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.

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