The video does stuff this guy no justice. Huge ollies and eternal style that is still sick even by todays standards. Super chill guy, nice to every skater he met who came up to him for a meet and greet and total ripper. Kien rules!
I unfortunately have never seen Kien skate in person,I can only imagine how incredible it is. Just growing up watching him skate in videos is beyond inspiring. This part to this day gets me so hyped,Kien definitely does rule
Such a beautiful skater. The aesthetic is amazing. He said in his Thrasher interview that he wanted to skate like Hosoi on the street. I can definitely see it. One of the purest skateboarders of all time. His skating and style is unreal.
I was really impressed by the fact that he did a method grab down a large-sized 7 stair. Such style. I'm in that mentality right now where I started skating in 99, and I have good knowledge of what happened before that, and now I'm starting to see crappy, haughty-ass kids at the skatepark, and I so much want to tell them that they have no right to think of themselves as the first to do blah blah blah xyz. Plus, skate videos from this time had so much style! I prefer this over robot rails/flips
Donger has style for miles the biggest Ollie's ever! These kids think it's all about throwing yourself down rails and stair sets they need to watch his part this type of street skating still applys today.
kids obsessed with all "da tricks" need to watch skating of this guy to truly understand how to appreciate the art of style or streets on fire etc to really understand what its about.
i need this song & his “rites of passage” song! the “donger” blends soo well with jazz. kien lieu X danny minnick reminds me of the duo’s of ricky oyola X dan wolfe - donny barley X dan wolfe as their styles are similar in the “just skate” approach. long lines, cruising the city sidewalks, beautiful shit. although my list has changed alot since a 7 y/o kid in 93 with tons of 411vm & various VHS tapes but nowadays, kien lieu is in my top skaters list along with: mike vallely, chris senn, paulo diaz, donny barley, ricky oyola the gonz, laban phiedas, tommy guerrero, tom knox, eric dresden, frankie hill/guy mariano (88/91), jason dill, ed templeton, ray barbee, john reeves, jason lee, harry jumonji & jeff pang. can u tell i’ve been watching alot of 87/1990-1993/95 VHS tapes the last year… respect the OGs
I live in san diego, alot of this is filmed there. I promise anyone watching this that everything is alot bigger in person than it looks on video. In the begining at the end of the downhill part when he ollies over that rail is in downton sd. That is seriously so big its not easy to jump onto without a board, I tried. I can ollie up tops of benches and have good pop, but donger is another level. I seen him skate in person a few times and its crazy. he grinds that wall in PB on the boardwalk and thats insane because not only is it high but its super dry and just isnt a great ledge to skate, even waxed. I cant believe he did it so easy
I wonder if this is the same donger I met briefly in Lynnwood at han park between 88-89.he was with a smaller friend but back then could Ollie 5 foot plus fences with no effort...wow...his skate style is very underrated and gives natas a run for his money in the Ollie department...I think he had a Lucero x1 with very deep concave that hurt my feet or a zorlac Metallica...either board had a u shaped deep concave that was foreign to me
I wonder if Donger coulda pulled a 45" ollie in his prime? Did he ever get serious about setting a record back then? Props to Aldrin, but I still remember this dude.
It is a shame that most kids won't know about Kien Lieu because they could learn a thing or two. No skate stoppers today would stop the way he skates, and he makes any block look the sickest spot.
i still do not understand how Kien never approached and won highest ollie contests? i do believe that hes ollied higher than 46" in this video. And with such ease and skill.
