Element Skateboards – Earth, Wind & Pryor – Issue 49 article & ‘Search’ Video

To coincide with the release of Element Skateboards’ incredible latest full length video ‘search’ we have uploaded our article ‘Earth, Wind & Pryor’ as featured in Issue 49 which is available here. For back issues of our magazine please click here and whilst you’re at it, if you’d like to purchase any merch, we sure as hell aren’t going to stop you! Well, at least not intentionally.

Check the article below, then enjoy the latest full length flick by Jim Craven below that.

We at Vague pride ourselves on accurate representation and considered and well researched journalism. Sometimes the things we say may be informative and quite arcane, sometimes excruciatingly obvious. This article is certainly of the latter variety. 

Any skateboard enthusiast worth their salt already knows that Element Skateboards was formed in 1992 by Johnny Schillereff. Something however that is even more obvious is that he also had the help of the much-missed comedian Richard Pryor and chart topping 70s band Earth, Wind & Fire. That’s like saying day follows night, the sky is blue and Laurence Fox deservedly has no friends. The thought process was initially started in 1990 when Earth, Wind & Fire released the song ‘Elements Of Love’, a metaphor for their admiration for skateboarding. Unfortunately, due to contractual obligations no member was allowed to skateboard due to risk of injury. Desires still high to be a part of the skate community, they soon decided that, if you weren’t allowed to partake in the physical activity, why not make a company so you can still be a part of this blessed subculture? The wheels were in motion. Pun very much intended.

Richard Pryor was good friends with the band, even appearing in the 1975 music video for ‘Shining Star’. Now we’re not saying that Richard enjoyed skating less than Earth, Wind & Fire, but his cultural output also has many similarities with skateboarding in the early 90s. Pryor was a comic genius but also knew when to get serious and was a huge advocate for equality, often speaking about race and social justice in his acts and in interviews. Skateboarding graphics similarly often incorporate humour and social justice themes. And, to those morons who say “Keep politics out of skateboarding” – firstly, too late. Secondly, no. Thirdly, it affects everything so shut the fuck up and stop trying to justify your ignorance by claiming everyone gets on in the skatepark so we don’t need companies to push it on people. So they’re your mate in the skatepark but when society fucks them over it’s fine because it’s outside of skateboarding? Nah, it doesn’t work that way.

Anyway, reeling it back to Element Skateboards. Something that has been clear with Element since the beginning is the consistency of high quality riders. From alumni to the current roster, they’ve always showcased iconic talent. Every rider, From Rick Ibaseta to Brandon Westgate, has added something significant to the sport and the culture.

One of our favourite videographers, Jim Craven, had a large amount of creative input into their latest video project ‘Search’, and it’s no coincidence that we’ve always seen him as the Maurice White of filmmaking. Jim executes his projects with fine detail and loves to go for the less conventional spots, as proved by his prestigious video back catalogue. The only difference between Maurice and Jim is that unfortunately Jim’s singing voice is less appreciated, and we once witnessed a karaoke evening in Peckham get cut short by the owners whilst Jim was still on the mic. Aside from that, they’re exactly the same and one of the reasons Jim left Manchester initially was due to constant mistaken identity.

Another one of our favourite documentors of the roller plank is Clément Le Gall, who kindly snapped the images accompanying these words and, in this narrator’s humble opinion, quite frankly saved this article. So we urge you to appreciate the still imagery before appreciating the moving imagery when ‘Search’ comes to a 5G tower near you. Thank you to Jim, Clément and Element for this content… Another very well known skateboard filmmaker once messaged us saying “Fuck content, be a man.” We think about it often and are thankful that neither Jim nor Clément have said this to us. At least not yet.