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."

2021 Roche Philadelphia Vans Rd 14

"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.

2021 Roche Philadelphia Vans Rd 13

"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."

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

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2021 Roche Philadelphia Vans Rd 18

"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."

2021 Roche Philadelphia Vans Rd 17

"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."

2021 Roche Philadelphia Vans Rd 12

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

2021 Roche Philadelphia Vans Rd 08
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.

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