John Cardiel #15.

"Yeah, because this new company has inspired me so much to skate, it makes me want to go skating all the time. Like I have a burning flame inside that I just want to keep burning fatter and fatter."

Fueling the fire.

I didn't double check, but this is probably the first appearance of the classic eagle logo.

For the quote: Thrasher - September 1995 Volume 15 Number 9

Thrasher - March 1996 Volume 16 Number 3

Bob Burnquist #7.

Since Anti-Hero is turning 25 this fall, I figured I would follow up the early days of Real with a look back at the Eagle. The pickings were a little slim for this since I have posted a bunch of their early ads already, but I eventually came up with something.

Anti-Hero was started in the summer of 1995 to become the third board company out of Deluxe. They joined Real and Stereo. Julien Stranger had been riding for Real before being given the keys to a new jalopy. John Cardiel was on Black Label and doing a lot of snowboarding at the time. I've always felt the sponsor change refocused his energy back on skateboarding. Brazilian vert sensation Bob Burnquist also moved over from Real and was granted pro status immediately. Sean Young and Eric J. were the other two riders on the original team. Chris Johanson and Todd Francis were the artists who created a lot of the graphics to give Anti-Hero its signature look.

Thrasher - November 1995 Volume 15 Number 11

Jim Thiebaud #7.

I like how Jim always gives props to his friends and favorites with his t-shirt and sticker choices. He's wearing a Ron Chatman shirt. There are decals for Henry Sanchez, Matt Hensley, and Randy Colvin on his board.

Useless bit of trivia: The ad for Metallica's Black Album ran on the page opposite this.

Tail grab tally for the week: Five. Real maxed out with two in yesterday's ad. It would be nice to see larger photos of Tommy's backside air tail grab. It looks super cool.

Thrasher - September 1991 Volume 11 Number 9

Tommy Guerrero #9.

The Street Chicken flies out of a curb cut with the aid of a tail grab. I think this is the spot where Danny Sargent skated in Useless Wooden Toys. Rancid floats a nifty frontside ollie with a tail grab at Studio 43.

There's a good interview with long time Deluxe photographer Gabe Morford up now at the Transworld website.

Tommy's photo is by Luke Ogden and Jim's sequence is by Bryce Kanights.

Thrasher - August 1991 Volume 11 Number 8

Tony Henry #2.

Power.

Tony was from San Jose. He rode for Real, Thunder, Spitfire, and Vans. He had a small amount of coverage and that was about it. Rick Ibaseta said in an interview that a few injuries might have taken him out early. There are no tail grabs in this ad, but Tony does bust out a backside noseblunt slide to fakie. This has to be one of the earliest documentations of that trick. Sadly, Tony passed away in 2013.

Thrasher - July 1991 Volume 11 Number 7

Rob "Sluggo" Boyce #5.

Sluggo spins a 540 tail grab. The tail grab was quite a popular addition to tricks in 1991. You can check all the times somebody is doing one this week.

Thrasher - June 1991 Volume 11 Number 6

Salman Agah #6.

Big Sal kicks it with a tail grab over a hip. He had been riding for Powell Peralta prior to switching to Jim and Tommy's new joint. I like how he's got a red and a blue riser pad. Sal is riding a set of Real Small Wheels, the 53 mm wheels Real sold in six packs due to the smaller size and less urethane being used. He's wearing the classic Vans Chukka boots that Matt Hensley made famous, too.

Thrasher - May 1991 Volume 11 Number 5

Kien Lieu #6.

The undisputed master of giant ollies in the 1990s.

One nice thing about doing this website is revisiting the skaters who were a little overlooked or forgotten from previous eras and rediscovering how good they were.

Slap - December 2000 Volume 9 Number 12

Roberto Alemañ.

You Got It!

At the end of last year, Roberto and Diego Bucchieri released a shared video part of straight up gnarly skateboarding. For two guys in their forties, they took on all manor of big drops, roll ins, and gaps. Skin was lost and blood was shed, but the two prevailed in the end.

Roberto is from Elche, Spain. He has been a long time pro for Consolidated. He's also ridden for Fallen, Emerica, and Vans for footwear.

The photo is by Carri. I am not sure on either a first or a last name.

Slap - August 2001 Volume 10 Number 8

Jim Gagne #4.

Treading in the red.

Slap - May 2001 Volume 10 Number 5

Paul Rodriguez #3.

A little bonus éS. Sole Tech brought back the Scheme in all its overstuffed glory, too. However, the reissue doesn't appear to have the air bubble.

The photos are by Atiba Jefferson.

Slap - June 2001 Volume 10 Number 6

Al Partanen #8.

Parts in the short hair and Illenium days with his classic frontside blunt in a pool. I think he was either riding for or the team manager at Globe Footwear at this time, too. Maybe both.

Everybody stay safe out there. As you've heard a million times already, keep washing your hands, don't touch your face, cover your mouth when you sneeze, maintain a reasonable distance from others, and isolate yourself when you aren't feeling well. The better everyone does these things, the better chance this goes away sooner instead of later.

Slap - January 2001 Volume 10 Number 1

Julien Stranger #26.

Rebel yell.

Anti-Hero hits the quarter century mark this fall.

Slap - April 2001 Volume 10 Number 4

Fred Gall #6.

Same old wallet.

Fearless Freddie takes the nollie lipslide down a thick hubba during the early days of Habitat.

The photo sequence is by Mike Blabac. It's nice to see his pictures being used for the latest batch of ads for Girl.

Slap - August 2001 Volume 10 Number 8

Lauren Mollica #3.

Rookie was an arty company in the late 1990s and early 2000s based in New York City. I always dug their style. It doesn't seem like they get recognized as much as they should in the history of skateboarding, especially compared to what does get recalled from that time frame.

The color photos are by Angela Liu and the black & whites are by Dimitri Elyashkevich, I think. It has Elska as the credit and I assume it would be Dimitri.

Slap - April 2001 Volume 10 Number 4

Keenan Milton #12.

The late, great Keenan Milton takes a switch flight down a triple set of stairs. His opposite foot game was so solid. These DVS look a little like what Jason Dill would design as pro model a few years down the road.

Slap - February 2001 Volume 10 Number 2

Max Schaaf #13.

Maximum overdrive.

Being a northerner, I'm always leery of California skateboard companies trying to sell winter weather gear. Sure it would be nice to own a Fourstar puffy jacket, but is that thing really going to keep me warm when it's 20˚ F outside?

Slap - February 2001 Volume 10 Number 2

Sean Kelling #2.

Only built 4 DC Lynx.

The photography is by Giovanni Reda.

Slap - May 2001 Volume 10 Number 5

Willy Santos #3.

Moon boots.

It's fascinating how Vans was running a full line of puffy shoes in the late 1990s and early 2000s to keep up with the dominant trend in skateboard footwear. This included pro models in varying degrees of bulky for Willy, Steve Caballero, Alan Petersen, Salman Agah, and John Cardiel. At the same time, they started bringing back the more traditional waffle sole models thanks in part to Geoff Rowley. It almost felt like they had two separate skate teams due to shoe designs and ad layouts. For the financial health of the company, returning to the classic vulcanized designs was probably the best move. Although for the sake of foot health, it maybe wasn't. You do see slightly more padded models popping up in their designs today, which is a more practical compromise.

Note: My scanner occasionally gets funky on two page spreads for some reason resulting in minor color differences between the left and right side of the page, but this one was actually different in print.

The photos are by Scott Pommier.

Slap - July 2001 Volume 10 Number 7

Micro Ledge.

I built this thing at the start of the new year for the sake of having something different to skateboard on. I keep it at my parents so I had to make it small for storage purposes and in case my dad had to move it by himself. It was also sort of a prototype on the chance I end up building more stuff in the future. All in all, it turned pretty good. My one gripe is that the ledge isn't long enough so grinds are not fun. It's perfect for nose and tail slides.

I made the design very simple to reduce the work since I hadn't built anything in ages. The ledge is 2' x 4' and about 6" high. I used 2x6s for the frame because I wanted something that was as high as a curb. I've tried out this design for ledges before and it makes for a very solid box while eliminating the task of cutting a bunch of legs for support. With a couple metal brackets you can stack the frames up to build a ledge as high as you want.

The big box hardware store sold precut angle iron in 4' lengths so that was handy. I attached the angle iron with liquid nail caulking and it seems stuck on there real good. I went with the 2" size. It takes a fair amount of wax to get broken in so you want to be careful on those first few grinds.

The store also had plywood and masonite in 2' x 4' sheets. This is the first time I've ever gotten fancy with having masonite on the top of a ledge and I'm glad I did. The bottom ply is 1/4" plywood. I wanted to position the screws to minimize the chance of nicking up my wheels and I'm not sure I got them in the right spots, although there haven't been any real problems.

Feel free to copy this design if you are looking to build a simple ledge. I'd highly recommend making it longer than 4' if you have the space. It will add a little measuring to the cutting, but it will be worth it in the end. The ledge would be sick if it was 8' long because it's low enough for slappy tricks and also gives you the option to try ollies into different moves. Remember to measure twice, cut once, wear safety glasses, and ask an adult for help if you aren't familiar with power tools.

Sean Mullendore #6.

Sean shows off some big time snaps from the twilight days of Stereo. I always dug the East Coast skaters and coverage in the mid 1990s. It was a more relatable entity when you are living in the Rust Belt area.

The new road trip video from Pittsburgh's Scumco. & Sons is pretty rad. They stopped at Jamestown Skateboard Products and hit up the streets of Buffalo. They also skated a drainage ditch that I think is in Meadville, Pennsylvania.

Slap - January 2001 Volume 10 Number 1

Paul Rodriguez #2.

Future Primitive.

Slap - April 2001 Volume 10 Number 4