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icarusbynight · 4 years

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After shower

A/N: Something else concerning my favourite couple that I wrote and forgot to publish. Forewarning, this gets really explicit near the end. So if that makes you uncomfortable, please dont go further.

Woosh

Rickey smiled as the basketball sailed through the air and through the hoop. Across the gym, floor basketballs lay scattered as evidence the last four hours spent practising. His shoulders ached, and sweat covered both his face and stained his sweatshirt, but he felt…good.

The sound of clapping reverberated throughout the gym and Rickey turned towards the sound, wiping his face slightly with his shirt.

It’s funny how a few weeks of working together could change a person’s perspective on another. That was how Ricky found himself smiling, rather than frowning in irritation, at the clapper: E.J. Caswell.

“Well that was better than the last hundred attempts”, E.J said, walking towards him and kicking away the balls that were in his way.

Ricky snorted, and rolled his eyes, “Maybe if you were a better teacher, I would have gotten it the first ninety-nine.”

Who could’ve known that getting the role of Troy Bolton would have actually required him to improve his basketball skills? Ricky Bowen was a skater, and some skills really weren’t that transferable. Thankfully, that was where E.J had volunteered his services as perhaps the most athletic member of their drama troupe.

And it had worked, the last few days spent after rehearsals in the gym had seen Ricky move from missing every shot, to only missing half of them. Another plus side was that he found E.J less annoying. To quote perhaps one of the greatest films of all time, E.J was like an onion, and the younger teen was discovering that there were indeed layers to him.

E.J had his phone in his hand: “Carlos texted me. Everyone’s meeting at his place for the night.”

Ricky nodded, beginning to clean up the stray basketballs, “Alright sweet. So we’ll just finish cleaning up here, I’ll skate home, shower, and meet you guys there.”

Moving to help him, E.J raised an eyebrow almost incredulously, “Why go through all that?”

“What? I stink dude” he laughed, as he pushed the ball cart to the back of the gym with E.J in tow.

“What I mean is that you don’t have to skate all the way home. You literally live in the opposite direction” E.J countered, unlocking the gym’s storage closet, “I have extra clothes, plus there are showers here.”

Ricky blushed, he hadn’t even thought of the school showers. Even in gym class, they were something he tried to avoid; the gross floors, the never knowing whether you were going to get hot or cold water, the mass of bodies…

“…and besides its only me and you here”, E.J was still talking, and the sound of his voice jostled Ricky out of his own thoughts.

“Oh”, he mumbled out, “I mean yeah…sure no problem, in and outright?”

E.J grinned and punched him lightly on the shoulder, “Yep, in and out.”

It was often hard to remember that East High was an old school. Built originally in the ’30s, the building had gone through so many changes and upgrades, that it looked like any new school in the greater Salt Lake area. That was of course, until you reached the gym showers, which looked as if they hadn’t seen construction since they were first installed. They were completely open, blue tiles covering the walls and the slightly downward-sloping floor that led to a central drain. Slightly rusted showerheads lined the walls, and during regular hours it was a mystery which one would actually work.

After locking away the remaining basketballs, this was where the two teenagers found themselves. Leading the way into the locker room area, E.J had already begun to undress. With a swift motion, he removed his t-shirt, and Ricky could practically see the muscles in his back flexing.

‘Fuck’

E.J had unlocked his locker, pulling out a towel, soap, and shampoo. With a turn of his head, he looked back at Ricky standing there, “You getting undressed or what dude?”

Ricky blushed and turned around. ‘What the hell is wrong with me? I feel like Big Red whenever he’s trying to talk to Ashlyn’. Behind him, he could hear the sound of E.J unbuckling his belt, and of clothes being dropped.

There were many reasons why Ricky didn’t like the gym showers, and chief among them was the proximity. That’s not to say that the skater was afraid of closeness, although Nini might disagree, the gym showers were different. It was like entering a world where nothing made sense.

With a sigh, the younger teen began to undress. Running a hand through the sweaty mop of curls, Ricky quickly removed his sweatshirt. His sweatpants followed, leaving him only in his boxer briefs. The showers were located in East High’s basement, and the damp air that always seemed to blow through now left goosebumps trailing down Ricky’s neck. From the corner of his eye, he saw E.J move towards the showers, a flash of skin darting past.

Feeling heat once again rise to his cheeks, and slightly self-conscious, Ricky grabbed his towel and shucked off his underwear. Beyond the wall, he could hear the sound of the shower starting, and his E.J’s laughter was reverberating throughout.

“Get in here, man, the water’s great.”

Leaving his clothes behind, and covering his crotch with his hand, Ricky entered the showers. Steam had started to rise up from the warm water, but even with that, he could clearly see the older teen standing beneath one of the showerheads. E.J’s head was under the rush of the shower faucet, his fingers rubbing in a sweetly scented shampoo. Water ran down his back, along his butt, and legs dark with hair. Every single muscle of the older teen was on display, and a warmth that had for now only seemed to stay in his cheeks, travelled further downwards nestling in his stomach.

‘This is going to be uncomfortable’

Taking his eyes off of E.J, Rickey moved further away from the boy. Grabbing one of the valves along the wall, he turned and sighed as the hot water fell on to his body. The heat from the water seemed to release the tension that had been building up in his shoulders, and the younger teen sighed and closed his beneath the warm cascade.

“Shit”, E.J cursed, and Ricky dared to open one eye in the direction of the other boy.

“What’s wrong?”

“You know how these showers go. If you’re getting hot water, somehow that cuts off my heat.”

Ricky smiled slightly and closed his eyes again to enjoy the feel of the water against his skin, “Sorry about that dude, I won’t be long. You can just take this showerhead when I’m done.”

“No need, sharing is caring, right?”

Ricky nearly jumped out of his skin at the sound of E.J’s voice being so close. He hadn’t even heard the older teen walking over.

E.J had placed an arm around Ricky’s shoulders, and was grinning at him, “I mean we’ve technically also shared a girlfriend, so sharing a shower seems like the next step.”

“I’m sure this isn’t the type of bonding Miss Jen had in mind.”

Ricky kept his eyes closed, trying to focus on finishing his shower as quickly as possible. Yet he could feel E.J’s presence behind, could practically his breath on the back of his neck, and could hear the sound of E.J soaping up his own body. The idea of the other boys wet, and soaped up body was giving Ricky a weird feeling. The warmth in his stomach had now travelled further south, leaving an all too familiar sensation in his groin. He was beginning to get hard.

‘Oh, no, no, no’. Ricky was panicking now, and his mind was desperate to think of except the wet boy behind him. He thought of his parents having sex, or of his grandma naked. A glance downwards only showed that his dick was only rising further, jutting from his pubes at a straight angle.

He was thinking of that time that he and Big Red had found a dead cat at the skatepark, of the sight of its poor body flattened against the pavement. With some relief, he could feel himself softening and sighed as he continued to wash himself without fear of embarrassment.

The seconds seemed to stretch on, and the silence between the two boys interrupted only by the soft patter of the shower.

“Your hair is really curly y’know”

“Mhm?” Rickey asked, rubbing into his hair his own shampoo.

“I mean it’s really curly, like even when wet you can still see them” E.J was laughing now, and Ricky could only grin in response.

“I just want to run my hands through it.”

Ricky let out a low groan, as he felt the blood rush to his dick. “That’s a weird thing to say E.J.”

“Is it?” he could hear the chuckle in E.J’s voice, but also something else.

A hand touched his shoulder, and heat coursed through him. Ricky knew he couldn’t even begin to blame this on the temperature of the shower.

E.J pressed against him, and Ricky could feel the older boy’s hardness pressed against his lower back. E.J’s other hand had glided across Ricky’s abdomen and was slowly inching its way downwards.

“Wait..wait…stop”, he said, painfully aware of how loud his voice was even over the din of the shower. E.J’s hand stopped its descent midway.

“What? Don’t tell me Ricky Bowen has never had a handjob before?”

Well, that’s certainly not true, and his mind flashes to sleepovers with Big Red. On the one hand, he certainly wasn’t going to share that with E.J, and on the other hand, he really didn’t want to come off as inexperienced.

“It’s not that I don’t want to see what you guys get up to on the Water Polo team” as he says this, Ricky lowers his voice, “What if someone walks in?”

E.J was still straddling him from behind, one hand wrapped around Ricky’s stomach, the other resting on the side of his neck.

“I mean we are the only ones here…”

The hand of the other teen inched further down. Ricky didn’t need to look to know that his cock was utterly and achingly stiff.

“…but if someone comes in”, E.J was whispering now, and a shiver flew down Ricky’s spine, “they can watch.”

And just like that Ricky felt his willpower crumble completely, as E.J gripped him in his fist. It was like being struck by lightning, and he could feel the precum leaking from his tip. E.J grip was firm, and he drew his fist upwards, smearing his thumb against the tip.

Ricky writhed under E.J’s touch, and a gasp escaped him. E.J had pulled him in tighter, and the older teen had his face buried in the crook of Ricky’s neck, biting and licking at the bare skin there. He could feel E.J grinding into him before, the older boy leaving a trail of his own precum against the other’s lower back in a desperate attempt to find friction.

“How does that feel?” E.J asked, his voice husky.

Beneath E.J’s firm hand, Ricky felt as those he was in a fog; one that was impacting his every thought. Every single stroke was sending was send waves of pleasure coursing through his body, he had to even admit that E.J hand felt better than his own.

The seconds seemed to stretch on and feeling that all too familiar sensation Ricky reached out to grab E.J’s wrist. “Wait”, the desperation in his voice was clear. Reaching forward, he shut off the shower, and turned around, “Do you want me to…?”

The question hung in the air as he trailed off taking in for the first time the full sight of E.J. He had seen E.J before in states of undress, but this…this was different. E.J was athletic, and his body showed. Muscles made lean from years of swimming practice. His hair lay matted against his forehead, wet from the show, and his was face was flushed red. Ricky’s eyes trailed downwards following the light brown treasure trail that panned out into a thick growth of hair at the base of E.J’s cock. The large purplish head oozed a trail of precum that seemed to hang precariously in the air.

“Do you want me to to…yknow?” Ricky asked again, nodding downwards to E.J’s own erection.

E.J nodded, and Ricky closed in, his own hand wrapping tightly around the other’s hard dick. The skin was soft and smooth, and also feverish to the touch. A gasp escaped E.J’s lips, and his hips bucked into Ricky’s enclosed fist.

Ricky had never seen E.J like this; usually he was so composed and so cool. But now…his eyes were closed, and his mouth hung open as if caught in a silent scream. Ricky continued to stroke him, his fist moving quickly over the older teen’s length, mimicking what had done to him earlier and swiping the head with his thumb, using the precum as lubricant. The sounds escaping from E.J were obscene and hot. His own cock throbbed in response, untouched.

“You sound like your about to bust dude.”

E.J opened his eyes and grinned back at him, “This feels fucking amazing.”

Leaning forward, he reached out for Ricky’s own neglected erection, and Ricky groaned as he felt E.J touch him once again. His hips jerked reflexively, and he leaned forward, resting his head against E.J’s shoulder. In unison their fists moved, squeezing and stroking from base to tip.

“Faster” E.J managed, and Ricky obliged. The sounds of heavy breathing and skin rubbing against skin filled the shower room. Almost instinctively Ricky found licking and biting into the side of E.J’s neck, leaving a similar mark to the one that had been left there earlier on his own. E.J had pulled him closer, both of their fists were forgotten in favour of simply grinding against each, cocks wet with precum, each boy desperately chasing his own orgasm.

Hesitantly E.J turned to look at him, completely glassy-eyed. Ricky leaned forward, pressing his lips against E.J. Feverishly E.J kissed him back, plunging his tongue into the younger boys gasping mouth, sending a shiver down Ricky’s spine.

‘Oh, fuck.’

He was cumming, harder than he had ever done so before. He grunted and moaned, and with every spurt, he could feel his toes curling as the tension that had been steadily building within was released. E.J thrust one final time, and shuddered, releasing against Ricky’s abs.

Exhausted the two disentangled, collapsing shakily on the floor of the shower. Both boys were sweating and breathing heavily. E.J glanced at him and smiled.

“We definitely need to do that again.”

#ricky bowen #ej caswell #ricky x ej #caswen #gay smut #fanfic #Joshua Bassett #matt cornett

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reminiscences · 4 years

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another attempt at blogging

i started this tumblr a couple years ago at the same time kate did. i can’t remember why—i’m sure tumblr was in the news again for some reason. i guess it was before the great porn purge. i was talking about blogging again this week with my friend daniel, and i woke up this morning and he had sent me a blog he wrote on a new tumblr account early in the morning, so to continue my regression to the early 2010s, i too have rebooted tumblr, given it an era-appropriate name, and decided to give it another go.

the problem with having a newsletter is that i don’t think anyone wants to hear from me in their inbox daily, so i’ve become very precious about the things i write there. it feels like it has to really matter. i like blogs because they’re disposable and can be dumb and not your best writing. how many two-graf tumblr posts did i write in 2011 that were just thoughts i idly had during a statistics lecture? anyway, here’s the first blog, they won’t all be this long probably.

When I think about eventually looking back at this year I think about what I want to remember from it. I will remember the first week of March. I’ll remember the last birthday party I attended in person at Branch Ofc, a perfectly serviceable Crown Heights bar that was very full of people. I’ll think about that night and how I showed up to the party with a Ziplock full of homemade salted chocolate chip cookies in my purse, how I shared them with a table where the birthday-haver and their friends sat. Breathing in the same air as the four dozen other people crammed into the bar. I can’t imagine it now. I like Branch Ofc because it is unpretentious without pretending to be a dive, unlike Sharlene’s, which tries too hard to mimic the aesthetic trappings of an authentic dive bar but is really just a normal Park Slope bar. Branch Ofc is just a bar where you can buy drinks, and it was an eight-minute walk from my old apartment. It used to be a bar with a photobooth and Big Buck Hunter but I think both of those are gone now.

For a few days in March, it felt like people were preparing for a snow day. Everyone was slightly more on edge than giddy—but only slightly. “WFH but make it a coffeeshop” I saw on someone’s Instagram story, a selfie with four of their friends coworking somewhere in Bushwick, completely nullifying the point of a work-from-home edict. I ran into my friend Maddie at the renovated Key Food on Nostrand the next week. Maddie, her roommate and I were in the aisle with the Pop Tarts and the Oreos. “I feel like I should get those?” we asked each other, pointing at junk food. I wasn’t wearing a mask or gloves; nobody was. Some guy wearing a Cornell University Sigma Chi tshirt walked by us with the largest bag of dried beans I’ve ever seen in my life slung over his shoulder. That was a man who had never soaked dried beans in his life. I wonder if he ever ate the beans. We were a bunch of idiot 20-somethings blindly grabbing for cans of soup and Fritos for the end of the world. What were any of us doing there? Why was it imperative that day that I make and freeze a lasagna? Maddie’s roommate had fresh lasagna noodles from Eataly she wasn’t going to use before she left for her parents’ house, and she said I could have those. She brought them over for me and I idly wondered if you could get Coronavirus from someone else’s fresh pasta noodles or if the heat of the oven would kill the germs. I made my lasagna.

I’ll think about how March-to-May is just one long gray blurry streak in my head. I baked, I got into running, I said “running with a mask? No thank you, no more running for me,” I got a job, I felt bad about getting a job when everyone I knew in journalism was getting laid off. I did a lot of Zoom Zumba. At first I slept terribly, and then I started sleeping too much, and then I stopped sleeping again at some point during that stretch. There was a novelty to suddenly being inside all the time that made it feel like an excuse to get “really into martinis.” I got really into martinis. Then I stopped drinking for a couple months. Remember “Zoom happy hours”?

The thing I use most as a means of setting apart different eras in my head is the music I used as a soundtrack at the time. I rang in the 2014 new year in my cute apartment on Westcott Street in Syracuse with my college boyfriend, drunk and blaring Cold Cave, before we walked down the street to Alto Cinco and got Mexican food and passed out. It was my senior year and I only had a few more months of living like this and I loved the small life I’d built for myself there. Of course, it couldn’t stay. When we broke up a year and a half later after he moved to New York, where I had been living for most of a year, I walked around the neighborhood near the Myrtle-Wyckoff stop, close to where we were living together, listening to Mitski’s 2014 album Bury Me At Makeout Creek. I sat in Maria Hernandez Park and watched a bunch of kids play Red Rover. I didn’t especially want to go home because I hadn’t taken an escape route into account when we broke up and somehow timed it out so that things ended after the first of the month, leaving me with three-and-a-half weeks of continuing to share an apartment with someone whose heart I had just broken. In retrospect it’s clear to me that I had just outgrown a relationship with someone five years older than me who hadn’t grown up at all, but I hear that Mitski album now and all I think about are the cold early April days of 2015 when no place and no person felt like home. There’s a line in First Love/Late Spring, by Mitski, where she sings “胸がはち切れそうで,” which translates to something like “My chest is about to burst (with grief).” My advice to recent college graduates moving to New York is to simply not do anything the way I did it.

So when I think about 2020, I do not want to associate any music I previously had fond memories of with this year. This is unfortunate because every musician I like who produces sad music has nothing but time on their hands now and they’ve all come out with new songs and albums. My recently played selections on Spotify look like a cry for help: Phoebe Bridgers, Bright Eyes, even Tigers Jaw.

On Saturday I couldn’t sleep in. I woke up at 5:30 and watched the sun appear through my bedroom windows. I kept rolling over, trying to sleep again, but it was futile. Eventually I got up and got dressed, and left my apartment on foot. The walk into lower Manhattan is a few miles from my new place in Fort Greene. I walked west on Fulton, and then down Flatbush. It would have saved me ten minutes to take the Manhattan Bridge, but I’ve always regarded it as the ugliest of the bridges to cross on foot or on bike—last fall, I would walk home from Ben’s apartment over the Manhattan Bridge, and it was just so grey. You get an okay view of Dumbo, I guess, on the walk east, but it isn’t much to look at. When I got back to the Brooklyn side on those walks, I’d get on the A at High Street and take it back to Nostrand instead of walking the last couple miles.

So I chose the Brooklyn Bridge this time. It was as busy as you’d expect it to be in a non-pandemic event. Instagram boyfriends took pictures of their girlfriends, who took off their masks for a few seconds for the right shot. I saw a couple taking engagement pictures in front of the lower Manhattan skyline. It felt so normal, pedestrians and bicyclists squeezing past each other at the narrow points.

I was listening to Saint Cloud, the Waxahatchee album that came out a few months ago, turning it over and over in my brain like a rock you pick up at the beach and end up carrying with you on a long walk. The album, outwardly, has this gauzy blue-sky Americana vibe but when you listen to the lyrics of some of the songs it feels like peeling back layers of skin until you hit a raw nerve ending. Every song feels like a eulogy for this year. “You might mourn all that you wasted/That’s just part of the haul,” Katie Crutchfield sings on Ruby Falls. I got to the title track, which closes out the album, as I ascended the bridge. When you get baaaack on the M train, watch the cityyyyyy mutaaaaaaate, she sings. I guess she’s singing about New York. Is there another M train somewhere? I don’t know. I’m going to think about this stupid year whenever I listen to this album, I thought.

I got off the bridge at City Hall, surveyed the ongoing occupation movement there and the literal dozens of cops that had seemingly been deployed to stand there and, at best, do nothing. I walked down Centre Street, eventually winding through the little park by Baxter Street where two adults were playing ping pong, which felt like a socially distanced sport, all things considered. I walked down all those side streets in Chinatown as the sun struggled to break through the oppressive clouds. I walked by Nom Wah, past the salon Polly taught me will give you a very good $12 blowout, past that annoying bar where the bartenders are dressed like scientists, past the place where Kate and I got our auras read on her birthday in January, and ended up at Deluxe Green Bo. I ordered my spicy wontons in peanut sauce and ate them right there, the hot plastic container burning my knees as I sat on the sidewalk.

Afterwards I walked by all my favorite places—the skatepark under the bridge, Cervo’s, Beverly’s (RIP), Little Canal, Jajaja, the Hawa Smoothie near the East Broadway F. The skaters were hanging out in Dimes Square. Everything had changed but standing outside Kiki’s, it felt for a second like almost nothing had. It was almost a normal Saturday on Canal Street. The sky stayed electric blue until I got back to Brooklyn.

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dippedanddripped · 4 years

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New York City in the mid-late 1990s was a more innocent time, and one of great excitement for a downtown subculture made up of Lower Manhattan’s skateboarders, musicians, artists, actors, designers, store owners and hustlers. The rent was still relatively cheap, the blistering hot summers felt endless, and the streets that made up the Nolita, LES, and NoHo neighborhoods were bustling with life, attitude, and creativity.

This strange period makes us nostalgic for the simple freedom of meeting up to do nothing. Summer is a season to wander, party, shop, skate, dance, eat, and talk shit. In April 1994, Supreme opened on Lafayette Street and quickly became ground zero for a tight-knit crew — it was a place to hang out, work a little bit, connect with new people, and meet up before or after skate sessions.

Supreme was a skate rat clubhouse, and the crew who worked there ran the place by their own set of non-conventional rules. The staff took pride in the store as if it was an art gallery; with meticulous detail given to the folding of the merchandise on display, they enforced a strict “no touching” policy which would lead to a severe berating or dismissal from the store if violated. The music was club-level volume, the heavy scent of Nag Champa incense would cover up the smell of weed smoke in the stockroom, and non-skaters were often treated with an aloof welcome (at best). To many it was intimidating and unapproachable, which led to the cult skate store building up a fiercely loyal underground following.

For a frequently visiting Brit abroad, this skate shop and the people who hung out there, provided a welcome spot every time I was in town, much like the old Slam City Skates store in the basement of Rough Trade Records on London’s Portobello Road back home. Pre X-Games and Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater video games, skaters were very much considered outlaws — particularly by the security guards, office drones, and pearl-clutchers in Manhattan’s business districts that made for the best skate spots with polished ledges, smooth handrails, and marble surfaces in abundance. This group of young skaters ran the streets like their own personal playground before hitting the city’s clubs en-masse.

To this group, nothing seemed off limits and everything seemed possible. Their freedom bred positivity and creativity, with many of Supreme’s OG crew branching out into starting their own brands such as SSUR-Plus, After Midnight, aNYthing, TeamWorks, and Acapulco Gold. A young Italian photographer named Giovanni Aponte relocated from Rome in 1991 to experience and capture a genre-defining decade on film. Here, Aponte shares a selection of his images for the first time and, alongside OG Supreme staff Alex Corporan and Akira Mowatt, recounts the craziness and freedom of downtown NYC in the mid-90s.

What was your personal situation back in the mid-late ‘90s?

Giovanni Aponte (Photographer): I moved to NY in 1991, I was 27 then and had just graduated in photography from IED in Rome. Quite soon I started to work in a photo studio on the Upper West Side where I was assisting the photographer and getting to know a bit of the business. At the same time, I was working, as all the immigrant Italians did at the time, as a waiter for a few days a week to make some extra money.

Alex Corporan (ex-Supreme manager): I was in my mid-20s and in the height of my skateboarding career — all I cared about was skating all day, filming with my friends and enjoying the city’s nightlife. Making money in skateboarding on the East Coast rarely even existed back then, so I subsidised my income through modelling and the club scene before I landed a spot at Supreme. My life started to turn around from there — skateboarding was my world, but then working became my focus.

Akira Mowatt (ex-Supreme store worker/AfterMidnight owner): I was a runaway 14-year-old, so skateboarding became my chosen family. I didn’t have a place to live and didn’t eat much, but towards the late ‘90s I got a job at Supreme.

The New York skate scene was so different to anywhere else in the States and felt more similar to London than Southern California. How did it feel being an inner-city skateboarder during this era?

AC: Being an inner-city skateboarder was rebellious during the ’90s, because not only we were the derelicts of the streets but we were everything people loved to hate — a bunch of talented humans that had the key to the underground world. There were no skateparks, just the Five Boroughs all day and all night. We’d go out at night to all the giant clubs, fashion scenes, art shows and be a ball of energy that caused so much attention… no one knew what to do with us!

AM: I didn’t know much about California back then as I had recently came over from Japan, but I instantly felt the entertaining and exciting vibe of New York – the city felt so alive!

Can you describe a “typical” day in the life around this time?

AC: Go to Supreme to meet up with the crew, including one of the filmers/photographers (RB, Reda, Sammy Glucksman, or whoever was in town) and warm up in front of the store before heading downtown towards the Banks and then get our groove on from there. Once it started to get crowded we would break out, skate the Seaport and Wall Street. Make our way up to Supreme to clean up in the sink by the bathroom and grab a fresh Box Logo tee or hoody, depending on the weather. Hit up Astor Place for some more skating, 40’s and Blunts. Some of us went out to the clubs and bars and some went to get more footage in midtown after midnight, then rally back at Astor at some point for a nightcap.

AM: I mean a typical day was meet up at Astor Place, Washington Square, or Union Square then we just go skate all the way downtown to the Banks, Seaport and Battery Park. In the evenings we would head back to Astor and chill for a little before skating Midtown for the rest of the night.

Union Square, Astor Place, TSP, Ziegfeld, the Banks, etc… there seemed to be so many spots back then. What were your favourite places to skate?

GA: My favorite was definitely Astor Place, followed by Union Square which was very close to my home. The Brooklyn Banks was also a great place, but you had to watch out for people trying to steal your board!

AC: My favorite spots were of course the Brooklyn Banks and all the Midtown spots because of the smooth ledges, and all the fun stuff to hit in between.

AM: I personally liked Union Square, Astor Place, Washington Square, or Tompkins Square Park because you knew sooner or later you’re going to meet up with one of your buddies. Back then there was no cellphones, only pay phones, so we often had to make plans the night before.

How important was the Supreme store as a cultural hub?

GA: Well it was definitely the place to be if you were a skater in New York. My friend Russel Carablin [owner of SSUR-Plus/OG Supreme designer] introduced me to the guys at Supreme after the store had just opened. I was so amazed by the place and the people there, everybody was so damn cool and real. That area was becoming the centre of the new upcoming street culture. You could feel the vibe in the air… I have such beautiful memories of that time.

AC: Truthfully, Supreme was the only shop you could have really hung out at the time. Blades on Broadway was very corporate, but Supreme was our private clubhouse. Not everyone was invited, or they got vibed so hard to the point people would be bummed at us.

AM: Skate shops like Supreme were super important because they created a community for skateboarders. Back then skate shops didn’t last, especially in Manhattan.

There were other opportunities arising for your crew like modelling, acting, or starting brands of your own. What was it about that scene that created so much energy?

AC: It was our energy that attracted everyone — the “fuck you” attitude, the overall looks our crew had, and the talent of skating. We were a well-rounded bunch of individuals that just hammed-up to the camera once it was pointed at us. We were just ourselves living this lifestyle that had no label at the time, because you couldn’t control the passion we all had.

AM: Manhattan was the place to be if you’re from anywhere else, especially in the skate scene. All the top dogs came out to skate the city and if you looked good on the board you might’ve got put on one of their companies. There became a lot of opportunities for decent New York skaters.

New York is seen as a party town, but hotspots change with the weather. What bars and clubs made you feel most at home back then?

GA: The New York club and bar scene in the ’90s was absolutely great — Limelight, Danceteria, Wetlands, Palladium and Club USA were the big temples of dance, but my favorites were the smallest and more crazy ones like Nell’s, Jackie 60, Peggy Sue’s, and Elements to name a few. The club scene was a real mix of different people moving between three or four places a night, but my favorite were the “Any Given Sunday” parties at the Fun, under the Manhattan bridge.

AC: It was Spoon bar, Coney Island High on St. Marks and Max Fish when it was on Ludlow. Can’t forget Cherry Tavern as it had an awesome Jukebox and one of the few places with a decent pool table. As for clubs, anywhere that Bill Spector, Bugsy, Belinda, Carlos or Duncan had their hands on!

AM: We went to all the clubs and bars in NYC, even though I was under age (haha) but the clubs and bars never really felt too much like home for me.

Who were the loudest and most outrageous characters in the crew?

GA: The whole Supreme team was outrageously cool… I remember all the kids I met, Aaron “The Don”, CPT Alex O’Corpran, Giovanni WhatEstevez, Krooked Joey, Akira, O’, Crocodile Mealy, Thin Wolf, Jason the model, Brickface, Stukko, The Spawn — everybody had a nickname!

AC: We were the live freak show of the city and hands-down Harold Hunter was the loudest! Then there were the fighters — but only to those who tried to harm us — in the crew like Pooky, Neil, Loki ,NA, Joey, Pang, Slick Rick, and a few others. FlyGuy Peter Bici would always grab your attention, Justin Pierce would always call you out, Henie would snatch something out of your hand so fast you won’t know where he came from, and the list goes on.

AM: The whole crew was loud and outrageous!

Was this the most exciting time to be living in NYC?

GA: There was an overflow of young, cool, clever, and creative people in New York during that era… and yes, it was certainly the most exciting time!

AC: The ‘90s in NYC lands as the last of the epic, raw, untouchable, unstoppable, fearless times for life. You’re unable to replicate the experience of what was happening in New York during this time. Skateboarding, music, nightlife, art, fashion… you name it! 2000-2004 held onto that energy for a bit, but from 1990-1999 you grew up real fast and experienced shit in light speed.

AM: Late ‘90s through to the early ’00s for sure, that was definitely the most exciting time to be in New York.

Any specific fond memories from this era?

GA: I remember a night at Nell’s where Mick Jagger was going for it on the dance floor but none of the people there gave a damn about this huge celebrity as we were so into the music and the vibe.

AC: Every day was different, but the shit that went down in the back of [Supreme] during the ‘90s was priceless. The neverending antics — you name it, and it happened.

How do you think times have changed in terms of the NY skate scene and everything that surrounds it?

AC: The New York skate scene grew immensely around 2004, and instead of the ‘Rat Pack’ now there were huge posses of skateboarders everywhere. It’s awesome to see skateboarding in the city so huge now, but that original rawness has really faded away. That has to do with everything around us — 9/11 happened and that alone fucked up skating midtown and most of anything past Canal Street.

The birth of skateparks in the city was something we dreamed of when we were young because all we had was janky Mullally’s park which was hard to skate, not only because the ramps were fucked up but you had a big probability of getting jumped the minute you walked out the fence! Now there are over 30 smooth skate parks all around the Five Boroughs. Having these parks definitely played a part of not having that rawness of street skating, but overall I’m stoked on everyone in the scene.

The ‘90s were the era we started blossoming and now there are now so many companies owned by skateboarders – clothing labels, shops, board brands; and people in position to call shots within the community and the parks department. It makes me proud to be one of the people that helped pave the way to see where skateboarding is in NYC, and I will continue to support and keep our wheels turning.

AM: For one thing everyone has cell phones now so can film themselves and get clips a lot easier. I don’t think too much has changed in terms of the downtown skate scene, but now it’s a new generation making it happen.

#supreme #Alex Corporan #akira mowatt #skateboarding #streetwear blog

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chortlingcouchpotato · 4 years

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Mein Lieblingsort

Running. So simple that we can not help ourselves from complicating it. Trust our over-evolved brain to search for meaning in the movement of vigour and rhythm through space.

Like most physical activities, those who do run ascribe their own personal feelings and beliefs into why they put one foot in front of the other. It helps me create. It’s me-time. I am able to centre my emotions and find solace. These are some of the things they say. I am would usually be no different. But running is one of, if not the only, aspect of my life that I try to leave both unexamined and a time where I don’t examine anything. Thousands of hours of my life have gone by while running, where I have successfully entered a mental space of nothingness, switched off, not thought about anything, and succeeded in letting running be nothing rather than something.

Recently that changed. This is not a piece about what running means to me or a meditation on why I do it. It is a piece about something I ran passed that I found impossible not to think about.

Tempelhof, the airport in question is where I like to go for a plod at this stage of my life. Like any other Nazi construction, it is monumental. And before you ask, no, running on a runway is not enjoyable. The vastness of the tarmac and the complete unfamiliarity of running in such a place leaves you angst-stricken. These matters of morality and anxiety are luckily not what the place is commonly associated with. It is the sort of area where 300 people will do yoga to the performance of a pianist. A venue for inter-continental bike polo. A space to discover what wind and kite surfing look like on land.

These activities, though remarkable, are not what pierced the psychological void I am in while running. It was something much more ordinary. A skatepark.

On the lower west side of Tempelhof, it lies against the backdrop of Berlin’s iconic tower, a relic of East Germany. A backdrop with pretty much nothing else given the dearth of a skyline in this city. The memorable sight was the anonymous silhouettes of the skaters, lit by the Sun’s hue as they glided across the concrete without an appearance of friction.

Is this my favourite place in Berlin? Is that even allowed if I have never skated there? Do I feel an authentic sense of commonality with these skaters? Am I caught up with the nostalgia of wanting to be a skater? Is it the realisation that most of my wardrobe imitates that of a skater? Perhaps it is simply the palliative feeling that overcomes me when watching skateboarding.

There is a chance there lies something much more cynical behind this infatuation. This skatepark, as with any skatepark, is at odds with what skating is about. To skate is to rebel, employing different tactics with the strategy of repurposing a public space. Rails are no longer there to support nor are stairs there to transport. A skatepark foils this strategy by turning skating into some kind of holding pen, a compromise, an act of domination to which skaters submit. What has become of skating culture, if even in the city of “legal, illegal, who gives a shit” even the skaters must be treated as if they were free range chickens being farmed under the dominion of the local city council.

If my subconscious were so cynical for this to be the reason behind my attraction, which verges on objectophilia, it would be at fault, because the name of this skate park is in fact Vogelfreiheit, which means free as a bird.

Recognising the inconsistency that pits skateparks at odds with skating, the skaters found another place to flip the meaning of this phrase just like other rebels, Marx, Nietzsche, and Brothers Grimm, had all done before them.

Little did I know that this was the most stylish skateboard trick of them all. And as if through osmosis, the New Age yogis that populate Tempelhof have got me feeling faithful. It makes me think that it was uncovering this very thing, the skaters naming ingenuity, that turned my running into something rather than nothing.

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streetwearevolution · 5 years

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In response, Kruger had a “takeover” of a Lower East Side skatepark and a Soho pop-up shop with around-the-block lines and strict item limits. In addition, the MTA released a limited-edition line of MetroCards printed with question meant to mock Supreme’s MetroCard release earlier that year. Her work mocked Supreme’s products.

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ideahood58-blog · 5 years

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Want to Make Restaurant-Level Pizza at Home? Here Are the Pro Tools to Buy

Unless you’re living the dream and have a wood-fired oven in your backyard, pizza made at home rarely seems to taste as good as the pizza from that local artisan pizza shop. Perfectly topped, perfectly crispy, perfectly divided pizza with perfectly melted cheese can feel out of reach for even the most adept gourmand hobbyist.

There’s at least one good reason for that: Home ovens typically only go as high as 550 degrees, which is 250 degrees lower than recommended for making crispy pies. But before you go building a brick oven, know that there are also tools that can help you reach pizzaiolo-level pizza. Here, pizza experts tell us their favorite products (to save you from springing for a pallet of bricks from Home Depot).

A baking stone

The very first kitchen addition you’ll need is a baking stone, in lieu of a basic aluminum pan or sheet. “Aluminum is not a good conductor of heat — your pizza won’t be crispy at all,” says Joe Beddia, head pizza chef at Philly’s Pizzeria Beddia (set to reopen in spring) and author of Pizza Camp. “You want something that’s able to absorb and conduct heat.”

Beddia recommends The New York Bakers’ baking stone, as it is a little thicker than your average stone, is made from cordierite (the same material used to make a kilns), and comes in two sizes. “I like having a stone that is the size of the shelf in my oven,” says Beddia. “I don’t have a fancy oven or anything, and I can make the same pizza at home as I make in my restaurant.”

Buy The New York Bakers A Great Baking Stone, $59.99

… or a pizza steel

Instead of a baking stone, Anthony Falco, former head pizza chef at Roberta’s in New York and now an “international pizza consultant,” suggests using a baking steel — which transfers heat a little more quickly than a ceramic or cordierite stone — while putting a ceramic baking stone on the rack above it, to make an oven inside of an oven. “The heat will travel up and hit the top stone and it creates a sort of hot box,” says Falco. If your oven has a broiler, that will work just as well, as long as you have either a preheated steel or a stone underneath your pies.

One tip, whether you use a stone or steel: For a crispy crust, Beddia recommends preheating the stone or steel for 45 minutes at 550 degrees, or as high as your oven will go.

Buy The Original Baking Steel, $79

Baking Steel pizza steels

Baking Steel

A pizza peel

So how do you go about getting your beautiful pizza dough onto the stone, especially when you’ve just preheated it to over 500 degrees? Up your game with a pizza peel. “You stretch your dough, lay it on the pizza peel, dress it, and that’s what you use to transfer the pizza onto your preheated baking steel,” says Mark Bello of the pizza peel’s utility.

Mark and Jenny Bello teach pizza-making courses at Pizza School NYC, a school and shop on New York’s Lower East Side. For their peels, they recommend buying from Epicurean.

“Rather than being an actual piece of wood, [Epicurean’s pizza peel] is a wood composite,” says Bello. That’s because Epicurean, based in Wisconsin, started out making eco-friendly skateparks, and eventually began using their leftover materials to make kitchen supplies. “[Epicurean peels] don’t warp like wood pizza peels,” he says. “They’re a lot thinner. They don’t absorb smells. And they can go in the dishwasher.”

Buy Epicurean Pizza Peel, $37

Metal is another option. Giorgia Caporuscio of Keste in New York City prefers metal pizza peels from Gi.Metal, an Italian pizza tools manufacturer, because they’re easy to clean, and also really light. This is essential to consider before you start loading up your stretched dough with toppings, as uncooked pizza can get pretty heavy pretty fast. The lightness of the Gi.Metal peel, Caporuscio said, is a major advantage when you’re sliding pizzas in and out of an oven all day — “then you don’t get so tired.” (That said, they are rather pricey.)

Buy Gi.Metal Perforated Rectangular Pizza Peel, $566.50

Epicurean pizza peel

Epicurean

Rice flour

It’s not a tool per se, but don’t forget to sprinkle your peel liberally with flour before you begin building your pie. “At home, the hardest thing is stretching the pizza and getting it into the oven off of the pizza peel,” Daniela Moreira of Timber Pizza in D.C. says. “Rice flour is the slickest flour and will change that!” The 2017 Eater Young Gun buys Florida Crystal rice flour in bulk for the restaurant, though she says that Bob’s Red Mill rice flour is a perfectly reasonable substitute for at-home cooks.

Buy Florida Crystals Long Grain Brown Rice Flour, $9.95 for five pounds

A professional-grade pizza cutter

Your pizza’s in the oven. It smells great. It looks great. So you take it out with your fancy new pizza peel. But you’re not likely to tear into it with your bare teeth (though no one would blame you if you did). There are many different kinds of pizza cutters: see-saw blades, pizza wheels with circular handles, pizza wheels with straight handles, pizza wheels shaped like bikes. The Bellos recommend the Dexter-Russell P177A not just because the model number looks like the word “pizza,” but because it’s sharp and sturdy.

Buy Dexter Russell P177A 4" Pizza Cutter, $24.99

Falco, on the other hand, recommends Quality By Liones’ single wheel SpeedKnife. “There are shit cutters and then there is one good one. We were dying with shitty pizza cutters,” he says of the early days at Roberta’s. “The shitty ones are made with a screw in the center and the wiggle from the screw becomes more pronounced over time,” says Falco, whereas the $20 SpeedKnife is well-built with ergonomic ball bearings.

Buy Quality by Liones SpeedKnife Single Wheel Pizza Cutter, $19.99

SpeedKnife single wheel pizza cutter

Quality by Liones

With a durable pizza cutter, an easy pizza peel, and a heat-friendly baking steel or stone, you’ll be as close to Italian-chef’s-kiss pizza as the experts. Just keep in mind, says Falco, a good pizza requires more than just the right tools (“only buying Air Jordans isn’t going to help me dunk,” as he put it) — don’t forget to get great ingredients, too.

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Source: https://www.eater.com/2018/10/5/17932410/homemade-pizza-tools-home-cooking

#read more #see more #check it out #interesting #learn more

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vision35mm · 6 years

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Untitled Under Manhattan Bridge (2018)

#13 #analog photography #I ♥ NY #I love NY #ilford hp5 plus 400 #LES COLEMAN SKATEPARK #lower east side #Manhattan #Manhattan Bridge #new york city #new york street photography #nyc #nyc chinatown #nycunedited.com #photography #shoot film #skateboarders #Two Bridges #Under Manhattan Bridge

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inurbem · 7 years

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terribleco · 4 years

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RBL Spot Interview

DIY skateparks have exploded in popularity over the last 10 years. I'm unsure whether it's a response to the growing number of people using skateparks, as people look for a more secluded spot to skate, or whether it's a natural extension of the creativity and freedom of skateboarding - but DIY parks have become a staple part of modern skateboarding. One spot which is thriving in this area is the RBL Spot, at an undisclosed location in Essex. The spot has been growing organically with an impressive level of professional finish and a great selection of obstacles to skate. I spoke to Will, who heads up the effort for the DIY spot, about how it came about, and how building there got him into the middle of a manhunt straight out of Police Interceptors.

Can you introduce yourself and tell me how long you've been skating for? My name is Will. I started skateboarding in summer of ‘01, aged about 10-11.

What inspired you to start building the RBL Spot? I've wanted to make a street style spot for a while. I tried 6 months before in an underpass which is lit up all night, but had some trouble with the graffiti writers who captured the space first. When I found this spot, I knew it was perfect. It was a BMX spot before, but as they built it out of wood, it all got burnt down by local chav kids - a constant plague to the spot.

What does RBL stand for? RBL means “rubble”. If you follow the hashtag #rubblespot back, you can see the earlier wooden BMX park and the concrete bits they had on the building before it was burnt and then knocked down. It used to be a good spot for graffiti and urban exploration, so the name was pretty set, I just gave it a slight rework.

What was on the site of the RBL Spot before you moved in to build the DIY park and before the BMX spot? It was a sport and social club, with tennis courts, football and bowls pitches. The red tile areas of the spot are where the shower rooms used to be. It had a large function room you could rent out for parties and events. Some of the skaters remember playing football there when they were really young. The club was subject to arson in 2013, and then I believe the building was demolished in 2015.

Did you set out to build the spot because of a lack of decent skateparks nearby, or because you were after something a skatepark can't offer? We have some OK parks locally, but there's something special about DIY spots: a sort of no rules freedom. There are not many DIY's that are all street. We're 20 miles away from Urbside, who have the transition covered! Scooters are a real issue in my local park: It's very small, and I've grown quite tired of waiting for the council and their 2 million pound lottery grant funded upgrade. I've been trying to work with them and local police on this for the last 18 months.

Which famous spots did you take inspiration from when building obstacles at the spot? As far as the inspiration for the obstacles, layout etc - it's all from my love of plaza skating. Early 00s street was the best! Spots like Love Park, Carlsbad and Pier 7 are all hugely influential which is pretty obvious! Also 4 months before we started building, I visited Barcelona. Seeing the locals at Sants inspired me: their style, consistency and love for their spot.

Are there any other DIY parks out there that you use as an ideal benchmark for what you would like RBL to become? I really like the Bodila Project in Barcelona, the guys are super helpful and friendly too. Clemente DIY in Grand Rapids, Michigan is awesome too: kinda raw East Coast vibes. I love all the spots with a real sense of community, which is a big part of what I'm trying to create here.

You mentioned the chavs being a plague on the spot - Has anything super sketchy happened to you down at the spot whilst building or skating? Funny you should mention the chavs – I caught two of them just after the shed at the spot was kicked in for the 2nd time, and one of them ran away without his bike. I kept it hostage for a few hours until he went and got his Mum and Dad to scout it out for him.

By far the most memorable sketchy incident happened on a Sunday night in January. I'd been down there building on my own all day, and except for this crew of mosher kids who hang about near the spot, I'd seen no-one all day. I'm finishing a zoot, waiting to do the final pass on this triangle patch of concrete, when I hear a screech of a car from the top of the hill, and the loudest, clearest voice shouts out “freeze, put your hands up!”. I grab my phone, thinking 'Oh shit, this could be some good content!'. Next thing I know, there's loads of blue lights, sirens, and loud chatter from the road. More old bill turned up, and the whole thing was looking pretty heavy, so I started packing my shit up.

One of the cars started driving down real slow past me, lights on. They stopped at the bottom of the hill, and they got out with a fucking huge dog, with lights shining over towards me and across the spot. They slowly walked towards where the moshers throw bricks and shit.

At this point, I thought "Fuck this, I'm out - I'm not getting caught up in this and bringing attention to the spot". Touch wood: we have had no trouble from the police, local residents or businesses yet. So I grabbed my stuff and started waddling down the road between a load of police at the top and the parked, flashing police car at the bottom. When I say stuff, I mean a huge backpack, 2 tote bags, a tripod with a video light still on it, a shovel and a sledgehammer.

FUCKING HELL. I thought you were gonna say the worst thing you encountered was some kids vandalising the spot but that's much crazier than I expected. How I didn't get stopped I don't know, and I never got to the bottom of what happened!

The spot seems like a real community effort. How many other people have helped with the build? 4 of us started it, but I’ve had probably 20 other people help mix cement, or donate some money on the GoFund. Myself, Wes, Sam, Mark, Daryl (our buddy who came up from London for the build days, bless him), then also big shout outs to Rob and Matt who also helped on the big builds. It's awesome, as Mark and I skated Rob & Matt's DIY warehouse spot in Brentwood about 10 years ago, and now it's gone full circle.

How has the lockdown from COVID-19 affected the build? Dramatically. For starters, Wickes are not selling sand and cement as they're not essential items, so getting materials has been a mission. Fortunately a small family-run builders merchant got me sorted. With the local skateparks officially taped off and police monitoring them, we've had more skaters visit, in small groups luckily. Downside of this is the ground is getting more worn day by day! We've also had more non-skater visitors than ever, with the residents of the local houses nearby all coming over to take a look, and they've all been very supportive when I've spoken to them. I've got to know one guy who heads down there every morning to work out; it's great to see the space being used by everyone.

What have you got planned for the spot in the future? Currently in build is a new 7 stair with a low, long round handrail, and importantly, a BBQ. I've got plans to finish tidying the last bit of the edge and bank down to the lower panel. I'd like to add a long flatbar in the side section. And finally I'd like to extend and join the far end with a bank, making the whole layout a complete L shape, which is a lot of work! We really need to work on a lot of the holes in the floor too, and also dig away at the sides. The more you dig, the more room you have to skate but 95% of the digging has ended being by me! We really need to borrow a digger from the site opposite.

What's the sickest trick to go down at the spot so far? For me, seeing Neil Smith shred it up the other week. He did a nollie heelflip down the gap in a line and nollie heelflip fs crook on the little ledge. Not enough from our lot: we spent more time building than skating last summer, so hopefully this year we’ll enjoy skating it more. This has gotta be the worst one:

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by @hallofmeat on Oct 5, 2019 at 11:33am PDT

Other than Neil Smith and Thrasher's Hall Of Meat, have you had many high profile skaters visit the spot, or show interest in it? Nah. Smithy is pretty local. The future of the spot is pretty uncertain so we keep it pretty low key. If you know, you know. But obviously I’d love to see people come shred it up.

What advice would you give to anyone looking to start a DIY spot? Pick the right spot. Never stop researching, stuff like mix designs, tools, techniques – all knowledge is good. Preparation is everything, it's better to take two days doing it really well than rushing it in 1 and having to fix it half a year later. Invite trustworthy people, and be prepared for everyone to slate what you've built. Everyone has ideas but not many will put the time, money, effort, blood, sweat and tears in!

Anyone you want to thank? @mr_radman for teaching me everything, all the support and encouragement to build the rubble spot, and the many hours he spends behind the camera capturing us all. @wjstringer for all the help and support from day 1, likewise @meerington_ for the many hours of help and all the sick sessions we've had skating recently. Shouts to @kit1 and @redbulluk for showing support for me last year and sending over a pallet of materials.

Big up everyone who's donated and helped out, and come along for a session. Let's hope we can have a few more soon!

#interview #skatepark situation

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sheilacwall · 5 years

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Beanie Sigel Trying to Skateboard in the Lower East Side

Subscribe to Mass Appeal: http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCerm0xrYv04HvPd_G5ZLN0w?sub_confirmation=1

Beanie Sigel skates in New York’s recently built skatepark in the Lower East Side.

Filmed by Black Dave

What started as a humble graffiti ‘zine in 1996 would soon grow to be one of the most trusted outlets for youth-spawned urban culture. Today, Mass Appeal is a media collective led by authentic voices and inspired minds. We are a platform for radical creatives who are transforming culture. source

The post Beanie Sigel Trying to Skateboard in the Lower East Side appeared first on Hip Hop World Music.

from Hip Hop World Music https://hiphopworldmusic.com/beanie-sigel-trying-to-skateboard-in-the-lower-east-side/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=beanie-sigel-trying-to-skateboard-in-the-lower-east-side from Hip Hop World Music https://hiphopworldmusic.tumblr.com/post/188978505148

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biofunmy · 5 years

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What the Skateboarders Are Wearing at the LES Skate Park

It’s hard to hear anything in the LES Coleman Skatepark, a half-acre of ramps, rails and slopes underneath the Manhattan Bridge. But people don’t really come here to talk. They come to skate.

The open expanse of asphalt was redesigned and reopened by New York City in 2012, and its Lower East Side roots carry a near-mythical significance for downtown skaters. On a smoldering Friday this summer, 10 of them talked about their influences.

John Towns

Age: 19

Occupation: receptionist at a college in Worcester, Mass.

You’re almost head-to-toe Calvin Klein!

“C” and “K,” that’s the combo. Coke and k.

Your hat is Supreme. Tell me about Supreme and skate culture.

“Cherry” was the video that put them on the map. It changed the course of skateboarding. Last full skate video before Instagram took hold.

Shoes are very important to skaters.

These are Vans. I just picked them up at Labor, right down the street.

What got you into skating?

The adventure of it. I’m from the suburbs and every day after high school I’d hop on the Holden freight train, ride it into Worcester. Otherwise it was a 15-mile skate.

That is very chic. My last question is about your socks.

These are just some black socks.

Natalia Gonzalez

Age: 19

Occupation: student at Borough of Manhattan Community College

Do you come here every day?

Pretty much. I live on the other side of Brooklyn, but my school is down the street.

I dig your overalls.

I like 1990s looks, the oversize fit. And these were my mom’s from the ’90s.

What are you wearing underneath?

This is just a bodysuit. From Century 21. I like how it sparkles.

What’s on your feet?

I just got these shoes and I haven’t skated them yet, so they feel weird. They’re Nike SBs.

What’s your favorite thing about skating?

Meeting new people.

Dyshawn Taylor

Age: 22

Occupation: “full-time skater”

Nice T-shirt. You like the Stones?

Of course. The energy, the way people move. I like fashion too.

Are you loyal to any brands?

I would be loyal to Nike if they would give me something.

But you’re wearing Vans.

Because these are the Pros. These always get a pass. Converse, Adidas — shell toes down to the regulars — are accepted.

Tell me about your chain.

My Cubans? I just like gold. I like to wear flashy things. Shiny things. It makes me feel brand-new, you could say.

Can I ask about your face tattoo?

It’s “13.” A cross for the Christ and a three. That’s the age I started believing in God and being spiritual. Now, I’m 22 and I believe in the universe and things that go around.

Antonio Ciongoli

Age: 35

Occupation: clothing designer, 18 East

You’re wearing your brand’s hat. What makes that good for skating?

It’s nice because it’s nylon, breathable. The clothing that you use for skating and the clothes you wear outdoors go hand in hand, because they both need to be functional and durable.

What are your pants?

Rothco cargoes. Just the classic $50 real-deal, army cargo pants.

What’s the deal with the Reeboks?

They’re good, clean shoes. Everybody’s got Nikes. Everybody’s got Adidas. I’m a little bit older, and the older heads always skated Reebok Lows.

And your bag, where’s it from?

It’s by a friend of mine in Asbury Park, New Jersey, called Patriae. She’s a Slovakian designer who goes home every year and buys up vintage handwoven hemp textiles, then cuts and sews them into bags.

Luca Lombardi

Age: 10

Occupation: sixth grader

How’d you hear about Kith?

I like a lot of street wear brands, and I found Kith in New York. I’m from L.A.

The letters of your shirt are spelled out with Tetris blocks. Have you played that game?

Yeah, I think. I’m pretty sure. Wait, I don’t think I have.

What do you wear when you skate?

Anything. I like to wear skate shoes. Vans. The rubber sole helps with the grip tape.

What’s your favorite part about skating?

It’s fun to go fast.

Charlette Williams

Age: 22

Occupation: dancer

You’re rocking a bucket hat.

They’re back in style.

Do you often skate in shorts?

Shorts, jeans, baggy jeans. Whatever is comfortable.

Why do you need a backpack and a clutch?

I’m taking some classes after this, a heels class. So I have my heels in there, some deodorant, some perfume. And I also have my camera, because I like to blog.

What’s on your feet?

Some Js, you know. As a skater, they give good support and good grip on the board.

Who’s that on your shirt?

It’s Amy Winehouse. I love her.

Matthew Guarin

Age: 20

Occupation: music producer

You made those pants?

They were originally navy blue, and I used bleach to lighten them. It took about three days to dry because of how thick these pants are. And I’m crazy because it’s 90 degrees out right now.

Why did you do all that?

Because my mother always taught me to be myself.

Where’s your T-shirt from?

This was a thrift. Goodwill has some good stuff.

How did you pick your shoes?

These are Converse One Stars. I was broke at the time, but I always shop from Converse. They’re my favorite shoes to skate, besides the Nike Blazers. Every time I put them on, I feel like I can do every trick in the book.

Chalinee Samarn

Age: 24

Occupation: I.T. support at the Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts

You don’t see a lot of skirts here.

I’m actually wearing a skort. It’s flowy and flexible. And supercute and red.

Good for skating?

Yes because you have the shorts under it, so you don’t really have to worry.

Do you worry about scraping your bare legs?

I do worry but I love skating more than anything, so it’s worth it.

What about your top?

It’s Zara. I just bought it today. Off-the-shoulder and the fabric is superlight so I won’t sweat through it.

What’s on your feet?

Converse. Sometimes I wear Vans and sometimes Supras. I wore these to match my skirt.

Your board looks pretty new.

It is new. My old one was too big for me. Now my landings are better.

Phil Panza

Age: 24

Occupation: apparel and jewelry designer

You’re a designer who skates — give me your honest impression of Supreme.

I thought it was cool when it originated, but now it’s a bit more of a hypebeast thing. It’s not really my style.

Your tattoo says 1994. Is that your birth year?

Yes it is. Good year.

Are your Dickies sweatpants?

No, they’re just really well worn.

Who makes your shirt?

This is 18 East, the illest brand out right now.

Where’s your hat from?

This is a find. I did a little stitching, just to make it mine.

Alex Ryerson

Age: 32

Occupation: photographer

Why are you here?

I’m rollerblading.

Is there any tension between the rollerbladers and the skaters?

Not these days. There used to be a lot of beef. People are into mutual respect and being cool. It’s a new paradigm, a paradigm of kindness.

Are your blades retro or new?

’Blading is considered retro. People approach me and ask, “When did you start again?” I never stopped.

Are those pants Carhartt?

Eight bucks at a thrift store. The utilitarian clothes are awesome because they’re built to last.

Does your necklace have any relevance?

There’s a faded Om insignia, carved out of bone. Bone from a skater’s shin.

Sahred From Source link Fashion and Style

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