Outside is snowing and blowing as I have no words to describe how soulless the Etnies x Independent collaboration video felt, so I am glad I continue looking down Thrasher to see Naquan Rollings’s new DC promo, “OK Bet.” I think everyone agrees Naquan is one of the best current video makers. He has seemed to be on Thrasher payroll, so good for his diversifying income portfolios to take the helm and edit this ten-minute DC project with vernacular titling.
Vid begins at a European plaza in plain street sound while Thomas Dritsas front tailslide flips to fakie. Mike Heikkila appears with the crew on session so already a feeling of quality assurance permeates. Thomas’s first 45 seconds have no soundtrack; enter spacey breakbeats one can imagine in a DC Euro Tour at millenium’s turn. Styled clean and loose, but not quite baggy, Dritsas rides Real decks and the subtler DC colorways across large spots, foreign and domestic. He wears Palace boxer briefs, hometown Carolina Panthers vintage snapback and a LV belt buckle as he daps up partners at the end of his section.
John Shanahan, Ish Cepeda and Sean Paul summon clips to match bombast of Rx Papi’s “Numbers Tell a Different Story (Intro),” second song posse cutting between Paris and Atlanta. Bronze “56 in the uzi” signals Josh Wilson’s wave-warped gymnasium court videoproofing of his recent DC photo adverts. After Kevin Bilyou’s line and a photomontage, Adilson Pedro first appears at 4:20 in a Portuguese courtyard half-cab crooking one bench and heelflip salad grinding the next. Thaynan Costa wears DCs like Stan Smiths as Evan Smith wall whirls while Wes Kremer wrist guard whips switchstance. Riders reappear for further contributions as cumulative clips cultivate essense of worldwide plaza-based camaraderie.
When Rx Papi finishes, plain air sequencing motif reemerges alongside river Seine beneath a bridge at a metal ledge across a curbular peninsula. Thaynan rides downstreet and pops over the curb into front tailslide across the angle-ironed bridge-tress basing kickflip dismount past curb onto far side under the bridge. Dristas has Thaynan’s back in forest green cargo sweatpants. His first trick in “OK Bet” was front tail kickflip to fakie, now his finishing contribution is front tail heelflip to fakie.
Same Seine-side spot, wearing Cash Only Records 5xl white tee, thin chain, shoulder length braids under brown and tan paneled, LV monogrammed, New York Yankees New Era cocked back left with shiny silver circle sticker under brim, Adilson’s back again with his heelflip in to back 5-0 across and out, shown twice as OK BET titling appears onscreen in two infrared lines and DJ Spanish Fly introduces himself on this third track, Adilson’s track.
Next clip backgrounds white walls, white umbrellas, white hat backwards, white faux leather sleeves on navy Cash Only World Series varsity jacket over a Cash Only logo tee throwing down a Cash Only Dollar deck in navy pants to blast ollie over buttress and sidewalk into the street while locals with masks around their chins observe Adilson carving to avoid streetcar tracks revealing Cash Only stitched across his back pants pockets. Soundtrack sirens wail as Adilson appears next in purple Butter Goods crew neck fleece and baggy blue jeans fakie heelflipping into front tailslide across ledge above five long stairs, dropped down to fakie from two blocks’ height with speed. The syllabic bounce of Adilson Pedro’s name’s reminds me of Allyson Castro, though Adilson skates more in the mold of Dwayne Fagundes or Darren Harper. He front 5-0s across and down tan painted retaining wall turned front 180 out with a spare board guarding flash prop.
Adilson’s half-cab heelflip manual to drop wearing a horizontal thin striped navy and white tee with his braids tucked under a militant cap in muggy summertime hints at a recent past before sponsorships with subtler sartorial choices. In a white tee at night swathed in camera light he back blunts a white block to fakie on cobblestone landing panned up to a golden auburn gothic cathedral. Burberry bucket hat in Georgetown colors matches his grey half-sleeve collar unbuttoned over navy Butter Goods tee as camera zooms on Adilson’s eye focus to heelflip crooked grind across the second level of an obelisque statue in a piazza in the morning when the umbrellas haven’t been opened and rows of chairs are still stacked away. A young boy sits mutely observant from his throne atop the last stack of five chairs, feet not touching the ground, until Adilson’s rollaway suddenly snaps him from his daze into spasmodic cheers. Sweat stains through the back of Adilson’s shirts indicate his foresight that this battle should take place in spacious morning air before bustle descends.
Into Creteil’s wavy plaza, wearing the same outside as his earlier heelflip back 5-0 beside the Seine, with the addition of tan zip up hoodie and earmuff headphones, Adilson half-cab heelflips the four block, shown twice with the Peugeot popped trunk in background. DJ Spanish Fly’s verse-less Memphis club bounce punctuated by shouts of “YES” and “Gangster Walk!”pairs well with Pedro’s sophisticated stuntmanship.
The Portuguese port city of Setúbal is famous for its sardines and fortified wine. The white two-block and pointed perpendicular bicycle rack over which Adilson fakie heelflips is a classic DC brand obstacle in the Kalis/Jimmy Gorecki model, found herein its centro commercial. Adilson holds up 4 fingers with a smile in front of cockscomb then further interprets his half-cab heelflip into front 5-0 front 180 at night in catholic courtyard.
Adilson draws attention in Doppler printed cyclone puffer as he frontside heelflips a bar to bank in front of a mortuary, then fakie front tails down and around a corner cut hubba. His attempt to lock into front smith on the bench-backing second level of a plaza ledge leads to slip and slide into Wes, Evan and the rest of the squad. A ride-on grind attempt pitches Adilson to chest check on the ledge corner, then he wheelie skids a flat gap heelflip to butt bounce. We see the squad posted smoking, then double angles show Adilson tripping down a cobblestone chute to absorb the shoulder high drop on his shoulder. He’s wearing a visor when he slips across the top of an air vent rather than locking into 5-0, and only through his acrobatic continuation of unanticipated flip is he able land somewhat on his feet.
The good homie driving the moped wears a Creature shirt and helmet to propel Adilson out of his slam section purgatory to heelflip successfully over the flatgap that just sent him skidding. The current Skate Jawn #72 features this heelflip in a double truck DC photo ad on page two spread. He backside heelflips a block to drop shirtless as children play football. Scruffy Wes salures and we get a clip of Adilson chilling with his phone tucked into his hat brim at right ear for life soundtracking. He heelflip back 5-0s a white Mediterranean hubba then chest bumps the camera in his Cash Only bulldog sweater. He revisits half-cab heelflip into 5-0, now across the top of a banked ledge past three stairs and down. He wears light wash denim pants matching denim jacket and denim bucket hat with a white tee and white DCs to back 5050 across a ledge dropped into more further grind down a hubba. He pop shove crooked grinds the third level of a long Philly step to fakie, then returns to the Setúbal shopping center bike rack gap for 360 flip. He fakie crooks an out ledge at Lisbon University then wears a shearling MLB trapper cap with the flaps buttoned on top backwards smiling in a couple quick lifestyle clips.
The corner curved ledge Adilson back 5-0 180s is the same that Ryuhei switch tailslide 270’d in “Meet You There.” Adilson returns for a half-cab heelflip noseslide next. Immediately building on this impressive template, next clip shows him half-cab heelflip crooked grinding a six-stair out ledge in black Cash Only hoodie lit only by his documentary crew at night. When his boys confirm foot traffic is right, Pedro emerges from corridor into daytime, popping out over a handrail onto back 5050 across a tiled out-ledge to head-high drop past worn cobblestones onto wide pedestrian boulevard carve past the newsstand. He returns to another slam section spot and completes ride-on 5-0 front 180, then next line he’s wearing a chainlink guayabera shirt for another fakie heelflip tailslide to fakie in column patterned pants then he fakie front heels into front noselide over a drainage grate boom to fakie.
What is G-Style? A concept, an attitude. Adilson shows affinity for heelflip progression on the level of Weiger Van Wageningen or Lindsay Robertson, as he begins next line at a Portuguese version of Alphabet ledges with a noseslide to fakie, then a fakie flip (only kickflip in this part unless you count 360 flip?), then fakie heelflips back tailslide to fakie. Next plaza line debuts fakie back nosegrind, fakie front shove on flat, flatground half-cab heelflip crouch-caught and strong goofy pushes to front tailslide over one Philly step, the space after that, then a second Philly step before popping out. Next single clip at this double Philly step is front tail 270 shove.
Tiago Lopes appears for a double-angle double-digit switch backside flip toward squad waiting to applaud, then back to Adilson fakie front crooked grinding a tall ledge for considerable length to its end before turning regular for dismount drop. He crooked grinds the same long ledge over grass that Ryuhei nollie noseslide nollie flipped then varial heelflips into a stair spanning cobblestone chute to drop over sidewalk onto street. Next clip shows pop shove down the cobblestones on the other side of the stairs to bigger, rougher rollaway, staying in saddle where previously he slammed. He’s back in the buttoned up shearling trapper cap to heelflip into crooked grind down a twelve stair hubba. Adilson’s ender comes in the form of front smith around the bends of a tall marble horseshoe ledge to front 180 out, shown twice with his red and white DCs matching red bandana Yankees cap. Naquan edited with the help of 20 filmers. DC star logo then black no credits.
Adilson’s devotion to heelflips and fakie stance skating provides an under-explored template that he attacks from most conceivable interpretations. His boom bap billboard barging shows tenacious testing of his strengths with large logo gear choices that seem primed for further footwear colorway coordination. If anything, the DC shoes skated throughout this video are less flashy than I imagined, but Adilson self-propels with infectious energy that makes him a beneficial promoter of these sponsors who cater to his sensibilities.