Shane O Neil

Although to me Shane O Neil seems like just another generic post LADD/ post Mike Mo Aussie, Berra boasts its one of the best video parts he's ever seen.


Berra claims he's so excited about this little video that he wants his website to host it as a 2.99 $ download and give the money as "some sort of gift" to Shane to celebrate him turning pro for Skatemental- (what a guy!).


Oh, and of course somewhere else on the site in there,he off handedly states that some of the $$ has to go to pay for putting up the website's video content.


I don't know much about web hosting or how much bandwidth costs to watch videos, but it seems to me it would'nt cost as much as they claim (desktop publishing seems like a relatively cheap technology).


But I guess video DOES get more expensive when you factor in mouths to feed and props being build and extraneous/irrelevant shows to litter the internet with.


Then Berra not so cleverly films some of the fakest pros (Greco, Dyrdek) waching the Shane O Neil video part and acting like said part is on some second coming of the Gonz/Natas level- painting it up to proportions of a Mouse/Video Days/Wonderful Horrible Life magnitude.


The 2.99$ price is indicative of a bigger lie (you take a penny away from the final price to make it look like its a dollar less, when it is really only a penny less).


I think about how you can tell a lot about a person by how they skate (Berra instals faux props at spots and films them for his videos. His claim to fame; inventing not so cleverly deceptive veritable street parks).


One of the final steps is getting Berrics pros to film testimonies about how "important" video parts are to pro skaters and to skateboarding in general- like we didn't already know this.


Jeron Wilson with his John Q. Heineken goatee, smuggly stating: "It means everything, if you want to make it in the skateboarding game" as if it hasnt been over fourteen years since he himself has actually pumped out something relevant or worth watching.


And when Mike Vallley further pontificates: "My skating is the ulimate expression of my skating", it makes me wonder how pro wresteling fits into his old 411 section.


And the promise of Guys Mouse part becomes even further unfullfilled with another one of his numerous babbling testimonials- his face looking like he has been smoking crack for the last ten years.


What these guys represent is the old gurad- pre internet age G level celebrities who rose up through the exclusuve media monopoly fraternity that was professional skating.


Instead of challenging pre concieved notions and questioning dead end norms(current skate videos being at a haulting standstill), they are contracted out to futily endorse and reinforce their now in jeopardy status quo.


Skateboarding should be defined by more than contrived clips synched up to i-tunes.


There should be more stringent criteria when placing value on pros and what they mean to skateculture- a video part can only tell you so much.


And remember the dangers of pop- along with the dangers of beauty; being seduced by what lies on the surface, when in fact there is not much beyond.