Jake Phelps #4.

"You could say 'What's on page 52 of the September 1977 Skateboarder?' And he could tell you who it is, what they're doing, who shot it, what the caption says. I mean that is mind boggling. For whatever people think about Jake, whether love him or hate him, he is probably the truest skateboarder there is. He lives and breathes it, and that's all he lives and breathes. He is one of a kind no doubt. It never fails that you can fall back on Jake to be a true skater, like it or not. Great stories or horror stories." - Lance Dawes

Still watching.

Vert Is Dead will be back on Monday, December 2nd. Have a good Thanksgiving and week ahead. I can't believe we're almost done with another year.

Joe Brook snapped the photo.

For the quote: Skate Jawn - June 2019 Issue #50

Thrasher - January 2011 Volume 31 Number 1

Hesh Crue Overlords.

The ultimate power trio in skateboarding.

I like how this has the throwback feel of a vintage multi rider ad that Santa Cruz used to run all the time.

Lance Dawes was the photographer.

Thrasher - January 2011 Volume 31 Number 1

Tom Asta.

Tom is from Langhorne, Pennsylvania. His favorite skaters growing up were Josh Kalis, Brian Wenning, and Anthony Pappalardo. He was a fan of both the fresh and the hesh in that he liked Habitat and Zero. Living in the same area as Chris Cole probably had a lot to do with his interest in Zero. Tom was sponsored by Mystery and turned pro for them in 2011. He's got a complete mastery of technical street skateboarding and can do all the flips into whatever other trick you could imagine. The guy is smooth. He switched over to Santa Cruz roughly five years ago when the Mystery was solved. His other sponsors include éS, Ricta, Bronson Bearings, Mob Grip, Kershaw Knives, and Arcade Belts. He still lives in Langhorne with his wife and kids. His parents run a restaurant there, too.

The photo is by Joey Shigeo.

Thrasher - April 2011 Volume 31 Number 4

Leo Romero #6.

"As far as retirement goes, I don’t think the term actually applies in skateboarding. It’s been a 24/7 slumber party for me. I don’t know what I want to do really. I’m always going to go on trips, even when I retire. I will still be skating for as long as possible. I think of it more as making room for new guys. There is just not enough pie left and I want to see the new kids get a little piece of what’s left."

Leo had the closing part in Brainwash. It featured his high speed assault on a variety of handrails. There are a lot of switch heelflips, too. He blasts some big ollies and displays a mastery of flip tricks done while moving very fast. Supposedly he was not thrilled with how his part in Emerica's Stay Gold turned out so he wanted to do better for himself in the Toy Machine video. Leo was awarded Thrasher's Skater of the Year for his efforts in 2010. As a side note, he was wearing shoelaces in his shoes for Brainwash.

And that wraps up a look back at the last Toy Machine video. Their new one, Programming Injection, is out now online and in the physical DVD format. Brainwash is a decent little video that gets you excited about going skateboarding. It's cool to see that nearly everybody is still on the team and has a couple of tricks in the latest project.

Griffin Collins was the photographer.

For the quote: Thrasher - November 2019 Volume 39 Number 11

Thrasher - July 2010 Volume 30 Number 7

Matt Bennett #4.

Black Heart Procession.

Matt was the newest pro on Toy Machine at the time of Brainwash, having been granted a signature board in 2010. His part is full of his classic relaxed style. There are frontside nose and board slides. He does a fakie ollie nose grind down a large banister and a fakie ollie backside tailslide on a handrail. Matt also takes pole jams up and over the top of handrails for some grinds. This Bennett grind down a handrail from the ad is the ender for his part. Actually, he switched ollied down six stairs after landing his namesake trick for the technical ender, but whatever.

The picture is by Diego Bucchieri.

Thrasher - January 2011 Volume 31 Number 1

Collin Provost #4.

The Provider.

Kyle Camarillo took the picture.

Thrasher - September 2010 Volume 30 Number 9

Nick Trapasso.

Life extension, but spelled correctly.

Nick is from Phoenix, Arizona. He was sponsored by Bootleg and Santa Cruz before being flowed boards from Listen and enjoi. Nick was added to the Toy Machine roster in the mid 2000s and turned pro in 2008. He won the X Games Real Street video contest in 2010. Nick parted ways with Toy Machine in 2011 to start Life Extention in 2012. These days he is still running Life Extention Skateboards. The pro team is him, Dan Lutheran's brother Andrew, and Blue Headey. They also have a handful of ams. His other previous sponsors include Converse and Volcom.

The photograph is by Griffin Collins.

Thrasher - June 2010 Volume 30 Number 6