STORKS

7/17/2014

STORKS

With every single kid throwing their arm over their greased back hair, slowly smoking and jumping their dad's dress shoes into the middle of the board in an attempt to look relaxed after making a kickflip, it's refreshing when someone simply embraces their own style when skateboarding. It may sound obvious, but simply put - nobody naturally skates like Dylan Rieder, not even Dylan Rieder.

There is nothing better than watching someone cruise around and skate instinctively, rather than worrying about what their arms are doing as they struggle through their billionth attempt at a noseslide nollie 285° flip out at the local skatepark ledge. Sometimes, to roll away from a trick an adjustment is needed - much like a tightrope walker might throw a leg out to stop themselves falling into the Grand Canyon, occasionally this technique is necessary when skating too (and usually it adds to the overall look of the trick). I am not talking about a fucking Yo Flip or an SF pop shove, but simply a chilled out natural stork on the roll-away.

With today's hyper critical super edits, only the most perfectly made tricks make the cut, but most of the time the outtakes (throwaways/B-Sides/whatever the kids are saying these days) are a lot more fun to watch, as you actually feel like you are at the session. Rarely seen since the 90s, the stork was almost extinct until a couple appeared recently and reminded us of their existence.