BBC - Skaters From Uranus

Powell-Peralta

Me and My Shadow

Late Summer, 2011. Pic by Em.

Jaya Bonderov Rest In Peace

Another young life ended too soon. Jaya Bonderov pro skater turned photographer has departed this Earth. Rest in Peace.

Son of a Ditch from Flood Kontrol

Randy Aparicio knows ditches, and his deck company Flood Kontrol does too. This is their Son of a Ditch deck, measuring 8.5" by 32" with a nice shovel-point nose. Check out their full line of awesome decks, all USA made, at SoCal Skate Shop.

Alva and Hosoi

Gizmos

Slappy Saturday Night

10 second timer shot, backside curb slappy on a BIG board!


The Pocket Pistols Duane Peters Black Rebel Skateboard Club deck, 9.5" x 36" with an 18" wheelbase, set up with 149mm Independent Trucks and Acell Budget Series Rock N Rollers, 60mm 85a (they ride like a 92a).

Natas Evolution

The evolution of the Natas Kaupas from 1984 on, featuring the art of Kevin Ancell, Wes Humpston, Jim Phillips, Jimbo Phillips, and Sean Cliver.


The Don Pendleton Designarium Natas Kaupas, only 300 made.

Omar Hassan

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Animal Free Footwear

Gorilla Biscuits vegan friendly Vans. To see more animal product free footwear click here for Vegan Kicks!

I Have Done My Duty

A yellow curb, some tail slides, and a slappy or twenty in the humid night air made for a great time. Go Skateboarding Day 2012 is almost one for the books here on the East Coast and I'm glad to say I got out for a good roll before it all came to a close. But like my friend Shad said today, "Skateboarding is something more than a day. For some of us, it's everyday. It's who we are... Do it tomorrow, the next day, and every other day you have the chance. Also, support the companies who actually give a damn about skateboarding." Truer words have never been spoken. Hope you all had a good one, see you tomorrow.

Go Skateboarding Day 2012

X Games 2012

Thanks Johnny Ronci for the pic via X Games.

Jeff Grosso

Jeff Grosso, X Games park event, photo Jokers.

Blaize Blouin - G&S Footage

Doug Smith Double Feature

Doug Smith from the Powell-Peralta video Public Domain.


Doug Smith from the G&S video Footage.

Jeff Phillips - Speed Freaks

Jeff Kendall - Wheels Of Fire

Natas Kaupas - Wheels Of Fire

Streetstyle in Tempe - 1986

Adrian Mallory Rolls on OJ Hot Juice

Officer Dick

"Officer Dick is a character that made his debut as a secret character in the original Tony Hawk's Pro Skater. Since then, he made his appearance in sequels and other Activision games." Wonder if he's down with the style police?

Schmitt Stix

Some real gems on this one. I had both the Bryce Kanights (same green stain as pictured) and the Rip Saw 2. Thanks to Galactic Grappler for the tip.

Holiday in Phuket

Forget learning to skate switch, I going to learn to push Mongo. I push that way when I go fakie anyhow so now I'm ready to go full steam ahead in a Bill Danforth like style and become the most hated man in skateboarding. I think it would truly satisfy my soul as I'm already on the run from the style police and I've vowed that they will never take me alive. My feelings on the matter can be summed up in the two following quotes.

"Once you start to suck at skateboarding, you're doing it for the right reasons... you're off the hamster wheel. So if you suck, embrace it!"
Lew Ross from Fickle Boards.

"Stop being such a dick, no one thinks you're cool except for your little brigade."
Jeff Haynes, blogger, skateboarder, nobody.

Slappy Father's Day

Father's Day Slappy Sunday with my son, truly rewarding. Mini-Me with a roll in grind from the top.

Happy Father's Day

Happy Father's Day to all the Rad Dads out there, I hope to post a current version of this pic later today, he's a little taller and I'm a little wider! Me and my son, Father's Day Skate, 2008.

What Luck? Skateboards

Bart said, "I don't know what it is, but a white deck is sooo RAD." I think that it's the fact that the graphic just POPS off of the white background, What Luck? Skateboards Old School Fist Deck, 9" x 32.25" with 15" wheelbase.

Jason Adams - Enjoi - Bag of Suck

Thanks FATTY for the tip.

SBJ

Streetstyle in Tempe - 1986 Skateboarding Part 3

When street skating was STREETSTYLE! Thanks Ned at Assault for the tip!

Assault Skateboards Curb Kreep

ASSAULT CURB KREEP from ASSAULT SKATEBOARDS on Vimeo.

Ned has outdone himself on this one!

Black Label's Weekend at Wade's

Blaize Blouin

Decks. "Form follows function." Mute flapper. Hangar Bowl.

G&S Street Chomp

City Finally Talking About Skate Park

The long awaited East End park that will have space "reserved for later construction of a skate park" has finally made the press. The Charleston Gazette released this article today detailing plans for the "proposed two-acre park near Dixie and Nancy streets." Locals will be keeping our fingers crossed that this happens and that it happens soon as it is long overdue. "A conceptual design by GAI Consultants for the main entrance to the East End Park off Dixie Street shows a wide sidewalk leading to a shaded pavilion. Another grassy expanse to the left of the sidewalk would be reserved for later construction of a skate park and children's sprayground."

Hump Day Slappy

Built To Grind away the stress. Wednesday night slappy session.

When Skateboards Are Outlawed

Mr. Mountain - Past, Present, and Future Primitive

Simpler Times

Happy 51st to the Master of Disaster

Duane Peters still kicking ass at the age of 51! J. Grant Brittain photo.

Call Dr. Barry, We've got a "facebreak"

It will probably take more than a warm mustache compress from SIO Barry to get me back on the "social network" circuit. I have some great connections with friends in the skateboarding community and I will continue to promote small skater owned shops and companies here, but as a person with severe social anxiety I can no longer spend time lurking the news feed and sifting through the subjective rubble to find the objective truth. Honestly, social networking for me has become like the proverbial accident scene, you don't want to look but yet somehow you still feel compelled to anyway. The majority of my online friends are awesome folks, genuine, true to the roots. It's the minority of backbiters in the skate community (this post is a fine example of what I'm talking about) and the non-skateboarding sector who have really ruined it for me. So thus begins a new chapter in life, one that is being written as I type, one that is going to be about life after social networking, and how I will use my time that was once consumed by the almighty social network. Those of you who wish to communicate with me can leave me your personal email here in a comment, I won't publish it publicly as I filter all comments as they are received and publish only what I approve or what you wish to be made public. I hope you all stay in touch. See you in the streets.

Shit The Gonz Says

Kevin Staab and The Cult

Kevin Staab, Kid Chaos, and Ian Astbury of The Cult.

Stink Bug

Savannah Slamma

Ohio Skateout - 1988

Simply Awesome

If Old Skaters Were Sports Cars...

...then they would be Corvettes (Core Vets). Me and the OG Steve Reed at Coonskin for an early Sunday session.

The Style Police

Subjectivity and the Art of Skateboarding

The first thing I learned as a young journalism student was to always remain objective. Objectivity is defined as "judgment based on observable phenomena and uninfluenced by emotions or personal prejudices." With the exception of op/ed writing, most print journalism has remained objective while the majority of broadcast journalism is now nearly all subjective (subjectivity being defined as "judgment based on individual personal impressions and feelings and opinions rather than external facts.") As social media platforms have become more prevalent in our society so has subjectivity. Everyone has an opinion. Skateboarding is no exception. While I can write objectively about the subject, the art of skateboarding itself is a subjective matter, primarily based on individual personal impressions, feelings, and opinions. While we skateboarders share a lot in common, our opinions of skateboarding can be rather varied. Skateboarding is defined to the individual skater by the magazines they read, the videos they watch, the terrain they ride, and the company they keep. Today there are multitudes of skaters, each with their own ideas as to what defines skateboarding. There are areas where opinions overlap as well as areas upon which there is disagreement. There are various factions within skateboarding that disagree with the subjective opinions of other factions. Once upon a time, skaters rode everything and participated in the various disciplines of skateboarding including park, pool, downhill, slalom, street, or whatever terrain was available. Luckily today there are still consummate skateboarders, skaters who ride everything, but there are also factions within skateboarding that define themselves by their favorite chosen discipline, limiting themselves in the process by not enjoying all that skateboarding has to offer. Personally, as readers of this blog know, my available terrain is limited to curbs, banks, and a small local park, but I don't classify myself as a "curb skater" or "street skater", I will ride whatever is available. Skateboarding has too much to offer to marginalize yourself into just one aspect, or discipline,of the pastime. Finally, there are the those I refer to as the style police, the ultimate subjectivists who define skateboarding by their own strict style guidelines based on what they think is right, or cool. The "style police" attempt to dictate to other skateboarders how to ride, what to ride, and how to ride it. In recent years we have seen the policing of everything from how to properly carry a skateboard to how to properly kick, or push, when skateboarding. Personally, or subjectively, I don't subscribe to these style theories as I've been around too long and find some of this policing to be downright disrespectful to those who paved the way for us. My prime example is the popular subjective opinions against "Mongo pushing", or kicking with your front foot while your back foot stays on the board. Some of the most well rounded skaters who are masters of all terrains and disciplines are "Mongo pushers", these are guys I've known now for over 25 years, guys who can ride a bowl, shred a park, and run a slalom course with the greatest of ease. One of my favorite skaters has always been and still is Bill Danforth, a Mongo pusher if there ever was one. When I see him throw down a sweeper on a ramp or kill a layback grind, I couldn't give two shits as to how he kicks. Hell, even I push "Mongo" when I go fakie (or "skate switch" as the rest of the world calls it). Honestly, in the subjective and rebellious opinion of this writer, all of this policing makes me WANT to be a Mongo kicking Stinkbugging Mall Grabber (not really, but, yeah, yeah it does.) Skateboarding, after all, is a subjective activity, defined by the individual, it always has been, so let's not forget it.

Steve Caballero Explains His Skateboard Setup

Source: Johnny Ronci, A1 bro.

Jeff Grosso's Skateboard Setup

Thank you Johnny Ronci for tipping me off to this and several other posts that have appeared here in recent months, couldn't do it without you bro.

Ben Raybourn

Bones Brigade Vault 1988

G.S.D.