New Zero Skateboards Am in “No Cash Value”

Fresh on the tail of the “20 Years of Zero” celebration in Long Beach, Zero Skateboards dropped their fourth installment of the original video series, “No Cash Value.” After Volumes I, II & III from Garrett Hill, Chris Wimer and Nick Boserio over the past two years, Franky Villani had some huge shoes to fill for his new board sponsor. Franky stacked footage for a seven-minute solo video part, and the footage was nothing short of amazement.

Franky Villani doing a backside smith grind at Phoenix Am. Photo: Joe Hammeke
Franky Villani doing a backside smith grind at Phoenix Am. Photo: Joe Hammeke

Villani killed it, for those of us familiar with this up-and-comer. And he probably surprised everyone who didn’t have him on their radar. With gap tricks, long kinked rails, goofy tricks and hubba tech bangers, Franky had everything in his arsenal and let it all out on the streets for “No Cash Value.” The video starts off with a brutal slam on a handrail, which kicks it off with true Zero Skateboards spirit. But then, even better, it continues with The Misfits as the score. Starting with lots of air time, seeming like a typical street part, it switched up before too long and kept us on our toes for the remainder of the video. Everything from the pressure flip, to the oh-so-popular sex changes, to Bennett grind variations and flips into footplants, he’s got it.

Halfway through the video, the song transitions to the luscious Lesley Gore, which provides a more dreamy vibe to the tricks he does. High no-complys, burly cavemans and quick footed lines make it impossible not to enjoy this guy’s bag of tricks and style on a board! It’s not to say that Franky’s style of skateboarding would satiate every single skater in our modern skate culture, but he comes about as close as anyone, especially any average 20-year-old from Orange County, CA.

We look forward to seeing more from Franky in the future, since he’s a young buck and current Am. His variety seems unlimited, and his style is powerful. The part is rounded out by two minutes of “bloopers” that are actually just insanely hard tricks that he almost or sloppily landed. Even his outtakes are sick! And we think that’s what impressed us so much about Franky Villani. He has one of the deepest bag of tricks we’ve seen in a while and his style is killer, but his attitude towards skating spots is the best and most open. It’s refreshing to see in someone so young: a true skate rat that interprets the streets in a completely fresh and unpredictable fashion. A rail to one skater might be a no-comply bumper to another, and it was especially cool to see such a genuinely new approach from a new Zero Am.

Congrats to Zero. Congrats to Franky Villani. Congrats to all his other sponsors: Spitfire, Thunder, Leftover Hardware, KR3W, Garage Skateshop & New Balance Numeric. Thanks Thrasher and cheers to you, skateboarding!

For the teaser, watch below. But the full part is available right HERE on Thrasher!

Weekend Notice: Orders placed over the weekend will be shipped the following Monday.

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