Pretty Sweet

This past weekend was a fun one despite the bad weather. You see on friday the Girl and Chocolate skateboard families had a premier for new video Pretty Sweet at the famed Orpheum theater in downtown Los Angeles. Now in a day and age of disposable media and instant gratification I feel like when these companies put out a new skate video all of that is forgotten. It had been 5 years or so since Fully Flared and people were ready to see some new footage of their favorite skaters as well as a few coming out parts from some new additions to the teams.

The thing I have noticed about these special occasions from Girl and Chocolate is that they unite skateboarders. That night you see skaters from all walks of life in the industry from fresh to hesh,tech to big rail,old to new,etc. Everyone comes together for one night to remember why we all got into this lifestyle and these videos do a great job of just that. I feel like you don’t have too many moments like this these days, and not just a night of watching a amazing video production with amazing skating but more in the sense of the feeling in the air. The excitement, the anticipation and the fact that a room full of grown men get transformed into a bunch of 13 year olds is rad. As if this production magically transforms all of us into yesteryear when we first picked up a skateboard and watched Video Days or Questionable for the first time. Or maybe it’s the fact of watching a video were the pros we have admired for so many years are still at it. Innovating to the point where they can set the precedent in skating for the next 3-5 years. Regardless it is a amazing feeling that should not be forgotten, and with rumors that this might be their last big production or that Ty Evans was moving on to work with other brands I say please say it ain’t so. Maybe I am being selfish and nostalgic but I think skateboarding needs nights like these. Even if they are every 3-5 years. And Girl and Chocolate are one of the few brands that can create this type of atmosphere for everyone.

With that said the video is Pretty Sweet and after talking with some people afterwards one general feeling of it was a passing of the torch. With some new additions to both teams a lot of people felt a good amount of focus was on the newer skaters such as Vincent Alvarez,Stevie Perez,Elijah Berle and Raven Tershy and rightfully so. For some of them to have a coming out part in this video is a pretty big deal and if you have been around for skating the past 10 years or so you understand why. But you still had great parts from the everyone on both teams, and needless to say Guy Mariano does it again. The fact his talent keeps progressing beyond your imagination every video part is insane.

All in all it was a really fun night which also included a after party with a performance by Snoop Dogg. I want to say thank you to Mike Carroll and Jason Callaway for the opportunity to be there to see another great video on premier night,to the Girl and Chocolate skaters for reminding me what skating is all about, and a big thank you to Ty Evans and Spike Jonze for showcasing skateboarding a way that only you guys can do. I will definitely be buying this on itunes when it comes out this week and I hope to be at another event like this in 5 years.