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
-
A QUICK LOOK INSIDE BRIAN ANDERSON’S FIRST ART SHOW
“Fathers Afloat” explores Brian’s family background and features artwork from both his father and grandfather.
-
JOHN GARDNER’S TIPS FOR BUILDING UP YOUR MENTAL HEALTH
John is obviously not a doctor or certified expert but he's a skater that is passionate about improving his own mental health and our community's, too.
-
DISCOVERING EVEN MORE SKATE SPOTS VIA GOOGLE EARTH
Skating roofs, pools, and a bowling alley at an abandoned lodge in upstate New York.
-
G-FILES 002
Enjoy the diverse crew of up-and-comers out of the Pacific Northwest.
-
EXPLORING A FULL PIPE IN NEW JERSEY WITH OSKI ROZENBERG & FRED GALL
Taking the future Olympian to one of the most crusty spots we could find.
-
WATCH UNSEEN FOOTAGE FROM THE SHORTY’S “FULFILL THE DREAM” ERA
Seven minutes of straight nostalgia from the shortest skate crew ever.
-
LIBERATING SKATE SPOTS WITH THE KNOB BUSTER
Meet the masked hero who is unknobbing spots all across Los Angeles for skaters to enjoy.
-
UNSEEN PHOTOS FROM THE “THIS IS SKATEBOARDING” ERA
Only now do you realize you've been idolizing children all along.
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
8 ARTISTS REIMAGINE THE INDEPENDENT LOGO
What would an Independent rebrand even look like?
November 11, 2021 12:44 am
I had this video and never really liked it. I probably watched it two times.
November 13, 2021 11:34 pm
Has anyone seen Mike Cao??
December 29, 2021 6:01 am
Love this
thank you
more more more!
cheers from Tel Aviv
=]