as much as i like the promo's and ilihimmdwmtt, esp compared to other 'skate videos',
I prefer pre- polar pontus.
His videos seemed more his own, had more dept and documentary- style, with polar I can't help but feel he is trying to appeal to sell. Not that he is selling out, but it just doesn't feel the same. I liked how the skaters in Strongest of the Strange or In search of the Miraculous had a more 'average joe', or 'that one guy I know who is really good' vibe compared to Polars 'wearing the right stuff doing the right tricks' type of skater.
Pontus' most authentic piece of work is The Strongest Of The Strange by far. you had to be there when it came out in order to measure how much of a UFO that film was, and how strong its impact on European skateboarding was, back when everybody was trying to edit their marble prowess in either yellow shirts or PD costumes to the shittiest dance floor music possible. In Search Of The Miraculous was a Nike ad in comparison. of course that was when the rest of the world started paying attention...
as tempting as it is to say I prefer pre-Polar Pontus too, I think a better wording would be that I prefer Pontus to Polar, or at least the reminder that there's more to Pontus than Polar. Polar is a commercial extension of Pontus' persona; it's his take on what a skate company should be. of course it's going to be materialistic, but I like how he's always done it with a twist. the product and designs are crazy, only a skater could understand that material and visual language; it's a brand in the truest sense of the term, a modern type of artistic outlet, obviously designed to appeal to anybody relating in the slightest because why not. remember how Pontus' first catchphrase with Polar was 'not driven by greed'? knowing Pontus, he's still the truest, most passionate and sensible skate rat one can get; he just so happens to be smart enough to have put himself in a dominant position but I think his message is still positive in that his motivation still remains to inspire people to hopefully find the little spark of creation, excitement and life in the act of skateboarding, just like he himself did. it's an enterprise of transmission that isn't just in touch with, but firmly rooted in the essence of skateboarding, better than a lot of other businesses in this industry and for that I'm willing to give the occasional gimmick a pass. for your word to reach out to more people, sometimes you need to vulgarize. Pontus does it with constructive intent and in ways so subtle, they're invisible to the untrained eye; that's a lot better, wiser and less selfish than most, and although I don't necessarily always agree with the form personally, I know I'd rather have passion-driven individuals like him in a position of power in skateboarding than just about any other type of people.