Vans Propeller Global Premiere Article at Skatepark of Tampa

Vans Propeller Global Premiere

Posted on Friday, April 24, 2015 by Mikah

This past Monday, Adam Washell and myself were lucky enough to be invited out the Global Premiere in LA of Vans 1st video, "Propeller". Needless to say, we were beyond hyped. Giving that we were going to be in Cali for a few days, we’d decided we’d go visit some homies of the industry with the extra time we had while in SoCal. After a whole day lost to missing our flight, city hoping to get to LA and flight delays, we’d completely lost all of Monday sitting on planes and at gates in Tampa and New Jersey before landing in LA. Behind schedule, we’d opted to call it early to hit the road early the next day.

Tuesday morning, we’d hit the road bright and early to Lake Forest to visit the Sole Tech HQ. Under one roof, you’ll find etnies, Emerica, eS, Altamont and 32. The amount of history found inside was more than enough to make me fan out seeing shoes from my youth and before. Pierre André Senizergues himself came down and gave us a history lesson on the inception of etnies and Sole Tech as a whole as well as the vision for the brands in the future. His love and dedication for skateboarding is truly inspirational. After checking some shops in the LA area, we headed straight to the video premiere. It was packed inside and out. Familiar faces from Pros to Ams, industry folk and friends were there. You probably won’t find a gathering of everyone that was there again anytime soon. Needless to say, being the first skateboarding video that Vans has made since they started in 1966, there was a huge anticipation for the video and it did not disappoint. No spoilers here but make sure to make it out to the Tampa Premiere on 05/03, stay tuned for the details.

Wednesday we headed up to Santa Barbara to the Skate One facility. If you’re unfamiliar with Skate One and their legacy, check this video here. They have built what skateboarding is today and will no doubt be leading the future of skateboarding products. Everything from inception, engineering, design, manufacturing and shipping goes down all in one place. With over 150 employees, many we’d met had been their for decades and some as many as 30+ years. A true inspiration, giving skateboarding roller coaster history. Walking through their manufacturing of decks & wheels was enough to make both Adam and I nerd out. It was absolutely awesome to see boards go from just veneers to a complete deck ready to be shipped out. In addition, seeing wheels go from liquid urethane to packed wheels that’ll be on our shelves was pretty awesome. You get a real good grasp of how passionate this company is about giving skateboarding the absolute most functional and quality product possible. Thanks for the hospitality and all you do for skateboarding.

We ended our trip by hitting up the homie Gabe Clement at Matix in Compton CA. The facility was built a piece at a time and was a true reflection of the brand itself. Check the mini-ramp photo below. All in all, a huge thank you to all the distributors and friends who showed us around their facilities for all the hospitality. A very huge Thank You to the Vans family for having us out to the World Premiere of Propeller. Can’t wait to watch it again!

- Mikah Collins
Mikah
We started our trip at the Sole Tech HQ. Front and center when you walk in is a ton of history from their decades in skateboarding. I thought these boards hanging from the ceiling were pretty cool and wanted to make some offers on that Ellington board for my personal board wall.
Natas
More rad nostalgia in their timeline is the first pro model skateboarding shoe, The Natas. This shoe came out in 1988 and apparently was built to last. Check out all that rubber on the upper, I’m sure this thing was pretty damn near indestructible.
Jason
Another rad shoe sitting in the collection from years back is the collab shoe they for Jason Dill with Fucking Awesome back before the boards and pretty much anyone knew about the brand. These dropped in 2008 and were super limited to 715 pairs. I tried damn hard to get a pair back in the day.
Adam
After checking out the offices where the designs go down and raiding the store for some fresh kicks, Pierre André Senizergues himself gave us a history lesson on the inception of etnies which pulls it’s name from the diverse skateboarding communities ability to cross different ethnicities and cultural boundaries. Pierre had noted that the Natas and other shoes were built with so much rubber because he and other free style skaters were so damn tired of duct taping their shoes. A huge thank you to Lyndon Cabellon and the whole Sole Tech family for the hospitality!
Richard
We headed over to Fairfax right after to check out the Kayo store. On top of having some sick merch-outs in the store, the whole facility is an old bank, with a full operational vault. Inside were Gold bricks and a display for Richard Angelides new Adidas signature Super Star Hi. Definitely a cool concept in a store that doubles as a show room for all their brands.
From Kayo, we went straight to the video premiere for Vans Propeller at the Orpheum Theatre in downtown. The scene was packed with skaters, industry heads and old and new friends. Everyone was pretty anxious to get through the sea of people and get a good seat.
Ray
While waiting for the video to start, the opening act way Ray Barbee and the Mattson 2. Ray’s son also held it down on the bass, just outside of the frame. I was particularly stoked to catch this, as I’d missed Ray and the Mattson 2 two weeks prior down in Sarasota at Compound Skateshops 12 year anniversary party.
After Ray ripped the final song, Steve Van Doren himself made one hell of an entrance riding in on this huge motorized Sk8 Hi.
Anthony
Just before the video started, the entire Vans team came out on stage. Look at how stacked that team is! The video is definitely decades and generations in the making!
Immediately after the video, we were ushered out to the back parking lot where the after party took place. Cheers and thanks to Vans for giving skateboarding a timeless classic skate video! Oh and thanks for the free booze!
The line for free beer was getting pretty unruly while kegs were getting switched out, so Steve himself took it into his hands to keep the crowd hyped. Serving pizza out to all and taking time to grab a slice for himself. Going above and beyond to make sure everyone was having a great time.
Tommy
Halfway through the party, Ray Barbee joined Tommy Guerrero to jam for the crowd. Where else are you ever going to see these two legends play together? This may have the highlight of my trip.
Adam
After stumbling blocks back to the swanky hotel that Vans had put us up in, Adam had it get it in on this piano in the hotel’s lobby for a closer to the night
Adam
The next day we’d made the two hour trek north of LA to Santa Barbara where Skate One has built their decades of legacy. Adam’s a huge fan of the Ripper graphic and was beyond hyped to find this photo prop.
When the wheels are poured, the mold is left open to let air out. The other side of the wheel has to be cut to match the molded side, seen here.
The final step is the printing of the wheel graphic seen here on a 3 color press.
We pretty much followed these wheels through the process of being created. After they’re printed, they’re all laid out on trays to cure like cupcakes.
Steve
A huge Thank You goes out to the whole Skate One family for the unbelievable hospitality and tour of the facility. These guys are dedicated to creating the absolute best skateboarding products from design and function to the process used to create their products. You guys rule!
Gabe
We hurled our way down the 101 from Santa Barbara back to LA to the heart of Compton to check in with our homie Gabe Clement at the Matix HQ. My phone unfortunately died, but not before I could grab a photo of the mini-ramp the fellas have in the back. Pretty damn tight but between the corners and tiling under the coping, this thing is fun! What more do you really need? Huge thank you to all those who showed us around and the biggest thank you to Vans for the invite out to check out the video! Stay tuned for details on the Tampa premiere of Propeller coming 05/03!

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