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If a skater lands a kickflip at the skatepark but it doesn’t end up on Instagram, did it even happen?
These days, it seems like every time a skateboard pops, a new post ends up on Instagram’s news feed or explore page. As skateboarding’s undisputed home on social media, Instagram has become a repository for skate footage recorded around the globe, a measuring stick for pros and amateurs alike, and a creative hub for skate culture’s everlasting ties to video.
On any random skateboarder’s news feed, you’ll find daily skatepark warm-ups, homie hijinks, and new trick attempts from every pro with a pulse. You’ll also find the best clips before they’re featured in a major video release, as well as constant progress from every teen trying to be the next big thing. From fenced-in parks to street spots, curbs, mega ramps, and any other surface that can handle four wheels, Instagram sees more fresh skate clips on a daily basis than Thrasher can post in a month.
But just like the glut of content that clogs up your YouTube homepage and Twitter feed, Instagram is awash with plenty of pages that aren’t worth stopping your scroll. Sure, you should follow your friends’ skate journeys and comment as many heart emojis under their posts as humanly possible. But with more tastemakers and trendsetters hashtagging their way to industry fame every day, how do you know which pros, companies, and random skate pages to keep up with?
If you ask us, the perfectly-curated IG feed involves a healthy distrust for the industry, a mental block of all things FOMO, and ultimately inspires you to get off your phone and actually go out and skate. But whether you’re looking for the perfect footage to spark your next curb session, keeping up with the latest fashion trends, or breaking up the monotony of baby pictures and celebrity sponsored posts, we’ve got a set of IG handles that are guaranteed to level up your app.
New York City’s content hub for all things skateboarding and degeneracy (™), Quartersnacks has been one of skateboarding’s most beloved blogs since it launched in 2005. Few brands have encapsulated the industry’s technology-fueled growth as well as the Snack Man. And after years of pushing video content, fashion expertise, and Big Apple nightlife reporting, Quartersnacks’ Instagram presence evokes the same visceral feeling that comes from sipping a street beer and skating the curbs outside of Manhattan’s Lincoln Center during fashion week. And boy is that a great feeling.
Alongside video and photo content from the streets of New York (or anywhere around the world the QS crew might be traveling), as well as product shots from the website’s wildly successful clothing brand, there’s plenty of partying, illustrations, and thoughtful pontificating on the city’s skate culture.
But more than any Big Apple-specific content, it is Quarternacks’ weekly Top 10 post — a feature ripped directly from SportsCenter’s classic end-of-week round-up — that makes the SnackMan Instagram’s best skate follow. With superb editorial discretion, the QS team posts their 10 favorite clips in one easy-to-access spot every Friday — just like clockwork.
As NYC continues to turn into a McDonald’s play place for Russian oligarchs and day traders, Quartersnacks is a good reminder that you can still get into most downtown clubs in a dirty white t-shirt and Dickies, as long as your shoes have the right scuff marks.
Throughout most of its history, skateboarding has been dominated by the slight-of-frame. But as skating grows into its own middle age, early street pioneers, vert gods, and an expanded universe of active newcomers have disrupted the skateboarding’s Gumby complex, and different body types are finally getting some shine on the board.
From Jamie Foy, a former Thrasher Skater of the Year, to local rippers with beer bellies and dad bods, we are living in a golden age of heavyset skating. And in this gilded era, no outlet does a better job conveying the power, prowess, and finesse of plus-sized shredding as well as HeavyWorks, a user-submitted Instagram page pulling together videos from every corner of the skate universe with one unifying thread: the bigger, the better. And goddammit, we just couldn’t agree more.
To write about the ties between skateboarding and Instagram without mentioning Stephen Lawyer would be blasphemous, so we’re not going to do that. We’re not going to take too much time telling you why you need to smash that follow button on our favorite San Diego pro, but when it comes to skatepark clips set to Soundcloud rap (accented by designer drip, naturally), Lawyer wrote the book — and he’s still inking new chapters.
A recently-minted pro for the Sk8Mafia squad, Lawyer is one of the few rippers able to set trends in both the confines of skatepark concrete and the SoCal streets. If you’re looking for the best that skatepark footage has to offer, Lawyer’s IG is the place you want to be.
GX1000 is a crew (or brand, or whatever) built around a shared love for skating incredibly fast through the streets of San Francisco, and capturing that skating on their namesake Sony VX1000 camera. But while all of the GX full-length releases are filmed on the industry’s favorite analog camcorder, the squad is no stranger to the ‘gram, and releases a steady stream of downhill pushing, Uber skitching, and scenic views for your double clicking pleasure.
Palace is safe. Palace doesn’t release enough footage. Brooks films for Palace. Follow Brooks on IG, mate.
In the vein of The Onion and its mass of scene-specific satire sites and social media pages, The Nut Daily News skewers the skate industry (and everyone else who’s ever stepped on a board) with a heavy dose of sarcasm, wit, and healthy skepticism. And for a subculture that worships a wooden toy with urethane wheels (and often takes itself too seriously), there’s a lot of fun to be poked.
If you want to get to the heart of what makes skaters tick, take an hour to scroll through the Nut and check out stories like “Depressed Skater Intentionally Touches on a Manual Just to Feel Something, Anything,” or “Random Guy Wants to Play You S.K.A.T.E for Some Fucking Reason,” and classics like “Was That Switch?”
DGK amateur Myquel Haddox (Quel for short) is coming up quick. A road heavy ripper from Nashville who makes frequent stops in Philadelphia and Southern California, Quel is getting tricks daily and is a prime example of how social media can help bring a rising skater to global prominence.
And in a day and age where every kid with a shop sponsor can fire off a laundry list of tricks down the Hollywood High set or the Clipper hubba, Quel’s spot selection and penchant for urban danger sets him apart — with more clips posted to IG worthy of an immediate “woah” response than most skatepark kids could ever muster in a lifetime. Give Quel a follow now before the glow up is complete, and you can say you were ahead of the curve when he finally goes pro.
Bonus Editor’s Pick: @IggyPooped
Throwing in a quick shout-out to Jack Greer, the NYC artist, director, and skater, whose IG account offers the best vantage into downtown New York skate culture outside the actual act of skating. @IggyPooped is more or less an exhibition space that compiles Greer’s exhaustive documentary footage into funny, idiosyncratic montages.
From clips of crust punks burning flags in Tompkins Square Park, to cuts of graffiti lords tossing up throwies, to Supreme skaters hanging out and drinking ‘40s, @IggyPooped is an authentic look at NYC street culture through the lens of your favorite skateboarder’s favorite head.
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