Story behind Zoo York's mixtape

Starting in the early 90s, Zoo York were filling a void on the East Coast of America for skating brands. Whilst skating and graffiti culture was prevalent in 90s New York, there were little to no companies doing what Zoo York wanted to achieve. This all changed after the release of the 1997 video, Zoo York Mixtape. An hour long video documenting some of the biggest skaters of that particular decade, alongside freestyle footage from Busta Rhymes, Ghostface Killah, and Fat Joe.

After a year into collating and filming skate footage, Gesner had the idea to incorporate east coast rappers into the video. He had already filmed the freestylers at the famous Stretch Armstrong and Bobbito Show and the iconic Zoo York sound was thus created.

The video premiered at New York’s underground film festival, and went on to sell thousands of copies across America. But it wasn’t just the money that was important, and wasn’t as much as you’d think. Instead the video put them on the map in the skate scene and consequently launched their careers in skating. Although the brand was bought out in 2001, and the owners went on to create SHUT skateboards, the impact this 1 hr long video had on youth culture was monumental.

you can watch the video here