THE WALL Edition No. 10:

Cydney Camp

THE WALL Edition No. 10: Cydney Camp

It Takes A Village Part Three:

Dinner Is Served

It Takes A Village Part Three: Dinner Is Served

It Takes A Village, Part Two:

Party At The Belt

It Takes A Village, Part Two: Party At The Belt

It Takes A Village:

Part One Tyrrell & Tony

It Takes A Village: Part One Tyrrell & Tony

How To:

Build A Detroit Style Roller Skate

How To: Build A Detroit Style Roller Skate

Motown + Roller Skating

= Detroit Style

Motown + Roller Skating = Detroit Style

Volume Two:

Detroit Skate

Volume Two: Detroit Skate

By Design:

Pophouse 

By Design: Pophouse

The Birthplace

of Techno

The Birthplace of Techno

Spotlight:

Deon “The Greektown Hotbox" Forrest

Spotlight: Deon “The Greektown Hotbox" Forrest

My post-party depression following the non-stop-dance-a-thon at Deluxx Fluxx the night before was still in full effect as I loaded my gear into the car. There are no scientifically proven remedies for a hangover. I would have tried to give myself some hair of the dog, but I would be hard-pressed to find a bar serving frozen margaritas this early in the morning. Instead, I wore sunglasses the size of a television set to shield myself from the violent sun bursting through the clouds.

Dog walkers strolled joyfully down the sidewalks next to me, stopping to interact with one another and engage in superfluous small talk. They are the enemies of the weekend nightriders; the ones that left it all on the dance floor with me until 3am in order to properly celebrate the anniversary of the beating heart of the Detroit art scene. To these poodle-pushing, early-risers, we probably appeared to be feckless party-monsters, hell bent on chasing a good time no matter what the cost. Who knows… they may be right. They’re still the ones waking up early to pick up shit.

, where I would be conducting my next interview, I gave myself a pep talk. ‘You’re fine. You’re not 

 on death’s doorstep. Besides, you have interviewed people much more famous than this in much worse conditions.’

Part of that was true. There are worse locations than the East Village of Detroit. The history that can be seen throughout the large homes in the area tells the story of an old version of Detroit. Back when the city was referred to as “The Paris of the Midwest”. New buildings and houses that are now arriving in the area may not be as oppolant as the stone mansions that precede them, but their presence isn’t in stark contrast to what once was, and seem to be welcome progress inside a city on the cusp of its current renaissance. Many of these projects and homes have been spearheaded by 

, the two most responsible for my current hangover, attracting a particularly interesting set of creative minds to consider relocating to the area. One of these creative expats is 

 of Castor Design. It was his home slash studio space that I was parked at, pulling myself together to get ready for our interview.

Richer would be joined by his long time friend and current business partner, chef 

, to talk about their beautifully designed and built line of cookware, titularly named “

”. Brian Richer is a proud Canadian, a former restaurateur, a studied architectural stone carver, and an all around mad scientist of sorts (he has built something in his studio to look at protons… or neutrons… or… something). He is also a fantastic conversationalist that has the history of punk music shelved in his brain awaiting reference. The unwavering design aesthetic in his projects marry form and function beautifully and give everything he puts out into the world his own distinct voice. This voice has been lended to brands like Houseplant, Seth Rogen’s famously 420-friendly smoking accessory and homegoods company. That same design-driven idealism that turned ashtray’s into works of art was now doing the same for Matheson’s cookware.

How do I explain Matty Matheson? The dude is a fucking three-ring circus.

He is a mostly-shirtless/mostly-tattooed, two-time New York Times Bestselling Author slash restauranteur slash actor and producer who radiates the energy of a teddy bear. His acting role in the first-season of Hulu’s phenomenal series The Bear does not do his personal persona justice. In real life, Matty leads with intelligence, kindness and wit as quick as a racecar at the Firecracker 500.

Matty arrives to Brian’s studio just as I am starting to feel the effects of the medication I took to alleviate a truly monumental hangover. When the interview starts though, the hangover reminds me who is in charge. As Matty and Brian discuss bowel movements and joke about how Detroit’s soon-to-be-defunct Lafayette Coney Island is Matty’s favorite restaurant in the city (simply because it was the only one he had been to so far on his trip) the room is dying with laughter. I… am simply dying.

In order for me to tell you how the interview went I would have to remember anything but laughing at dirty jokes. I guess I’ll have to watch the video interview we did (shameless plug) to remember how the whole thing went. My three big takeaways were these:

1. Don’t be afraid to fail. Failure is gonna happen whether you are doing something you love or something you hate. So don’t be a “loser” (as Matty put it) by making shitty stuff just to make money.

2. Keep working with your friends. Brian hired Matty a long time ago to work at his restaurants before Matty had true aspirations of becoming a chef. Now that Matty has found success, he continues to work with his dear friend and mentor making the kind of things they want to make while seemingly having a shit-ton of fun doing it together.

3. Hangover’s suck and I am never drinking (frozen margaritas) again.

After the interview with the two had wrapped up, it was time for my crew and I to leave and for Matty to begin preparing for the real reason he had made it down to Detroit from his home in Canada. That night he would be preparing a special dinner at JJ and Anthony Curis’ home. The founders of Library Street Collective had invited all the artists that had participated in the It Takes A Village exhibition at their gallery the night before to a private dinner at their home in Grosse Pointe.

Finding this out and hearing the word “private” perked my ears up. Suddenly the hangover was quieted by the thrill of an opportunity to sneak into a private dinner at a home that I have wanted to visit since I moved to Detroit. It turns out though, when you have a shit load of camera equipment and you dress like someone who works backstage at a Weezer concert, it’s fairly easy to sneak into events like these.

I arrived at the Curis home that I had seen many times on Instagram a few hours before dinner was set to begin. Through the window outside of the mid-century modern style home, I could see Matty and his team prep cooking in the kitchen. I walked in the front door with an air of confidence that seemed to say “Of course I was invited here, I’m just glad I didn’t have anything else going on so I could make it”.

The Curis’ home is a gallery unto itself. Original pieces by Kaws, Daniel Arsham, Jen Stark, and so many other artists tastefully fill every inch of the home. These pieces live in harmony next to artwork by the up-and-coming artists that the Library Street team have nurtured throughout their careers. Some of these artists were already in the backyard sitting at a long table that was constructed by Brian and his Castor Design team specifically for tonight's dinner. The backyard ends at a private beach, making me feel like I was on a vacation I didn’t plan for as I walked into the backyard.

I had only gotten over my hangover less than two hours ago and already I found myself with a beer in my hand trying to blend in. I was relieved when I saw Tyrrell Winston followed moments before by the legendary Tony Hawk.

The dinner went as most dinners at the unimaginably beautiful homes of gallerists do. JJ and Anthony Curis’ thanked everyone for coming and for supporting Library Street and their other initiatives within the community; Matty cooked the best Wagyu Beef I have ever eaten and then gave a speech where he thank God for the beautiful night and then immediately renounced God in the same breath, and I went home with a free gift bag that someone had accidentally left behind.

Yep… Just another typical, unimaginably beautiful dinner.

*Editor's Note: Just to be clear, we are going to drop some names in the next section of this article. They were recommendations from some professional skaters and we have not been given any money by these brands who are not paid advertisers. However, if any of these brands are reading this and wanna wiff us some fliff…

Not all skates are created equal. They are the sum of their parts. Besides that, they are also made differently to do different things.

Some are built for speed, some for stability, and some are built just to look fucking cool.

The types of skates that people build also depend on regional taste. For instance, in Atlanta, the style is to wear a shoe with a long tongue lined with fur that is folded down. It's just something that caught on there and so people in the world of Atlanta skate culture rock that look. This trend didn’t start taking off as much in other areas until it became more noticeable on social media. Now, people can take from a larger pool of cool to make their skates look some sorta way, so trends have been melding into each other.

Detroit also has their own trends when it comes to building. Trends that are growing outward too. The builds in the D are less about flash and more about function. The shoes don’t need to showcase what the moves already do. Instead, when building a skate for rolling Detroit style, you should focus on a few key elements (or so we have been told by some of the 

people that actually know what they are talking about

1. Get a boot that supports your ankle and is made out of full-grain leather.

 boot when we took a trip to RollerCade. We will just tell you now that these boots will cost you a pretty penny. These boogie shoes are found in the “professional” section of a skate shop, and what they lack in bells and whistles, they make up for in durability and a genuine 

 lining that will help keep your feet from getting funky while you do on the rink.

Lots of people in lots of places like to take the stoppers off the front of their skates. Sure, they are clunky and can take away from the look of your sexy, red-velvet skates with the rainbow stripe down the side - but if you wanna skate Detroit Style, you’re going to need those big, bulging bad boys on the front of your foot in order to do many of the moves that people do down in the D.

If you’re skating with a partner around the rink and showcasing Detroit Style moves, you’ll be lifting your legs high off the ground a lot. You’ll be kicking over your partner, hanging your leg off the ground like a figure skater, and doing a million other moves that are gonna start your calves aflame for hours at a time. You don’t wanna add a heavy weight plate to all that. Imagine trying to go dancing with lead in your shoes. That’s why we were recommended to get some 

 plates made from durable, lightweight aluminum.

4. Get yourself some hard wheels made for "Rhythm" skating.

You wouldn’t buy yourself a Benz and then put some $50 

’s on the wrong type of gummy wheels that’ll harsh your mellow on the rink? Harder wheels are perfect for rolling across a smooth rink floor quickly and smoothly. If you’re skating outside on rough terrain in the city or by the beach, you’ll want softer wheels. However, if you’re skating Detroit Style with a partner and doing moves for everyone at the rink, you’re going to want hard wheels like the 

So how much is a build like this going to cost you when you also add in good laces and bearings to boot? You’re looking at around $1400 to keep yourself rolling the right way.

That’s right... it’s just like the old saying goes, “Good skates ain’t cheap and cheap skates ain’t good.”

Still though, go to any rink in Detroit on any day of the week and look for the person rolling around on some all black, nondescript, leather roller skates and those cats will be busting out the coolest moves on the floor. Guaranteed.

, pays homage to the roller skating scene that has been thriving in the city since the 1950’s and the people who have helped keep it alive. Released in partnership with 

 as a celebration of its downtown, summer-centric city activation, the 

, the 96 pages edition features the work of photographer 

and focuses on one of Detroit’s favorite pastimes that has given birth to a style so specific it has been dubbed “Detroit Style” skating.

During our research of roller rinks we were introduced to a cast of characters full of motivation, dedication, and talent. We dug deep into the history of roller skating in Detroit and were educated on its ties to Motown and the ability a rink has to bring a community together. We met with skaters old and young who have transcended gender norms and other obstacles to build an extended family of people who come together over their love of roller skating, proving that the roller skate is the second-best thing on four wheels to ever happen to Detroit.

Throughout the month, we will be showcasing highlights from the book and introducing you to the skate culture in Detroit. We will be giving away first editions, showing off the work of talented artists, and teaching you all how to roll “Detroit Style”. Our hope is by the end of the year you’ll all be avoiding the cold, Midwest weather and skating tandem inside a rink every weekend - and when people ask you why they don’t see you around the bar anymore you’ll give them the same line we heard time and time again while making this book… “Because I gave my life to skating.”

WELCOME

TO

EDITORIAL

ABOUT

FRIENDS OF AUDE