It´s not a common thing to found a grip tape brand in skateboarding regarding the few already well-established brands out there but it seems that the people around Miles Griptape wanted to get their friends together and create their own thing. We love that! It is even better when it results in clips like their latest offering. A feel-good video from a recent trip to Texas, USA. Filmed and edited by Johnny Wilson.
Get your Miles Griptape HERE.
What do you get when you put our favorite host Lea Isabell together with a very special shoe, THE SHANE? What does the shoe look like, what does it feel like, How does it smell? And do humans actually have a different opinion about footwear than animals do?
Text by Roland Hoogwater.
Photos by Louis Deschamps & Roland Hoogwater.
Besides that, we get Hyun Kummer, Denny Pham, Sascha Scharf and many others flying through the air onto our little L.A. safe-haven called 7th Street. What do the winners feel after they land their tricks? Well, watch Lea & Louis ask those hard-hitting questions as well.
Last but certainly not least, did you watch Shane’s new part yet? You might have it has only been all over the interwebs but what did the people who got to watch it first, the people who got to go to the world premiere think of the king of the “flip in flip out” newest part?
Well, find out your doggone self! Press play already and watch Episode 2 of our Place.tv series.
Nike SB thank you for supporting this episode of Place.tv also available through the Nike APP.
Let us all remember, it is a big fucking deal to get your own shoe on Nike. But Shane O’Neill is just that a big deal!
As quiet as he is with his talking and his dressing he still is loud when it comes to skating. From big spin fs blunts big spin flips out to Nollie Crooks nollie flip late shove it’s, he does it all.
Compliments to Mr. O’Neill on his shoe but also compliments on creating (one of) his best flowing parts to date.
A nice way to announce your newest talent to the team.
Shane O’Neill just annouced his new board brand and his first pro on April Skateboards, next to Shane. Yuto Horigome really worked for this.
Some people need no introduction and Stefan is one of those people! But we were lucky and got to sit down with him and his wife Jessica, coincidentally their relationship started when his shoe first dropped so you get both takes on the process today.
Happy 10 years Stefan, we hope for at least 10 more!
First of all, thank you for sitting down with us and doing the interview.
No problem, my pleasure.
So a little context first. Why are we here?
We are here to celebrate the 10 year anniversary of my Nike SB shoe
Do you remember when you first saw the shoe?
Yeah, I even remember when I first saw the drawing of the shoe. I also remember when I got the first samples.
The first time I saw a drawing was at my wife Jessica’s house, it was when we first started dating and that is also probably why I remember it so well. It was fresh love at the same time as a fresh design. I remember it very specifically.
A fun fact is the first samples were, in fact, the way the shoe is now. I got in (the office) and saw the shoe and was like “Oh my god this is great” and I skated it and actually someone reminded me recently and said that I never even gave the samples back or even told them that I liked it.
I skated those first samples for about a year and never gave them back which actually let them know I liked them
(laughs).
Jessica, since you were there when he saw the drawing, what did you think of the shoe?
I liked it, the shoe was like a streamlined, classy, nice… clean, timeless type of shoe and I remember he was excited when he saw the drawings.
Timeless might be the best way to describe the shoe. Do you remember the first time you saw other people wearing it?
At first, it was my friends, they started calling me “I keep seeing your shoe everywhere!” it builds up fast and then I started seeing people with my shoe everywhere.
At the time I was living in New York so you are out in the streets a lot. Around the same time, I was out in Barcelona and every single person had them on… it started really snowballing. Every single day when I go out now I see somebody wearing my shoe.
That must be a special feeling.
I love it. We always see people on the street and say that guy is wearing my shoes and then Jessica will tell him “Hey you got some nice shoes on”. So many times it has happened when someone would come up to me and say “Yo man, nice Janoski’s!” and I would be like “Yeah, you to man!” (laughs).
Back in the day, people would come into my local shop and ask for some Janoski’s and not even know it was a person’s shoe. They just thought Janoski was the name of the model shoe.
I like the way you pronounced my name, the Polish way, proper Polish with a soft J.
Funny segue, I was meaning to ask about your Polish heritage, I remember a 411 around the world where American skaters with Polish heritage toured the country.
Yup! That was in 2001 I think. We went to Poland with Joe Brook & Anthony Claraval, Ed Selego, Kristian Svitak, Mike Ruczyk, Justin Strubing was there but he isn’t Polish he just came with us. Anthony Claraval also isn’t Polish (laughs).
That was one of my first trips to somewhere “different”, it was so long ago that I had a paper plane ticket that I lost and it was actually a really big deal!
I actually met a kid there on the streets who skated and his name was Stefan Janoski and he said to me “You are Stefan Janoski! – I am Stefan Janoski!” and I was like “What, nice to meet you!” (laughs).
411vm – Around The World 2
You being Polish is a big deal in Poland, they really keep track of which pro’s have Polish heritage.
That’s cool! I would actually like to go back to Poland, it was fun, it was such an experience for me because I was still so young.
How old were you at the time?
22 or 21. We actually went to multiple places, cities like Warsaw and Krakow. To be honest, it was such an experience, the whole thing was very different for me but a lot of fun! Yeah, 411 Around the world 2.
Michal Juras actually gave me that information, as I said the Polish know about heritage.
I actually brought like 10 boards on that trip because I just got sponsored and was like “Whooo, new boards every day!” But I only brought 1 pair of trucks and back then the axles on Indy’s and Ventures would bend.
My axles got bent the first day and there was no way of getting new trucks in Poland. So I rode bent axles the whole time in the end if you would kick my board it would almost boomerang. But I was so young and excited to be there that I didn’t really care, I would still skate those double sets.
Back to the shoe. Over the years there have been many versions of your model. Could you name them all?
Lunarlon, Hyperfeel, Mid-top, Slip-on, Air Max, High Tape, Velcro, Air Max 2, Remastered, Wallabee, crafted, Camo turtle neck thing and Woven. And every time I am amazed that they managed to make a new shoe out of my original Janoski design.
How involved are you in those adaptations?
Well, they have to show me everything and I have to approve it and lately, there are some really awesome designers working on my shoe. Every time they show me something I am just blown away and I love their ideas.
Every shoe they have been showing me lately has been a return to a classy and serious look for the shoe. I like that because when the shoe got really popular there were a lot of “Mall Colors” so to say. Janoski’s with polka dots and tillies for people who don’t have taste (laughs).
I like the honesty.
But now it is back to the type that you can save and wear ’em a year and still be stoked on the way the shoes look.
It feels like it has been tailored to your own style again.
That is exactly how I feel. It kinda became its own monster in a way, it went away and did this huge successful thing.
Jessica:
It kind off rebelled.
Stefan:
It did. The shoe kind of rebelled against me. Sometimes your kids do that, too. But, you have to support them anyway and be like “Okay, if you want to go to (X) go ahead but…”
(Laughs) You do you!
Which version besides the classic is your favorite at the moment?
I really love the Velcro… Alternative closure I mean, you know Velcro was the name of a company that developed the stuff.
I also love the Slip Ons lately, for skating they are just so good but I do keep going back to the classic ones. Actually, these new ones called the “Wovens” are some of my favorites that they came out with, in a long time. They are just beautiful.
Were you testing those out during this years CPH Open in Berlin?
The all black leather ones? Yeah, those are the coolest. Actually, I wore those so much that I had to leave them outside because they smelt so bad.
Jessica:
He actually tried to bring those smelly things back home after the trip and they were disgusting.
(Laughs)
Stefan:
Yeah, the thing is those stayed good for such a long time, I didn’t want to let them go but I had to. Because they are all leather they didn’t break they just broke in and became better and better.
It is also the type of shoe that you can wear on multiple occasions.
Oh yeah, you could go to a funeral in those or a wedding. Man, people are getting married in my shoes all the time. Someone just told me the other day at Republique “Man, me and my friends all got married in your shoe!” and a couple of my other friends wore them at wedding parties.
#janoskiwedding must be a thing.
Yeah, it is! It is cool because the people still looked dressed up when they are wearing the shoe.
To be honest, that was also one of the main objectives when we made the shoe, we wanted to cancel out the “chill shoe”.
Everyone wore their skate shoes for skating and afterward they would be like “Let’s get these things off!” and they would put on some “chill shoes”. And I was like why does your skate shoe have to be so bad that you have to go to the hotel and change before going out to dinner? That sucks!
You actually follow that concept yourself as well, I can’t really remember you in any other shoes since the shoe came out. Back in the day some blazers maybe but…
That was before the shoe dropped, actually, since the samples came out 11 years ago I haven’t changed my shoes. I just like my shoe.
Today we are celebrating 10 years of the shoe but actually the shoe you have on now looked the same but it is not the same as the one that came out 10 years ago right?
No, it is not, it got a little souped up.
We didn’t really have to do much, no number 2 shoe or anything because we did it right the first time. We took the time to change little details. Take away some piping, add another stitch, we took away the embroidery and added perforation.
When we first made the shoe I wanted the least amount of everything, materials, the look, the absolute minimal between my foot and my board. With the remastered, we have just taken what we have learned and gotten closer to those ideas.
A sleeker shoe, a slimmer sole and so it is just the same but with minor details changed to improve it.
I actually heard from people that the fit is different, it is a bit better for wider feet.
I wouldn’t have noticed because I have really tiny feet but yeah I heard that is true. Somebody asked me that before and yeah we changed it a bit because that was the number 1 complaint about the shoe.
The original was tailor-made for your feet so it makes sense.
Yes, that is true and I have narrow fucking feet.
In the skate shop, people would complain about the fit but they would still buy them because they needed to have the shoe.
If you walk in them they mold but it takes a moment. Also, different materials have different fits.
You actually physically hurt a lot of people with your shoe.
(laughs) Yeah, toes, ankles… definitely I actually hurt myself too sometimes.
I guess we kind of turned a corner from the past into the future though with the remastered version. In a way, it is a shoe that made a heavy mark in skating and I can’t imagine the shoe business without the Janoski’s around.
I think that is great.
It is an achievement.
And you know, we didn’t think about using things from other designs, it was just me selfishly wanting a thing that Nike didn’t have at the time and no one predicted it to go like this.
I was surprised when the kids really started wearing it but it is a really good skate shoe not only a good looking shoe.
It even went as far as Shane O’Neill having his name on your pro model shoe.
That was really crazy… that was really cool. Shane is great! One of my favorite skaters and I have known him since he was a little “Nugget” that is what they used to call him.
It is always great to see your friends grow up to become the best skateboarder in the world (laughs).
So with you progressing and growing older in skating what is your role in skateboarding as time goes on?
Personally, for me, it is like you are trying to do it and then you hopefully do it and then the next step is to stay doing it. Many people become pro but not many stay pro for very long so just to still be a pro skater and doing everything is an achievement in itself.
There is not much longevity in skateboarding and there is not a lot of back up plans in skateboarding. People are all in or all out, some people get jobs at a skateboard company or you start a skateboard company but for me, it is still being a skater.
Right now is a fun time for me doing it but also watching the kids doing it and going on trips and to watch them struggle at spots where I already did tricks (laughs).
As far as longevity goes, your shoe is like a classic album. People keep coming back to it. Your generation and even the generation before you seem to have found their place in skating and are able to stay in it longer than most.
Look at Lance Mountain, he is still out there doing it and there are not a lot of his peers involved in skateboarding any more as a pro. Mark Gonzales obviously is the same but there is not a lot without owning or working for a company in skating. And I just want to keep going and see where it goes and right now it is going.
That is a nice goal, thank you for the interview.
Photos by: Clement Chouleur
Interview by Roland Hoogwater
Imagine growing up in a small town which probably isn’t that hard for most of you to do. Now think back to when you started skateboarding together with your “best” friend, a friend who after a while quit skating forcing you to find new “skate” friends. It sucks, doesn’t it?
Do you remember the first time you filmed a trick? Were you in front of or behind the lens? What about the first time you edited some footage? Remember how hard it was to find the right music, edit the trick to the beat only to get a couple of thumbs down on youtube?
“L.A., L.A., Big City Of Dreams”
Prodigy, Mobb Deep, 1996.
Sometimes, some of us get lucky and two small-town people recently got the change to be present in L.A., Hollywood to be exact at the release party for Nyjah Huston’s new Nike shoe and video part. Two of our favorite filmers, Peter Buikema and Leon Rudolph got a chance to party with the pro’s and so they did.
Photos by Danny Sommerfeld
Text by Roland Hoogwater
“..And he will remain silent.” Shane O’Neill comes with a new video part for Nike SB, completely out of the blue.
One of the most tech skaters out there, Shane O’Neill spent nine days in Melbourne and filmed a clip with James James. A lot of “single-worthy” tricks in this clip while there’s not a single single-trick…
It’s always a weird feeling to look back on the past. Time goes by so quickly. From the retrospective James James reminds you of the pint sized shenanigans of Nathan Jackson, Shane O’Neill, Andrew Beauchamp, Josh Pall, Kurt Winter and Luke Croker.
Nike sent their skate gods down to South America and as gods do they delivered.
Spots come and go, but Clipper is forever.
— Jake Phelps
Die Clipper High School in San Francisco wird demnächst behindertengerecht umgebaut; den umfangreichen Umbaumaßnahmen wird auch die berühmte Ledge auf dem Schulhof zum Opfer fallen. Die Kollegen vom Thrasher Magazine nutzen am vergangenen Wochenende die verbleibende Zeit und luden zum #bustorbail Best Trick Contest – gekommen ist das Who is Who der Szene und Tricks fielen quasi im Minutentakt. Eine absolut würdige letzte Session – hier kommt das passende Video mit unter anderem Paul Hart, Daniel Lutheran, Jaws, Mark Appleyard und Shane O’Neill:
Hier findet ihr außerdem die komplette Fotogallerie.
Die Menschen lieben Selfies und wir ebenso! Besonders, wenn es einen Anlass dazu gibt sich von seiner besten Seite zu zeigen hat sich bisher noch jeder Street League Pro und jedes Monster Energy Girl gerne mit der PLACE Selfie Cam abgelichtet. Frei nach dem Motto: Selfie yourself as hard as you can präsentieren wir eine erlesene Auswahl der schönsten Selbstbildnisse aus Barcelona.
By Benni Markstein & Bmin Boje
Die Zeit rennt. Immer. Unaufhaltsam. Und schon ist der März fast vorbei – eine willkommene Gelegenheit für uns euch nochmals die Highlights des Monats zusammengefasst ans Herz zu legen. Was los war, lest ihr hier – viel Vergnügen:
Pitt Feil hat uns über Unsichtbarkeit im Netz aufgeklärt.
Wir waren bei Stefan Marx im Studio zu Besuch und haben mit ihm über Lousy Livin gesprochen.
Severin Strauss hat sein neues Showreel bei uns vorgestellt.
Wir haben Urlaub vom Perfektionismus gemacht.
Jan Kliewer hat sich Gedanken um taktisches Skateboarding gemacht.
Nils Brauer ist neu auf 5Boro und war zum Smalltalk da.
Das langerwartete TPDG Video “Street Jazz” feierte bei uns Premiere.
Benni hat einen Brief an Dennis Durrant geschrieben.
Was das Internet zum neuen Shane O’neil Part zu sagen hatte.
Was Nico Kasterke während seinem Praktikum bei uns gelernt hat.
Vladik Scholz hat für uns den neuen adidas ADV Boost getestet.
Neben “What’s the song?” gibt es immer wieder reichlich amüsante Kommentare zu Video Parts von bekannten Skatern oder beliebten Brands. Shane o’Neills “Shane Goes” Part schlug ein wie eine Bombe und legte sogar für mehrere Stunden den Thrasher Magazine Server lahm. Wir haben uns durch die Kommentare gelesen und Statements gefunden, welche wir euch nicht vorenthalten möchten:
“not a single no comply…”
“Why so low quality?”
“it looks like ZIGRAM23 just got some major updates”
“nice part.”
“wanted more manuals :-(”
“he almost looked human in a few of these clips”
“Fact: 100% of those who complain about ramps at wallenberg could never ollie wallenberg”
“I would’ve been more satisfied if he didn’t a no comply, a slappy, a wallie, or something. Next video please”
“Its 15 seconds, where TF is the full video?”
“Sick part Shane….side note, why is every comment thread always littered with people asking what song? has nobody honestly ever heard of Shazam? its 2015 people”
“INSHANE!”
“someone flow this kid some boards”
“Shane O’Neil is better than me”
“Sewa can do all that”
“A young R. Mullen with Benjamin Button’s disease”
Für alle die es verpasst haben:
Böse Zungen behaupten ja immer wieder, dass Shane O’Neill ein Roboter sei. Warum eigentlich? Weil der Australier sich die verrücktesten Tricks ausdenkt und das nötige Talent hat, diese nahe der Perfektion auszuführen? In seinem “Shane goes” Part für seinen Boardsponsor Skate Mental wird jedenfalls niemand enttäuscht, der auf VX Footage und Skateboarding auf technisch höchstem Niveau steht. Super Part – allein der Opener hat uns den Mund offenstehen lassen: Shane goes Wallenberg!
via Thrasher
Nike SB bringt mit dem Free SB ein neues Modell auf den Markt, das vor Technologie nur so strotzt. Die Company aus Portland hat ihre zwei Teamfahrer Sean Malto und Shane O’Neill gebeten, den Schuh mit ein paar Tricks vorzustellen. Das Ganze findet in komplett weißer Umgebung statt, so dass der Fokus in diesem interaktiven Video auch wirklich auf dem Schuh liegt:
Das Nike SB Team um Luan Oliveira, Paul Rodriguez, Ishod Wair, Shane O’neill, Youness Amrani, Karsten Kleppan und Theotis Beasley war im Oktober auf großer “Ruta Panamericana” Tour und ist in Sao Paulo, Buenos Aires, Lima, Mexico City und Los Angeles Demos gefahren – so weit so gewöhnlich. Die Ausmaße dieser Demos allerdings waren alles andere als gewöhnlich: VIP Bereiche, ausverkaufte Hallen und kreischende Kids in ungeahnten Ausmaßen – fast könnte man denken hier wäre die letzte Tour der Rolling Stones im Gange. Hier sehr ihr die Skateboard Superstars in Aktion:
Shane O’neill, Josh Pall, Spanish Mike und Diego Najera waren für drei Tage im Big Apple unterwegs und haben ganze drei Minuten Footage zusammenbekommen – So ernst scheint es ihnen nicht gewesen zu sein, der Spaß stand hier im Vordergund und das sieht man auch…
Bevor am kommenden Wochenende die ersten Berlin Open über die Bühne des Nike SB Shelters gehen, gibt es mit dem Best Of eine 6 monatige Retrospektive. Die goldenen Momente des Openings, der Team Days, Spot Ons und Monday Sessions vereint in einem Clip feat. Shane O’Neill, Donovon Piscopo, Kilian Zehnder, Patrick Rogalski, Farid Ulrich vielen weiteren Akteuren. Die Vorfreude steigt, wir sehen uns am Freitag!
