Broken Boards

Howdy y'all! It's been a while. Good to see all y'all again. Here I am, back in the saddle.

I know I haven't been around in a while, but I have been skateboarding a lot recently. I think it is a result of my move to Los Angeles, my lack of work, Anne being in DC, an early mid-life crisis, a desire for a fun way to get some exercise and lose weight, and my general anarchic tendencies and lack of respect for authority. I am trying to skate for at least an hour a day, two hours if I get the chance or go to one of the local skate parks around LA. And I don't just cruise around on a long board like an old dude, I am trying to learn new tricks, like pop shove-its and rail slides. And I am an old dog, which means I wear knee pads under my jeans when I go out skating around my apartment, so I don't tear up my knees, and if I go to the skate park I also wear my wrist guards so I don't break another wrist. Instead of breaking bones, I have been breaking boards recently. One that Anne got me, that I broke popping ollies behind our apartment, and another that I had for about ten years, that I broke doing an ollie to board slide down in Venice Beach. The ten year old Powell board had been sitting in my parents' attic for about a year, so it may have gotten brittle and broke just because it was old.

Anyway, I have had to replace two boards in the last few months, so I had to find a good local skate shop that I trusted. There is one down in Venice where Anne got me a board for my birthday, but that is too far away. There was also a shop that I used to drive past on Sunset Blvd. everyday on my way to work when Anne and I were living at Seth's place in Echo Park. It is called Maintain, and is the best shop I have found in the Silverlake area. The first time I was in there, I was a little intimidated by all of the kids in the store, but once I met the owner Alex Rodriguez, I was thoroughly impressed by his skate and graffiti art knowledge. Not to mention, his reasonably priced decks. I have gotten two blank decks from him to replace my broken ones. Two blank decks were cheaper than one graphic deck online, so I won't feel bad if I break one of these. But if I did want a graphic deck, Maintain has a wide selection of them at very reasonable prices. As well as trucks, wheels, bearings, risers, and stickers. They also have a wide selection of spray cans, markers, acrylics, and other art needs. And Alex has some of his amazing art up in the shop. His other art can be seen on the walls around the Silverlake and Echo Park areas. Maintain doesn't have a website yet, but hopefully they will soon. Until then, check them out on their MySpace page or go down to the shop at 3318 W. Sunset Blvd. in LA and tell them Limited Ed. sent you.

Now I just need to get someone to take pictures of me skating so that I can prove once and for all that pigs can fly!

Reissues

Turntable Lab has got some sick reissue skateboard decks in stock from the likes of Gonz, Mike V, Cab, and my personal favorite Ray Barbee [pictured above, left to right]. Man, I want that Barbee board so bad! I wanted it so bad when I was a kid, but my local skate shop didn't carry it, so I just saw it in copies of Thrasher and Transworld Skateboarding Magazine. It's summer time and I feel like shredding. Damn I wish there was an empty pool near my apartment complex or a concrete park in the vicinity. Maybe, when we move out to LA, Anne will let me go skateboarding in one of the parks out there. I will wear my pads and helmet so's I don't hurt myself (more). I just hope the young kids don't laugh too hard at this old fogy out there carving it up 80's style. Radical!

Last Day For Black History This Year

WRG? (What's Really Good) Magazine has produced this sweet, Limited Ed. skateboard deck [pictured above] in honor of February being Black History Month. Good thing I found this today, February 29, the last day of February, a day that is only in February once every four years, over at Josh Spear's blog. I like both the aesthetic and idea behind this board. It looks sweet, bust out the silver markers and fill in the crossword, then head out and shred it. Also, some of my favorite skateboarders are black (does that sound racist?), like Ray Barbee, a huge inspiration of mine back in my skateboarding days of the late 80's, Anthony Mosley, Kareem Campbell, and of course Keenan Milton (born in 1974, the same year as me), R.I.P. 2001. Mad respect. Only 100 decks have been made, so head on over to the WRG? Black History Month website to procure yours today.

Long Live The Witch

Ding dong, the witch is dead! Which old witch? The wicked witch! Well, not really, but Popdeck.com has just released a new Limited Ed. "King Kong the Witch is Dead" board [pictured above] by Ray Frenden. The deck is limited to only 20 pieces and each is individually numbered. It looks like they are all still available, for now, for $40 a piece. The colors on the board are solid spot colors and no gradients or halftones were used. The lines are hand inked and not node or pen-tool based. Very high quality. Get yours now before they are all gone!

Poopdeck

My good friend Allen Spector is competing in the Popdeck x Cool Hunting skateboard design contest, and he asked me to give him a shout-out so he could get some more votes on his board. As far as I know, Allen is still skating and has been since back in the day when we were in high school together. It has probably been that long since I have been out skating with him, and that was fifteen years ago! I haven't been out in a several months, not since last fall when we were filming Dave Nabisco for a part in the documentary about the making of Rainy Storm II: Thunderstruck. I only had my old skool Tony Hawk signature model from 1989 with me, so no fancy tricks or aerial maneuvers were performed at the time. I miss skating, and this deck reminds me of that. And to brush my teeth, wash my face, clip my nails, shave, and brush my hair. Damn my OCD! What's the lighter for, though? Anyway, go vote for Allen and hopefully he will win the competition and all of the fame and fortune that goes along with it. Now I can't wait until spring so I can strap on my pads again and get back on my board!