photo by Larry Luk

One of the most prominent features of the University of Oregon’s Matthew Knight Arena is Kilkenny Floor which was designed by Tinker Hatfield, Nike’s VP of Creative Design and named after former Oregon Athletic Director Pat Kilkenny. Called “Deep in the Woods”, the floor’s design gives the impression of being lost in a Pacific Northwest forest, gazing towards the sky. The charge for Hatfield was to design something that echoed the “Tall Firs” nickname of the 1938-39 Oregon Ducks men’s basketball team, winners of the inaugural NCAA basketball championship as well as providing an iconic television presence for the University of Oregon. What do you think of the floor’s design. Do you think it provides the Ducks with a home court advantage?

“The SB Chronicles, Vol. 1″ is the new feature-length Nike SB video project. The first of three films in the “SB Chronicles” video series, it will premiere online December 3, 2011 at 7 p.m. EST. Starting December 10, 2011, the film will also become available for purchase on iTunes.

Shot entirely in HD, “The SB Chronicles, Vol.1″ was filmed on location around the world in the streets and parks of Hong Kong, Amsterdam, Dubai, and the United States. “The SB Chronicles, Vol.1″ was by shot by Jason Hernandez and showcases full parts from Nike SB team riders Youness Amrani, Chet Childress, Clark Hassler, Stefan Janoski, Lewis Marnell, Daniel Shimizu, Grant Taylor, and Wieger Van Wageningen, as well as an eclectic soundtrack featuring artists selected by the skaters themselves.

“The SB Chronicles, Vol. 1″ will premiere in cities across the globe (Los Angeles, New York, Tampa, London, Paris, Milan, Melbourne, Hong Kong, Sao Paulo,) as well at Nike SB dealers worldwide. However, anybody anywhere can take part in the simultaneous interactive online premiere by tuning into nikeskateboarding.com/sbchronicles at the worldwide event time of December 3, 2011 at 7 p.m. EST to watch the complete video, get an inside look at the various premieres, and ask questions in real-time to the Nike SB team riders featured in the video, as well as director Jason Hernandez, after the premiere.

Charlotte’s Black Sheep Skate Shop has teamed up with Alien Workshop for a limited edition deck that will be released on Friday, December 2nd, 2011. The original artwork was created by Alien Workshop co-founder Mike Hill. To celebrate this release, Black Sheep has teamed up with CharlotteSkate for a photo retrospective of the skateboarding scene in Charlotte featuring over 20 years of local skateboard history from photographers, including Brian Tucker, Richie McCorkle, Jason Waters, and Mark Hansen.

The photo reception is from 6pm to 10pm, but the party lingers on the Camden Block at Dharma Lounge for Hella!! PRSNTS: Care Package charity to benefit Levin’s Children Hospital with DJ Mike the 2600 and BLNGxBDGT.

I remember seeing Grant Taylor just shredding his Shanghai Dunk SBs in Little Five Points and thinking to myself, “This KID is crazy! Why would you abuse those gems?!?” Then I started seeing him go harder than anyone else in skate videos and I proclaimed to everyone within earshot that he was the best skater out there. Maybe my passion was fueled more by seeing a member of the Dirty South kicking ass on a national stage?

Fast-forward a few years… Now it seems like the Thrasher Magazine bros share the same sentiment as me. Congrats Grant on winning Skater of the Year! ATL stand up!

Note: Peep all the ATL spots in this video… I see Murder Kroger!!!