2021 Roche Philadelphia Vans Rd 19
26 Feb 2021

Dakota Roche - Seeking Liberty - Vans - IN PHOTOS

Dak feasts on some East Coast crust...

vans flying v clean

Words and Photos by Rob Dolecki | VANS

Late last fall, Dakota Roche masked up and jumped on a plane for the first time in six months (thanks to COVID) and headed east to Philadelphia for a week. It was the first time he'd ridden the city of Brotherly Love since 2012 (while filming for Talk Is Cheap), and with evolved eyes, found a fresh landscape of appealing terrain not necessarily noticed during previous trips.

During his stay, I was able to link up with him for a few days to tag along, chill, and watch the Dak show. And as usual, it was a treat to witness, and the the resulting vid came out sweet, thanks in part to Calvin Kosovich's skills behind the lens. Dakota was kind enough to provide some captions for the following photos and gives a little insight to his experience.

-RD

2021 Roche Philadelphia Vans Rd 01

"The never-ending search."

2021 Roche Philadelphia Vans Rd 09

"The feeling of a curved wallride will never get old. This one was made of marble, which led me to believe it would be too slippery to ride, but it was actually perfect. I probably ripped around it like 75 times, between filming a line with it and doing just doing it for fun."

2021 Roche Philadelphia Vans Rd 16

"It's pretty typical for me to use whatever is lying around to set up a phone tripod shot for an Instagram story piece or something. We all had a few rips on this amazing barrier spot to end a day of filming. Dan Foley gettin' steezy wit it."

2021 Roche Philadelphia Vans Rd 06

"Philly has had quite a few barrier spots over the years, but this one has got to be one of the best ever. Couldn’t pass up shooting one of my favorite tricks with one of my favorite photographers. Dolecki, you rule."

"I’ve probably ridden past this tight bank to fence dozens of times without batting an eye, but kinda had the urge to try to get something on it this day. Calvin was on the other side of the fence filming fisheye risking like a 20-foot drop into a corridor. Calvin’s job was way gnarlier than mine on this trick; nose-fence ride-nose.

"Footage review so Calvo didn’t have to climb over a spiked fence 10 times if I wanted to do the trick again."

2021 Roche Philadelphia Vans Rd 20

"Waiting for a police officer to disappear into the distance. The spot was worth the wait."

Related Video

DAKOTA ROCHE DIG Q+A - BEHIND THE SCENES ON VANS 'SEEKING LIBERTY'

Talking Philly with Dak - More Info

"Crook-pop-over to start a line. This spot really got my brain going because you couldn’t ride it like a typical rail to ledge. Took me a bit to realize I might be able to do a trick I’ve never tried before which was a pocket drop into the vertical wall after the grind. Cops kicked us out in the middle of trying, but we barged it and got it done. Was really hyped it worked out."

"Corner drop in to a wall. Didn’t know if this was gonna work and didn’t really know how to go about trying it. Thankfully, it only took a few goes to get it how I wanted."

2021 Roche Philadelphia Vans Rd 04

"Among my goals for this trip, getting a 360 turndown and filming a line at Municipal were high on the list. Stoked to kill two birds with one stone at this dream spot. I’d ride here every day if I could."

"Probably overthinking about all the ways a trick can go wrong. Just push through and get it done!"

2021 Roche Philadelphia Vans Rd 10

"One of the problems you encounter while filming for a project, is the possibility that a trick you got has already been done. I couldn’t pass up this setup, but a few weeks later I found out the trick had already been done by another dude who I really respect. Needless to say, this trick is not in my part, but I’m hyped on the photo."

2021 Roche Philadelphia Vans Rd 03

"I went over the bars and bent my finger back on a curb in the process. It felt pretty intense so I thought my finger was bleeding because my bone was popping out but I guess it just scraped the curb. Months later, my finger still doesn’t feel right from the stupid slam!"

2021 Roche Philadelphia Vans Rd 07

"Was a treat getting to watch Colin Mackay and Dan Foley rip this hip. They basically put on a demo of steez for all of us. Picture perfect one foot euro by Dan."

2021 Roche Philadelphia Vans Rd 05

"Dream trick on the last day of the trip. Alley-oop wallride to smith grind at an OG gem of a spot. Couldn’t ask for a better way to end an incredible trip."

2021 Roche Philadelphia Vans Rd 02

"Can’t thank the boys enough for pushing through trick battles with me. Checking the crispy angles."

Related Video

Vans BMX Presents: Dakota Roche's Seeking Liberty

Dak does Philly - More Info

Be sure to get a look at the first ever VANS Slip On BMX HERE.

Vans Dakota Slip On Bmx Kitchen 9 2 2020 130

Previous

Next

FUTURE PROOF - Mentoring The Halahans

Young Guns Under The Influence of Tom Arkus and Mark Potozcny

Related Content

Signature Sessions Dakota Roche Cinema Bmx
Play Button

SIGNATURE SESSIONS - DAKOTA ROCHE - CINEMA

Dak putting his Signature Dak Pegs to work

28 Feb 2020
Dennis Enarson Peru 2019 Rob Dolecki 027

DUST CITY - VANS IN PERU

Behind the 'Grey' in Lima

11 Feb 2020
Cultcrew Vansxcult Dakota Roche
Play Button

VANS X CULT - DAKOTA ROCHE

Beast mode engaged

29 Sep 2016
Dakota Roche Nativeland Iv
Play Button

Dakota Roche - Native Land IV

Another epic street assault by the man himself...

26 Aug 2020
Urban Playground Dakota Roche
Play Button

Urban Playground: Dakota Roche

Dak talks finding spots and motivation to ride

14 Jan 2016
Dakota Roche Bay Roam
Play Button

Dakota Roche | Bay Roam

The King of California Spots

1 Dec 2016
https://www.danscomp.com/

Latest Content

X NF6 Iv Wjnf4hqdefault
Play Button

JOHNNY RAEKES - Odyssey Bike Check

Peep some yet-to-be-released parts

21 Nov 2024
O MO H Um4wbshqdefault
Play Button

FRACTURE 'VISIONS OF LIGHT'

Felix Prangenberg, Kilian Reichmeyer, Linda Grabner & More

21 Nov 2024
W Jm5qjo 8 M Qhqdefault
Play Button

LOVENOTE - Cult x Capital mix

Alive in the streets

21 Nov 2024
X3 E Zq Dt Sq Zchqdefault
Play Button

Felipe Manerim - "A rotina que eu quero"

Doing it for Vans

21 Nov 2024
L ZE5 CL Rl Lc4hqdefault
Play Button
Xv Y Zs Omx S8hqdefault
Play Button

RAWER CREW X LISBON

DIG LOCALS

20 Nov 2024
Jfcpgo HP Zb0hqdefault
Play Button

Joey Cobbs - Kanode Knows

Low Numbers

20 Nov 2024
4n R3 KT Cb M Yghqdefault
Play Button

MATT CLOSSON - BOROUGH BREAKER RALLY

Episode 4

20 Nov 2024
Xtj B8 FPWYX4hqdefault
Play Button

CLICHE JAM - Presented by The Cut BMX

'IN THE CUT'

19 Nov 2024
H N Jdlzt Ica Ihqdefault
Play Button

Magnolia 2 - "Cataclysm" full video - 2024

Cajun shredding

18 Nov 2024
976 7s3 Gq K Ehqdefault
Play Button

Tim Wood 50th Birthday

50 YEARS STRONG!

18 Nov 2024
Id Lpw Qf Xf Lghqdefault
Play Button

TAJ MIHELICH - DIG 'FRAGMENTS'

Episode 1

18 Nov 2024

DIG Partner stores

More Features

KG drone shot

KEEPING IT LOCAL - 20 YEARS OF KELVINGROVE SKATEPARK

Happy Birthday to our local Glasgow park.

18 Sep 2024
Jamie Pipe Tribe

A Brave New World - The history of KHE Bikes, Part 2

Taiwan, a pornstar, and innovation in a can

18 Apr 2024
Dragon Higa gap to manual copy

PROJECT X

This is Project X - This is BMX

9 Apr 2024
WILL JACKSON SOUTHPORT OLDHAM SESSION SHOT BY KANO KANE 2

WILL JACKSON - THE 'MUSCLE MEMORY' INTERVIEW

"I got my first WTP frame at the back end of 2001. Half a lifetime ago."

21 Dec 2023
Simple session 2023 boyd hilder 9

Simple Session 2023 Photo Journal

23 years and counting...

27 Sep 2023
BOH RAIL JAM 2023 47

Battle of Hastings - Photo Journal 2023

From the beach to the basement of Source Park

12 Sep 2023
Trey Jones Pocket Air1 Aguilar 2023
20230804 DIG GLASGOW 0028

30 YEARS OF DIG EXHIBITION & BSD Jam - In Photos

Jammin' and premierin'

11 Aug 2023
20230421 OHIO 0218

Postcards from Ohio - Photo Journal

3 cities, hundreds of spots

9 Jul 2023
45 dig 93 by dolecki LYNN 250 POSH

Trails Closed - The End of Posh Woods

Why the legacy of Posh will absolutely endure

14 Jun 2023
2nd angle Zack Scott DIGBMX 4

The "Full Coverage" Interview

Never underestimate the camera guy!

8 Jun 2023
Robin in Split Croatia Photo Kieran Cooper 7

Robin Bourhis “From Engineering to Riding”

The story behind his WTP 2023 Video Part

26 May 2023