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The little slappy to start his line, the 180 (halfcab) the hard way, the crappy rail combo that doesnt look good, ollieing over the back of the rail into the grind. I mean, he skates some big shit that looks sick but then hes got all those filler lines and then the trendy tricks. And then theres his whole workwear uniform that hes suddenly rocking. Its a bit much. He could be on foundation or something and that would make sense but not really workshop.
The workshop editing and the filming really bring it all together more than fitzgerald does. The filming on that first pool line is sick tho. Hes on the team, good for him, but nothing he does screams "legend in the making"
I can see what your saying.
I for one am just fucking stoked to see some legitimate dialogue going on these boards.
* With the half cab f/s 50-50, I feel like the alley-oop aspect does make all the difference. Even a half cab b/s 50-50 is still a good-looking combination of two strong tricks and always will be, but the lil legacy of Grant Taylor resurrecting that trick in Mindfield is still pretty out of hand with the chino pant guys even four years later. I don't know if it's cornier to be biting Grant if you ride for Tum Yeto but would kind of obviously rather be on Alien, or to actually be on Alien and be borrowing from your team mate as the new guy (Boserio, Fitzgerald). And then there's being pro on a DNA team like Daryl Angel and Mikey Taylor, and following leads from younger dudes on your own team who most likely don't even like you.
* It's a personal preference thing, but I back the boardslide-feeble, both for the "Safeway curb" legacy thing that the Thrasher caption noted, and for the fact that Fitzgerald actually split the grind times pretty evenly and dug into that feeble grind; usually dudes are just throwing in a little cute feeble touch at the end.
* I agree with the Sheffey nosegrind. Again, like a half cab 50-50, if you can isolate that trick from the times that its being done in it's a sick trick, but now is not the time. At the least, it shouldn't have been included as a banger. Grant's trick from Mindfield, AVE's trick from Mindfield, Dill's f/s curb slappy from Mindfield, a vicious slam trying to do a Lennie Kirk grind � knock it off, John. You're on the team.
* I like and I don't like this dude's heavy BA influence. Reintroducing BA's Modus boardslide psycho hubba with a good f/s 5-0, doing a line with BA's signature ledge f/s fakie nosegrind 180, overall style � the push, physical appearance, and even the way he positions his weight on certain basic tricks like feeble grinds and frontside tails..I don't know, he's probably not fully conscious that he's doing it, and he actually does it pretty well, but even if BA himself is moving on, I don't know if it's right that we get a replacement.
* Skating motor vehicles has always, and will always, rule.
* Ollieing out of that first 50-50 was nice.
* That tall f/s 50-50 drop to 5-0 180 was sick. Just some really radical dumb, caveman shit that you would never expect.
* Skating that last rail, as opposed to going the normal route with a trick over it, and then doing something as simple and subtley weird as a long half cab boardslide was genius.
* I like this dude, but like a lot of ams I think that he just needs to drop his influences more and find his own voice. I feel like Kevin Terpening has actually done a good job of that; maybe he's gone slightly overboard with them, but reinventing both the bean plant and the straight no comply, and that one has always been right in front of everyone's face, is some pro-level insight. The rest of his skating is raw enough to balances it out and avoid getting too gimmicky.
* The workwear thing is true, but I'd at least say that he and his crew do it slightly more naturally than some of those slick motherfuckers on HUF, for instance. Or "corny-ass Eli Reed", even more so. But did any of you guys see that recent photo of the Alien dudes at a bowling alley? Jesus Christ, come on. Workwear does actually make a lot of practical sense for skateboarding, but it's just too inauthentic with most of these dudes. Stop being romantic: you are not your grandfathers and you never will be, and you shouldn't want to be (those guys were assholes). I guess that in a different way it was still slightly inauthentic when Ryan Wilburn or whoever was doing it, but still. At least Peabody actually works construction. Ryan Spencer and Elijah Berle are definitely not bringing it.
* Lastly, I like Forrest, but for the record 360 flip 50-50s, or 5-0s for that matter, are close to as gay as it gets. Maybe he's slightly too young to understand why, but whatever. Young guys: pop shoves to grinds, and by extension 360 flips, are only fabo if brought to your nose. Impossible 50-50s are okay as trick selection because those are two traditionally raw dog tricks, even if Dylan's gonna be doing them.