Tom Karangelov #3.

WKND Warrior.

This was the second to last trick from Tom's part in Cold War. His ender involved two homies moving a fence from in front of a set of stairs so he could ollie over a rail to what I'm calling a nosegrind. It's a seven stair rail that Chris Senn and Cairo Foster have skated where they ollie from a set back step to hit the banister. The part was neat because it started to show how Tom was changing his approach to spots from the typical Zero fare to more interesting and overlooked places. He took down some big handrails with gaps for the section, too. The Fugazi and Joy Division tunes didn't hurt either.

Vert Is Dead will be back on Monday, July 7th.

It will most likely be a week of Toy Machine. I've also figured out how to put together a week of Life Extention.

Skateboarding has been a mixed bag lately. I think I'm just old and tired. Have a good weekend.

JT Rhoades took the photo.

Transworld - May 2012 Volume 30 Number 5

John Fitzgerald.

Slapshot.

Much like Donovon Piscopo, John took the Zero to Alien Workshop pipeline. He might even have been on Alien by the time this ad ran. When Jason Dill and Anthony Van Engelen launched FA and Hockey, John went along with them. He's from Glendora, California and has been pro for a while. He's a noted gnarly spot skater who has endured some heavy slams and injuries. His other sponsors include Nike, Thunder, and Pepper Griptape. I think he even slammed so hard once that he broke the ground.

In contrast, Nick Boserio went from the Alien Workshop to Zero and then onward to Polar. It was an ad of Nick that prompted me to do this week of scans. Nick didn't get included because his ad was in the black/white/red design that was used once Cold War was ready for release in 2013.

The photo is by Andrew Peters.

Transworld - December 2011 Volume 29 Number 12

Tony Cervantes #2.

It's nice to know that Tony is still pro for Zero and Fallen in 2025, just like he was back in 2013. He was slated to turn pro around the time of Strange World in 2009, but some injuries and adult life changed those plans. Jamie Thomas granted him professional status after Cold War in 2013. He's a big Jimi Hendrix fan.

Transworld - March 2011 Volume 29 Number 3

Donovon Piscopo #2.

Blemished.

Donovon was an am for Zero and had a few tricks in a montage in Strange World. This boardslide was in his part. He was abducted to the Alien Workshop by the end of 2011. His dad runs Pawnshop Skateshop in Covina, California. He stuck with Jason Dill and Anthony Van Engelen to ride for Hockey after the Workshop closed up. Donovon recently parted ways with Hockey to start his own company called Blem.

The photo is by Johnny Martinez.

Transworld - July 2010 Volume 28 Number 7

Dane Burman.

Municipal rail grinder.

Dane is from Sydney, Australia. In the classic Zero style, he jumps down a lot of handrails. He turned pro off his part in Strange World. Dane rode for Fallen and is still pro for Zero. He once showed up as an uninvited guest to watch Bob Burnquist skate his backyard ramps.

The Zero harsh production schedule is a real thing. Strange World premiered at the end of 2009 and was being promoted in ads up until April 2010. After a few months of Mystery adverts, they announced Cold War in the summer of 2010. It made sense to jump right into a new project because Strange World was mostly montages and shared parts. Zero did deliver Cold War in the fall of 2013.

I like how these ads look. It's a nice break from Zero's usual black, white, and red color schemes.

It's been hot this weekend, but the biggest issue were the high winds. I only fit in a minimal amount of skateboarding due to the breeze. Strange how things like that happen.

Transworld - July 2010 Volume 28 Number 7

Clint Walker #2.

Monolith.

I think it is interesting that for much of its existence Birdhouse has been a street focused company. It's only within the last couple years that Tony Hawk has shifted to primarily sponsoring vert skaters, which reflects what he likes the most about skateboarding. Granted there have always been ramp riders like Elliot Sloan, Lizzie Armanto, Ben Raybourn, and Kevin Staab on the team, but with new faces like Tom Schaar, Greyson Fletcher, and Tate Carew, the move to keep vert alive is in action.

Clint had a gnarly part in Ambiguous Clothing's Modern Art video from 2013. I think that was a nice goth tinged free DVD that came with Thrasher. I have not watched it in a decade so I'm going by hazy memories on that one. They had a solid team with JT Aultz, Matt Bennett, Sean Conover, Clive Dixon, and Luis De Los Reyes, before sputtering out like all skateboard clothing companies do.

I guess it is Go Skateboarding Day this weekend so go skate. Or not. I'm not your boss. Do whatever you feel like doing, but at the least maybe try to buy something from your local shop if that's possible.

With the upcoming heat wave, we're going to have a cold war next week.

It's another lipslide photo by Trevor Vaughn. This is almost like when Girl ran consecutive frontside noseslide advertisements back in the year 2000.

Transworld - December 2011 Volume 29 Number 12

Clive Dixon #2.

Falling apart.

After a decade at Birdhouse, Clive parted ways with the company in the fall of 2021. Nyjah Huston invited him to ride for Disorder soon after. Clive is friends with a couple of the guys on the team and was looking for some new motivation for his skateboarding. He figured skating with Nyjah would do just that. Clive does a lot of big and gnarly handrails. He also is a writer and has dabbled with art for board graphics.

It's been raining the last couple days so I'm finally getting some days off from skateboarding. I hope the break does me some good. I figured out that I'm just old and my knees hurt.

The photo is by Trevor Vaughn.

Transworld - November 2011 Volume 29 Number 11

Elliot Sloan #2.

Spin cycle.

Mr. Sloan adds a heelflip to Mike McGill's Wicked Twister. Elliot has been on Birdhouse for a very long time now. He has a new shoe out in collaboration with Fallen and Birdhouse.

I appreciate the consistency of Birdhouse ads. They've had a few variations, but generally stick with a photo sequence on a solid colored background over the years. It's maybe not the most exciting design, yet it serves its purpose well.

The sequence is by Brian Fick.

Transworld - August 2011 Volume 29 Number 8

Aaron "Jaws" Homoki #3.

Saturday night ate our lives.

Jaws is from Phoenix, Arizona. He grew up skateboarding with Dakota Servold. Birdhouse turned him pro back in 2011 and he is still on the team. If you want to feel old, sore, and amazed at how fast time passes, Jaws jumped down the famous 25 stair in Lyon, France that Ali Boulala attempted ten years ago this fall. I guess it's a stalefish in the photo and a fisheye lens was used to add to more upside down distortion. It's a cool looking picture with all the colored lights and black background.

The photos are by Matt Price. I think there's a quote from Matt about spots and his reply was, "I shoot with Jaws. I only know rooftops and quarter pipes."

Drop off: Transworld - May 2011 Volume 29 Number 5

Pro: Transworld - September 2011 Volume 29 Number 9

Shawn Hale #2.

Hover Hand.

Shane put together a very strong part for Birdhouse at the beginning of the year. It's full of unique wallrides plus no comply and wallie handrail moves to go with some ledge tech. He's also developing a special physical therapy slipper that helps rehab your feet after a day of skateboarding. Shane is wearing a pair of Vox shoes in the photo.

I was going to post a week of 2012 Birdhouse, but their ads ran spottily that year so I dropped it back to 2011 and had more success. For the future, I think there's going to be some Toy Machine, Cold War era Zero, and DGK. I want to do a Life Extention week, but I've only found three ads thus far so I'm not sure if that is going to happen.

I went over to Jamestown Skateboard Products on Friday night to see a couple of bands (Vial, pictured) play their garage. I got to skateboard upstairs while the bands were doing soundcheck. I had fun just doing a bunch of ollies and boardslides while cruising around. Saturday and Sunday were kind of clunkers. I only skated my ledges in the driveway and it wasn't really working.

The photograph is by Patrick Driscoll.

Transworld - April 2011 Volume 29 Number 4

Lee Yankou #3.

Lee goes to the very top shelf and grabs the jar of peanut butter.

Jeff Landi snapped the photo.

Thrasher - August 2012 Volume 32 Number 8

Josh Matthews #3.

Be all easy.

Josh is from Eugene, Oregon. He has ridden for Think, Organika, Habitat, Spitfire, Venture, and HUF over the years. His pet peeve is too much cheese on tacos and Gino Iannucci is his favorite skater. Josh's part in Think's Business As Usual is a solid batch of technical street skating that isn't overblown or trendy and holds up well in modern times. I don't think I paid enough attention to his skateboard talents back in the day.

The photo is by Dave Chami.

For the info: Thrasher - May 2012 Volume 32 Number 5

Thrasher - November 2012 Volume 32 Number 11

Adrian Williams.

Northern Exposure.

Adrian is from Anchorage, Alaska. His dad was in the military and they wound up living there once he was out of the service. Even with a lot of winter in Alaska, Adrian still was able to get into skateboarding. The summers were pleasant enough with probably too much daylight. They made the most of what indoor parking garages or warehouses they could find for the winters. He relocated to San Francisco for more spots and improved weather. His sponsors included Think, FTC, Grind King, Sushi Wheels, and possibly Nice Skate Shoes at one time. Adrian did turn pro for Think. On the topic of skateboarders from Alaska, Erik Ellington was also born in Anchorage.

The sequence was photographed by Dan Zaslavsky.

For the info: The Skateboard Mag - June 2009 Issue 63.

Thrasher - June 2012 Volume 32 Number 6

Dave Bachinsky #2.

Business as usual.

Dave takes care of business on a frontside 5-0. He does artwork and woodcarving these days. OC Ramps employees him to show off his absurd mini ramp skills, too.

The photograph is by Dan Zaslavsky.

Thrasher - May 2012 Volume 32 Number 5

Russ Milligan #2.

City thinker.

It's a look back at the 2012 era of Think. They released a video called Business As Usual. A couple of the riders moved over from City Skateboards after the company was put out pasture. Russ is from Vancouver and a proficient street stylist. I like the vintage Think logo.

I've been skateboarding a bunch lately, but it hasn't been going great. I can't tell if I'm just getting old or what. It's been that way for about the last month and I think it's starting to get in my head. I'm trying to stay positive and work through the slump. It's been a grind. And not the fun ones either.

Thrasher - January 2012 Volume 32 Number 1