Alex Perelson #3.

100 MPH.

Alex grew up skating vert at the Clairemont YMCA ramp with pros such as Darren Navarrette, Jake Brown, Rune Gilfberg, and others. His first real setup was a Zero with Destructos and Spitfires. His brother Brandon also skates and was sponsored by Welcome at one point. Jake Donnelly and Justin Brock were his favorites on Real in the early 2010s era. He was not a fan of Bucky Lasek's giant concrete backyard bowl. I keep posting Alex's ads because of how much of an influence he is on current vert skaters.

I met up with a friend at the Food Court Skatepark on Wednesday. He brought a buddy along who was ripping up the place and blasted some ridiculous transfers from ramp to ramp. It was sunny and nice so we wasted a late season good weather day indoors, but that wasn't a big deal. I actually had the best day of skateboarding I've had in a long time. I can still do backside 50-50s so that was a relief. I think I'm slowly and cautiously working out of whatever funk I've been in for the last few months.

Vert Is Dead will be back on Monday, December 8th.

I'm so tired of computers and the internet that I'm taking a longer late fall break. Have a good weekend and holiday!

The photos are by Brian Fick.

For the info: Thrasher - May 2011 Volume 31 Number 5

Top shelf: Thrasher - December 2011 Volume 31 Number 12

900: Thrasher - August 2011 Volume 31 Number 8

Rob "Sluggo" Boyce #6.

Flip out.

Sluggo uses his gymnastic skills to do a backflip. This is from the 2010 Rumble in Ramona. The Rumbles were an annual vert event that Darren Navarrette used to host. Rob is riding a Creature board. The red helmet and white shirt are a nice bit of Canadian color.

Thrasher - February 2011 Volume 31 Number 2

Jeff Grosso #11.

"The shenanigans. My coked-out, drugged-out shenanigans. Speed Freaks. I've gotten more feedback from that than any actual skateboarding I've ever done. It's not like I get, 'Dude, that eggplant channel in the Label video at Bakersfield changed my life!' I don't get that. I get, 'Dude, hahah! You were at the forefront of fashion. Dude!' That's my life. That's my contribution to skateboarding."

Jeff waxes poetic on his legacy.

The plan was a week of vert sequences from 2011. I got really close to that unusual goal. Four out of five ain't bad. The skaters had to be on a vert ramp and wearing pads, not at a park or bowl.

For the quote: Thrasher - July 2015 Volume 36 Number 7

Thrasher - February 2011 Volume 31 Number 2

Pierre-Luc Gagnon.

Quebec Nordique.

Pierre-Luc is from Boucherville, Quebec. He rode for Darkstar, Osiris, Gold Wheels, RDS, and Annex Trucks over the years. PLG has had a lot of success on the contest circuit throughout his career, with wins at Tampa, Copenhagen, the X-Games, Dew Tour, and more.

Brian Fick was the photographer.

Thrasher - May 2011 Volume 31 Number 5

Rune Glifberg #7.

Sick Sequential Vert.

Rune does a switch pop shove-it. This trick is absurd. Straight up and down, probably head high, and no hands. He really is a viking warrior.

There was break from the wind and rain for Friday and Saturday so I got to skateboard for a little while. The lights at the park have been adjusted so they turn on at 5:00 PM now. I didn't have much time when I swung by after work, but it's good to see the city is keeping the power on at the skatepark and basketball courts. I intended to go to an indoor park on Saturday. The weather was warmer and dryer than was called for in the forecast so I wound up skateboarding in the driveway. It was fun until a thunderstorm hit. November generally has nice weather, however, this year is coming up short.

Thrasher - June 2011 Volume 31 Number 6

Skulls & Swords.

Powell Peralta started to swing back into what you would expect from them for 2015. The list ad has kind of a Celebrity Tropical Fish feel to it. The next two ads promote a tour of the south and midwest from 2015. The skaters are Charlie Blair, Shane Borland, Jarren Duke, and Eddie “Mighty” Moreno. It's Charlie and Mighty skating the gnarly pool. I didn't want this week to be simply ripping on peculiar advertising strategies so I closed it out with more traditional Powell offerings. It's cool to try different things, but you need to recognize when something probably isn't working.

It's been wet and very windy for the past week so I haven't been skateboarding at all. Usually our Novembers are fairly mellow, but this year has been blustery. I did check out Jamestown Skateboard Products last Saturday. It was nice to get out of the house on a rainy Saturday since I hadn't been to JSP in a little too long.

The team photo is by Terry LaRue. The pool photo is by Deville Nunes.

List: Thrasher - January 2015 Volume 36 Number 1

Go Skate: Thrasher - February 2015 Volume 36 Number 2

Pool: Thrasher - March 2015 Volume 36 Number 3

Reckless Youth.

Wilding out.

These kind of dip into FA or Anti-Hero territory. It's so strange seeing smoking in a Powell Peralta ad. The skaters are Charlie Blair, Shane Borland, and Eddie “Mighty” Moreno. Both Blair and Moreno had pro boards from Powell. Blair was featured often in advertisements. This would've been a better direction to go in as it offers a bit of personality and shows the skaters on the team.

The photos are by Terry LaRue.

Summer: Thrasher - September 2014 Volume 35 Number 9

Pool: Thrasher - December 2014 Volume 35 Number 12