{"id":1931625,"date":"2026-05-12T20:08:06","date_gmt":"2026-05-12T17:08:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1931625"},"modified":"2026-05-12T20:08:06","modified_gmt":"2026-05-12T17:08:06","slug":"doing-less-better-an-ode-to-minimal-skating","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1931625","title":{"rendered":"DOING LESS, BETTER: AN ODE TO MINIMAL SKATING"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\nIn skateboarding, we\u2019re wired to think more is \u201cbetter.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

Learn a trick, then take it to something else. Something bigger. Flip in, flip out, do it switch. Hell, do it with your eyes closed while spinning a basketball on your finger and talking to your estranged uncle on the phone. <\/p>\n

In our current era, skaters like Daewon Song, Shane O\u2019Neill, and every 12-year-old prodigy on your discover page have mastered complicated tricks with power and precision. It\u2019s great. But, keeping it simple is also a choice. <\/p>\n

Minimalism. <\/p>\n

The other day, I watched a ledge to manual combo and hoped that it didn\u2019t end with a flip out. It didn\u2019t. That was satisfying. Restraint! It rules, especially when it\u2019s a lane chosen by someone with the skill to do\u2026 anything. <\/p>\n

Let\u2019s cleanse our tech timelines with some uncomplicated and rewarding tricks, both old and new. As you scroll, click each name to watch the full clip in all its simplistic glory. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n

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CASPER BROOKER<\/a><\/h2>\n

Baker Has A Deathwish Part 2<\/em> \u2013 2024 <\/strong><\/p>\n

In a battlefield rife with crook nollie flips, a simple clean dismount hits like a sip of Fernet after a hearty bowl of spaghetti. While this one is a bit of a rule-breaker with the slo-mo flatground trick (that\u2019s landed!) after the grind, this five-Mississippi crook is too good to pass up. There\u2019s nothing like a camera panning out to reveal ten more feet of ledge. <\/p>\n

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NIK STAIN<\/a><\/h2>\n

Hockey IV<\/em> \u2013 2025 <\/strong><\/p>\n

When I was 14, this punker dude picked me up to go skating. He had just smoked dust and started blasting \u201cThe Process of Weeding Out\u201d while switching lanes every minute. A thrilling journey for a young man to take, but extremely hectic. That\u2019s how I felt watching Ben Kadow in Hockey IV<\/em> before Nik Stain closed out the video. While Nik moves with the same power and speed as Ben, his movements are poised, steady, and beautifully restrained. <\/p>\n

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NATE JONES<\/a><\/h2>\n

Real To Reel<\/em> \u2013 2001 <\/strong><\/p>\n

There\u2019s a lot of Understated Nate\u2122 to comb through and while it was tempting to throw a clip of a regular-ass 180 in here, this line from Reel To Reel nails the concept. No pushes seen, but he\u2019s flying\u2026 or maybe gliding. Three tricks, no flips, and a beautiful directional awareness at a storied spot. Thank you for doing less, Mr. Jones.<\/p>\n

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ELISSA STEAMER<\/a><\/h2>\n

Bootleg 3000<\/em> \u2013 2003 <\/strong><\/p>\n

There are some excellent front noselides in Elissa\u2019s career to choose from, but let\u2019s appreciate this quick hit. Fading out from some casual post-trick pushing is a healthy slide, locked in nicely, and if you slow it down, there\u2019s a point where it looks like this one might get away, before the expert dismount. It\u2019s bright, the light hits the lens, and they run it back so you can soak in the simplicity.<\/p>\n

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KADER SYLLA<\/a><\/h2>\n

Schoolyard IG Mix<\/em> \u2013 2026 <\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cAll of that was sick! But can we talk about that Nollie \ud83d\udc40! Wow \ud83d\ude2e!\u201d \u2013 Jeremy Wray. Yes, yes we can. Everything in this post (straight to IG might we add) goes hard. Amidst the sea of fire emojis, several Hall of Famers seemed legitimately stunned by this footage\u2013especially the Keenan Milton homage\u2014but the bionic nollie is the star of the post. Don\u2019t you agree?<\/p>\n

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HEATH KIRCHART<\/a><\/h2>\n

Stay Gold<\/em> \u2013 2010 <\/strong><\/p>\n

Young Heath was really good. Then something snapped, and he decided every rail and Hubba on Earth was his enemy and he was going to be one of the all-time greats. He entered his \u201cAll-Black Era\u201d and then, in a shocking twist, mostly white. That\u2019s minimal! Fuck, he\u2019s so minimal that he\u2019s likely upset that anyone is writing about this, but we\u2019re willing to risk the lashing to give you one of the best trick sequences and middle fingers ever. <\/p>\n

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ALEX OLSON<\/a><\/h2>\n

The (917) Video<\/em> \u2013 2017 <\/strong><\/p>\n

No matter how advanced skateboarding gets, when you see someone lock into something this high, you think, \u201cFuck, that must be cool.\u201d AO is a master of choice: his tricks, his aesthetics, the original 917 team, and eventually, when to chill and enter parenthood. I bet it was freeing to have your entire team quit and have time to surf, especially knowing you did shit like this on video. <\/p>\n

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ANTWUAN DIXON<\/a><\/h2>\n

Baker 3<\/em> \u2013 2005 <\/strong><\/p>\n

It\u2019s so nice they showed it twice. Had crazier shit been done down a big set of stairs in 2005 (count \u2018em if that\u2019s your thing)? Yeah sure, in the same video, but you have to be very cool and confident to float a fakie ollie like this. Fuck it, you can\u2019t. That\u2019s why this part made Antwuan the new \u201cgotta have his board\u201d guy.<\/p>\n

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JAKE JOHNSON<\/a><\/h2>\n

Converse Purple<\/em> \u2013 2018 <\/strong><\/p>\n

Jake Johnson put out a lot of wonderful shit before he entered the \u201cPlease give us a few clips\u201d phase. This is not a complaint, because we\u2019re championing scarcity here. Remember? While the spot is semi-complicated, JJ makes the classy choice to back 180. But it\u2019s far from a stock 180. All four wheels over the bar at once, knees tucked deep into the chest, arms like a DaVinci drawing, and a little Hollywood Shuffle to boot. <\/p>\n

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KEITH HUFNAGEL<\/a><\/h2>\n

Skate More<\/em> \u2013 2005 <\/strong><\/p>\n

Keith Hufnagel Forever. A legend who always kept it clean and crispy, but would also do the unthinkable, like grind a giant-ass square kinked rail<\/a> in the \u201890s. He could put his stamp on a spot without doing too much, and a prime example of this is a perfectly balanced back 5-0 before deciding to glide a nose manual to the cute bank at this early-2000s LA staple. Pay attention to the way his left arm winds this one down. Lovely. <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

JASON DILL<\/a><\/h2>\n

The Cinematographer Project<\/em> \u2013 2012 <\/strong><\/p>\n

The last gasp of upriver Workshop? Yeah, something like that. A hectic and tense edit that makes you feel like you\u2019re on the session, but stressed out about\u2026 something. In 2012, Jason Dill had innovated, NBDed, and cemented his influence in skating, so what\u2019s next? Taste. The grind isn\u2019t overseasoned and the rollaway on the 360 has plenty of swing.<\/p>\n


\nWritten by: Anthony Pappalardo<\/a>
\nIllustration by: Wilson Lucas<\/a>
\nSing simple praise on Facebook<\/a>
\nScroll to the bone on Instagram<\/a> and Twitter<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In skateboarding, we\u2019re wired to think more is \u201cbetter.\u201d Learn a trick, then take it to something else. Something bigger. Flip in, flip out, do it switch. Hell, do it with your eyes closed while spinning a basketball on your finger and talking to your estranged uncle on the phone. In our current era, skaters […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[226,282],"class_list":["post-1931625","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-crawlmanager","tag-jenkemmag-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1931625","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1931625"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1931625\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1931625"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1931625"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1931625"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}