ADELANTE /// || A DIEGO NÁJERA PART

adidas Skateboarding has worked with director and filmmaker Colin Kennedy to put together a six-minute skate part for Diego Nájera, welcoming him to the pro team.

 The opening few minutes of the video is a montage of nine adidas team members and ditches the usual fisheye style of filming often found in skate videos.

 Instead, Kennedy opts to shoot backwards, tracking the skater as he rides towards us.

 While the technique itself isn't new, it is refreshing to see it used in a skate video and brings a whole new feel to the clip.

 Watch below!

Justice || The Lost Beats And Instrumentals (7" Vinyl)

Sit back, hit play and enjoy!

Reginald Sylvester II || Journey from Streetwear Design to Fine Art

The latest HYPEBEAST Magazine Issue 21: The Renaissance Issue is loaded with intimate stories that shed a light on a new swathe of multi-talented creatives. One of these subjects is fine art wunderkind, Reginald Sylvester II. The New York City-based artist is certainly one of the youngest individuals to make a profound impact in the industry, continuously breaking convention with his visceral artworks that perch on the border between abstract and figurative.

 “Part of being a great artist is being able to reflect the times you live in. For me it’s important to like, when I’m going through something in life and feeling a certain way, to not just pass through that emotion and just to leave it but to drown myself in it and reflect that on the surface in some way," said Sylvester II. “I create off the motion. I create off the moment and letting that moment pass through my body and onto the surface.”

 HYPEBEAST recently connected with Sylvester II at his studio in Brooklyn’s Bedford– Stuyvesant neighborhood for the latest installment of their HYPEBEAST Impressions video series that delves into the mind of today’s leading art contemporaries. 

Watch the video below to learn about his transformation as a fine artist, designing for streetwear brands, and more.

The Crazy Story Of A Real Life Treasure Hunt || Short Film

This spellbinding short film tells the story of a real-life treasure hunt that starts crazy and only gets crazier.

 Well-told and endlessly engrossing, this is a worthy watch for those interested in the weird and the wild.

Nike Air Max Plus Documentary with Qias Omar, Mache, Emily Oberg and More! || Sneaker Icon

In Champ Sports first episode of Sneaker Icon, they explore the history and cultural impact of the Nike Air Max Plus!

 Sneaker experts give their take on the iconic Air Max, featuring the likes of Qias Omar, Emily Oberg, Mache, Leon Witherow as well as the creator of the Nike Air Max Plus.. Sean McDowell!

Have a peek below! 

George Condo Interview || The Way I Think

George Condo was part of the 1980s wild art scene in New York. In this video, recorded in his New York-studio, the iconic artist shares his life-long love of drawing and thoughts on his artistic expression, which he describes as “artificial realism.” 

 ”I kind of draw like you’re walking through the forest, where you don’t really know where you’re going, and you just start from some point and randomly travel through the paper until you get to a place where you finally reach your destination.” Condo studied music theory at college, but soon realised that it was too formal and rigid for him, and that he needed an art form that would give him more freedom. However, he still approaches his art like a musician, working fast and following the rhythm of the drawing or painting without “missing any of the notes.” The tempo, he feels, is very important when it comes to art.

 Condo wants his work to contain clear references to the different artists – from Picasso to Velasquez – they’re inspired by, but with a twist. His painting or drawings are about finding a way in which one can capture a person’s humanity through a portrait – capturing not just the outside but also the inside. Moreover, Condo aims to “turn negatives into positives”, portraying “the ordinary characters that make up our lives, whether it’s the janitor or the bus driver or the school teacher or the principal or the mailman or the truck driver. These are not the glamorous people that you see on the cover of Vogue Magazine, but they are what the world is composed of. And to give them a spot in the world is what I always admired about Rembrandt to a certain degree…”

 “I love drawing as much as painting, so why not make your paintings from your drawings, but literally have there be no defined sort of hierarchy between the two mediums?” Condo started making “drawing-paintings”, where you can’t distinguish e.g. paint from pastel, or a line made with a paintbrush or a line drawn in from and thus making the two mediums equal: “There’s no real difference between figurative painting or abstract painting, ‘cause it’s all painting to begin with… You don't’ have to follow any rules as a painter. If you’re making an abstract painting it doesn't mean eventually it can’t morph into a figurative one.”

 When a famous art historian asked Condo what he called the form of work he did, Condo thought of the description “artificial realism”. Artificial realism gives the painter the opportunity to go back and paint something in a realistic way while still portraying all that which is artificial in our world. In continuation of this, he finds that now everything seems to be “artificial realism” with the fake news that is all around us: “Art is the truth, and everything else is a lie.” 

 George Condo (b. 1957) is an American contemporary visual artist working in the mediums of painting, drawing, sculpture and printmaking. Condo mixes input from art history’s masters – such as Velasquez, Manet and Picasso – with elements of American Pop Art. He distorts and renews this material so that it stands out and becomes his own: a kind of strange hybrid that blurs boundaries between the comic and the tragic, the grotesque and the beautiful, the classic and the innovative. As part of the wild art scene in New York in the early 1980s, Condo was close to painters such as Jean-Michel Basquiat and Keith Haring, and worked for Andy Warhol’s Factory, applying diamond dust to silkscreen. Condo’s work is in the permanent collections of MoMA, the Whitney Museum, The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the Broad Foundation in Los Angeles, Tate Gallery in London, Centre George Pompidou in Paris and Astrup Fearnley Museum of Modern Art in Oslo, among others. He is the recipient of an Academy Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters (1999) and the Francis J. Greenburger Award (2005). Condo lives and works in New York City.

 George Condo was interviewed by Kasper Bech Dyg at his studio in Soho, New York City in September 2017.

Planty Herbs || Come Into Knowledge (Full Album)

Hit play and enjoy this chilled, funky and full of heart album!

Leo Valls || The Ocean

A short film project filmed over two days in Paris, France.

 Special Thanks to DC Shoes, Magenta Skateboards, Riot Skateshop.

Have a peek below. 

Leo Valls - The Ocean from Blake Myers on Vimeo.

BAKEA || Short Film

We've crossed paths many a times. 

 We've even been introduced through mutual acquaintances once or twice, in fact we finished off last year's Quik Pro sinking beers and dancing to her music, but we never truly met Lee-Ann Curren until winter hit our shores.

For the record, winter this year was long. In fact we might still be in it.  

The Basque Coast can suddenly become a very small place, a handful of locals left to endure the storm whilst fraudulent neighbours head for the slopes.

 Those of us that remain naturally form a bond. A mutual understanding and respect for our perseverance and stupidity to see the winter solstice through.

 It's during these months we became friends with Lee-Ann. She's not hard to miss. When you’re the daughter of arguably the best pro surfer of all time, it’s no easy feat to go unseen. It's even harder to carve your own path yet Lee-Ann's done just that. Despite sharing her offspring's roots in both surfing and music alike, she's managed to forge her own fortune, content in achieving her own goals, regardless of the status quo.

 We decided to document our time with the 28 year old (along with her adopted border collie Bowie) and discussed music, growing up in the Basque Country and the pressures of living up to her heritage.

WASTED TALENT

 

BAKEA from WASTED TALENT on Vimeo.

Looking For Something || Animated Short Film

A surreal journey of a man wondering about the meaning of life and looking for answers within his own consciousness while snoozing at his desk during working hours.

Have a peek below! 

Looking For Something from César Pelizer on Vimeo.

Rak & Chavo || Abstract Fusion (Full Album)

It's Friday, hit play and enjoy!

Quenny || Short Film

Sunday drives are one of the great American pastimes.

 In a killer German coupe like the classic Porsche 911–with Miles Davis playing–they're beyond epic. 

 Buckle up.

Queeny from Cole Janeteas on Vimeo.

'Saint Denis' || Full Skate Documentary 2018

'Saint Denis' is a 44-minute documentary from Carhartt WIP chronicling the life of skateboarder and team rider Denis Lynn.

 Shot and directed by regular Carhartt WIP collaborator Phil Evans, it follows Denis from his early beginnings as a young and mischievous skater in Belfast, through to traveling the world and hitting up some of the world's best spots in cities like Paris, Malmo and Copenhagen. 

 "For Denis, skateboarding not only became his purpose, but also a tool for transcending these surroundings, allowing him to travel the world and throw himself into all manner of unusual situations," reads the video's description.

 Watch below! 

Highsnobiety || How Diadora Became An Underground Status Among UK Casuals

Highsnobiety latest film, produced in close collaboration with @diadoraofficial and original members of the scene, looks at how Diadora went from being a undiscovered label in Europe to one of the coveted underground status symbols for UK football casuals.

 Read more on the story here.

Psalm Trees || Psalm Trees (Full Album)

Psalm : 1."to pluck, play a stringed musical instrument" 2."a sacred song or poem" 

 Trees : 1."a plant, usually developing branches at some distance from the ground" 

Keep this in mind while listening to these instrumentals and you will feel them even more. 

 The Beats have the ease of music made on the fly with friends, they have the depth of holy words but always stay natural and grounded. 

Enjoy!

 

Jared Houston || 2018 Take One

2018 Take One is a short recap of the first 3 months of Jared Houston year, filmed entirely on the island of Puerto Rico.

Enjoy! 

2018 Take One from EMERALD bodyboard specialist on Vimeo.

Arena || Short Film

Stop everything and check out this mesmerizing short film that uses dreamy music and perfectly timed editing to showcase Google Earth satellite imagery in the coolest way possible.

 Truly phenomenal.

Arena from Páraic Mc Gloughlin on Vimeo.

Time: The History & Future of Everything || Remastered

Kurzgesagt – a YouTube channel that makes beautifully animated videos "explaining things with optimistic nihilism" has released a new piece called Time: The History & Future of Everything. 

 Starting at the big bang, it explores the concept of time and just how hard it is to wrap our heads around it when we start to think about just how long humans have been around, yet alone earth or the universe. 

 It also gives us a glimpse into the future and the inevitable death of the universe anyone (or anything) still around will experience a few hundred billion years from now. 

 If you haven't watched their stuff before, it's well worth checking it out now.

Nike: Shoe Therapy || It's Gotta Be The Shoes (extended session)

It’s a fact: athletes have a special relationship with their shoes. 

Some more special than others.  

Take a peek inside Shalane Flanagan’s #shoetherapy session, as Nike address her deep-rooted Zoom Vaporfly 4% obsession.

Chillhop Essentials || Winter 2017

Hit play and just chill...

"A Man Like You" || A Short Film from Harry's 

Grooming company Harry's dropped an impressive new advert where a young boy teaches an alien what it means to be a man. 

 Sentimental and sweet, this is a worthwhile way to kill a few minutes.

Forgiving Pipeline || Short Film

Amber Mozo is a 22-year-old photographer born and raised on the North Shore of Oahu.

 As the daughter of legendary surf photographer Jon Mozo, a former fixture in the lineups along the famed North Shore, Amber was raised with a love for both the ocean and photography.

 Jon Mozo passed away while shooting photos in the water at Pipeline — he was 33 years old. 

Amber was only 9. 

Soon after her father’s passing, Amber picked up a camera and her photographic journey began.

 While photography has taken Amber all around the world, shooting some of the most beautiful known surf breaks, until this winter, she hadn’t yet swam out into the lineup that stole her father’s life — Pipeline. 

 This winter, however, under the tutelage of fellow North Shore surf photographer, Zak Noyle, Amber swam into the Pipeline lineup for the very first time during the 2018 Volcom Pipe Pro.

Have a peek below. 

Forgiving Pipeline from Red Bull on Vimeo.

"Just Cruise" || Magenta Skateboards

The Magenta Skateboards crew in Bordeaux & Paris, France shot by Zach Chamberlain.

 Just Cruising. No headaches. 

 Ben Gore, Soy Panday, Zach Lyons, Leo Valls, Glen Fox, Vivien Feil, Kohichiro Uehara, Carlos Young, Masaki Ui, Connor Kammerer, Takahiro Morita, Jimmy Lannon & friends.

Check it out below! 

Nike || Welcome Back

To celebrate the return of Tiger Woods at the Masters, Nike put together a goosebump-inducing video that's worth every second of your time.

 Welcome back.

MUTO || a wall-painted animation by BLU

MUTO is a short film by BLU, an ambiguous animation painted on public walls.

 Made in Buenos Aires and in Baden (fantoche).

Hit play and enjoy! 

MUTO a wall-painted animation by BLU from blu on Vimeo.

Kuartz || Kuartz FM (Full-Length LP)

Just enjoy...

Undisturbed Norway || a timelapse adventure

Experience a timelapse journey through the undisturbed nature of Norway. 

  Nature's beauty can be so easily missed.

It's Casper Rolsted hope that his films will contribute to a deeper understanding and gratitude of the natural wonders in our world and to the preservation of our fragile environment in the future.

Hit play! 

Undisturbed Norway - a timelapse adventure from Casper Rolsted on Vimeo.

The Calabouço || Full Movie

“The Calabouço” is an independent film created by photographer Guilherme Calissi with influences from the movies of the ‘90s, showing the current underground scene from Brazil.

 The film features surfers: Dávio Figueiredo, Wesley Santos, Sidney Guimaraes, Murillo Graciola, Gilmar Teixeira and Dadá Figueiredo and shows concerts of Brazilian bands: Lo-Fi, We Suck as a Band and The Boneyard Club in places like the Junkie Box and the Jailhouse Pub in São Paulo, and also in their own homes!

 This project was not for profit, but to try to maintain a philosophy, and never let it die.

Hit play and enjoy! 

Pastel || Short Film

A short film by James Cruickshank for Grey Skateboard Magazine, in association with Converse CONS. 

 Filmed on location in and around Lisbon, Portugal and starring: Matlok Bennett-Jones, Felipe Bartolome, Remy Taveira, Bobby De Keyzer, Jerome Campbell, Harry Lintell and Jamie Platt. 

 Filmed and edited by James Cruickshank. 

Check it out below!