Marbie’s skating is always fun, and oftentimes even a little left field. She’ll pull something incredibly tech or incredibly goofy out of nowhere, and you truly never know what you’re gonna get from one clip to the next. – JENKEM
JENKEM – How Skateboarding Went HD
A history of the camera that pushed skateboarding into HD: the Panasonic HPX-170.The HPX (and its little brother, the HVX) have become the weapon of choice for some of skating’s most influential filmmakers. But why?
JENKEM – Ground Glass: Brad Cromer
Very few skate videographers attempt to capture an entire video on 16mm film. At $50 a minute, you’re at the mercy of high costs, old equipment and the consistency of skaters. Videographer James Thompson was up for the challenge and wanted to start capturing the timelessness of skating on film in 2021. Like a nod to an old Transworld montage, the crispness and warmth of film creates a sense of beauty that you get from mixing the archaic gear with a modern landscape, something digital footage of today doesn’t quite capture.
JENKEM – Watching “5ive Flavors” With the Mad Circle crew 23 years later
In 1998, Justin Girardi and Mad Circle released “5ive Flavors,” a beautiful video of classy street skating in San Francisco and New York City. Jenkem was able to get the whole team back together along with photographer Mike Blabac for a video call in which the guys reconnect, reminisce, and rewatch the parts through the long lens of over two decades past. All of these pioneers have continued to be involved in skateboarding in the 23 years since “5ive Flavors” was released, working with or owning various companies including Supreme, Adidas, Polar, Maxallure, etc. This condensed edit of their conversation captures a bit of what it was like for them to grow up together skating in a golden era.
JENKEM – Parts with Breana Geering
Jenkem hit up Breana Geering to get a glimpse into her skate video nerdom. Breana gives her unfiltered opinions on skate videos in thier most candid episode yet.
JENKEM – The History of Etnies “High 5” Video
A deep dive into an important and underrated classic: Etnies’ High 5 from 1995. To give the video it’s proper shine, JENKEM gave video essay extraordinaire Alex Coles a ring to get him to talk to some people behind the project. Together they break it down and see where 25 years of legacy puts this video today. Video by: Alex Coles
JENKEM – Skateboarding w/ Comedian Mark Normand
We weren’t fully aware of Mark or his comedy until a few friends of ours sent us a photo of him skateboarding as a kid. We started doing our own research and went down a rabbit hole of his jokes about bad news, being bad at small talk, gay marriage, and this story about a maniac. Growing up he was definitely a skate nerd and we were interested in how it shaped his life and comedy after he hung it up in his teens.
Unfortunately, there isn’t a lot of live stand-up going on right now, so we couldn’t go sit in on one of his shows. Instead, we took a walk through one of the easiest places to make fun of things in New York: Tompkins Square Park. We cut him loose and had him skate and riff a little as he broke out his rusty go-to tricks in the freezing cold. – JENKEM