Zered Bassett’s tenure as a central figure of East Coast skateboarding spans generations. In many ways, he represents the bridge between the old New York and the new. The fact that he has endured longer than many of the brands that he’s been associated with is a testament to his dedication to his craft, and shows a resiliency that mirrors the streets where he honed it. Originally from Cape Cod, Zered was a child prodigy who was discovered at an Invisible demo in Massachusetts as a tween. This landed him on Sixteen, and later flow for World Industries. It was during this era that Brian Brown’s ..read more

Aaron Herrington represents a long and illustrious lineage in our culture. Escaping small-town U.S.A. to chase big-city dreams is a time-honored tradition in skateboarding. Like so many before him, Herrington gravitated to San Francisco at the tail end of the aughts to immerse himself in the downtown scene during the height of the HUF D.B.C. era. Fresh out of high school, the Corvallis, Oregon native found himself living in weekly hotels in the Tenderloin, and working odd jobs to get by while honing his craft on the streets synonymous with names like Carroll, Hufnagel, and Busenitz. This perio ..read more

New York’s death toll from COVID-19 was still the country’s highest at the start of May. Many hadn’t left their neighborhoods in over a month, and were wearing rubber gloves along with masks to venture out for necessities. This was the climate in Brooklyn in which Aaron Wiggs and his friends Perry and Sasha were living when the news of George Floyd’s murder broke. It was the straw, or in this case body, that broke the proverbial camel's back. As the nation erupted into civil unrests—the likes of which hadn’t been seen in 40 years—Aaron and crew were struggling to come up with a way to contribu ..read more

If you haven’t taken notice of Carl Aikens’s rising star over the past year, then you haven’t been paying attention. The Chicago-by-way-of-Santa Clarita native has been getting a ton of coverage since transplanting to Brooklyn last summer. He linked up with Naquan Rollings of Gang Corp fame, and dropped a heavy clip that firmly planted him on our collective radar. This was followed up with his Chocolate introduction in January, and more footage in the brand’s T.O.N.Y. tour video shortly after. Aikens is clearly emerging as one of the prominent figures of skateboarding’s next generation; so we ..read more

William Strobeck, known simply as Bill by those closest to him, is this generation’s Spike Jonze. In 2014, he singlehandedly changed the direction of modern skate videos with the release of “cherry”. It was the first full-length from both Strobeck and Supreme, and had a similar impact to Jonze and Mark Gonzales’s Video Days when that debuted in 1991. “cherry” introduced the world to a group of skaters that would go on to become icons. At the time, most videos felt like blockbuster movies that were far removed from the D.I.Y. spirit that birthed them. With street life vignettes that feel like y ..read more

Danny Supa could be a poster boy for New York’s golden era. He’s a native of the Bronx, and came up under the tutelage of Vinny Ponte and Ryan Hickey. By the time he reached his teens, he was already skating for Zoo York. His part in Mixtape is still one of the most beloved of its era. Like many of his contemporaries, Supa got to experience the extreme highs and lows that accompanied the skate lifestyle during those wonder years. His crowing achievement is probably being a part of the original Nike SB roster, and getting a signature Dunk colorway that is still one of the most coveted of all ti ..read more

Taji Ameen is a product of New York. Originally from Hell’s Kitchen, he discovered skateboarding around the turn of the century during the era when Harold Hunter was still the face of Zoo. The city infamously makes kids grow up fast. This could explain why Taji is considered an O.G. despite being just shy of 30. While it would be a stretch to say that he was on the trajectory to becoming a pro; Taji definitely got his fair share of coverage in his early teen years. But his true calling would prove to be behind the camera. Tajcam made its way from a personal YouTube channel to Vice. This is lar ..read more

Rick McCrank has an unlikely success story. It begins in Ottawa in the ‘80s. The timing and location don’t provide a clearly visible path to skateboarding superstardom. The culture was still in its infancy; and Ottawa might as well have been Mars in terms of getting on anyone’s radar during those wonder years before the invention of the World Wide Web. His circumstances would shape McCrank’s approach to his craft. He spent years paying no attention to any sort of skate media, and subsequently developed a style that was uninfluenced by the trends of the day. This made him an outlier for much of ..read more

From his skateboarding to his clothing, Scott Johnston has always been known for being flawless. His nickname is Mr. Clean for a good reason. When you take a step back and look at S.J.’s career on a whole, the same can be said. Scott’s original stomping grounds are sacred in skateboarding. A Maryland native, he grew up as a local at Washington D.C.’s Pulaski in the era when Sean Sheffey was the OG, and Pepe Martinez and Andy Stone were just cutting their teeth. Scott rose to prominence alongside these East Coast legends, and eventually took a chance on heading west to San Francisco. In S.F., S ..read more

German Nieves is one of the people that bridges the gap between East Coast skateboarding’s golden era and current renaissance. Born in Paterson, New Jersey, Nieves was barely a teenager when he began venturing into New York City, and discovered the Brooklyn Banks. He was instantly enamored. The Banks and NYC would become his stomping grounds during the ‘90s when he would run into the city’s icons in the streets on any given day. After a chance meeting with Julio De La Cruz at Astor Place, Nieves literally got picked up by the Neighborhood team and went on a tour that landed him in San Diego. T ..read more