Mike Hernandez

A group of bored, disaffected New York City teenagers spend a day skating, smoking, drinking, partying, deflowering virgins, and getting into fights.

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, skateboarding and hip-hop culture collide in downtown Manhattan. Archival footage from the era showcases the fusion of these two forms of expression.

"Carroll, Koston, Karl, Jovontae, Chico and legend after legend go off in Meza’s SF masterpiece from ‘96 that inspired generations of street skaters. This is canon". - Thrasher Magazine.

Empire Skate chronicles the colorful rise and enduring influence of New York skateboarding culture in the 1990s, through the global phenomenon of Supreme and intimate portraits of the skaters who breathed life into that world. From the highs of breakout film success and the creation of a brand and movement to the lows of fractured families and the loss of close friends, it is a style-and-substance trip through a unique moment when multiple trends converged on one city to create something timeless.