Joe, Chad, Ollie and I met Kevin after a nice drive at the Evergreen park. It was looking like rain, but it had held off for now. As if being sore from several days of skating wasn’t enough of an excuse I added a new complete to the mix. Indys again. Yup. The reasoning. First, the Ray Barbee graphic seriously spoke to me. Second, I’ve been enjoying the bigger boards lately, but wanted to try Indys because of the smaller wheelbase than Ventures. This comes the day after I called Indy’s useless. Ha ha I suck. It felt stiff and made for some awkwardness throughout the day, but it wasn’t too bad and I liked it. As soon as we got to the park Chad threw some lofty cabs that looked so darn good. Kevin had beaten us there, but was still battling the warm up kickflip which he got. He might have even gone on to do it switch. We skated for quite awhile with just one other dude. My highlight was a kickflip onto the hip from the red kicker, front disaster on the qp, kickflip over the hip. Also a b/s flip that took way too many tries. Ollie was having fun and staying in the mix. Fakie shoves, regular shoves, f/s halfcab the hard way over the hip. Kevin killed the little ledge too. Switch nosegrind front 180, kick back tail. Him, Joe and Chad were getting at the taller ledges off the stair. Joe with the front 50 to front board, Kevin crooks, Chad feeble. Some other dudes showed up right before Fuzz, Rob, Neil. They weren’t shrimpin’ like the rest of us. Fuzz did a few ollies then fully committed to shrimpin. Rob went for it though. Starting with the bean plants, kickflips, manuals on the curb, boardslides, back smith the curb. Neils of Fire had them one foots, nose manuals, front 50s, lots of tricks going. Joe and I battled halfcab flips and both got them eventually. I saw Joe do back 50 front 180 out on the sharp ledge. I had some crooks on it, switch front noses.

I wrote the section above a few days ago and didn’t finish. Now I have no recollection of how it ended. I know I was sitting for awhile. I guess most of us where and Bobby was going for the fence ollie. Joe was still going. Front 50 to manual. Chad was trying bigspin tailgrabs over the hip. Chad had also nosegrinded up the ledge. Kevin nosegrinded down it at some point. I know I am missing a whole lot. It was a fun session. I was still feeling pretty sick and after the drive home went to sleep for a couple hours. It was tough being sick and skate guide at the same time.

(setup 8.38 null perception deck, indy 149 ray barbee trucks, oj 52mm ez edge insane-a-thane wheels, venom 94a bushings, es accel slim all black size 11.5, footprint gamechanger low profile insole)

Woke up a little ealier, handled a call for work and decided to go skate quick because I wasn’t sure when I’d be called next. I went to Southern Hills. I tried to start with 10 flip tricks on the smooth patch. Other than struggling with fakie varial flips again I got to nollie varial flip which would have been #7 pretty quickly. But I never got one. I tried for a really long time, landed on a few of them, but ended up giving up and started skating the ledges. But then the principal or something showed up to clean the courtyard a little. So that was weird. I pretended to not skate the benches, kind of helped her and mostly felt weirded out. Luckily she eventually left and I felt free to try whatever. I had grand ideas of lines I would try, but I didn’t get there. I basically tried a line of switch crooks to fakie on the curb, crooks the far bench, 360 flip on flat, turn around then front 50 the far bench. Never got the 360 flip. I was hyped on several switch crooks, but they were just pivots to forward basically. I would like to learn to grind it. I never got the front 50 either, but I did get into it a few times which is better than last time. I started to get super hungry and tired and wishing I had a new board. My trucks were the old ones worn to the axle and I lose motivation to try grinds. It’s like once you get to the axle you win. I’m lame like that. Oh yeah, kind of cool I blew out my switch lace before the regular one! (from trying so many nollie varial flips)

Then I went to Meta to get some trucks Sam had ordered me a long time ago. I also got the new Traffic DVD and watched it while setting up a new board. Then I went to the research ledge with the main purpose of starting the crooks groove in the new trucks. After some noseslides I started trying, but of course all of a sudden I forgot how to crook. Ugh, it was driving me nuts looking at the ugly little jib marks in weird places on the front truck. I was trying switch front shoves on the way back up the ledge, got a couple bad ones, but closer to doing it right. Then I started getting a few crooks and life felt better. Then I started skating it more like I normally do. Flip tricks, lines, etc. I was super hyped on getting back and front 50s somewhat quick. It felt great. Also a first try halfcab noseslide. Then I randomly started trying switch front nose 270. As you can see I kind of did it. I also may have kind of done a switch crook which really excited me. My flip trick game didn’t go so well, but I still had a really fun time. Digging the setup. Super hyped on my legs feeling better.

(setup 8.25″ null maze deck, venture 5.8 lights black, bones stf v5 52mm, 3 washers on the outside, venom 91a bushings, new balance numeric 212 green size 11, powerfeet pinnacle orthotic insole)

Went to Louisville park after a constructive night of loading footage and helping with dishes. There were a couple scooter kids when I got there. The temperature was slightly above freezing, but it didn’t feel that cold. I had a whole new complete so I expected and had a slow start. My first ride on grind was fun because of how fast my new Indys grinded. Indys? Yeah I’m trying them. I’ve really been liking the 8.5″, but wanted to reduce the wheelbase a little. Indys have a narrower wheelbase then Ventures. Simple solution. I also got the 8.25″ trucks so I would get a tiny bit quicker of a flip. Yes I’m a nerd. Back to skating, it took a bit before I started ollieing and stuff, but once I did it felt good. Got front 50s right away, noseslides, baby ollies. A skater showed up around now that flew around the bowls and wouldn’t say hello to save his life. I tried some lines as always and a bunch of silly tricks I only do when basically no one is around. Like ollies over the hip that I would normally be too embarrassed to do. My fav line was front shove on flat, crook the ledge, roll in to the snake run then a few back 50s and rock ‘n rolls. Had some fun fakie flips, got a halfcab noseslide, switch noseslides, but couldn’t do the over the top back 50. Got front 50, front 50 front 180 out, front 5-0, front 50 shove. Carved the pool a little. Got kickflip to fakie and backside on the bank, somewhat close to treflip fakie, didn’t get treflip on flat either. It was still a fun night though. Another skater had come and gone. At the end it was just me and an owl up on a light pole. It was cool. The indys seemed good, although stiff. It might be because I chose harder bushings or because it below freezing by the end of the night.

(setup 8.5″ null rabethica, indy black titanium 144s, spitfire f4 classic 53mm yellow/orange swirl, 4 washers inside each axle, venom 94a bushings, bones swiss, lakai manchester grey size 11.5, spenco thinsole, adidas majerus insole)

I’ve been wanting 8.25″ trucks for a long time. I keep switching between 8 and 8.5 inch trucks. Found out it will be awhile longer before Venture releases 8.25s so I got some Thunders. I’m not a huge Thunder fan anymore, but they skate somewhat similar to Venture as compared to Indy. So I went to Saul’s with new trucks knowing it would be a struggle. Especially with the pain I was in. The first few runs were good though, the trucks turn tighter than Ventures. Carve grinds felt good. Eventually I would start to flail like someone should with new trucks and I started to get sore so I mostly slacked. Saul was ripping some carve grinds, back 50s in spots he didn’t use to stand up on, front slashes on the bricks, getting in to front 50s. Eric had some fire since it’s been a long time since he’s skated and was doing some really good back 50s and front slashes, but couldn’t quite get the back tail. Doh.

Then I went to research for a brief one. I was so sore. Did a few noseslides. Couldn’t switch front nose. Tried a line for awhile of ollie up the curb, little cali grind then crook. Got a couple crook bonks before getting a decent crook and went home. The Thunders felt really good ollieing up the curb so I’ll keep them for another day at least.

(setup 8.25 null jack spanbauer deck, thunder 148 raw trucks, stock bushings, spitfire 101a 51mm F4 wheels, nbnumeric PJ 533v2 black/white/gold 11.5, spenco 3/4 thinsoles with stock insoles)

Stopped off at Meta after work as my OCD for some vulcanized shoes needed to be satisfied. I ended up with some Lakai Manchesters. I had also setup some new AWAKE Venture lows I got at Emage over the weekend. I am pretty set on trying to keep this setup for awhile. Anyways, warming up went ok actually. The flick of a vulc is so fast compared to a cupsole. The board feel was great, and the cushion enough that I wasn’t scared to commit like I was in those god awful NB+ 212s. I got into the list a bit then when doing heelflips I decided to film some for the heck of it. It kind of motivates me. Plus I think it helps to see what I’m doing wrong. Anyways, most of the tricks came quickly, except for the dreaded treflip which took almost 30 minutes. Ugh. That kind of drained me so I didn’t get to try the switch front heel for long. Oh well.

(setup 8.25 null logo board, venture 5.25 AWAKE lows, 1/16″ riser, 3 washers inside each axle, Venom 90a bushings with no bottom washer, 50mm spitfire F4 99a classic wheels, bronson bearings, Lakai Manchesters black/white 11)

Colorful new gear for the new year. Been holding onto the @idrawmazes griptape for something special. These are my first colored wheels in a long time. I'm hoping they lower people's expectations of what I can do on a skateboard. Haha. 8.5" null ollie graphic Venture 5.8s 52mm Spits F4 conical Bronson bearings Venom 88a bushings #christmascomplete

A photo posted by glen gillinghammer (@corpoglenny) on Jan 1, 2017 at 6:38pm PST

@jackspanbauer 😍

A video posted by Null Skateboards (@null_skateboards) on Jan 2, 2017 at 7:34pm PST

After my first day off in 366 days I met up with Jack at the Engineering building on campus. Nolan, Dave and Mike would follow shortly. I was on all new stuff and it felt insanely awkward. Even new shoes. I never once felt good on my board and quickly realized that the 366 day burnout was still in effect. Luckily I was with some fun people. Jack was ripping right out of the gates doing a line with a trick up the first 3 stair then noseslide pop out up the second one. Dave filmed it. I did a couple of terrible back 50s off the ledge, that was about it. Jack went on to get all kinds of stuff. Tricks that we initially were filming for Stubborns, but is so good it’ll probably go towards Null. Nolan Had some cool no comply combos and basic ledge tricks. Dave had some good slappy noseslides. We ended up getting the boot so we moved on to the bank to curb. My setup felt good for a bit ollieing up the curb easy. Jack had to go to work. Dave, Nolan and Mike all got tricks for The Stubborns. I had a couple of fun street plant drops off the nearby ledge/rail.

Some days crews young and old converge to skate a crusty curb in the freezing cold. With @maxgarson @fullertrron @gnarlycarleigh @cookiegrinder13 @wwwwiillllllllll @jackspanbauer @nolancormier #skateboardingisfun

A video posted by Null Skateboards (@null_skateboards) on Jan 5, 2017 at 5:51am PST

Then we went up to this curb. It had started getting really cold. I did nothing on it. Mike had no comply 5-0s and the boardslide 270. Dave and Nolan did a million tricks. I somehow only got a couple of Daves. We had heard some skate noises up on the bank to fence that was nearby. Shortly after that Max and Will rolled by and joined us. It was rad. Both of them ripped it. Shortly after that Jack and Carleigh joined. Such a rad crew. I was frozen solid and not really skating. Everyone else was ripping. We moved down to a new ledge spot that Max, Will and Jack destroyed. Dave got in on it too. I was so cold it was ridiculous. All in all a weird day. I skated terribly and didn’t like my new setup, but being around a rad crew is always fun.

(setup 8.5 null ollie deck, venture wides 5.8, pink/purple spitfire 52mm 99a F4 conical wheels, venom 88a bushings, new balance numeric 598 black/white shoes)

So excited to set up a Riley deck that I went for a full new complete!

A photo posted by glen gillinghammer (@corpoglenny) on Jul 27, 2016 at 6:01pm PDT

It seems like every single post I start by saying how tired I am. Well after an 8 hour drive, a short bike ride and some food I went out on a totally new complete for a brief session. I felt better then I thought I would though. I hate having a brand new complete so wanted to skate it initially on a ledge and not show up at a park with a brand new complete. A few noseslides in a huge mob of people went by following Pokemon or something. It was weird. I got a couple of crooks, a couple bad back 50s, couldn’t halfcab noseslide or front crook. Did a few real basic flippers and hucked some nollie and switch flips that felt close. Did a line of front 180 up the curb, fake flip on flat, switch front nose. Got tired and left. Not bad considering how tired I was and everything was new, even my insoles.

(setup 8.1 Null Riley deck, venture low v-hollows, stock thunder bushings, 1/16″ riser, 3 washers inside each axle, 52mm Reed wheels, New Balance Numeric Quincy denim/gum)

After a lot of sleeping and lounging I headed out to the dog park to try and relearn flip tricks. I started slow, was going through some of the basics at a decent rate and then stalled out at 360 flip. It was so incredibly frustrating. I posed other tricks too, got close to switch flip and nollie front heel, but could never get the 360 flip. I wanted to focus my board, but luckily I landed on a treflip in the middle of snapped the board. I was hyped! Ha.

I miss the midnight Alaska sunsets. #cantbelieveitsdarkalready

A photo posted by glen gillinghammer (@corpoglenny) on Jun 12, 2016 at 8:24pm PDT

Later on I went out to the research ledge. I had a new deck and new trucks. I had been skating some old Thunders that had really bad axle slip and I remember why I gave up on them a long time ago. I had traded a pair of free Ventures for them. Oh, and I had new shoes I started earlier too. Ha, I’m a poser! My last Swifts were too small and they were killing my feet. I started off pretty bad missing noseslides and it almost sent me into a rage. But stubborn me stuck with it and I would have some kind of fun. I got a lot of the basics for me. Noseslide, noseslide fakie, boardslide, crooks, switch front nose, horrible back 50, horrible halfcab noseslide, noseslide shove. I could not get a front 50 though. I got into a bunch, but never landed one. It was dumb. I posed a lot of flippers too. Got a couple over 40 treflips (whew), close to switch flips and had a few more of the basics.

(setup 8.25 null awkward vectors deck, thunder 147 HL stock bushings, 3 washers on inside of axles, 50mm bones stf v1, Es Swifts grey/white)

The madness finally got me and I hit the boiling point of needing to change my setup. I went to Meta and got some new Venture Lows. They are the regular raw lows, not the forged baseplate. Hyped. I set them up with an old 8″ board which I quickly realized is too small, but oh well. I went to research ledge with no energy in the cold wind. I had some great feeling crooks (lows rule like that), but that was it on the ledge. I couldn’t back 50. But I was really lacking on energy. Kickflips felt ok, didn’t really try much more. Hit a rock and focused the board. It was old and cracked anyway and I knew I was gonna put a bigger board on.

(setup: 8 null, venture 5.25 lows with 3 washers inside, venom 91a bushings, 50mm bones stf V1 wheels, nbnumeric pj stratford 533 black/gum)

50 days in a row spoiling myself with a new complete. Everything except the old bushings. Perfect.

A photo posted by glen gillinghammer (@corpoglenny) on Feb 20, 2016 at 7:38pm PST

All new everything (except for bushings)! I was feeling extremely lazy, out of it and sore and didn’t get out skating until around 2pm. I was going to meet Jake and Carleigh at Valmont ledge. I got there first and was starting to warm up when a truck backed in so the destination was changed to research ledge.

I actually had some fun there for awhile. Noseslides and crooks worked. It was fun trying to get the crooks groove going on some new trucks. Jake had them too. Carleigh did noseslides and noseslide shoves. She does that trick good and doesn’t come to a halt on the noseslide like most people (me). Carleigh also did a bunch of kickflips and got into front noseslides and battled front 180 nosegrind for awhile. Jake was rattling off tricks. Front 180 up the curb, fakie back tail the ledge. Back 50, front 50, front 5-0 180, front tail, front tail shove! Geez. I never got a clean back 50 or front 50. I managed a front 5-0 on accident instead. Flip tricks were going ok for me. Did some kickflips up the curb. Almost a line of front 180 up the curb, halfcab flip on flat, kick back 50. Never got the kick back 50, haven’t ever done it there. Carleigh left first. Jake next. My stubborn self stayed awhile putting my body through more needless pain. I tried back 50 shove, but when you can’t back 50 it’s hard to do that. I ended trying a few tricks 5 times going slow. Halfcab noseslide, halfcab crook (didn’t get it), switch front nose, fakie 50 (didn’t get it) and for complete science fiction I hucked 360 flip noseslide (not even remotely close). I felt ok earlier on, but I was mostly just bummed when I left.

(setup: 8.25 null awkward deck, venture v-hollows 5.2 hi with 3 washers inside, venom 91a bushings, 50mm spitfire 99a wheels, nbnumeric pj stratford 533 patriot)