Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Mike Carroll #4.



Is a Lucky Bearings ad too random to use? There's that line between providing worthwhile nostalgia and posting something just because it is old. I think this Mike Carroll backside flip is more than worthy. The photo would have been from the time period after Carroll and Rick Howard quit DC to start Lakai, but before there were any Lakai samples made. That's why Mike is wearing Koston 1's with a Lakai shirt. There is also a Girl ad from the same time with Mike wearing Koston 2's and a Lakai shirt.

Which brings us to today. It's looking like the video of Eric Koston leaving Lakai wasn't a belated April Fool's Day joke, but the real thing. I figured Eric would end his career with Lakai. A lot of times when a pro switches companies, there are enough rumors, subtle hints or incriminating photos of said pro riding a different company's gear to give you an idea of what is going to happen. Think Marc Johnson leaving Emerica for Lakai for example. None of this happened with Eric. It was a complete surprise. I'm thinking he will probably go to Nike, although I'm not really sure. The idea of Vans also entered my mind as a possibility, too. There can't be a lot of money floating around these days, even for the biggest name in skateboarding. Eric's not going to ride for some fly by night venture and I don't see another company being created out of Podium. I don't see him going back to Sole Tech either, unless it was to save eS. The thing is that for all the years of rumors that eS is getting axed, they still keep making shoes.

Thrasher - March 2000 Volume 20 Number 3

6 comments:

djtonto101 said...

Maybe he and Berra and some riders from DVS will start a project involving the Berrics, who knows? Dude is not young anymore, thought he would stay with Lakai, instead of cashing one last big paycheck, ala Arto

Old School Sammy said...

I think the random ads being posted like that are actually a positive rather than a negative, for purely historical reference. I am sure not many kids care about the past of skating, but in my eyes they are foolish, skateboarding has such a rich and cool history, one would be ignorant to not try to learn more about it.

justin said...

I know the Berrics is hot right now and this is 2009, but a shoe company based on a website in this economy? It's hard enough to start a new brand of footwear as is. High counter stats don't equal paying customers. Sometimes you have to take calculated risks to make something new, but a shoe brand that stems from a website is too damn big of gap to jump. This is Koston, not Dyrdek starting a hip hop label or buying a time machine. I also want to say that people are brand loyal to shoes in skateboarding. Not like with trucks, but somewhere in the middle. New footwear is treated with skepticism.

Anonymous said...

Is this the ad Carrol was talking about i epicly laterd? He was saying that he was injured at the time and it actually wasn't a make?

Giles said...

i don't think so. i think that was a frontside flip and in venice. this is in sf, at the library, right?

justin said...

This spot is in SF. Huf and Rowley have had tricks there, to name a few. I hope he made this trick. The colors in the photo are too well matched to have it be wasted on a bail.