Stefan Brandow came down to NYC and we were lucky enough to join in on some of his sessions while he was filming for both his Razors profile and Brigade edit with Sean Grossman. Check the Be-Mag article to see our photos along with Ryan Loewy’s during Stefan’s stay in NYC. Be-Mag article here.
“When James told me that he was selected to be apart of Be-Mag’s One Minute One Spot series, I knew we had to pick a place that had a lot to offer. We decided to go to John Dewey High School, home of the New York City IMYTA competitions. Dewey is a forgotten staple in the NYC scene due to it’s far away location and constant security around the area, but if you can skate it, it’s a great place for creating various lines. We managed to go on a dreary Sunday morning and got enough clips to create an edit for Be-Mag. James is a talented blader who constantly progress and pushes himself on a daily basis. I’m glad I was able to help him in this opportunity provided by Be-Mag and hope this help him gets the recognition and respect he deserves.” – Craig B. Filmed by Steven Perez and Craig B. Edited by Craig B. See the article and interview here.
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“New York City and it’s surrounding areas have always been a breeding grounds for incredible rollerblading talent. It’s arguable that it could be one of the best scenes in the world. In recent years as big name talent has left the area for greener pastures and different opportunities, a new breed of Tri State talent has been getting more shine. The first person that always immediately comes to my mind when I think of New York and blading these past three years is Sean Grossman. Between countless edits of himself and others, his online video ‘Peep Game’, and his upcoming video ‘Big Apple Blade’, Sean has single handedly put himself at the forefront of New York City rollerblading media. I have loved watching Sean’s progression the past few years, and couldn’t be prouder to present to you supreme connoisseur, Long Island resident, style buff, and my very good friend, Sean Grossman” – Stefan Brandow.
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Okay, so how old are you? Where did you grow up and where do you currently live?
Im 22, grew up in Long Beach, New York and moved to Island Park when I was 12 with my family. Currently reside in Island Park which is about 50 minutes from Manhattan. I go to school there and I’m planning on making a move to one of the five boroughs within the next year or so.
So you got affected by hurricane Sandy, and I know some of your shit got messed up. Are you back home now? What was that whole experience of being displaced like?
Yea, unfortunately Sandy hit us hard. The 10 or so years we lived here in Island Park there was never an inch of flooding. When Sandy arrived my block turned into a river and my lower level was flooded out. Between cleaning, throwing out the belongings, then dealing with no heat and electricity for weeks wasn’t fun. We lost cars, almost lost my blades, and a ton of other belongings. Luckily my family and friends in the area are okay so that’s all that I can really ask for. We stayed in a one bedroom apartment for two weeks after Sandy so being back home feels great. Being displaced was rough but it makes you think about all the royalties we take for granted. Read the full interview here.
Photo, intro, and interview by Ryan Loewy.
It is known, without question, that New York is one of the most celebrated and active scenes in rollerblading. It has produced a plethora of companies, talented skaters, and competitions that have left a major impact on the rollerblading community. Competitions, in particular, are the one catalyst that I believe really brings people out and draws the blade community closer together people come out to show what they’ve got and, at times, unconsciously, to support each other, which in turn, unifies the scene as a whole. Young guns and old timers, all age ranges, colors and creeds come out, all for the love of rollerblading. So when I heard that Trevor Johnson was putting together a new street competition in Queens, I was inclined to ask him a few questions and help spread the word. I sat down with Trevor to talk about the need for another street competition, how he got the idea, who he’s working with, and more, all resulting in a testament to the fact that New York truly is one of the greatest scenes in the world. Full interview on Be-Mag.
Who’s involved?
The concept of throwing a comp was originally my idea, and who better to help me out then IROLLNY’s own Craig Benabu? So I hit him up and he seemed down, we discussed it for a while and decided, “Hey lets just go ahead and do it”. Jon Morciglio ended up calling me and was very into the idea of it all, so I said, “I’d love for you to be part of it too”, and basically it all just sprung from there.
How did the whole idea come about? Would you say it is in response to a fear that we might not have events such as Last Man Standing and Billy’s NYC Street Invite? I mention this only because, inevitably, that is what I first saw this as, as it has been a concern of a few people about whether or not Victor would have another LMS, or if Billy would be able to pull off another Invite (with last year’s having such a large magnitude of an attendance, as well as pulling the various permits to run the event).
Well it all came from me not hearing or seeing any comps or anything real street related happening or in the works thus far this year in NYC, or the surrounding areas, and I’ve always wanted to throw a street only competetion of my own. I have no fear that we may not have any other comps i mean the more the better as far as im concerned,I just wanted there to be atleast one good street comp; NYC deserves it and its such a good time and atmosphere to do it.
This is your first time doing your own comp, how has the process been so far? After going through it all (although it certainly hasn’t even begun, but just out of curiousity), do you want to make this an annual event?
No, I don’t have any plans on making it an annual event but things may or may not turn out that way. So far it has been a really fun process, Craig has really taken this and blown it up like I knew he could, I wouldn’t be able to throw it without him; market it,get all these sponsers, etc, as well as Jon Morciglio he helped out a great deal too.
Source: http://be-mag.com
“Blading needs more shops. When’s the last time you tried on a pair of skates at an actual skate shop? Yes, not many have the opportunity to pick up their goods like that. But it isn’t only a matter of over-the-counter experience that may (or may not) include professional advice on what to get; local shops literally “make” scenes. This is only one of the topics that are discussed in this Company Profile with Roc City Skates out of Rochester, NY. Others being dedication and love for the sport, entrepreneurship, permits and a certain unnamed jerk. Read on” – Be-Mag. Read the full interview on Be-Mag.
So, let’s get some background, who are you guys and what the hell are you doing?
Grant: Ha, well, we’re Roc City Skates. RCS is myself, Nate Hall and Emery Kapral. We’ve all been in the blade scene forever, well not really forever, but anything that you started at 13 years old seems like forever. So, collectively we’ve got like 40 years in, haha. We’re at 181 Monroe Ave right outside downtown Rochester, NY. The shop is all about community, we want to see our sport grow and that happens one scene at a time.
So you got your storefront situated, what happened next?
Grant: Next thing was ordering product, way harder than expected. Between actually getting in contact with distributors/companies and deciding what we were going to sell it was easy to get lost. We wanted everything but when you’re looking at multiple page order forms from multiple companies, everything in different sizes and colors you start to realize that there is a ton of product available for us in such a small sport and you have to make choices. It’s sick to know there’s a diversity of products available, and more keep popping up, too.
Nate: We’re also trying to stay as diverse as we can while catering to our local trends: Xsjadobladers and flat setups. Or at least we’re converting the masses, except Grant, he just defected to Karbunz again. I’m definitely forgetting some stuff. Anything else, bloodsport?
Grant: Hmmm, yea, there were lots of permits, permits are the best. We have a wonderful neighbor who had some concerns about what we were doing with our shop, well instead of talking to us he decided to ask the city. And guess where that went! In all fairness we didn’t know exactly what we were doing but thought we were on track and doing good, haha. So we had some issues with the city, had to file for a couple more permits, spend some more money and here we are… all set up. We are in the Center City District, which means more regulations than other parts of the city, certain requirements for storefronts and such. I guess there is a certain image that the city wants to preserve. It has been a huge learning experience, which has been amazing, tiring and stressful but worth it.
Source: http://be-mag.com
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Check out the full coverage of one of NYC’s biggest events of the year the NYC Street Invitational. Filmed and edited by Sam DeAngelis for Be-Mag.
“Announced just a few weeks ago, the upcoming NYC Street Invite is set to leave a lasting impression. Our contributor Ryan Loewy talked with Billy O’Neill about the new real street competition the best bladers in the industry have been invited to compete in” – Be-Mag. See the full interview by Ryan Loewy on Be-Mag.
What inspired you to take on doing a comp like this? Who is working with you on this project? When was the idea born?
Well, I’ve had been wanting to do a competition for a few years now. Since the IMYTA series, I felt like blading was missing that powerful energy that comps used to have, so I wanted to try and bring that feeling back. There’s a lot of people working on this with me… Mainly Daniel Kinney, Ray Mendez, Kyle Sola, Brian Lewis and all of the contributing sponsors.
There are 40 competitors that have been invited as well as 5 wild cards. How will the wild cards be determined?
We’ve been discussing a few ideas regarding that and will be releasing that information later on in the month.
How will the comp be judged?
Whoever skates the best will win.
What do you expect from the contest tick-wise? Does the location with its added obstacles cater to a diverse competition where not only grinds are the main focus?
The obstacles and the format of the comp will make this event stand alone. It will be like a street skating session on new and different obstacles, with the best street skaters in the world trying to skate their best on it. It’s going to go off.
Source: http://www.be-mag.com
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“On April 9th, Hyper Mike held a competition at the Pier 25 skate park in Manhattan. The turnout for this battle style/jam session competition was great. Skaters from all over the Tri-State and NYC came out to watch the one on one battles and session the park. Among these bladers were Franco Cammayo, Hector “Tato” Gonzalez and special guest Dominik Wagner who came out to experience the NYC skate scene in full effect. Enjoy this edit by Sam DeAngelis and stay tuned for more competitions from hypermikenyc.com all Spring/Summer long!” – Sam DeAngelis. See more photos from the competition on Be-Mag.
Balance, Be-Mag’s online magazine, released their one year anniversary issue featuring a scene report on the Rochester, NY scene. “One year anniversary, 86 page issue featuring: Louie Zamora, Michael Braud, ROC City, Infernal Clothing, Blake Taylor and much, much more!” – Be-Mag. Check out the full issue here.
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Check out the edit of Drew Humphrey skating the ledges in Sunset Park, Brooklyn for his Be-Mag 5 trick edit battle. Vote for Drew here.
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