Mark Suciu 'Verso'

[Lenny the Fatface]

After my 10th time watching this I wonder am I the only person that finds it weird that Suciu only wears black, white, medium gray, navy, and occasionally a variation of baby shit?

[GAY]

Your favorite thinking man's skater's favorite thinking man's skater.

[johnes]

After my 10th time watching this I wonder am I the only person that finds it weird that Suciu only wears black, white, medium gray, navy, and occasionally a variation of baby shit?

That’s a pretty broad amount of colors.
If you said he only wear medium grey; then maybe it would be a little weird.

[Allez_Jambon]

never knew there was a long ghostbusters song.

haha at 2:59 the lyrics are "let me tell you something...bustin' makes me feel good"

Mark is one of my favorite skateboarders and I appreciate his perspective and effort he took to produce something of his own vision. I have nothing to add that hasn't already been said.

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It's crazy, forever ago I randomly found these parts from Suciu on YouTube, and was blown away and confused how I'd never heard of this kid before and why he wasn't on some big company that was pushing him super hard. Well, here we are today.

These are from 11 and 10 years ago respectively:

[close]

you aren't on slap back then? he was all over it, mostly ppl clowning on him but secretly jealous

[Deputy Wendell]

well worth the wait...a lot to process, so this will be on repeat for a while.

it couldn't be more different from my own, but dear god do I love his skating.

i’m definitely not going to read through this shit-storm of a thread--what i will say based on this last page though, is that i’ve been teaching composition and literature classes for nearly a decade at this point, and I couldn’t give a shit about an artist’s statement—it’s a skate video, I come to it to escape from such things...

[Dwyck]

lenox ledges is a skate spot, albeit not a kick out. waller is from what i understand a "skate spot" in that skateboarders built it. why he put those clips together as if the clips count the same

[Glurmpz]

Yo where's the re-edit already. 5 minutes max. Let's see it!

[quadcuff]

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Thanks to Jenkem:

In rhetoric, chiasmus or, less commonly, chiasm (Latin term from Greek χίασμα, "crossing", from the Greek χιάζω, chiázō, "to shape like the letter Χ") is a "reversal of grammatical structures in successive phrases or clauses – but no repetition of words".

In the part you can see it on 9:47.
And after it goes like this:

50-50 -> Nollie Fs Heel 50 180
Nollie Croock -> Nollie Fs Flip 50 180
Nose Grind 180 -> Fakie Bs Flip Nose Grind 180
Nollie 180 5-0 -> Nolle Bs 180 50 180
Fakie Flip 50 180 - > Nose Grind 180
Sw Bs Flip 50 180 -> Fakie Croock
Nollie Bs Heel 50 180 -> 5050

[close]

need to quote this guy

[close]

literally nobody cares about this dumb fugue

I swear to god... coming from a dude whose personality is defined by reading books yet only read novellas

this is some insufferable nerdy stuff

you are wrong

Man I really can't stand kyle beachy's writing. This paragraph:

"Since at least 2011, Mark Suciu has desired a seriousness from a practice that has historically positioned itself against the serious and scholastic. Verso wears the labor of what went into making it. He is an uncommon talent, an artist who creates by way of discipline and cunning, a virtuoso. Modern skateboarding is made richer by Suciu’s thoughtfulness and deliberateness, for his pretentiousness, if that’s what you’d like to call it."

The part itself is not all that pretentious, as he says it is thoughtful and deliberate. The pretension comes from fuckwits like him having this notion that skateboarders are "positioned against the scholastic" and therefore the part needs to be explained to them.

This is a serious review for serious intellectual skateboarders, but hey, gatekeeping is a massive problem in skateboarding right?

kyle's writing is awesome, and some skaters are absolutely positioned against academics, they don't need the part explained to them but the patterns are there if you want to look, which is exactly kyle's point later in the article if you cared to read, which you obviously don't

Should of been shorter, a great part but not worth the hype, it won’t stand the test of time like pjwhl or classic Rowley/Reynolds/Daewon parts for example.

oh, if you think we won't be seeing this part's influence in new skaters' parts you are incorrect

[listentoaheartbeat]

Thanks to Jenkem:

In rhetoric, chiasmus or, less commonly, chiasm (Latin term from Greek χίασμα, "crossing", from the Greek χιάζω, chiázō, "to shape like the letter Χ") is a "reversal of grammatical structures in successive phrases or clauses – but no repetition of words".

In the part you can see it on 9:47.
And after it goes like this:

50-50 -> Nollie Fs Heel 50 180 (nighttime)
Nollie Croock -> Nollie Fs Flip 50 180 (daytime)
Nose Grind 180 -> Fakie Bs Flip Nose Grind 180 (daytime)
Nollie 180 5-0 -> Nolle Bs 180 50 180 (daytime)
Fakie Flip 50 180 - > Nose Grind 180 (daytime)
Sw Bs Flip 50 180 -> Fakie Croock (nighttime)
Nollie Bs Heel 50 180 -> 5050 (daytime))

The structure is also reflected in daytime and nighttime footage. Credit to my dear friend Mo for spotting.
This goes beyond what I would have ever expected from a skate video part. If you read this Mark, I love it.

[sus]

After my 10th time watching this I wonder am I the only person that finds it weird that Suciu only wears black, white, medium gray, navy, and occasionally a variation of baby shit?

Suciu of Rvca, on Baby Gap

[slippy]

Interview comes off like so many dudes from college.  Bummer, whether he is trying to or not, constantly pushing back to the interviewer in that way comes off as arrogant.  It can be hard to get cues and context from writing, I may be off base but the interview made me a lil turned off on the guy.  Good tricks

[babyyeezus]

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Thanks to Jenkem:

In rhetoric, chiasmus or, less commonly, chiasm (Latin term from Greek χίασμα, "crossing", from the Greek χιάζω, chiázō, "to shape like the letter Χ") is a "reversal of grammatical structures in successive phrases or clauses – but no repetition of words".

In the part you can see it on 9:47.
And after it goes like this:

50-50 -> Nollie Fs Heel 50 180
Nollie Croock -> Nollie Fs Flip 50 180
Nose Grind 180 -> Fakie Bs Flip Nose Grind 180
Nollie 180 5-0 -> Nolle Bs 180 50 180
Fakie Flip 50 180 - > Nose Grind 180
Sw Bs Flip 50 180 -> Fakie Croock
Nollie Bs Heel 50 180 -> 5050

[close]

need to quote this guy

[close]

literally nobody cares about this dumb fugue

I swear to god... coming from a dude whose personality is defined by reading books yet only read novellas

this is some insufferable nerdy stuff

[close]

I definitely care.

[close]

i care.

[close]

I think it's pretty incredible. Mirror lines are sick, but mapping out a 7 line poem is something no one's done before...

50-50 (A) -> Nollie Fs Heel 50 180 (B)
Nollie Croock (C)-> Nollie Fs Flip 50 180 (D)
Nose Grind 180 (E) -> Fakie Bs Flip Nose Grind 180 (F)
Nollie 180 5-0 (G) -> (G) Nolle Bs 180 50 180
(F) Fakie Flip 50 180 - > (E) Nose Grind 180
(D) Sw Bs Flip 50 180 -> (C) Fakie Croock
(B) Nollie Bs Heel 50 180 -> (A) 5050

[close]

I see how D is mirrored but not the other lines. At least, they're not mirrored in the same way. To mirror F, the fakie bs flip nosegrind revert, wouldn't he need to do a 180 flip trick into grind at the beginning of the second F line? And to mirror B, he'd need a Nollie bs heel 5-0 (switch nosegrind), but he does nollie bs heel nosegrind (switch 5-0). I mean it's a sick part, but unless the mirroring is mean to be kind of approximate, I think I'm missing something.

In a chiasmus poem the letters should correspond to words that have the same meaning, but are not the same words. I gave a shite example originally. I think this is better: Truth is power, Authority is knowledge

[MyUserName]

Can some NYC natives point out with time stamps which spots he skated which were "fake" or "basically a skate park"?

[DotGuru]

I'm lost at the Beirut criticism. People are treating them like they're Nickelback. I was legitimately unaware that Condon's music inspired such derision.

I didn't mind it--I think it felt right with the European vibe and abundance of Euro spots.

I'm not sure about why others don't like him, but for me it's that his entire sound is made up of cultural appropriation. It's unoriginal and he writes lyrics about struggles he's never had (no, he didn't grow up in the Eastern Bloc during the Cold War, but the lyrics sure make it sound like he did). It may be different now--I only listened to the first album and a little of the second one before I gave up on him. He has talent for composition, but the obvious disingenuity ruins it for me.
Maybe Suciu could have used some real Balkan brass and people wouldn't be so grumpy about it--or maybe they just wanted something more modern sounding (or less ethnic sounding?) in general. I thought it was a good fit and doesn't ruin a thing for me.

[jakeumms]

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I'm lost at the Beirut criticism. People are treating them like they're Nickelback. I was legitimately unaware that Condon's music inspired such derision.

[close]

I didn't mind it--I think it felt right with the European vibe and abundance of Euro spots.

I'm not sure about why others don't like him, but for me it's that his entire sound is made up of cultural appropriation. It's unoriginal and he writes lyrics about struggles he's never had (no, he didn't grow up in the Eastern Bloc during the Cold War, but the lyrics sure make it sound like he did). It may be different now--I only listened to the first album and a little of the second one before I gave up on him. He has talent for composition, but the obvious disingenuity ruins it for me.
Maybe Suciu could have used some real Balkan brass and people wouldn't be so grumpy about it--or maybe they just wanted something more modern sounding (or less ethnic sounding?) in general. I thought it was a good fit and doesn't ruin a thing for me.

It also sounds like warmed over Neutral Milk Hotel

[Syhr]

Thanks to Jenkem:

In rhetoric, chiasmus or, less commonly, chiasm (Latin term from Greek χίασμα, "crossing", from the Greek χιάζω, chiázō, "to shape like the letter Χ") is a "reversal of grammatical structures in successive phrases or clauses – but no repetition of words".

In the part you can see it on 9:47.
And after it goes like this:

50-50 -> Nollie Fs Heel 50 180
Nollie Croock -> Nollie Fs Flip 50 180
Nose Grind 180 -> Fakie Bs Flip Nose Grind 180
Nollie 180 5-0 -> Nolle Bs 180 50 180
Fakie Flip 50 180 - > Nose Grind 180
Sw Bs Flip 50 180 -> Fakie Croock
Nollie Bs Heel 50 180 -> 5050

I think it would have been cool to swap the placement of the first and last line. So the section starts and ends with a banger, and not bookended by fs 5050s but hey ho, the whole thing was absolutely mad

[Tyroneshoelaces]

i'm not going to quote the responses but yes, i think younger kids are overly critical of the music.  it's just a spoiled mentality that is caused by the accessibility of skate media these days. 

the skate media from 1995 to 2005, arguably the best era, was full of shitty ass songs and edits.  i made a joke about never having the shorty's hardware video being my only option for a long time, and wow was it bad but i was so hyped to have actual skate media.  i watched the shit out of that.

this is really well filmed, the music isn't bad, the editing is well done.  but nah. bitch bitch bitch. 

[Murdercapital]

calculated = boring

art = subjective

skill = undeniable

[DangerJP]

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I'm lost at the Beirut criticism. People are treating them like they're Nickelback. I was legitimately unaware that Condon's music inspired such derision.

[close]

I didn't mind it--I think it felt right with the European vibe and abundance of Euro spots.

I'm not sure about why others don't like him, but for me it's that his entire sound is made up of cultural appropriation. It's unoriginal and he writes lyrics about struggles he's never had (no, he didn't grow up in the Eastern Bloc during the Cold War, but the lyrics sure make it sound like he did). It may be different now--I only listened to the first album and a little of the second one before I gave up on him. He has talent for composition, but the obvious disingenuity ruins it for me.
Maybe Suciu could have used some real Balkan brass and people wouldn't be so grumpy about it--or maybe they just wanted something more modern sounding (or less ethnic sounding?) in general. I thought it was a good fit and doesn't ruin a thing for me.

[close]

It also sounds like warmed over Neutral Milk Hotel

Didn't mind the Beirut tracks, but I prefer the La Femme one for some reason (more upbeat, the buildup on par with the skating, IDK).

That being said, that part is just monumental!
Favorite trick/line : at 6:43, that "quick feet" work over steel the angles in a bank : fs 180 to sw fs shove to nollie to fs 180.

So absurd to be this good !

[Dwyck]

Can some NYC natives point out with time stamps which spots he skated which were "fake" or "basically a skate park"?

all of the new york spots were real, but he put some lines down at waller (spot in sf by ftc and golden gate park) which is a closed street with qps. the night footage on the perfect granite ledges. i just like being a bitch about it because it seems like something that mark would mind in someone else's part

lenox, in nyc where the ender is, is a chill spot but it's a hassle to film there bc it's mostly cobblestone, there's a citi bike stop there and it's a popular spot to walk through/sit on the ledges for Harlem commuters and families and people on break from the parole office down the street.
kinda perplexed he put the video off for a tech trick there considering it's not really a popping spot nowadays and the village psychic interview did not make it clearer

[Ocelot]

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Thanks to Jenkem:

In rhetoric, chiasmus or, less commonly, chiasm (Latin term from Greek χίασμα, "crossing", from the Greek χιάζω, chiázō, "to shape like the letter Χ") is a "reversal of grammatical structures in successive phrases or clauses – but no repetition of words".

In the part you can see it on 9:47.
And after it goes like this:

50-50 -> Nollie Fs Heel 50 180
Nollie Croock -> Nollie Fs Flip 50 180
Nose Grind 180 -> Fakie Bs Flip Nose Grind 180
Nollie 180 5-0 -> Nolle Bs 180 50 180
Fakie Flip 50 180 - > Nose Grind 180
Sw Bs Flip 50 180 -> Fakie Croock
Nollie Bs Heel 50 180 -> 5050

[close]

need to quote this guy

[close]

literally nobody cares about this dumb fugue

I swear to god... coming from a dude whose personality is defined by reading books yet only read novellas

this is some insufferable nerdy stuff

[close]

you are wrong

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Man I really can't stand kyle beachy's writing. This paragraph:

"Since at least 2011, Mark Suciu has desired a seriousness from a practice that has historically positioned itself against the serious and scholastic. Verso wears the labor of what went into making it. He is an uncommon talent, an artist who creates by way of discipline and cunning, a virtuoso. Modern skateboarding is made richer by Suciu’s thoughtfulness and deliberateness, for his pretentiousness, if that’s what you’d like to call it."

The part itself is not all that pretentious, as he says it is thoughtful and deliberate. The pretension comes from fuckwits like him having this notion that skateboarders are "positioned against the scholastic" and therefore the part needs to be explained to them.

This is a serious review for serious intellectual skateboarders, but hey, gatekeeping is a massive problem in skateboarding right?

[close]

kyle's writing is awesome, and some skaters are absolutely positioned against academics, they don't need the part explained to them but the patterns are there if you want to look, which is exactly kyle's point later in the article if you cared to read, which you obviously don't

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Should of been shorter, a great part but not worth the hype, it won’t stand the test of time like pjwhl or classic Rowley/Reynolds/Daewon parts for example.

[close]

oh, if you think we won't be seeing this part's influence in new skaters' parts you are incorrect

what is wrong with you?

[Ocelot]

Let's return to the, umm, artist statement, and give it an honest assessment now that the video is online.

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[close]

Disclaimer: The skating was outstanding, to say the least.

But we have the whole package now -- 'artist statement' and video. So...

Maybe it's bitter, but I (and I think most of us) found the artist statement pretentious all along. But, I wanted to appreciate the video before arguing against it. It had a thesis and I'm a dork for crap like that. Now that I've seen and enjoyed the video, it's fair to argue. I think the video comes across as haphazard in light of the artist statement. His thesis is not delivered. There's no direct theme of tricks or locations. I don't see any symmetry. Sure, there are lots of neat moments with pretzel-spins and rad ledge combos, but calling the part a cohesive whole is farfetched. I'd give the overall project a C.

Now can we please get back to skate videos without thesis statements  Were this a skate video without any smart-guy bragging ahead of its release, I woulda loved it with all my heart. In a sense, I still did. Anyhow.

I'm curious to hear other opinions about this! Maybe someone thinks the thesis was delivered 

finally... somebody with half a brain

skateboarding in the part is absolutely phenomenal of course but it lacks too much cohesion to be an "artistic statement". Sure I noticed there was an effort at the end of the part to link lines together, I rewatched it straight away too and the first question was "why?", it seems so forced, the "chiasmus" thing, like really what was the point?. The dumb overt academic thing is not cool at all, especially when you revel in its success 

& I noticed that Verso exhibition before too and my god, if I see any artistic statement opening with the etymology of some latin word..... it better be good

[quadcuff]

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Thanks to Jenkem:

In rhetoric, chiasmus or, less commonly, chiasm (Latin term from Greek χίασμα, "crossing", from the Greek χιάζω, chiázō, "to shape like the letter Χ") is a "reversal of grammatical structures in successive phrases or clauses – but no repetition of words".

In the part you can see it on 9:47.
And after it goes like this:

50-50 -> Nollie Fs Heel 50 180
Nollie Croock -> Nollie Fs Flip 50 180
Nose Grind 180 -> Fakie Bs Flip Nose Grind 180
Nollie 180 5-0 -> Nolle Bs 180 50 180
Fakie Flip 50 180 - > Nose Grind 180
Sw Bs Flip 50 180 -> Fakie Croock
Nollie Bs Heel 50 180 -> 5050

[close]

need to quote this guy

[close]

literally nobody cares about this dumb fugue

I swear to god... coming from a dude whose personality is defined by reading books yet only read novellas

this is some insufferable nerdy stuff

[close]

you are wrong

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Man I really can't stand kyle beachy's writing. This paragraph:

"Since at least 2011, Mark Suciu has desired a seriousness from a practice that has historically positioned itself against the serious and scholastic. Verso wears the labor of what went into making it. He is an uncommon talent, an artist who creates by way of discipline and cunning, a virtuoso. Modern skateboarding is made richer by Suciu’s thoughtfulness and deliberateness, for his pretentiousness, if that’s what you’d like to call it."

The part itself is not all that pretentious, as he says it is thoughtful and deliberate. The pretension comes from fuckwits like him having this notion that skateboarders are "positioned against the scholastic" and therefore the part needs to be explained to them.

This is a serious review for serious intellectual skateboarders, but hey, gatekeeping is a massive problem in skateboarding right?

[close]

kyle's writing is awesome, and some skaters are absolutely positioned against academics, they don't need the part explained to them but the patterns are there if you want to look, which is exactly kyle's point later in the article if you cared to read, which you obviously don't

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Should of been shorter, a great part but not worth the hype, it won’t stand the test of time like pjwhl or classic Rowley/Reynolds/Daewon parts for example.

[close]

oh, if you think we won't be seeing this part's influence in new skaters' parts you are incorrect

[close]

what is wrong with you?

guess i'm not as cool as you?

[quadcuff]

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Let's return to the, umm, artist statement, and give it an honest assessment now that the video is online.

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[close]

Disclaimer: The skating was outstanding, to say the least.

But we have the whole package now -- 'artist statement' and video. So...

Maybe it's bitter, but I (and I think most of us) found the artist statement pretentious all along. But, I wanted to appreciate the video before arguing against it. It had a thesis and I'm a dork for crap like that. Now that I've seen and enjoyed the video, it's fair to argue. I think the video comes across as haphazard in light of the artist statement. His thesis is not delivered. There's no direct theme of tricks or locations. I don't see any symmetry. Sure, there are lots of neat moments with pretzel-spins and rad ledge combos, but calling the part a cohesive whole is farfetched. I'd give the overall project a C.

Now can we please get back to skate videos without thesis statements  Were this a skate video without any smart-guy bragging ahead of its release, I woulda loved it with all my heart. In a sense, I still did. Anyhow.

I'm curious to hear other opinions about this! Maybe someone thinks the thesis was delivered 

[close]

finally... somebody with half a brain

skateboarding in the part is absolutely phenomenal of course but it lacks too much cohesion to be an "artistic statement". Sure I noticed there was an effort at the end of the part to link lines together, I rewatched it straight away too and the first question was "why?", it seems so forced, the "chiasmus" thing, like really what was the point?. The dumb overt academic thing is not cool at all, especially when you revel in its success 

& I noticed that Verso exhibition before too and my god, if I see any artistic statement opening with the etymology of some latin word..... it better be good

what would be a full artistic statement in your mind? objectively, what is that and how is it achieved in a skate part?

[botefdunn]

In rhetoric, chiasmus or, less commonly, chiasm (Latin term from Greek χίασμα, "crossing", from the Greek χιάζω, chiázō, "to shape like the letter Χ") is a "reversal of grammatical structures in successive phrases or clauses – but no repetition of words".

In the part you can see it on 9:47.
And after it goes like this:

50-50 -> Nollie Fs Heel 50 180
Nollie Croock -> Nollie Fs Flip 50 180
Nose Grind 180 -> Fakie Bs Flip Nose Grind 180
Nollie 180 5-0 -> Nolle Bs 180 50 180
Fakie Flip 50 180 - > Nose Grind 180
Sw Bs Flip 50 180 -> Fakie Croock
Nollie Bs Heel 50 180 -> 5050

I see this as more of a palindrome structure, but neat idea, highly technical and original. I don't see how the Beirut is working to create or convey a mood in keeping with the skating, but I admit I don't care for their music.

[expired]

That was really good throughout the whole thing. Liked the music and a lot of standout tricks.
Didn't dissapoint but didn't need so much hype.

[pointandclick]

was expecting the mirroring to be more like this:
http://youtu.be/bUWf9AFqz4U?t=110

[Salsa Verde]

Well, I thought it was a fantastic part indeed. He delivered and incredible skate part, full of technical difficulty and smooth style.

[Ocelot]

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Thanks to Jenkem:

In rhetoric, chiasmus or, less commonly, chiasm (Latin term from Greek χίασμα, "crossing", from the Greek χιάζω, chiázō, "to shape like the letter Χ") is a "reversal of grammatical structures in successive phrases or clauses – but no repetition of words".

In the part you can see it on 9:47.
And after it goes like this:

50-50 -> Nollie Fs Heel 50 180
Nollie Croock -> Nollie Fs Flip 50 180
Nose Grind 180 -> Fakie Bs Flip Nose Grind 180
Nollie 180 5-0 -> Nolle Bs 180 50 180
Fakie Flip 50 180 - > Nose Grind 180
Sw Bs Flip 50 180 -> Fakie Croock
Nollie Bs Heel 50 180 -> 5050

[close]

need to quote this guy

[close]

literally nobody cares about this dumb fugue

I swear to god... coming from a dude whose personality is defined by reading books yet only read novellas

this is some insufferable nerdy stuff

[close]

you are wrong

Expand Quote

Man I really can't stand kyle beachy's writing. This paragraph:

"Since at least 2011, Mark Suciu has desired a seriousness from a practice that has historically positioned itself against the serious and scholastic. Verso wears the labor of what went into making it. He is an uncommon talent, an artist who creates by way of discipline and cunning, a virtuoso. Modern skateboarding is made richer by Suciu’s thoughtfulness and deliberateness, for his pretentiousness, if that’s what you’d like to call it."

The part itself is not all that pretentious, as he says it is thoughtful and deliberate. The pretension comes from fuckwits like him having this notion that skateboarders are "positioned against the scholastic" and therefore the part needs to be explained to them.

This is a serious review for serious intellectual skateboarders, but hey, gatekeeping is a massive problem in skateboarding right?

[close]

kyle's writing is awesome, and some skaters are absolutely positioned against academics, they don't need the part explained to them but the patterns are there if you want to look, which is exactly kyle's point later in the article if you cared to read, which you obviously don't

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Should of been shorter, a great part but not worth the hype, it won’t stand the test of time like pjwhl or classic Rowley/Reynolds/Daewon parts for example.

[close]

oh, if you think we won't be seeing this part's influence in new skaters' parts you are incorrect

[close]

what is wrong with you?

[close]

guess i'm not as cool as you?

not you dude, the guy who wrote skaters are positioned against academics, lol

I put it in bold

[jimstolz]

Beirut sucks
Mark's a twat
Beautiful skating