I was at the Lakai Fully Flared premiere last night, and all I can say is Guy Mariano. The Lakai team have produced a film that is so fucking amazing that skateboarding just got a whole lot harder for every other skater in the world. If you look at the names in this video, you would expect nothing less. But Lakai have produced something better.

I have to premise though, that I utterly despise skate video premieres. I very rarely attend them, as I can usually watch these videos at my own pace at work, free of the hindrance that awkward conversation provides. While it is often a good chance to catch up with a significant majority of really good dudes, premieres are for the most part, a celebration of the historic art of handshaking and small talk.

Testosterone levels are at all time highs at these events due to the unfortunate male domination of skateboarding. Its nothing short of a dick forest, a brodeo or your average sausage sizzle. To those women who were at the premiere; rest easy in the knowledge that you unknowingly kick started the puberty of every underage skateboarder in the room.

However a gratuitous thanks must go to the handsome gentlemen at POP Magazine for stepping up to the plate and putting a premiere on when it looked as though nobody else would. This video was worth the potential danger of grasping enough hands to contract a venereal disease! Please don’t fire me guys!

I do digress, lets talk about the video. Its awesome. You can almost guarantee that the Girl and Chocolate family will produce amazing videos, but take that crew and add a few selected amazing skateboarding ‘relatives’ and you have some frightening talent on show. Ahead of all of these however is Guy Mariano.

To help you snow bunnies and surfers understand, Guy Mariano was and now is again, The Man. Back in the day he rode for Powell Peralta as a teenage prodigy alongside Bones Brigade luminaries Tony Hawk, Cabalerro and Lance Mountain. He went on to produce some incredible video parts for various World Industries companies and then for Girl.

He had the dopest, most effortless style, and then somewhere after the ‘Mouse’ video, he disappeared. For several years he didn’t have a board, a shoe, or any coverage whatsoever. Where he went lay in the hands of hearsay and conjecture, and while those are ‘kinds of evidence’, you can rest assured that he is back.

Mariano’s part was so rad that it will hasten the retirement of a lot fledgling pros. In a time when skate team line ups are so geared toward marketing an image that they begin to resemble boy bands, Mariano has reminded us all that style and substance together will triumph over fashion and flair. Its like the second coming of Jesus, Mohammad, Buddah or L. Ron Hubbard.

Take note the Ryan Shecklers of this world. All the beni-hanas, back tattoos, reality shows and obvious steroid abuse will never put you in Mariano’s league. You will be forgotten just as quickly as Chris Branagh.

I won’t ruin it for you by telling you what Mariano did, or by posting the youtube clips – go pay for it you techno savvy Gen Y tightarse! These guys worked on this for the past three years, show some fucking respect and blow the cobwebs off your wallet and buy a copy! It’ll make you shred a little bit harder.

Enjoy!