Support for LAist comes from
We Explain L.A.
Stay Connected

Share This

This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.

This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.

Arts and Entertainment

Watch These Skateboarders Ride Through The Completely Empty Freeways And Streets Of L.A.

Support your source for local news!
Today, put a dollar value on the trustworthy reporting you rely on all year long. The local news you read here every day is crafted for you, but right now, we need your help to keep it going. In these uncertain times, your support is even more important. We can't hold those in power accountable and uplift voices from the community without your partnership. Thank you.

Even in the wee hours of the morning, it's hard to catch an empty L.A. freeway completely devoid of cars. However, in filmmaker Russell Houghten's breathtaking and haunting video, he gives us a glimpse of what it would look like to skateboard through our freeways and streets as if our city were a ghost town.

In "Urban Isolation," you see Houghten's buddies skateboarding and doing tricks through the cinematic landscapes of our City of Angels, with our downtown skyscrapers and freeway overpasses serving as a backdrop.

"My biggest thing about moving to L.A. was the traffic: the traffic's terrible," Houghten said in a behind-the-scenes video about his inspiration for the video. "So, I was thinking, 'How cool would it be if traffic didn't exist?'"

The most surprising part is that Houghten said that the streets weren't empty when the skateboarders were rolling through the freeways—those parts were all real. He edited out the cars during post-production to give the city an abandoned feel.

Support for LAist comes from

You can watch the video here:

[h/t Sploid]

Most Read