embassy @ the park

Joe made another edit. Basically the Embassy kids destroying the SN park. I'll shut up now.

ALIEN WORKSHOP / HABITAT GREAT LAKES TOUR

This last weekend I had the great opportunity to travel around with Heath Kirchart, Mikey Taylor, Kerry Getz, Silas Baxter-Neal and Habitat flow rider Steve Perdue. The teams did demo's at Krush Skatepark outside Chicago and the Modern parks in Grand Rapids & Royal Oak, Michigan. I made this little video... check it out if you're bored.

AWS / Habitat Great Lakes tour from michael newton on Vimeo.

Ely Phillips took some great photo's of the tour. Check out the Thraser website to see them... http://www.thrashermagazine.com/index.php?%20option=com_content&task=view&id=3670&Itemid=77

Paul Giovis Photos

I met Paul a couple of summers ago through my friend OJ. He is a student at the Columbus College of Art and Design, Paul's a rad Illustrator, Designer, Photographer and Skateboarder. He sent me some recent photos he took at the skatepark. Check them out. You can see more of his work at: http://ccad.digication.com/paulgiovis/Welcome/published

the footage keeps coming..

Joe made a second edit from the SN park. Jacob, Dan, Chad Butler and Gabe Peterson killing it. Gabe's line with the foot plant on the wall then doing a lipslide down the rail is amazing.

Skate Naked from Dan Charlton on Vimeo.

Chris Higgins Birthday Jam

Last night, there was a birthday party for Chris at the Chop Chop ramp. The turnout was great and everyone was shredding.. Happy Birthday dude! I think this was the perfect way to start off your 37th year on the planet....

Chris Higgins Birthday Jam from michael newton on Vimeo.

Opening Night

The S.N. park officially opened last night. It was REALLY packed most of the day. I went around 9:30 and there were still a ton of kids there. Joe Charlton was there filming and he put together a really good edit. Skaters: Dan, Franz, Carson....

New Indoor Park from Joe Charlton on Vimeo.

Cowtown Showdown pre-party

Tedd sent me the flyer for the pre-party the night before the contest. It's at Kickstand... It's called Bikes, Boards and Babes. Mini ramp contest and pole dancing contest. It's going to be an interesting evening to say the least. Check the flyer for details..

Skate Naked Skatepark preview video

Ok, so the park is almost done and it has exceeded my expectations by far. Adam and Kurt let us skate for a few hours last night. The park is really fun. Opening day is TOMORROW. You definitely need to check it out.

Go here for more info: http://skate-naked.com/

Here is a video of our session.

SKATE NAKED SKATEPARK PREVIEW from michael newton on Vimeo.

skate naked update.....

Ryan Moya posted this picture of the park on Facebook. It's kind of looking like a mini Berrics or something. I guess they might be opening up this Friday.
http://skate-naked.com/

whassamatta.....

Are you aware that there are at least four or five Columbus related skate video's in the works right now? I hope everyone actually gets them done.... Stuart is working on this one...pretty much an IGLU crew video.. I'm stoked.
Trailer here:

mall curb opening

Last night was the opening party for Patrick O'Dell & Thom Lessner's art show @ the Mahan Gallery. The turnout was awesome. Nice to see so many skateboarders and art lovers show up on such a cold snowy night. I saw lot's of faces I haven't seen in awhile. If you couldn't make it last night, the show will be up all month long. Get yourself down to the Short North and see it. Check out these photo's and the short video clip of the event.

Also, Pat has posted some more great photo's of the night on his website....
http://www.epiclylaterd.com/ohiomahanopening.html

mall curb opening 2.6.10 from michael newton on Vimeo.

Cowtown Showdown.

Get ready Columbus...

On Saturday, March 6th and Sunday, March 7th At Veterans Memorial the Arnold Sports Festival will be host to a skateboard contest. (Yes, this is the big weight lifting, meathead sports thing that happens every year...)This year they are throwing their hat in the ring of skateboarding. I was quite skeptical of the idea at first, but since I found out that the Arnold folks have placed the organization of the event on the shoulders of the highly motivated Tedd Cookerly (Resident) and Old Skool shop owner Wally Carl, I now have high hopes and expectations..If they can pull this off it'll be a great thing for the Columbus skate scene. If not, well we just wont't think about that....

Here is a description of the event from the Arnold Sports Festival Website:
A winner-take-all top shop contest. Four riders from each shop will battle it out on the Cow Town street course for all of the glory. Beginners and Advanced will also compete in contests for prizes in places first through third. An interactive Shop and Merchant trade show will flow throughout Veterans Memorial as fans of skateboarding from all around the country will get first peek at the newest trends and products in skateboarding.
Cow Town Showdown expects 20 to 30 shops and no less than 100 to 200 beginner and advanced participants in this two-day event. Saturday evening, Blueprint Skateboards will host a demonstration showcasing some of the top professional and amateur skaters in the world. Hundreds of fans from around the country will come to Veterans Memorial to witness skateboarding at its brightest and finest moment.

Check out the Flyer above as well as a sneak peak of the course (via Tedd's Twitter.
The friday before there will be a Blueprint Skateboards signing at Old Skool in Westerville, then miniramp contest at The Kickstand Pub that night. At some point during the weekend there will be a Blueprint/Resident demo.

I hope to have a list of skateshops who will be participating in the Top Shop Contest sometime soon.

I'll be posting further updates as I get them..

For more info:
http://arnoldsportsfestival.com/home/sports-and-events/skateboarding.html
http://www.residentskateboards.com/News.html

Happiness......

To forewarn you, this will be a bit of a rant..I generally try to tone down my opinions on here but i’m really bothered by this. Ok, to start.. I’m not a fan of rip off logo’s in skateboard graphics. Maybe it was funny in the early nineties but it’s generally not now. The majority of bigger companies don’t do it anymore however, smaller local style companies seem to love them. I’m bummed when I see companies that I LIKE doing this.. It isn’t creative and I think they’re selling themselves short… So please knock it off. There are a great many local skaters that are great artists..use that talent! Sorry, this IS going somewhere, so please bear with me..

Looks like there is yet another micro brand in town!

I received the following email last week from a guy named Jeff:

"whats up bro. i seEN your blog space and just wanted to say what up.......give us a call at 614 xxx xxxx. .i just got our new shippment of decks .i am new to c bus and am looking to me new peeps and sponsorER kids to skate for the krew...also check out our website at 
WWW.HAPPINESSSKATEBOARDS.COM.........THANKS" 

I went to the site and saw exactly what I expected.. a hoakey website that looked like someone who’s never skated in their life put it together. The two team riders are 10 years old, and the company had ONE graphic to offer in multiple sizes…more on that later…

I pretty much wrote this off in my head and went on with my day. Well, to my surprise these guys have had a busy week. They’ve added six more riders all under the age of 12 years old. Well, all except for Kyle Decot and Jerrick.

My problem is..This “company” is trying really hard to get into all the skateshops in Columbus. This would be fine except that they are also undercutting those same shops by selling their boards for $35 via their website. They are also apparently flooding the “market” with free decks. I’m not sure how many they’ve given away, but it appears to be a lot. Just because it’s free doesn’t make it any good. Now back to the graphic… It’s a rip off Nike SB logo. (see the picture above) No matter what you think of Nike, this is a pretty lame way to build your brand’s image.. and in this case it’s probably illegal. It’s doubtful that these guys have done one onehundredth of what Nike has done for their riders or skateshops.

I really hope that the kids and shop owners in this town can see through this and avoid it like the plague. Just because you “sponsor” every decent little kid in town doesn’t mean you’re legit.

-mike

O'Dell / Lessner ART SHOW

Thom Lessner and Patrick O'Dell are from Columbus, They're skateboarders and good dudes. They are having an art show this weekend at the Mahan Gallery in the Short North. The show is titled: Mall Curb

- Patrick is known for this work with Thrasher, Vice, Skate Talk and Epicly Later'd.
- Thom is an acomplished painter. He's done graphics for Enjoi Skateboards and He's also in the band Sweatheart.

http://www.mahangallery.com/

PRESS RELEASE:

Mall Curb
Thom Lessner and Patrick O'Dell
February 5 - 27, 2010
Opening reception, Sat, February 6, 6-10 pm


Skateboarding and art go together like peanut butter and jelly. Between board graphics, graffiti, music and fashion, skating has been a driving force in the arts for a good time now. Once considered an underground, low-brow subject, skating is now a staple of mainstream pop culture, including video games and movies and has been a hot theme in galleries and art magazines. Mall Curb offers a fresh and unique approach to the subject, by focusing on the lifestyle and going-ons around skateboarding, rather than the sport itself.


Thom Lessner takes a simple but poignant approach on Mall Curb stating "(the show) is about what kids do when they're not doing what they do" .Whether it's reminicing about the past, brainstorming about the future, or even those simple moments when you and your friends are sitting around listening to music, getting food, hanging out at the mall or spending a warm summer night on a front porch. There is a universal truth to this sentiment that applies far beyond just the skateboarding scene, however skateboarding has had a large impact on the work Thom and Patrick are currently producing today.

Growing up in Columbus, OH, Thom Lessner was inspired by classic rock and punk, screwball comedies, and dirty jokes. He enjoys making art and music that celebrate his interests and inspirations. Currently living and working in his studio in Philadelphia, PA, Lessner's paintings and prints range from baseball heros to yacht rock musicians, represented in a style uniquely his own. Thom's work can be seen on a range of items for different companies and bands, and he recently collaborated with sister Liz Lessner, on the interior of her restaurant Dirty Frank's Hot Dog Palace located in downtown Columbus.

Patrick O'Dell met Thom during high school in Columbus, and is currently living and working out of Los Angeles, CA. His work is centered around his online photo journal and web TV show, Epicly Later'd. O'Dell's photography is personal and intimate, he captures subtle and small moments of his travels and outings. Creating a warm sense of nostalgia, his photos allow the viewer to feel like they were a part of the moment. When not taking photographs, he works on videos for musicians and enjoys dogs and traveling.

Chad Butler new footage

Chad just posted a super good part...mostly Columbus and Cleveland spots....damn.

He's riding for Inspire Clothing Trend, Flow from Converse and Fable Skateshop in Oberlin Ohio.....

Ollies x Gaga

Chase Rosfeld sent over this link from Skateindayton.com
It's a bunch of the Dayton kids shredding Ollies in Florence, KY.
The edit is pretty rad. Even better because of the Lady Gaga song.
I don't know all the kids but look out for Chase, Eric Mills and Nick Daley.