I was just thinking to myself the other day that techy manual skating seems to be kind of a dying medium, but that was before I saw this new Ben Fisher part. I’ve seen some of this dude’s footage before and it was damn good, but it looks like he saved all the best stuff for TWS. It’s not often you see super tech skating look stylish (Joey Brezinski anyone?), but this guy makes it look smooth. Highlights include the bank wallie 180 to fakie manny and the gap manny backside revert to quick frontside half cab out on the famous circles spot. Dude seems to have a good eye for new ways of skating established spots - definitely backing it.
“Me, AVE & Dill were the catalysts of him getting kicked off, which he had heard. My whole thing with Berra getting kicked off is that he doesn’t skate. I don’t have a problem with his Scientology. My whole thing is, “You don’t fucking skate, you don’t ride for The Workshop.” We’re trying to revamp the team where it’s just fucking skate and everybody rips, everyone works hard and hits the streets every day and he wasn’t doing that. So I was like, ‘Yeah, kick the dude off.’”
- Dylan Rieder, on Steve Berra’s departure from Alien
Damn. I had already heard some rumors about this whole situation, but this recent Rieder interview throws it all out in the open. First of all, it’s fantastic to see someone who doesn’t hesitate to call out Berra as the impostor that he is. Yeah, there was a time when he ripped, but now it’s almost impossible to look at his trajectory and not question his motives. Core shops want to get involved with the Berrics? Ok, we’ll create an online store under the premise that online commerce can somehow keep shops afloat. The kids want street skating? Invent a contrived, Indiana Jones-esque ‘street’ skating weekly feature and invite pros to practice their dart throwing abilities. The commodification of skateboarding is nothing new, but when one of our own crosses over to the proverbial darkside, it stings. That’s why it’s particularly refreshing to hear that some dudes like Dylan still know what bullshit smells like. Yeah, Dylan skates in Street League and is backing Dyrdek, but Dyrdek has maintained a halfway respectable profile by selling himself rather than selling skateboarding. That’s an important distinction. Especially in this era of skateboarding when YouTube hits are a premium currency and moguls invest millions into skate contests, let’s hope that the Dylan Rieders of the skateboard industry continue to triumph over the Steve Berras. It might mean fewer fat-pocketed pros and pre-fab street plazas, but if that in turn means more DIY spots and dudes who are on four wheels purely in pursuit of good times, then skateboarding will be just fine. Just fine indeed.
