We’ve got the second single from Guards for you to listen to and download. “Coming True” takes a simple new-wave riff and builds layers upon it, reaching cinematic climaxes, reminiscent of past projects we’ve worked on together…

Guards is a trio made up of Loren Humphrey, Richie Follin, and Madeline Follin of Cults. Together, Element and them have collaborated on countless projects, including the FUTURE NATURE and MAKE IT COUNT soundtracks, a ton of commercials and shorts, along with the music for the MAKE IT COUNT Contest Series, including the 2009 series that was set to Richie and Loren’s band, Willowz.

Guards are closing out the year with an East Coast tour (dates below), and the full-length album ”In Guards We Trust” will be out February 5th. For more info on Guards and past Element projects, including the music video to “I See It Coming”, check out THIS blog post.

GUARDS TOUR DATES

11/29 Boston, MA @ The Sinclair
12/01 Washington, DC @Black Cat
12/07 Philadelphia, PA @ Kung Fu Necktie
12/08 Lancaster, PA @ Chameleon Club
12/09 Hartford, CT @ Arch Street Tavern
12/11 Clifton Park, NY @ Upstate Concert Hall
12/12 Buffalo, NY @ Mohawk
12/13 Ithaca, NY @ The Haunt
12/15 Brooklyn, NY @ Knitting Factory

Photo by Olivia Malone

Follow us on INSTAGRAM to find out who’s giving away what, and your chance to win!

Click Here to see more photos from The Red Room.

Click Here to see more photos from Cherry Park.

It’s a rare thing these days, in the age of the internet and all, when you can honestly say an amateur skater paid his dues to earn what he’s got, but for Nick Garcia, there’s nothing truer than that. Skating his ass off, and getting noticed the old fashioned way… “The harder you work the luckier you get” and with that said, we are proud to introduce Element’s newest pro, Nick Garcia.

Here’s a look back at Nick’s skating through the years, including video highlights, articles exposure, magazine covers, and his most recent footage and first pro ad… Congratulations Nick, you deserve it.

The Nick Garcia collection consists of the Welcome and Blue Collar boards, a cruiser shaped by Nick, and limited edition shirt. Everything is available in the Element store and at your local shop, so stock up now.

“The harder you work the luckier you get.”

It’s a rare thing these days, in the age of the internet and all, when you can honestly say an amateur skater paid his dues to earn his way, but for this individual, there’s nothing truer than that. Skating his ass off, and getting noticed the old fashioned way…

On November 3rd, we will announce the newest Element pro right here.

Backside Biggie Down Ten

360 Shuv the double-set, with a little backside 180º to top things off.

Hardflip through the Trees.

Text book style, Frontside Shove Crooked grind to Fakie.

Make sure to follow Mason (@masonsilva) and Keith Oshiro (@keithoshiro) on Instagram.
And don’t forget to check out Mason in FUTURE NATURE, The Element Am Video available in iTunes and on DVD.

There was an interactive mural going on all day by Element Advocates Mike Kershnar and Brooke Kelley. It was amazing to see their creativity spill onto the canvases right in front of our eyes!

The NO BOARD LEFT BEHIND Chop Shop was going all day, and we could barely keep up with how many boards you guys brought by! Jared and Cody Hager were flying through saw blades, and putting new cruisers together. In the end, we saved a lot of old boards from the trash, and everyone has some happy cruisers now.

Ray Barbee was on hand teaching a guitar workshop, jamming one on one with the kids. And eventually Ray and Evan Smith put on a show, playing together. Fender graciously supplied the guitars, and headphones by WESC. Thanks so much, and look for future clinics by Ray!

Element Eden had a huge presence too, as the girls were making bracelets from recycled shirts, and all sorts of cool arts and crafts going on.

And lastly, the main event. The game of SKATE went all  day, and was insane! In the end it was Jerrell Ware who battled it out, round after round, and took the final win and $500 cash. Congrats Jerrell!

The day closed out with a signing by the team in Beachworks and a group dinner with all the Element family and friends.

Thanks again to everyone for coming out. We’ll see you next year! Keep Discovering.
Click Here to see a full set of images on Flickr.

Over 3000 people rolled out to peep the three-story abandoned warehouse that’s filled with hundreds of new and refurbished murals.

Non-stop live hip-hop on the first story was cracking along with fresh pieces from BVRS and Jaut, while the second story featured death defying work from Swampy and Chert, an Oakland African Village installation by Dead Eyes, a Coyote cartoon graffiti church, and some clean SF funk from Sway, S8n, Jeans, and The Fresh Prince. The third floor had an insane DJ Dance party from Miggy Stardust in front of a classic Pemex burner. Ras Terms, Safety First, Oddfelllow, Edith, and Gats also came correct as always. If one were strong and brave enough to climb to the roof, you would know it was cracking up there as well.

Big ups to Endless Canvas for putting it all together. It was amazing to see so many generations and diverse backgrounds all celebrating the art together. Element kept it liquid with Yerba Mate, Coconut Water, and beers all night. It was definitely a night that will live on in Bay Area Art history.

Mark Appleyard Backside Disaster.

Ryan Sheckler Frontside Air.

Breathing new life into an old board. NO BOARD LEFT BEHIND.

A couple of new NO BOARD LEFT BEHIND cruisers.

The millionth person to become our fan on Facebook will win a box of Element gear, hand-picked by the team. Good luck, and to all our fans and friends… Thank you 1 million times.

Episode 1, Mallorca Migration is now playing. Mallorca, the Spanish island in the Mediterranean was the first of many stops while filming for Future Nature. This is a behind-the-scenes look at what we captured while stalked these animals through the coastline, mountains, and into the plazas.

Episode 2, Costa Rica Migration airs on Friday, August 31st. While following Amateurus for Future Nature, we ended up in the jewel of the equator, Costa Rica. We trailed the pod from the sunken seas to the highest mountain tops, surrounded by a volcanic skyline.

Episode 3, Basque Migration airs on Friday, September 7th. The final location of this exodus was the northern providence of Spain, known as Basque Country. We stalked Amateurus from Bilbao to Madrid, and everywhere in between.

Don’t forget, you can always watch these videos and all of our commercials and videos on our YouTube channel and via our podcast.

In conjunction with the US Open, Coastal Carnage, and Damn Am, we took the Recycled Board Program to Huntington Beach, and setup our first ever No Board Left Behind Chop Shop in front of Jack’s on Main Street. Recycling old decks, and transforming them into street ready cruisers, we managed to breathe new life into a ton of old boards that would’ve been trashed otherwise.

Click HERE to see more photos from the day.

Over the past year, we had 45 MAKE IT COUNT events in 30 different countries, with one goal; to get the most dedicated skateboarders from around the world for a life changing experience.

On August 11th, 23 finalists flew in for an all expenses paid trip to California for one week, and to compete in the global finals at Element YMCA Camp.

During that week, we went to San Diego and skated the Transworld park, hung out at Element headquarters, and had a day all to ourselves at The Berrics. In addition to skating, we hiked to the natural waterslides at Stony Creek, launched in Lake Sequoia, and saw a slew of wild animals in the Sequoia National Forest.

In the end, it was Jon Cos who took first place and a year’s sponsorship from Element, while Dustin Blauvelt came in second, and Nate Greenwood finished in third.  Some left with trophies and prizes, but everyone went home with something much greater; friendships were forged, and our Element family grew bigger.

Thank you to everyone who contributed in making this series an experience of a lifetime.

For more info, to see the finals video, and to see the #elementmakeitcount instagram feed, go HERE:

The short film allows a glimpse of Saario’s thoughts and dreams, which float between design, art and skateboarding. Though it also reveals the important concurrence of post-industrial areas, sustainable concepts and natural environments, and unfolds the demanding obligation, towards today’s generation and those to come, to create positive and inspiring, local communities.

Over the past two years, filmer Yves Marchon’s keen eye reels in the various aspects and angles of Janne’s life and creates the perfect portrayal of what Element is most proud of and strives to constantly stand for through their products, artists and team riders: to bring progress to skateboarding in the most honest and ethical way.

The film was premiered in Janne’s home town of Helsinki, Finland which was named ‘World Design Capital 2012′. The film has received great feedback so far so check out the film and let us know what you think!

Evan and Levi

Kershnar displaying an American cannonball

Boo, Nick, Evan and Todd at the Berlin Wall

Evan hopping over the wall

Evan and Nick

Cole

Cole, myself, and Todd

From Top Left to Bottom Right: Evan Back Smith, Nick & Madars, Van Life, The Homies

Can’t wait till next year.

After sorting through hundreds of video submissions for the MAKE IT COUNT Wildcard entry, we’ve finally selected a winner. Congratulations goes out to Mikey Whitehouse of Edinburg, TX for his amazing park edit. He will be joining finalists from all over the globe in California at Element YMCA Camp for the finals and get to skate the Berrics with the Element team in just a few weeks. Thanks to everyone who submitted their videos. Check out Mikey’s winning video above.

Element Founder, Johnny Schillereff has announced the winners from the Element Tree Logo Contest, and we’ve got all the details HERE.

The top two picks will be turned into an Element T-shirt, and win a special package from Element. The honorable mentions will also have a hand-packed box, delivered straight to their door. And, every single entry in the Element Tree Logo Contest will receive a special thank you letter and gift from Johnny himself.

Thank you everyone for participating in the first of many online contests from Element. And please follow @elementusa and @johnnyschillereff on Instagram for more details.

Element Founder, Johnny Schillereff has created a contest on Instagram, asking you to submit your interpration of the Element tree logo. Log into Instagram and tag your photo #elementtreelogocontest and enter to win a ton of Element product, and to have your design turned into an Element T-shirt!

The deadline is Monday, July 9th, and we’ll announce the winners on Tuesday, July 10th. All you have to do, is create any interpretation of the Element tree logo, and the winner will receive a box of Element product, picked and packed by Johnny himself, and your artwork will be turned into an Element T-shirt!

Follow Element on Instagram at @elementusa and Johnny at @johnnyschillereff for more details, and don’t forget to tag your photo with #elementtreelogocontest

Nyjah Huston dominated X Games this past weekend, first with an incredible run in the “Skateboard Street” contest, where he walked away with the bronze medal, while Ryan Sheckler won silver, and Paul Rodriguez took gold. Nyjah’s winning run can be see HERE.

Nyjah then won the gold medal for his “Real Street” video part; a video contest filmed entirely in the streets over the course of the past six months. The one-minute video can be watched HERE.

In other X Games news, 12-Year-Old Element rider Tom Schaar landed a flawless 900º during the “Big Air” competition, and ended up on ESPN’s “Top 10 Plays of the Week”. You can see the clip HERE.

When the sun goes down, Nyjah Huston along with Chase Webb and Ethan Loy set out to quickly make their own spot with the Fun Box. The Element Drop Spot obstacles are easy to setup, and can turn anything, anywhere into a skatespot.

Click Here to shop all Drop Spot Obstacles.

See more of his work at www.gaberman.com.

Both Nyjah and Tim Tim are trying for a shot at $50,000 and X Games gold. X medals will be awarded by a panel of judges. Winner of the Fan Favorite, voted on by you, will also receive a $50,000 cash prize.

Vote now – MAKE IT COUNT!

Submit a 1-minute video of you at your local park to win an experience of a lifetime; a trip to the finals at Element YMCA Camp and The Berrics.

Click here to enter.

Here she is, hard at work on the new barn for them.

In March 2012 the Element Europe team spent 10 days in Saragossa, Spain to film the riders’ last few tricks for their parts in Element’s latest AM Video “Future Nature”. Here we follow Nassim Guammaz on the last day of filming before the deadline for the project – the pressure’s on to get everything down on film…..

Future Nature is available on iTunes now

For more information about Future Nature check out the site here