Wondering if I had one of my setups from circa '93, could I do a double kickflip?

I became a fan of Dallas Rockvam after his 2011 Antiz part.  A unique style.  An American, skating cool looking European spots to the guitar grumblings of Neil Young.  I knew a little about his stateside history.  Had skated for Element.  Now this dude was presumably couch surfing foreign lands with nary a care in the world.   Eating bratwurst for breakfast.   Pancakes.  Coffee probably.
I noticed he favored Nike SB Dunk Mid Pros in varying colors.  Something about it looked cool.  I bought a pair with what felt like my subconscious a couple years later.

I know there is a lot of chatter about Nike and their chokehold on the skate shoe industry.  Seemingly buying as many professional, amateur, and unknown skaters as possible with no regard for mankind.

Sure, there were kids and the Bones Brigade skating in Air Jordans back in the days .  Airwalks in Air Jordans.

These shoes have a very snug feel.   Snug from the first day I put them on until today, and maybe beyond?
It took some time to break them in.  I needed to wear them in different environments to get a feel of whatever,  and I also needed to gauge how long it would take to feel like I wanted to step on a skateboard with them.  It took a while.  And then it took a while more of skating in them until something clicked.  You know that special something.

The suede on the ollie area and toe cap is appreciated.  It  catches the board and you still have the durability of the patent leather overall.  This shoe is hot in the summertime.  Doesn't breathe that well.   I needed ankle support at the time I was skating these shoes most, and I feel like they  provided a bit of stability.   What's up with Nike soles?  Like everlasting gobstoppers?
The cupsole starts out pretty rigid, then finds its way to an  eventual softening with seemingly no loss of rubber.

All that being said, I've skated plenty of other skate shoe brand's cupsoles that felt just as good in form and function.  This is the only pair of Nike SB's I've had so I can't speak for the Janoski's or the Anderson's or the lows or the highs.  Just the mids.  Pro: durability,  Con: breathability.

Is Nike looking to eradicate all brands other than their own?  Is it another jump towards an Orwellian future?  The Olympics?

Could be.

Are they enablers for another set of jumpers,  grinders and tweaks looking to extend their sole life so they can live to tweak another day?  Or maybe it's the crepes, butter'd and syrup'd.... covered with lemon juice and sugar.... nutella w/ bananas.

Emerica Westgate Shoe Review

Couldn't figure out if my feet were wide and made the shoes wide, or the shoes just got wide all on their own.

AA AMERICAN AIRLINES

This is the clip I've watched the most thus far during the year of 2016:

"He doesn't look like he would skate..."

Streetwise (documentary)

Skated after work today.  I found the act of getting myself and all four wheels to leave the ground incredibly difficult.  Not a complaint exactly, but more of a realization that now more than ever I need to allow my legs the time for significant warming up.  After about fifteen minutes I started to feel a little more limber, though an ollie would still elicit a groan or "huhn!" upon landing.
I carved a manual around a fire hydrant.  Popped a few nollies (fast becoming one of my go to maneuvers.  Just love the feeling of that foot position these days.) a couple backside 180 ollies, a fakie big spin or three, a fakie ollie here, a half cab there.   Flipping the board has not gotten any easier however and I'm wondering if my graduation from an 8 inch to an 8.5 deck was a little hasty.  I have an 8.25 in storage that I am contemplating.  

That is all.

Bye.

John Sonner?

My buddy Brian Von Bargs used to do this trick on quarter pipes.  He was so sick.  Feebs down handrails, late back foot flips, manual kickflip out.  Not only was his bag of tricks deep, but he had style to boot.  This little curb version is my tribute.  Thanks for all the inspiration, Brian.

Get Up, Come On Get Down With The Oldness

  Here I am performing a low impact skateboard maneuver.  I have come to expect this from myself even when I daydream about executing something brawnier, ballsier, burlier or at least more technical.  I sit at work, the moment of "clock out" slowly approaching, and I think about one of the shitty parking lots I'll pass on the way home.  Visions of tail slides front and back, 360 flips, varial heels, nose grinds,  an ollie down something beyond a three stair.   I usually opt for something closer to this one footer.

  It's cool though.  I'm happy to be flopping my body around this urban decay at all.  Goal for the upcoming months is to land two of the above listed jams.  A sketchy right knee that seizes up every couple of months is certainly a hinderance.  I've been digging through my closet for my knee brace the past couple days.  It's around here somewhere!

1/4 CAB NOSE BLUNT SLIDE?

Okay.   I know I'm throwing out a lot of "the sole on this shoe is great, this one is okay, this one is adequate, this color way is sick, let's talk about board width" vibe…. but, that's just where I'm at right now and that's what's speaking to me.  I appreciate how skateboards and skate shoes and clothes and whatever, have changed  over the years.  For the better!  The times they are a changing.   I started this post with a means to an end in mind.  I quickly forgot it, and washed up on the shore of this Rob Welsh bit.   Rob Welsh is the man, no holds barred and no bars held.