But we at Kingpin we are convinced that some of the edits that hit the web deserve to be remembered as more than “just another web clip”. So to prevent legit skateboarding from being diluted in this way we’ve decided to launch this new section on our website. From now on at the beginning of each month I’ll be posting (in no particular order) what the Kingpin editors consider being the best 5 edits to have been released over the last 30 days. I’m sure those of you who have better things to do than watch every single video that gets posted on this site (like actually ride your skateboards) will benefit from these little monthly recaps.

Street Machine Copenhagen: VORESKBH

I have to admit that it was quite difficult for us to choose between this one and this month other excellent Scandinavian release: Oslo 5. Hjalte’s section with the Pontus cameo probably gave it the edge… I think it’s the first full part I’ve seen from the Scandinavian Smithy and I was blown away! His skating is a mixture of spontaneity, flow and a little something special I can’t quite put my finger on. It has to do with the way he makes every spot look tiny without looking too big for his skateboard. I’m not denying the fact that he’s a rather imposing young man but it has more to do with his rythm and how he barely moves his feet before he glides out of every trick. I think I must have replayed his switch back tail at least 5 times in a row. I love how he’s completely leaning back and looking the wrong way as he lands, everything about it looks so switch. It’s such a steezy little backwards swerve.

The standard of skating in crew videos is so high these days that it takes a little more than a bunch of stylish tricks to stand out. In this case the way the scene’s atmosphere is portrayed is probably one of their main assets. Here recurring spots and shared sections obviously help show this but I’m convinced that the few trip sections sprinkled between the parts are what really make a difference, even if the skating’s not taking place in Copenhagen. Seeing this group of friends take on some spots they’ll probably never get to skate again is one of the best parts of the video. You actually get to compare what they were naturally inclined to try and enjoy everything they managed film in a short amount of time rather than the usual 3 minutes of offcuts these sections usually offer. It felt like it was the first time someone did this properly since “Bon Appétit”.

The Philadelphia Experiment:

I’ve always been a fan of Chris Mulhern’s work but I couldn’t help but be a little disappointed by his switch from VX to HD. Of course he’s one of the few filmers who actually knows how to use those bulky cameras but I was worried that he’d never quite be able to recreate the something as good as “This Time Tomorrow”. Then he released this incredible time travelling experiment. Reading him say “the way the headlights streak on actual film emulsion is something that HD can never recreate” in his Theories Of Atlantis interview was all it took for my faith to be restored. Of course a lot of you may find the whole the VHS/90’s look a little bit played out but I don’t recall it ever being done so effectively and frankly, out of all the current skate video trends, it’s by far the one that makes the most sense. It may have lost a little bit of its novelty but I’d much rather see skateboarding take this route than the HD slow-mo ledge dancing one. At least those cameras actually capture the way skateboarding feels rather than dumbing it down for a wider audience. Plus slipping some of Ryan Gee’s old high 8 clips in there was a stroke of genius! It keeps you constantly on the edge of your seat, asking yourself “wait a second was that new Ricky Oyola footage”? The confusion created by the recent clip of Brian Panebianco rocking the classic 1995 swishy pant/Chunky DC outfit at LOVE park is also one of the highlights.

Then there’s the whole Mark Suciu phenomenon. We had to decide to not have more than one Suciu clip in here, but objectively his Sabotage 3 remix and his Adidas part were probably amongst the 5 best edits that came out last month. Taking his Californian (robotic?) consistency to Philly was definitely excellent for his career. I can’t think of a better way to gain a bit of extra credibility than than move to a city with tons cellar doors, crusty looking spots and an iconic “back from the dead” plaza.

Sylvain Tognelli’s Kingpin interview edit:

No matter how determined they are to ruin a legit company, the Blueprint owners must suffered from the serious blows they took last month. I’m not even referring to the Hitler video or the pages and pages of hate on the forums and on their Facebook. I’m talking about the rise of Isle and all the hype that came with it, Brady getting on Palace, Coakley’s sick welcome to Think clip, Smithy killing it in the National Promo and of course Sylvain’s Kingpin/Lakai edit. Blueprint’s demise doesn’t seem to have slowed them down one bit and I’m sure the future (The Grey video, Palace’s video, Morph/Kev Parrot’s video) will show that this painful episode has fuelled their motivation if anything.

In terms of skateboarding I feel like there really isn’t any need to explain why this clip is in the top 5. It may be a shorter than expected (I’d be curious to see what the Americans filtered out…) but every single trick is incredible. Who else have we ever seen do a nose wheelie on a wall?

Dimestore’s “Dime Turd”.

Anyone who’s seen a Dimestore video knows exactly why this is up here. On one hand you’ve got all the elements you’ve learnt to love an expect from them: footage of Montreal’s weirdos, Crackheads and gnarly street fights; sick skating (Antoine Asselin, J-S Lapierre and Charles Rivard always deliver the goods) and the editing is always hilarious. Who else uses the X-Files theme song or makes giant reincarnations of their mates appear through the clouds?  On the other hand they are completely unpredictable. This one for instance is full of skaters that weren’t in the previous ones. That includes cameos from big names like Wade Des Armo as well as full sections from unknown nutters like Alexis Lacroix, the guy  who “mono-sky bombs” over that gnarly SF double set.

Another notable surprise in this one is the absence of their beloved mascot. Judging from the filter YouTube has imposed on their first video I’m guessing they must have had a few legal issues with her. What a shame we were just getting to know her.

Lucien Clarke’s welcome to KR3W clip.

Out of all of the unique styles London has produced Lucien’s is definitely one of those that I find the most interesting. It takes so many ingredients to create such a peculiar balance of finesse and power. One of them is probably his flick. You just don’t expect someone with Lavaresque flip tricks to be able to do them down massive gaps, let alone with the same delicacy as on flat. Then theirs his ability to make to roughest grounds look as smooth as MACBA. The footage of him frontside flipping some stairs at 0:29 is a good illustration of what I mean. When he absorbs the impact it looks as if he’s landing on some buttery Californian schoolyard asphalt but believe me that is one shitty set of stairs. It’s only 5 minutes away from Bordeaux’s outdoor skatepark which means that tons of skaters roll past it everyday yet I seriously can’t remember anyone ever bothering to skate them before Lucien. I guess chucking yourself down horrible British sets for years is bound to enhance your ability to adapt to anything… Finally there’s the way he always seems so calm and in control. It’s as if he was taking his time without necessarily going slowly. It might be a little more noticeable in This Time Tomorrow (it’s easier to see this kind of thing in a 5 minute part) so use this as an excuse to rewatch his section (starts 43 minutes in).

KR3W welcomes Lucien to the European team by releasing this short clip filmed in London and  Bordeaux. Considering how everything he posts on instagram usually gets around 200 “likes”, I’ll be curious to see how many views this minute of him absolutely smashing it will get over the next few days…

A few weeks ago Lucien Clarke, Steph Morgan, Casper Brooker, Darius Trabalza and Eugene Ochieng met up with Jody Smith to film this clip at the DC embassy. These guys skate some seriously crusty spots on a daily basis, so I’m not surprised that flying around this smooth indoor skatepark looks so easy for them…

Photos by Nikwen.

It’s funny how important a skater’s “image” is for his career. It’s almost like nowadays you need to fit into one of the “cool” categories to be considered relevant, but what category does Flo fall into? He’s not exactly a jazzy power sliding night skater, he’s definitely not a hesh tranny skater or a baker/hammer guy. You wouldn’t consider him to be a “super-tech” guy either, his skating a bit too varied for that. He could almost be an “energy drink superkid” but he reps CocaCola too hard, and his trick selection is slightly too tasteful. What the hell is he then? Or rather who is he?

There’s a reason why you probably don’t know much about his personality: he simply doesn’t want to share it with you. It may sound strange, but then again, when you think of it, why should he? He’s a skater, he’s not trying to get kids to hug him, he’s trying to get them pick up their skateboards and hit the streets. You may not catch him smiling at every demo or kissing your favorite American pro’s arse (no matter how good it would be for his career) but at least he’s genuine, no gimmicks. That being said, if you want to make it in the skate game, you have to play by it’s rules, so here’s an interview with one of my friends who won’t pretend to be yours just because it would be good for his image.

Fakie five-o front shove mid ledge.

Hi Flo, how are you? What have you been up to lately? I heard you guys were on deadline for the new Cliché video, how is that going?

 I’m fine and you? Yeah, the deadline is really close, we are supposed to stop filming at the end of February. Cliché are taking us on one last trip this month and then that’s it. It’s going really well, everybody is on it. I’ve been trying to film one last thing in Lyon but the weather has been so shit that I haven’t been able to try properly.

Who do you think has the best stuff so far?

I know Sammy and Daniel have filmed some really sick clips. I haven’t seen everyone’s footage though, but I’m sure Joey and Lucas have got good footage, they are both pretty productive. I’ve also been skating Lyon with Adrien quite a lot recently, and I’ve witnessed some crazy hammers, he’s been killing it.

Yeah I heard about Adrien’s gnarly stuff on the Rowley hubba… It sounds like one of the flows is going to get the last part! That would be a first…Do you think one of them is going to get on the proper team after the video drops? That’s how it happened with you right?

Yeah definitely, probably even more than one of them to be honest; the stuff they’ve got so far is mind-blowing. I guess the team will have to decide who they want to have properly on. That’s how it happened for me: I went on a few trips with them, filmed for “Clé,” and when the video came out they put me on.

So when was that, 4 or 5 years ago? Since then you have been trying to live from skateboarding, how is that going? Can ams make enough money to live comfortably in Europe without being sponsored by an energy drink company?

It’s going fine, I think you can definitely make enough money to get by in Europe. The only thing is I don’t think it’s enough to keep you going once your “career” is over. You know that after skating you will inevitably have to get a proper job, but right now, I can’t complain.

Bigspin backside disaster.

Leaving the financial aspect of it aside, are you still enjoying it? Because I remember there was a point last summer when you kept losing your shit. More than once I heard you say: “I’m sick of this, I can’t stand filming and shooting photos anymore, it’s driving me nuts, I just want to skate Hotel De Ville with my friends…”

Hahaha, no right now things are going well… But it’s true that at one point I was kind of over it. I injured my leg last year and for 6 months after that I just felt like I was struggling to do anything. It took me a while to feel confortable on my board again, and when you are supposed to be filming a part or when you are on a trip and you suck at skateboarding it can really get to you, you feel useless. I found myself wishing I could just have mellow sessions with my friends instead of constantly being on missions. But then you start getting better again, your confidence comes back and you enjoy it in the same way as you used to.

Don’t you think it could also be linked to the fact that it’s your job to skate everyday, you think about skateboarding all day and basically only hang out with skaters?

Yeah, it’s not good to be trapped inside a routine like that… But the fact that it’s a routine you chose to get yourself into, means that you have the power to get yourself out of it by doing other things that have nothing to do with skateboarding. That’s exactly what I’ve been trying to do recently.

Like what?

I’ve been drawing quite a lot. Whenever I’m not skating I try and go to driving school… I’ve also been trying to learn some new tricks on my kendama.

It’s funny I knew you would enjoy playing with that that thing (it was a birthday present from me and another friend). Seeing you learn tricks with it reminds me at lot of the way you skate. It’s really repetitive and takes the same kind of patience and dedication, except you probably don’t look as ridiculous on your board. Then again, can you tell people about the flat ground  “revisions” you do over the summer at Hotel de Ville? I find the concept quite amusing…

Hahaha, sometimes I play this little game where I try and redo every single trick I can do: kicklip, switch flip, nollie, flip, fackie flip etc… Then I would do the same thing with heelflips, bigspins and so on. I guess it kind of trains you up for playing SKATE haha… It reminds me of when I would session my bench on my own, in Gap ( little town in the south of France where he grew up skating).

What’s the story behind this bench?

Basically, when I was younger I stole a Bench from a school with a few friends and took it to an inner courtyard where my mother worked. It was ten minutes from my house and I ended up skating it for hours every evening after school.

Rickflip.

I know you spend hours on HellaClips everyday, do you think skateboarding is benefiting from this constant flow of skate clips, or do you miss the good old VHS days?

I hate the Internet’s influence on skateboarding and one of the reasons why I hate it so much is because there is no escaping it. Nowadays, I feel like you instantly forget everything about a part right after watching it. Videos don’t have the same charm as they use to. A few years ago, you’d buy a video and watch it over and over again for 6 months, and still love it. It’s not the same anymore, you end up watching so much useless crap that whenever you actually do come across something sick it just fades in with the hundred other clips you just watched.

I know what you mean, it desensitises you. What effect do you think it has on the industry?

It’s definitely not helping the mags (last week Skateboarder announced that they would no longer print their magazine) or videos put out by legit companies. Instead it’s making it mainstream and opening it up to more people. In theory that could be good for the industry, but the problem is that the core brands aren’t the ones who are really going to profit from this expansion.

Who will then?

All the people who never had anything to do with skateboarding in the past, but suddenly decided to latch onto it because they realized there was money to be made.

What have you got lined up after this Cliché video is done?

DVS want to put out a video, but I don’t know very much about that yet, so I can’t tell you if it’ll be a short promo or a full-length video. Bist  (the guy who filmed this edit) and I also want to make a VX video with the whole crew from Lyon, so I guess I’ll just keep filming and decide where I want my footage to go later.

I forgot you were back on DVS, what happened with Supra?

Well things didn’t work out with Supra, I went on a trip with them and I guess it wasn’t really a good fit so they kicked me off as soon as we got back. At the same time Shier became the new DVS team manager so we discussed a few things and he asked me to come back. I’m stoked, I already know everyone on the team and things have always gone well with them. Cheers Shier!

What Europeans should we look out for this year?

There’s loads of them: Madars, Adrien Coillard, Lucas, Jb, Lucien, JP Villa… All of those incredible Scandinavians: Joseph Scott Jatta, Jonas Skroder, Simo Makella, Pontus, Erik Petterson…

Supra reminds us that they’ve had one hell of a year. The clip takes us through the team’s coverage in 2012, with a mention of this summer’s Supra euro tour article from issue 106.

Boss.

The Supra European Tour for 2012 has just been announced along with the rider list and dates they’ll be doing demos and shop signings all the way across Europe. Unless you’re mad you’ll probably not want to miss this. Our French man in the field, Nikwen, will be tagging along for the entire 2 weeks so keep your eyes peeled for the comprehensive coverage that will be appearing in an upcoming Kingpin soon.

Info below:

Serious list of dudes that will be on the trip:
Erik Ellington, Terry Kennedy, Tom Penny, Lizard King, Stevie Williams, Kevin Romar, Keelan Dadd, Spencer Hamilton, Furby, Boo Johnson, Lucien Clarke & Flo Mirtain

And here’s the mega-schedule:
13/07/2012
MADRID, SPAIN
SK8LAND: SIGNING AT 1PM
C/ MANUEL CORTINA 3, 28010
P: 914 458 131
TETUAN SKATE PLAZA: DEMO AT 6PM
C/ DEL CAPITÁN BLANCO ARGIBAY, 28029

15/07/2012
ZARAGOZA, SPAIN
LA DOLCE VITA SKATE SHOP: SIGNING AT 4PM
C/ MAYOR 51, 50001
P: 976 292 334

16/07/2012
SAN SEBASTIEN, SPAIN
SKATESHOP: SIGNING AT 4PM
C/ IJENTEA 2, 20003
P: 943 424 523

17/07/2012
BORDEAUX, FRANCE
WORKSHOP: SIGNING AT 4PM
11 RUE DUFFOUR DUBERGIER, 33000
P: 05 56 81 09 74

18/07/2012
TOULOUSE, FRANCE
OKLA SKATESHOP: SIGNING AT 4PM
4 RUE DES PUITS CLOS, 31000
P: 05 61 21 44 02

19/07/2012
TOULOUSE, FRANCE
ST SULPICE SKATEPARK: DEMO AT 5PM
884 CHEMIN D’EMBROUYSSET, 81370

20/07/2012
LYON, FRANCE
WALL STREET SKATE SHOP: SIGNING AT 2PM
6 RUE NEUVE, 69002
P: 04 78 39 38 40

23/07/2012
STUTTGART, GERMANY
ARROW AND BEAST SKATE SHOP: SIGNING AT 1PM
GEIßSTRASSE 10, 70173
P: 0711 51890596
PRAGFRIEDHOF SKATE PLAZA: DEMO AT 5PM (WITH SKATE DELUXE)
HEILBRONNER STRAßE 119, 70191

27/07/2012
NUREMBERG, GERMANY
TX SPORTS: SIGNING AND DEMO AT 2PM
IM GEWERBEPARK 8, 91126, KAMMERSTEIN
P: 09178 9966222

28/07/2012
MUNICH, GERMANY
GOODSTUFF: SIGNING AT 1PM
THOMAS-WIMMER-RING 14, 80538
P: 089 18912640
HOLZKIRCHEN SKATEPARK: DEMO AT 4PM
ERLKAMER STRASSE 11, 83607, HOLZKIRCHEN