Out in the Streets: The Loaded Coyote "Hola Lou"

After nearly a year of pandemic-induced hibernation we’re finally starting to wake up, just in time for spring with at least one fresh new look: the Loaded Coyote Hola Lou edition.

It’s not to say we haven’t been productive in the last year while under COVID-19 restrictions. We actually took much of that time to restructure and think long and hard about what we want to be doing as a brand in the next coming years. Of course, this introspective deep dive was happening right alongside assembling the countless boards that our beautiful friends and fans have been purchasing from us.

In fact, if it weren’t for the growing desire to skate among readers like you, we probably wouldn’t be in the position to release this eye-watering new coat of paint on everyone’s favorite highly functional mini.

The Coyote Hola Lou not only brings a fresh new addition to our lineup but also helped dust off some pandemic-induced cobwebs for us as the first release of the year. After being cooped up inside for so long, it felt great to smell the bountiful aromas of the streets of Los Angeles (for better or worse).

The familiar feeling of carrying loads of camera equipment, patching up skate wounds, and reveling in the sting of a victorious high five made us even more excited for our upcoming projects later this year.

The Coyote was designed for a more casual and versatile approach to short board riding, though it still excels on a more traditional street-skate setup. With our two main recommended setups (All-Around and Carving & Slashing) focused on the art of carving and rolling smoothly through the streets, we enlisted the help of local Loaded riders Corey Cade and Michael Cohen to demonstrate the versatility of each of these setups. And to show off what the Coyote could do with a proper hard-wheeled setup we looked to Loaded warehouse operative and long-time street skating enthusiast Will Clay.

With the Loaded Coyote acting as a canvas for collaboration with various artists, it was only appropriate to head out to the color-clad streets of the Los Angeles Arts District. With a plethora of artists showcasing the wide range of styles that make up the LA art scene, it was almost impossible to turn a corner without finding a massive building-sized mural lurking around the bend.

Thanks to the ever-so-wonderful Diana Gracida, we were able to locate several of the must-see murals in a relatively organized and efficient fashion. At times we would be setting up to get a quick clip of a moderately sized mural when a monstrously massive one was hiding just around the corner.

Though there were plenty of pretty backdrops abound, the lack of smooth pavement and naturally crafted features left us wanting. We traveled a little deeper into the heart of downtown to the LA Courthouse and found a little more variety in terrain with nearly perfectly crafted brick quarter pipes and wall ride opportunities. We didn’t want to press our luck too far with the numerous police officers roaming the area, so Will and I took an extra afternoon to hit a few hometown favorite skate spots around the UCLA and USC campuses.

Compared to other video shoots, this was thankfully a rather uneventful multi-day excursion into the urban sprawl of Los Angeles. Usually we are unlucky enough to encounter police, angry neighbors, or even the occasional random LA crazy person. Other than the guy who got out of the passenger seat of a car in the middle of traffic for me to “take his picture for the internet” and witnessing a very angry trucker losing his mind while wearing a overly specific t-shirt about the awesomeness of truckers in general, we had a pretty mellow adventure in the colorfully gritty streets of Los Angeles.

With several upcoming new product releases lined up for the near future, we’re going to have to hit the road and do some more exploring. For the time being it feels like we maxed out the local scenery immediately around the Loaded HQ. We’re going to need to venture deeper into the great outdoors for what we have in store. If you live in the western US and know any worthwhile places to go check out, drop us an email as we’re always looking for our next adventure!