One Zero One.
You always got something groundbreaking with a photo from Daniel Harold Strut. Spike Jonze, too. It was usually the hottest pros doing a crazy trick you'd never seen before and it looked really cool. This had to have been one of the first documented backside noseblunts on something other than a curb since the photo was taken in 1991.
Does anybody know where the term mall grab came from? It seems like Michael Burnett has popularized it in recent years. The question was raised in the comments the other day and I don't really have an answer.
I can vaguely remember discussing how to hold your board back in the day and I think we knew not to hold on to it by the trucks. I recall in 1997 or 1998 grabbing my board by the truck by accident and getting a sliver of metal in my finger. I've made it a point to never touch my trucks ever since.
Vert Is Dead will be back on Monday with one more week of early 1990s stuff. Have a good holiday and be careful around the fireworks.
The photo is by Daniel Harold Sturt.
Thrasher - January 1992 Volume 12 Number 1
6 comments:
"HI, my name is Andrew and I'm a mall grabber". It started when I was in high school (late 80's) and I didn't want to ruin my leather jacket...and I probably still do it today, but still skate, so I may be lame but I'm much too old to care. Happy Long Weekend to Justin and the American readers.
In unrelated news bought some new Spitfire 52's today and will be setting up a new deck for the weekend, that still is fun at any age.
Agreed. I set up a new board and pushed around in the street for a minute to test it out. I forgot how blacktop gets mushy during the day.
I remember we had a debate about how the griptape shredded your shirt. I do not recall if we decided shirt damage was a good thing or a bad thing. When I do have to carry my board for a distance longer than the front door to the car, I put the graphics side facing in. Your shirt gets dirty, but there is no winning either way.
I want to say a friend was a firm believer in the mall grab. But he usually wore gloves. Ah, the 1980s.
just thinking of someone wearing gloves made me smile. I'm sure my buddy Tim had a fingerless pair in the Powell boneite (sp?)days.
I was all for saving my leather jacket as I was pretty poor and that jacket wasn't going to be replaced easily if it got shredded (it was worn under a plaid lumberjacket in the winter...which was what consisted of layering in Canada at that time). Back to work, sigh.
Gloves? I had those Klawz monstrosities that were fingerless and had an extended wrist that wrapped around to serve as a wristguard. Big black gloves looked great on an 11 year old who was too small for her Powell Ripper (yes, with bonite).
We didn't mall grab in my little clique back then, but we did a lot of carrying sideways, graphic out, by grabbing the rail on the higher side. The same behavior continued into the early 90s when rails gave way to slicks. But I say whatever; carry your board however makes sense, push mongo, do all that uncool stuff. I really can't be bothered to worry.
Next week I'm going to set up a 9.5" Krooked deck with some 58mm Spitfires because my flip trick days are over and I am too happy with my cruise/carve/lurk routine. Here's to skateboarding, however you do it.
Mall grab is a big topic right now on Jeremy Klein's instagram feed
Klawz looked awesome. I never had a pair. I had some of the Rector fingerless gloves. I might still have them somewhere. My friend had the same and wore them all the time.
I'm still clinging to flip tricks. I need to get a couple mini ramp basics back on lock. I've been losing stuff lately.
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