In 1998, Justin Girardi and Mad Circle released 5ive Flavors featuring Bobby Puleo, Karl Watson, Pontus Alv, Rob Welsh, and Scott Johnston.
The video is a beautiful time capsule of classy 90’s street skating that showcased a meticulously stylish and selective team of pioneers. Its accessibility stood out in stark contrast to the “hammers” ethos that shortly followed.
All of these skaters have continued to be involved in skateboarding in the 23 years since 5ive Flavors joined the canon of classic ’90s skate videos, working with or owning various companies including Supreme, Adidas, Polar, Maxallure and more.
We were able to get the whole team back together along with photographer Mike Blabac for a good old-fashioned meeting in which the guys reconnect, reminisce, and rewatch the parts through the long lens of over two decades past. There’s a palpable joy the guys experience being back together, along with a sense that Mad Circle hasn’t been given its rightful place in the history books.
This condensed edit of their conversation captures a bit of what it was like for them to grow up together skating in a golden era, and how sometimes doing something with integrity means having to let it go…
PS. If you never saw the video – peep it here.
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November 8, 2021 3:00 pm
This is amazing. Thank you!!
November 8, 2021 4:35 pm
Excellent piece. I had a friend who lived really far from me and big spot in my area, but drove there every weekend. He was with me when I went to the shop to buy FF and he insisted we go to my house to watch it, even though it meant an even longer (1.5 hour) drive home. Anyway he was so hyped to see SJ’s part and was so bummed when it turned out to be only 60 seconds. Somewhere there’s an alternate universe where Element died and Mad Circle lived on.
November 8, 2021 8:29 pm
Love this! Please make more of these!
November 9, 2021 8:13 am
Awesome! “Zoo York – Mixtape” crew next please!!!