There’s an unspoken, but highly applicable, rule about being an AM (amateur) for any well-recognized board company—you may not be pro, but you certainly have to earn your keep by sometimes outperforming the pros. It’s about both hierarchy and practicality. Think about it, being promoted to the professional ranks is a business move, it’s about pushing a status and brand as much as it is about pushing the board. Once achieved, the name of the game is consistency and leadership within that recognized limelight.

Amateurs, on the other hand, are the frontline and serve as the ground troops of the battle. The grunt work is the groundwork and it appears that Almost Skateboards’ AM trio of Yuri Facchini, Fran Molina and Tyson Bowerbank really know how to get down and dirty in the field. The new “3AM” video features the triangle of riders putting in some of the most technically demanding skateboard work in the industry. No doubt there’s much to prove when you’re riding for the house that Rodney Mullen and Daewon Song built, two of the most prolific and technical skateboarders in the history of the culture. But legacies and industry rules aside, the new video is also an energetic shot of fresh adrenaline for fans and viewers. 

Yuri, Fran and Tyson feel and look like a very fun bunch that also take their skills very seriously. There’s simply no way some of the insane pop, trick variations and hammers documented in this video just happen out of nowhere. These cats are putting in some serious hours to yield just as serious results. Gang Starr’s “You Know My Steez”, one of the tracks featured, should be taken as a nod and a half to the work ethic involved here.

Props to the Almost squad for keeping the bar steady rising. If this a stellar example is of amateur ability, one can only imagine the caliber it takes to step up to chief status. Watch and learn skateboard grasshoppers, you too will need to know this level of dedication and ability should you one day decide to trek the demanding industry road.