Patrick Haynes in "Soundtrack"

by 35 North

The last time I was in Seattle was two decades ago. My brother and I had recently started skating and brought our boards on airplane vacation. We enjoyed a session at the downtown skatepark near Experience Music Project as our parents onlooked. Along with whatever else, I slammed a bunch trying to ollie the six stair, then post-session my parents said my brother and I had to start wearing helmets. I was fifteen, my brother two years younger, and we were pissed. That and my parents not letting me buy albums with Parental Advisory stickers were my two main adolescent parental conflicts. Anyway, Seattle has a strong scene. Two Hawks Young’s part in “Haulin Ass to Hall-&-Oates” is all class entertainment and the Scene Attack where local crews compete via video parts for 10k$ shows the lengths 35 North travels to cultivate and nurture Pacific Northwest counter culture. This full length Soundtrack is 42 minutes long with 7 skaters featured. Out my window, snowdrifts cover stop signs, icicles longer than I am hang from eaves and the snow keeps falling as I press play:

Soundtrack begins with a dedication to Sean Motaghedi then sponsor lists Vans, Polar, 35th North, Ace Trucks, Lakai, 35th Ave, Topo Chico (!), Girl, and Dickies. Having a resident Pro like Simon Banneroot elevates production levels, though Seattle has produced world class footage at least since Cory Kennedy was coming up. Between personal parts, Soundtrack includes conceptual flourishes like granting sections to particular spots. The first deep grey double sided ledge over grass gap to pop out gets thorough technical treatment, then later on more crew love at a bank to wallride. These sections serve a similar function to skits and add depth to the full length project. Most music is Houston and Memphis rap songs, which shows an ear for deep curation, though slightly jarring to not see any black skaters over this mostly black music soundtrack. One skater gets married, I almost wrote this review about Greg Dehart, and everyone capably dominates the mixture of attainable and gnarly spots, wherein local skate videos as serve as travel guide.

At nearly 24 minutes, we reach the last three skaters homestretch. My middle name is Patrick so I already share a fondness for Patrick Haynes as he hops on a big curved 5050 bannister backside with his Spitfire beanie pulled low, smile and a striped tee shirt ride away into dirt and a handshake. A impressed pedestrian hands over cash pledged for trick performed. Patrick with long Daniel Lutheran hair shows he’s tech with front shove back nosegrind revert in line, then pops curb cut to fat painted pipe front 5050, follow up hardflip in the wet parking lot. He hits an amazing looking infrared stair set with switch front bigspin then cruises route to hit the second set with regular front big. Lifestyle shot shows him looking like ShepDawg Taylor Kirby. He starts a line with a Bennett grind, long hair beanie down, baggy black skateshop tee, Patrick is the skater in this video that most speaks to Seattle’s Sub-Pop grunge rock cultural legacy, half cab crooking a big bike rack to regs then finishing line with a wallride on the silver spot salmon scales. He frontside half-cab flips onto a rock drop like Aquil Braithwaite did at Verizon banks while a bronze bear howls appreciation. I like to see front heelflips, including Patrick’s over bank to hydrant, then a near-primo down stairs doesn’t deter Patrick from half-cab flipping nine with woodchuck chipped nose. Big heelflip over a ledge down a set, trash can wallie to stair blast, then a Rincon sized ollie over perpendicular railing in his hammer flannel appear consecutively as “Repent Walpurgis” by Procol Harum, an epic instrumental track like Pink Floyd Animals, provides perpetual crest points.

Patrick reminds me of Wes Kremer here, shorter blonde hair and wispy bleached beard. He layers striped tee with flannel for notable pattern clashing during a front shove back 5050 with foggy harbor in the background. He hucks another snowboard sized ollie then gets Corey Glick tiny dancer tech on a bank to stair grind to bank we see sessioned throughout Soundtrack, shaped board popping further flatground tricks over brown fallen pine needles in Zubaz Mardi Gras hat court jestering en route to his friends bemused amazement.

In a backwards cap and novelty tee, with flames on his griptape and some technical footwear, Patrick hops lily pad manual to nose manny nollieflip out. In a Mariners hat, he pops a kickflip off a curb cut over sidewalk to land frontside on a burly brick bank with carabiner keychain swinging. Boardslide yank in as some homies slide thru the session, then Patrick reappears to front bigspin heel a significant set, Taylor Kirby comparison proving true. He returns to the lily pad for a pop up, pressure flip to manual. Nollie front 5050 a kinked wallside rail like Brian Delatorre, loading dock dumpster dive boardslide to fakie drop, barrier noseslide transfer lipslide to bankroll, then Patrick shows love to his dog and girlfriend before heading out for his heaviest sends. Hefty fakie front bigspin shows carefree trick selection, then nollie tre the same set is a real treat. He nollie crooks a waterfront railing as a youth in yellow rainboots observes. Patrick’s hubbatop heelflip front 5050 will please Chad Bartie and Weiger, then he stands tall kickflip nosesliding another balustrade through kink. He wallies to steep boardslide, then showcases his f/s bigspin at a waterfall adjacent fountain gap. Big boardslide earns a trio of passing hand slaps, Patrick gaps to front boardslide, then he unleashes a switch front shove down a 5 block that is beast as hell and would make Austin Kanfoush hyped.

Patrick sticks on gap front shove to front 5050 slam hard one late afternoon. Cut to evening has settled and he’s doggedly still at it, finally landing the front shove to grind ride away as drums strike and homies vibe. A well framed varial heelflip follows downhill to show 35th North on back of his tee, then out of nowhere Patrick appears at D7 in New York to do a finger flip! That’s an iconic spot trick ender on the level of Donny Binaco’s Love Park Airwalk. Salute to Patrick and Seattle.