“…For rollerblading, I’m gonna do this shit no matter what” —Boschi Pope
New York City — August 29th, 2020. Marking it’s fifth year and answering the question that seems to plague every competition this year of whether it’s happening or not…it happened. Boschi makes his return back home for this one and the turn out was surprisingly very good considering we are still living under covid rules as well as a forecast that promised rain showers. The show still went on and it went off. A good number of people along the east coast from Florida all the way up north made it over along with a handful hailing from the west. This was my first contest coverage since the Pow-Wow Pro/Am back in March and it felt good to re-connect with everyone in person. Cheers to everyone who came out, those who helped put it all together, and to all the skaters who put on a show for year five. Much love!
Japan – Summer, 2019 – I’ve had the pleasure of capturing some great highlights of Soichiro over the past few years from winning best trick at 2018’s Winterclash, taking first at the Boschi Pope Skate Off that same year, 2nd at 2019’s Blading Cup, and then taking a last minute trip to Japan where we stayed mostly in Tokyo to film street and wrapping up in his hometown of Okayama.
While in the U.S. we don’t normally view the cicada as anything more than a bug however in Japan they are very symbolic. Aside from hearing them sing in anime and and even throughout this video, they represent the beginning of summer, play a significant role in several children’s lives, and most importantly, they represent personal transformation.
As Soichiro states, Japan is an island which requires a plane to go anywhere outside of the country – “and because we only speak Japanese there’s a huge hurdle for us to go anywhere” – yet through his dedicated years invested into skating he was able to overcome that social hurdle and go beyond not only for himself but for the next generation of young skaters.
From his most recent winning, (one of the biggest – if not the biggest – pay days in blading history) at the Chimera A-Side Final, to a plethora of memorable street skating sections in videos and online, to running his own “Yamada Green” skate park in Okayama guiding some of the already most talented kids— one can easily say that he has truly discovered his passion in life or found his “ikigai” as he continuously evolves and transforms as a skater and mentor.
Thank you to everyone who helped make this episode possible.
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Ikigai (pronounced ee-key-guy) is a wonderful Japanese concept that essentially means “a reason for being.” It’s made from two Japanese words: iki, meaning “life” and kai, meaning “effect, result, worth or benefit.” Combined: “a reason for living.”
Examples of ikigai are often related to aspects of social identity — including work and family life — but it’s often explained as something more than that. It’s the idea of seeking a purpose in everything you do in life. Hobbies, friendships, community and travel all add to your ikigai.
-Elaine Mead, Darling Magazine, Jan. 2018
Barcelona, Spain—February 2020. Justin Brasco makes another very short trip to Barcelona before making his way back home from Winterclash. Once again, the footage ended up here to be edited. Looking forward to making the actual trip for the next one as the spots and scenery look amazing. Cheers!
Filmed in New York City over a loose and chill schedule with a few clips dating back to late 2017. Mal has a very chill flow-like style. While we originally planned to get something done together a while back, our busy life schedules never aligned well together. However, when we did link up, we had some pretty good times whether meeting around his way in the Bronx, my way in Queens, or linking up together with a bunch of people in Manhattan, or Brooklyn. Afterwards we would often find ourselves at a bar eating wings and having a beer… Mal’s choice was always a sour ale. Cheers!
San Francisco, California—August 1st, 2019. After an 11 hour flight from Tokyo, I had a few hours to spare before returning back home to New York. I reached out to Cameron and BFree and it was decided that a short visit to the hidden DIY park would be the plan. You cannot see this park from the road; in fact, you have to climb over a wooden fence to get inside. After watching Cameron literally surf through the park I managed to get a few clips and afterwards we settled for some In-N-Out burger before making my way back to the airport and getting back on a plane for another 5 hours. Good times. Cheers!
