In 1998, Justin Girardi and Mad Circle released 5ive Flavors featuring Bobby Puleo, Karl Watson, Pontus Alv, Rob Welsh, and Scott Johnston.
The video is a beautiful time capsule of classy 90’s street skating that showcased a meticulously stylish and selective team of pioneers. Its accessibility stood out in stark contrast to the “hammers” ethos that shortly followed.
All of these skaters have continued to be involved in skateboarding in the 23 years since 5ive Flavors joined the canon of classic ’90s skate videos, working with or owning various companies including Supreme, Adidas, Polar, Maxallure and more.
We were able to get the whole team back together along with photographer Mike Blabac for a good old-fashioned meeting in which the guys reconnect, reminisce, and rewatch the parts through the long lens of over two decades past. There’s a palpable joy the guys experience being back together, along with a sense that Mad Circle hasn’t been given its rightful place in the history books.
This condensed edit of their conversation captures a bit of what it was like for them to grow up together skating in a golden era, and how sometimes doing something with integrity means having to let it go…
PS. If you never saw the video – peep it here.
Related Posts
-
PREMIERE: “WEED IS TIGHT”
Longing for a time when skate videos weren't as serious? Watch this.
-
EXPLORING WALL STREET WITH VITORIA MENDONÇA
Vitoria is a kind soul with a powerful style, which goes a lot further than you would think when it comes to moving up in the industry.
-
PREMIERE: “THE FIRST & THE LAST PICTURE SHOW” BY JOEY SINKO
"I just want to get people hyped and wish them a merry Christmas with a skateboard video that’s slightly experimental"
-
CHECKING OUT THE HISTORIC SPOTS OF ATHENS, GREECE
Get a skate tour of one of the most significant cities in human history.
-
TONY HAWK DISSECTS HIS MOST ICONIC (AND CRINGY) TV ADS
Who could forget Bagel Boy?
-
WATCH ANOTHER QUALITY VX EDIT FROM JAPAN WITH JUNNOSUKE HASEGAWA
Tons of grainy night footage, 4:3 standard definition, and zero instances of the "Strobeck" zoom. A treat for the VX purists.
-
VIDEO ESSAY: HOW SKATEBOARDING WENT HD
An in depth look at how filmmakers started to ditch the VX1000 and pick up HD camcorders in its place.
-
PREMIERE: LEO BAÑUELOS IN “RUINING SKATEBOARDING”
The Unity & There crews continue to push the boundaries of what skateboarding is all about with their new video "Ruining Skateboarding".
Comments
Popular
-
MY EXPERIENCES IN SKATEBOARDING
"I've been terrified of garnering the reputation of 'ramp-tramp' or 'pro-ho' just from spending time with skaters."
-
WHAT WOULD MAKE SKATERS DITCH THE BIG SHOE BRANDS?
We asked younger skaters how small shoe brands could win back their business from the big budget behemoths.
-
A SERIOUS REVIEW OF MARK SUCIU’S SERIOUS “VERSO”
Verso asks that we pay it a kind of attention many of us automatically do not. Knowing this, we choose to either look more closely or let it pass before our eyes the way the rest of skating does.
-
WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON WITH ILLEGAL CIV?
The Illegal Civ stuff feels like an ongoing soap opera, so to air out any confusion we talked to a few key characters.
-
8 ARTISTS REIMAGINE THE INDEPENDENT LOGO
What would an Independent rebrand even look like?
November 8, 2021 3:00 pm
This is amazing. Thank you!!
November 8, 2021 4:35 pm
Excellent piece. I had a friend who lived really far from me and big spot in my area, but drove there every weekend. He was with me when I went to the shop to buy FF and he insisted we go to my house to watch it, even though it meant an even longer (1.5 hour) drive home. Anyway he was so hyped to see SJ’s part and was so bummed when it turned out to be only 60 seconds. Somewhere there’s an alternate universe where Element died and Mad Circle lived on.
November 8, 2021 8:29 pm
Love this! Please make more of these!
November 9, 2021 8:13 am
Awesome! “Zoo York – Mixtape” crew next please!!!