Kevin

Here's a warm up line I filmed about a week ago at a sick new spot in Saint John with Kevin Murray.

City of New Lights

The newest Canadian skateboard video "City of New Lights" will be screening in Saint John this Thursday night at The Foundation. Check the poster below for all the info.

Photo Update

Here are some new photos that Jeff Delong sent in.


Tyson Preshyon - F/s Flip


Justin Gautreau - Switch Ollie


Justin Gautreau - Switch f/s flip 5-0


Justin Allain - Wallride

Landry's Column

Lately I've been filming in Saint John quite a bit gathering footage so I haven't had much time to post but Landry sent me his newest column about Bearing Kid.


"Bearing Kid"

If there has ever been a person destined to review new product it is Bearing Kid. While he may now be known simply as “B.K.”, he is still a kid at heart with the quality of a product on his mind. His original moniker itself reveals this. Who else, other than a person obsessed with bearings, could acquire the term “bearing” in their nickname. Even though he has evolved into a multi-product reviewer, the ultimate bearing was his very first obsession.



As a grom, B.K. would often offer his opinion on various bearings. He would always refer to his own first hand experience and would be able to tell you which bearings worked for him and which did not live up to the hype. Eventually, he settled on one brand but I can’t for the life of me remember which one it is.


"BK"- Kickflip
Photo by Tom Bateman


Even on our road trip to Chester, NS, B.K. was always there with the goods for those in need. Oh, you need a fedora, sunglasses or head phones? B.K. has your back. And while some people use stuff to flaunt their own ego and show off, B.K. is simply curious about the item’s use in everyday life. The items mentioned above are all quite utilitarian and while they may look cool, they serve a distinct purpose.


This is why it is so nice to see B.K. provide product reviews for the East Side newsletter. He is well known within the skate community and he is willing to drop money on something new in order to provide feedback for others. All of this is pretty selfless when you think about it. He is up to tell others about the stuff he is buying so that others do not have to risk wasting their money. It’s a pretty good deal if you ask me.

- Marc Landry

Sight Unseen

Here`s an old video part from Tosh Townend from the Transworld video Sight Unseen. This was before Tosh went all hippie and lost his style.

Technology

Well I'm finally back in NB after working on feature film in Quebec for the last 6 weeks. Right now I'm working on a Saint John check out video so you'll be seeing some new stuff soon.


Also I picked up a new hdslr the Canon 7d, it does HD video with variable framerates for slow-mo(60p) and a cinematic look(24p) along with 18mp stills and even 8fps for sequences although I'm not a big fan of sequences but it's nice to have the option.


Here's a video from the zoo york filmer RB Umali testing out the 7d.

Front side

Here's a photo of Matt Macfarlane front side nose sliding a barrier in front of a big cruise ship in Saint John. Photo by Jeff Delong

WESC East Coast

Found this video of the WESC crew when they did their east coast tour.

Landry's Column

"The Existential Pondering of an Elder Skatesman"

I haven’t been working lately and it’s been tough on my mental state. I keep trying to get things done but just get bogged down with this need to feel content and complete. While I don’t want to go on an existential rant, I would like to note that I often wonder about meaning in a chaotic world gone wild. This of course always leads me to wonder as to where the fun lies in skateboarding. Is it in the satisfaction of learning a trick or is it something in the movement. If it is the satisfaction then how can we account for those who have given up learning new tricks but who continue to skate on the regular and if it is the latter, then which part of the movement or physical activity is pleasurable?

Now we can go on forever and ponder these questions, we can even go so far as to ponder the point of skateboarding itself, but I’m a narcissist and I insist on keeping the topic, in some sense, directed towards myself. This is not to say that I want to reveal details of the minutia of everyday existence in order to understand the human condition, as did Heidegger with his phenomenology of existence, but I would like to find some direction so that I can endure the Fall and Winter months when I am not teaching.


This may seem easy for most of you as you probably can think of a million things you could do when you are not working. Unfortunately for me, I’m required to direct my non-working life towards a household and cannot simply unfold on the couch and watch the View. I’m not above all this or beyond the lure of television, video games or drunkenness, but if I did fall into this world, I would most certainly hear about it from a number of people and may never return from the depths of the basement.

You see, this is where my life becomes difficult because I’m a slave to routine and structure. I need to have commitments in my life in order to keep me grounded and keep me moving. Without them, I falter and become sad. While skateboarding can help with the trials of everyday life, I’m unable to do this all the time. In fact, even if I had the freedom to do this all the time, I wouldn’t be able to justify the freedom to myself. I would be stricken with guilt and really beat myself up over the fact that I am not contributing to the overall wellness of the world. Not that teaching is the end all and be all of creation but even as a barrista at Starbucks I felt as though I was contributing to society through federal and provincial taxes.

As you can see, this is where my narcissism really ends. While I like to talk about what is going on in my life and whatnot, I don’t think I deserve anything. By this I mean, I don’t think I’m important enough or love myself enough to aim for an extravagant lifestyle with cars, a nice pad, video game systems and blu ray players. I just don’t have the ego for the “nice” items which are meant to distract me from all these existential questions. For this reason, I will never find the contentment or satisfaction I find in skateboarding that I look for on television. There will always be a discrepancy between the act of watching and being a player (albeit a minor one) in the grand scheme of things.

- Marc Landry

Delong Photo

Here's a photo that Jeff Delong sent in of Kevin Murray doing a switch crooked grind in front of some famous Saint John citizens.