Taji has always dreamed of visiting Skatopia, the skateboarding mecca in the middle of 88 acres of farmland in Ohio. Today his dream becomes reality.
Pro Skaters Rush Area 51: Can You Skate It? – VICE
Taji Ameen takes a team of professional skaters including Riley Hawk, Taylor Kirby, and Richie Jackson deep into the deserts of Nevada to answer a critical question: Can You Skate Area 51?
Preparing Professional Skaters for the 2020 Olympics – VICE
With skateboarding now an official sport in the 2020 Olympics, unofficial assistant Coach Taji brought legendary Olympic Coach Ron, who has coached more than 40 Olympians over the years. Can Taji and Ron get these skaters prepared for the big day?
From Skater to Stunt Double – Vice
Ever since he was a kid, William Spencer has been pushing the boundaries of what a skateboarding trick can look like—using discarded barrels, rusty ladders, and lengths of chain to pull off one-of-a-kind tricks. Now, he’s turned his hobby into a career, going from an amateur skateboarder to a professional stunt double.
VICE met up with Will in Los Angeles to hear what inspired him to become a stuntman full-time, and to find out how he made it from the streets of LA to the glossy sets of Hollywood.
Luo Jian Shen Is a Small Skater Known for Big Tricks
On this episode of ‘VICE INTL,’ we head to Guangzhou, China, to meet up with pro skateboarder Luo Jian Shen—known for landing some of the biggest tricks in the business, despite his relatively small stature.
Why Pro Skater Neen Williams Got Sober
Neen Williams spent years partying through his nights and sleeping through his days, finding less time to skate. Now, the pro has gone completely sober, eating healthy and working out to make sure he remains one of the best skaters in the business.
Dan Leung on Falling In and Out of Love with Skating
On this episode of ‘VICE INTL,’ we check in with Dan Leung, a pro skater who’s been shredding in Shanghai for more than a decade. But after taking a three-year hiatus, Leung wondered if he’d ever ride again. Now, he’s back into the sport, and trying to turn a local Chinese skateboard mag into the next ‘Thrasher.’
Brian Anderson on Being a Gay Professional Skateboarder
The skateboarding community worships Brian Anderson as a god, but for many years kept his sexuality a secret from nearly everyone in his life. Our guy Reda sat down with Brian and some of his closest friends to talk about being gay in the professional skateboarding industry and why he chose now to come out.
Pro Skateboarder Billy Rohan Talks About Living with Bipolar Disorder
Billy Rohan has the reached the highest of highs and the lowest of lowest during his career as a professional skateboarder. He’s gone from placing in some of the world’s top contests & having coverage in every major skate publication to sleeping on the street, to being named the New Yorker of the week for his work getting skateparks opened, to back on the street again.
Exploring Cuba’s Skate Culture with Ishod Wair, Andrew Reynolds and Lucien Clarke (Part 1)
Cuba’s skate scene has no funding, very few resources and not much to speak of in terms of a skate park. But despite those obstacles, the scene is growing, thanks in part to organizations like Cuba Skate and the kids that want to see it furthered.
Epicly Later’d: Chima Ferguson (Part 1/2)
Beginning this season, Vice wanted to try and branch out internationally. Tired of filming pros next to their infinity pools in Los Angeles, they got some skaters from other lands. Not only find out out about the skaters themselves, but find out who some of the people that influenced them were, what the scene was like in their country. So they hopped on a long flight to Sydney Australia and caught up with rising star Chima Ferguson. Spent a week with his brother and his mates, learning what we could. In part 2 we caught up with him back in Los Angeles, where he lives with Dustin Dollin. They were working hard on the Vans video at the time of shooting. Click HERE for Part 2.
Epicly Later’d: Revisiting Kevin ‘Spanky’ Long (Part 2/2)
Vice started this episode not long after Kevin got kicked off Baker and Emerica and he filmed an interview every 6 months or so until recently. That’s why his hair keeps changing lengths throughout the show. He got kicked off sponsors for drinking and partyin’ and basically not skating all that much… he also got set on fire, his wife bailed, his mom died… a series of bad events. But through it he thought ‘i’m not done yet.’ He didn’t let it beat him and got back on the board. Click HERE for Part 1.