John "Tex" Gibson.

"I had been pro for 12 years and John Falahee was sending me to places like Wichita, Kansas, to do a demo on a curb in front of a skateshop. I was just like, "Man, don't drag me out of my house for this shit." I'd look at my shrinking check, and it was like, "Fuck this." Let the new kids kickflip the curb. I just stopped answering the phone."

Street skateboarding made life hell for the vertical savages of the 1980s. It really is too bad there wasn't room for both in the early 1990s. I related to street skating much more because vert was an impossibility for two simple reasons - the lack of any vert ramps in my small town and the fact that I do not have the coordination to ride a huge ramp. As more people favored riding in the streets, there was a major shift in the direction of skateboarding that left the old pros out to dry.

One little thing I've noticed in looking at all these old photos is that the Alva team was all over the place in terms of truck sponsors. If Alva happened today, they would all be riding Indys. Guys rode for Independent, G & S, Thunder, Venture, Cutter and Tracker. Could you imagine somebody on Anti Hero riding Trackers? They'd get kicked off in two seconds.

Note: John Falahee was Tony Alva's business partner for Alva and then New School and ATM Click. I'm sure by the time it got ATM Click, T.A. had nothing to do with it.

Skateboarder - August 2002 Volume 11 Number 2 (for the quote)

Transworld - April 1989 Volume 7 Number 2