{"id":2159306,"date":"2026-09-23T16:13:14","date_gmt":"2026-09-23T13:13:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2159306"},"modified":"2026-09-23T16:13:14","modified_gmt":"2026-09-23T13:13:14","slug":"wishbone-by-orchard-proves-boston-still-knows-how-to-make-a-shop-vid","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2159306","title":{"rendered":"\u201cWISHBONE\u201d BY ORCHARD PROVES BOSTON STILL KNOWS HOW TO MAKE A SHOP VID"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Despite its roots in skateboarding history, Boston\u2019s largely seen as a \u201clittle brother\u201d to New York. Sure, it\u2019s smaller and less populous, but the history is there, I mean, fuck, it\u2019s where Jake Phelps became Jake Phelps before he bailed to work at Thrasher<\/em>. However, the city\u2019s never been able to establish an industry presence. <\/p>\n

In the early 90s, brands like Matthew Landon\u2019s 3D Innovations became the city\u2019s beacon before Landon relocated to New York City. Raw took hold in the 2000s before disbanding in 2016. And while Sexhippies has roots in the Berkshires and Hopps was founded by Jahmal Williams, Boston\u2019s first pro skateboarder, Boston\u2019s skate narrative can\u2019t necessarily be told by brands. <\/p>\n

It\u2019s told by skate shops. <\/strong><\/p>\n

One of the longest operating shops in Boston has been Orchard, a space that\u2019s largely survived through a diehard scene and obsessive dedication to making it work. Opened on February 11th, 2006, Orchard is now at their 8th location and lease, pivoting, scaling, and reacting to one of the priciest commercial real estate markets in the United States.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

With no corporate or VC backing, what Orchard has is intention, reflected in owner Armin Bachman\u2019s persistent vision of a shop being more than a retail space. \u201cArmin\u2019s hard-headed, but his vision has enabled him to grow,\u201d longtime shop rider and DVS TM \/ Marketing Manager Lee Berman says. \u201cHe sees the chessboard in front of him and I think sometimes that\u2019s hard for people. Orchard is a clubhouse, but it\u2019s also a business.\u201d<\/p>\n

What\u2019s one of the best ways to track Orchard\u2019s long history as a clubhouse? Shop videos. A tentpole of Orchard\u2019s presence regardless of financial viability, their full-lengths are an essential reminder of the shop\u2019s larger connection to skateboarding. <\/p>\n

\u201cOrchard is a clubhouse, but it\u2019s also a business.\u201d -Lee Berman<\/p>\n

Not only do the videos showcase their crew, they also establish Boston itself as a character. It\u2019s an old city\u2014founded in 1630 fuckin\u2019 AD and full of legendary spots, but what\u2019s most notable is its blend of new and old, it\u2019s 200 year old granite and brick mixed with modern architecture features on the same street. <\/p>\n

Starting in 2010, Orchard paid homage to the long-form video with Out of Body Experience<\/em> (2010), followed by Suede Peach<\/em> (2012) and Stone Soup<\/em> (2014). More recently, Orchard has adapted to the ever present mid-length video with \u201cThe Trail\u201d (2022) and \u201cCrosshatch\u201d (2025). <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

And now comes WISHBONE<\/em>, the shop\u2019s new full-length. Shot and edited by Orchard filmer Ted (that\u2019s right, just Ted), the video premiered in Boston on September 3rd and features team riders Eddie Vargas Jr., Sean Evans, Eamon Durkan, Brianna Delaney, Connor Noll, Jojo Vargas, and resident and respected unc, Lee Berman.<\/p>\n

Unlike other skate shops, Ted\u2019s on Orchard\u2019s legitimate payroll, which (in this economy) is truly a rarity. How many shops can afford to pay a filmer these days? My guess would be less than five. But with that comes living up to the shop\u2019s penchant for longform documentation of Boston\u2019s skate scene. <\/p>\n

Taking shape offscreen over three years, WISHBONE<\/em> was rife with all the tribulations you\u2019d expect from a long-form project. There were changes in direction and funding, injuries, sponsorship changes, and of course, in 2026, the American economy\u2019s squeeze on every form of commerce.<\/p>\n

\u201cBack in 2023 we were in Detroit, Michigan. First morning, first spot, first trip, and I basically broke my neck. So that\u2019s where WISHBONE<\/em> started.\u201d Armin says. He went on, \u201cThen in 2024 the shop paid for a sublet to get Eddie, Jojo, and Brianna under one roof a few blocks from Ted. That lasted about one month before it all fell apart.\u201d<\/p>\n

Falling apart meant a broken ankle for Eddie, Jojo taking time to sing in his hardcore band Fatcap, and Brianna and the rest of the world learning that Alltimers was done. <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\u201cThere were some plans for me to get a board with Alltimers, so that was even more inspiration to take a sublet in Boston and go for it,\u201d Brianna says. \u201cI was locked in and focused, then I got the call about the brand being over. That definitely sucked\u2014it almost felt like a breakup.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s just like what time does,\u201d Ted says of the three years he spent on the video. \u201cEverything changed, but the feeling never dies unless you lose sight of it. This thing has completely consumed my life for three years and I still don\u2019t know what the fuck it is.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis thing has completely consumed my life for three years.\u201d -Ted<\/p>\n

With a close to 30-minute run time, WISHBONE<\/em> is a full-length and more importantly, a time capsule of Boston skateboarding, even if the footage isn\u2019t exclusive to the city locale. The crew day tripped around New England and New York as well as proper missions through the Midwest, along Interstate 95, and a \u201clast push,\u201d fly-out to Los Angeles in February 2026, before (predictably) extending the deadline Ultimately, everyone came through, with Berman delaying a full hip replacement until the project was complete.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s bone-on-bone. I\u2019m 40, but I\u2019ll be fine,\u201d Lee says of the surgery. \u201cYou can\u2019t get time or your body back, so if I see them (the younger team riders) blowing it, I\u2019ll tell them, \u201cYo, you\u2019re like 25, all you need to be doing is going to school and skating.\u201d You\u2019ll never regret not going to a bar for a few nights\u2026 even if I did plenty of that shit at their age.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLee has a good understanding of my skating and maybe some styling advice too [laughs],\u201d Eddie says. \u201cI remember one time I pulled up to the spot with a pair of SilverTabs and he was like, \u201cYup, you look sturdy\u201d [laughs].<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The team shares an ethos, but it\u2019s not uniform by any stretch. From the jump, it\u2019s Ted\u2019s vision\u2014Clean views of the action with personal touches that enhance the mood without being \u201cart for art\u2019s sake.\u201d The architecture of Boston life appears throughout the film\u2014bricks and fishing traps, slick metal modernity against mill town debris. And to emphasize the latter, some of these spots look absolutely shitty and beautiful. <\/p>\n

Unlike other Orchard full-lengths, there\u2019s an underlying menace that permeates the footage that evokes the bitter charm of the city itself. American flags are a recurring theme through the video\u2014a somber and most likely subconscious nod to the warped Americana Ted culled from repeated viewings of Alien Workshop\u2019s Photosynthesis<\/em> and Mind Field<\/em>\u2014videos that he credits for showing him a \u201cdifferent world.\u201d <\/p>\n

WISHBONE<\/em> isn\u2019t melancholy; it\u2019s honest, and Ted\u2019s visual language is highly engaging and even \u201cfloaty,\u201d if that\u2019s a word you can use for a skate video. And yes, despite a viral clip poaching from a vlogger, Eddie got his after-black redemption.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs much as I worked for this video, it\u2019s for the kids\u2013for Eddie, for Eamon, for Jojo,\u201d Brianna says. \u201cI think what gets me psyched more than anything these days is thinking outside myself and trying to support the next generation of skateboarding. I don\u2019t want to be that old skater who\u2019s bitter; it\u2019s hard to be around.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

She went on, \u201cWhen we first started filming, it immediately hit me: these kids are in their prime, they\u2019re froggy, and I\u2019m trying to keep the shit going\u2014maybe I\u2019m blowing it. But I snapped out of that and started to realize, \u2018How can I be salty about some 20-year-old who is having the best time of their life?\u2019 It\u2019s their time to shine. And this is Ted\u2019s moment. He\u2019s been wanting to make a video like this forever.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve always been a bad capitalist.\u201d -Armin Bachman<\/p>\n

\u201cI want to make an impact on where I\u2019m from and get people psyched,\u201d Eddie says. \u201cIt\u2019s skateboarding. It\u2019s supposed to be fun. I\u2019m honored that I could work on this and I want to keep pushing myself further. After every project I think, \u2018That\u2019s done,\u2019 but I\u2019ve claimed so much other shit\u2013I gotta get back to work. I don\u2019t know, it feels like shit\u2019s just beginning.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve always been a bad capitalist,\u201d Armin says. \u201cIf this was just about making money we would\u2019ve never reopened a brick and mortar post-COVID. I\u2019m proud to pay our crew close to a living wage and help them pursue their passions. Videos are the benchmark of our culture and are still the best tool to showcase what we\u2019re all about. They\u2019re fiscally irresponsible at best, but you can\u2019t put a price on the collective memories and keeping the dream alive for future generations.\u201d<\/p>\n


\nWritten by: Anthony Pappalardo<\/a>
\nShow some shop love on Facebook<\/a>
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\n<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Despite its roots in skateboarding history, Boston\u2019s largely seen as a \u201clittle brother\u201d to New York. Sure, it\u2019s smaller and less populous, but the history is there, I mean, fuck, it\u2019s where Jake Phelps became Jake Phelps before he bailed to work at Thrasher. However, the city\u2019s never been able to establish an industry presence. […]<\/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-2159306","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\/2159306","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=2159306"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2159306\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2159306"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2159306"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2159306"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}