Filming of the Amix Car Hop – The Final Trick in my Authentic Video Part

May 7,2020 / By Hippie Mike / No Comment

My friend Darren Anderson and I had been talking for years about filming something cool in the Scrapyard at Amix where he worked as a Foreman but we never actually got around to it. One weekend, probably around 2010/2011 we decided it was time, so I packed a launchramp and some plywood in the truck and we headed down there with absolutely no plan on what I was going to skate. We wandered around the yard waiting for something exciting to pop out at us, and all of a sudden Darren mentioned there happened to be a train car in the yard which had just delivered a large guillotine a couple days earlier and would be leaving again right after the weekend. As soon as I saw it I knew what to do, Other than the ground being completely covered in dirt and shards of metal, this was as good as it was gonna get. Darren grabbed the Liebherr and we went to pick out a good car with a big hood. He held it in mid-air as I tested it out and we were ready to go. The plan was to do a trick onto the hood and ride off into the dirt while he floated the car for me, then once I ride away he would smash the car with the claw. With all the rusty metal shards to fall on, and the fact that I had to ride away on dirt, I chose to keep it simple and just pop an ollie. We only got 1 chance to make it happen and luckily it all worked out. Being that the clip was filmed on my brand new HD camera, when they first started coming out, I didn’t have the proper equipment to edit it at the time and the clip just got buried in a pile of other stuff. When we were working on the Authentic Board Supply Video I remembered I had it and we threw it in there for the final trick of my part.
This was a once in a lifetime opportunity that I’ll always remember, big thanks to Darren Anderson for being awesome and making it happen, and to Cisco Gooding for filming in a cloud of dust!

Hippie Mike on AFV

May 4,2020 / By Hippie Mike / No Comment

8 years after filming this funny incident with my hair getting caught in a thorn bush I finally submitted the clip to AFV in 2012 and received a call back the next day saying they wanted to use it on the show. Have a watch as Tom Bergeron tells it like it is.
The same clip was used again in an audience member participation game in 2018/2019 with Alfonso Ribeiro as the host which was also hilarious

Hippie Mike – Resurrected for the 18th Time – 2012

May 3,2020 / By Hippie Mike / No Comment

Sometimes I feel like I’ve been on a comeback since forever, I started skateboarding in 1986 and went through a lot of good times and bad times over the past 34 years, but the comeback was always one of the things that kept me alive. Every time I got hurt it was a mission to get strong again and go relearn the things I knew so well. As you get older, it only gets harder, but the feeling you get when you ride away clean is enough to keep anyone going. This video was released in 2012 during one of my many returns to the world I love – Skateboarding….

Hippie Mike – Pimpin’ in the Parks

May 3,2020 / By Hippie Mike / No Comment

One of my all time favorite “Just for Fun” videos, filmed by Laine Siebert in 2013, it was just about a day skating 2 of my favorite skate parks while dressed up in my Pimp Suit Halloween costume. It wasn’t anywhere close to being Halloween which made it that much better. There’s nothing easy about skateboarding with a cane in your hand, especially when your vision is being blocked by your fuzzy brim pimp hat and pink boa, Haha

Protest Skateboards Full Video – What the “F” were We Thinking

May 1,2020 / By Hippie Mike / No Comment

Released in 2010, and filmed for over 3 years before that, “Evolution Revolution – What the “F” were We Thinking?” was a very unique skateboard video put out by Hippie Mike and Protest Skateboards. Inspired by hearing people complain that too many spots around Vancouver have been shut down and there’s nothing to skate anymore, the Protest Team decided they were going to make their own spots, and skate other spots that were not necessarily “Made for Skateboarding”. Rocks, Grass, Dirt, Logs, Fridges, Cars, and any obstacles that just needed some plywood to become skateable, watching this video should change your perspective on what can be skated, and if it can be skated these guys are ready to go…

Filmed and Edited by: Justin James and Hippie Mike
Starring: Jon Irvine, Cisco Gooding, Nathan Lintunen, Jeff Cole, and Hippie Mike

Protest Skateboard Original Team Video – Never Give Up!

Apr 30,2020 / By Hippie Mike / No Comment

In tribute to my Dad who passed away on this day 8 years ago (April 29th, 2012) I have released the Original Protest Skateboards Video – Never Give Up – on YouTube. My Dad always taught me to believe in myself in everything you do and that I could accomplish anything I put my mind to, as long as I was committed to never giving up. I’ve lived with this mentality for as long as I can remember and can definitely think of some awesome success stories that came from it. That’s probably why I’m over 40 years old and still skateboarding.

Filmed for between 2003 and 2005, The Original Protest Skateboards Full Length Video – “Never Give Up!” contains Street Footage, Park Footage, and YES, riding on 2×4’s. This video stars some of the original Protest Skateboards Team Riders such as Cisco Gooding, Jon Irvine, Jeff Cole, Carrie Williams, and myself Hippie Mike, as well as a full part from Brad Danyluk and the original Hippie Mike 2×4 Part. Previously unavailable online, check out the roots of Protest Skateboards, and why we will Never Give Up… Edited by Hippie Mike – 2006

Here is the full length video released on YouTube for the first time
Filmed by: Justin James & Hippie Mike
Starring: Cisco Gooding, Jon Irvine, Jeff Cole, Brad Danyluk, Carrie Williams, Hippie Mike, and more…

Protest Movement Full Video – Diversity

Apr 30,2020 / By Hippie Mike / No Comment

Protest Skateboards full length video “Diversity” was filmed in over the year of 2017, and edited while I was unable to skateboard. I filmed my own part about 6 weeks before going under the knife for ACL replacement and High Tibial Osteomety in which I didn’t skateboard again until June of 2018. We premiered the video at SBC (Smiling Buddha Cafe) in downtown Vancouver in January of 2018 during a Protest Best Trick Contest on the ramp, the place was packed and everyone had a blast. The video was made to showcase the newest team of Protest Riders, how diverse they all are from one another yet still so similar in what they love – skateboarding. With an age range of 7 years old up to 45 years old, this video is what skateboarding is all about, being yourself, doing what you love, and sharing your passion with others. Each rider (except for young Kaelen) only had 1 day to film their part…

Starring: Big Rip Kaelen Faux, Ryan Brynelson, Jay Mykyte, Eve Feaver, and Hippie Mike
Filmed and Edited by: Hippie Mike

Is Merrick Orr the next David Gonzales?

Jan 9,2014 / By Hippie Mike / 1 Comment

I got my first impression of young Merrick Orr on July 1^st of 2013 at the annual Canada Day skateboard competition kickoff to Bowl Series at Seylynn Bowl. This was the 19^th year for Bowl Series and I’ve been at this event for about the past 12 years which is ironic since this kid was only 13 years old at that time. I had noticed him come into the park with his Mom and a true Seylynn legend Carlos Longo, and he even looked a lot like Carlos with scraggly hair and that rocker style. He had already caught my eye before he stepped on his board, but then he dropped in and started annihilating the place. Poppin’ crail grabs and kickflips over the hips and just cruising hard with full speed ahead mentality, everyone was checking out Merrick, and a lot of people were saying the line “Is this the next David Gonzales or what?” It was right around the time when David’s insane part had just dropped so he was fresh on the brain, but man did this kid skate like him, and look like him too…

Merrick was killing the park all day and was ready to join in the Advanced category which is super awesome for any 13 year old, especially at the oldest skate park around. His run began and he tried to ollie every hip on the way down the snake run making the common mistake of smashing his head going over the last hip into the deep end which is actually referred to as “Head Bang” because of how many people who have hit their head on it. He was dazed and confused but still wanted to skate and it took me, his Mom and Carlos to drag him over to his chair and sit him down. Merrick was hurt physically, but even more scarred mentally that he wouldn’t be able to compete that day. We told him it was for the best and kept him sitting down. Of course once the Advanced Finals started there he suddenly appeared back in full motion. I knew right then that this kid was determined to skateboard.

Merrick came out to all the comp that summer travelling over from Vancouver Island every time. He lives in Sooke and wanted to get down in the Vancouver scene. I think he did a great job impressing people because we all know him simply as Merrick and love to watch him skate. This kid is gonna be around a long time, and he actually may just be the next David Gonzales, or maybe he’s the next Carlos Longo just in a different era. Either way, he stokes me up big time.

Check out his latest edit filmed and edited by Shawn Rowbottom and give this kid some props. He picks out the nastiest, gnarliest and most unskateable spots and lays it down

Skater for Life

Dec 9,2013 / By Hippie Mike / No Comment

[youtube id=”NmLDcfUeaqg” width=”620″ height=”360″]

I just watched this new Nyjah Huston – Fade to Black part and I’m sitting here in awe. Even if you’re one of those people who doesn’t like Nyjah for whatever ignorant reason you may have, you would definitely have to respect this video part. It’s Ridiculous. Growing up through the different eras of skateboarding over the past quarter century+ I was there for the invention of the nose, boards getting skinnier and wheels becoming the size of your bearrings. And the decks and other hardgood parts kept changing and evolving, along with the tricks that we tried and created as a group getting more and more technical and dangerous. But when the shape of a skateboard stopped changing, the world of skateboarding actually changed more, and evolved into what we see today as standard professional insanity. The last time I think I saw a video part this mind blowing and revolutionary it was either Rodney Mullen in Virtual Reality or Jamie Thomas in Welcome to Hell. It’s not just the tricks that go down, it’s how they go down and the obstacles that they go down on. It’s the way these guys land these tricks you never thought were possible and make it look perfect, and it’s how they step up the level of skateboarding as a whole with only 4 1/2 minutes of footage. David Gonzales did it too recently with Possessed to Skate. These kids are stepping the game up to a level that is super scary to think about the next generation. Every trick that Nyjah did was not only flawless but each one of them would have been the final trick in the biggest video in 1996, even in 2006 for some of them. Nyjah is not just a skateboarder, he is a trained professional that puts his life on the line multiple times every year. And when you see him bounce off the ground when he sticks on that 20 stair glass railing you recognize the seriousness of every obstacle he rides in this part. It’s insanity…

Seeing skateboarding like this gets me pumped up big time because skateboards are no longer everchangingm, so super hard tricks have become the norm for all solid skaters and now they take them to the gnarliest obstacles you could imagine. I remember when the first ever switch back lip went down on a handrail, and now that’s just warm up. It just makes you realize that us older guys will never be able to compete with the generation of street skaters that now exist but we get to be proud of the fact that it was the life we lived and the tricks we did which helped this generation evolve into what it did. It’s an amazing life we live being a part of this society that we have built and I am super proud to be a part of this culture.

We rule our own lives, we make our own decisions of how hardcore to get, and we tackle fear by challenging ourselves every day.

We live our own way and don’t take shit from anybody.

Be Proud – Be a Skater for Life

Do you know Dominic Devries yet?

Dec 2,2013 / By Hippie Mike / No Comment

I still remember the first time I met him a few years ago when Dominic Devries showed up to one of my Hippie Mike’s Tour de Surrey comps at the Fleetwood Park and I was super amazed instantly. Not only could he stomp tricks anywhere in the park, but he did it with style and authority. He was only like 14 at the time and could frontside flip the big 3block as clean as Tom Penny or Andrew Reynolds would. I knew right from that moment that this kid was gonna good….

As the years went by Dominic kept coming out to my events and others that I was at and he was just around more and more. Lots of people got to know him at all the main parks, and luckily people started filming him all the time. I gave him the nickname of The Dominator when he was 16 because that’s what he did. He went for big tricks on big obstacles and landed everything, and in competition he would rule it hard and was almost impossible to beat. He reminded me of Magnus Hanson and the Decenzo brothers as I watched them grow through their teen years. They all just have this extra natural talent inside them that makes them that much better than the rest of the crowd. But being really good at skateboarding means taking some bad crashes and Dominic is no exception in the broken bones category. This kid has taken himself out many times but always come back just as strong as before if not stronger. Dominic’s one of the main team riders for Chance Skateboards and just got put on Authentic Board Supply’s elite Surrey team as the secret and final rider. He’s got some other flow sponsors to help keep him skating and tons of support from everyone who knows him from Abbotsford to Vancouver and everywhere in between.

I’ve seen a lot of footage of Dom over the past couple years and every new edit blows my mind, but this new edit he just dropped recapping the Summer of 2013 is by far the best footage he has released to date – and Pure Street at it’s best. It really shows off his talent, his style and his commitment to skateboarding. At 17 years old, this kid could be the next big Pro one day. Watch the video and show him your love…

Category : Video Reviews