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We're kicking off our 2022 retrospective by jumping back to early March and the first of a plethora of parts from Baker legend Kevin 'Spanky' Long. Horses, named after his daughter's word for skateboarding, was a wallie heavy attack which served to remind us that, at 38 years old, the Emerica pro was a long way from winding down his career!
Lovingly edited by Daniel Wheatly, the video was a somewhat different venture to the usual hijinx-heavy Beagle produced clip but it didn't suffer for the difference it brought. Not to say it was better or worse than the usual Baker fayre, it was just different but different in a very good way!
As 'Out There' and 'Lucky Shirt' were to solidify as the year progressed, it was clear Spanky was still absolutely slaying on his board. Whether variations of his much-loved frontside tailslide flip or the maddest of switch slappies, the fact he's approaching 40 didn't seem to be slowing him at all. Of course he does have Reynolds showing him the way but you've still gotta want it to keep it up. On the evidence of 2022, Spanky definitely still wants it!
Ishod Wair, 2013 Thrasher SOTY, had a great start to 2022. Recipient of his own signature shoe in late March, the bona fide GOAT of his generation dropped a ten-minute part through board sponsor Real to celebrate and it was close to audio-visual perfection as you're ever likely to find.
With everything from chilled and flowy lines to switch three block hammers, Ishod delivered like a hungry kid on the way up, not a 30-year-old man with a decade of pro-dom under his belt.
As we said at the time, the English language, for all its depth and beauty, offers little in the way of sufficient superlatives to do Ishod's skating justice. So, once again, we'll let the action speak for itself...
Every millennial stoner's favourite day of the Gregorian calendar (that's 4/20 in case you were wondering) was celebrated in style in 2022 with the release of a brand-new Baker vid that starred two of the most talented stoner millennials out there.
Following in the footsteps of February's 'Andrew, Zach & Rowan', Baker kept up its early year footage storm with the pairing of Tyson Peterson & Tristan Funkhouser (sandwiching the ever-capable Figgy) and, as you no doubt remember, the lads absolutely destroyed it!
From Tyson's opening downhill line (which contained perhaps the fastest flat ground tre of all time) to T-Funk's impossible China Banks Thrasher cover ender (trick of the year for sure!), there was absolutely no messing from these two. Of course there was plenty of hi-jinx in the B-roll - it wouldn't be Baker without it - but all that became superfluous when the skating took centre stage; it really was of no surprise to hear Tristan's name bandied about as serious SOTY contender as 2022 wrapped up!
As we said when this was first released, Harry Lintell is quite possibly the jewel in the UK's modern skateboarding crown. Sure, our own Sam Beckett is an X Games gold medal winner, Barney Page footage never disappoints and the likes of Penny & Rowley will always be certified royalty but Harry Lintell is pretty much "the" guy right now.
Coming less than a year after his UK centric 'Northern Grit' part, Harry celebrated his first twelve months as a pro for Real by searching out spots beyond these shores and the resulting footage completed this, his postcard in video form.
Much like his European Real team mate Hermann Stene (who also dropped a stellar part in May), Harry skates properly, as well we all know. His knack to perform skateboard stunts in the correct manner has always been beyond reproach and his choice of spots in this was second to none; when you add it up like that you can see why we think he's such a gem!
