Friday, June 29, 2018

Danny Montoya #4.



Toya hits up the vert. I like to see it when people skate things you aren't used to seeing them on.

This photo is from a trip photographer Jonathan Mehring took to the Canary Islands for Skateboarder in 2008. Along with Danny, his travel crew consisted of Guy Mariano, Kenny Anderson, Jesus Fernandez, and Roger Bagley. For reference purposes, the Canary Islands are located in the Atlantic Ocean off the west coast of Morocco.

Vert Is Dead will be back on Monday, July 9th with scans of contemporary sponsored skateboard riders. Have a good Canada Day and Independence Day.

Skateboarder - August 2008 Volume 17 Number 12

Thursday, June 28, 2018

Paul Shier.



The British Isle.

Paul is from Croydon, England. After Blueprint ended in 2012, he started Isle with Nick Jensen and Sylvain Tognelli. His favorite city is London, his favorite color is orange, and he likes the band Mt. Egypt.

Zander Taketomo was the photographer.

Skateboarder - January 2009 Volume 18 Number 5

Wednesday, June 27, 2018

Frank Gerwer #4.



Maximum weirdness with Frank.

That's a gnarly boardslide.

Slap - June 2008 Volume 17 Number 6

Tuesday, June 26, 2018

Peter Watkins.



Shopping Bag.

Peter is from Oceanside, California. He has ridden for the Black Label for a long time now. John Lucero turned him pro in 2010. Peter doesn't have a pro board any longer, but he is still listed as being on the team at the Label. He was working construction in addition to being a sponsored skateboarder circa 2006 so I imagine he is still doing that. This trick is in Peter's part from the God Save the Label video that was released in 2009. He's got a really good style and trick selection. I know that's a cliched thing to write, yet it holds true in this case.

The photo is by Ed Dominick.

Transworld - September 2008 Volume 26 Number 9

Monday, June 25, 2018

Brian Delatorre.



Brian is from Miami, Florida. His first board was a Think that he got from his friend. Tim O'Connor heckled him at a Tampa Am contest once when Brian was on his Rasta phase wearing IPaths and baggy clothes. His first sponsor was Satori Wheels. Brian switched to Habitat about seven years ago and has since turned pro. His other sponsors include OJ Wheels, Converse, Brixton, and Ace Trucks.

The photo is by Dan Zaslavsky.

Slap - August 2008 Volume 17 Number 8

Friday, June 22, 2018

The Phone Company.



Disconnection notice.

This used to be a hot spot for flat bar sessions in the 1990s. Obviously, time, bad parking jobs, and snow plows have ruined it. The telephone company has their offices located to the top and left of the photo. The parking lot is fairly big and the rails run the length of the space to keep it separated from the other businesses next door. We would skate the bars at the far end of the lot, away from the building more. This would be the end of the one by the utility pole and the stand alone one in the foreground. There was a decent amount of flat ground, but the rails were the main attraction. My friend Paul was happy when he learned how to 50-50 round bars, as was the trend in the mid 90s, and liked this spot. I don't get how to skateboard on round things so I stuck to boardslides and maybe a few noseslides. I don't think we got kicked out too often, probably because we always went at night when there was a smaller staff working. Around about 2000, the parking lot on the right was repaved so you could ollie over the bar and jump from one lot to the next. I'd always hit it up to do that when I was in my cruise around the city phase. This was a decent enough spot and one of the few places with any type of rail in the immediate area.

Across the street from the phone company was a law office with what we called the White Benches. These were a pair of post-modern looking white fiberglass benches located in the space between the two buildings the lawyers owned. The sidewalk they were on was kind of rough and you had to contend with landing in the grass around them if you didn't pop off right. Once you got a feel for the sidewalk, it was a fine spot for a ledge starved town. I think I preferred this overall to the phone company. The fiberglass took a lot of abuse over the years and the owners eventually got rid of the benches. That's why there's no photo. I figured I had to mention the two spots since they were so close to each other. What's funny is I don't ever recall skating both on the same night. I assume it must have happened, but I think it was a one or the other type of situation.

Thursday, June 21, 2018

Dennis Busenitz #6.



Here come the warm jets.

This was the second to last trick Dennis did in his part in Real's Since Day One video from 2011. He gets a high five from Peter Ramondetta after he lands it.

Slap - December 2008 Volume 17 Number 12

Wednesday, June 20, 2018

Danny Brady.



The only one I know.

I think I overdid it with the Venture ads for this batch of scans. I suppose far worse things have happened.

Danny had a shared part with Nick Jensen in Lakai's Fully Flared feature film from 2007. The two were ripping up the streets of England. He also had a few tricks in The Flare, Lakai's recent video. Danny is currently the team manager at Palace. He might have even had a part in their recent Palasonic video, which I own, but have not watched yet. Someday.

Slap - December 2008 Volume 17 Number 12

Tuesday, June 19, 2018

Steve Nesser #3.



Color me impressed.

Frontside feebles always look radical.

It's a little weird seeing a Birdhouse ad without the plain silver border.

My streak of skateboarding ended at 53 consecutive days on Monday. There were some heavy thunderstorms after work.

Transworld - August 2008 Volume 26 Number 8

Monday, June 18, 2018

Elissa Steamer #5.



Manic Monday.

Christian Maalouf's new part for WKND is great. All he does is ollie stuff and it's perfect. He fakie flips a picnic table, too.

Slap - December 2008 Volume 17 Number 12

Friday, June 15, 2018

Buffalo.



Nickel City Spotlight.

This was a cool article to see in Skateboarder. I honestly don't get up to Buffalo much to skateboard. I usually only go to see bands play and that hasn't happened frequently in the last year or so. It's an easy hour drive, but I like to space my trips out rather than go there more often. That's mainly just from getting older.

I'll chip in my two cents on a few of the places in the article.

I've probably skated with a couple of the guys mentioned at some point over the years. Jake Donnelly would come down to my local park when he was still in high school. I know some of the names from mutual friends and might have met them back in the 90s.

Buffalo has a free public skatepark in La Salle Park that was built after this article was written. A number of cement parks are being constructed or are in the works in the surrounding towns. The Tony Hawk Foundation recently designated grant money for the area that municipalities can submit requests for. I really need to check out some of these spots. I've seen photos and they look cool.

X-Treme Wheels is gone. I went there once on the day after Thanksgiving in 2007 with a couple of friends. There might have been some type of metalcore bands playing, but the show was getting going after we were done skating. It was a sea of masonite ramps and ledges. I think I would have had more fun if I had been there a few times. I probably just skated a little ledge off in the corner or something. I'm going to say it was a neat place for a rainy day based upon my vague recollections.

Sunday is still going, but they are in a different location than they were ten years ago. I've been there exactly once. Their team would come down to ride the park here.

I haven't been street skating in Buffalo in well over twenty years. We would sometimes go up to skate around. I don't really remember what spots we went to. I feel it was a bunch of cruising the streets over a session at a given location. I think there might have been a parking garage and some other random places. I recall maybe doing some wall rides at a bus terminal. There was also an indoor park in 1996 or 97 at the corner of Virginia and Washington. It had some sketchy ramps and a manual pad.

Buffalo is a drinking town with a sports problem. I'm not a fan per se, but I do follow the Bills and Sabres from living here. It gives you handy conversation material for when you go out to the bars. I'm always good for impartial critical evaluations of both teams, more so the Bills because they play less games. I started watching the Sabres again this year and it was brutal. They were the worst team in the NHL.

For food, Mighty Taco is awesome. They opened a franchise in my town, but it closed after a Taco Bell opened right next to it. I hadn't eaten there in ages until this last fall when I had to take photos at a high school playoff football game in Buffalo. There was a Mighty Taco right around the corner from the school so I had time to grab dinner before the game. Chicken wings smell great. It's the type of aroma that could convert a vegan back to eating meat. However, I don't think they are fun to eat so I seldom ever have them.

The bars in Buffalo are open until 4:00 AM. This can lead to some hazy nights. The Mohawk Place is a solid little venue. They get a wide variety of acts from punk to indie rock to metal, and whatever else. They used to have a special on Old Vienna bottles, but they discontinued that. It was the only place I drank OV and it was a little shocking when they made the change.



Soundlab was my favorite place ever to see shows. They closed down five years ago and the owner passed away in the time since. They would get all the weird and experimental bands that I like, as well as some more well known groups. I am friends with a lot of the people who went to shows and/or worked there so that made it more welcoming. I got to know some of the touring bands, too. I was also Soundlab's photographer, which is why I included a picture of Lightning Bolt from their 2011 show. I got in for no charge and was given a free beer or two in exchange for a little camera work. For the really sparsely attended noise gigs, I'd give the door guy money when the manager wasn't looking. I was happy to document some of the interesting stuff that was happening.

As is the case for anywhere, Buffalo has its pluses and minuses. Overall, it's a good city and there's not really as much snow as the national media makes it sound like. Most of the time.

The article is by JP Gillespie. JP is the owner of Sunday. The photos are by Justin Faso.

Skateboarder - August 2008 Volume 17 Number 12

Thursday, June 14, 2018

Tony Hawk #10.



Wise old owl.

Transworld - October 2008 Volume 26 Number 10

Wednesday, June 13, 2018

Bobby Puleo #7.



Purple haze.

It's a little odd to see Bobby at a recognizable spot out in public.

For the sake of comparison, here's a few things that were happening in 2008:

1. Print media was going fairly strong. Thrasher, Transworld, Skateboarder, and The Skateboard Mag were alive and functioning. Slap was also still around, but ended in December. Currently only Thrasher and Transworld are publishing. The Skateboard Mag became The Berrics and they've managed to make all of two issues.

2. Skateboard blogs were starting to become a thing and that's what motivated me to start Vert Is Dead. The Chrome Ball Incident, Boil The Ocean, and Police Informer all began in 2008. You Will Soon got in the game in 2007. Patrick O'Dell was continuing to post behind the scenes skateboard content on Epicly Later'd. Myspace was considered a viable promotional platform, as is illustrated by the top left corner of this ad.

3. I'd been at my current graphic designer job for about a year. I was also teaching a night class as an adjunct at the college, plus freelancing sports photos for the local paper on Friday nights. I have no idea how I found the time to do anything, but I did.

4. Girl and Anti-Hero teamed up to go on the Beauty & The Beast tour, Baker launched Deathwish, Fallen released Ride The Sky, and Independent Trucks turned 30. I finally finished watching Indy's 30th anniversary tour video last year.

5. A few bands I liked then that I will still admit to liking include No Age, Yellow Swans, These Are Powers, AIDS Wolf, High Places, The Body, and Windy & Carl.

Slap - August 2008 Volume 17 Number 8

Tuesday, June 12, 2018

Emmanuel Guzman #3.



Trip at the brain.

Emmanuel has been pro for Santa Cruz for what seems like forever now. He shreds it all. Pools, street, transitions, hills, handrails, and even an occasional switch 360 flip. He's delivered a few quality video parts over the years, including a section in 2009's Prevent This Tragedy from Thrasher and Converse, and Transworld's Let's Do This from 2007. Eman pops up in Creature vids, too.

RIP Mark “Monk” Hubbard.

The photo is by Ed Dominick.

Transworld - August 2008 Volume 26 Number 8

Monday, June 11, 2018

Willy Santos #2.



Hot Dog.

I guess when you mention that a hot dog company sponsored a few skateboarders ten years ago, you have to scan an ad in since nobody else remembered it. Ball Park was doing some youth oriented product placement in the action sports market and paid for a year's worth of ads in Transworld. The advertisements featured short interviews with a number of skaters, including Tyler Hendley, Richie Belton, Brandon Turner, Andrew Cannon, Stu Graham, Peter Smolik, and Jason Adams. Sadly, there were a lack of questions about grilling and cooking habits in many of the ads. I suppose this is a silly type of sponsorship, but it feels a little cooler than being sponsored by an energy drink, department store or fast food chain.

Maybe I should put together a week of content focusing on corporate sponsorships in the future.

The photo is by Blair Alley.

Transworld - November 2009 Volume 27 Number 11

Friday, June 8, 2018

Kyle Leeper #2.



Happy 30th anniversary to the Black Label.

The photo is by Matt Mecaro photo.

Slap - May 2008 Volume 17 Number 5

Thursday, June 7, 2018

Daniel Kim.



Switch kickflip tail grab.

Daniel has been around for a while, but I hadn't really heard of him until his part in Colin Read's Spirit Quest video from 2016. I was a little surprised to see this ad. He does some different types of tricks, as is illustrated by this unique take on the nollie noseblunt slide.



Venture is making trucks that don't have graphics printed on them once again. I dig colored trucks, especially colored baseplates, but I don't care for screen printing on the hangers. I'll get around to setting these up eventually.

Slap - November 2008 Volume 17 Number 11

Wednesday, June 6, 2018

Peter Ramondetta #2.



Big ollie.

This is a huge chunk of real estate. I assume Peter has to be ollieing off of something to the left because the wall appears too tall to get over from the flat. The gap and tiles at the bottom look completely fun to land on. Was there ever video of this? I remember looking around about the time the ad ran and I don't think I ever saw anything.

David Broach took the photo.

Transworld - December 2008 Volume 26 Number 12

Tuesday, June 5, 2018

Jason Adams #14.



In the ballpark.

One funny thing that happened in 2008 is that Ball Park Brand Hot Dogs sponsored a few skateboarders. They even took out ads in Transworld featuring brief interviews with the riders. I thought that this was such a random situation that it was cool. I was going to scan one of the hot dogs ads, but this was a much better picture.

The photo is by Kyle Camarillo.

Transworld - August 2008 Volume 26 Number 8

Monday, June 4, 2018

Steven Reeves.



Sometimes I pick these because I like the photo.

Steven rode for Almost and Creature.

The photo is by Bunker.

Slap - May 2008 Volume 17 Number 5

Friday, June 1, 2018

Andrew Currie & Omar Hassan.



Omar flies over Andrew at the spot Dan Drehobl got a few tricks at in the Krooked video.

Slap - July 2008 Volume 17 Number 7