Local skate shop, The Denver Shop, premiered its third video production with great resonance in the Colorado skateboarding community.
Video Package
December 29th was a very special day for Anthony Mellick (also known as Tony, the owner of The Denver Shop), Brandon Greer (videographer), and Whitney Wells (videographer/Denver Shop skater), as they debuted their long awaited video project titled, Stakes Is High, at the Mayan Theatre, documenting what the Denver Shop-sponsored skaters’ lives have consisted of for the past three years: skating in Colorado.
As the date drew nearer I grew more excited. Once the night of the premiere rolled around I was surrounded by tons of smiling skaters, all eagerly waiting for the lights to dim, which would commence the video premiere from the Denver Shop team.
Knowing the team personally adds a special touch to the event. I can relate to the lifestyle: juggling studies, work, and other responsibilities with skateboarding. Observing guys like Justin Greer, Garrett Moore, or Joey Arbarca work to produce such an incredible video has impressed me. I am that much more excited watching Stakes Is High knowing the skaters first-hand.
As a city, Denver is rapidly reaching a national level of recognition in the skateboarding industry. Stakes Is High ultimately supports this notion by showing what it is like to be a skateboarder in Colorado. The Denver Shop video was strictly skateboarding in the raw: the prevalent theme in the video is skateboarding in Colorado. The Denver Shop showed what it meant to travel Colorado in search of nailing tricks down, all the while sharing unforgettable memories with The “Denver Shop Family” (the friends and skaters of the shop).
William Spencer. One of the most distinguished skaters in Colorado – known as the “Mile-High Ninja” – returns in this video with even more whacked out skating in what even may appear a circus act. Spencer’s skating is one of the most unique styles that I have ever seen, consisting of odd cave-man leaps (when you hold your board out in front of you and jump on it in the air), swings, sex-changes (jumping, rotating your body, and landing on your board that doesn’t rotate), spins, and even front and back flips off of structures. His part in Stakes Is High did not disappoint me in any way, but rather blew my mind once again.
One of the coolest relations Colorado skaters can have with Stakes Is High is the extreme locality of where the skating takes place. Countless locations are seen in the video that many skaters (including myself) visit and skate, on a somewhat regular basis. I believe that knowing where the skaters are, and knowing the history of the locations (in regards to skateboarding), is a beneficent component to fully experience the video.
During one of my recent visits to the Denver Shop (located on 2323 E Evans Ave. Denver, CO 80210), I spoke with Josh Murphy, who skates for The Denver Shop and has the ending part (the last skater on the video) for Stakes Is High. When I asked if he was relieved that the video was finally over, he replied indifferently with, “It’s great that we got it done and we are really excited about that, but you know it’s [skateboarding] never over. You just keep on going and skating, it’s a whole cycle.” It all makes sense: skateboarding never ceases, it’s the one thing that – if you truly love it – will always be one of your active priorities.
On the premiere night Tony had ordered 100 DVD copies of Stakes Is High, but they would surely be producing hundreds more for distribution along Colorado, the US, and even Brazil. That’s right, there are skaters even in Brazil who support the little Colorado shop that is over 2000 miles away.
Stakes Is High was presented at two different times: one at 7:15 p.m., the other at 8:15 p.m. This was a smart scheme because it allowed for people who couldn’t see one viewing to see the other, so a good portion of the Denver skating scene was able to experience Stakes Is High.
I highly recommend for any one that enjoys skating to purchase the $10 DVD to really see what all the commotion is about. For more information on The Denver Shop and to purchase DVD’s, click here http://www.thedenvershop.com/.
