When Vans’ Credits video dropped a few months back, it was genuinely exciting to see the extended Skate Witches + co. crew put out a project with such a high profile.
It was a great video, but when the curtains closed there was a little something left to be desired for me, which had nothing to do with the skating or filming, and everything to do with the sorts of compromises that have to be made when a video is for a brand instead of yourself.
In short, it felt like Credits was a homie video that got cleaned up a bit, perfectly manicured around the edges. It was missing the rambunctiousness, goofiness, and inside jokes that make skate videos truly timeless. For comparison, think back to Johnny Wilson’s Vimeo edits vs. his later work for Nike SB. Same crew, but entirely different vibes.
That’s why I got so excited when Shari sent over Maximum Flow, an edit of homie stuff that probably could’ve made it into Credits but got cut for whatever reason.
To give us an even deeper look at the project and the people behind it all, photographer Norma Ibarra put together a zine to accompany Maximum Flow, filled with shots from the trips, their skate house, and just general everyday life as actual close friends.
We emailed questions to Shari and Norma last night to see if we were missing any details about the projects and to just bug them about general life shit in the skate mecca that is Vancouver.
Q&A WITH SHARI WHITE AND NORMA IBARRA
Norma, I saw you were gardening over the last few months. Have you guys ever thought of growing weed?
N: Sounds like you can read our minds. We even wrote a song. ♪ “Let’s get high – on our supply… we’re growing weed…” ♪
Do you think you could handle a real slap from Fabiana like the one in the video?
N: Hypothetically, yes. You know sometimes in life, we are like in the middle of a critical or bad situation and we all need a slap from a friend to wake up. I would take that if I needed to, but obviously I am opposed to violence.
What’s it like in your skate house these days? Did you all get on each other’s nerves during quarantine?
N: Things are super sweet. My favorite part is in the morning we all get together for coffee and morning chats. As per quarantine and lockdown, I will take the “Drama Queen” title for sure. In the beginning, I went nuts, but I am grateful for everyone’s patience.
The stereotype for skaters is that they have nasty rooms with a mattress on the floor, broken boards on the wall, etc. Is that how it is at your place?
S: [Laughs] I think we are pretty civilized, I don’t know. We have a flat bar in the living room.
Who can drink the most in the house?
N: We’re honestly not really big drinkers in general, but Shari & Romy have been known to crawl home from Antisocial.
Who brings home the most people to sleep with?
Both: We have one boy roommate and I think he takes the cake on that one.
What’s good in Vancouver right now? It seems like there’s a lot of super talented skaters there and they’re all pretty young. What’s the scene like?
N: There are a lot of amazing and inspiring skaters in Vancouver. The list goes on, but most importantly I am really grateful and excited for all the community groups like, Take Over skateboarding, Nations, Late Bloomers, Chickflip, Friendly Skates, and obviously Michelle at Antisocial. They’re all working really hard to create real change in Vancouver.
How do we get more cameras in the hands of other women and other people whose voices might not be heard in skating as often?
S: Just more inspiration and mentoring. People in positions of power giving opportunities for people.
Shari, who are some filmers or films that inspire your editing and your filming?
S: Jacob Harris, Daniel Dent, Logan Lara, Pontus Alv, Shane Auckland, James Cruickshank… a lot of people but those come to mind.
Norma, are there any photographers, skaters, or otherwise, whose photos inspire the way you shot?
N: Kristin, Shari, and Michelle Pezel are my favorite skaters and mentors.
On the photography side, I am a big fan of Fred Mortagne [French Fred] for skateboarding, mountain bike photographer Margus Riga, Inge Morath from back in the day, and Oli Gagnon. He is one of my mentors and an amazing snowboard photographer.
Do you guys ever beef over angles?
N: We actually have a really good formula based on communication. So far it has been really chill and works great!
Do the two of you plan on producing more zines and videos that coincide?
S: I think this closes the door on this little era but we are still filming and working on new stuff.
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October 22, 2020 10:33 pm
This was so ill! God I love skateboarding with all my heart! Obviously they do too
October 24, 2020 7:49 pm
The first song made my ears bleed. Other than that, the video was sick! 😷🔥🤘
November 19, 2020 7:36 pm
that is my favorite band
October 26, 2020 10:33 pm
You know you’ve named this site after a drug that is literal human shit right…
November 4, 2020 3:31 pm
wow someone should tell them that before they embarrass themselves