Fun times with young ones (aka 30 year olds). @the_neviathan @iamnotacreepyjake @matthouse @chadsterwick

A post shared by glen gillinghammer (@corpoglenny) on May 29, 2017 at 3:57pm PDT

Jake and I rolled to 303 then went to Civic Park to meet up with Matt, Nate and Chad. Warming up didn’t go as well as I wanted. I felt pretty sore. I had setup a new board. A Jack 8.25. And it felt good. A setup I was finally happy with the whole day. Jake and I tried to get warmed up on the little ledges for awhile. He got tailslides. I did some switch noseslides. Kickflips and fakie flips happened. Chad then Matt then Nate showed. Nate was killing it out of the gate as usual. Matt missed his first 5 treflips. Unheard of! He would get some of course though. After awhile we went down to the new area which is super fun. I took forever to get a manual then crook grind which Jake did way before me. Nate slammed super hard trying to manual a narrow ledge. Chad did some fast manuals then had some ankle pain kick in and took off. Matt and Nate had quick bonks a ledge and Matt did back tails on the ledge. Matt had another sick line with ollie a ledge then front tail to fakie. I had a really slow line of switch nose jib then nollie front tail. It was fun though. It rained for a bit so we sat in the covered area. Then Nate jumped up after sitting for awhile and wanted to play a game of SKATE. My legs weren’t ready and I didn’t commit to a single flip trick so I was out first. Matt ended up taking it and we were skating the two little ledges again. I got a back 50 and some switch noseslides. It was fun. Nate was doing super fast front tailslides and nollie front 5-0s and nollie noseslides. Jake front tails. Matt was chilling and filming the gnar. Ha. Then we got the boot and checked out the nearby wallies which Nate did. Then called it a day.

(setup 8.25″ null spanbauer deck, venture 5.8 lights, venom 88a bushings, bones sft v1 50mm wheels, 3 washers on the outside of each axle, old swiss bearings, lakai manchester 11 black/white, remind cush insoles)

I met Eric and Rob at Louisville for a flatground session to start the day. It was cool because Brian and Ric were still there after their skate lessons so we hung for a bit. I was still feeling sore from Saul’s. I thought I would loosen up, but I didn’t. I was really hard to skate being that sore. I got a few kickflips, fakie flip, halfcab flip. That was about it. I had put some Thunder bushings in since I remembered liking them in the warmer months of the year. But I didn’t like them. I had a new deck too. The Jason deck. I guess Jason never cared about flip tricks much so it makes since his presence didn’t help me. Ha. Eric and Rob chatted a lot. It still rules seeing Rob in the mix again. Rob got kickflips back, had some really long manuals, did the best backside 180s. Eric was getting denied on heelflips. All seemed right, it just wasn’t happening. After awhile those two went into the skatepark and I just stubbornly tried a line of kickflip, one foot then varial flip. I kind of got it. It was incredible how little I could pop. Then I joined those dudes in the park. I was happy to show Rob I can finally do beanplants like him on banks now. Okay, wait a minute. I just mean I can do the same trick as him, not with the same style obviously. I did some ride on grinds onto the ledge and some boardslides on the flat bar, but that was it. I went home pretty sad at how sore I was.

(setup 8.125 null inspiration deck, venture 5.2 low awake trucks, 1/16″ risers, stock thunder bushings, swiss bearings, 50mm spitfire classic formula 4 wheels, new balance numeric pj 533 black/white 12 stock insoles)

A wet morning meant we planned for yellow curbs even though it had dried up outside. It was still cold though. The crew was Dave, Simon, Carleigh, Fuzz, Mathew, Brillo, Lazer and Nolan. I was feeling pretty self conscious about my low level of skating these days. I was able to ollie up curbs, but it wasn’t easy. So it kind of made me want to hide at times. I did have some fun with slappy crooks and I was hyped to actually manual one of the manual pads, but other that that I mostly hid on the far side trying to line out basic tricks like kickflip and back 50. I got a couple slow lame lines. I hate the cold. Highlights from others I saw: Fuzz did noseslide to crooks to fakie, high speed fakie ollies up curbs. Carleigh did multiple front lips and might have done nollie lips too. Lazer had a sick back tail and some pretty gnarly slams. Nolan did a kick back tail while I was checking my phone. Doh. Also a nollie nose manual nollie flip out. Mathew was flying around the place. Brillo had some flippers that really surprised me like switch heel done so well. Dave did slappy crooks shove and a cool 360 plant over a ledge. Simon did such a sick long boardslide transfer.

(setup 8.38 null machine deck, venture 5.8 wides, 3 washers outside each axle, Venom 88a bushings, 52mm Spitfire F4 classic 99a green wheels, bronson bearings, New Balance Numeric 344 white superfeet 3/4 insoles with a thin adidas insole on top)

Went to Northglenn after a Crisis with a rad crew. Jake and Dave. We arrived to a crowded park with lots of Denver heads. Mike Marks was there absolutely destroying with some other Reed wheels rippers. Andrew and the No Love dudes were there. Stefan was there destroying the bowl. I thought I would be feeling better, but as soon as I set my board down I knew it was bad. Even after two days my knee pain was intense. I couldn’t squat, I had no confidence at all. Dave was ripping all over the park through the crowds on every obstacle. It made me so jealous. I wanted to be motivated, but my pain prevented me from trying. Jake was hanging with Stefan. Derek Yale showed up! It ruled to see him. He was doing his same fakie manuals for awhile and then just flowing so easily all over the park. After awhile I just sat down and gave up. I was so incredibly depressed. If I had drove I would have left and maybe even left my board at the park. Dave was killing the little bank. Back tail, back tail fakie, crooks to fakie, maybe switch front crook? Jake almost got noseblunt on it. Near the end of the night we skated the bowl. I just carved and bailed axle stall. Jake and Dave padded up and got gnar. They both did frontside airs in the deep. Jake had front smith. Dave almost did some pretty big backside airs. Every time I bailed the run out hurt beyond belief. I decided I’m not going to skate again until I get some things figured out. I supposed I deserve this after skating basically 700 days in a row. Ugh. But nothing is worse then skating this bad.

(setup 8.25 null future board, venture 5.8 wides, 3 washers outside each axle, Venom 88a bushings, 52mm stf v5 wheels, bronson bearings, Emerica Reynolds Vulcs b/w 10.5 NB+ insoles)

On a very windy night I decided a setup change was in order. I’ve been having a rough go with skateboarding lately and realized it all started around the time I changed to a big setup. I had read through several of my ‘favorite’ journal entries to try and come up with my favorite size. There were almost no entries for big boards (>8.25). The truck size didn’t seem to matter so much, but I definitely seemed happier with smaller wheels (<51mm). I wanted a Reynolds part and decided to go with high trucks at least. 8.25 board, 8" high trucks and the same wheels I had. I went to the Valmont garage. My board felt high off the ground on my first few pushes which doesn't make much sense considering I've been on high trucks. I forgot how much I dislike the low hanging sprinkler pipes, but I started trying tricks. Kickflips felt easier. I still felt out of it and not very motivated. I almost left. But ended up just dorking which is all I seem to do these days. I got into a few switch front crooks on the tiny curb that doesn't grind. Also some back 50s that reminded me how much I like how sharp 8" trucks turn compared to 8.5". If I rode parallel to the ledge it wouldn't be an issue, but I take a pretty weird sharp curve right before back 50s. I was hucking flip tricks without much intention of landing them. But it did feel good to huck them as I have been totally slacking on flatground lately. Switch crook took awhile. All in all, it was mostly another dreary day of skating. I felt a little better that I actually tried some flip tricks at least. I would not be surprised if I switch to low trucks and I think I really like the feeling of how close they are to the ground. They really do help with board feel. The major con is lots of wheelbite. So for now, I will try to stick with the 8" highs and see how long that lasts. (setup 8.25 null logo deck, venture v-hollow 5.2 high, 3 washers inside each axle, pink/purple spitfire 52mm 99a F4 conical wheels, venom 88a bushings no bottom washer, new balance numeric 598 black/white shoes)

Colorful new gear for the new year. Been holding onto the @idrawmazes griptape for something special. These are my first colored wheels in a long time. I'm hoping they lower people's expectations of what I can do on a skateboard. Haha. 8.5" null ollie graphic Venture 5.8s 52mm Spits F4 conical Bronson bearings Venom 88a bushings #christmascomplete

A photo posted by glen gillinghammer (@corpoglenny) on Jan 1, 2017 at 6:38pm PST

@jackspanbauer 😍

A video posted by Null Skateboards (@null_skateboards) on Jan 2, 2017 at 7:34pm PST

After my first day off in 366 days I met up with Jack at the Engineering building on campus. Nolan, Dave and Mike would follow shortly. I was on all new stuff and it felt insanely awkward. Even new shoes. I never once felt good on my board and quickly realized that the 366 day burnout was still in effect. Luckily I was with some fun people. Jack was ripping right out of the gates doing a line with a trick up the first 3 stair then noseslide pop out up the second one. Dave filmed it. I did a couple of terrible back 50s off the ledge, that was about it. Jack went on to get all kinds of stuff. Tricks that we initially were filming for Stubborns, but is so good it’ll probably go towards Null. Nolan Had some cool no comply combos and basic ledge tricks. Dave had some good slappy noseslides. We ended up getting the boot so we moved on to the bank to curb. My setup felt good for a bit ollieing up the curb easy. Jack had to go to work. Dave, Nolan and Mike all got tricks for The Stubborns. I had a couple of fun street plant drops off the nearby ledge/rail.

Some days crews young and old converge to skate a crusty curb in the freezing cold. With @maxgarson @fullertrron @gnarlycarleigh @cookiegrinder13 @wwwwiillllllllll @jackspanbauer @nolancormier #skateboardingisfun

A video posted by Null Skateboards (@null_skateboards) on Jan 5, 2017 at 5:51am PST

Then we went up to this curb. It had started getting really cold. I did nothing on it. Mike had no comply 5-0s and the boardslide 270. Dave and Nolan did a million tricks. I somehow only got a couple of Daves. We had heard some skate noises up on the bank to fence that was nearby. Shortly after that Max and Will rolled by and joined us. It was rad. Both of them ripped it. Shortly after that Jack and Carleigh joined. Such a rad crew. I was frozen solid and not really skating. Everyone else was ripping. We moved down to a new ledge spot that Max, Will and Jack destroyed. Dave got in on it too. I was so cold it was ridiculous. All in all a weird day. I skated terribly and didn’t like my new setup, but being around a rad crew is always fun.

(setup 8.5 null ollie deck, venture wides 5.8, pink/purple spitfire 52mm 99a F4 conical wheels, venom 88a bushings, new balance numeric 598 black/white shoes)

Went to the warm up bank at Valmont spot not feeling very good or motivated. I went through a few tricks and was feeling ok before trying nollie back heels for awhile. A few were remotely close, but I gave up after awhile. Then I tried treflips to fakie for a bit and broke my really cracked board. Doh.

After going home to set up a new board I went to the hardest spot in Boulder – Southern Hills. I went on to suck incredibly bad there. I had no energy. First line was noseslide to fakie, switch front 180 then crooks. Second line was supposed to be boardslide, ollie up the two stair, kickflip into the handicap ramp then front 50 another bench. I never got it. I gave up and started trying the line that I had thought of and the reason I went there. Crooks, backside flip, halfcab noseslide. Well, I never got that either. I did like 20 crooks in a row, but couldn’t get a backside flip. So I subbed it out for a back 180 and eventually got it. It was cool because right around then The Grind crew from Silverthorne rolled in. They were cool and hyped on the spot. I had to go though to celebrate my mom’s birthday. I had tried several front or back 50s too in between tries. Only got one bad front 50. Ugh, I wish I could ollie.

(setup 8.125 null message deck, venture 5.2 low custom hollow trucks with 3 washers inside each axle, stock thunder bushings, 50mm bones stf v1 wheels, swiss bearings, new balance numeric pj stratford 533 navy shoes 12)

All of a sudden I’m all about his ledge again. I wasn’t feeling too good earlier in the day and only had about an hour to skate before watching Jason. I thought I would skate terribly, but I ended up feeling alright. Perhaps it was the ibuprofen I took for my headache. I had an ok first run down the hill that had some 180s , up the curb and a noseslide. Also got a crooks first try and a terrible back 50 second try, a terrible front noseslide. Didn’t do too many flippers. Nollie heels seem so possible, but it just doesn’t happen. I got a back 180 of the manhole that felt really easy which I’ve never done before. Skateboarding is weird sometimes. I got another somewhat better back 50, got into a bunch of front 50s, but never grinded enough to land it. It felt good to at least get into it rather then like yesterday at Southern Hills. The research ledge has never been good grinding up it. I was trying a line of front 180 up the curb, fakie flip then halfcab noseslide when a cop came and parked nearby. Doh. I had thrown a couple of flippers before the line too and thought I’d get it, but I got weirded out and used it as an excuse to leave on time.

(setup 8.125 null message deck, venture 5.2 low custom hollow trucks with 3 washers inside each axle, 1/16″ riser, stock thunder bushings, 52mm spitfire f4 classic 101a wheels, bronson bearings, new balance numeric pj stratford 533 navy shoes 12)

#SimonLoveless is crazy good

A video posted by glen gillinghammer (@corpoglenny) on Oct 1, 2016 at 9:12am PDT

Went to Lafayette somewhat early in the day. It had been sprinkling off and on and when I arrived it got bad enough to sit in the car for a bit. There was a dude visiting from Ohio named Luke that was one of the nicest dudes I’ve ever met. He came up right away and introduced himself. He was having a blast cruising around on a big board slashing grinds and popping airs. It cheered me up and made my slow start not feel so bad. I did a couple of ok things for me. Had a line of back 180 into the first mellow bank then switch front 180 into the next and kickflip to fakie on the bigger bank. I didn’t have a lot of charge on other stuff. Front 50s on the little ledge are fun. Granite is the best. Then Dave showed. We tried slappy crooks on the shark fin for awhile. Dave did some good ones. Then we kind of did our own thing for awhile. I was pretty sore for some reason. Simon showed up. He said he was sore too, then went on to rip Lafayette a new one. Lines for days, so many tricks first try. I was trying kickflip to bank ride on the snakerun to steep bank. Simon did a back blunt on it, took a bit, but he did it so good. He also front tailed it. Dave was doing boardslides to fakie down the scary round rail. After awhile I just filmed Simon then headed home to hang out with Liz.

(setup null message 8.125 deck, venture 5.2 v-hollow lows, 1/16″ riser, thunder bushings, 3 washers inside each wheel, 50mm STF V1, new balance numeric pj 533 steel/gum)

After work I went to Crisis and met up with Rob. We rolled over to Safeway. I was not feeling good at all. I had a new board. I setup 8.25 this time for no good reason and I ended up not liking it. I skated it though. I started super slow with “slappy” noseslide variations. Rob jumped on grinds quickly. His back 50s rule. He did some front 5-0s which I haven’t seen him do much. Close to halfcab noseslide shove out. I took awhile to get a back 50 without tic tac’in in it. It felt good. Then we both hucked a lot. Rob was going for kick front noseslide. He got a couple kind of with the back wheels hitting the ground, and close to several proper ones. That would be so sick. I tried kickflip crooks and didn’t get very close then kickflip noseslide and then just kind of got tired. We did some powerslides down the hill and Rob did some wallie nollies while I failed at getting a cool artsy birds eye photo.

(setup null abstract 11 8.25 deck, venture 5.2 v-hollow lows, 1/16″ riser, thunder bushings, 3 washers inside each wheel, 50mm STF V1, new balance numeric pj 533 steel/gum)