The New Balance Numeric crew head out on tour through the Midwest of the United States in ‘The Good Land’ tour video, enjoying the dystopian concrete fruit of late 20th century capitalism via four wheeled reappropriation. Featuring the street furniture and DIY builds of Minnesota, Milwaukee, Chicago, Grand Rapids and Detroit, this offers up a different aesthetic from the usual East Coast or West Coast tours which perhaps offer up easier opportunities for travelling skate teams, and will hopefully offer up some inspiration for those looking into a trip across the pond beyond the more obvious choices available. As one of the main areas of industrialisation in the United States during the Industrial Revolution, steel and concrete can be found in abundance and the economic downturn of 2008, whilst grim for many, has opened up many a spot which would have most likely been an immediate bust prior to shady World Trade Organisation dealings and banking crises.
If there’s one thing skateboarders are good at then it’s making the most of urban decay and the New Balance Numeric team waste no time in getting to work, putting trucks to crumbling concrete and slotting in the occasional suburban handrail mission when the mood takes them. The visual stimulus of this bleak landscape is perfectly captured by the triple lensman threat of Luke Murphy, Russell Houghten and James Messina and, as always with New Balance output, The Good Land offers up some interesting camera work which should offer up some inspiration for those behind the lens as well as those hurling themselves at concrete in front of it. Press play below and enjoy…
Featuring Franky Villani, Anthony Schultz, Chad Tim Tim, Davis Torgerson, Jake Hayes, Levi Brown, Marius Syvanen, Marquise Henry, Tom Karangelov and Tyler Surrey.
Edited by James Messina.
Peep the full tour article over on Thrasher.