2013: The Year Modern Skateboarding Broke

2013 might seem like a random arbitrary year to most people, but to us, it’s the year the current era of skateboarding was born. It kicked off with a number of notable pros leaving their long-term sponsors, and many of them went on to start some of the most dominant brands of today. Our friend and contributor Andrew Murrell picked out and wrote up the most notable events of 2013 in a neat timeline (featured in Jenkem Vol 3), and Alex Coles brought it to life in his usual video essay format.
Original story by: Andrew Murrell ( / fullmelvinjacket )
Video and narration by: Alex Coles ( / slam_machine )
Illustrations by: Andrew Diemer (andrewdiemer.com/)
Buy Jenkem Vol. 3: shop.jenkemmag.com/
More info: www.jenkemmag.com/home/2023/0...

[@drivenbyfate]

Jesus, Jamie's impossible 50-50 at clipper was 10 years ago!? Time is flying.

[@Rustyfingaz]

Word cold war was a classic

[@pooppolio4600]

Depends who you ask, flat timers would say it was last week.

[@moballardful]

He impossible 50d it??? 😅

[@ianturnbow7011]

@@moballardful yup. The footage is shown in this video, too.

[@infinitewindow164]

Damn I was in my teens watching history being made without realizing it.

[@arenscott4934]

Damn, I was in my thirties watching history being made without realizing it!

[@joeysteel1864]

where did the time go...

[@princequestly2218]

History is always being made

[@galvanizedgnome]

Lacey baker mobbing kickflips was not history

[@JahEerie]

That's usually how it works 😉

[@gaterbusket]

Jackson Casey and the pyramid country group were on this wave before 2013 in my opinion. Boyish and worship friendship were ahead of their time.

[@Saiyamanmc]

Boyish was a sick video

[@nonessentialoils]

I don't remember which year the o'shea brothers released a happy medium, but that was definitely an early sort of weird and quirky video that changed my perspective on skating.

[@ckretstuff]

@@nonessentialoils John Motta's part changed how I looked at skating, amazing videos.

[@dugannash9109]

Yeah I think the essay kinda goes awry trying to pin an exact year on the changes we've seen. edit - happy mediums started coming out pre-2010 for sure.

[@guidosaur7506]

@@Saiyamanmc Still is really

[@10DollarProductions]

It's funny I fell out of skateboarding completely from around 2010-2015 and when I got back into it the game was completely changed. I noticed people were skating bigger boards, filming differently, and people were nicer to each other. It was like a culture shock for me for something I thought I knew.

[@decemberist]

Similar story here. Even the trick names were different ("what the heck is a tre flip?")

[@Nikogotbeats]

@@decemberist lol tre flip has been used for a long time 10+ years it’s a 360 flip

[@Funkenst8in1]

Yeah that part, "the people were nicer", was a shock for me too lol

[@10DollarProductions]

Dude I ran into some major dickheads at parks back in the day, and people for the most part now are pretty chill. @@Funkenst8in1

[@chaaaaaaaasby]

A big change that happened in the culture was the death of PAYING for a full length video. It's amazing we are getting the best content from top skate companies/crews without coughing up a dime, and I'm grateful some brands/crews still focus on putting out full lengths instead of solely individual parts. Great for us, but challenging for the small companies/filmers/skaters/editors losing a major source of income.

[@milohollandsworth4577]

I remember only being able to get videos at skate shops, checking in to different ones and seeing what they had. For sure how I got my hands on Yeah Right and Baker 3.

[@kevinfortsch]

That and waiting 4 years for a full length.

[@thestrangeceleb]

@@milohollandsworth4577 I remember walking into the shop when PJ Ladd's Wonderful, Horrible Life just came out. I walked in and just about everyone in the shop was glued to the tv like 9/11 just happened again. That video changed skateboarding for a lot of people that week. lol

[@DustinDollinsShinBone]

It just doesn't hit the same anymore... I used to really look forward to having my homies over and blazing to "This is Skateboarding". Phones suck yo.

[@nikosucksatskating]

​@@DustinDollinsShinBone I'm only 20 but I can agree, I think it would be nice if things were how they were when I was a kid. I would've probably loved the experience of buying a CD and roasting a Doobie to it had I been my age back then.

[@michaelchestnut1286]

My attention span is so fried that a 10 minute video feels like an eternity but this one was engaging and I wish it was longer

[@spotttheloonie]

2013 was amazing. I skated every single day. Hit over 100 different skateparks. Traveled cross country and made memories. Great recap Jenkem!

[@wadesama3826]

Sounds sick me and homie dream of that

[@WheelMarks]

These are the types of videos that cement Jenkem as the kings of skateboard content. This was incredible Thank you

[@jimmyloughnan9656]

AVE and Dill leaving the Workshop hit me in the heart. As a skater in the 00’s Workshop and Habitat were incredibly sacred companies. Wenning and Pappalardo were my generations Tim and Henry.

[@callumhanlon9488]

Same

[@modestomouso1234]

Yup I was slightly earlier but it def felt weird when Workshop started falling apart. The big thing for me was when Bam, Kerry Getz, Barley, and Maldonado all got off Toy Machine. Those 4 repped the east coast so hard during the late 90’s/early 00’s, sucked seeing all those dudes leave what was THE board company at the time

[@jimmyloughnan9656]

@@modestomouso1234 yea dude I remember that. They all left Toy in droves. Kerry to Habitat, BA to Girl and Maldonado went to Baker. Ed did a great job keeping the company together with just him and Austin Stephens.

[@bakeraus]

ya same, it was such a large team. So many great memories from AW

[@kevinfortsch]

Minfield is top 5 for me. Look at the team at the time it was fucking STACKED..when dill and Ave left I knew those two would make something that what alien would have become anyway. Aiden Mackey was flow for alien before FA and even his 917 pro board was a old alien workshop graphic.

[@jonahmcfadden4]

I think social media ruined some of the authenticity of skateboarding. Social media seems to have devalued a lot of skating because most tricks are just watched only once and then forgotten about. There was something special about waiting for quality video parts and magazine content. I wish magazines were still the main center of attention for skateboarding content instead of Instagram, but it has still been fun to watch skating evolve since I was a little kid.

[@jasondashney]

There definitely still is a place for full length videos. Primitive gets it. They put out legit videos quite often. Individual parts get forgotten so quickly..

[@Thisisdarkdata]

@@jasondashney but primitive is just 1 company. There used to be 10+ diff companies dropping full lengths, that’s what’s sad about it.

[@jasondashney]

@@Thisisdarkdata One of my favourite things when I was coming up was going to video premieres. I’d see all my old friends, and sometimes I knew people in the videos, hell i even went to premieres for videos I was in. Believe me I miss those days more than anything.

[@joshgluck3079]

Wow this was incredible. I started skating sophomore year of high school in the fall 2011, and remember every single event from this video. The bones new ground video blew me away at the time and still holds up today.

[@JohnDoeTube]

Jared Huss's part in that vid🔥

[@iiiaiiin]

I can't believe all that was ten years ago. Feel like I've lost five years somewhere

[@dadboard]

Right? Strange how so many people feel this way. We went through a fuckin 2012 portal and nobody noticed

[@raichu56k]

covid took away like 2 years from all of us

[@Frosty.Fingers]

I’m glad I’m not the only one who noticed that 2013 hit different than any other year in the skateboarding world. Something about ishod being soty felt historical and revolutionary

[@mattsavidakis]

This was so well made!! You guys should make a series on recapping years in skateboarding history

[@Spelonker]

It's honestly nuts how different things are now. I started skating in Ireland in 2003, wasn't particularly great and was more of a fan than anything, but my only real exposure to it was via THPS games, Xtreme and MTV, then the rare magazine that would somehow make it into my hands or the few videos your friend managed to pirate on Limewire. At the time, in my small town, I was the only skater of any description, and I stank. I pretty much gave up on and stopped paying attention to skating around 2008, only to get back into it 2 years ago since moving to London. So all of this passed me by and I feel like I've been through a time machine. The most immediate thing that's hit me about it is the insane skill level at your average park, which is informed by the ease of access to tutorials and footage. I really cannot emphasise how insane a session looks to me and I have to fight myself from cheering too hard. The idea of doing a flip trick both into and out of a grind at all is THPS stuff to me, yet when I came back to my home county to a park built a town over from my own, the new "only-skater-in-town" did a fucking blunt double kickflip out on a 3ft qp. Just the trick he was going for that session, no biggie. So that's all great, I do really like it. However, if there's anything I do really miss it's the days where skating was a bit more mainstream so that a big skate tour like Boom Boom Huck Jam could pack out an arena and pros could live more rockstar lifestyles, get their own shoes, clothing brands, decks, etc and you'd be able to actually find them in most stores. Those days had their issues too, but that level of spectacle was exciting to see and feels much rarer today. Everything is much more hyper-individual and exists in something that's not quite underground but not quite mainstream either. I look at the gnar shit on Instagram and it doesn't feel right to me that these guys aren't so much as sponsored some times, and if they are, are just getting by financially. They deserve more.

[@YesOkayButWhy]

What town you from?

[@AlexHodgesYT]

Russel Houghten is basically the god father of the modern, polished, straight-to-internet high quality skate content model. Guy has influenced or inspired so many editors/filmers over the last decade and needed to get some credit in this.

[@zacvotruba8374]

His early contributions to nb# videos were amazing. He gave them such a distinct look and feel that I can still see with current nb edits

[@TobyAngel]

yes thank you

[@robertbaker3620]

I didnt even know Forrest switch flipped Wallenberg

[@kuyo_art]

Strombek with his "FACE TRICK FACE" and 5000% zoom killed skateboarding, at least we got Sabotage, AJ Mac and Andrew Meyer

[@247420Maniaxe]

True that homie

[@edsoncharlotin8755]

Lol it didn’t kill it, but it’s annoying that everyone DOES IT NOW instead of try they own things

[@enzob.1071]

great job . would love to watch more of these video essays. jenkem really on the come up ⬆

[@Steezo_Romero]

Thank you for your service, Jenkem. This is incredible!

[@fzgn]

Great video! Love it so much. I know you chose this year with a very specific purpose/thesis, but it would be cool to see this style of video for other years too. Like a look back at what (in retrospect) ended up being the most influential/important parts of a given year in skateboarding. I feel like especially with how "disposable" content is nowadays, and how we watch, move on, forget... these types of time capsules are more important than ever. It seems we forget about things that are even 2 years old. Its going to be so hard to really remember the 2010s and 2020s without time capsules like these. The 2010s really sucked for the most part (especially Pretty Sweet), but you did a great job highlighting some of the best parts and how those things planted the seeds for how kickass skateboarding has been the past several years. Keep up the great work. More docs like this please!

[@WolfWould]

93 till Infinity! And since then personally I'm proud where skateboarding is, especially considering todays hateful social culture. If you skate IDGAF what level or skill or what board you're skating, if you're cool to me, you get respect in my eyes. 🤘

[@Arenymous]

Thank you! Awesome mini doc! I really like that nowadays skate videos that represent more of an art and expression get views and noticed. Also variety of board shapes available is second best thing happened in the industry for the skaters imo.

[@AlexWitkowski]

Thank you Jenkem ! What a time to be apart of such a great thing. 2013 I had just graduated highschool and hopped on the instagram train

[@BurtReynoldss]

The noise in the background music at 4:57 scared the shit of out me lol

[@dugannash9109]

Eisbar, a song from a german punk band. It's definitely not easy listening lol.

[@markmeloni2388]

@@dugannash9109 Eisbär

[@Pedroepacas]

Well said. Beautiful piece. Crazy how Ishod still on the same pace/energy but in a greater way.

[@armkidmustang]

This was incredible, I still look back at that year as I giant change in the tide, then 2014 got more insane when Static IV dropped and banged over a lotta heads

[@aureliopds]

love it, congrats jenkem team. would love to see more of stuff like that

[@trabajandofisheye]

i knew something was happening. So many things became unrepeatable so fast, and so many promises of great teams were broken, it never occurred how connected all of these events are! This is such masterful storytelling!

[@worminator15]

Damn these mini documentarys about skateboarding are SOOO SOO GOOD! holy shit man this is gold

[@sucmechris]

great video ! i love skateboarding and the community that goes a long with it ❤

[@zekepowers]

You guys should do a video of each year in skating with the respected highlights. This video was great!

[@SpiderMax95]

what has the hypebeast company supreme done for skateboarding? 90% of its customers probably dont know they are skateboarding affiliated to begin with

[@247420Maniaxe]

Exactly my thoughts

[@armin38822]

their skaters get payed really really well... kids get hyped on theri videos and in result buy more skate products in general. Supreme is nothing but a + for skating

[@dugannash9109]

@@armin38822 you have a point but it kind of dilutes the culture in a way. Not that i give a damn anymore, too old.

[@armin38822]

@@dugannash9109 Supreme adds to the skate culture. So many brands are inspired by them. They just take money from people who are into their stuff and big portion off that goes right back into skating. Filmers,skaters,trips..they are doing it at a top level.

[@dugannash9109]

​@@armin38822 For sure - but they're selling skating culture and part of their customer-base are outsiders, which I don't think is inherently bad. I think you're arguing past my point.

[@frankypainter]

I didn’t get into skateboarding until 2016 and it really feels like I’m coming in after the golden years are over.

[@jasonhernandez6775]

It really wasn’t that deep

[@frankypainter]

@@jasonhernandez6775 it kinda is dude. It’s a totally different culture now. I never got to experience skateboarding being rebellious or obscure. It’s so painfully commercial and sterile now.

[@jasonhernandez6775]

@@frankypainter it’s been super commercial since the beginning of the 2000s. Calm down. 2013 wasn’t that crazy of a year. Jenkem is just being dramatic

[@frankypainter]

@@jasonhernandez6775 I don’t give a fuck about 2013 I’m just saying I missed 80s-90s skating

[@jasonhernandez6775]

@@frankypainter cringe hahahah

[@penapedro7894]

I do like the direction your content keeps evolving in!

[@emanuelebarattin1521]

Super awesome review of an amazing year: didn't realize so many things were changing at the same time back then!

[@LockportShredders]

Damn this was my second year skating, I was in that honeymoon phase and I consumed every piece of skateboarding content I could get my hands on. This really was an exciting time in skating.

[@darklight4815]

I will never stop loving opening my mailbox and seeing a new Thrasher magazine

[@Cruel_Discipline]

Awesome lil doc Jenkem, Thanks !

[@ChristianGenz]

Great take and edit, love it.

[@SkateboardRanch]

Really interesting topic! I crave that kind of deep retrospective dive into the history of skateboarding and it’s ecosystem!

[@mikevee9145]

I miss the old days when skate footage was a physical copy that you had to buy. Today there are so many tricks that will be forgotten, and that's if they get noticed at all. Since 2013 I can only think of two video parts that I've rewatched.

[@deadredeyes]

For real. Following all these guys on IG and watching their clips doesn't have anywhere near the same feeling as an edit has.

[@thethe-nt1tb]

That's because we sadly no longer live with the physical video --whether VHS or DVD, and videos came out years apart. We now watch it once and it is on to the next one. I could neither tell you what video part I watched 30 days ago, nor what happened in it. But a video I watched seemingly everyday back in 1992 (Plan B's Questionable) I can tell you all the tricks, the songs, the guest skaters, etc.

[@Hoodinator17]

i miss when skating was homophobic.

[@rbean3891]

@@Hoodinator17 it never was, you just are

[@Hoodinator17]

@@rbean3891 well yeah its gross when people do gay shit

[@GregMuniz7]

You forgot to mention Tommy’s part in Cold War in 2013

[@vxyz5219]

Such a well pieced together video

[@seanodea3354]

Such a high quality analysis. Thankful that skateboarding has Jenkem Magazine. 😀😀

[@eondayvis]

The year that brought us the face zoom to board zoom to face zoom. Damn you Strobeck ✊🤣

[@chromebomb]

man i love these cool jenkum videos

[@mynameisnobody8479]

Great Job!! Jenkem

[@truckeerivertimmy2927]

I started skating in 1985 and I still do. This video was real good, I relived so many memories just now. Thank you.

[@247420Maniaxe]

I never felt the influence of supreme and I'm glad i won't shit sucks.

[@dugannash9109]

I was living and skating in NY during the Cherry days, and those dudes were such insufferable cool-guys that I missed that boat out of spite. Dylan was the only legitimately cool guy out of the bunch, at least from the ones I ran into.

[@247420Maniaxe]

@@dugannash9109 unfortunately I did miss his upcoming days. Only reason I knew about him was cuz sls. That dude ripped like no other! Blew my mind and decided to look him up. I honestly didn't even know he rode for supreme until today. Lol

[@grandmaskisses4321]

Excellent video Alex!

[@dontcallmegus]

More Skate History content please! This is amazing!

[@johnnyc.3261]

This is like someone’s school report on a decade of skateboarding and I love it.

[@iamkool12342]

so weird that you mentioned the forrest edwards switch flip on wallenberg. i watched that video today about 2 hours before this was uploaded lol

[@mantistoboggan828]

The year i started skating. I’ll never forget getting the Ishod SOTY Thrasher, plus the KOTR issue a few months later, which really got me obsessed. God i love skateboarding

[@sn0boardwax]

This was when everyone started skating in Janoskis

[@xXBR4D3NXx]

Did you ask an AI to make this script? Why does this video feel so sterile?

[@FreddyFunderbunz]

I miss when videos weren’t narrated by Ai voice generators

[@suar3zj]

this was amazing. Any chance you could make timeline vids for every year :o

[@Tony2Times1]

Totally miss goin to a shop and watching the newest video that came out!

[@maxcafe5756]

great video!!

[@reeceparkerco]

Really well made, cheers.

[@petepeterson4309]

this is so good. 2013 was when I actually started to take skating seriously and I often look back and think about how polarizing of a time that was in the industry. I wish instagram was still blue hahaha I miss the 15 second video limit too

[@buehl444]

more of this pls!!

[@oopsydaizi3s824]

I miss the RIDE channel and their Free Lunch interviews

[@jamesleonarddesign]

This was really well done

[@stephenyakelewicz2188]

Awesome video loved that🙏🙏❤️❤️

[@torngrenarnN]

really cool vid! thanks

[@mtang12]

Incredible work guys!

[@vanheestvisual]

rad breakdown. great vid

[@t.o.3323]

Really wish this was an hour longer. Great none the less

[@LibniUzhca]

wow put together sooo good

[@danjames2422]

This had inklings of a Jon Bois Chart Party, we need more of this!

[@SYCHO-DELIC]

I'm glad not be finding out this just now... so lucky to have a friend from cali who would skate and talk about how skateboarding became really popular during this time..

[@hatestheinternet]

I think a big influence in early IG videos was Dane Brady cramming as many clips possible in the 15 second time limit. that blew minds at the time

[@Frosty.Fingers]

I remember being 16 years old and going to zumiez for the Zero Cold War premiere and I won the raffle and had a bunch of zero merch including misled youth on dvd including a 50$ gift card and bought my first pair of Indy trucks that day

[@wheels8004]

This was well made, thank you

[@briandenison7608]

This was fantastic. I've been skating for 24 years and didn't realize all that happened in the same year. Wild. Thanks for keeping me edumacated

[@kevincollins8620]

Same. I don't skate anymore but have been heavily following the scene the entire time and didn't realize 2013 was such a big year for skating.

[@FeatSkateboards]

Sick boys! Keep it up.

[@quackapatth]

those bronze and pyramid country videos are what i grew up on as a teenager, i realized fast they werent scared to do shit with a vx nobody else has, the was tengu was filmed, and the way pyrmaid country edited, was nothing i had seen before it was a magical time for skate videos to me

[@jackbridges_]

What a great video 👏🏼

[@rileysmithphoto]

This was great! Thank you.

[@wilsouza5685]

Thanks for this!

[@PatPrika42]

Great video Alex

[@joshyoung]

Wow please more content like this!!

[@spikerzombie]

I think it’s important to say how many RIDE channel how to videos and other tutorials teaching so many new skaters

[@cartier1853]

give us more jenkem!!! love this shit

[@shayne_ehman]

How often do you see squashed animals on the road? for example, skunks, groundhogs, snakes, birds deer etc? and has this journey changed your relationship to automobiles in general?

[@rossmoniz5032]

I never saw that switch flip from forest edwards ever that was sick

[@dugannash9109]

some dude named DJ (i think) switch backside flipped it at the same session. There's footage from that day somewhere on youtube I'm sure.

[@tylerramos7633]

I love that you showed the clip of Milton Martinez at the sunset wash in the opening. He broke his ankle there in 16 then came back and landed that three years later

[@civilenggggg]

Damn I forgot about Forrest sw flipping wallenburg.....so sick

[@aaaaaaaaaaron92]

Turn this into a series breaking down key moments in skating throughout each year.

[@t.o.3323]

this @jenkem

[@Rayzcooks]

congrats on getting tony robbins to actually narrate this video. so sick

[@ariekanibalie]

Very well-argued and made, I enjoyed this one a lot. I started skating again around 2013, after a 15-year hiatus, and I just don't get it when other skaters my age do the old man thing complaining how skateboarding used to be 'better'. Feel however you want about how much time we spend on social media, but skateboarding as a whole is just so much richer, varied, crazy and free now compared to when I started.

[@AnthonySanchezAS]

This could be a series

[@stusux]

Great article. Didn't realize that was all within a year.

[@agustincimino5495]

Amazing work

[@triplflip900]

I always remember 2013 as this being the first truly insane and basically undecidable SOTY race. The shortlist that year was Ishod, Dane Burman, Tommy Sandoval, Nyjah, and Suciu. All of those guys had absolutely unbelievable runs that year, and although Ishod was not the wrong choice at all, he was the safest choice - he covered the most bases and was an agreeable winner to the most people. But you could make a really solid argument for anyone else on the list. There's been a few years since where there was 3 or more guys who all seriously deserved it, and I think 2013 started that bottleneck SOTY race trend. It was certainly a big step up in the amount of internet hype and discussion around SOTY. It was also maybe the first year where all of those guys had their heaviest stuff come out right at the end of the year (SB Chronicles 2, Zero Cold War, Habitat Search the Horizon, and Nyjah's Fade to Black part all came out in November/December)

[@davidflint9719]

literally one year before everybody was arguing about whether Guy Mariano, David Gonzalez, or Figgy should win it and some people still get heated talking about that year

[@triplflip900]

@@davidflint9719 That's definitely true. I guess I think of that year as a precursor to 2013 and beyond. Though, indeed, the controversy of that year definitely dwarfs 2013. However, I really remember the conversation mostly being about Figgy vs. Guy. I felt like Thrasher picking David was kind of a cop out, like picking 3rd place as the winner. I remember a lot of people being kind of shocked by that choice. Rather than side with either the Guy or Figgy camps and piss the other off, Thrasher just said fuck it well make nobody happy. And I think David was kind of a Thrasher favorite at the time so they wanted to re-highlight his part. Anyway, my comment was more referring to the 3+ guy SOTY races like 2013, 2017, and arguably 18, 21 and 22.

[@JahEerie]

The irony of Rocco holdin a Jesse Martinez graphic with a handful of cash wasn't lost on me. Jayziz I'm old 🤣

[@kley7986]

i got scared af when it mentions instagram i wasnt expecting that music through my right ear😂

[@CollinGill7]

damn that really is a lot of crazy influential events in 1 year