NYC skate godfather and Shut founder, Rodney Smith recently linked with his old friend Johnny Schillereff from Element to take part in the Element Shaper Program or ESP. The Shovelnose and Stinger are two of six Smith did for the project. RadCollector connected with him today for some words on the series.

There is a rapidly growing market for Longboards, alternative shapes and construction. This all means many different riding styles and disciplines for skaters worldwide. Johnny seemed intrigued in the position Shut is taking to meet these changes and thought to test the waters by doing a collaboration.

Read the whole conversation and check out some more pics after the jump. Rodney Smith for Element ESP is available now at select Element dealers.

As you know, the Gonz opened his show “SouthWest,” curated by Emma Reeves, at Half Gallery in NYC last night. Radcollector friend and contributor, Michael Cohen, was on hand and took a couple flicks. That’s the Gonz and Shut founder Rodney Smith demonstrating the pleasures of reaching OG status in the game. Check out some more pics after the jump.