Japan Love Note: Street Skating
Grosso Forever: Japan Love Note: Street Skating | Skate | VANS
The crazy thing about street skating in Japan is that in most cities it is not legal. Despite that jam up Tokyo, Osaka, etc have produced some of the best street skaters on the planet. This Love Note is an expanded version of the interview Jeff Grosso did with Tokyo legend Shin Okada and the T19 crew. Japan has a long and radical skate history. With so many eyes focused on Tokyo in 2021 Vans wanted to make sure that the rich skate culture and storied history didn't get lost in the hype of The Games. Japan has a great skate scene that should championed and celebrated long after this moment in history. This is the last trip the Loveletters crew took with our beloved Jeff Grosso before his passing. Jeff and the crew had a blast meeting the many Japanese skaters from every generation.
Japan Love Note: FESN
Grosso Forever: Japan Love Note: FESN | Skate | VANS
The Far East Skate Network is the brainchild of Japanese skater Takahiro Morita. FESN is a series of influential skate videos spanning 15 years, it's a board company and a skate shop. Jeff Grosso sat down with Morita to get the history behind FESN. Japan has a long and radical skate history. With so many eyes focused on Tokyo in 2021 Vans wanted to make sure that the rich skate culture and storied history didn't get lost in the hype of The Games. Japan has a great skate scene that should championed and celebrated long after this moment in history. This is the last trip the Loveletters crew took with our beloved Jeff Grosso before his passing. Jeff and the crew had a blast meeting the many Japanese skaters from every generation.
Japan Love Note: Japanese D.I.Y. Scene
Grosso Forever: Japan Love Note: Japanese D.I.Y. Scene | Skate | VANS
Japan has as great a DIY spot building scene as any place around the world. This Love Note is an expanded look at the scene and the main players making killer spots. Japan has a long and radical skate history. With so many eyes focused on Tokyo in 2021 Vans wanted to make sure that the rich skate culture and storied history didn't get lost in the hype of The Games. Japan has a great skate scene that should championed and celebrated long after this moment in history. This is the last trip the Loveletters crew took with our beloved Jeff Grosso before his passing. Jeff and the crew had a blast meeting the many Japanese skaters from every generation.
Japan Love Note: Women Shredders
Grosso Forever: Japan Love Note: Women Shredders | Skate | VANS
There are so many amazing women in the Japanese skate scene. The Joy and Sorrow DVD series has been highlighting the scene for over a decade. In this Love Note we check in with the creator of the series, Yuri Murai. Japan has a long and radical skate history. With so many eyes focused on Tokyo in 2021 Vans wanted to make sure that the rich skate culture and storied history didn't get lost in the hype of The Games. Japan has a great skate scene that should championed and celebrated long after this moment in history. This is the last trip the Loveletters crew took with our beloved Jeff Grosso before his passing. Jeff and the crew had a blast meeting the many Japanese skaters from every generation.
Japan Love Note: Aki Akiyama/ Nishi
Two of the pioneers of the Japanese skate scene are Aki Akiyama and Nishi. Aki represented the clean, contest wholesome skater while Nishi was the wild man who skated, took photos, made art and published magazines. Together these two laid the foundation for the Japanese skate scene and their impact can still be felt today.
Grosso Forever: Japan Love Note: Aki Akiyama/ Nishi | Skate | VANS
Japan has a long and radical skate history. With so many eyes focused on Tokyo in 2021 Vans wanted to make sure that the rich skate culture and storied history didn't get lost in the hype of The Games. Japan has a great skate scene that should championed and celebrated long after this moment in history.
This is the last trip the Loveletters crew took with our beloved Jeff Grosso before his passing. Jeff and the crew had a blast meeting the many Japanese skaters from every generation.
Love Letters to Skateboarding: Japan
Grosso Forever: Loveletter To Japan | Skate | VANS
Japan has a long and radical history when it comes to skateboarding, and a skate scene that’s worth celebrating and championing. With all eyes on Tokyo this year, Vans wanted to ensure that the rich skate culture and history didn’t get lost in the hype.
“Jeff Grosso wanted this episode to come out during the Olympics,” said Tony Hawk. “Jeff was very opinionated about skateboarding but especially about the Olympics. He wanted this episode to honor the skate scene and the skaters in Japan.”
From highlighting Japan’s pioneering skate legends, to the women’s skate scene and DIY skate spots, this wide ranging episode lives up to Grosso’s hope of celebrating the personalities, places and historical moments that have shaped Japanese skate culture over the years.
Five shorter Love Note episodes will dive deeper into these stories, including pioneers Aki Akiyama and Nishi, “Joy and Sorrow” women’s skate filmer Yuri Murai, Far East Skate Network founder and Japanese skater Takahiro Morita, the Japanese DIY skate spot builders, and a spotlight on Japan’s street skating scene featuring Tokyo legend Shin Okada and the T19 crew. Episodes will drop each Friday over the next month.