Last night, Palace premiered their latest full-length skate video at EartH in Dalston. With lights dimmed, Chicago house music permeated through the club’s sound system as old friends of the brand, London skate crews and Palace pro team riders were invited to watch the latest skate offering.
As the drinks started flowing, people took to their seats as Phil Collins’ ‘In The Air Tonight’ accompanied a digital countdown. Palace logos replaced the typical animation studio emblems, marking the start of ‘Beta Blockers’.
The video served as a love letter to London and beyond, as Palace’s worldwide presence was cemented on screen. Blending high speed and technical skating courtesy of Palace’s eclectic team of skaters, the crew took us on a journey as they destroyed hometown favourite spots Stockwell and Southbank to iconic skate meccas like Municipal Plaza and 9th Street.
OG PWBC (Palace Wayward Boys Choir; the skate crew formed in the house they shared in Waterloo, later blossoming into Palace Skateboards in 2009) were joined by newer team members as With Chewy Cannon drawing applause from around the room. London legend Kyle Wilson lit up the room with his monstrous pop. Heitor Da Silva lit up the room with his fast and loose annihilation of anything in his path, accompanying new additions to the team, Ville Wester and Pedro Attenborough, all producing heavy-hitting parts.
As is to be expected with Palace, the soundtrack was as solid as the skating, with classic house tunes blending into techno and later Tupac, laying the foundations for the party that followed.
The Beta Blockers premiere showed that Palace is and always will be a skate brand, supporting an extremely talented and close-knit crew of skaters around the world, linked through their love and passion for skateboarding.
On top of this, as we know, Palace remains purveyors of the finest garments, which by and large comes from an authentic approach influenced by its deep passion for skateboarding, subcultures and good quality clobber. A 2012 Umbro shirt with a promo video in a proper London boozer? Completed it. A balls-to-the-wall Gucci collab with aliens and flying buildings? Completed that too.
Palace exemplifies doing things your own way. Steering clear of metaphorical boxes, it has explored everything from raving to running, allowing the brand to reach levels previously unseen.
Palace’s f*ck you approach to everything they touch was a welcome breath of fresh air back in 2009, and it’s just as exciting today.
More on Culted
See: Dior taps Tomorrow x Together and Clarks get Kurupted: your Friday Roundup
See: Here’s what you might have missed at Copenhagen Fashion Week
