Bones Brigade: An Autobiography

>Thanks to a very kind person, I received a gift certificate to the newest skateshop in Memphis, Midtown Skateshop.  I went in knowing I needed griptape for the new fickle punk point I have on the way, but not sure what else I would buy.  I have a million skate shirts so I knew I didn't need one.  I have two sets of brand new bearings (one I bought and one via Wrex Cook...look for a review in the next issue of Luchaskate).  Hmmmm...what would I get?

I gave a hard thought to getting the Creature video.  Those guys always make me want to skate, but really I knew I wanted the new Bones Brigade documentary.

Now, I was not a Powell Peralta fan back in the day.  I always liked Lance Mountain (who didn't), and Rodney Mullen was so shockingly brilliant (and so odd) that he was fascinating, but I was more into Skull Skates, Santa Cruz and Alva.  In retrospect, the Powell guys were a little too smiley, polite and clean cut. I wanted my skateboarding to be more punk rock than that.  Hey, I was a rebellious teen looking for more rebellion.  I didn't care about contest results.  I cared about Danforth's shaved head and dirty t-shirts, Salba's weird leopard print pads and Tod Swanks lo-fi graphics.  I am not and will never be a technical skater.  Style was everything to me, even back then.

However, this DVD is fantastic.  Rodney Mullen is the true star for me.  His brilliance and oddness shines through.  When he speaks it is full of imagery, metaphor and thought.  Lance Mountain expressing his worry about not being "good enough" touches home as well (although he had style for days).  It has its downsides as well, of course.  Stacy Peralta's interview parts show him as trying too hard to show emotion.  And it would have been nice to see more skating or nice to have some bonus footage of skating.  I will say, this thing is worth every penny I didn't have to spend on it.  This will be rewatched again and again.

Get it at your local shop, or you can get it here:
Bones Brigade: An Autobiography