HUF announce the 'Soto' as the latest addition to it's ever expanding and ever improving footwear line, combining a heritage footwear aesthetic with modern innovative design.
The Soto shares similarities with the brands 'Choice' and 'Galaxy' silhouettes, most notably in the prominent "H" branding on the side panels, but differences appear in other areas of the stripped back upper which features a durable one-piece vamp wrapped around the toe for protection and improved flick. Much of the innovation in the Soto's design lies in the cup sole, made from the brands specially formulated 'Infinity Rubber', which is more durable, increases flexibility and provides added traction for optimal board feel. The molded insole and herringbone tread pattern on the hardwearing outsole complete the high-performance technology in one of the brands most accomplished skate shoes to date.
To celebrate the release of the HUF Soto, HUF have selected 18 stores throughout the US to submit videos of them skating the shoe to a Soto microsite to participate in a 'Weartest' Contest. You can check out the entry's HERE. The HUF Soto will be landing at all good skate stores this February.
Having been the subject of the hugely popular Nike SB x Supreme collaboration back in July last year, Nike's classic GTS tennis silhouette returns as part of a main line release.
The early 90's tennis shoe was reworked in to five stand out colour ways, all with original features in tact for the Supreme collab, which celebrated the shoes popularity amongst the skaters of the era. As you can expect with any Supreme drop, the collab was met with a great response and pulled the modest silhouette back in to the limelight of both skateboarders and sneaker lovers across the globe.
Looking to capitalise on the new found popularity of the GTS, Nike have released the shoe in a simplistic black/white colour option, featuring a durable canvas upper with hardwearing suede overlays on the toe and heel. Tonal lacing and a small embroidered swoosh logo on the side panels complete the simplistic look of the shoe, all of which sits on top of a contrasting white rubber outsole which features Nike's signature Zoom cushioning.
You can pick up the Nike SB Zoom GTS over at Flatspot. now.
While we were all busy tucking in to our turkey’s, Skateboard Cafe were busy blessing us with a christmas gift of their own, making ‘Alfresco’ available to watch in full online. It’s an instant classic from the independent UK brand who continue to show us why they are considered one of the most exciting skate companies to come out of the country. Filmed and edited by Rich Smith, the video features riders Shaun Currie, Mike Arnold, Josh Arnott, Korahn Gayle, Harry Ogilvie and Danny Wainwright.
Enjoy the full clip below and be sure to support Skateboard Cafe by buying the physical copy from Note, Native and Bored of Southsea.
Sidewalk team up with filmmaker’s George Nevin and Louis Gane to present the second instalment of their Unsung series, paying homage to three of the UK’s most exciting independent skate companies. The short video follows Joe Lauder of Satta, Lovenskate’s Stuart Smith and Ken Gear from A Third Foot as they give a tour of their work spaces and speak on the influences and inspirations behind each of their brands.
Enjoy the full video below and be sure to check the last episode HERE. Head over to sidewalkmag.com for more.
We are stoked to share with you the latest work from Sirus, a full length video dubbed “Death Aesthetic”, celebrating the people and the places that make up Brighton skateboarding…
“To me the video is based around London Road in Brighton. It is the dysfunctional hub of Brighton, an amalgamation of the dissatisfied elderly, Frosty Jacks, and the clinically insane. It’s the area that myself and a lot of the skaters that feature lived in during the majority of filming, and of course where The Level skatepark is located. Walking up and down London Road multiple times a day, you begin to observe the wanderers, the shoppers, the shouters, the drivers, the sleepers, the weepers etc and you start to harbour a curiosity for what it is that they’re all doing. I mean what are any of them actually doing? We’re not doing all that much; throwing our human chassis around at the mercy of gravity and friction, but what is it they’re doing? This wonderment extended to me following people around on the street, capturing brief moments of their daily lives on celluloid, so as to some extent understand, or at least examine them. Seeing the barren faces trapped in the silver particles conjures thoughts on mortality, for me at least. The clip is a juxtaposition of the occurrence of the marginal order and form of skateboarding, with the mundane entropy of the path of the passer by, concerted in the same space” – Sirus
Following the release of Death Aesthetic, we caught up with our guy Dexter, who appears in the video, to talk about growing up skateboarding in Brighton and also on his experiences when filming.
How were you first introduced to skateboarding?
My good friend Alex was already skating and I thought it was sick.. He got a board together out of all of his spare stuff and hooked me up!!! I pretty much stopped everything else I was doing..
Having been around the Brighton scene most of your life you must have seen a lot of change in the area, how has the new Level skate park impacted Brighton skateboarding?
The new park has changed the game! We’ve never had anything like it before, the level of skating is high and everyone seems to be progressing.. It’s also made it harder to get people out skating street and exploring. The spots are tough and the park is right in the middle of town; like a convenient vortex.
What skaters around Brighton do you rate highly?
I rate all my loafs representing the bread cult! Phil Russell is incredible and Sam Ibekwe is a wizard! (Also all the kids at the park are amazing now haha)
What it’s like to skate/film in Brighton?
I personally love skating street in Brighton. There really isn’t a lot of obvious spots here and there’s a lot of rough ground, so it’s a challenge. It challenges you to think creatively and encourages you to skate whatever you can find.
Do you feel an added pressure when filming with VX1000 over a HD Camera? Do you prefer using regressive technology when filming?
VX forever man, it’s the one! I think it’s a shame that so many videos are HD now. To me VX footage looks how skating feels.
What’s your best memory from filming Death Aesthetic?
Spending time with the master! Sirus f Gahan. And rolling with the crew 🙂
Enjoy the video in full above. To see more from the making of Death Aesthetic, be sure to check Sirus’ ‘Fakie Backflip’ zine HERE
The video features riders Al Hodgson, Dan Emmerson, Harry Coward, Joe Coward, Lue Gof, Reuben Toal-Gangar, (yung swiss) Phil Cron, Mitch Wheeler, Adrien Ahnnart, Sam (thunda) Ibekwe, Louis Antoine, Edi Pooley, Dexter Daniels, Chris Williams, Alfie Williams, Adam Martin, Tom (shakes) Delion, Alex Barron, Harrison Woolgar, Ben Woodhouse, Phil Russell, Rupert Antoine, Marc (sa) Carter, Richard West, Jesse James, Max Weeks and Wes Knowler.
As we continue to document the Brighton skate scene and celebrate the characters around it, our Neighbourhood series returns with a brand new clip featuring Mitch, a recent departure from the streets of Brighton who now resides in Norway. We were lucky enough to film the clip at the newly built Gamlebyen skatepark in East Oslo…
“I hit up Mitch to film this clip, because he’s a Brighton transplant in Oslo. Gamlebyen where he lives, has just had the first section of it’s skatepark completed, so ideas were fresh on the new concrete, but we grossly underestimated the struggles of filming any kind of skateboarding in winter in Norway. The park was always wet, even when it hadn’t rained for a week, then the frost and snow came and it seemed like we were never going to be able to finish filming. Luckily after a few evenings praying to Thor & Odin last week, there was somehow one mostly dry day and we got to get one last session in. Mitch is honestly one of the most fun people to skate with that I’ve ever met, so getting to film this was a total pleasure in spite of the Nordic weather. Love you Mitch !!” – Sirus
One of this years most exciting independent videos – John Valenti’s ‘Local Express’ – is now available to watch in full online. Filming almost every part himself and funding pretty much the whole project on his own, Valenti travelled across the USA to capture the likes of Ben Gore, Dave Caddo, Jonathan Ettman,Trevor Thompson, Brendan Carroll, Brian Downey, Tyler Rennard, Yonnie Cruz, Charlie Cassidy, Justin Fyle, Fred Gall, Al Davis and more for this rad clip.
Enjoy the full video below and be sure to support John Valenti in producing more great work like this by buying the hard copy HERE
