Much like a lunar or solar eclipse, the year’s biggest skate trip is not some everyday phenomenon. In fact, much like eclipses, this year’s “Thrash and Burn” road trip to Europe is very much a magical synchronization of some of our world’s biggest forces in order to create a very special dance that truly blesses our mundane existence. I’m pretty certain that Thrasher and Spitfire didn’t read it as poetically when they co-opted the journey, but hey, good skateboarding really inspires, so why not dress it up in fanciful prose?
First off, there’s no way that you get the plethora of talent that is Evan Smith, Louie Lopez, Zion Wright, Cory Kennedy, Grant Taylor, Ishod Wair, Kyle Walker, Chris Pfanner, Oskar Rosenberg, OGs like Frank Gerwer (and so many more) together randomly and haphazardly. Nope, that right there takes a very special lining up of the stars and cosmos, word to Carl Sagan. But somehow it happened, and the 16-minute plus of shreddery is insanely satisfying.
Though on a bittersweet note considering the loss of fellow skateboarder and beloved Thrasher filmer and family man Preston “P-Stone” Maigetter, the video result of the Euro skate trip is one long amusement park ride for viewers and fans. Not only will you catch the entire squad downing brews and backflipping into remote lagoons, but you’re also going to see some of the gnarliest spot destruction possible. We’re talking clip after clip of back-to-back ability explosions across gaps, over huge banks, and down haunting rails and stair sets. This particular squad of skaters—pay close attention to the likes of young rippers like Zion, Louie, and Oskar—is an out-of-this-world motley crew of skaters.
Set to the mellow vibrations of William Onyeabor’s Reggae trance “Atomic Bomb” and Eek-A-Mouse’s “Ganja Smuggling,” most of the video is a sweet spot of great sounds and high-flying skateboarding. It works incredibly well. If finished to the sound of Metal, thanks to Green and Wood’s “Banquet of Jupiter”.
There are only four months left in this wild year that seems to have flown by, and we most likely won’t see another gathering of the skateboard Avengers quite like this. So make do and make sure you don’t miss out on this magic!
