Podcast Episode 73 Transcript

 NO Mongo Podcast  - EP 73 - Mason and Baca

What’s going on. Welcome to the No Mongo Podcast. A weekly show about all things skateboarding. My name is Rick Bata. I’m on Twitter and Instagram. @rickbata. You can also email the show [email protected] And if you are hearing my voice in your ears right now shoot me a quick message or @ me and let me know where you are tuning in from. Looking forward to hearing from you. Let’s get started.

I wanted to dedicate this segment to the the skater who has pretty much all skateboarders talking. And not just talking…tossing around the SOTY acronym. Mason Silva and Nike SB dropped a 6:12 part last week and it took the world by storm. It was practically flawless - from the trick selection, to the outfits, I thought Roxy Music was a great match. It was hammer after hammer after hammer. I guess if I had to list one thing - my biggest complaint would be that this edit was almost too long. Long in the fact that it was a lot of awesome to consume in one sitting.

Mason was locked in the whole time. You could see it in his eyes. Sure, the guy is stoic, but I loved that they showed some emotion — which helped confirm that he is indeed human. I was getting a little worried there for a second. Right around 22 seconds in. Two signs of emotion. And peep that smile.

Now, I simply could just mention that I loved every trick, but that would be taking the easy way out. And because this is a podcast that just wouldn’t be appropriate. So here are some tricks that really stood out to me.

Right from the start that board slide to back blunt around :32 in. So good. And I love how they left in the failed nollie back flip 180 attempt. I bet when/if they release a Rough Cut it’s just going to be that clip on repeat.

And then they cut to the title credit — notice that it’s only his first name. MASON. Much, like… Madonna. All capitol letters too. Now that’s a statement title sequence if you ask me.

How huge was that back big flip at 1:22? He caught it perfectly and that land. So clean. So fast. I didn’t truly appreciate at one until like the 3rd time I watched it.

His front 3 around 1:25 was so clean, but you have to pause it around 1:24. Look at his feet. That back foot lifts up a little then he finishes the rotation, clearing that curb.

Then the very next trick too me a couple viewings for my brain to register. That bank to 5050 on that fence pole. Oh, by the way, peep the angle of that pole. Are you kidding me, Mason? You might hear from my lawyer regarding that one.

I don’t think he could have done that backside 180 up that brick 4 more perfectly, then to fakie flip down the 5 on the other side. Bravo, man. Bravo. If you don’t believe me check it out 2:06 when you watch it. Perfection.

The back to back manual tricks at the Verizon banks @ 3:32 blew my mind. I’ve never been to that spot and I’m sure the video doesn’t even come close to doing it justice, but those tricks were so damn gnarly. How did you do those, Mason? And look at all the peeps watching him.

The Fakie hardflip @ 3:56. He even had to clear that pointed ledge part. And we’re not even 4 minutes in yet.

Here’s one I had to immediately rewind and rewatch. The frontside big spin @ 4:21. It went from B&W to color. When you watch it pause right at 4:24. That angle certainly doesn’t do it justice. The precision needed to pull that one off is insane. I can’t wait to see the rough cut on that one — unless he did it first try. Which is highly likely. Those kind of walkways/ramps are, what, like 4 feet wide? At best. And he’s coming in hot from left to right towards the wall. Very nice.

Another smile at 4:30. Pat yourself on the back man. You deserve it.

I was caught off guard on that front heel at Blubba — I thought he was going to front blunt it. Nope. He decided to front heel the damn thing. The run up got him that extra boost he needed.

Here’s another one I had to rewind. His half cab to 5050 was bonkers. In fact, pause it right @ 4:53. Look at how far back he pops. I mean he has to to clear the curb first, then have enough speed and pop to hit the rail. That ground looks pretty rough too. So glad they gave us two angles for that one.

How about that back 3 at 5:02. Not only did he have to clear the wall, he had to clear the street. So much pop needed. That one must have felt so good.

And then, of course, his ender. The cover worthy ender. Rocking the SB’s, Rocking the Hoodie. He made that one look so easy. Most peeps would get wrecked trying that. In fact, most of us, myself included would never even attempt that one. Nope. Not me.

All in all. this video kicked major ass. Plain and simple. Is Mason now a SOTY front runner? Short answer is…hell yes. And I’m just going to leave it at that. What are your thoughts on this one?

Next up, I HAVE to talk about Sammy Baca’s 11 minute My War video. I knew I’d be talking about it before I even clicked play. This one, too, lived up to all the hype and then some. In fact, I’m going to say, that this one might be THE best MY WAR of all time.

If they decided to end the series right now it will be on a high note and definitely leaving us wanting more, but I would not be mad at that decision. There are so many reasons why this resonated with me so much. I don’t think anyone will be able to top this one though.

Just the fact that it took him about 2 years and about 12 different outfits to finally get the make on his 27th visit is insane. Twenty Seven visits.

And it’s not just your average trip to your local spot. Nope. Sammy, lives in Vegas and the spot is in LA. Lives in Vegas — spot is in L.A. He didn’t fly via private jet for those attempts either. He didn’t cruise in on a chopper or Porsche 911 Turbo S.

Nope. He took the bus back and forth. A route that is normally about 4 hours in a car, but took 6 hours. 6 hours. One way! He also only did this on the weekends and was still able to get his kids to school on Mondays. Straight up dedication. No way in hell you can hate on that.

So, 27 times at about 12 hours round trip is 324 hours on the road. That’s not including the countless hours of attempts. Some days there were shorter than others depending on how wrecked he got. For one trick. This was a full on War. Sammy even said it wasn’t even about the trick, it was about the spot and it was ON.

I enjoyed all the opening images, especially of the lights @ :24. See, I didn’t really notice the lights when I originally saw the video. Or how he had to duck the right amount to clear them. Couple of attempts his beanie tapped them a bit. It was cool to see everything from multiple angles this time around. Makes the spot even more gnarly.

I kept thinking during all the failed attempts that it could have easily gone much, much worse than they did. The small gap on the other side of the rail closest to the wall could have snatched his foot or leg and it would have been game over. Even the gap between the steps and the wall as well. That could have eaten up his leg for good as well if he had landed awkwardly. There were so many potential threats for this one.

Loved the story about the timing of the Baker 4 release too and how the Boss gave him one more shot at it. The ticking clock. Knowing damn well he is going to be right in his decision and that Baca would get the clip. It was like something out of a movie. Sammy knew what time it was and got the make, BUT, yes there is one key BUT in this whole story.

There’s one key piece here. He could get another shot at it, but only after he trimmed his nose at bit. At first, he wasn’t having it, but eventually took heed. And you know what, spoiler alert, that was the only tweak he needed to do. It’s kind of funny.

Think about that for a second. After hundreds upon hundreds of hours dedicated to this trick.

After literal, blood (evidence of that was seen on the wall, his shirts, etc) and sweat, and getting absolutely wrecked on pretty much each and every occasion. Even after getting older and seeing his kids get two years older in the process and he finally did it. After all that, it was only a matter of about an inch or two that determined his fate. That’s it. Andrew had an idea. Vocalized it. Sammy trimmed the nose and got it. Fade out. Roll Credits.

Clearly, Sammy was stoked and I bet he rode that high as long as possible. However, I bet like 5 hours into that final bus ride home he snapped out of a nap, dripping in sweat, heart racing and , screaming, “Thanks for nothing, Boss. You couldn’t have mentioned this, I don’t know, maybe 23 trips ago? Not cool. Not cool. ” Meanwhile, the bus driver adjusts his mirror to see what was going on, but Sammy has since gone back to sleep. Just snoring away. Only about an hour from home.

Once again, this one is my favorite of the My War series. Let me know yours. Also, if you are fairly new to the show and are a fan of Sammy’s be sure to circle back to episode 42 where i talk about Baca 4 and more.

And finally, I wanted to give a shout out to Scott Loyst AKA spot the loonie on Instagram. He’s got a great blog with over 375 skate park profiles. Needless to say, this guy has been hitting the pavement and it has been cool to follow him on his journey to hit as many skateparks as possible. Very cool, indeed. Give him a follow and check out his blog as well. I’ll include the link in the show notes, but it’s scott dreams of skate parks dot blog spot dot com. Keep up the great work, Scott.

That’s all I’ve got for today. Thank you for tuning in and allowing me to be part of your day. I’ll talk to you next week. Be safe out there. See ya.