Stourbridge’s finest have re-assembled for a rad new 10 minute edit, now playing on The Skateboarder’s Companion website.
Taking over from longtime Gnargore chief Tom Gillespie is James Denning, bringing together a gnarly selection of midlands based shredding from the baddest crew in the Black Country. I’ve always had a soft spot for the Gnargore fellas, mostly because they shared similar sensibilities to the Cov crew I spent my time filming in the 2000’s: daft spots, relatable skateboarding, peppered with some legitimate surprising bangers. Mostly they started as a group of mates who just made videos for a laugh, and that is very much the case with this edit, although with far gnarlier skating than the old videos.
Things kick off with a raw chunk of footage from “Clever” Ryan Price. The nickname isn’t a joke, as Price is owner of some of the smartest transition skating you’re ever likely to see, shredding coping all over the midlands and further afield. If you’re into wallbashes on diggers and Smith grinds on pool cooping you’ll dig this part.
Nick Binnington rolls up next, with tailblocks, sweeper variations and texas plants galore. Obviously this is my vibe and I loved all 30 seconds of it.
Kris Vile’s section contains a single trick – a beefy feeble 180 down a horrible looking kinked rail which causes him to take some hefty slams.
Watch out, because here comes A LATE TITLE CARD with an OG Gnargore logo, followed by a rapid fire montage of the crew’s various friends and alumni. Midlands crust, brick banks, and the occasional Cov spot crop up accompanied by death metal. Tom Gillespie turns up to pull off some stylish street moves, and Heathen’s Rasheed Osman rips with a sick as hell drop in.
We are introduced to Tristan Jones to close things out (who, if you’re familiar with the blog, you’ll know that there’s been a few times where I’ve called out Jones’ rad skating). This section is awesome, with some lesser seen Telford spots, as well as bringing some new moves to well worn Midlands terrain. Tristan tackles some tricky rails and awkward gaps, as well as the weird kinked flat bar Kris Vile ate shit on earlier in the video.
It’s 10 minutes, but there’s a lot to see and a lot to like in the short run time. If you’re from the Midlands, and like me, enjoy gnarly, no frills skate videos that assault your eyes with rad shredding on all terrain, then you owe it to yourself to watch Gnargore’s latest.
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