Skate Update: Headphones, Homies and History

OBEY, founded in 1989 by Shepard Fairey, has always been a project spanning art, photography, skateboarding and film. So when the brand decided to produce its first full-length skate video, it was a no-brainer that it would pay homage to its founding year. And thus, Eighty-Nine hit the World Wide Web last week!

With a focus on living up to the company's 37-year legacy, OBEY assembled a team united by a shared approach to skateboarding, while leaving plenty of room for the individual flair on which Fairey built the brand. Shane Farber, Lilian Fev, Pero Simic and Marley Humphrey each bring their own perspective, while remaining connected to the cultural core of OBEY's heritage.

Filmed across Philly, Atlanta, LA, Paris and Berlin, Eighty-Nine may serve as an advert for OBEY, but ultimately, it's a film that reflects the individual team members and the way they skate.

Click play for 17 minutes of Grayson Miller-crafted goodness now!

Whilst the notion of skateboarders acting should fill everyone with fear (don't worry, Jason Lee, you always get a pass!), any trepidation we might feel about Vincent Alvarez's thespian chops is wholly outweighed by the fantastic news that Daewon Song has finally found a home with Chocolate Skateboards!

Having spent his entire career under the Dwindle umbrella (we're talking all the way back to 1990!), Daewon now finds himself back in the embrace of the boys who left in '94, joining Mike and Rick (and Daniel Castillo) and bringing a smile to skaters your dad's age the world over.

History lesson aside, Daewon's move might be cheering up the skate dads, but there's nothing middle-aged about the footage in this welcome clip. Still arguably one of the best in the world when it comes to board control, the Gardena legend tears up Vincent's DIY spots like a kid a third of his age. Which gives us all hope for a Daewon-centred Chocolate full-length — so please make it happen, Rick and Mike. It's something the whole world wants to see!

It might not be the collab we expected as the autumn nights draw in, but Baker x Skullcandy has produced one hell of an advert in the form of this promo video. And, truth be told, we could well be convinced to give the associated headphones a go!

Starting off with a Bakerboys warehouse team montage, it's a gentle build. All the names you'd expect are in attendance, and it serves its purpose. But then, a minute or so in, we're transported outside, deep into Spanky's secret kerb territory and what was a perfectly serviceable but ultimately throwaway webclip becomes the classic Baker fodder we've all grown up with. This is what we came to see!

Spanky's late-career resurgence continues unabated, Reynolds and the youth tear up a hitherto unnamed plaza, Zach Allen powers through lines, and Beagle captures it all. The headphones feature throughout and, whilst this is clearly a paid advertising campaign, they do look sick in that Baker red. And anything that allows Spanky to keep expanding the possibilities of slappy skateboarding is OK by us.

It might not have been the collab we expected, but it's the one we got. And we're here for it!