Play Series, Pt. 1: Skate

For Alternative's Common Thread:

Our athletic cuts are made to move. So we tapped one of our favorite photographers Matt Johnson to capture some of our best basics in motion.

In a three-part photo story we’re calling our Play Series, we asked Matt to head out on location and shoot everyday athletes doing their thing.

Matt Johnson on the Play Series: 

Though it’s pretty common for a photoshoot to be attributed as a ‘lifestyle’ shoot, it’s not as often that the lifestyle being captured is genuine. It’s usually, “Stand there, hold this, pretend, act as if…” That sort of thing. Sometimes those images can come out great, but if it’s an option, I’ll always prefer the photoshoot where the story being told is an authentic one. If the images are truly representative of who that person is—the actual ‘style’ in which they live their life—that’s always going to add value to an image. That’s what I enjoyed about shooting the Play Series, there’s nothing disingenuous about what these photos are saying.

For our Play Series, Pt. 1: Skate, we feature skater Noel Kirven-Dows.

Matt on Noel:

I’ve known Noel for a few years now–we met when we were both living in California. He’s a Santa Cruz kid, forever missing the Santa Cruz ways, and the images of Noel very much tell that story. Instead of surfing the familiar waves of the Pacific, or bombing the hills of San Francisco, I followed him as he rode down the sketchy rooftops and crowded alleyways of New York City.

Locations: Chinatown, Lower East Side, Two Bridges, Flatiron (All in Manhattan)

Photos by Matt Johnson

Interview by Shannon Randall