I just recently watched the new Polar Skate Co. full-length video, “I like it inside my mind. Don’t wake me this time.” There are so many reasons why the video sparked interest with myself and others; some may be predictable while others may be not so much. First, the title of this film was something I was sort of enamored with from the start. “Is that a title or an excerpt?” It was so unique and, frankly, awkward, that I had to read it thoroughly and stare at the DVD cover graphic for a few seconds longer to believe that that, in fact, was the case. Upon starting the video, it almost immediately revealed the meaning behind this sentence/title hybrid and was really quite enlightening.
“Everything is possible when we dream. Why can’t we sleep forever?"
“Everything is possible when we dream. Why can’t we sleep forever?"
The first part of the video’s introduction features Polar’s founder and cult skate world icon, Pontus Alv, wielding an umbrella and donning a Charlie Chaplin-esque suit coat outfit. In this, he hops through fields on green, grassy knolls and onto a lone rock in an expanse of water. Wondering what we will do next, the audience, skater or non-, is simultaneously enthused and perplexed. Eery electronic tunes blend with the visual aesthetics to create a trip and suspenseful notion of what’s to come. And at the peak of wonderment, a backside nosegrind on a large skatepark transition over a loveseat is a reminder that this is a skateboarding video. By Polar Skate Co.
One thing that’s especially entertaining about this and any other production by Pontus Alv is the complete DIY mentality of said production. In the spots chosen, in the approaches taken to the spots, in the music and editing, and in the style of the individual riders. Everything is "outside the box” in one way or another. Nothing is predictable, and that’s how skateboarding really is for so many that embrace the fringe lifestyle. Whether it be Hjalte Halberg pushing the streets of Copenhagen, Dane Brady shredding Portland, Paul Grund skating Bordeaux, or Aaron Harrington in the alleys of Manhattan, everyone brings their unique style to the greater “skateboarding” that we know and love.
One thing that’s especially entertaining about this and any other production by Pontus Alv is the complete DIY mentality of said production. In the spots chosen, in the approaches taken to the spots, in the music and editing, and in the style of the individual riders. Everything is "outside the box” in one way or another. Nothing is predictable, and that’s how skateboarding really is for so many that embrace the fringe lifestyle. Whether it be Hjalte Halberg pushing the streets of Copenhagen, Dane Brady shredding Portland, Paul Grund skating Bordeaux, or Aaron Harrington in the alleys of Manhattan, everyone brings their unique style to the greater “skateboarding” that we know and love.
The haters will call it “just no-complies & wallrides,” but the spirit of teams like this one goes further than that. They may lack 20-stair frontside flips and front blunts on kinked rails, but they make up for those deficiencies with tricks we can barely put a name to, an afterthought shifty that drew a reaction, or even a brand new type of spot that we’ve never seen conquered. Like a dream, the theme of this video is “whatever you want” in my eyes.
Don’t wake me this time. I’m dreaming. This video reminds us that anything is possible. Breaking molds means having to rebuild and make things you’ve never seen made. New beginnings in skateboarding are happening at an alarming rate, but with the right mentality, these new molds will be the best ones yet. And in ten years, skaters will be sick of “no-complies & wallrides” and will create the next new molds. Ones all their own.
Exciting times ahead with the right attitude. Get excited, not complacent.
- 7Ply Epic
Don’t wake me this time. I’m dreaming. This video reminds us that anything is possible. Breaking molds means having to rebuild and make things you’ve never seen made. New beginnings in skateboarding are happening at an alarming rate, but with the right mentality, these new molds will be the best ones yet. And in ten years, skaters will be sick of “no-complies & wallrides” and will create the next new molds. Ones all their own.
Exciting times ahead with the right attitude. Get excited, not complacent.
- 7Ply Epic