If you aren’t locked into the SoCal scene you may very well not know who JJ Wessells is. Hence the service provided by this short film about the man, the myth, and the legend. Enjoy and check out JJ’s Matix collection here.

The 2013 Vans Pool Party went down this past weekend at the Vans Skatepark with the Master division showing what years of experience brings to the table.Chris Miller took home first place and $15,000, Steve Caballero was in second, and Christian Hosoi was in third. Get a look at the mastery in this edit from Transworld Skateboarding and go here for a photo recap from the Pro division.

The second installment of the “Art of the Craft”, an original short series by Starbucks Doubleshot showcases the creative energy of surfboard craftsman as they tell their stories of building one-of-a-kind custom, high-end surfboards is now live. In part two, Martijn Stiphout, owner of Ventana Surfboards, tells us what inspires him as he creates some of the world’s most beautiful boards. Check out the video above and then hit the jump for a look at the first video in the series & Art of the Craft launch event that went down at Aloha Sunday Supply Company in San Diego, CA.

On one hand this whole Detroit PR campaign is kind of like, enough already, but on the other hand the D was one of America’s greatest cities and is currently in worse shape than most third world metropolises. Having said that, this video, and the campaign to bring X Games to Detroit is one of the raddest things we’ve seen in the industry in a while. It’s like, shit, what do they have to lose, and that’s some fresh American spirit. Put our names on the petition, we want to see X Games Detroit! #XG2D

As part of their 12 months of shred project, Rome stopped in Utah to take some Park City spring laps with Ozzy Henning. Damn, just when we thought we had gotten the urge out of our system, this mofo brings it right back. And powder no less!

Is there possibly more to learn about Eric Koston after his very recent Epicly Later’d? We shall certainly see when Desillusion drops their next video “This is Eric Koston” on May 25.

Mob links up with Pete Eldridge for a grip it and rip it session in the park. Enjoy!

Marcelo D2 is a godfather of Brazilian hip hop or “rap nacional” on the same level as Nas is to hip hop here. However, unlike American rappers, he didn’t just get down with skateboarding over the last couple years but has repped it since day one. His latest video, shot and directed by Radcollector familia Gandja Monteiro, features brands like The Hundreds, Diamond, and Supreme as well as a posse of Dead Presidents – inspired skateboarders. Check it out.

5Boro’s latest commercial takes you on a trip to Harlem for a showtime session with Silvester Eduardo and Rafael Gomes. Enjoy.

Photographer Van Styles breaks down how he got his start and gives a behind the scenes look at the photo shoot for his new collaboration with DGK. Enjoy.