Randomness -

Christmas Skate Films for your enjoyment

The tree's up...

The lights are on, and I can really no longer argue that it's too early for shops to be blasting Christmas music.

It is a special time of year, though, and guilt-free hot chocolates and back-to-back films are not only acceptable, they're recommended.

As such, I've put together a list of longboard cinema for you to peruse at your own leisure. It is by no means exhaustive - please send me anything I've missed and I'll add it to the blog post.

Scratch the surface of longboardings rich history with us...

 
Sector 9: Second Nature
2009
If you've ever watched downhill skateboarding on the youtube, you'll notice most of it these days is filmed with a follow car. Sketchy.

This film is a testament to why that isn't necessary to produce an incredible film.

Blue suits a-flapping, watch some of the true pioneers of downhill ride with style and ease, filming each other along the way.

Mind blowing in 2009. Perhaps even more so today.

 

 
Drop: My Life Downhill
2012

Filming with a car is sketchy, he says. And look at that top image! Imagine skating between a Porsche, your mate and a massive boom with a Red camera on the end pointing back at you.

There's a right way to film with a car, and Drop: My Life Downhill did it right. Sure I wouldn't like to be Erik or Martin in that situation, but I'll certainly sit down and let the images take me into a daydream of sunny days, smooth roads and banked turns...

Perhaps the golden age of downhill skateboarding.

 

 
Road Buzz
2007
Now for something a little more homegrown!

Any Brit that skated downhill in the 2000s will have fond memories of eBay leathers, Icaro helmets, long drives to the Alps, speed wobbles and Saft and Boneless.

Allow them to take you on a journey through Europe with familiar faces - many of which are still active and present in the scene today.

Worth it just to see Sammy carving down Jungholz around the 47:00 mark, only enhanced further by his wisdom.

Classic.

 

 
Landyachtz Eh Team: Year 1
2009

That company that sells all the Dinghys? Yep, more than just a random cruiser brand.

A proper look into what made Landyachtz what it is today - their city, their spots, events, boards and characters.

It's hard to pick a favourite, but Philip vs South Van in episode 8 inspired us to search everywhere for steep alleyways to shred, and the golf course spots spread throughout gave us a thirst for narrow pathways that was later quenched in a big way when we struck gold in Cornwall...

We only ever had one ball hit at us. Winning.

 

 
The Princess, Switch
2018
This was a recommendation, and I must admit I've not seen it yet.

But if it lives up to its title, and the Princess filmed the whole thing in switch... then this is bound to become a modern-day skate classic and essential viewing.

Available on Netflix.

 

 
Concrete Wave: Evolutions
2006-2010
Concrete Wave magazine put this DVD together for a few years running and invited most of the big industry names to film parts.

Some of the companies involved are still very much driving our hobby forward - think Loaded and Landyachtz - others have faded over the years. I suppose that's the essence of evolution, right there.

Harder to find in its entirety online, but a few sections are still out there.

From Coast Longboarding, this was one of my favourites:

 

 
SLIDE
2005
And where were Lush Longboards on the Evolutions DVD? Well... they were busy filming their own.

Full on UK downhill from 2005, this one is a real blast from the past.

A year later came Lush 06.1 with a film trip to Barcelona thrown in for good measure.

After much bashing of DVD drives, we've managed to rip this one and get it online for your enjoyment.

 

Further recommendations

 

That should be enough to see you through a few hot chocolates.

I hope these movies can fill you with wonder and inspiration just as they did for me. A set of slide gloves is just around the corner... and fit in a stocking.

...There, "Christmas gift ideas" email in the bag!

I'm getting the hang of this marketing thing.

I'll leave you with the words of Michael Brooke of Concrete Wave:

"We accept no responsibility as to what can happen if you watch this DVD. Don't blame us if it increases your heart rate or sends you into convulsions. If you are worried about things like the economy or the environment, this DVD might make you feel better. This DVD has not been tested on laboratory animals but if it was, we're sure they'd be pretty stoked."

Hell yeah.
Matt @ Vandem

Last warning for Christmas Opening Hours

For delivery by Christmas, we'll need your orders in:
For Royal Mail: 18th December
For DHL: 20th December

As for the shop, we'll be open Monday 18th, Wednesday 20th and Thursday 21st for any last-minute gifts and then closing until the new year. We'll be back in and shipping again on the 2nd January.

1 comment

  • Would love to see the lush DVD online…. Blast down memory lane – There was an earlier edit (Prior to the one that went out on DVD) that had footage from a sick session in the peak district. Maybe it’s been lost to time (Maybe Matt has it) but would love to see that footage again

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