
If youâre holding out for the DVD release, donât worry as itâs due to hit skate shops around June. Chris Nieratko has also interviewed the majority of the team which should be featured in a book that comes with it which will also feature a few photos from our man Chris Johnson.
It doesnât matter whether you donât get hyped on stairs, transition, or you âcanât relate to itâ. Propeller taps into that younger version of yourself, completely enamoured and in awe of what is playing in front of you. Funnily enough, for me, that video was the Greg Hunt helmed DC Video… Arguably, skateboarding has lost itâs bottle a bit over the last few years and with Propeller, it feels like skateboarding has grown a pair of balls again. And that isnât down to people jumping down handrails for internet glory. Itâs down to Greg Hunt and a hard working, dynamic group of skateboarders busting their ass for five years to showcase what skateboarding looks like to them. Leave your ego at the door and get stoked.
F.G. 