Been a while since I last posted

Hey guys I know its been a very fucking long time since I last posted, but now I'm back. Due to life happening, I wasnt able to skate as much or go out and film as much, plus I had moved to a place where I couldnt skate that much. I had also gotten a mountain bike so I was spending a good ammount of time doing that.

BUT NOW IM BACK SKATING!

So far in the past month I've put out two videos that I've been working on for over a year but never finished, so I decided to finish them and put them out. I hope you enjoy.

This is a montage of random skate clips I've collected while going around Bangkok with my camera. It was really fun to make and I really appreciate the guys and other filmers for contributing to this video.

This next video is an old local spot that I used to skate at a lot, and I wanted to showcase the dudes who rip the spot. This spot isnt there anymore but the same obstacles have been moved to a new location.

I hope you guys have enjoyed these two videos. I'll try to keep updating more often so keep posted :)

Skateboarding in Nepal.

My homie Samip hit me up the other day over facebook telling me that he was on his way to go help with the DIY skatepark build over in Pokhara Nepal. Basically he helped push skateboarding in Nepal a lot since he's been back. When my buddy Shawn Ward needed a place to stay in Nepal, Samip hooked him up with a house so Shawn got to stay in Nepal without having to bust his wallet on a hotel room, took Shawn out and skated with Shawn a lot. Samip is a homie through and through and has helped out people when they needed it. You can go a few posts down to check out the video on Shawns trip to Nepal.

Thats Samip on the low angle fisheye

So my curiosity was sparked and I wanted to know what was going on, so Samip showed me the Pokhara Skate Park Facebook Page and I was immediately interested. They're . Now whenever I meet traveling skateboarders, if I hear that they plan to go to India or anywhere in South Asia, I will reccomend Nepal to them! GO TO NEPAL! SKATE IN THE HIMALAYAS!!!

The DIY park in Pokhara is being built by the OG Nepali Skateboarder Ram C Koirala who is the first skatepark designer and builder in Nepal. He had already previously built a concrete skatepark in Nepal by himself and a few other friends many years ago behind an elementary school. I got to meet Ram on his trip here to Thailand a few months ago. He's a really great guy who just wants to skate and help grow the skateboarding community in Nepal. Essentially he can be considered the Nepali equivalent of Red aka Mark Scott.

The reason why I'm mentioning Nepal in my blog is because a lot of boards and skateboarding hardgoods are donated, and Thailand is one of the countries that donates a lot of those boards. The local scene in Thailand has no shortage of skateboard supplies, but Nepal has a huge shortage of skateboarding hardgoods, so they need it.

This right here proves that the Nepali skateboarders are not slacking off and are being proactive in their community helping push and contribute to the project, and they've had some help from a number of skateboarders from all over the world have traveled there and put some work into helping build the park. This is proof that when skateboarders want something done, in this case its a concrete park, they will get up and do it themselves. And with their effort came help from traveling skateboarders who helped put effort into getting the park built, only to leave and hopefully they will be able to return and skate the fruits of their creation. Skateboarding is happening in Nepal right now, right as you're skating. Plan for Pokhara, Nepal if you ever travel to this side of the world. 

SKATE CAFE x DREG Mini Ramp Jam

Let me introduce this to you. There is a Bar/Cafe/Restaurant here in Bangkok called "Skate Cafe". Self explanatory, it has a miniramp on the property so go there, grab a beer.... Make fucking sure that its a Leo Beer... and skate. If you're just visiting Thailand and you didnt bring your board with you, dont worry theres a bunch of set ups there you can use (in all different conditions). Skater owned and operated.

Its open from morning till late at night (closes either at midnight or 2 am depending on the circumstances). Go there in the morning, grab a coffee and breakfast and hit the mini-ramp. Or grab lunch. In the evening you'd definitely want to go there and grab a beer and skate the mini. Theres even a live band there on some nights.



Skate Cafe and Bar x DREG Skateboards x Made From My Fucking Thailand - Mini Ramp Jam



I put up both a vimeo version and a youtube version of this video. Hope you enjoy the video and stop by Skate Cafe and Bar the next time you come to Thailand. You can check them out on their facebook page here and if Bangkok is ever in your travel destinations, put Skate Cafe on your itinerary. Dont miss out!

Friday Film Crew video Throwaway clips for your entertainment.

So Levi put together a throwaway clip with a bunch of footage that he hasnt used or that will not be used. Anyways, heres a few raw clips for your enjoyment




Some nice stuff captured were Shawn's FS board and Levi's BS50-50 on the handrail and Levi's Backside 360 nosegrab and Austin's Nollie Halfcab.

Cons Lion and Tiger tour

Well its been a LONG FUCKING TIME since Ive updated this blog. Too much going on in my life now to keep updates on skateboarding here, but hey, at least I try.

So a new video came out on Ride Channel featuring a lot of the Preduce guys plus some more homies.
Check it out, and hope it inspires you guys to come here to South East Asia for skateboarding purposes.




P'Lert and P'Geng (Using P' in front of someones name signifys that the person you are refering to is old enough to be your older brother) are two of the hardest rippers in Bangkok right now. Besides, if the name "Bangkok" sounds funny, Id like you to hammer your own nuts while laughing really hard, or wait till you grow up. Anyways, this video goes from Singapore and Malaysia, two countries on the south of Thailand. Personally, Id never dare go to Singapore due to the ammount of weed I smoke and the horror stories I have heard.

Anyways, enjoy the video, and Ill try to keep this site updated more often.




Fuckin procrastinator

iPhone craps

Well its been a while since I posted here, mainly because I dont really have anything to update on much since most of my skate filming time is now spent mainly saving the clips for the full length video. Its coming out this year, sometime, once we get enough clips for a full part.

So anyways, homie of mine Eden Gil has been putting his iPhone to good use, documenting the shit that goes on while we are on filming missions.




Just the bullshit that goes on in between hammers.

Stay tuned till next time!

Control Freaks with Transportation.

Well after a year or so of filming, P'Jayman's put all his clips together into a video. Been quite a process of editing, but the video is here! Check it out for some Chicago and Bangkok street + park footy. Its got footy from Shawn, Levi, Sterling, Pett Diamond and a bunch of DIY and lesser-hit spots within Bangkok.


This is the first part. It starts off with P'Jayman's crew from Chicago, and from there the video progresses onto Bangkok footage.


Second Part


Third Part


Fourth Part


Also, be sure to check out the Bangkok section of Fallen's Road Less Traveled video. Levi's got a trick in there, so if anything I'm backing it!

A Cruise Through Nepal

Well I know that this blog is meant to be about the skate scene in Thailand, but this here is also somewhat related. A very good homie of mine, Shawn Ward, has been living in Thailand for over 5 years now. He was originally from Canada, came to Thailand from a dart-and-map decision, and has been ripping here ever since. Look at older posts on this blog to find out more about Shawn.

So anyways, Shawn recently went to Nepal for a month for a skate trip, and he stayed with a mutual friend named Samip Khadka. Over the course of one month, Shawn got to meet a bunch of local skateboarders, learn about their skate culture, and help to build their scene in whatever way that he could.

My personal thoughts of the skateboarding scene in Nepal:
Living in Thailand my whole life and skateboarding for the past 8 years or so, I always saw the skate scene here as somewhat small, but its been growing steadily. Whenever I was in the US, I would see skateboarders at least once or twice a day, but over here, its rare to see another random skateboarder that you dont already know. But we had quite a few skateshops and skateparks with proper obstacles and even skate media personel (this was even before I got into filming). A skateboarder from the US never had to worry about not being able to find a skateshop here in Thailand.

Well Nepal, its a whole different story. The skate scene there is so small that I consider Thailand to be thriving with skateboarders, even to the point where we're taking shit for granted. I'll just say that seeing the raw footage of the equipment that these kids are skating, they would definately be happy with my old trucks, bushings, decks, etc. And I've changed and thrown away trucks just because I fucked up the threads on the axle and couldnt put the bolt back in, but these kids would definitely MacGuyver that shit back in.

Its a whole new refreshing perspective on skateboarding in general.

Fallen Footwear Flow Riders - Mini VDO full length.

One thing I notice on a lot of message boards and forums is a lot of people mockingly wondering which skateboarders wear Fallen shoes. Well I can say that a good population of skateboarders here wear Fallen products and support the hell out of that company. I know a lot of the flow guys personally, and they're a fun bunch of kids who I've been able to witness them grow up in the last few years.

So after a couple of years of ripping shit up around here, they have now put out a video part. These flow dudes have now put out a mini video. Check it out and hope you guys enjoy it.

The FALLEN Thailand Mini VDO from Fallen Thailand on Vimeo.

Enjoy!

Fallen puts on a Demo in Thailand.

Well the Fallen Team came to Thailand and put on a fucking rad demo for all of us over here. I want to thank the guys over at Fallen Footwear for making it all the way over here to this part of the world, and from what I heard you guys have put down some new hammers in the few weeks that you were here. It was awesome getting to hang with the guys and talking with them. I even showed Tony Cervantes to his first motorcycle taxi ride ever.

 As for the video, I included a lot of local rippers along with the pros. And again, thanks for the demo and giving us over here some rad skating, and putting down some NBDs at that skatepark. I definitely missed some good tricks that were thrown down, such as James Hardy's FS180 inverted 5050, Jack Curtin's nollie nosegrind on the big rail, and Jamie Thomas' Impossible 5050 on the big ledge.
 
Vimeo Version

Meet the Pros Fallen Demo from Roger O'Connell on Vimeo.

Youtube Version


I know its been a while since my last update, but I'm working on some stuff. Hopefully I get them done sooner than later. Anyways dudes, until next time....

Skater's Atlas hits up Bangkok.

Fuck Yeah, having a new online video magazine do an issue on Bangkok is fucking sick as hell.

Skater's Atlas Issue No.4 Bangkok

Go check it out. I dont want to put their content on here as Matt's got it all settled on his website, so just go check it out. I'll put a link or two here to the website.

There are good reasons to like Skaters Atlas. I mean, with the majority of the well-known skateboarders being from California and all, its refreshing to see a new media outlet that focuses on something other than just Californian skateboarders.

Go check out my buddy Shawn's new full part that he filmed in only three weeks. He's also got an interview on there also, explaining how he moved from Canada to Thailand, and his injury that put him off the board for over half a year. So keep in mind that this part was banged out in less than a month, post-surgery.

And I have to say that its pretty sick Bangkok is getting put on the skate map. But keep in mind that while China is easily skatable like southern california, Thailand is pretty rugged like the east coast and you gotta have a certain mindset to find tricks here. Theres everything from a perfect skate plaza to the most cracked up ground. Sometimes a big lump of cracks in the street counts as a legit street gap.

Anyways dont waste too much time here, Type skatersatlas dot com in your URL go check out the Bangkok Issue of Skater's Atlas!

ISSUE No. 4 BANGKOK TRAILER from SKATERS ATLAS on Vimeo.

Cheers!

New fish

 Yeah just got this bad bitch. Opteka 0.3x. Woulda opted for the Century but it was unavailible so I had to find a compensation for it.

My homie Pett helped me test by being the subject, and this kicker just came in that day also so it was a nice thing to test with. More footage soon, but I'd rather work on a full part rather than mini-clips. Soon, but not too soon. 

Anyways right now I'm working on a part for my buddy Eric. It's gonna be up soon so stay tuned homies and fools! 

SSA Barbeque Day edits

Go check out the DIY Skate Spot in Pattaya

OK So basically the dudes down in pattaya started their own DIY project. I went down there myself to skate it a few weeks ago, and I gotta say it's pretty legit. It's not burnside big or anything like that, but more like a DIY homey spot thats gonna get shredded by almost everybody thats gonna go skate there. Big props to Dan Williams of Pattaya for making this happen.

Check the video out. If you are ever down in Pattaya and want to skate, then I suggest you go down over to Kanong DIY spot by Big C Pattaya Tai a.k.a. Big C South Pattaya. The spot's located behind the Big C parking lot, so just walk to the end of the parking lot and look around. You'll definately see a nice big 5 block with a handrail, so look around because you'll be in the right vicinity. If theres a dude ripping hard over there, its probably P'Nui, the owner of Kanong.

And after this video, the man himself, Daniel Williams, has crete'd up a corner around the bend so theres even more fun to be had. 

And with style too, I wanna see somebody do something on the tree.

So yeah you can see that theres also a ledge beind the quaterpipe also to compensate. I gotta go down there again, this time with a bunch of homies to shred that spot up hard. 

And with an elevator ledge across the street from the spot also in case you come with a group of friends that want to hit something more street and less transition based. 

Well I know this is no burnside by western standards, but its a good effort by the homies to build one of the first legit DIY skatespots in Thailand (as opposed to just a ledge and a flatbar on flatground). If you're reading this and thinking that you'll be too occupied while in Thailand to skate, then sucks to be you. But if you're reading this and stoked to skate in Thailand, then go down to Pattaya to skate! Plus this place is right by a bar so you'll find yourself chilling and skating back to back with a few Leos like Shawn would do. So yeah, go down to Kanong Skateshop and hit up the DIY spot made by the dudes, say whats up to P'Nui maybe drop a legit hammer there if you can.

Guess thats what it took the boys to get it done. Now go skate.

SSA Rama 8 2013

Taken from various people's facebooks, these were some homie pictures from the SSA competition in Rama 8. Spot anybody you might know in the pictures? Well its wheres Waldo for ya!

Well thanks to the pros and ams that came here. Sean Malto, Sebo Walker, and Denny Pham put on one hell of a demo. Mark Siciu unfortunately could not make it as he left the country beforehand, but these three dudes still managed to put on one hell of a show for the dudes to see. Sean Malto, Sebo Walker, Denny Pham, hope you guys can come back again some day!

Sebo Walker busts a Treflip front grind. 

Thailand's O.G. "P'Nut" Weerayut Eksirasuwan casually gives this bank to ledge a Smith grind.

Sean Malto floats a back nose G on the outside of the A-frame ledge.

Buttshot of Sean Malto's back Overkrooks. Ladies would love this one for sure.

With a Smith Grind on the way back

P'Beer of Again Skateshop checks out the free eats! Skate Jam + Free BBQ = Fun Fun Day

Sebo Walker krooked grind on the bump to ledge

Sean Malto grinds a front krooks, and he nollie flipped out of it for the crowd too.

And he grinds a backsmith with Janchai filming. Can't wait for Janchai's edit of this.

Preduce's Ryan Sripaesatja giving the ledge a back 5-0

Sebo Walker with a huge switch Frontside flip.

And I guess thats all for today guys. Wanna thank all the photographers that posted these photos on facebook. It was a great day that I got really really wasted on and didnt end up skating much. Ah well fuck it, had good vibes, good friends, good food, good atmosphere, what more could you ask for? Check it homies, keep skating!

Hi Pongsopon

His name is Hi Pongsopon. If anything, his name should be your welcome to the skateboarding scene in Thailand. He's one of those guys who's so natural at skateboarding you just sit down and watch him in awe. If you saw the Again video (my first post on this blog), then you'll know what to expect. Definitely check out this new part of his, he lays down the hammer on a number of local and rural spots. And Janchai's editing does not dissapoint at all.

Introducing: Nong Farm

So every country's got their own little kid prodigy skater, and we are probably not different in that department. Nong Farm (translates to "lil' farm") is just a young kid from Phuket, Thailand that happens to really rip at skateboarding. He's been on a skateboard for less time than a lot of us and he's already getting better and better. This vid was put up a few months ago and after that he's been improving more and more. What you see here doesnt compare to just skating and chilling with him. Great kid with really great supportive parents!

Sometimes I get a little jaded over the skate scene here with everybody just religiously sticking to only flatbars, ledges and 90s flatground experimentation, but seeing Nong Farm skate is just so refreshing. He takes his tricks bigger and skates harder than a lot of locals here. Hopefully he is one of the dudes that will be taking Thai skateboarding to a new direction.

If you ever come to skate in Thailand, you'll get a glimpse of him for sure. He skates all the time at the park over by Hua Mak Rajamangla stadium. 

Thats it for now, but in the mean time keep on checking this shit out for more updates. PEACE!

Wow its a while now!

I'm definately sure some of you remember homeboy Sterling from the Concrete Variables video. Well Here are some sequences of him doing some techy stuff. Check em out.

Sterling goes off the bump at esplanade with a Kicky-back-tail Photo: Drei
Sterling thinks that ledges on their own are boring, and I have to agree. Thats why he moved this ledge over this little grass gap just to make it a little more fun to skate. To compliment his beautifying the spot for the photo, he also heelflipped into this backside Five-OH! grind. Photo: Drei
Also since Mark was there too that day, you should check out this nice pop shuv nose G on the same ledge. Photo: Drei

YEAH! P'Jayman does it again!

P'Jayman does it again! He's on a DIY mission around the rugged streets of Bangkok, finding spots and fixing them. Honestly I don't know why we haven't been doing this ourselves earlier, but as you would expect we were probably too lazy. Anyways when its done hopefully there will be some pictures and videos of shreddage going on down there. 

In the meantime, check out Levi Adam's Christmas edit.

Until next time, peace

Concrete Variables.

Around a year or two ago, I became friends with this one grafitti artist named Cece Nobre. He's from Brazil, and moved here to Thailand for a while before I met him. I met him selling t-shirts at a stall in Rama 8, and since then I've been lucky enough to have had the chance to know the guy. Cece's a character, I gotta tell you. Knowing Cece and his visually culturalistic influence on his art, its hard to not appreciate his pieces, but you just gotta listen to the stuff he's gotta say to you. Its great to see how far he has evolved artistically, from Hanuman to real people, you just gotta go see his work.

This film Concrete Variables does not mainly focus on Cece, but rather it focuses on the biggest influences of his art - his friends. This is an insight into Cece's vision.

Watch this short movie, be inspired, and go check out the artwork at V64. Also if you skate, they recently made a bunch of obstacles over there so go shred and go film. Actually I'ma probably go film there today with the homies.