Wade DesArmo on the style front, even if people didn’t copy the huge tees and jeans outfits I’d say the huge pop, super clean, nonchalant-ness influenced a lot of people.
Probably Jake Johnson too going off how many times his part shows up in those Quartersnacks Top 5 parts they do. Feel like he really evolved east coast skating to a new level.
For UK I’d say Neil Smith in L&F, obviously there were gnarly UK guys in the 90s but feel like he was a young kid coming out skating crusty stairs/rails/gaps with filming and editing on par with the big US videos
bringing something new to the table: Mark Suciu’s sudoku trick-concept approach in the Verso edit. Like a bananas version of Arto’s mirrored lines in Sorry.
Just to clarify, we’re discussing which skater(s) has had the single biggest impact within skateboarding since the year 2000? So anyone who either turned pro after Jan 01 2000 or who’s first debut pro video part came out after that date?
Aye, I guess I was wondering which skaters since 2000 have stood out for you, or had an impact within wider skate culture. Ideally skaters who didn’t really emerge til after the millenium, because I feel like a lot of skate culture/history from pre-2000 has been well appraised and it’s easier to get a sense of what the defining parts, pros and “movements” were in the 90s and before (partly due to less footage being around).
Like, I feel like the skating is continuing to progress in so many ways, although maybe it’s harder (and a daft idea) to try and pinpoint recent moments + people who have pushed things forward or re-framed the way we see + play with certain things in skating. What do you think?
I did leave it pretty open as a topic cos obviously a lot of this is subjective (and personally I like chatting shit), and I like to hear about daft stuff like “I wore brown corduroy and listened to 60s freak-folk for 15 years because of Guru Khalsa” or whatever.
PJ, Antwuan, Tiago and Yuto all have first-name-only status. That says a lot.
Nyjah. I’m not keen on him but he’s a stand out figure in modern skateboarding. Child protégé, contest wins, the money he’s made off the back of sponsorships from big corporate companies.
Yeah 100% Nyjah, as much as no one wants to admit it
Sadly, Bam was pretty cool until 2000ish then turned into that guy millions of non-skaters know for not so great reasons. I don’t know if that makes him part of the list we’re working on.
The whole Piss Drunx thing started in 99 but it took a minute for it to get really big. Can’t deny its influence on millions of skaters in the 2000s (and later) though.
The Dime guys have literally changed the game when it comes to contests.
Reckon my list would be:
Nyjah - Olympics, 5 million insta followers
PJ - is the favourite skater of an entire generation. Changed the street skating game before he was even pro
Dylan - changed how a whole generation dressed and skated overnight
Sheckler - influence in IRL pop culture (sort of forgotten somewhat now tbf)
Prod - Nike career. Was the pro to beat for like a decade. Closest we have to elder statesman of that whole generation
Janoski - his name is arguably the most popular shoe of all time
Bam - undoubtedly
Rowley (debatable, he turned pro/vans shoe/THPS appearance was before 2000, but, his career and impact came of age in the early 2000’s).
No girls yet? 
I nearly said Lizzie, and also Leo Baker. But tbh I reckon their influence (and of women in general) will be more pronounced this coming decade
The fact he didn’t place?
He got 7th! Give the man some credit.
Haha! Yes, out of 8. But he also managed to get to the final, so really it was out of 20.
Has Marisa dal Santo’s “Strange World” part (2009) been topped for female gnar skating?
Alexis Sablone had a pretty gnarly part this year but I don’t think anything that recent counts…? Her stuff in PJLWHL was banging too. Anyway, Marisa is and will be one of the raddest (with Elissa of course) for a long time. I love that section she filmed in Colorado, skating to Nirvana.
Damn that was even better than I remembered. Thanks for posting that up!
Honestly it’s been a long time coming but the mix of people you see sessioning the local park now is really sick. Feels super healthy and supportive, plus I like that lots of the bigger brand videos are balancing out lots of the rail-chomping, massive stair count stuff (which seemed to be everywhere in the early 00s) with more fun, relatable, low-impact creative skating. In terms of the vibe that skate videos communicate, there seem to be more possibilities and less restrictive expectations of what “good” skating is compared to when I was growing up. Something for everybody!
Lol.
It’s a great part but not close to the best in the video and people did gnarly stuff before him.
If anything the Rattray part in wftw was top tier and progressive.
