The Crew Video Comeback

When it was just Razor and Micro in the scooter industry, the only videos that existed apart from solo minivideos were crew videos.  It was practically a miracle when a group of riders would live close enough together to progress and make something worthwhile.  But as luck would have it, several areas across the US would develop scenes large enough to result in legitimate crews- The Philly Crew, Scooter Insanity, The Baboons, DXG, NBS, RAD, and so on.

Right as the industry slowly began to take off, lots of crews were popping up and making full length videos.  You had the 951 team, Nukk Scooters, and the OG TPC guys were at their height. But as time went on and the industry began to expand, the crews who were making videos got sponsored.  Nukk became Lucky, 951 turned into ScooterZone, and many others ended up like TPC- half the guys did become sponsored, and others simply faded away.   

The sport did a complete switch- the majority of videos coming out were to promote a scooter company, rather than just because people were doing it for the love of it.  Seeing “Welcome to [insert company] made the whole thing just feel like a cookie cutter “This is what I’m supposed to do” move.  Not only that, but you wouldn’t really see many full-lengths in general because members of that crew were filming for other purposes- their sponsors.  So they simply wouldn’t have footage to use in a crew video.  

So now, at nearly 3 AM, having just rewatched Sam Thomas’s inspired, gem of a part in the Fat Cat Crew’s DC Diaries, I psyched.  To me, full-length videos are the highest level of scooter related achievement.  Not only are they the most rewarding projects a rider can work on, it’s the best way to watch scootering (anyone who has attended a Tilt premiere will agree).  DC Diaries was preceded by What’s Hilary Duff Doing? a video by a bunch of riders from Imnotsurewhere, Pennsylvania (spoiler:  you don’t find out what Hilary’s up to).  This video features a bunch of riders who do seriously have amazing talent- but sadly their production value is severely lacking. But what they’re missing in production value is made up in heart and soul.  These are dudes who aren’t doing it for a sponsor.  They’re not getting money for the footage, there’s no coupon codes to push or clip quotas.  They fall, they bleed, they rip their clothes, they spend exorbitant amounts of money on gas and fast food.  All to experience the feeling of traveling somewhere new with their friends, challenging themselves in both a mental and physical capacity, risking the possibility of injury, and the ever-fleeting, insatiable high of landing scooter tricks- and of course, documenting it in audiovisual form.  Their fisheye is scratched and has shit all over it, steadyshot is on, but who cares, they’re filming scootering because it’s damn fun.  

The FatCat Crew and the WHDD? guys aren’t the only crews working on videos.  The Bay Area Concrete crew is currently filming a video in full HD- contrasting the raw, SD style of the East Coast with some of the best filming in scootering.  Peachy is also working on a follow-up to Honey and Jenkem called Flaccid Flop.  And let’s not forget probably the most anticipated crew video ever, Friendly’s LUX, dropped earlier this year.  It really is an exciting time in scootering- scooter riders are growing up, becoming more dedicated and serious with how they present scootering.  The riders in these crews will be the stars of teams for companies that don’t even exist yet.  They will be the trendsetters of the future, and in some cases they already are.  They are the crews of scootering today, and they are the heart of our culture.

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Check out Sam Thomas' DC Diaries part below: