"That's insane terrain at its finest."
May 2, 2016 8:48 PM Subscribe
Dave Bachinsky landed a skateboard trick in 2009 that has still never been repeated: a kickflip over the massive El Toro gap.
The 20-stair El Toro has long been the regarded as one of the most intimidating jumps in skateboarding. Bachinsky is still the only person to have successfully flipped it (though "Jaws" Hamoki came close with a broken-board kickflip melon). Bachinsky recounts the misses and eventual success as a part of the Thrasher series "My War," which covers several skater's personal quests to conquer a never-before-done trick in skateboarding.
As opposed to the deft technical skills of a Rodney Mullen or a Killian Martin (previously) "My War" favors the big n' gnarly.
Some highlights from the series:
Dane Burman tries a giant rail that ends with a two-story drop
Don "Nuge" Nguyen bombs Baxter Street, the steepest hill in Los Angeles
Chris Joslin 360 flips the famous Davis gap
The 41-year-old, still-rippin' Jamie Thomas impossibles Clipper in SF after many, many tries.
The 20-stair El Toro has long been the regarded as one of the most intimidating jumps in skateboarding. Bachinsky is still the only person to have successfully flipped it (though "Jaws" Hamoki came close with a broken-board kickflip melon). Bachinsky recounts the misses and eventual success as a part of the Thrasher series "My War," which covers several skater's personal quests to conquer a never-before-done trick in skateboarding.
As opposed to the deft technical skills of a Rodney Mullen or a Killian Martin (previously) "My War" favors the big n' gnarly.
Some highlights from the series:
Dane Burman tries a giant rail that ends with a two-story drop
Don "Nuge" Nguyen bombs Baxter Street, the steepest hill in Los Angeles
Chris Joslin 360 flips the famous Davis gap
The 41-year-old, still-rippin' Jamie Thomas impossibles Clipper in SF after many, many tries.
I think a big part of it is that he goes to the ground in every failed attempt, he doesn't try at all to stay upright on the landing. Also the baggy clothes likely hide an impressive set of leg and core muscles.
posted by clorox at 10:01 PM on May 2, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by clorox at 10:01 PM on May 2, 2016 [2 favorites]
I want to know how many of them pulled it off a second time.
posted by gottabefunky at 10:16 PM on May 2, 2016
posted by gottabefunky at 10:16 PM on May 2, 2016
I've stood at the top of Baxter Street. I wouldn't attempt to walk down Baxter Street, much less race down it on a wheeled plank.
posted by Parasite Unseen at 10:23 PM on May 2, 2016
posted by Parasite Unseen at 10:23 PM on May 2, 2016
Really fucking impressive.
posted by bongo_x at 10:44 PM on May 2, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by bongo_x at 10:44 PM on May 2, 2016 [1 favorite]
Why does he not break his ankles? Serious question.
If you're a skater you're really good at falling.
I think it's interesting that the culture is such that you don't really see many skate videos where they edit all the failed attempts out to make them look magic. The falling and the failure is part of it.
posted by bongo_x at 10:53 PM on May 2, 2016 [7 favorites]
If you're a skater you're really good at falling.
I think it's interesting that the culture is such that you don't really see many skate videos where they edit all the failed attempts out to make them look magic. The falling and the failure is part of it.
posted by bongo_x at 10:53 PM on May 2, 2016 [7 favorites]
I was expecting "massive el toro gap" to be like, a canyon or something. A cement flight of stairs outside a high school in southern california probably makes more sense, but is a lot less picturesque then I was imagining before I clicked the link.
posted by vibratory manner of working at 11:00 PM on May 2, 2016 [30 favorites]
posted by vibratory manner of working at 11:00 PM on May 2, 2016 [30 favorites]
That's what I found really charming about these videos. They're all pretty anonymous places besides Baxter Street and even that seems to be mostly just a local weird thing, but they develop a mystique for the subculture.
posted by Gnatcho at 11:10 PM on May 2, 2016 [10 favorites]
posted by Gnatcho at 11:10 PM on May 2, 2016 [10 favorites]
"When you're first goin, if you have stuff on your mind, you better get that all out of the way cause you're gonna be flyin."
[wipes out like 20 times in a row]
"FUCK! I hit my fuckin' head"
oh, socal skaters, never change.
posted by clockzero at 11:12 PM on May 2, 2016 [2 favorites]
[wipes out like 20 times in a row]
"FUCK! I hit my fuckin' head"
oh, socal skaters, never change.
posted by clockzero at 11:12 PM on May 2, 2016 [2 favorites]
something something climactic conditions, building codes, population shifts, time periods, geographic situation, something something = famous skateboarding problem
posted by clorox at 11:36 PM on May 2, 2016
posted by clorox at 11:36 PM on May 2, 2016
Basically, an outdoor 20-stair flight with no landing and no overhang; a long, smooth run-up; and a long, smooth landing is not easy to find in the United States.
posted by clorox at 11:40 PM on May 2, 2016 [3 favorites]
posted by clorox at 11:40 PM on May 2, 2016 [3 favorites]
"We're not coming back tomorrow. He's not going to be able to walk tomorrow. Either we do this right now, or it isn't happening." I wasn't ever a very good skater, but the covered in bruises part I had in common with these guys.
posted by Lame_username at 12:00 AM on May 3, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by Lame_username at 12:00 AM on May 3, 2016 [2 favorites]
The total sincerity and enthusiasm in these videos is both baffling and charming to me.
That said, I have to admit that I watched every video cringing, desperately wishing that they were wearing some kind of safety gear, literally any kind of safety gear at all. I honestly don't understand how they're all upright and walking around.
posted by mishafletch at 12:07 AM on May 3, 2016 [7 favorites]
That said, I have to admit that I watched every video cringing, desperately wishing that they were wearing some kind of safety gear, literally any kind of safety gear at all. I honestly don't understand how they're all upright and walking around.
posted by mishafletch at 12:07 AM on May 3, 2016 [7 favorites]
That's what I found really charming about these videos. They're all pretty anonymous places besides Baxter Street and even that seems to be mostly just a local weird thing, but they develop a mystique for the subculture.
Yeah I've been to at least one of these spots without knowing it was A Thing for street skaters.
posted by atoxyl at 12:27 AM on May 3, 2016
Yeah I've been to at least one of these spots without knowing it was A Thing for street skaters.
posted by atoxyl at 12:27 AM on May 3, 2016
The Dane Burman is amazing as is the Chris Joplin 360.
Jaws vs the Lyon is also outstanding. I do love me some skater spirit.
posted by fluffy battle kitten at 1:22 AM on May 3, 2016 [3 favorites]
Jaws vs the Lyon is also outstanding. I do love me some skater spirit.
posted by fluffy battle kitten at 1:22 AM on May 3, 2016 [3 favorites]
I always thought skateboarders were some very zen people. You literally take a tiny board with wheels, and look for mundane industrial settings and create cool tricks and your new goals to land. Very inventive stuff.
Also, movies have completely skewed my perception of how hard this is to land. I feel all the ones I grew up watching seemed to have like, 50-stair landings...
posted by yueliang at 2:26 AM on May 3, 2016 [1 favorite]
Also, movies have completely skewed my perception of how hard this is to land. I feel all the ones I grew up watching seemed to have like, 50-stair landings...
posted by yueliang at 2:26 AM on May 3, 2016 [1 favorite]
In an interesting intersection, one of the things that is mentioned fairly often in Formula 1 coverage is how much the camera lens minimizes the appearance of hills, slopes, and banking of the track.
posted by clorox at 2:42 AM on May 3, 2016
posted by clorox at 2:42 AM on May 3, 2016
> I watched every video cringing, desperately wishing that they were wearing some kind of safety gear, literally any kind of safety gear at all.
Don Nguyen puts on a leather jacket to descend Baxter Street, which is quite a sensible thing to do if one is going to bomb down a roughly-paved street that's as steep as a ski slope.
posted by ardgedee at 3:06 AM on May 3, 2016 [1 favorite]
Don Nguyen puts on a leather jacket to descend Baxter Street, which is quite a sensible thing to do if one is going to bomb down a roughly-paved street that's as steep as a ski slope.
posted by ardgedee at 3:06 AM on May 3, 2016 [1 favorite]
As an aside: I was curious what the slope of Baxter St. was (32%) and while looking for it discovered a multitude of blog posts about how the steepest streets in the U.S. are all in Los Angeles, because apparently Pittsburgh doesn't exist.
posted by ardgedee at 3:13 AM on May 3, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by ardgedee at 3:13 AM on May 3, 2016 [1 favorite]
Watching these videos make me nostalgic for the skate. series of video games. Where you basically get to pull of street skating tricks like this. Only instead of requiring you be a lithe 22 year old with bones made of rubber and preternatural balance, you just have to be moderately good at manipulating two thumbsticks. It's a smart game though, totally unlike the silly Tony Hawk arcade skate games with quintuple kick-flips at the press of a button. The skate. games had a direct relationship between the analog joystick inputs and the board movement and it felt like actual gamer skill to land a trick.
And all those neat skating mechanics set in a street skating universe where you're practicing tricks for skate magazines, complete with folks like Nuge right there filming and mocking you. Great gamer experience.
Sadly the series' last release was in 2010, and the development team has since disbanded. It feels like it's about time for a revival though.
posted by Nelson at 6:34 AM on May 3, 2016 [1 favorite]
And all those neat skating mechanics set in a street skating universe where you're practicing tricks for skate magazines, complete with folks like Nuge right there filming and mocking you. Great gamer experience.
Sadly the series' last release was in 2010, and the development team has since disbanded. It feels like it's about time for a revival though.
posted by Nelson at 6:34 AM on May 3, 2016 [1 favorite]
Holy shit that is incredible. I'm still trying to get back my kickflip down three stairs. Fuck.
posted by Annika Cicada at 6:34 AM on May 3, 2016
posted by Annika Cicada at 6:34 AM on May 3, 2016
and yeah a major part of learning to how to rip on a skateboard is learning to how to bust your ass properly.
It starts with: drop and roll, don't put your hands out EVER.
posted by Annika Cicada at 6:37 AM on May 3, 2016
It starts with: drop and roll, don't put your hands out EVER.
posted by Annika Cicada at 6:37 AM on May 3, 2016
With enough trials, anything that can happen will happen.
posted by scunning at 6:48 AM on May 3, 2016
posted by scunning at 6:48 AM on May 3, 2016
after watching far too many fail-blog skater wipe-out videos, I'm amazed the dude was not spitting blood or had a hand bent in an impossible angle. That's some serious "get back on your horse" dedication.
Random question: Would riding the rails down (is that grinding?) be a much easier trick ? (ie the spectacle here is not "someone made it down the stairs", rather someone jumped the stairs ? )
posted by k5.user at 7:12 AM on May 3, 2016
Random question: Would riding the rails down (is that grinding?) be a much easier trick ? (ie the spectacle here is not "someone made it down the stairs", rather someone jumped the stairs ? )
posted by k5.user at 7:12 AM on May 3, 2016
It's very beautiful how a group can take a piece of anonymous industrial architecture and make it their own Pisgah. Maybe it's what we've always been doing, all along. Maybe the Old Testament was about skating. Maybe the Tao wasn't about bicycles.
posted by scruss at 7:14 AM on May 3, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by scruss at 7:14 AM on May 3, 2016 [2 favorites]
That 360 flip down davis gap. OMG.
posted by Annika Cicada at 7:33 AM on May 3, 2016
posted by Annika Cicada at 7:33 AM on May 3, 2016
vibratory manner of working:
I was expecting "massive el toro gap" to be like, a canyon or something.
Maybe this?
posted by iffthen at 12:04 PM on May 3, 2016
I was expecting "massive el toro gap" to be like, a canyon or something.
Maybe this?
posted by iffthen at 12:04 PM on May 3, 2016
Don Nguyen puts on a leather jacket to descend Baxter Street, which is quite a sensible thing to do if one is going to bomb down a roughly-paved street that's as steep as a ski slope.
And Homoki wears gloves for the 25-step jump - actually I was reading interviews with some of these guys earlier and they said he had some padding on under his clothes for that one. In general I guess it's like motorcycles - you may be too cool for a helmet but nobody is going to fuck with getting all their skin scraped off.
posted by atoxyl at 1:11 PM on May 3, 2016
And Homoki wears gloves for the 25-step jump - actually I was reading interviews with some of these guys earlier and they said he had some padding on under his clothes for that one. In general I guess it's like motorcycles - you may be too cool for a helmet but nobody is going to fuck with getting all their skin scraped off.
posted by atoxyl at 1:11 PM on May 3, 2016
Wow! This was not a genre I was familiar with. The way they talk kind of reminds me of the genre of Everest/K2/etc climbing narratives, which I kind of love. Totally unremarkable (to me) city features become beautiful irresistible challenges. It seems mountaineering style thrill seeking for people who can't afford the mountaineering lifestyle. So cool, thanks for sharing.
posted by Salamandrous at 4:13 PM on May 3, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by Salamandrous at 4:13 PM on May 3, 2016 [1 favorite]
They're all pretty anonymous places besides Baxter Street and even that seems to be mostly just a local weird thing, but they develop a mystique for the subculture.
That's what I love most about skating. Skating doesn't use anything as it is intended to be used. Pretty locales are beside the point. It's about getting utility out of the urban environment and using what already exists in a subverted fashion.
posted by joechip at 5:42 PM on May 3, 2016
That's what I love most about skating. Skating doesn't use anything as it is intended to be used. Pretty locales are beside the point. It's about getting utility out of the urban environment and using what already exists in a subverted fashion.
posted by joechip at 5:42 PM on May 3, 2016
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