LATVIAN SKATE NETWORK
The camera got pulled out on a couple of rare occasions last year. It just winked a few times at the skaters from the camera bag. The video features a couple sessions around Maskačka, some GSD clips, and Rainis sessions with Fricis and deep Riga OGs. Enjoy!
Video by Edvard Gaba
In early 2000s, before social media clips, every crew was obliged to put out a full length video. You had to collect as much footage as you could in year and put it out. Ekstra Supratimas remind about those times a lot. Good times in the streets, whatever happens, happens.
Filmed by Aleksas Povilaitis
Edited by Paulius Želvys
Skaters:
Rokas Petravičius
Mantas Vaškelaitis
Gintaras Kadziliauskas
Aleksas Povilaitis
Vykintas Petrauskas
Carlos Adolfo Rivera
Paulius Želvys
Rokas Ignotas
Vilnius 2023
Third year in row we meet up at VEF DIY to officially celebrate the start of a new summer season and to reflect on the year that passed. The event was a blast with Tikari skateshop taking care of business and IZI Kitchen covering the food supplies. Marcis Ruiķis won the deathrace third time in a row even after addition of an extra lap to the race. Piena ledges found a new home at VEF too. Super lovely day. Peep our report and see all soon!
Video by Emīlija Stoka
Quick release from the Trank Boys squad. This is the vid they premiered during RajonTV awards (recap soon). Video features the whole Trank Fam + a couple close friends. New spot appearances from Dailes and Bolderaja promenade. Other than that classic Riga core. Enjoy!
Video filmed and Edited by Rudofls Rorbahs
Last Friday marked our second Trash Can Jam (latv. Miskastes Jam). It was mellow, it was fun. The main question I got from one OG skater who missed the event was whether anybody switch 360 flipped the can. The answer’s “no” or “not yet”. Latvian collective switch 360 flip skills are only getting there. Next year!!! Also, our naïve and youthful nature can be seen in the repetition of tricks. There were minimum two heelflips landed, definitely two hardflips and three people were backside flipping the darn thing. With one of them landing perfect within 10 tries, another one not landing at all but slamming in identical ways all session, and the last one breaking his board and landing survival mode with a homies board. That just shows what people are here for, not notoriety, status or money 😀 but just to land whatever they can over the can.
Shout out to supporters: Tikari, Monster Energy, Eco Baltia, and Spot Center for hosting.
P.s. We are working on RajonTV Awards now. Keep your eyes open for announcements etc.
Skating in February TOP 10 might generate some pleasant sensations in you. You might feel that you are #proudtobebaltics. Yeah, it’s a novel and rare feeling, but you better get used to it.
If you are into skating like we are, you probably refer to Slap Forum whenever something significant happens in the skate world. Be it a pro who ditched their long time sponsor, a beef in the industry, or a brand that diminished into oblivion, Slap pals have intel, theories, and definitively, opinions on every matter.
Official skate media is careful and doesn’t touch upon all topics, but Slap has no limits. Someone started a dumb new board brand: Slap’s all over it. Kader’s of Baker: yes, you heard it at Slap first, before it was official. Nothing goes unnoticed, and that made us question: Does this holy grail of skate knowledge carry any info about our, Latvian skate scene?
A quick search reviled that, yes! Slap does have some stuff on Latvia! We picked three stories that were ok to show to a broader public. Not sure if we should be proud of these threads and mention, but it is our little blip in the most opinionated shit-talking forum in skateboarding.
I am pretty sure who that was.
As the story goes Bobby Puleo visited Latvia on an iPath tour around 2004 and couldn’t find his favorite obstacle in the whole wide world, that in fact is native to the East Coast: a cellar door. Probably other inclination would have done the job too, but we can only assume that the hosts took Bobby to Rainis or Kongressu Nams, which obviously could piss him of. But, just in case, if you are reading this Bobby, please come over again! We have cellar doors now.
The worst part of town :D.
Illustrations by AG
No promises, but we’ll try to keep #rajontvtop10 going again. Keyword: try. One compilation every month of skating that caught our eye in a span of a month. We select clips from Baltic skaters that have been published in a set month (doesn’t matter when they did it, only when they published the clips). If you are wondering if this top is somehow rigged or subjective, rest assured, it absolutely is.
January top, as one suspects, contains tons of indoor clips. We’ve got old heads, young heads and mid heads in here. Somehow two skaters in the Baltics pulled a switch front salad on round rail in January. We couldn’t pass by such an extraordinary coincidence. One ss salad made it, here’s the other one. Have a great day everybody and see you soon!
links to original clips coming here later! please sorry!
Still icy, still cold but half of winter is behind our backs. By now it must start to feel normal to say 2024 and the indoor vibe feels like home. January has been chill with a couple things happening here and there.
Ralfs and Fredijs from CatNip skateboards dropped a teaser for their vid “Monkey Gone To Heaven” with subsequent release of the full vid. These fellas are on to something.
Really cool to see youngsters in the scene doing their things. Latvian skate league competition recap with photos by Maija Zara and video by Linda Lindenberga surfaced in January.
Pus8Grab’s “I got you” vid also by Linda Lindenberga made it to Youtube too.
“All my friends are skaters” is the name of the Krulli indoor edit by Rainer Kaur. Tallinn’s crew puts out so much stuff from Krulli, it’s hard to keep up. There must have been a couple vids we’ve missed. Still always love to see some action from there.
Kaifuun Network put out a re-edit of Siim Sild’s summer clips. A lot of dope ledge work from Portugal and Tallin spots.
Tikari skateshop put out an IG edit of Rudolfs Rorbahs skating around Vilnius from last summer.
Our mate Roberts Krums got spotted in Luka Pinto’s archives from Jersey. Watch Rob battle and sweat in the streets.
Armands Baumanis of Straight Forward skateboards fame putout an edit from La Liena DIY. Armands holding it down in Malaga and is working on a street vid too.
Takeover boys arranged a skatevids and chill evening at Tikari skateshop in January. It was a good little meet up. We watched some OG Latvian videos including SeaSideSk8 “Positive”, Triecienspeks Suburbia Edit, and RajonTV’s own “Dobre” video.
Keep your Vitamin D supplies in check, and hold on to your New Year’s resolutions. Peace!