Skateboarding
Skateboarding
Rock up poolside with John Worthington's blistering backyard Curtain Call
Skating the oldest and most merciless of transition terrains at this level requires something approaching magic.
There used to be a great Californian skate 'zine called Paying In Pain, which covered what you might think of as the underground rippers who exist just outside of that super-serious aspect of sponsored skateboarding with van life and demos and all that comes with it.
We might think of those low-key lifers as session musicians; virtuosos of their craft expressing themselves to the fullest – but without ever squinting into the bright lights that come with being thrust centre-stage, either by fate or design.
From a brand perspective, board and shoe brands often try to earmark a tribe space for themselves, but wheel companies can take a creative liberty with who they flow.
For every type of skater there is a style of wheel and so these less structured teams can roam around how they may. In so doing, wheel companies also keep skating’s gene pool nice and varied at the inspiration level.
John Worthington is a formidable all-round skate talent, but in the no-rebate world of skating backyard pools he really is in a field of only a handful at any given time.
This is skateboarding from the other end of the spectrum, complete with fingerflip disasters in lipless, chalky pools. The roll-in on the first clip itself is absolutely fearless and unteachable.
Enjoy John's three-trick Curtain Call for us, and if you are feeling his buzz then hunt out John Worthington's Backyard Burnout video via OJ Wheels!
