Rob Pluhowski #8.

Frame grab.

Everybody's favorite Habitat amateur blasts a set of stairs to a small landing pad for First Division Wheels. Rob previously rode for Element before being an original rider on Habitat. His feet were sponsored by Vita and DVS. He came to the conclusion in the early 2000s that skateboarding wasn't going to be a stable career for him as he got older and peaced out from the biz at a good point in his life. You have to respect that.

It's been hot here and things are hectic with the holiday for work so I am worn out. I've been skateboarding in the driveway in the evenings when it is less hot. It keeps being hit or miss for me. I think I'm tired, even if I don't really feel tired. Adult life is grand. Maybe some new shoes will help.

I'm puzzled as to why they didn't include a credit for the photographer. Maybe they weren't sure who submitted the sequence when the ad was being designed.

Slap - November 1997 Volume 6 Number 11

Andrew Currie #2.

First division from UK Colonies.

Andrew hails from Queensland, Australia and has ridden for SMA, Foundation, Silverstar, Hoon, and probably a few other companies over the decades. I wanted to find some more information on him as I feel he had an interview in print somewhere, but I ran out of time to fully do the research. He got a lot of coverage in Slap in the 1990s so he's a familiar face you maybe don't know too much about.

Happy 125th, Australia! I apologize for being a few months late. Happy Canada Day!

Slap - October 1997 Volume 6 Number 10

Sergei Trudnowski #3.

These are the mystic guards.

Sergei was part of the mid 1990s Philadelphia crew with Ricky Oyola and Matt Reason that ushered in a return to larger wheels and boards while emphasizing doing fundamental tricks properly. They treated the city as a skatepark instead of posting up at one spot constantly. You see the continuation of their ideas carried on by guys like Quel Haddox, who explores Phillie to find construction sites to ollie over.

Ryan Gee was the photographer.

Slap - February 1997 Volume 7 Number 2

Mike Bouchard #3.

Liberty Bell.

The late Mike Bouchard does a backside nosegrind in a well designed advertisement from Nicotine Wheels. It's another week of Capital and their assorted companies. I'm not above letting the calendar decide the copy at this point. Plus their ads just look cool.

I did skateboard a little over the weekend. I wanted to go someplace else for the sake of variety, but grownup life had me rolling at the local park in the mornings before it warmed up. I think I got my new trucks dialed in. I might need new wheels, even though my current ones are two months old so they should not be done yet.

The photo is by Kelly Ryan.

Slap - July 1997 Volume 7 Number 7

Jaime Reyes #5.

Long distance traveler.

Since New York is known as the city that never sleeps, it is easy to see why Rookie went with so many nocturnal advertisements. I like how they took chances with arty photos, too. Jaime landed a spot on Real when Jim Thiebuad and Tommy Guerrero were visiting Hawaii in 1993 or 94. She did a nollie heelflip in front of Jim and he was impressed enough to add her to the team. Later she would move to NYC and turn pro for Rookie. Jaime had a Thrasher cover in April 1994. This pretty much wraps up my look back at Rookie as I've covered nearly everything with them. They definitely made a positive impact on skateboarding in the late 1990s.

I set up a new board with new trucks for the week. The breaking in process has not been going smoothly. I want to see if I can get the new bushings to work before I replace them with some old ones. Add in that I can't really skateboard very well any more so things just aren't fun right now. I need to get a new pair of shoes going, but I'm waiting until I get the trucks dialed in first. We shall see how it goes. Hope everybody out there has a good weekend.

Grant Kino and Giovanni Reda took the pictures.

K-grind: Slap - July 1998 Volume 7 Number 7

Kickflip: Slap - June 1999 Volume 8 Number 6

Jessie Van Roechoudt #9.

Nighttime ghosts of the old city.

Alexis Zavialoff and Joe Brook were the photographers.

Stairs: Slap - October 1997 Volume 6 Number 10

Nite: Slap - June 1998 Volume 7 Number 6

Shane Medanich.

Night & Day Flights.

Shane is from Eastchester, New York. He moved out to San Francisco after riding for Rookie. He's a musician and the founding drummer for skate rock titans Hightower. Shane was also the music editor for Lowcard. It appears he is still playing a lot of music and possibly works as a teacher.

The photos are by Tim Stanton and Giovanni Reda.

Ollie: Slap - September 1998 Volume 7 Number 9

Banks: Slap - April 1999 Volume 8 Number 4