Live & Direct  [ 02.25.2008 ] It's been a long cold winter. Between the snow and the cold, some of the guys have been going to Florida and Cali. The rest of them have been skating the old underground spot on Long Island with the homies. Meanwhile I've been sick with the flu for a few weeks at a time. When I'm not sick I've been grinding away at the new series of product for spring.  [ 10.10.2007 ] We are proud to announce that the 2007 Official promo video is available for your enjoyment. The latest video debuts and features the skating of Pedro Garboza, Billy Lynch, Joseph Delgado, Bobby Izzo, Dan Howe, Brian "BK" Kennedy, and John Coyne. Everyone worked very hard to get you this fine collection of skateboarding. Big thanks go out to all of the filmers in New York, Boston, and Florida who helped make this possible.  [ 09.18.2007 ] SPOT posted a photo of Brian Kennedy from the Es game of skate at ASR. John Coyne got some footy in the trailer for the upcoming Thanks Camera 3 video.  [ 09.12.2007 ] Brian Kennedy and John Coyne flew out to San Diego on Friday for the ASR tradeshow and so that Brian could enter the es game of skate AM finals, he didn't win. Now they're in LA rolling around having fun and getting footy.  [ 08.03.2007 ] Here's the final round from the NYC Es game of skate event, and Brian Kennedy's win.  [ 08.01.2007 ] Some footage of John Coyne from the NYC Es game of skate.. << Here's some footage of John Coyne and Brian Kennedy skating in the Redbull Manny Mania contest in Boston.. <<  [ 07.27.2007 ] In case you missed it, here's John Coyne's part from "Hello Goodbye" (aka Thanks Camera 2).. <<  [ 07.26.2007 ] The Es game of skate was huge, 375 kids entered. Out of our crew, Joseph Delgado got taken just just before the Semi Finals (round 5), John Coyne made it to the semi-finals but got taken out by a casper bigspin (?), but John's friend and our new flow rider BK (Brian Kennedy) took first and won the New York City Es Game of Skate @ Tomkins Square Park, good job homies.. <<  [ 07.18.2007 ] I'm still editing the footage, but here's some photos from the Bastille Day 2007 event: >> 1 2  [ 07.15.2007 ] Come skate with us at the Bastille Day Skatejam/Street Festival in Brooklyn..  [ 07.12.2007 ] Tomorrow (Friday the 13th) John Coyne will be skating in the Redbull Manny Mania contest in Boston, good luck.  [ 07.11.2007 ] Our latest addition to the family, Joseph Delgado got some footage in the new clip at StickUpKidsNY.com.  [ 06.21.2007 ] This year's Go Skateboarding Day NYC event was the biggest ever, I know we say that every year, but that's because it keeps getting better! Someone counted over 2000 kids through out the entire day. Joining Official and 5boro and showing love for the New York skateboarding community were Emerica, Zoo York, DC, Volcom, Riot, 1st Infantry, Substance, Prize Fighter Cutlery, KCDC, Concrete, Supreme, Autumn, Rival, Everything must go, Rockstar Bearings, and 411vm. Check out some of the photos from the event.  [ 04.04.2007 ] I just got back from a week in Chicago, while checking out the city I stopped by Uprise Skateshop and I ran into Little Henri from Brazil (not so little now) that used to live in NY and Ken Keistler that I got footage from five years ago. It makes you realize that no matter how big skateboarding gets, it's still a small world. While I was away, Derick Ziemkiewicz landed a photo in the latest issue of Focus skate mag. John Coyne is back in the north east after spending a long winter in Florida, that lucky bastard.  [ 03.19.2007 ] The crew's been revamped, and the team section will be updated eventually.. Pedro Garboza and Derick Ziemkiewicz both got a bunch of new footage randomly scattered over at the Stick up Kids website. John Coyne got a little featurette on 411vm.com for the Thanks Camera video, "Hello Goodbye (aka Thanks Camera 2)". Dan Howe got a cameo in the NYC section of the new 411vm: "Up For Grabs" (15.1). Official alumni Luis Tolentino and Rodney Torres both have a good amount of footy in the NYC montage. Rodney Torres, also got his first 411 opener of his career.  [ 01.16.2007 ] It's a New Year, and we're working on some new things.. John Coyne is in Florida enjoying the sun and fun. He just got his cast off and he's already filming. He's only been there since the weekend and he already got tricks. John's part in the "Hello Goodbye (aka Thanks Camera 2)" video premiered recently, and will be in stores shortly. Pedro Garboza just got back from skating and visiting the family in Venezuela. He sprained his ankle twice while he was there, at least this time he didn't get shot at. The rest of us have been skating, enjoying the short heat wave we had here in New York. It was nice to skate without having to wear several layers of sweatshirts, but now it's time to break out the bubble jackets again because winter is definitely here to stay.  [ 12.10.2006 ] Winter is creeping up on us quickly but this hasn't stopped the homies from skating, getting footage, and having fun. Pedro and Derick have been killing it. Bobby and Dan are off the disabled list and back on their boards. German just dropped a sick part in the new "Minority Report" video and has been filming for the Division East video. John Coyne recently broke two toes but he still managed to finish an amazing part for the "Hello Goodbye (aka Thanks Camera 2)" video.  [ 10.18.2006 ] Bobby Izzo got a part in the "20 dollars off no tax" video.  [ 10.18.2006 ] German Nieves got some footy in the "Few and Far Between Video".  [ 10.17.2006 ] Ian Reid's Video is the realest video you'll probably ever see in your whole life. It's got sex, guns, drugs, fighting, and many of your favorite skaters. If that's not enough reasons for you to go buy it, the Official fam got some footy in it.  [ 09.27.2006 ] Peep some old footy of German that Chris Hall put on GetFam.com, plus some unseen footy of Harold Hunter, Scot Schwartz, Mike Wright, and Rob Campbell.  [ 09.25.2006 ] The team's been killing it lately, Pedro Garboza got 4th place last weekend in Queens at the DC King of New York contest. Pedro also got some new footy with his homies in a new clip over at Official New York. Pedro, Bobby Izzo, Derick Z, and big Germ all got footy with Marino and a few other friends in a new clip over at SquareFilms.com.  [ 08.08.2006 ] The shop section has been updated.  [ 08.02.2006 ] It's been long over due, but Official finally has a MySpace page, so start adding us! http://www.myspace.com/officialskateboards There's a crazy heat wave going on here in NYC. It's not easy staying cool when you are constantly busy skating, filming, working on new products and new website updates which include a new webpage for our ever expanding team. Expect to see some fresh new stuff from Pedro Garboza, Bobby Izzo, Shane Perry, and Derick Ziemkiewicz very soon. There's also a new skatepark in Downtown Manhattan, Lower Eastside under the Mahattan Bridge. Everything's pretty mellow, but a lot of fun. Check it out! [ Discuss @ OfficialNewYork.com ]  [ 07.17.2006 ] For the last two years, Rodney Torres has been the face of Official Skateboards. Due to unfortunate circumstances beyond our control, Rodney has decided to move on in his career. We would like to thank Rodney for everything he has done for Official and for the commitment he made in building the brand. While his absence from the team will be felt by all of his family and friends here at Official, we would like to wish Rodney only the best in all his future endeavors. Although we are very sad to see Rodney go, Official will continue making quality skateboard products. We have been spending a lot and time and effort building a flow team, trying to help them come up. Be on the lookout for a lot of footage and photos from Pedro Garboza, Bobby Izzo, Shane Perry, and Derick Ziemkiewicz. These kids are going to be a fixture in skateboarding for a long time and we are proud to be supporting them.  [ 06.30.2006 ] In case you missed it, here's a few random photos from the Go Skate Day 2006 skatejam..  [ 05.20.2006 ] Last month we did a demo with our bro's over at Rockstar Bearings, here's some footy from it.  [ 05.19.2006 ] It was a long winter, but Rodney and friends stayed warm while skating the indoor TF in Brooklyn. In between skating, Marino was able to film a short clip. While you're at it, check out SquareFilms.com.  [ 05.01.2006 ] There's been a lot going on over here at Official. First off: The Official Promo is now out. We put a lot of time and effort into it and it was a lot of fun to do. Bryan and I would like to thank the team for putting out some of the sickest skateboarding we've ever seen. We'd like to thank the filmers who took the time to film with our guys. And most of all we'd like to thank the people who have put their faith in and given their support to us. Without you guys, Official wouldn't exist. Also, we would like to give a shout out to John Coyne. John is our new Official Am. He's been flow for us since September of last year and he's more than earned his promotion to Am status. Congrats John. Anyone reading this should definitely check out his page on the website. We also updated the product page with a few new boards and shapes. If you're in the Matawan NJ area on May 6th, we're doing a demo there. The demo is at the TF behind the Walgreens. The Walgreens address is 947 Route 34, Matawan NJ 07747. Here are some Mapquest directions if you need them. For any other questions about the demo, email me at info@officialskateboards.com. That's all for now. Anything that's on you're mind related to Official, send us an email at info@officialskateboards.com.  [ 04.28.2006 ] As you all know we went down to Tampa for Tampa Pro. Here's some footy that was sitting around from the trip. Check out how Torres almost makes it to the end of the ledge. Classic contest run. ( we re-encoded the video file for people with older versions of quicktime )  [ 04.16.2006 ] Last weekend was quite eventful. Saturday I got married, the following day the team did their first demo of the year at TSX with the Rockstar Bearings crew. Everyone was ripping, footage to follow.  [ 03.16.2006 ] We just got back from Tampa Pro this week. Tampa Pro was insane. First off, I want to thank Ryan Clements and his staff at the Skatepark of Tampa, they run an awesome park and throw a hell of a party. I want to congratulate Rodney Torres for getting 31st out of 48 riders in the qualifiers. I know 31st doesnt sound that great but everyone there was ripping. Rodney made a sick tre-flip noseslide during his run. It was sick, we'll post footy of it soon. Also down in Tampa ripping were German Nieves and Pedro Garboza. German was just going off all week. He got some awesome footage, dropped in on the SPOT vert ramp padless and drunk, and kicked the most insane freestyle that had everyone stop in their tracks. Even dudes who knew nothing about rap or hiphop stopped to check it out. It was so ridiculous, its too bad no one filmed it. German also fucking killed the street course too: a line of a kickflip over the big pyramid then came back to nollie heel over the small pyramid. Check the footy of Shecklers run on the SPOT website to gauge the magnitude of those tricks.. epic indeed. There were a bunch of photos taken down in Tampa and those will be put up shortly. We'll also have some footy put up from Tampa as well. All in all, it was an awesome time...  [ 03.06.2006 ] After a couple of crazy weeks around here, we finally got around to picking a winner for the February contest. The winner is Tristan Smith. He correctly identified the 3 magazines that Rodney Torres had photos in: Transworld, Skateboarder, and the Skateboard Mag. Way to go Tristan, there's an Official board coming your way. Rodney Torres and I are heading down to Tampa Pro this week. We're looking forward to the warm weather and some new spots. Also heading down to Tampa are Steve Marino, German Nieves, and Pedro Garboza. These dudes are gonna be on a serious filming mission while down in sunny Florida. Speaking of Florida, John Coyne was just down there on spring break tearing it up with Shane Perry. He sent us back a switch front nose sequence from the blue hubba in Miami that looks hot. Coyne is killing it these days. We've grown a lot in the last year so we thought it's about time we expanded somewhat. We're officially putting together the Official Flow Team. We'll announce the flow team later this week and try to get a clip together sometime this month. The final version of the Official Promo is still in the works. Bryan's putting some hard work into it and it should be done real soon. It looks real good and will be in the shops that carry our boards. The Promo will be free.. If you have anything you want to ask or comment about, drop us an email.  [ 02.24.2006 ] I didn't want to post anything till I got a chance to see Harold Hunter one last time. On Wednesday, I saw Harold and I said my goodbye. It was hard to say goodbye. I will always remember the good times and the good memories I had of hanging out and skating with him. Harold had an amazing personality and was always fun to be around. I will miss you Harold, rest in peace.  [ 02.13.2006 ] Damn, there's a lot of snow outside. It ain't too bad since it'll be 50 degrees by the end of the week. In the mean time, find a roofed area to skate. There's a chance Torres and I will be hitting Tampa pro. Torres will be entering, I will not. Check out the Skatepark of Tampa website for details.  [ 02.07.2006 ] Rodney came back from Cali last week. He summed up his time skating there as being on 2 wheels at all times. I guess staying with Joey Brezinski will have some sort of effect on your skating. Coyne came down this past weekend and was ripping. Were all psyched on that kid and when you see the promo, youll know why. New T-shirts should be in by the end of this week as long as our t-shirt guy doesnt knock himself out again. We also have boards with a new graphic coming in soon. For lack of a better term, it will be the hotness. The February contest is in full effect. Check the 1/31/06 Live and Direct for details. Sometimes, being a skate nerd can net you free product.  [ 02.03.2006 ] So the guys have been skating the indoor TF in brooklyn. Steve's a pretty good skateboarder and a decent filmer, but he sucks at letting us know when he posts new footy on the internet.  [ 01.31.2006 ] The first month of 2006 is nearly at a close and lots of things been happening here at Official. First off, a final version of the Official promo is in the works. I know Ive been writing about it for the last month but trust me, its worth the wait. Also in the works is a new board graphic. The graphics look hot and just need to be tweaked a little. Just wait for it. And lastly, we got some bangin new t-shirts comin out within a few weeks. All in all, its been a pretty crazy month here on the production front. The February contest is now on: To win a free Official board and Brick and Mortar 3 DVD answer the following correctly: Within the last year, Rodney Torres has had photos in 3 skate magazines. Out of the list below, pick the 3 skate magazines that he was in: Focus Slap Skateboarder The Skateboard Mag Thrasher Transworld Skateboarding Poweredge To win, you must identify the 3 magazines correctly. The winner will be chosen at random from the group of entries that have correct answers. ALL ENTRIES MUST BE SENT IN BY FEBRUARY 24TH. This month, the second place prize winner will receive a t-shirt and a Brick and Mortar 3 DVD. The third place prize winner will receive a Brick and Mortar 3 DVD. To send your entry to us, please email it to contest@officialskateboards.com. Please remember to include your name, home address, and telephone number. We need to know where to send you this stuff, that is, if you want it. - Pete  [ 01.26.2006 ] Rodney dropped me a grip of photos from his trip to LA, check it out.. - Bryan  [ 01.23.2006 ] So Bryan didnt break his foot last week, he just dislocated a bone in it. Although he didnt break anything in the foot, he did tear some ligaments in his ankle though. Bryan gets way too aggro when he skates. Dan Howe got back from LA on Saturday and proceeded to meet with German Nieves and filmer Justin White to get some footy for the Official promo. Rodney Torres was at ASR this weekend where he was partying, networking, and debuting a raw cut of the promo. The feedback from the industry types/pro skaters/lurkers was pretty damn good. Hopefully well get the same feedback from the kids that we actually do this for. A finalized edit should be done and in skateshops by the end of February. Have I mentioned the promo will be FREE? The January contest has come to a close. This months winner is Keith Hardock. Keith wins an Official board and a Brick and Mortar 3 DVD. The second prize, a Brick and Mortar 3 DVD, goes to John Kim. We got a lot of responses with a lot of interesting answers. Not one single response included Chris Keeffe, although one response included his brother, Jones Keeffe. We got a response that correctly included 7 pros, Ian Weekes knows whats up. For those that cant wait for the next contest, the February contest will be announced January 30th. Arc De Triomphe just got a new shipment of Official decks. Check out Arc at 114-01 Jamaica Avenue, Richmond Hill NY 11418. If you have anything you want to contribute or any questions, send us an email. - Pete  [ 01.16.2006 ] Hello all. Bryan broke his foot skating the Brooklyn TF last week. Total bummer. I guess this leaves him with nothing better to do than to edit the Official promo, design some t-shirts, and finish up some new board graphics. That doesn't sound like much to do, does it? When you got all that to do, who needs a good foot? Right? Oh yeah, he also stretched/tore some ligaments in his ankle too.. so not awesome. As I'm typing this, Dan Howe and Rodney Torres are skating manny pads all over L.A. with Joey Brezinski. These dudes have some serious two wheel stunts. Later this week, Rodney will be heading down to San Diego for ASR. That should be three days of complete mayhem. German Nieves called asking us for a box and as he was asking, UPS showed up at his front door with his box. Sometimes, things just happen like that. John Coyne is psyched on Brick and Mortar 3. Check it out, it's a good video, even better given the fact that it's free. Go to Autumn, KCDC, or Rival to pick up a copy... Our January contest is still on and it's only a few more days before we pick a winner on the 21st. Check out the January 2nd and 9th Live and Direct for contest details. Later. - Pete  [ 01.09.2006 ] What's up? Things are moving along nicely in the new year here at Official. Bryan's been working on the promo, new graphics, new t-shirts, and I've been, uhmmm, yeah, I've been working on my skating... Rodney and Dan got to LA Wednesday night. Highlights from their trip so far: "Traffic sucks, no one's around to skate with, we already got kicked out of the place we're staying at"...sounds like fun. Speaking of Dan, check out some Howe skatepark footy: flowerpothead.com/oilCity. John Coyne coming off his part in "Thanks Camera" already got some more footy with double angles. This kid is coming off a broken knee cap and is killing it despite the winter weather in Boston. Big Germ HOLLA! is filming for the Division East video and you know he's doing it with a clean style and a "crispy brim" on... Check out Sublevel Skateshop in Bayside Queens, they are now carrying Official boards. Also, check out Special Sauce if you're in Long Island, they recently got a new shipment of our boards. The contest for a free board is still on for January: Name 5 skateboarding pros that came out of NYC. Email us your entry with the title "Official - January Contest" by January 21st: contest@officialskateboards.com. Remember to include your name, home address, and phone number along with your answer(s). One winner will be chosen at random (obviously the winner must have the correct answer(s)). In addition to winning a board the winner will also receive the Brick and Mortar 3 DVD. We will also be choosing a runner-up winner that will receive the Brick and Mortar 3 DVD. Good luck to all. Sometime this week I'm gonna go through some mini DV tapes that have some Official footy on it. Maybe we'll get around to posting some footy next week. If you have any questions concerning Official Skateboards or want to know more about us, email me at info@officialskateboards.com. See you out there skating. - Pete  [ 01.02.2006 ] Happy New Year! Starting with this report, we're gonna try to update the website every week for you kids. More updates, more video clips, more everything. What more can you ask for? In team news, Rodney Torres and Dan Howe leave NY on Wednesday to go to LA to skate, film, and enjoy the beautiful weather. Lucky bastards. German's chillin' in Philly right now. Our new guy, John Coyne has a part in a video out of the Boston area called "Thanks Camera". You should definitely check it out, Coyne rips. Check out Mass Transit Skate Shop in Valley Stream, they are now carrying Official boards. For the shop address, check the "shops" link. There have been a lot of rumors going around about an Official video being in the works. We are currently in the process of selecting footy and initial editing of the Official Promo. The promo is due out in March and so far from what I've seen, it's pretty ridiculous. Justin White and Steve Marino are helping Bryan out with some footy. It's gonna be sick! Lastly, we here at Official Skateboards thought it would be proper to have a monthly contest in which we giveaway a board to some lucky kid. For this month's contest, you gotta send us an email answering the following: Name at least 5 skateboarding pros to come out of New York City (and just to help you out a little, for this contest, Gino Iannucci and/or Bobby Puleo do not count as they came from Long Island/NJ, respectively). Please send your email to contest@officialskateboards.com with the subject line "Official - January Contest". Remember to include your name/home address/phone number, so that you'll receive the board. All emails must be received by us by January, 21st. The board will be sent to the lucky kid before the end of the month. Good luck. - Pete  [ 12.22.2005 ] Rodney and Dan are flying out to LA after New Years for the winter. Meanwhile, German is going to be throwing switch busky's in Miami. This winter's going to be HOT, literally. - Bryan  [ 12.20.2005 ] Live and Direct in the one-six-ooh, check this section for the word on the street. - Bryan