“I don’t wear tight jeans like the white boys, but I do get wasted like the white boys. Now I’m looking for a bitch to suck this Almond Joy, say she got to stop sucking cause her jaws sore.”
Those are lyrics from “Wasted”, a song by Gucci Mane.
Why? Because this video “STILL IN ATLANTA” from the Headlock crew, shot by our homie Justin Hearn, is all Atlanta footage, and at the end of the day I can write whatever I want.
Also, it’s clear to me that East Atlanta Santa gifted some ATL youngins some talent. Watch the first three minutes and you’ll know what I’m talking about.
After those three minutes, you can enjoy another twelve of talented skaters from a criminally underrated scene. Atlanta is best known for birthing the man, the myth, the legend, Grant Taylor, so shit, who’s to say that magic can’t happen again?
Watch, comment below about my heinous GT comment, or just enjoy the short Q&A I did with videographer and talented skateboarder Justin Hearn below. Did I mention he filmed and has clips in this video? Talk about a multifaceted individual.
Q&A WITH FILMMAKER JUSTIN HEARN
Are you born and raised in Atlanta?
I’m from Albany, Georgia, which is three hours south. It’s basically a small town, a dead end. If you don’t get out you’re gonna get stuck there, so I moved to Atlanta when I was 19 off of a $1,500 tax refund. I’m 27 now, so I’ve been here for quite some time.
Being from a small Southern town, what would you say is the most Southern thing about you?
I guess the most Southern thing about me is how much I love Georgia [laughs]. I’ve never been into anything super country, but I remember having a four wheeler at one point. I’d go build ramps and jump shit even though I had no business being in the air.
“I’m a Georgia boy at heart. You can’t take the South out of me.”
I’ve never been about raising my truck ten feet in the air or tossing a dip in or anything like that. I’ve always just stuck to my guns and skated. But I’m a Georgia boy at heart, and you can’t take the South out of me. I definitely still have my [Southern] accent too. I keep thinking it’s going away, but I’ll catch myself. When I hear other people talk like that I always think “Fuck, hopefully I don’t sound like that.” I always knew I belonged in the city [laughs].
If you’re from Atlanta, are you contractually obligated to love Grant Taylor?
You gotta respect him, no matter what. Obviously he’s one of the best skaters to exist, and you can’t beat watching him in person, especially on transition. In my eyes, he’s the only one to actually go pro IN Atlanta before moving away. He stuck it out here, and I have nothing bad to say about him.
Same question, but about Gucci Mane?
[laughs]. I loved Gucci up until everyone started thinking he was a clone. That’s when he went all mainstream and his stuff got watered down. But you are obligated to love old Gucci. I find myself looking for the old songs because those hit way harder than some of the new stuff. The new stuff I could live without.
Where’s the best place to get shitfaced on a night out?
If you’re a skater, and you want to go where the skaters go, you’re going to want to go to this place called Elmyr. You’re gonna get the Grizz, which is basically a High Life with a shot at the top. Get a couple of those down and you’re going to be well on your way. The place is right by Stratosphere, so if anyone is in town they have good cheap American Mexican food. They also hold this event called Big Trouble In Little Five Points. It’s a skate event in front of their place. It’s everything you could ever want.
Speaking of Little Five Points, is that the best place to pick up an indie chick?
That or East Atlanta Village. If you want that type of girl you’re going to want to go to those two areas. That’s where they’re all at.
Is it true…. about the strip clubs?
I personally don’t go, because that shit is expensive, but everything is true. There’s no lies about the strip clubs here. Anytime someone comes from out of town that’s where they want to go. And a lot of people go for the food, not even the dances. I guess the food is banging for some reason.
You guys almost lost the famous Black Blocks in 2016. How important is that spot to Atlanta skate culture?
2016 was right when I moved up here, and I remember hearing about that. Back then, I didn’t understand Black Blocks. When you go there it’s just some super tall, crunchy ledges with slippery ground, so honestly some people hate it. You don’t see as many people there as you would back in the day, but if it were to get torn down people would be bummed about it.
If you can go and get a clip there, that’s better to me than someone skating a random rail here. There’s not many plazas around nowadays, and it’s the one place where we are actually able to skate with no one fucking with us, so I appreciate it. Especially now that I know how to skate it. I like to see how other people skate it too, like I’m trying to see some lines. Louie Lopez did this one line where he noseblunted a block and then 180 fakie manny fakie frontside flipped another one. People don’t understand how fucked up that is.
Are there any cult classic local videos that people should know about?
Oh yeah. Southern Comfort. Any footage of Travis Glover, that’s the Atlanta OG. You really can’t beat his style. He used to be on Zoo York. The Nike Debacle video too. That wasn’t fully Atlanta, but there was a lot of footage. Scarlet Fever is another really sick local video. Any of the SEC videos by [Max] Yoder, those are some that I remember that I would still watch now.
“There’s a lot of new faces that I feel deserve some shine, and I’ve been skating long enough to help guide people through all this.”
What’s the background on Headlock?
I started Headlock about a year ago because our filming situation got so dry here. For some reason there aren’t any filmers in Atlanta right now. Me and my homies were talking about that, and I thought about buying a camera. Some kid happened to have an HPX and ended up letting me buy it. I would film when I was younger for fun, and I knew how I wanted things to look.
I wanted Headlock to be my filmer page, and the whole point of it is to help the scene continue. There’s a lot of new faces that I feel deserve some shine, and I’ve been skating long enough to help guide people through all this. You don’t necessarily have to go pro, but why not go out and work on something and be happy about the outcome? To be proud of something. I also make some products for fun, and sometimes it sells and sometimes it doesn’t, but it’s fun to throw stuff out there and see what sticks. I try not to overthink it.
Why do you think there’s been such a dry spell of local filmers?
We’ve definitely had some waves where there’s a good filmer here and it makes the scene more alive. There’s always been good skaters here, but there’s not enough people that want to film. And I feel it. Filming’s a lot of work, you know? But that’s why I stepped up. It would suck to see kids here stop skating because they felt like they can’t do it here.
The first two kids in the opening section, one kid is 14 and one is 16. They are the new generation of Atlanta, so why would anyone NOT want to film them? They are going to be the guys that take over.
The last crew I knew out of Atlanta was the Wrldformation crew. Was Jourdy and that crew moving away a part of why you started Headlock and filming?
Yeah, basically. Jourdy left, and then everyone else started moving away or doing their own thing. We tried to keep filming for Wrldformation, but it’s hard when everyone is separated. It doesn’t hit the same. I get it though, people are going to move and do what they need to do. Them moving definitely motivated me to get a camera, like I wasn’t going to stop getting clips. I didn’t want things to get stagnant for myself or anyone else. I wanted to keep shit going, and when Jourdy was here their whole goal was to help us have a platform to drop footage and get seen. What I’m doing is the same idea.
Does you staying behind have anything to do with the title of the video?
100%. The video is called “Still in Atlanta” because of fools who moved to New York or LA and were on me about staying here, saying shit like “Atlanta is dead” [laughs]. So that’s where the name comes from. I wanted to stir the pot a little bit.
What do you see as being more lucrative? Pursuing skateboarding or going down the filming route?
As of right now, I’m definitely continuing down the skate route. I recently started getting hooked up by Asics, so I’m trying to keep my foot in the door. At this point, it’s hard to get “on” things all the way with how the industry is, especially if you’re not in their face 24/7, which I don’t understand. If you’re somewhere different and you’re getting product in front of people and people see it, they should see value in that. Sometimes it just takes a little longer being somewhere like Atlanta, and that’s fine, I’m just doing it the way I want to do it. I think as long as you’re pleased with yourself, eventually the stars will align. That’s what I’ve learned from being flow. You can’t expect too much.
“Sometimes it takes a little longer being somewhere like Atlanta, and that’s fine. I’m just doing it the way I want to do it.”
What takes more patience, struggling for your own trick or filming someone struggling to get a trick?
Sheesh, that’s a tough one. I tend to put a lot of pressure on myself with getting my own clips because I know what I can do, and obviously as a skater you expect things to come quickly. But when is it ever quick?
I’m kinda relaxed when I’m filming people, and I’m usually the one to be like, “Yo, just chill you got it.” versus when I try to get my own clips, I can get hotheaded. Especially when I’ve been filming other people for a while and then I try to get something and can’t, I’ll get super bummed. I try to remember that that’s just how it is, and it just kind of depends on the day.
Filming with the youngins, what are the kids into right now? What are they stoked on?
They’re all into that Soundcloud shit. Sometimes I try to get them to send me song options for videos and it’ll be something that makes me go “Bro…”
Honestly though, they just want to skate and get footy. When I was their age I was nowhere near as good as they are now, and it’s really cool to get to see them progress right in front of you, month over month. You can see their style getting better or them getting taller. Everything starts coming to them easier. With these kids I’m always like, “Damn, when did you learn that?”
I’m sure you’re a role model to a lot of these kids, so what’s a piece of advice you’d give them?
A lot of people will tell you what to do, but you should stay patient and try to have an understanding of what you want. Also, go with your gut and keep the fun in things. In skateboarding I’ve seen kids get sponsored early on and it can ruin their outlook on it. Remember to enjoy being a kid and enjoy skateboarding.
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January 17, 2025 11:55 am
ATL!!!!!
January 17, 2025 5:34 pm
We need more jd and ollie
January 19, 2025 12:51 pm
How can a skate article about Atlanta not mention the ATL twins?! They skate!
January 20, 2025 9:11 pm
Atlanta ain’t dead