Mark Suciu 'Verso'

[VHS ERA]

Watching again now. He really fucked pyramid ledges and blubba jeez.

[shannamal]

my favorite critique of this part from this thread is that it sucks because mark reads too many books.

[GAY]

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I don't think anyone mentioned that switch backside flip backside grab...

[close]

It just dawned on me that that was switch. Holy moly!

[close]

It's also not Suciu. It's Ben Raemers.

[close]

Had meant to post that. Don't know how it got past people as you can see his face followed by Raemers Forever. God bless mark for the tribute, I'm still so bummed about Ben 

It got past me because I'm an idiot.

[HugeBodBoyle]

Expand Quote

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Expand Quote

Expand Quote

I don't think anyone mentioned that switch backside flip backside grab...

[close]

It just dawned on me that that was switch. Holy moly!

[close]

It's also not Suciu. It's Ben Raemers.

[close]

Had meant to post that. Don't know how it got past people as you can see his face followed by Raemers Forever. God bless mark for the tribute, I'm still so bummed about Ben 

[close]

It got past me because I'm an idiot.

Don't be so hard on yourself. Unless that's your kink. Then...proceed.

[GAY]

Expand Quote

Expand Quote

Expand Quote

Expand Quote

Expand Quote

I don't think anyone mentioned that switch backside flip backside grab...

[close]

It just dawned on me that that was switch. Holy moly!

[close]

It's also not Suciu. It's Ben Raemers.

[close]

Had meant to post that. Don't know how it got past people as you can see his face followed by Raemers Forever. God bless mark for the tribute, I'm still so bummed about Ben 

[close]

It got past me because I'm an idiot.

[close]

Don't be so hard on yourself. Unless that's your kink. Then...proceed.

[jimstolz]

Yo I didn't even process that it was switch. Damn. I stand by the obnoxious shit I said x2

[shannamal]

Yo I didn't even process that it was switch. Damn. I stand by the obnoxious shit I said x2

you've set a new record for me of 'new user that gets ignored the fastest'

[Dwyck]

Expand Quote

Yo I didn't even process that it was switch. Damn. I stand by the obnoxious shit I said x2

[close]

you've set a new record for me of 'new user that gets ignored the fastest'

i just gaze at parker posey's sweet empty smile and move on

[Iceman]

Regular lurker here, one who hasn't posted in many years..These are just random reflections, so don't hesitate to scroll by.

This whole thing brought up some long submerged thoughts. I relate to Mark's attitude. As a 34-year-old guy who majored in creative writing more than a decade ago, I feel for his approach. He is full of energy, creative, gifted, and without child. Since he doesn't seem to revel in booze or smoke and the like, and he comes off as a bookish loner, he seems unnervingly focused on the totality of this project, including its pre-planning.   

When I was in college, before I was injured, trying to pay rent in the Bay Area, and less quick to reach for a beer, I mused about how overly thought out a skate part could be. On one hand, there are classic parts that feel perfectly spontaneous and free form. It's easy to compare such parts to a masterful jazz arrangement. A great example of this, to me, would be Mark Gonzales in Video Days as he skates to the music of John Coltrane. There are many a beloved detail in that part, aside from the big tricks, where he seems to melt into his surroundings with a carve, a kickturn, or a little ollie on the fly. All depending on what the moment calls for. The unplanned activities taking place around him inspires what he does next, with wild yet directed unpredictability as a result. 

Some modern pros such as Evan Smith openly echo this approach. When asked about a trick list on The Bunt podcast, Smith laughs derisively, mocking the notion, and maybe makes fun of those who do such things? I could be wrong about that.

Every skater who puts themselves out there can't not embody some form of style, of course. All the choices they make, from the tricks and spots to the ferociousness of the push. The effortless day dream lines through strangely vacant elementary schools of Danny Garcia, juxtaposed by a Jason Adams, pushing like an unleashed pitbull towards a curb in a busy parking lot to slappy it as if it were coping on a soon to be torn out pool.

There are subtle and overt distinctions in style between every skater, which is one reason why I and many others love to watch and partake in the thing. Every skater produces their own aesthetic, even if their approach isn't meticulously planned out in advance.

But that isn't to say there haven't been others like Mark Suciu. While I enjoyed Jenkem's ( http://www.jenkemmag.com/home/2019/10/03/serious-review-mark-sucius-serious-verso/ ) deep dive on Verso and agree that the part is brilliant, I disagree with the implication that Mark was the first to plan this deeply, to care this much about the artistic wholeness of his part. Others have pointed to Marc Johnson in comparison, but I was reminded of Daewon. Each one of his parts feels like an album from a band that successfully changes its sound over time. There is a calculated and consistent aesthetic that defines most of his parts as individual pieces. From Skate More to Round 3, he has eras, and you can clearly see the planning, requiring multiple people to set up picnic tables slanted off roofs and the like, that had to necessitate many of the tricks. There is also Ronnie Creager, Dennis Busenitz, a lot of tech guys and gnar folk alike who have talked about how long they planned something for a part. Staring down a tower gap for years, scoping the perimeter, casing the security guards' schedule until they know they can make their move. I think the author overly emphasized Mark's uniqueness in this case, and could have looked at the lineage of pros who have obsessed over their parts to better understand where he was coming from.     

In the Jenkem article, the author points out the chiasmus idea in Mark's part, defining it as a term used in poetry and rhetoric. Since Mark discussed the mirroring aspect of the part beforehand, and there is an obvious illustration of chiasmus with the "ABBA" on the piece of glass, it makes sense that the author would spend some time analyzing this.

It's interesting how people who write about skateboarding often compare it to other forms of art. This also makes sense, since skating is a very young thing in relation to most art forms. You often hear people talk about its connection to surfing, visual art, and in the Jenkem article case (which you don’t hear very often), poetry. Or rhetoric. Or some kind of literature. There's another article where Mark talks about skate part enders in relation to novel “enders."

If I had to compare Verso to an art form outside of skating, I would probably go with dance. The endearingly described ‘fourth movement’ is based around tweaked symmetries, lines that repeat and reflect one another but in some cases progress in reverse order. I wish I knew more about dance styles and dancers to give more examples, but I once heard that the ancient Whirling Dervish dance as performed by some Sufi practitioners is meant to reflect the spinning of the planets around the sun.

As pointed out by others, Mark’s twists and counter-rotations within individuals tricks themselves, let alone the ones that can only be seen from a distance after viewing all the lines meant to mirror one another, are pronounced. The pretzel spin might as well be a salsa dance flourish. His quick feet hopping chains and curbs with lighting crackles could just as well be those of a coked out tap dancer on the streets of Manhattan. The epitome of a skater’s style, beyond everything else, comes down to the way they move. Sounds like dance to me.             

I had a hard time making skate dates with skate friends after high school. College was a depressing time for me; full of loneliness and searching. I lost my group of skate friends, and I had a hard time making new ones. There were parties and non-skate friends, but I continued skating, oftentimes alone, all the same. Riding a bus to some distant spot, the more secluded the better. A backpack in the seat next to me, containing little more than a novel and a notebook on most days. I wanted the community of fun loving scamps that I used to have. The fellas who hooted at the landing of a new trick, no matter how sketchy. Skating alone made me weirdly self-conscious about the whole activity. But still, I was addicted. Skating alone is a time for thinking and zoning out. Making plans and getting weird. I imagine someone else in a similar head space… 

Mark chose to film his complicated dance moves in strangely clean urban areas. Angular, vast, modern looking slabs of marble, surfaces polished either by wear or design, are his preferred canvas. City skylines move above him, not much higher than his head thanks to the fish, as he plants tricks with the force of fresh architectural foundations being laid. There are few hollers from the homies, no tussles with security guards or high fives from hobos. This is because he doesn’t so much glide into the vibe already taking place in each city—rather, he stamps his proofread imprint into the hard surfaces that make the place. You can hear it when his wheels clap the ground in unison: “MARKMARKMARKMARK." Except all at once.

That was a whole lot of cheesin, I’d be a fool to not see as much. But loners are allowed to cheese on. God help me for this rambling rant. Bless your hearts, Slap city. Thanks for the timeless part Mr. Suciu, and for waking up the inner creative writer who wants to go outside and make some art.

some posters post too much, others don't post enough. post more, friend.

[formula420]

my favorite critique of this part from this thread is that it sucks because mark reads too many books.

its not that he reads too many books.  its that the books he reads aren't long enough.

[mongopushingmallgraber]

16mm is so played out

Wrong

[Sila]

Regular lurker here, one who hasn't posted in many years..These are just random reflections, so don't hesitate to scroll by.

This whole thing brought up some long submerged thoughts. I relate to Mark's attitude. As a 34-year-old guy who majored in creative writing more than a decade ago, I feel for his approach. He is full of energy, creative, gifted, and without child. Since he doesn't seem to revel in booze or smoke and the like, and he comes off as a bookish loner, he seems unnervingly focused on the totality of this project, including its pre-planning.   

When I was in college, before I was injured, trying to pay rent in the Bay Area, and less quick to reach for a beer, I mused about how overly thought out a skate part could be. On one hand, there are classic parts that feel perfectly spontaneous and free form. It's easy to compare such parts to a masterful jazz arrangement. A great example of this, to me, would be Mark Gonzales in Video Days as he skates to the music of John Coltrane. There are many a beloved detail in that part, aside from the big tricks, where he seems to melt into his surroundings with a carve, a kickturn, or a little ollie on the fly. All depending on what the moment calls for. The unplanned activities taking place around him inspires what he does next, with wild yet directed unpredictability as a result. 

Some modern pros such as Evan Smith openly echo this approach. When asked about a trick list on The Bunt podcast, Smith laughs derisively, mocking the notion, and maybe makes fun of those who do such things? I could be wrong about that.

Every skater who puts themselves out there can't not embody some form of style, of course. All the choices they make, from the tricks and spots to the ferociousness of the push. The effortless day dream lines through strangely vacant elementary schools of Danny Garcia, juxtaposed by a Jason Adams, pushing like an unleashed pitbull towards a curb in a busy parking lot to slappy it as if it were coping on a soon to be torn out pool.

There are subtle and overt distinctions in style between every skater, which is one reason why I and many others love to watch and partake in the thing. Every skater produces their own aesthetic, even if their approach isn't meticulously planned out in advance.

But that isn't to say there haven't been others like Mark Suciu. While I enjoyed Jenkem's ( http://www.jenkemmag.com/home/2019/10/03/serious-review-mark-sucius-serious-verso/ ) deep dive on Verso and agree that the part is brilliant, I disagree with the implication that Mark was the first to plan this deeply, to care this much about the artistic wholeness of his part. Others have pointed to Marc Johnson in comparison, but I was reminded of Daewon. Each one of his parts feels like an album from a band that successfully changes its sound over time. There is a calculated and consistent aesthetic that defines most of his parts as individual pieces. From Skate More to Round 3, he has eras, and you can clearly see the planning, requiring multiple people to set up picnic tables slanted off roofs and the like, that had to necessitate many of the tricks. There is also Ronnie Creager, Dennis Busenitz, a lot of tech guys and gnar folk alike who have talked about how long they planned something for a part. Staring down a tower gap for years, scoping the perimeter, casing the security guards' schedule until they know they can make their move. I think the author overly emphasized Mark's uniqueness in this case, and could have looked at the lineage of pros who have obsessed over their parts to better understand where he was coming from.     

In the Jenkem article, the author points out the chiasmus idea in Mark's part, defining it as a term used in poetry and rhetoric. Since Mark discussed the mirroring aspect of the part beforehand, and there is an obvious illustration of chiasmus with the "ABBA" on the piece of glass, it makes sense that the author would spend some time analyzing this.

It's interesting how people who write about skateboarding often compare it to other forms of art. This also makes sense, since skating is a very young thing in relation to most art forms. You often hear people talk about its connection to surfing, visual art, and in the Jenkem article case (which you don’t hear very often), poetry. Or rhetoric. Or some kind of literature. There's another article where Mark talks about skate part enders in relation to novel “enders."

If I had to compare Verso to an art form outside of skating, I would probably go with dance. The endearingly described ‘fourth movement’ is based around tweaked symmetries, lines that repeat and reflect one another but in some cases progress in reverse order. I wish I knew more about dance styles and dancers to give more examples, but I once heard that the ancient Whirling Dervish dance as performed by some Sufi practitioners is meant to reflect the spinning of the planets around the sun.

As pointed out by others, Mark’s twists and counter-rotations within individuals tricks themselves, let alone the ones that can only be seen from a distance after viewing all the lines meant to mirror one another, are pronounced. The pretzel spin might as well be a salsa dance flourish. His quick feet hopping chains and curbs with lighting crackles could just as well be those of a coked out tap dancer on the streets of Manhattan. The epitome of a skater’s style, beyond everything else, comes down to the way they move. Sounds like dance to me.             

I had a hard time making skate dates with skate friends after high school. College was a depressing time for me; full of loneliness and searching. I lost my group of skate friends, and I had a hard time making new ones. There were parties and non-skate friends, but I continued skating, oftentimes alone, all the same. Riding a bus to some distant spot, the more secluded the better. A backpack in the seat next to me, containing little more than a novel and a notebook on most days. I wanted the community of fun loving scamps that I used to have. The fellas who hooted at the landing of a new trick, no matter how sketchy. Skating alone made me weirdly self-conscious about the whole activity. But still, I was addicted. Skating alone is a time for thinking and zoning out. Making plans and getting weird. I imagine someone else in a similar head space… 

Mark chose to film his complicated dance moves in strangely clean urban areas. Angular, vast, modern looking slabs of marble, surfaces polished either by wear or design, are his preferred canvas. City skylines move above him, not much higher than his head thanks to the fish, as he plants tricks with the force of fresh architectural foundations being laid. There are few hollers from the homies, no tussles with security guards or high fives from hobos. This is because he doesn’t so much glide into the vibe already taking place in each city—rather, he stamps his proofread imprint into the hard surfaces that make the place. You can hear it when his wheels clap the ground in unison: “MARKMARKMARKMARK." Except all at once.

That was a whole lot of cheesin, I’d be a fool to not see as much. But loners are allowed to cheese on. God help me for this rambling rant. Bless your hearts, Slap city. Thanks for the timeless part Mr. Suciu, and for waking up the inner creative writer who wants to go outside and make some art.

I hope you still write, and not just about skateboarding. It's so refreshing to read quality posts like this here.

[fulltechnicalskizzy]

I saw Mark Suciu at a local Jersey spot and asked him what his favorite Far Side book was and he looked at me with a blank uneducated dumbass stare

[shannamal]

Regular lurker here, one who hasn't posted in many years..These are just random reflections, so don't hesitate to scroll by.

This whole thing brought up some long submerged thoughts. I relate to Mark's attitude. As a 34-year-old guy who majored in creative writing more than a decade ago, I feel for his approach. He is full of energy, creative, gifted, and without child. Since he doesn't seem to revel in booze or smoke and the like, and he comes off as a bookish loner, he seems unnervingly focused on the totality of this project, including its pre-planning.   

When I was in college, before I was injured, trying to pay rent in the Bay Area, and less quick to reach for a beer, I mused about how overly thought out a skate part could be. On one hand, there are classic parts that feel perfectly spontaneous and free form. It's easy to compare such parts to a masterful jazz arrangement. A great example of this, to me, would be Mark Gonzales in Video Days as he skates to the music of John Coltrane. There are many a beloved detail in that part, aside from the big tricks, where he seems to melt into his surroundings with a carve, a kickturn, or a little ollie on the fly. All depending on what the moment calls for. The unplanned activities taking place around him inspires what he does next, with wild yet directed unpredictability as a result. 

Some modern pros such as Evan Smith openly echo this approach. When asked about a trick list on The Bunt podcast, Smith laughs derisively, mocking the notion, and maybe makes fun of those who do such things? I could be wrong about that.

Every skater who puts themselves out there can't not embody some form of style, of course. All the choices they make, from the tricks and spots to the ferociousness of the push. The effortless day dream lines through strangely vacant elementary schools of Danny Garcia, juxtaposed by a Jason Adams, pushing like an unleashed pitbull towards a curb in a busy parking lot to slappy it as if it were coping on a soon to be torn out pool.

There are subtle and overt distinctions in style between every skater, which is one reason why I and many others love to watch and partake in the thing. Every skater produces their own aesthetic, even if their approach isn't meticulously planned out in advance.

But that isn't to say there haven't been others like Mark Suciu. While I enjoyed Jenkem's ( http://www.jenkemmag.com/home/2019/10/03/serious-review-mark-sucius-serious-verso/ ) deep dive on Verso and agree that the part is brilliant, I disagree with the implication that Mark was the first to plan this deeply, to care this much about the artistic wholeness of his part. Others have pointed to Marc Johnson in comparison, but I was reminded of Daewon. Each one of his parts feels like an album from a band that successfully changes its sound over time. There is a calculated and consistent aesthetic that defines most of his parts as individual pieces. From Skate More to Round 3, he has eras, and you can clearly see the planning, requiring multiple people to set up picnic tables slanted off roofs and the like, that had to necessitate many of the tricks. There is also Ronnie Creager, Dennis Busenitz, a lot of tech guys and gnar folk alike who have talked about how long they planned something for a part. Staring down a tower gap for years, scoping the perimeter, casing the security guards' schedule until they know they can make their move. I think the author overly emphasized Mark's uniqueness in this case, and could have looked at the lineage of pros who have obsessed over their parts to better understand where he was coming from.     

In the Jenkem article, the author points out the chiasmus idea in Mark's part, defining it as a term used in poetry and rhetoric. Since Mark discussed the mirroring aspect of the part beforehand, and there is an obvious illustration of chiasmus with the "ABBA" on the piece of glass, it makes sense that the author would spend some time analyzing this.

It's interesting how people who write about skateboarding often compare it to other forms of art. This also makes sense, since skating is a very young thing in relation to most art forms. You often hear people talk about its connection to surfing, visual art, and in the Jenkem article case (which you don’t hear very often), poetry. Or rhetoric. Or some kind of literature. There's another article where Mark talks about skate part enders in relation to novel “enders."

If I had to compare Verso to an art form outside of skating, I would probably go with dance. The endearingly described ‘fourth movement’ is based around tweaked symmetries, lines that repeat and reflect one another but in some cases progress in reverse order. I wish I knew more about dance styles and dancers to give more examples, but I once heard that the ancient Whirling Dervish dance as performed by some Sufi practitioners is meant to reflect the spinning of the planets around the sun.

As pointed out by others, Mark’s twists and counter-rotations within individuals tricks themselves, let alone the ones that can only be seen from a distance after viewing all the lines meant to mirror one another, are pronounced. The pretzel spin might as well be a salsa dance flourish. His quick feet hopping chains and curbs with lighting crackles could just as well be those of a coked out tap dancer on the streets of Manhattan. The epitome of a skater’s style, beyond everything else, comes down to the way they move. Sounds like dance to me.             

I had a hard time making skate dates with skate friends after high school. College was a depressing time for me; full of loneliness and searching. I lost my group of skate friends, and I had a hard time making new ones. There were parties and non-skate friends, but I continued skating, oftentimes alone, all the same. Riding a bus to some distant spot, the more secluded the better. A backpack in the seat next to me, containing little more than a novel and a notebook on most days. I wanted the community of fun loving scamps that I used to have. The fellas who hooted at the landing of a new trick, no matter how sketchy. Skating alone made me weirdly self-conscious about the whole activity. But still, I was addicted. Skating alone is a time for thinking and zoning out. Making plans and getting weird. I imagine someone else in a similar head space… 

Mark chose to film his complicated dance moves in strangely clean urban areas. Angular, vast, modern looking slabs of marble, surfaces polished either by wear or design, are his preferred canvas. City skylines move above him, not much higher than his head thanks to the fish, as he plants tricks with the force of fresh architectural foundations being laid. There are few hollers from the homies, no tussles with security guards or high fives from hobos. This is because he doesn’t so much glide into the vibe already taking place in each city—rather, he stamps his proofread imprint into the hard surfaces that make the place. You can hear it when his wheels clap the ground in unison: “MARKMARKMARKMARK." Except all at once.

That was a whole lot of cheesin, I’d be a fool to not see as much. But loners are allowed to cheese on. God help me for this rambling rant. Bless your hearts, Slap city. Thanks for the timeless part Mr. Suciu, and for waking up the inner creative writer who wants to go outside and make some art.

i really wanted to hate this, but i really, really didn't.

i want to read everything you write about skateboarding

[hnnng]

Regular lurker here, one who hasn't posted in many years..These are just random reflections, so don't hesitate to scroll by.

This whole thing brought up some long submerged thoughts. I relate to Mark's attitude. As a 34-year-old guy who majored in creative writing more than a decade ago, I feel for his approach. He is full of energy, creative, gifted, and without child. Since he doesn't seem to revel in booze or smoke and the like, and he comes off as a bookish loner, he seems unnervingly focused on the totality of this project, including its pre-planning.   

When I was in college, before I was injured, trying to pay rent in the Bay Area, and less quick to reach for a beer, I mused about how overly thought out a skate part could be. On one hand, there are classic parts that feel perfectly spontaneous and free form. It's easy to compare such parts to a masterful jazz arrangement. A great example of this, to me, would be Mark Gonzales in Video Days as he skates to the music of John Coltrane. There are many a beloved detail in that part, aside from the big tricks, where he seems to melt into his surroundings with a carve, a kickturn, or a little ollie on the fly. All depending on what the moment calls for. The unplanned activities taking place around him inspires what he does next, with wild yet directed unpredictability as a result. 

Some modern pros such as Evan Smith openly echo this approach. When asked about a trick list on The Bunt podcast, Smith laughs derisively, mocking the notion, and maybe makes fun of those who do such things? I could be wrong about that.

Every skater who puts themselves out there can't not embody some form of style, of course. All the choices they make, from the tricks and spots to the ferociousness of the push. The effortless day dream lines through strangely vacant elementary schools of Danny Garcia, juxtaposed by a Jason Adams, pushing like an unleashed pitbull towards a curb in a busy parking lot to slappy it as if it were coping on a soon to be torn out pool.

There are subtle and overt distinctions in style between every skater, which is one reason why I and many others love to watch and partake in the thing. Every skater produces their own aesthetic, even if their approach isn't meticulously planned out in advance.

But that isn't to say there haven't been others like Mark Suciu. While I enjoyed Jenkem's ( http://www.jenkemmag.com/home/2019/10/03/serious-review-mark-sucius-serious-verso/ ) deep dive on Verso and agree that the part is brilliant, I disagree with the implication that Mark was the first to plan this deeply, to care this much about the artistic wholeness of his part. Others have pointed to Marc Johnson in comparison, but I was reminded of Daewon. Each one of his parts feels like an album from a band that successfully changes its sound over time. There is a calculated and consistent aesthetic that defines most of his parts as individual pieces. From Skate More to Round 3, he has eras, and you can clearly see the planning, requiring multiple people to set up picnic tables slanted off roofs and the like, that had to necessitate many of the tricks. There is also Ronnie Creager, Dennis Busenitz, a lot of tech guys and gnar folk alike who have talked about how long they planned something for a part. Staring down a tower gap for years, scoping the perimeter, casing the security guards' schedule until they know they can make their move. I think the author overly emphasized Mark's uniqueness in this case, and could have looked at the lineage of pros who have obsessed over their parts to better understand where he was coming from.     

In the Jenkem article, the author points out the chiasmus idea in Mark's part, defining it as a term used in poetry and rhetoric. Since Mark discussed the mirroring aspect of the part beforehand, and there is an obvious illustration of chiasmus with the "ABBA" on the piece of glass, it makes sense that the author would spend some time analyzing this.

It's interesting how people who write about skateboarding often compare it to other forms of art. This also makes sense, since skating is a very young thing in relation to most art forms. You often hear people talk about its connection to surfing, visual art, and in the Jenkem article case (which you don’t hear very often), poetry. Or rhetoric. Or some kind of literature. There's another article where Mark talks about skate part enders in relation to novel “enders."

If I had to compare Verso to an art form outside of skating, I would probably go with dance. The endearingly described ‘fourth movement’ is based around tweaked symmetries, lines that repeat and reflect one another but in some cases progress in reverse order. I wish I knew more about dance styles and dancers to give more examples, but I once heard that the ancient Whirling Dervish dance as performed by some Sufi practitioners is meant to reflect the spinning of the planets around the sun.

As pointed out by others, Mark’s twists and counter-rotations within individuals tricks themselves, let alone the ones that can only be seen from a distance after viewing all the lines meant to mirror one another, are pronounced. The pretzel spin might as well be a salsa dance flourish. His quick feet hopping chains and curbs with lighting crackles could just as well be those of a coked out tap dancer on the streets of Manhattan. The epitome of a skater’s style, beyond everything else, comes down to the way they move. Sounds like dance to me.             

I had a hard time making skate dates with skate friends after high school. College was a depressing time for me; full of loneliness and searching. I lost my group of skate friends, and I had a hard time making new ones. There were parties and non-skate friends, but I continued skating, oftentimes alone, all the same. Riding a bus to some distant spot, the more secluded the better. A backpack in the seat next to me, containing little more than a novel and a notebook on most days. I wanted the community of fun loving scamps that I used to have. The fellas who hooted at the landing of a new trick, no matter how sketchy. Skating alone made me weirdly self-conscious about the whole activity. But still, I was addicted. Skating alone is a time for thinking and zoning out. Making plans and getting weird. I imagine someone else in a similar head space… 

Mark chose to film his complicated dance moves in strangely clean urban areas. Angular, vast, modern looking slabs of marble, surfaces polished either by wear or design, are his preferred canvas. City skylines move above him, not much higher than his head thanks to the fish, as he plants tricks with the force of fresh architectural foundations being laid. There are few hollers from the homies, no tussles with security guards or high fives from hobos. This is because he doesn’t so much glide into the vibe already taking place in each city—rather, he stamps his proofread imprint into the hard surfaces that make the place. You can hear it when his wheels clap the ground in unison: “MARKMARKMARKMARK." Except all at once.

That was a whole lot of cheesin, I’d be a fool to not see as much. But loners are allowed to cheese on. God help me for this rambling rant. Bless your hearts, Slap city. Thanks for the timeless part Mr. Suciu, and for waking up the inner creative writer who wants to go outside and make some art.

you're the commentator SLAP needs, but doesn't deserve

[TheFifthColumn]

Opening line
Tre flip nose grind, frontside flip, switch tre nose grind, switch frontside flip,  switch heel, half cab flip 5-0, nollie backside flip fakie 5-0, fakie flip, switch flip.

Loved the part, but so disappointed this line wasn't in it. I was looking forward to it. Why do people fabricate bullshit about an upcoming part?

[ice nine]

I saw Mark Suciu at a local Jersey spot and asked him what his favorite Far Side book was and he looked at me with a blank uneducated dumbass stare

I hope you still write, and not just about skateboarding. It's so refreshing to read quality posts like this here.

[GeorgeCostanza]

But that isn't to say there haven't been others like Mark Suciu. While I enjoyed Jenkem's ( http://www.jenkemmag.com/home/2019/10/03/serious-review-mark-sucius-serious-verso/ ) deep dive on Verso and agree that the part is brilliant, I disagree with the implication that Mark was the first to plan this deeply, to care this much about the artistic wholeness of his part. Others have pointed to Marc Johnson in comparison, but I was reminded of Daewon. Each one of his parts feels like an album from a band that successfully changes its sound over time. There is a calculated and consistent aesthetic that defines most of his parts as individual pieces. From Skate More to Round 3, he has eras, and you can clearly see the planning, requiring multiple people to set up picnic tables slanted off roofs and the like, that had to necessitate many of the tricks. There is also Ronnie Creager, Dennis Busenitz, a lot of tech guys and gnar folk alike who have talked about how long they planned something for a part. Staring down a tower gap for years, scoping the perimeter, casing the security guards' schedule until they know they can make their move. I think the author overly emphasized Mark's uniqueness in this case, and could have looked at the lineage of pros who have obsessed over their parts to better understand where he was coming from.     

Agreed, Greco writing tricks he wanted to do for Baker 3 on paper and creating a paper chain link when he landed each trick comes to mind.

[Arto!Arto!WakeUp!]

I know this is a very, very late observation but I've only just realised the 'mirror' premise of the last section.

As well as being amazing in its own right this also raises the question:

Does that final fs 50 have the highest ever ratio of pressure-to-make vs ease-to-do of any trick ever filmed?

According to Jenkem, if hadn't got the final line they wouldn't have included the final section at all, as he was determined it had to perfectly mirror.

So if he'd messed up that front 50, he would have either had to get the nollie heel suciu grind again (the trick that already delayed the video's release by months) or shelve that whole section of the part...

Imagine trying to keep your mind quiet as you pop into that...

Really hyped that that's how it ends now I know the full story.

[stephop]

Great skater but Dude is kind of corny trying to put some intellectual spin on basically making a part that meets his standards.

[VHS ERA]

I get more hyped on this part more times I’m watching it.  God I hate pushing myself to learn new ledge tricks, it’s always hours of struggle, but this little fucker is making me want to go out and do that today.

[DanTheDoucher]

I get more hyped on this part more times I’m watching it.  God I hate pushing myself to learn new ledge tricks, it’s always hours of struggle, but this little fucker is making me want to go out and do that today.

Agreed. Every time I watch a new part that I really love, it makes me want to learn better ledge tricks, or do more stairs, or learn more transition tricks....

Then I go out and push myself, get hurt, and realize all over again that I'm old.

[stephop]

I get more hyped on this part more times I’m watching it.  God I hate pushing myself to learn new ledge tricks, it’s always hours of struggle, but this little fucker is making me want to go out and do that today.

I’m the opposite. Trying to learn tranny as an old. Spent 95% of my time Street skating and 5% on mini ramp. Frustrating seeing something as simple as pumping to keep consistent speed and struggling. My buddy said it will just click but rather embarrassing learning while heads is shredding

[Surf-goth]

This should be his year . Anyone criticizing is purely a hater.

[Ok]

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I get more hyped on this part more times I’m watching it.  God I hate pushing myself to learn new ledge tricks, it’s always hours of struggle, but this little fucker is making me want to go out and do that today.

[close]

I’m the opposite. Trying to learn tranny as an old. Spent 95% of my time Street skating and 5% on mini ramp. Frustrating seeing something as simple as pumping to keep consistent speed and struggling. My buddy said it will just click but rather embarrassing learning while heads is shredding

Yes. Most of my skating was in parking lots, with few ledges or curbs. Now when I go out I’ll try and catch some basic flip tricks, fail, get bummed quickly. I didn’t seek out transistion, and when it became more available I was further along in my skate life and didn’t want to pay the dues. Still don’t.

[DotGuru]

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I get more hyped on this part more times I’m watching it.  God I hate pushing myself to learn new ledge tricks, it’s always hours of struggle, but this little fucker is making me want to go out and do that today.

[close]

I’m the opposite. Trying to learn tranny as an old. Spent 95% of my time Street skating and 5% on mini ramp. Frustrating seeing something as simple as pumping to keep consistent speed and struggling. My buddy said it will just click but rather embarrassing learning while heads is shredding

[close]

Yes. Most of my skating was in parking lots, with few ledges or curbs. Now when I go out I’ll try and catch some basic flip tricks, fail, get bummed quickly. I didn’t seek out transistion, and when it became more available I was further along in my skate life and didn’t want to pay the dues. Still don’t.

Same. Got good at street and by the time there were local parks I would just skate the non-transition obstacles. I would just kickturn on quarterpipes or drop in, but no lip tricks. Now I'm trying to learn it and I wish I'd done it sooner.

[stephop]

Expand Quote

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I get more hyped on this part more times I’m watching it.  God I hate pushing myself to learn new ledge tricks, it’s always hours of struggle, but this little fucker is making me want to go out and do that today.

[close]

I’m the opposite. Trying to learn tranny as an old. Spent 95% of my time Street skating and 5% on mini ramp. Frustrating seeing something as simple as pumping to keep consistent speed and struggling. My buddy said it will just click but rather embarrassing learning while heads is shredding

[close]

Yes. Most of my skating was in parking lots, with few ledges or curbs. Now when I go out I’ll try and catch some basic flip tricks, fail, get bummed quickly. I didn’t seek out transistion, and when it became more available I was further along in my skate life and didn’t want to pay the dues. Still don’t.

[close]

Same. Got good at street and by the time there were local parks I would just skate the non-transition obstacles. I would just kickturn on quarterpipes or drop in, but no lip tricks. Now I'm trying to learn it and I wish I'd done it sooner.

I never had any ramps. It’s crazy seeing people that did. Must be like riding a bike. Dude was like I haven’t skated forever and was murdering the mini. I guess I have to take my lumps and learn the absolute basics and look like I've never skated before 

[Abyss1]

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I get more hyped on this part more times I’m watching it.  God I hate pushing myself to learn new ledge tricks, it’s always hours of struggle, but this little fucker is making me want to go out and do that today.

[close]

I’m the opposite. Trying to learn tranny as an old. Spent 95% of my time Street skating and 5% on mini ramp. Frustrating seeing something as simple as pumping to keep consistent speed and struggling. My buddy said it will just click but rather embarrassing learning while heads is shredding

[close]

Yes. Most of my skating was in parking lots, with few ledges or curbs. Now when I go out I’ll try and catch some basic flip tricks, fail, get bummed quickly. I didn’t seek out transistion, and when it became more available I was further along in my skate life and didn’t want to pay the dues. Still don’t.

[close]

Same. Got good at street and by the time there were local parks I would just skate the non-transition obstacles. I would just kickturn on quarterpipes or drop in, but no lip tricks. Now I'm trying to learn it and I wish I'd done it sooner.

I heard this rumor in the late 90's is that kids who go to private schools skate parks, and skating street means you went to public school...aka rich kids vs poor kids spots

[booty]

I mute the Beirut songs and play the Succession theme song. I'm not tech enough to do part remixes. Yet.

[lickcakes]

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I get more hyped on this part more times I’m watching it.  God I hate pushing myself to learn new ledge tricks, it’s always hours of struggle, but this little fucker is making me want to go out and do that today.

[close]

I’m the opposite. Trying to learn tranny as an old. Spent 95% of my time Street skating and 5% on mini ramp. Frustrating seeing something as simple as pumping to keep consistent speed and struggling. My buddy said it will just click but rather embarrassing learning while heads is shredding

[close]

Yes. Most of my skating was in parking lots, with few ledges or curbs. Now when I go out I’ll try and catch some basic flip tricks, fail, get bummed quickly. I didn’t seek out transistion, and when it became more available I was further along in my skate life and didn’t want to pay the dues. Still don’t.

[close]

Same. Got good at street and by the time there were local parks I would just skate the non-transition obstacles. I would just kickturn on quarterpipes or drop in, but no lip tricks. Now I'm trying to learn it and I wish I'd done it sooner.

[close]

I never had any ramps. It’s crazy seeing people that did. Must be like riding a bike. Dude was like I haven’t skated forever and was murdering the mini. I guess I have to take my lumps and learn the absolute basics and look like I've never skated before 

It was the same for me until recently. It's definitely worth learning. I mean, I pretty much stick to dropping in and carving, but learning how to pump made skateboarding so much better. I'm awkward and it took me 5 years of trying kickflips to land my first one, so if I can learn, I guarantee that other people can, too.

I'm pretty much over flip tricks and ledge tricks, but trying quick-footed stuff like Suciu does with the manholes are incredibly fun.