Under Saturation

Best solo parts from the first half of 2025, which was like five years ago

Nov 22, 2025

Youtubed

There’s a question I like to ask skaters of my generation:

“What was the first part you saw on YouTube?”

This question is not interesting for skaters under thirty, I’d imagine, because YouTube is likely where they first watched any video of skateboarding. But for the old folks, times were different. We absorbed the skate video medium through full lengths purchased (or ripped) on VHS tapes or DVD’s. Kazaa and Limewire moved things to the computer, but we were still downloading and watching longer videos. Same with iTunes.

The first individual video part that I watched on YouTube was Brian Anderson’s bonus part from Fourstar’s Super Champion Funzone. I think the year was 2005, and I remember the day vividly. I was in high school, visiting Kyle Brown in his dorm, and the video quality was terrible. You could barely make out some of the tricks. We watched it and then went skating around his campus. The effect was pure HYPE.

The individual video part (skate short?), uploaded to YouTube, was soon the norm. People dabbled with other players and hosts, but YouTube quickly became king. My formal introduction to the skate industry as an “am” was with a solo part for Organika, released in 2008 without any warning or build up, even for me. Before it hit the net, I hadn’t watched it or even heard the song. And there it was: A video of only me, for a brand. The feeling was strange.

It’s almost impossible to keep up with all the videos that come out online. The magazine sites prioritize advertisers and regional biases, and if one mag publishes a video, there isn’t a chance in hell that the others will acknowledge or promote it. Sifting through it all and finding videos to rewatch has never been more challenging. Skatefolio is doing a good job. Some YouTube accounts try to make playlists. But it’s a daunting task just keeping up with it all.

And what is a skate video today? There are tour videos, full length brand features, full length homie videos. There are two or three man brand vids, woman and man brand vids, Instagram parts, YouTuber parts. There are magazine parts, brand/mag collab parts, magazine parts uploaded to different players and channels at different times. Full lengths, parts that are full lengths, vlogs that function as both full lengths and parts. Docs that feel like parts, parts that feel like tour vids. It’s madness!

In 2013, with hopes of curbing some of this impending madness, if only for my own poor memory, I started a blog called Under Saturation. This was an effort to not only catalog the videos I liked, but also a way to practice writing. A daily exercise, since the content was already hitting the sites at an overwhelming pace. I stayed on it for a few years, but my writing habits veered toward fiction, and essays, and by 2018 I had pretty much stopped writing anything for the blog. UnSat became a watered down favorites tab and now feels like a homework assignment I’ve been putting off for over a year.

Today, I would like to look at the first half of the year and share my favorite parts: My favorite individual-solo-skate-short-video-part-pieces. Blog a little how I used to blog.

The solo part is a special form of video output, one that feels true to YouTube, and I would like to preserve the good ones. There’s also a certain humility to putting out a video in the first half of the year. SOTY season is far away, and there’s an acceptance that whatever comes out will likely be forgotten. So let’s look at some videos from the first half of the year. This selection, much like the vids I used to blog about, comes with complete personal biases.

Top 10: Q1 & Q2 2025

Bobby Dekeyzer : BOBCBC

I can’t overstate how impressed I was with this video when I first watched it. I delayed watching it for a few days because of the time stamp, but once I committed, the twenty-four minutes flew by like I’d just watched a bizarre but straight forward concept part. One skater, one spot. The video sucked me in, capturing the agony that goes into filming ledge lines better than any rough cut or documentary ever could. The pain of never being able to use a powerful first trick because you missed the last one. The suffering that goes into return attempts. The compromises. “BOBCBC” does something special for the form, from its conception to its scoring and everything in between. I still wish there was a finale edit of all the makes, with a song, but that’s just because I don’t have twenty-four minutes to spare if I want to get hyped to skate. This is clearly what Bobby wanted to show us. He’s the best of the best in his realm and I hope his sponsors’ paychecks reflect it.

Lil Dre : For Drew

I think Dre was thirteen when he went on his first skate trip, and I was lucky to be there for it. The kid was a sponge. A true phenom with unbelievable board control who we all knew he was destined for greatness. Though he landed the sponsors shortly thereafter and progressed rapidly on social media, it’s only been the last few years that we’ve seen what Dre (the man) can do in the streets in video part form. This is his greatest output yet, but far from the heights he will reach. His GIRL part (which should come out soon) is going to be GOOD.

Cyrus Bennet : Blackout Try

I love a single city part, and there is no one better to pull it off than Cyrus. He’s gotta be one of the hardest working pros in skateboarding. Aside from a few suspect switch flicks, every trick in this video is powerful and proper. Proper in the sketchy sort of way Cyrus has mastered.

Jaakko Ojanen : It’s Better

Another master of the sloppy smooth, Jaakko footage is pure magic. This part proves that you don’t need “good” skate spots to make a good part. Most of the what he skates in this would be largely ignored by the majority of professional skateboarders. I’d still like to see Jaakko jump here and there, because we know he’s still got it. But for now I’m happy with the high IQ approach to what looks like mostly uninspiring terrain.

Marius Syvanen : Aalto

I’ve known Marius to close to twenty years, and he’s always been one of the best. But his journey has been turbulent, and there was a period of time where I worried we wouldn’t get another full part from the man. Marius is a true skate rat, and it’s refreshing to see him out there getting it in Europe, at some of the most incredible spots suited for his skill set. Good on ya Govs.

Shawn Hale : VX Birdhouse

Shawn has to be one of the most underrated skateboarders who ever lived. I normally hate to use the word underrated, because I don’t think it is quite descriptive enough. In the case of Shawn, he’s not only highly skilled, he’s got a high IQ for spots and a unique transition-centric approach to non transition spots. Wall ride manuals? Switch wallie nosegrind reverts? While I don’t love the song or some of the apache fades, there’s a lot to unpack and study in this part and Shane Auckland, of the Sk8rats franchise, does a superb job filming and editing. Now let’s see those avos next to a pro model New Balance shoe. Or get the man a contract, at least.

John Dilo : Choking The Bat

Dilo continues to prove that he is in a league of his own with his manual tech prowess and the ability to huck. A rare combo. I love his approach to The Manny at The Library. Considering the bust and bum factor involved with that spot, the idea of committing to a manny concept there fills me with dread. He also deserves big props for the Busenitz to fakie flip at Pier 7 and unlocking one of the last basic flat ground tricks over the block. Dilo rules.

Vincent Milou : Welcome to Element

Amazing style and finesse, I love to see the Olympians clocking in on the streets. The way the music, filming and tricks come together at 1:55 is the reason we watch video parts.

Romel Torres : Welcome to CONS

I sometimes wonder if kids like Romel are the new norm or the new exception. There is something familiar about his versatility and style, but something completely unique as well. Perhaps it’s the fog of the well-rounded skater on the internet that has seeped into contemporary skateboarding the last few years. The unnamed GX guy, or the bro in the homie video who skates like all the other bros. Fast, big, and gnar. It might be easy to let a video like this pass by and be forgotten, but it shouldn’t! There is something special about Romel.

Jamie Foy : Aftermath

Unless Foy is gunning for the NBD two-peat SOTY, there is no reason to put out this gnarly of a video part right AFTER winning the most prestigious award in skateboarding. Why not save it? I like to think he’s just out there doing it for the love. Otherwise this part, plus his SOTY tour vid, plus his summer tour vids, plus his casual destruction of everything in his path approach to skateboarding might land this dude another trophy. In which case, this was a masterstroke campaign move.