“Paramount Studios is fantastical by nature,” says artist and filmmaker Aaron Rose of the faux New York City streets and sun-baked Los Angeles location of today’s cinematic fashion short. Sweeping through the vacant lot, Rose and his co-director, L'Officiel Hommes editor André Saraiva shot a dreamlike portrait of professional skateboarders Jerry Hsu, Austyn Gillette, and Josh Harmony, besuited in Dior Homme, Saint Laurent, and Prada. Set to the epic pop of Duran Duran’s “The Chauffeur,” the slow-motion skaters are confronted by a trio of models in lace lingerie led by Belgian beauty Anouck Lepere, in a touch that echoes the band's 1980s videos. “It is his bicoastal perspective which started the idea for the film,” explains Saraiva of Rose’s past as founder of downtown New York institution Alleged Gallery, that is juxtaposed with his recent experience as a West Coast-dwelling artist. “We share a similar evolutionary process as creators, so it was natural to work together,” says Rose of his multidisciplinary Paris-based collaborator. “We were shooting two elements simultaneously, this film and a photo editorial. André would be shooting photos, then all of a sudden, he would hand me the stills camera. It was a wonderfully creative ping-pong volley.”

This video was posted on Thrasher's website to about 90% of comments hating on this very well done video because there were "no tricks" or it incorporated fashion which of course, is the natural enemy of all things skateboarding, Or simply this is the product of skateboarding being "ruined" but I hold an opposite view...

This is not what is wrong with skateboarding. this is exactly what skateboarding needs more of. Skateboarding, at it's fundamental level is about using your environment in a creative manner with your skateboard.

that's it.

Skateboarding is not  supposed to be about the most spins and flips, it's not about stunts. it's not about risking your neck to get that 1 in 1000 trick captured on film for your video part. That is a jock side of sports taking over and it is boring and fundamentally not creative.

If anything, Skateboarding suffers from everyone trying to fit into this California mold of how to be a successful skater. What is "ruining" skateboarding culture is the fact no one appreciates a proper ollie as a worthwhile trick. A well styled push as more important than a street league worthy switch frontside heel down a monster gap.

Don't get me wrong. If you feel inspired to use your environment that way and are doing so in a creative manner, keep doing it. Art is fundamentally something you do for yourself. Run (or skate) with that.
However, It's become boring and the majority of skaters just don't really care about that like they used to. That is why skateboarding is suffering from some growing pains right now (ie. failure of print magazines and video sales). Our culture needs to broaden it's horizons and not only have one correct way to skate. All the videos look the same. there is no story. no respect to the environment is documented. The question on your mind should not be, "was that a difficult enough stunt for me to feel it was worth watching" It really should be has this broadened my concept of skateboarding with respect to the environment.

Skateboarding's enemies are not things that look different, It's the people that want it to look all the same.