Saturday, October 15, 2011

Brotha from another Motha: John Dilorenzo


Whether you saw it or not, weeks ago on our section of the Berrics, we asked the world of young talented skaters to send submissions of their skating for a chance to be apart of our next video shoe review. We got a great amount of submissions from every corner of the world. From Sweden to Florida, we were flattered by peoples response. Thank you to everyone that took the time to submit their videos.

All the submissions were good but I was looking for something truly unique. After watching all the videos, I was about ready to pick my next reviewer. Before doing so I was yelled at by my wife to check my spam mail. At the risk of getting beat for being insubordinate, I checked my spam mail. Sure enough woman's intuition continues to slow down the male species and in my spam mail is where I found my next reviewer. I'm not sure what kind of luck or what kind of fucked up smut porn addict you need be in order to qualify as a spammer but this is where I found my next candidate for our Ripped Laces video shoe review. By no means is John Dilorenzo a pervert or some sicko on the internet but he certainly has some crazy kind of luck in order to end up in the spam section of my emails. After reading his simple yet informative introduction of telling me his shoe size and where I could find his video link, this is what I saw.



After being amazed by his talent, I contacted John right away to tell him the good news. I found it remarkably surprising to have stumbled upon a grateful, young up and comer with all the enthusiasm in the world. He came off much like the white Theotis Beasley. All of his emails and responses ended with "thank you so much" and some use of the word "appreciate" thrown in anywhere appropriate. All and all, he's getting a box. DC properly hooked him up with a pair of the Fix S X Berrics collaborative shoe in order to showcase his talent on the Berrics in the near future.


At the end of the day, the point of the "Brotha from another Motha" section is to expose and appreciate the skaters that never see the light of day. While speaking to John over the phone, I noticed that he doesn't follow the pack but is a natural born leader. He hasn't yet conformed to the crazed Dickies look or the popularity of shitty rap in skateboarding. He's his own person and it shows through his appearance, attitude and more so, his skating. I can't do much for John but give him a chance to have his video up on the largest skateboarding site to date but hopefully that's all he'll need to make it one day.



Thanks to John Dilorenzo for being him and keep an eye out for his much anticipated "Florida Daze" part. It's a film by Mikey Glover that has been in production for over 2 years. It features hungry rippers based out of South Florida. The line up includes Mikey Glover, Derick Glancy, Evan Hamel, Mike Magalhaes, Chris Boylan, Zion Wright, George Hodgkin, Drew Usiadek, and John Dilorenzo. If you want to see more about the video check out their Facebook fan page.    

Keep a look out for the scheduled premier on Mikey Glovers personal youtube channel @ http://www.youtube.com/mikeyyg123. The video is being backed and sponsored by 561 Skate Shop, Shred Shed & Citified Skateboards so be sure to support them and check for local updates.

Peace.

Thursday, October 13, 2011

Supra Skytop 3 review

From top to bottom, Week 1 to Week 4


We posted the First Glance for the Supra Skytop 3 back in July and I never imagined that this review would be out 3 months later. Ideally, I wanted any review to be done within a 1-2 month period. The truth is, aside from being extremely busy, the Supra Skytop 3 has been one of the most difficult shoes we've reviewed yet. That's definitely not a back handed remark, the shoe just seems to be indestructible.

I won't spoil too much about the shoes performance before getting into the review but because of it's high grade of durability, I questioned myself on whether to extend the review any further than I had originally planned. The Supra Skytop 3 is a great example of the time, devotion and technology you should be expecting from your fellow skate brands. While taking a step forward in design and support, I feel like we, as an industry are stepping back in time where we test the standards and instead of sticking with what is safe and profitable, we go with whats risky and original. That, in my opinion, is truth essence of skateboarding. Let's get into the review.

The review was done using our month long format and the shoe was skated for a total of 20 hours. Check below after each section to view the grading system. We base our ratings from 1-10. 10 being the best and 1 being the absolute worst. Enjoy.

Monday, October 3, 2011

First Glance: Etcetera Insoles and more.


Probably the nicest guy in skateboarding today, on and off the board, Ronnie Creager has blessed us with some product from his new brand, Etcetera. During the month of October, we'll be taking a closer look into Etcetera products which include two types of strongly constructed insoles and an ankle stabilizer for those of you with fucked ankles. I have no doubt in my mind that Etcetera will exceed our expectations much like their founder. If these products are as good as Ronnie, we'll be seeing them for a long time. Look out for the review to drop soon and check out the Etcetera Project online for more details.

Shout out to Bobby Spero for suggesting we review Etcetera products. Thanks Bobby! Bother him on Twitter!