Creative people come in many forms, and for Ace Pelka, it’s on a skateboard. Growing into his own style of riding, Ace has mastered a niche area of playful minimal impact skating and takes it up a notch with tech speedy footwork. Try to keep up as Ace takes us and John Gardner around his new block in Redondo Beach, California in this episode of Spot to Spot.
The Platfrm Core: Slappy’s Garage founder Jason Carney
The man behind San Diego skate shop Slappy’s Garage, Jason Carney has been a staple of the scene since the 80s. What has made it all possible? Skate shops. From his very first sponsor being a shop out of Chula Vista (later skating for teams like H-Street and Planet Earth) to opening his first shop out of Ramona in 2011 up to today with locations on 17th Street downtown and a second storefront in the Linda Vista neighborhood—Jason believes in the skate shop business. And he is doing his best to keep the proper skate shop vibes alive. “That’s my purpose, to enable other people to live out their dreams.”
Timeline Featuring Chris Joslin: The Raw Truth | Episode 2
Starting in part one of Timeline, where Chris Joslin paints a portrait of his endeavor to film a street video part while traveling the world for contests, part two takes a drastic demeanor change.
Platfrm Timeline Featuring Chris Joslin: Legacy Over Results | Episode 1
Building upon a two-part series in Portraits in which Chris Joslin gives an intimate look at his family origins, adulthood, the challenges of being a pro skater, raising two children, and everything else that comes with growth, Joslin now brings us up to speed in Timeline.
Platfrm Portraits: Braden Hoban’s Path to Success, Contest Glory, and Street Priorities
23-year-old instant classic out of San Diego tells his story in this edition of Portrait: Braden Hoban. Braden’s skating speaks for itself. His trick selection is timeless and his power perfectly balances his prowess. Braden explains his origins from skating long hours as part of his daily school routine, to finding himself in the Toy Machine van with his idols calling home to say he’s going to be missing more school than originally planned. Inspired by the video parts of his now peers, Braden talks about his drive to film as many parts to his greatest potential while he can. Although he’s found serious contest success in recent years, his priorities are still in the streets. “There’s a lot that I want to do. There’s a lot that I have to prove…”
CORE: Familia Skateboard Shop Keeps the Juice Flowing
Tap in with the shop crew in this episode of Core Familia Skate for true insider insight on how to create a community, and check out their new all-in-one facility. Over the years there have been three different retail locations around Minneapolis, but now they have brought the shop to the park for a permanent home. OG and owner Steve Nesser has two things to say about: “Having everything under one roof has been a night and day difference,” and “The goal has always been to juice it up.” This is how you support skateboarding.
Spot to Spot: Ryan Carrell’s PMA Goes a Long Way
Have you ever seen pop like Ryan Carrell’s? Tap in with Ryan and go Spot To Spot to see the Inland Empire skateparks that shaped his enormous snaps and hear what’s been pushing him to try new things lately. Ryan is probably the most polite person in all of skateboarding and has a flawless smile to back it up. His entire life he’s been the definition of a, “people’s person.”
The Platfrm: Halloween Hellbomb 2024: 6 Years of Raising Hell
The most anticipated hill bomb of the year was resurrected over the weekend in Los Angeles, California where hundreds of skate rats donned costumes and padded the sidelines to contain the mayhem. Six years running strong, the Halloween Hellbomb has morphed from a grassroots-level gathering of hill bombers to a cornerstone event that’s looked forward to each year. Making their appearance most notable were Dern brothers Kanaan and Dalton, Dylan Witkin, Taylor Kirby, Josh Douglas, and ruler of the underground Greyson Fletcher. Cheers to Hellbomb committee members Austin Leleu, Bobby Bils, Kyle Walsh, Cory Keen, and everyone else involved for pulling another hell-raising event.
Portraits: Greyson Fletcher’s Explosive Life
If you don’t already know who Greyson Fletcher is, you’re blowing it! Luckily for you The Platfrm tracked him down, chatted him up and stitched together enough footage to paint you a Greyson Fletcher Portrait. “I want my life to be every day explosive,” says Greyson, the son of surf legacy. Known for getting more wild than rest while skating, Greyson shares how it all stems from a family of surfing. Then, all signs point to Portland’s Burnside. Whenever he’s in the area, Greyson’s first stop is the infamous DIY to pay his raw and fast dues–a truly perfect canvas. After sharing his thoughts on the state of skate and why social media sucks, you’ll have seen enough footage of him with a little help from the homies to, “spark up,” and want to start living like Greyson Fletcher yourself.
Side Hustle: Lady Meek, Hand-Stitched Embroidery
Hand-stitched embroidery from the queen of hand plants, it turns out that Lady Meek makes more than skateboard moves and has a whole other passion that has inadvertently turned into a Side Hustle when she is not out inverting. As the result of a heavy injury Lady picked up the needle and thread hobby to make the most of her time while making herself a one-off to wear. Before she knew it she was getting requests from friends and fans of her work. Listen up as Lady Meek takes you through her process to transform her doodles into one-of-a-kind clothes designs, and how she takes something old and turns it into something all new.
Spot to Spot: Keet Oldenbeuving’s Path to Globetrotting and Street Skateboarding
Lighthearted, goofy and incredible on a skateboard; two-time Olympian, Keet Oldenbeuving took us Spot to Spot from parks to the streets in California. Keet (pronounced like kAte) talks a bit about her perspective on competitive skateboarding as well as what qualities in skaters inspire her. Spoiler Alert: she appreciates anti-conformity. Hear Keet talk about the route she found from her home in the Netherlands, around Europe and now the rest of the world. According to Keet, she has always viewed contest skateboarding as the ultimate ticket to find freedom down the road to film in coveted streets of California. It seems to have worked out according to plan.
the PLATFRM CORE: Paul Kobriger—Skateboard Lifer, Artist, and Sixes and Sevens Shop Owner
Over 2,000 miles away and 36 years later, Paul Kobriger remains, at heart, a skateboard lifer dedicated to keeping his childhood dream alive. His journey began in Shawano, Wisconsin, where he was introduced to skateboarding and punk rock at age eleven—an influential combination that remains with him today.
The decision to move across the country to San Diego, California, right after high school was a gamble. However, Paul arrived at the right moment, connected with the right people in skateboarding, and launched a deep career in the industry. His early beginnings started with leading Sun Diego and CCS marketing efforts and assembling teams with Wes Kremer, Tyler Surrey, Marius Syvänen, Silas Baxter-Neal, Torrey Pudwill, and Ryan Sheckler just to name a few. However, in the wake of the economic recession led to the end of CCS but a new chapter at Transworld Skateboarding.
Being surrounded by creative people during his time at TWS sparked a hidden talent he’s always had and revealed his gifted ability at drawing. After working for numerous brands in the skateboard industry, Paul uses his years of experience to start something he can fully control. Thus, Sixes and Sevens skate shop is birthed and blends together Paul’s love for skateboarding, music, and art. Learn all the details of Paul’s path in skateboarding, the skaters he’s brought up, the people he’s met along the way, and the space created to give back to skateboarding in our latest CORE video above.