Saturday, November 21, 2009

Street Iconic: sataN, backwards.


For whatever reason, I seem to be on a bit of a nostalgic skateboarding spree as of late. There are so many moments watching Natas now, that I remember trying to emulate as a kid. I endlessly skated the curb in front of my house based soley on the way Natas would ollie to pivot. I had two pairs of those Ellesse high tops. Even his style, the way that he made these crazy lines out of just cruising. The guy was one of the architects of street skating and the father of the now standard pro model shoe.
Have a look. Relive some of your own youth, when you used to land kickflips with one foot on, one foot off.
(the last photo taken in front of Mollusk in BK)






15 comments:

  1. L.A.SNovember 22, 2009 at 12:22 AM

    I love these skating nostalgia posts. I used to be in my drive way all day trying in vain to heel flip. There's a pretty big skate scene in Charlotte and when im driving around town and seeing all the skate punks shred I can't help but stop and watch. I'm not an old man or anything, but I haven't been on a board in a long time. Maybe it's time to get back on even if its just for a cruise...

    ReplyDelete
  2. switch-smithNovember 22, 2009 at 12:34 AM

    I think the reason for your nostalgia could be because the skateboarding tricks that are "in" today are nostalgic. No complys, impossibles, etc. Grant Taylor throwing down huge one-foots and bonelesses in his part in Nike's Debacle. Total throwback radness.

    ReplyDelete
  3. switch-smithNovember 22, 2009 at 12:37 AM

    P.S. It's been 21 years for me, and I'm still trying to figure out wall rides.

    ReplyDelete
  4. jamesNovember 22, 2009 at 12:38 AM

    @switch...The most recent video I've seen is Lakai. I gotta check out Debacle. Thanks for visiting secret forts.
    And L.A.S. get out there and cruise around.

    ReplyDelete
  5. AJLNovember 22, 2009 at 1:35 AM

    I must say, I'm a tad older than you chaps and I put the skateboard away once our first homey got a license. My last board back then was a Powell Rat Bones. But thru the years i've continued to pick up a board. 2 friends built a Half Pipe behind their house at College in Austin, Tx. Then I took one off a music video set in NY in 2000. A skateboard is the perfect mode of transport in NYCity if you're trying to get somewhere fast, but it's too long to walk and you can't hassle with the bike. I've been cycling a bit more for the past several years, but the most fun i had sailing around the city this summer was when i was hittin the streets on the skateboard. I'd sometimes even pull it out even if my friends were cycling. It's a different kind of freedom, and in many ways even more rewarding

    ReplyDelete
  6. AnonymousNovember 22, 2009 at 12:34 PM

    again i weep like a bitch. you caucasoid rednecks!! you neva listen. im exhausted by you crackers. of course yall choose a white skaterboarder, a blonde haired blue eyes skate dude with anglo euro features. do you know how you excluded us niggas? do you know how horrid dat shit is? what about raymind barbee? you never heard of him you bitch ass salad eater/salad tosser? he spoke like a whity but my older brutha loved him cause he was a early street nigga hero, had his posters up everywhere. talkin directly to yo ass now james! you couldnt throw up a negro skat pioneer like barbee. these are subtle jabs you be throwin here but collectively they speak volumes about your exclusive whites only parade here. its a sham. a heartbreak and a afront to niggas everywhere who dam near invented this culture from our blood sweat and tears. fuck you in brooklyn and fuck you in the valley. dam this shit tears at my strings. i wish i could jump through the screen and jam a mandigo dick into yo goldylocks fake ass oxford cuffed pantsuits you saltine crackaneck!

    -23 year old nigga wiff two hands on da pump, bof hands ready to blow blow.

    ReplyDelete
  7. kdNovember 22, 2009 at 2:39 PM

    @ 23 year old.......blow blow.
    Got something for ya.
    http://www.vimeo.com/7562442

    ReplyDelete
  8. AnonymousNovember 23, 2009 at 2:08 AM

    I like that ' cuz he shredded with such speed that it looks like he running! my hero

    ReplyDelete
  9. NSWNovember 23, 2009 at 1:37 PM

    Thank you for this post.

    ReplyDelete
  10. P.MNovember 24, 2009 at 12:38 AM

    Best Dude.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Enzo AGCNovember 24, 2009 at 11:29 AM

    Your Natas was my Gino...either way the style is what always shone through. Great post James. I hope you're still pushing.

    ReplyDelete
  12. jamesNovember 24, 2009 at 12:51 PM

    @ENZO AGC, Love your site.
    And I too am a huge fan of Gino's.
    Dude has style for miles...
    thanks for visiting Secret Forts and keep up the good work over at 13th&Wolf.

    ReplyDelete
  13. natesmythNovember 24, 2009 at 5:19 PM

    thanks for this.

    ReplyDelete
  14. charliepNovember 25, 2009 at 1:17 AM

    dear anonymous

    i hope you start a blog. i think you are on to something here. if you do, or already have one please post it.
    your two comments are the best comments i have read in a long time on any of these kinds of blogs

    ReplyDelete
  15. AnonymousNovember 26, 2009 at 9:12 PM

    Awesome - great post. I had heard about him but never seen him on videos before (was hard to get skate video for the betamax i had in those days). He skates the way I always aspired to.

    ReplyDelete