{"id":10403,"date":"2025-10-21T08:05:08","date_gmt":"2025-10-21T08:05:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/10403\/"},"modified":"2025-10-21T08:05:08","modified_gmt":"2025-10-21T08:05:08","slug":"who-are-some-of-nycs-next-generation-of-skaters-an-interview-with-elisa-martini-alim-orahovac","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/10403\/","title":{"rendered":"Who Are Some of NYC\u2019s Next Generation of Skaters? \u2014 An Interview With Elisa Martini & Alim Orahovac"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\ud83d\udcdd Intro + Interview by Greg Navarro<\/a>
\ud83d\udcf7 Photography by Greg Navarro<\/a><\/p>\n

It was a windy day in Maspeth, Queens when I found Alim, 17 years old, fingerboarding at New York\u2019s only D.I.Y. fingerboard park<\/a>. \u201cYo, imagine I film a whole fingerboard street part, but it\u2019s on VX1000? Ima\u2019 change the game with that one,\u201d he said to me. I laughed, thinking about all the tape he\u2019d have to waste. \u201cWhat you laughing at, poser?\u201d he said to me with a grin on his face. Alim is the type of kid who says what he wants.<\/p>\n

As we got to know each other, Alim invited me out on a few filming missions with his best friend Elisa Martini, 20 years old, a skater from Jamaica, Queens. Elisa and Alim are the youngest new members of the Bronze 56K crew. For a whole year, as Alim recovered from his ACL surgery, Elisa and him invested in a VX1000 and set out to film a video. On the morning of their video premiere, I sat down with the two friends at the Brooklyn Banks to learn more about the making of \u201cOn The Corner.\u201d<\/p>\n

+++++++<\/p>\n

Why is it that every time I call Alim, he\u2019s doing laundry?<\/p>\n

Alim: The way I grew up, before I go film skating every day. I\u2019m just doing laundry. Like one load of laundry here, one load of laundry there. It\u2019s going to keep the house moving.<\/p>\n

Elisa: Listen, we both have Balkan parents. I\u2019m Albanian and Alim is Bosnian. You can\u2019t leave the house without doing something. What are you leaving the house for if you\u2019re not doing something? Sometimes I have to make sure my room is clean, pick up stuff off the floor, maybe wash the dishes or something. <\/p>\n

Also Balkan people wash their clothes every time they wear it. That\u2019s a really important thing. We won\u2019t wear something two or three times and wash it. Like if they even wear denim once \u2014 wash it. Shirts once? Wash it. Sweaters once \u2014 they\u2019ll wash it. They really go through a lot of fucking clothes. <\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m really trying to get outside and do something. I have a lot of goals for skating and filming. I really feel hyped on it.\u201d \u2013 Alim<\/p>\n

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Elisa Martini, Switch Blunt<\/p>\n

How did you two first meet?<\/p>\n

Elisa: I feel like everybody knows each other in New York, especially the youth. Alim was trying to film a new video. And I was like, if you ever want to film, I\u2019d be down and get some clips. Since then, we\u2019ve just been friends. Off the record, I always thought he was a little shithead.<\/p>\n

Alim: I don\u2019t blame her. It\u2019s on the record. <\/p>\n

Elisa: When you\u2019re a young New York City kid, you\u2019re always going to be a shithead. Then you meet someone in person and realize they are cool. Alim would come to all the KCDC [Skateshop] events and do 5050 treflip and kickflip.<\/p>\n

Alim: It\u2019s the party pleaser trick. This was in the eighth grade when I had a big ass pair of Stevie William DC shoes.<\/p>\n

Elisa: I never thought Alim would be one of my best friends. It changed my view of him a lot when we\u2019re just chilling at [Williamsburg] Monument. He was just like, \u201cI\u2019m really trying to get outside and do something. I have a lot of goals for skating and filming. I really feel hyped on it.\u201d I told him just to keep at it because you never know where you\u2019re going to end up. <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Tell me about your video part in \u201cOn the Corner.\u201d How did that come about?<\/p>\n

Elisa: Alim said he\u2019s filming another video, only VX1000. I\u2019m so hyped on that shit; I haven\u2019t filmed VX, so that\u2019s something super new. He just had [ACL] surgery. In April, he would be cleared to bike and walk. We didn\u2019t have school, so we were both outside almost every day filming, making spots, hanging out and getting it done. And honestly, it was such a fun summer. When you film with someone enough and you guys know each other well, there\u2019s a really nice flow.<\/p>\n

At 17 years old, what sparked you to make a skate video on VX1000?<\/p>\n

Alim: When I was in bed [healing] I just kept watching Wade Desarmo\u2019s part from Top Dollar (2004)<\/a> and I was like, \u201cYo, this boy got the tall tee on and the big baggies, that looks nice on VX.\u201d And I already knew the homies Jack and Whit. All they wore were I-Path and DC. I was like, \u201cWe could make something happen here.\u201d And I just think VX looks cooler, you don\u2019t have to do ridiculously hard stuff on VX for it to necessarily look cool. People are definitely hyped to get the VX out to get a clip.<\/p>\n

Elisa: I think something important to mention: Alim did not go tapeless, he was using all tapes. So that makes it even harder.<\/p>\n

Alim: When you film with a tapeless recorder, the quality goes down \u2013 there\u2019s a visible difference.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Josh Handfus, crook on broken Pyramid Ledges<\/p>\n

I heard you both are getting hooked up by Bronze 56K.<\/p>\n

Elisa: That sounds so crazy to hear. It\u2019s pretty much one of my biggest dreams. The first video I ever watched, truly, was It\u2019s Time (2018)<\/a> because my friend from Queens showed me the Bronze Instagram. He\u2019s like, \u201cThese heads are from Queens, they\u2019re like us. We could do this shit too.\u201d I remember seeing this clip of Mark [Humenik] doing the longest backside feeble ever. <\/p>\n

I didn\u2019t know I would even get sponsored. I started skating at 15, I had no aspirations in skating. When I got that box from Bronze, I\u2019m not gonna lie to you, that hit so close to home. That was something that made me think, \u201cDamn, can I really do this?\u201d<\/p>\n

When I first met Peter [Sidlauskas] I remember him saying, \u201cYou have something. Just keep going. I see something in you.\u201d I hope I can pave the way for more women and more people to also feel like they can make that happen for themselves. <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Why do you think you got the Bronze crew\u2019s attention?<\/p>\n

Alim: I feel like we\u2019re doing it a little different. We\u2019re getting the street footage, and I have a lot of friends that aren\u2019t getting street footage. They\u2019re just going to the skateparks. I think street footage looks better. It does better for you in the long run. I feel like people don\u2019t want to see skatepark footage anymore. There\u2019s just too much of it. <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Elisa Martini, crook tail grab<\/p>\n

Is Bronze invested in the younger generation?<\/p>\n

Alim: Oh yeah definitely. It\u2019s kind of a genius idea by them. I feel like everyone knows Bronze is an old head brand; all the guys are older. There\u2019s not anyone 17 or 20 like me and Elisa. I\u2019m still in high school and classmates are asking me where do I get these graphic shirts from? They\u2019re crazy. <\/p>\n

Elisa: I feel like every company has a point where there\u2019s a little bit of a gap. Everyone there is in their late 20s, early 30s. What I\u2019ve realized is everybody\u2019s friends. It\u2019s really not as business as you think. They want to pick people that fit. We really care about New York City street skating and that\u2019s Bronze\u2019s thing too. <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

So are the rumors true? Is skating aging, or is there a new wave of kids getting into it?<\/p>\n

Alim: I\u2019m seeing little kids skate the nine stair at the Brooklyn Banks; it\u2019s fucked. They\u2019re five feet tall skating a nine stair \u2014 I feel like you didn\u2019t used to see that. I need to see a little kid varial heelflip the nine.<\/p>\n

Elisa: I\u2019m super grateful for Alim making this video because he really shed light on a lot of the New York City youth here. This video really shows skaters they have never seen before.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Elisa Martini, 5050 and kickflip<\/p>\n

Are there too many uncs in skating?<\/p>\n

Alim: Maybe there\u2019s not enough? Like you get old, you start doing the slappies, you\u2019re doing your thing on the 10-inch Heroin boards, it happens. I filmed an old head for the video, it was lit. They get clips, I\u2019m hyped.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s your obsession with the lottery?<\/p>\n

Alim: My parents always played Powerball. We never won. But you know, I can\u2019t say \u201cnever\u201d before I win. So we\u2019ll see. I\u2019m probably going to win it. <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Back to the video: there isn\u2019t a single rolling clip in this video. Do you know how to skate and film at the same time?<\/p>\n

Alim: Man, I got ACL surgery. I wasn\u2019t cleared to push on a board until literally two weeks ago. And I still haven\u2019t pushed on a board. I just thought it\u2019d be different if I filmed a whole video on foot. You can really see how raw some of the spots are when you see a little camera shake, because you\u2019re on foot. <\/p>\n

Elisa: Alim will take my board to try some bullshit ass flatground trick, but God forbid you ask him to film a follow line. Suddenly he says, \u201cMy doctor didn\u2019t clear me to skate.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

What was the reason for Elisa smashing the VX in the opener of your video?<\/p>\n

Alim: It was [from the Bronze video] It\u2019s Time. I saw it and I was like, \u201cWe gotta buy a beater VX and just break it.\u201d A little bit of rage bait. I gutted the motherboard out before we actually broke it.<\/p>\n

Elisa: I was super nervous because it was a one take thing. But it was actually really fun. It gives me the same vibe as The Flipmode Video<\/a>; they\u2019re just super young kids just filming and skating around the city.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Why did Elisa get the first part in the video?<\/p>\n

Alim: She was the only one that wanted to stack. Everyone was trying to go to the skatepark. I was over it. Halfway through summer I have people who haven\u2019t even started their part. \u201cWe gotta lock in bro, it don\u2019t work like this.\u201d That\u2019s why she\u2019s doing so good for herself now, because she\u2019s getting street footage anytime.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

What\u2019s up with that dude, Jack? Why does he look like he\u2019s straight out of 2000?<\/p>\n

Alim: I met that boy on TikTok, I\u2019m not even playing. I saw his edit at Tompkins. I was like, \u201cYo, we need to get outside, bro.\u201d And he\u2019s the only one I see online actually skating good with those bigass clothes. We linked and it was just story from there. Bro is so dope. <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Jack Lepre,front noseslide by Joshua Cotto<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cWhenever I see a crew enjoying themselves, looking like they\u2019re just all friends, and skating together, I feel like that\u2019s the shit that moves me.\u201d \u2013 Elisa<\/p>\n

What\u2019s your favorite borough to skate?<\/p>\n

Elisa: Queens obviously. Come on now.<\/p>\n

Alim: Queens, for me too. I still love Brooklyn, but I think there\u2019s more undiscovered crust in Queens than in Brooklyn. Like everything\u2019s been done in Brooklyn. But then you got all these little shitty spots that are untouched and I really like that in Queens. There\u2019s potential in Queens.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Elisa Martini, wallride<\/p>\n

What are your plans after high school?<\/p>\n

Alim: I\u2019m pretty sure I\u2019m going to community college. Then hopefully trade school. I still definitely want to be skating, but skating is not going to pay the bills, bro. It doesn\u2019t work like that anymore. I\u2019m not Jereme Rogers; he was making $60K a month back then. That\u2019s a ridiculous number. New York doesn\u2019t need another filmer.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

What do each of you want to see more of in skate videos?<\/p>\n

Alim: More clips over handrails fisheye. And just double angle VX.<\/p>\n

Elisa: More people looking like they\u2019re having fun. I know that probably sounds so corny. Whenever I see a crew enjoying themselves, looking like they\u2019re just all friends, and skating together, I feel like that\u2019s the shit that moves me. I\u2019m like, \u201cDamn, I want to do that too.\u201d <\/p>\n

Support Alim & Elisa, buy \u201cOn The Corner\u201d on DVD here<\/a><\/p>\n

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