Curtis Hsiang #2.

"Thrills are cheap in this day and age, but Curtis Hsiang paid $90 for this frontside thruster."

Rest in peace, Curtis.

"I read something Curtis Hsiang wrote about how there was this pool in Berkeley and it was dry only once every five years, and every time it was empty, that was the biggest thing. That's insane. He didn't say, "Blah blah blah did this trick there, or, "Blah blah blah did this trick." It was the fact that you could only skate it for a week or two every five years, and it brought everybody together to skate. That's what skateboarding was for him. It was his friends coming together to skate something that wasn't around all the time. It's not about who's who in the X Games and who's done the biggest kickflip down the biggest set of stairs. There's always going to be somebody better; there's always going to be somebody doing something bigger; that's not what real skateboarding's about. It's about your friends and it's about having fun." - Louie Barletta

Bryce Kanights snapped the picture.

For the quote: Slap - December 2000 Volume 9 Number 12

Thrasher - April 1992 Volume 12 Number 4

Jason Lee #2.

A signature Jason Lee mute grab.

I've always wondered why this photo wound up in a local shop ad and not as editorial content. Must have been a little pre Hollywood magic from Jason. Usually back then most shop ads were black and white with a bunch of little pictures of decks or just a list of products.

The photo is by Spike Jonze. Note that it says Jones on the fire hydrant.

Transworld - January 1992 Volume 10 Number 1

Jeron Wilson & Jeff Klindt.

RIP Jeff Klindt: 8/20/1965 - 1/20/2004

Jeron throws down some early 1990s tech with a 5-0 to switch crooks and a switch 360 flip. I'm a fan of Jeron and this is some of the first coverage he would have gotten.

I was a freshman in college when this ad came out. I always thought Jeff's little story about the Real team squeezing into one apartment was hilarious. One of my friends would read my Thrashers for the music news and he thought it was funny, too. He especially liked how it ended with "life is good" to positively summarize the experience of getting kicked out.

Thrasher - November 1992 Volume 12 Number 11

Alphonzo Rawls.

"I'm at Alphonzo's. He forgot to leave me the key." - Jeremy Klein

Much like Danny Way, Alphonzo was one of those guys who skated both street and vert far better than most. He turned pro for H - Street and then rode for Natural and Expedition during the 1990s before he kind of just faded away in the 2000s.

Daniel Sturt took the photo.

Transworld - April 1992 Volume 10 Number 4

Kareem Campbell.

Back to the grind.

Kareem pulls off a frontside ollie late shove it on a mini ramp. This would have been when he was on World Industries for the first time. He left to ride for Blue in the middle of 1992 with Chris Pastras and Jason Lee before returning to World to start building his empire. Kareem started the much loved Menace in 1993 or so. Due to a few copyright issues, Menace changed names twice, first to All City and then City Stars. He also started Axion footwear. Kareem is still doing City Stars these days, along with Push Distribution.

Thrasher - April 1992 Volume 12 Number 4

Doing Research.

Vert Is Dead will return with new stuff on January 18. I need a break.

It's going to be things from the 1992 - 1993 era.

Leave any requests in the comments or send me an email.

Thanks to everybody who follows this site.

Mark Gonzales #6.

Happy New Year.

Get it straight, ride Krooked.

Transworld - February 1989 Volume 7 Number 1