Anthony Medina recently released his grand finale video, “Soirée”. Now although Ant had made a previous statement that he was “retiring” from making full-length skate videos with his prior release “Ends“, after the growing momentum of the Austin blading scene and the hard-to-ignore itch to create something bigger than just the run-of-the-mill online edit, Anthony and his crew found the time to bless us with one more classic video to add to his lengthy resume.
“Soirée” features full profiles from Heath Burley, John Sullivan, Josh Ferguson, Michael Kraft, Zach Gutweiler, and Andrew Broom. Our editor Kevin Little binge-watched the full video the first three days and gives his break-down below. Check it.
The video kicks off with a high-energy montage of the featured skaters and some noteworthy appearances from Ryan Rasmussen, Jim Irvin, Cody Sanders, Grant Collins, Hunter Grimm, Troy Maimone, Jordan Smith, and Anthony Medina, himself, then leads into the first featured skater in “Soirée”, none other than your favorite copper-topped gingersnap, Heath Burley. Heath’s dynamic personality and raw skating have made him a fan-favorite for many, and his profile sadly started off with an unfortunate tumble to the dome. Still Heath is one tough S.O.B, and it didn’t stop from him pushing out a stellar section filled with the sketchiest obstacles Texas has to offer and an always unique take on tricks.
The next featured skater is the Dallas legend John Sullivan. Poppa Sully has been skating at such a high level for so many years, without showing signs of slowing down. His soulful profile shows his wide-ranging technical skills, and ability to skate almost any spot, and come out with the highlight clip-of-the-day. If you have ever witnessed John’s skating in person, you can vouch for his confidence and ability to conquer anything in his path. Every trick is textbook perfect in execution, and that “Yeah, what!” gaze that he gives the rail after the epic 270 backside torque is about as gangster a lookback as you can get in my book.
Next up is Blading’s favorite amphibian biologist, Mr. Josh Ferguson. Fergalicious is one of the nicest guys I know, and he is just as nice on the wheely-boots as he is in his day-to-day life. Josh’s section consists of lots of stylish airs and fast-paced gaps and a few creative ledge rolls to round out a thoroughly proper section. I was thoroughly bummed out that Josh was unable to land his epic final trick, but the amount of skin he lost would have dissuaded most from trying such a risky manuever again.
No proper video would be complete without a friends or, in this instance, “Dawgs” montage, which shows the huge network of friends who frequent the skate sessions. There were so many great appearances in the “Dawgs” edit, it is incredibly hard to narrow them down, but there were many memorable tricks from skaters such as Jose Arce, Jeremy Spira, Brian Weis, Chad Hornish, Yandriel Silverio, Julien Cudot, and badass newcomer Bladie, Marisa Schar.
The next featured skater is one of blading’s best innovators currently skating, the incomparable Michael Kraft. Michael’s profile was one of my most highly anticipated profiles, as his improvisational trick and spot selection always keep you guessing on his next move and are rarely ever predictable. His creativity is off the charts in “Soirée” and there are certain tricks that just don’t make any sense, but somehow Michael pulls it off with impeccable precision. From sketchy fakie rolls down literal piles of rocks, troublesome capped rails, toe stalls to spins over walls…after multiple viewings, they still don’t seem humanly possible! Haha
Chef Zach Gutweiler is the next featured skater in “Soirée”, and the long-haired, muscle-bound madman serves up one of the hardest-hitting profiles in the whole video. I have been a HUGE fan of Zach’s skating since he was a young buck, and he has just gotten progressively better and better through the years. For those OG skaters who long for the clips of heavy stunts and gnarly rails, Zach’s skating has got you covered. His skating is incredibly powerful, and he charges full speed at tricks with confidence, and his “risk it for the biscuit” mentality is mesmerizing to watch. (See what I did there!)
The final featured skater in “Soirée” is from the proverbial golden child, Andrew Broom. His clips in “Soirée” are some of the last clips that you’ll see Andrew skating in Razors after parting ways with his long-time skate sponsor and moving to the Standard pro skate team. But don’t let that distract you from the fact that Andrew is an absolute BEAST on any blades you put on his feet (as shown in his testing phase in between boot sponsors). In “Soirée”, Andrew’s skating is at peak form, and he reminds everyone why he was the most sought-after free agent in blading. His skating is the best it has ever been, and Ant picked a perfect background track that was paced perfectly and climaxed with a colossal finale and an amazing closing to the video.
In watching “Soirée”, I didn’t have that same melancholy feeling of closure that “Ends” left me with, it seemed more light-hearted and although the final montage video that shows so many of our baby-faced friends who we have grown up with over the years definitely brought out the feels and I honestly was getting misty-eyed seeing clips from our fallen brothers Keaton Newsom and Julian Isaac. For someone who has been a fan of Anthony’s videos dating back to his VHS releases “Texas Outlaws”, seeing how far he has taken his craft is truly remarkable to experience. His videos propelled his friends’ skating careers and helped to expose the Texas blading community to the world.
Now that the Medina clan has grown with the addition of their newborn son, Anthony has made the decision to focus on his family and making the most time available for them. We applaud Ant for giving so much to our blading community through the years and dedicating so much of his time and effort into making timeless videos for us to enjoy. But we know Ant, he isn’t going anywhere. He will still be around, likely showing off his blading skills for his wife and son on his home skatebox, and filming in his off-time with the boys. Blading is very fortunate that we have had Ant’s influence and contributions to our culture, and although this could be his final video, as it is evident to this point that he loves it too much to completely walk away. And thank the Blade Gawds for that!
DO WHAT YOU LOVE. AND DO IT NOW
Photography provided by Kirill Braynin, John Sullivan, and the crew
Words by Editor-In-Chief: Kevin Little
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