10 Video Parts That Changed Skating Forever

In the early days of skateboarding the measure of a skater's talent and worth was in their contest standings. This meant that consistency was key and progression was slow because no one wanted to break out a new trick and possibly blow it in the middle of their contest run. This began to change when Powell Peralta produced The Bones Brigade Video Show in 1984. Instead of getting one try in their run to land a trick, skaters got a handful of tries at a trick on the day they got to be on camera. Today thanks to readily available high quality video equipment skaters can take years to film a video. here are ten video parts that changed skateboarding forever.

RELATED: 10 Iconic Skate Spots That No Longer Exist
RELATED: The Most Innovative Skateparks in the World 

Shane O'Neill - The Berrics

Year: 2010

Back in 2010 Shane O'neill became the first skater to offer up an individual video part (is it still a "part" if it is not part of a whole but a whole thing to itself?) for sale. The Berrics charged $0.99 for the video and passed the profits on to Shane. The idea of a skater not waiting around for the rest of the team to get their footage together was a fairly new one at the time, and paying for that short clip was definitely innovative. Shane killed it, obviously, and individual online parts have grown in popularity because of this. Still, only a few have tried to charge for it like Shane did.

P.J. Ladd - P.J. Ladd's Wonderful Horrible Live

Year: 2002

Minds where blown in 1999 when PJ Ladd's part dropped. He took tech skating to new heights and did it with style and finesse that let the world know that a nollie cab flip could look good. Today's tech skating and ledge dancing owes a lot to P.J. Ladd and this video part.

Heath Kirchart and Jeremy Klein - The End

Year: 1998

This shared part in Birdhouse Skateboards' The End was the first major example of people lighting up spots with a generator and lights. Before a night spot was lit with an on camera light and maybe the headlights of a car. The generator and lights opened up new possibilities for spots that wouldn't be skatable in daylight and couldn't be sufficiently lit at night with previously used technology. Today, lights and a generator are just part of any serious filmer's kit.

Ricky Oyola - Eastern Exposures 3

Year: 1996

Eastern Exposures 3 put east coast skateboarding on the map and Ricky Oyola was leading the charge with fast lines and basic tricks done in east coast environs. After this part, everyone was looking for pole jams to skate. People got bigger wheels and started skating faster. For those on the east coast in the late 90's, this was their style guide.

Jamie Thomas - Welcome To Hell

Year: 1996

Jamie Thomas took rail skating to the next level with his Welcome To Hell part, but the most innovative aspect is the editing. The modern video part as we know it today was laid out in this part. The way the part builds and matches the music, the slow-mo double-angled ender. Jamie Thomas was of the first generation of pros who grew up on skate videos, so he took what he had seen and made it better.

Tom Penny - High Five

Year: 1995

The first Etnies video, High Five featured about a minute and a half of Tom Penny blowing minds to David Bowie's We Could be Heroes. At a time, when the 10-stair threshold was rarely broken, Tom was switch flipping over 10-stair rails and going even bigger regular. Penny was definitely the break out star of the video and his part marks the beginning of taking tech tricks even bigger.

Pat Duffy - Questionable

Year: 1992

Maybe one of the best video parts ever, Pat Duffy's part in Quesionable is a no-brainer for this list. Duffy performed gnarly stunts no one had ever come close to before. This part was a caree-maker for Duffy and a game-changer for all of skateboarding.

Mark Gonzales - Mondo Vision

Year: 1989

Today's street skating resembles what we see in Mark Gonzales' part from Vision Street Wear's multi-sport video, Mondo Vision. In a section called "Gonzo Goes To New York," we see Gonz cruising through traffic, skitching, skating at night, and ending it off with a 50-50 on a handrail, which was groundbreaking at the time. We still see these elements in videos of today such as in Tengu: God Of Mischief.

Matt Hensley - Shackle Me Not

Year: 1988

H-Street's Shackle Me Not marked a change in video production. Before, only the biggest companies could hire a crew and shoot expensive film for a few days. With video technology getting cheaper, the little guys could make their own videos and show off guys like Hensley, who was a skater just like the viewers who skated in parking lots and school yards and went to school and lived with his parents. This part bridged the gap between the early street skating of Gonz and Natas to what street skating is today.

Lance Mountain - The Bones Brigade Video Show

Year: 1985

When Lance Mountain pops out of that chimney in the first real skate video ever, he is ushering in a new dawn in skateboarding. Although it is not really a video part as we think of it today, the first section of the video features Lance Mountain heavily. Mountain admits he was never the best skater out there, but his personality, which comes through in this part more than any previous coverage, is what propelled him to stardom and a lengthy career that is still going today.