Farewell, Midtown Skatepark

Over the last 10 plus years this area has seen some epic skateparks come and go from our Central Florida skateboarding scene. It started before I eventually landed in the Orlando area with Badlands. I had not had the pleasure of skating Badlands but learned quickly that it was the original training ground for those who were elite among the now familiar shredding populace of the area.

I spent the early to mid-nineties in East TN, a horrible place to be a skateboarder. But also a great place to be proud for being a skateboarder, if that makes any sense.

So after Badlands there was Mission in Longwood, Fl. This was the first park I skated here locally when I relocated in 2002. Soon after, Vans Skatepark on International drive opened up. I worked at Vans for almost a year shortly after it opened and left in 2003 to go work for my new friends Simon and Brett at Metro in Sanford. Metro Skatepark was an indoor park with an amazing design located in an old Publix grocery store and is still regarded as one of the best parks ever by many-a-faithful OG. The Orlando Skatepark came in 2004 which and had a surprisingly awesome culture despite being a "public" park. Then after that a few more little neighborhood public parks came up around the area like in Lake Mary, Oviedo and a few other places. When Metro closed in 2004 it was a huge bummer. But then we saw Mission and Metro mesh to create… well, Mesh.  Mesh Skatepark was a continuation of the realness Metro brought to the area and where much of the budding talent of the next generation became the true force that it is today.

So with that little rundown of skatepark history in the local proximity, we come to the present at a time we say goodbye again to an amazing skatepark with an unbelievable community and culture. It never gets easier to see something like this end.

With each one, I have seen a collective scene of folks come of age as skaters, creators and leaders of a proud and loving Central Florida skate scene. We've seen our friend's dreams come true, and we've seen some dreams come to an end. What these skateparks mean to us and ultimately show us in their triumph and or failures is that there is a never-ending commitment here to  keep what we believe in going. And as long as there are Chris Abbott's, Kevin Perez's, Keith Gibbs's, John Stowe's, Daniel Wheatley's, Simon Ondrek's and I seriously could go on and on… there will be skateparks that are more then just places with ramps.  There will be homie videos that blow minds wider then legit company videos. There will be start-up skate brands that focus on friendship and fun over everything and remind the real world that this is skateboarding, and you can only wish you were having this much fun.

The spirit of skateboarding is special here. It's being driven by people who get it and remember all the places and periods of time where it has been, the ups and the downs. There will be a new breeding ground for this shared perspective of what a skate scene should and should not be. There will be another place to call home. Have no fear, I believe in this scene and I know it will not sleep on being right with all of these things.

Farewell, Midtown. Until we all meet again.

KMC

Dalton Dern does a 540 on the Maitland Brick Quarters... Filmed by Tommy Bohn

Congrats to Dalton Dern for getting the truck connection with Theeve! Congrats to the Maitland Brick Quarters for getting 540'd.

Brought you by Tommy Bohn, the hardest working filmer I know!

 

Captain, Mariner, and Pirate. Acrylic on canvas.

I just finished this set of three canvas paintings inspired by cypress carvings from Key West, Florida. Thanks to my trusty Florida Photographic Tour coffee table book, I have been inspired by these carvings since I got the book from some mall book store way back when.

These guys are not done as far as I am concerned. Stay tuned for some Cultship shirt designs featuring the Captain, Mariner and Pirate very soon!

What's Blooze Skateboards?

Blooze Skateboards is in fact a serious board company despite what you might have heard... I know what your you're thinking, no way, right? I mean, what does it take to be a legit board company these days? Some boards with clever doodles? A "team"? A Facebook page? What has the skateboard world come to if a bunch of homies can just get together and make their own company in the name of good times, good shreds and all the other best reasons you can think of?

Come to think of it, that might precisely be the ONLY way to go about being a legit board company in the sketchy skateboard industry of today.

Here is the Blooze team in a clip from Kevin Perez's Sequel Video OUT NOW!

When you support Blooze and companies like it, you support real skateboarding and real skateboarders. And after you watch this clip it will all make perfect sense.

Falcon Bowse T-Shirt Transformation Kickstarter

I've been blistering my thumbs liking the offerings of Falcon Bowse on Insta for the past little while. I have found myself in deep steeze envy admiring the handy work of this hip cut-and-sew clothing label.

Recently I noticed this new and amazing idea they have going called the Falcon Bowse T-shirt Transformation Project where they transform the favorite vintage t-shirts of customers into the dopest five panel hats ever.


The Amazing Falcon Bowse T-shirt Transformation Program from John Valenti on Vimeo.

So what are you waiting for? Go in that closet of yours and dig out some gems of old Tees you have been hoarding for years and transform them into art you can wear on your head! Seriously, this is such a sick idea and a great creative project to back on Kickstarter.

Spread the word and support those in your community doing creative things and going big with their passions and ideas.

Evan Smith Lives It.

Evan would probably still be my favorite skateboarder even if I hadn't watched him grow up shredding the streets and parks around here in Orlando and Central FL. This short write-up is going to hopefully make a clear case for why that is.

Check out this indicative part from young Evan in "Just Meshin' Around" an highly celebrated Orlando video by Alex Elder, Vaughn Jensen and Jake Nursey.
 


This clip from a Pro Contest in Copenhagen earlier this week is just a small example of how Evan is gnarly...

 


Evan is not just gnarly, however. He is technical, he is creative and he is abundantly talented. He uses his skateboard like a brush painting radness over the streets. Case in point: watch the way he flows from trick to trick. Nothing about it looks the least bit contrived. He does it all with wide-eyes and a humble smile. These clips show how Evan is spontaneous in his trick choices, adaptive to his surroundings and joyful in his abilities to bring it all together for the sake of the moment.





And just when you were convinced Evan was the raddest human alive, there is more. He is also a musician in the indie band called Drowning Clowns. Their song, "Deep Blue Sea" is the soundtrack to his Element Pro Debut part (above.)

So OK I admit it, I am a total homer when it comes to being a fan of all the Florida kids out there right now making a significant mark on skateboarding, but in Evan's case, he is bigger then hometown hero status.

He might be more like folk lore, except that he is very, very REAL.

Latest Canvas: Pelican Dive

I am really happy with how this canvas came out! It's 22" X 24" acrylic on canvas. I'll be working on more sea birds in the immediate future. 

Woot, there it is!

I picked up my copy of the Sequel video by Kevin Perez this weekend at Midtown Skatepark. Sequel features Bert Wootton and Chris Blake with full length parts as well as a face-melting friends section.

Here is the extra footage that didn't make it into Bert's part. Could this be like a prequel part to his Sequel part? Rest assured, this footage is a continuation of a long story that is the skateboarding saga of Bert Wootton.

Click and learn, then buy a copy of Sequel so you can get hyped up to go skate.

New look TENNSKATE.COM

TENNSKATE.COM is a website that has been a great inspiration to me since I discovered it shortly after it began in 2004.

I have always loved it because to me it captured that rawness that I find so deep-as-bone real about Tennessee skateboarding. This site and all of the content on it represents that intangible truth and phenomenon that has helped form my opinion about what is good in this YouTube age of skate videos. I watch these kind of clips and see these skateboarding unsung Daniel Boone/ Davy Crockett legend types who clearly have no real motivation for what they are doing beyond the satisfaction of having done it. Having felt it and having made it happen, and having done it for all the right reasons, camera or no camera. Some how that seems to always come through in these Tennskate videos and always has. Not to mention it is all done via impressive tricks and spots, artful editing and filming as well as a variety of characteristic style.

I have spend a good amount of mental effort to try to find a way to explain why it is that so much of the Tennessee skateboarding I've seen on this site over the years has that unique and pure quality.

I think it may just be Magic

...or perhaps it's just a special something in the mountain water.

Summer 2013 Shirts Available now for PRE-ORDER

Click here to visit the CULTSHIP STORE.

Drippy Lettering!

Inspired by the graphic on my first skateboard. Rob Roskopp III Santa Cruz. This reissue has a much bigger nose, but the graphics are the same. To me, it is still one of the sickest board graphics of all time!
 

Rodney Mullen's TED Talk

A true genius in every sense of the word explains his creative inspiration and process in this TED Talk. Pure gold.  

Cultship Anchor

Focus Skate Mag hand lettering design by Danger Brain

Who doesn't love some outstanding hand drawn typography? I do! Yes, please and thank you.

See more fantastic designs at Thedangerbrain.com

Amazing Ruckus Scooter Short shot with a Sony FS700

Film by JAOPRO Creative, Knoxville, TN.


JAOPRO | 49cc from JAOPRO on Vimeo.

Does Lil' Wayne Belong in Skateboarding?

Anyone who knows me well knows that as much as I like to keep positive and encouraging at all times, I can also be a huge hater when it suits me.

First let's acknowledge that I am from the old school of paying dues and "keeping it real" if you will. My skateboarding prime was in the late 90's and early 00's, so I experienced it all at my most impressionable... before social media, swag and auto tune.

So I am not going to lie, when I started seeing Lil Wayne mixed into my beloved skateboarding media feeds here and there, I wasn't sure what to think, and it wasn't exactly an easy thing to come to terms with.

I saw Chris Blake one night at OSP and he was explaining to me how he had been skating with "Wayne" recently, how "Wayne" had given him new perspective on skateboarding and made him feel like he's "12 again." Like there was a renewed sense of adventure and inspiration for him. 

If you've seen Chris Blake ride a skateboard, you may like me find it hard to imagine him being in any way at a loss for inspiration to skate, but after hearing him explain it, I understood what he was seeing. Chris was seeing himself and his own level of passion for skateboarding when it was all brand new, again, in a fellow skater, who just happened to be Weezy.

At that point it was very clear again that it is the ultimate hypocrisy to think skateboarding isn't for everyone and anyone. And the fact that I grew up skating when I did, when it was so widely unaccepted, gives me all the more reason to defend anyone being discouraged or excluded from doing it now, no matter who it is.

See more of Chris, the Midtown crew and more skating with Lil Wayne on Kevin Perez's Youtube channel.

You don't have to like his music or appreciate his skills or style on a board. But you have to respect his obvious love for it. Hes out there skating, having fun, getting broke-off, filming clips, making new friends and learning new tricks.

Last I checked that was in fact, what it's all about.


KMC

Skate Beer?

So apparently Paul Rodriguez, Mikey Taylor, Sean Malto, Bryan Herman and several others you will recognize have started a beer company: Saint Archer Brewing Co.

I've been inspired by the skateboarding of the above mentioned for years and now I find myself admiring them in a new way for doing something new, something maybe risky, probably a little bit scary... but awesome and amazing all the same. Perhaps similar to how it must feel to charge a switch flip down a big set like P-Rod or choosing to nollie into that perfect nose grind on a huge rail like Sean Malto...

Since these guys are no strangers to success I have to believe this new venture will be no different.

I do love my beer, and I'm backing this beer add looking forward to trying all three varieties.


Saint Archer Brewery from Saint Archer Brewery on Vimeo.
Cheers! KMC

This is the Cultship Blog.

Hello blog world! I created this blog as a place to share my perception of world as I see it, and to spread the good in terms of what moves me.

You'll find all kinds of things here such as posters, paintings, videos, t-shirts, web sites, photos and much more.

At times you'll find some randomness as well.

Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoy!

KMC