BCSD has come and gone for another year leaving a slew of memories in its wake, some good and some painful but mostly just memories of great skating. The winner, Alex Broskow, was skating with passion and it seemed his skates were magnets to the metal rails as he just laid hammers all over Royal Oak Michigan’s Modern Skate Park.

So the contest went; Alex Broskow first, Brett Urbas Second and Brian Aragon third with Erik Bailey and Chris Haffey rounding out the top 5. It was good to see Brian Aragon skating and taking 3^rd place after his heavy hitting fall in winterclash.

There are plenty of edits from the contest but the one below courtesy of One Magazine is one of my favorites.

BCSD XII from ONE magazine on Vimeo.

If you’re lucky enough to have an indoor skate park near your city than hit that up. I would always skate the local church skate park; it was crowded and built for skateboarders but on a cold winter day it was a place I could skate.

On other winter days I would load up the crew and go to some of our favorite local spots with shovels and brooms in tow. As long as it was a clear day with no actual snow you can get away with shoveling your path and sweeping away any stray pieces of salt. I don’t condone or suggest doing this if you don’t have permission but as any skater knows it’s an inherent risk skating any obstacle outside of an actual skate park.

Skate your basement or find a friend with a basement. A non fully finished basement will often time offer some exposed concrete. Building a small homemade box or rail set up is a great way to continue to session with friends even when the outside looks like a snow globe. It may not be the most glamorous or offer the ability to huck hammers but you can definitely learn some new tricks over hours on a smaller obstacle. Use it as a tool to step your skating up so when you hit the spring, you will be lacing tricks you couldn’t do before.

OK, so as you can see the winter is not a dead spot for skating and there are workarounds for nearly every situation. Don’t get bummed when the snow falls, just get creative and continue skating. I hit my first street handrail in the depths of winter and in the spring they had placed skate stoppers on it, so, yeah, no looking back, throw your skates on.

Remz fans rejoice! There is some subtle yet awesome changes in the new Remz skate models. Remz has released a revamped Haffey skate in the Haffey 2.2 and a Nick Wood OS Pro skate. These 2 new models will have you taking in extra shifts getting that overtime so you can get them onto your feet.

So What’s Up With The New Remz Haffey 2.2 Skates?

Remz updated the rear lacing and it’s more durable and adds extra support.

New hot color design. Adding some color to the Haffey hands down makes it a better skate, ok, maybe that’s a lie but it does look pretty darn purdy. With a little red, white and black you’ve got the style to match the hot tricks you’ll be laying down.

High Resilience Construction (HR) This new construction is more durable offers the best support you can ask for while still having great control.

What's The Deal With The New Remz OS4 Nick Wood Edition?

The new Remz OS4 Nick Wood Edition is Nicks personal take on the OS4. Nick is an outgoing, fun and positive skater who embodies the fun aspect of the sport of aggressive skating. Nick added some personal touches to his skates which are basically the OS4 Remz skates.

Nick's OS4 offers  "keg" silver "party time" parts. These skates offer a unique look with all the great innovations of the OS4 skates. Offering a brand new open shell liner with Remz innovative Pocket Design allowing it to wrap around the boot and lock into place.

Alright, well are you excited now? Remz skates just keep getting better and better; if you have not tried a pair of Remz I think it's definitely worth a try. With a motto like "freedom of feet" how could you  not want to? Happy skating to all, get pumped up with the Nick Wood edit below.

Coming soon to an Iphone or Ipad near you; Jon Julio's Blading the Game! Check out the video below for the latest information from Jon himself. Some people are hating, others are loving on it, let us know how you feel in the comments section below.

Jon Julio's Blading the Game Promo 1 from Themgoods on Vimeo.

From skate to skate you will find differences in liners, shock absorption, width, and padding which influences overall fit whether it is narrower, wider or pretty standard.  Instead of going through the exact fit of an aggressive skate which can be rather broad, in this guide we will be going by each brand and explaining how each brand will fit. There are many brands in aggressive skates so we will cover the brands which we carry on our site here in this guide.

General Sizing

Skateaggressive offers size charts on all the top brands of aggressive skates. Finding a basic size in comparison to your shoe size is as easy as taking a look at the size charts. This size correlation is great if you’re simply looking for a general fit. For those whom skate a bit more often or have a more distinct fit they are looking for we will delve deeper into the inner workings of each brand of aggressive skate here.

•    K2
•    Razors
•    Remedyz
•    Rollerblade
•    USD
•    Valo
•    Bladerunner

K2

K2 skates are great for the upper end recreational aggressive skater. Offering a more athletic shoe style fit. K2 skates fit the same as your standard shoe size and offer a standard width as well.  Skaters that like a lot of flex will enjoy K2 skates as they are softer and easy to flex. K2 aggressive skates don’t offer removable liners so you will not be able to replace with aftermarket liners.

Razors

Razor skates has a long line of skate models for beginners all the way up to professional grade skates. Razors skates will fit true to shoe size on all models except for the Cult models. In the Cult model skates it’s advised you take a ½ size larger than your standard shoe size. Razors offers two different liners in their aggressive skates from their standard Razor liner to the Jug liners offered in some models. There are some basic differences in the two different liners which is outlined below:

1.    Razor Liners: These liners are going to offer moderate padding with an athletic style fit. A wider toe box makes these liners fit great for all foot types from narrow to wide. Additional shock absorption can be easily added to take these liners to the next level.

2.    Jug Liners: Jug liners offer a fit that is going to feel more like a hug around your foot a bit tighter than a traditional Razors liner. These liners offer great support and offer protection for ankle and heel.

Remedyz

Remedyz or Remz skates are going to run about 1 full size smaller than your regular shoe size and offer a more padded liner and slightly narrower toe box. Remedyz have a lot of padding in the liners and will take some time to break in.

Rollerblade

Rollerblade skates are going to offer a normal width and length so it’s advised you order the same size as your standard shoe size. If you wear a size 10 shoe, go ahead and order a size 10 Rollerblade aggressive skate.

USD

USD skates run roughly one full size smaller than traditional shoe size. When ordering a USD aggressive skate it is suggested you get one full size larger than your shoe size, so if you wear a size 9 in a shoe get a USD skate in a size 10.  USD skates also run a little on the narrower side so if you have a wider foot it may be better to look at different brands to accommodate.

Valo

Valo skates run pretty small. They are a bit narrower and will need to be ordered one size to one and a ½ sizes larger. So if you wear a size 10 it is advised to go with a size 11 or even 11 ½ depending on the fit you desire.

Bladerunner

Bladerunner skates are going to fit about the same as your standard shoe size. These skates are made for beginners and offer limited padding making them fit more like a shoe. Great for learning but if you’re an advanced skater these are not going to offer the durability, padding or protection you will want.

WRS or World Rolling Series has unleashed a new contest in a format that is new to Rollerblading as it’s an all online contest voted on by fans. The contest simply titled “Uploaded” has already hit its first round and after watching the videos I am hooked and cannot wait until the next round. So, how does Uploaded work?

Uploaded is an online contest where pro skaters upload video clips to go head to head with other pros. The video clips are only 1 minute long, can use music or opt not to use it and will all be voted on by past and present pros and by you the backbone of the skating industry, the fans.

Check out the current line up and upcoming battles below and be sure to check out the official contest at the WRS Uploaded page.

Cash prizes will be awarded to the top 10 finalists and the “fan favorite” voted on by YOU. All results will be announced on December 17th at a year ending WRS event in San Diego. Look for more information on the WRS Uploaded contest page.

So what’s new with the Razors Dre Powell 2? There is plenty going on with this skate that make it worth a double take. Following suit from his first pro model Dre has gone with a soft boot design but he has redesigned the skin with suede leather giving it a clean look with minimal added weight and great durability.

Ok so there is some suede leather, big deal, what else is going on with the Dre Powell 2? Well, Dre added a shock and sound absorbing layer between the soul and the boot which you will notice as a deep and solid sound when landing. No more of the days where it sounds like something is broke every time you land, add some extra steeze to your skating simply by being quieter, you dig?

The Razors Dre Powell 2 also comes with a specialized Jug liner and pre-stretched waxed laces. Keeping up with the top models in the Razors skate category Razors added the SL cuff to provide the ultimate support and flex and finished off the Dre 2 with GC frames and BHC Wheels.

So to recap this is what you get when you order your brand new pair of Razors Dre Powell 2 skates:

• NEW Suede soft top
• NEW pre-stretched, waxed laces
• SL cuff
• NEW buckle receiver
• GC F1 XS frame
• Jug Dre Powell liner
• BHC wheels
• ABEC 7 bearings

You don’t have to take my word for it, check out the video below to hear straight from Dre on the release of his new Razors Dre Powell 2 skates and see some great action of Dre himself, Brian Aragon and a special guest at the end give the new skates a break in test.

If you’re anything like me you have no issue reveling in the look of a solid skatepark which is in my opinion just as beautiful as any piece of art hanging in a museum. The truck does have an Independent license plate holder and most likely belongs to a skateboarder but who cares; it’s still an awesome truck.