Deathwish Has a Deadline Article
12/01/2020


Uncrossed is much more than a nice little motion picture—it's a goddamn blockbuster




A kid asked me the other day, “Aren’t you scared watching Pedro skate in person?” What little buddy doesn’t understand is that even though Pedro goes fast and has some good spills on the web, none of the slams are completely blind. It’s almost as if he knows when a bad one is coming so he just takes it and moves on. With other skaters, their slams sneak up on them and that terrifies me heaps more. Yes, he’s wild; yes, he’s professional; and yeah, he takes healthy hits, but I’m more scared for the super citizens who try to get in his way. You like that? I get the chance to talk about one of the greatest skateboarders alive and all I do is talk about him falling. Ahhh—just wait for this video. Pedro lands a couple of things that may just change your life.


When it comes to skateboarding, this little stubborn ball of skill gets what he wants. I’ve seen it firsthand for years now. Rails? Duh. Transition? He’s comfy. Mannies? Got ’em. Ledges? Easy. His “warm-up tricks” on big rails are unreal. They’ll make you feel like a turd, even if you don’t care about hand bars. And that’s why I think he’s been actively testing Isaac Newton’s first law of motion. Newton stated that a body in motion will not stop unless acted upon by an external force. Well, those external forces that slow me and you down have yet to touch Foy. He has never slowed down—no friction, no resistance. He’s gonna go forever, I guess. Now if only Newton could help Jamie beat me in a game of SKATE. Maybe someday…
I don’t believe this out ledge had been front crooked, so Jamie did it switch Photo: Darwen
Three shinners for the price of one Photo: Heikkila
Everyone in New York wanted a photo with Jamie, including this ledge. Back tail 270 Photo: Heikkila
The hell’s wrong with you, Foy?! Nobody was ever supposed to front crook shit like this. Ever! Photo: Rhino
Foy has to find a way to make rails more difficult. Back lip over the foot-grabber Photo: Karpinski
And when their isn't a deadly impediment, he just makes the tricks harder than they need to be. Nollie front blunt Photo: Karpinski
Big Boy Foy, kickflip 50-50 on a hefty hand bar. Newton don’t know nuthin’ Photo: Burnett
There's only about 100 ways to get humbled on this back noseblunt, but Foy always finds a way out Photo: Hammeke
Photo: Pong
The fiesta known as 2020 blew in some serious flavor to Deathwish. We were lucky enough to add Victoria Ruesga and Julian Davidson to our fam, two people who have some seriously refreshing style on the board. I’m sure y’all are familiar with Julian, but Victoria, maybe not so much. A Los Angeles loc who’s been fucking up our skateparks and streets for years, you’ll be seeing her on your screens a lot more in the near future. But if this is your first time hearing of the woman, here are some Victoria facts to get out of the way:

Being in Hollywood and acting can be poisonous. Victoria’s roll-on grind is the antidote Photo: Steely
Julian and his hurricane are giving Miles Davis a run for his money. Juju is the new king of cool Photo: Karpinski
After handling his Emerica part, Jon still managed to get down with us Photo: Hayes
If skate tricks were record deals, Dickson’s wallie front crooks to fakie would probably go platinum Photo: Karpinski
This Oklahoma double set has been waiting its whole life for Dickson to deliver a switch flip. Clean transaction Photo: Karpinski
Photo: Hodge
I think people have slept on Jakes Hayes’ record ollie. Square one for skaters is to get air, go up, just leave the ground. And of all the humans on Earth who have touched a skateboard, he’s the one who has left the planet the furthest. How many SOTYs are there? How many people have ollied as high as Jake? And despite the simplicity of the ollie, he’s actually got a robust, rad trick selection.
Jake did this kickflip three times because he wasn’t happy with the catch. He still hates it. I don’t Photo: Heikkila
Chi-town's best blessed us on a few missions Photo: Karpinski
You don’t need to read the caption to know what Neen is doing—big heelflip for the clueless Photo: Karpinski
Photo: Heikkila
As far back as my brain goes, I can remember kids skating on my parents’ street. Like water, animals and cars, I don’t remember life without skateboards. I’m lucky I’ve always known skating, but no one warned me what it would do to my life. Now, I’m only 27, but the people I’ve met and places I’ve been so far are comical. The reason I find it funny is because life owes me nothing and skating owes me even less. Yet here I am, with a cast on my leg, a stamped-up passport and homies all over the world. So where does that put me now? Right back at the start—me vs. my board forever. I guess I’m eternally in debt. Think of this video as a small payment from us to skateboarding. I got dealt a good hand that I can’t take for granted. That’s where this video came from—a group of friends who care more about creating than complaining.
Someone needed to do this ollie, so I did it. Cool story, Kirby Photo: Heikkila
Everyone had a Hell of Fucked Up a Year, but I was lucky enough to tailslide through it Photo: Rhino
New York is where it’s at—lipslide by the author Photo: Heikkila
But Denver's rails are good too. Feeble transfer Photo: Karpinski
Front board through the crust and rust of OKC Photo: Karpinski
I think I do this trick too much. Oh well. Back three nosegrab Photo: Rhino
It's all about timing. Tail drop with eleven seconds left on the clock—take that, deadline!
































-
2/06/2025
Vince Guzaldo's "Uprise" Part
Possibly the best ledge skater Illinois has ever produced, Vince presses the Post Office and runs a clinic on Chicago's icy spots for Uprise. -
2/23/2024
Slow Impact 2024 Photo Recap
Ryan Lay's second annual Slow Impact event brought visionary thinkers and low-profile dinkers down to Tempe, AZ, for a long weekend. Join in as we check the talks and architecture walks with Ted Barrow, Neen Williams, Ronnie Kessner and the New Balance crew. -
1/26/2024
Baker Has a Deathwish Part 2
Sixteen years later and Baker STILL has a Deathwish. Part 2 starts now. -
1/03/2024
FP Footwear’s “Sunset Tour” Video
A bowling ball works great for impact testing, but nothing compares to some real-life R-N-D in the streets. Jaws, Neen, Decenzo and Pelka pave the way for newcomer Julian Agliardi in this portrait of Puerto Rican paradise. -
10/11/2023
Geometric’s “Allstars” Video
Geometric blows up the shop-trip format by wrangling a big-league crew for a Euro romp you can’t miss. Watch Ronnie Kessner, Dylan Jaeb, Leo Romero, Ish Cepeda, Braden Hoban, Art Cordova and more as they dismantle every gorgeous plaza in their path.