Skating Videos

Minneapolis mix, featuring Tyler Luth, Alex Keck, Rory Morgan, Lorenzo Slominski
song: GREYHOUND, UNTITLED04
edit: Cory Stubing

I recently moved from Milwaukee down to Chicago. In the midst of a national uprising and public health crisis, I definitely got really emotional. Now as I settle into a new life, and as I write this, scramble to get myself ready to start my new day at my 9-5, I’m feeling a lot of things. But the beauty of skateboarding is that it challenges your emotional and physical responses in the most intricate ways. Not to get too heady but shit hits different, ya know?

I initially wanted to wait to post my video until the right time but you know what? The people need something to make them smile, yell, gasp, or downright loathe at the 11 minutes of footage the boys and I compiled in a matter of 3 months.

I present to you…”Emotional Fashion.”

Over the last few months there has been a lot of debate about which local area code has produced the most well rounded skateboarders. Well, I’m here to stoke the flames of this debate in the form of photographic evidence over the last few months. I must caution, as I’m only one man with one camera, the below evidence is not all decisive.

We will begin with area code (262)

Ok, damn. Didn’t realize 262 kinda goes until I uploaded all the above photos to this post. Let’s not forget that this is an ongoing debate though! Here’s a couple photos from Brett Favres favorite area code, (920)!

Now we may only have one photo for the next area code, but the man is a beast and some would say could likely push his area code to victory on his own. Below is (608)

Now it’s time to travel to a couple area codes that are near and dear to my heart. As a former FIB you could say I’m a little biased but as I’ve said before, this is a on going debate! Let’s start with someone else who is more than capable of pushing his area code to victory all by his self. (779)!

And here are a couple guys who I think may help put their area code in the running for top code, (847)!

And as this is a website based out of Milwaukee we travel back up north to the one and only (414).

I hope you find the provided evidence helpful in this ongoing debate. Thanks for your time.

But have you ever actually crossed the threshold?

Music used in wiskate.com “Mini Videos” from 2003-2009.  Mini Video 27-55.  Although some were skipped.  Because they were stupid.

What can I say about John McGuire? The man has been places and seen things that most of us only dream about. From making art for some of the biggest companies in skateboarding to his own video parts, John has put a lifetime into skating. Having worked for companies such as Foundation, Invisible, and Zero, his presence in the skateboard industry goes back decades. On top of that, he’s incorporated his taste for movies, television into his skateboarding that definitely changes the way you look at skateboarding.

In this episode, John and I talk about skateboarding in Milwaukee, moving to California, working for companies such as Toy Machine, Foundation and Zero, sobriety, filming the Kramer video parts, becoming a teacher and much more.

This is Playing in Traffic.

I woke up this morning not knowing how to feel about it being Friday. These are some weird times and the new reality of going to work, coming home and staying home (outside of running to the store or taking a walk) is hard to get used to. I know it’s what most of us do from December-February anyway but it just all feels different right now.

I type all this from my office at work, where someone tested positive for Covid-19 the other day and yet we’re still up and running. It’s confusing seeing all the headlines telling you to stay away from large groups of people, yet most of us are still going into plants or offices with 50-300 plus people. I guess this is the new normal and we just have to accept that if we want to get paid, we have to put the health of ourselves and our family and friends at risk.

Anyway, I know we’ll all pull through this and be out annoying business owners and security guards soon enough. Here’s a few photos from summer/fall 2019 and winter 2020. Keep your heads up, Love you guys.

This interview was originally going to be with Josh Ellis. But he asked if we could get Max Murphy on as a special guest. Josh cited Max as “his muse,” which made sense when you think of what the two have done for Milwaukee skateboarding in the last ten years. I was fortunate enough to talk to the two about the beginnings of Wiskate, their finest moments, giving their winnings from the All-City Showdown to Sky High Skateboard Shop, the rise & fall of Gorf Life, Max’s move to Strangelove Skateboards and Nike SB and much more. Enjoy and please, like and subscribe!

Some supplemental content that is referred to in the interviews:

Wiskate.com, in the year 2000. You can read all about the history of the site here.

Hurry Up and Die, the first wiskate video from 2003.

Beez 2, by Russ Clark.

Matt and Max Roger of the Month Outro Video

Max Murphy Traffic Report

Max Murphy 50-50 victory pose, photo by Bradford Bishop

All City Showdown 2015

Max Murphy for Strangelove Skateboards, by Gabe Chan. Read a recent interview with Max here.

Over a decade in the making (or three years, depending on which timeline of the Beez Cinematic Universe you follow), I give you: WAZPZ.

Update! No one asked for it it, no one wanted it, but it’s here. Feb 1, 2020: WAZPZ updated with 5 minutes of unused footage from 2008. This footage was intended for the fourth Beez video which never materialized. At least 3/4 to 2/3 of this footage has never leaked out to the public. I present: WAZPZ w/ THE BEE SIDES.

Wazpz from Josh Ellis on Vimeo.

If you want to cut out the middle man and watch only the Bee-Sides, I got you:

The Bee-Sides from Josh Ellis on Vimeo.

And of course….the Beez trilogy. By Russ Clark:

Beez 3 from Josh Ellis on Vimeo.

Beez 2 from Josh Ellis on Vimeo.

Beez from Josh Ellis on Vimeo.

I can attribute some of the best experiences I’ve had in life being out in the streets. Skating with friends, clashing with the random hero or seeing a city in motion. There’s nothing that can replace those memories of skating around all day and night. I wouldn’t trade anything for those nights standing in the cold or in a dirty alley waving my camera at my friends for hours on end.

The video you are about to see shows everything my friends and I have done in the past year. I bring you…STREETER.

STREETER from Harald Reynolds on Vimeo.