Written and read by Cole Nowicki
Edited Farran Golding
Headline still: Tom Schaar from “Vert Is Dead” by Chris Gregson
Introducing ‘Ranked & Filed’, a co-production that brings you the headline story from Simple Magic‘s ‘Simply Ranked’ newsletter in audio form, courtesy of Skate Bylines. Tom Schaar told the world “Vert’s Not Dead” in his new video part for Thrasher Magazine. Cole Nowicki discusses Schaar’s vert prowess and the future of the discipline.
‘Tom Schaar: The best of what’s left’. Written and read by Cole Nowicki and edited by Farran Golding for ‘Ranked & Filed’, a Simple Magic and Skate Bylines co-production.
We have an audio version of the show available on Soundcloud, Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can find show notes for this episode below and Cole’s newsletter at Simple Magic.
Shownotes for ‘Tom Schaar: The best of what’s left’
Tom Schaar
— “Vert’s Not Dead” by Chris Gregson • Thrasher Magazine, 2025
— ‘Video Parts, 1080s and the Olympics’ by Chris Gregson • Thrasher Magazine, 2025
“To quote myself…”
— ‘Limited edition garbage’ by Cole Nowicki • Simple Magic (2025)
— April Skateboards welcomes Chloe Covell (2025)
“Hawk’s vert char offensive which saw him get favorable coverage from The New York Times …”
— ‘Skateboarders Are Defying Gravity Once Again’ — Tony Hawk speaking to Lindsey Adler • New York Times (2025)
“But the effort ultimately failed…”
— ‘IOC Misses Opportunity To Add Vert Skateboarding To LA28 Olympics’ by Michelle Bruton • Forbes (2025)
“Talents like Arisa Trew, Reese Nelson, Jimmy Wilkins, Shea Donavan and a phalanx of spinning toddlers show us…”
— Arisa Trew becomes the first woman to land a 900
— Jimmy Wilkins and Shae Donavan in “Under/Over” • Real Skateboards & Thrasher Magazine (2024)
“Bring the discipline to new heights…”
— ‘Olympics or Not, Jimmy Wilkins is Reaching New Heights’ by Zach Harris • Rolling Stone, 2024
“Mega Ramp”
— Bob Burnquist in ‘Dreamland’ • Thrasher Magazine (2013)
— Tom Schaar lands the first skateboarding 1080 (2012)
— ‘Tom Schaar’s “Vert’s Not Dead” Interview’ by Chris Gregson • Thrasher Magazine (2025)
Cole Nowicki is a writer based in Vancouver, British Columbia. He has written professionally for twelve years and has contributed to Closer Skateboarding, Thrasher Magazine, Quartersnacks, King Skate Mag, SBC Magazine, Neighbourhood; non-skate outlets including The Walrus, Toronto Star and VICE. His book Right, Down + Circle which explores the cultural impact of Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater was published by ECW Press (2022) was followed by a collection of essays Laser Quit Smoking Massage with Newest Press (2024). Cole also self-publishes Simple Magic, a weekly newsletter about skateboarding and the internet.
Farran Golding is the founding editor of Skate Bylines, a senior correspondent for Quartersnacks and the associate editor at Closer Skateboarding. His writing on skateboarding has also been published in GQ, GQ Sports and Huck.
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More from ‘Ranked & Filed’
Tom Schaar: The best of what’s left
Insights from Cole Nowicki
“You want to be knowledgeable, not just present yourself to be.” — Nowicki offers advice in a roundtable on pitching to magazines and brands, ‘Making The Big Leagues’.
Keep listening to Skate Bylines
“It’s an accessible first point of, like, ‘How do I connect with this culture?’” — Ian Browning examines municple space in New York City through the lens of the Lower East Side Skatepark in ‘The Civic Centre of New York City Skateboarding’.
“The Boss became “The Boss” because at some point he stopped being the guy you were worried about and he started being the guy who people were guided by. He was a north star for all of these other skaters.” — Kyle Beachy, author of The Most Fun Thing, on his essay ‘A Very Large Puzzle: On Andrew Reynolds’.
For more commentary on skate videos
“I always remember Callum Paul and Jimmy Roche dancing theatrically to “Wuthering Heights”. They’d get a record player and really crank that song.” — Videographer Geoff Campbell talks about significance of Kate Bush to his video Cunnie’s Box, Stranger Things and Nick Jensen in Eleventh Hour for the debut episode of ‘The Eleven O’Clock Number’.
