Follow the adidas Japan Skate Team for a Year in '3rd Base'
Each rider’s intro is straight comical.
Transworld Skateboarding and adidas Skateboarding have teamed up for 3rd Base, a short film capturing a year in the life of the adidas Japan Skate Team. Directed by Thomas Ormonde, the video follows the skaters through the bustling streets of Tokyo to the quieter skate parks located away from the noise and traffic of the city.
Through the 16mm lens of a ’70s TV show, each member of the team is introduced in a playful or witty way. A scene in which baseball players skate between the bases and use skateboards instead of bats introduces Kota Ikeda. Hiroki Muraoka gets onto an uncomfortably packed train clutching onto his skateboard. The camera zooms into a sign reading “No Skateboarding” then pans to Yoshiaki Toeda happily moving a skateboard underfoot. Gritty images of foxes fill the screen to introduce skater Glen Fox.
In a humorous scene, “overzealous cops” kick the skateboarders off of a property just to start skating themselves. Transworld Skateboarding explains, “This is dedicated to all the men in uniform protecting our ledges and handrails, a salute to the night watchmen and their dedication to kicking us out with a passion at any time of day or night, rain or shine.”
For more skate videos, check out DC Shoes’ critique of skateboarding’s accessibility in Bordeaux, France with Leo Valls.
