Aesthetics - Ryde Or Die Vol. 1

Aesthetics - Ryde Or Die Vol. 1 is a beautifully filmed underground classic from 2001 that blends East Coast grit, raw street skating and art-house skate filmmaking into one of the most distinctive videos of its era. Filmed by Barrett Loose and Jake Oelman for Aesthetics, the 22-minute full-length feels completely locked into the atmosphere of early-2000s street skating, drifting through legendary spots like LOVE Park, Pulaski Park, Hubba Hideout, Pier 7 and the Pyramid Ledges in New York. Shot partly on 16mm film, the whole video has a grainy, dreamlike texture that separates it from the hyper-clean skate videos that followed later in the decade. The lineup is stacked with style legends including Josh Kalis, Stevie Williams, Rob Welsh, Clyde Singleton, Kevin Taylor, Joey Pepper and John Igei, all bringing a loose, powerful style that perfectly matched the era’s obsession with lines, ledge skating and city spots. The soundtrack moves between underground hip hop, post-punk and strange electronic textures, featuring artists like GZA, Iggy Pop and Juvenile. More than just a skate DVD, Ryde Or Die Vol. 1 feels like a moving photo zine from a period when skateboarding was shifting into something more cinematic, stylish and deeply tied to the texture of the cities being skated.