One of the more popular answers of the "most underrated" question, Matt Beach. Portland's finest.
He's got some really groovy moves.
Forgot how good this part was until just the other day when Silas brought it up on as a Thrasher "Classic". Pretty damn incredible, actually.
Are those SD Greyhound Bumps still there? Doubtful... but I've always wanted to skate those things.
And speaking of Portland, the Mrs and I have officially started packing. Which sucks.
17 comments:
Right Foot Forward part was gnarly too.
I really dig this one. Great words by Matt, and amazing photos from Humphries. Some time went into those prints. I like how the gap to lipslide sequence shows him carve away after the landing. It's all gold.
Welcome to PDX, man. You're gonna love it out here.
The Firm sure was the God Squad,but any skater who's favorite skater is Ben-Jamin is fine with me.
I figured this one was due to the move to PDX. Good luck to you two!
Definitely one of the most underrated. That Firm part was so good; seems to stand the test of time quite well. I thought I had read that he more or less quit professionally and was working for UPS, and something happened that brought him back to pro skating. Either way, glad he's back. From what I remember of Right Foot Forward, it was pretty sick.
Watching Matt Beach reminds me of Jayme Fortune (what can I say, it's the Oregon connection). That dude had noseblunts and nollie b/s flips on lock. I remember being really psyched on that dude back in the day from his 411 coverage.
Im really glad Silas brought it up the other day on Thrasher Classics.
This guy is super good, amazing tricks and a really smooth style.
As somebody already said it , this video part really stands the test of time.
Keeps doing the great work Chops.
Peace!
greyhound bumps have been gone for years. there are still spots here and there in downtown SD. but not like the old days when it seemed more the hub of the city.
i always loved that back tail on the fire hydrant photo.
another fine choice mr chops
I remember getting the Transworld with that interview in it and being blown away, that switch flip shifty is so sick. Definitely put a few of those photos up on my wall. The mid 2000's Firm team was awesome, I was bummed to see that company go.
spoke to Mr Beach at one of the Radlands contests. seemed a really friendly and humble guy. serious ripper too. good post
Definitely one of the top ten most under rated guys in my opinion. Seeing that Firm part after so many years got me hyped. He also had a short interview in Thrasher late last year that had some photo gems. I'm hoping he's got a few more solid video parts for the skate communities viewing pleasure coming up in the near future.
this is a snippet from "15 things you didn't know about tony hawk" where it mentions matt beach. sorry about the size. [IMG]http://i46.tinypic.com/2lcwlyf.jpg[/IMG]
@Dave, when The Firm folded Beach lost a bunch of other sponsors, all in succession. At that point, he figured the pro thing was over so he went ahead and got that job at UPS packing trucks and working the warehouse. In a short time he got injured a ton of different ways doing the job, like broken ribs (if memory serves) and a scratched cornea. He figured he'd be getting hurt just as much (or less) pursuing skateboarding again, so he quit UPS and gave it another go, ending up on Skate Mental, etc.
The Koreatown lipslide is great, especially the last three frames! Can never get behind bible-thumping skate companies but Beach was always sick!
@Platinumseagulls - big ups on the information; I guess I had forgotten how messed up everything that happened to him was. Beach seems to have had some ups and downs through no fault of his own. Glad he's back ripping in the pro ranks.
I remember him in G&S footage... just a little kid.
360 flip over the water gap is bad ass! Nice flick.
Showing the carve out of that fs lips sequence is a nice touch.
That sw flip shifty... I like the effect of the shutter speed on those weird lights all over the hump and ledge.
The Firm team was stacked when that one video came out: Beach, Sarmiento, TX.
shows my age but i'm forever thinking danny sargent is portland's finest. ethan fowler and matt beach tie for second!
i love portland forever as it's my hometown original ('73-'01) but i'm glad i moved away, even if it was just to seattle. seems like anyone who was born there wants to leave and all the people who weren't born there think it's the best spot ever.
parks galore nowadays.
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