The Prescott, AZ skate scene has produced some impressive skaters and it is hard to pick favorites, but I have always had my eye on Ryan Zimmerman. Beyond doing good tricks with style he also has a really solid head on his shoulders. He is genuinely kind and considerate and his answers to my questionnaire five+ years ago were some of the most insightful thoughts on skateboarding I have ever read. Needless to say I was excited when I found out he was moving back after five years in California, and even though I was done skating for the day Ryan got me hyped and we had a great session with Will Livingston at the park and a few street spots. He may have made me too hyped though as seen by the slam at the end, but getting together and skating with friends makes the pain feel alright
The way I have wanted to ride my skateboard has always been evolving. I used to want to skate big stairs and handrails, then I wanted to be a technical wizard, and then I randomly became obsessed with oldschool tricks. Somewhere along the way I fell in love with the avant-garde skaters who utilize their surroundings in bizarre ways that ranged from gnarly to silly. After becoming infatuated with this sub-genre of skating, my mind was blown when I was lucky enough to assist Clay Shank (clayshank.com) with a project that became “Journey to Skate Boulder”. Skaters’ see architecture differently because of the possibilities on a board, but Clay opened my eyes to the possibilities of skating nature.
This new video was filmed in less than two hours and edited on the same day. My friend Pat Fisher (buildinggnarnia.com) was in town and I randomly decided we should go out on a popular nearby trail for a session. I first skated the trail on New Years Eve and ever since I have wanted more.
I also have to give credit to the cruiser board you see used in this video. I set it up over four years ago as a test-model for gear I would eventually sell in my soon to be opened shop. Somehow every piece of my wonderful cruiser board has lasted all these years throughout some serious use (and bearing cleaning). It is at the point where I wonder if I should retire the deck, but I feel like its life isn’t properly spent until I break it. I honestly cherish every single session I have with it now and wish for many more.
Enjoy this simple edit showing the day in the life of that weird guy that brings a skateboard on a dirt-trail hike. Yeah, I’m that guy, and I am stoked!
It is no secret I like doing “weird” tricks on my skateboard. Skaters like to use terms like tech or gnar skating, and I like to use the term avant-garde skating when it comes to my strange maneuvers. My friend Pat Fisher is a ridiculously avant-garde BMX rider who occasionally throws a skateboard into his tricks. While he was in town we decided to bring our own lights to the unlit skatepark for some fun. There are some normal tricks in here, but I was stoked on filming some of my signature weird tricks and learning a few new variations as well. Enjoy!
So What is Skateboarding? 