Luke Ogden.

The Thrasher photographer transfers backside on a page in the competition's magazine. Chomp on that.

This is another photo Steve Sherman photo.

Transworld - June 1989 Volume 7 Number 3

Tommy Guerrero.

Stalefish on a quarterpipe in a San Francisco warehouse.

The photo is by Steve Sherman.

Transworld - June 1989 Volume 7 Number 3

Remy Stratton #2.

Remy is one of my favorite pros. I'm not sure why, but the boards he was riding always looked neat and whatever trick he was doing in the photo was clean and stylish. I am a little reluctant to use this photo since he is doing a Benihana, a trick that is now pretty much a career ender for pros if they do them seriously. To justify that Remy is still cool, I'm willing to provide a couple points in favor of not blacklisting the man on account of a trick from 16 years ago. First off, at the time there were a few guys doing Benihanas, including John Cardiel down the Big 7 at EMB. Everybody loves Cards and we don't hold that against him. We need to do the same for Remy. Next up, Spike Jonze took the photo and we all know that whatever he does is cool. Finally, this looks more like a frontside air with the back foot dangling off than the silhouette that some other pro uses as his logo. And it's not like he's doing the trick over a group of naked fat chicks covered in blood. Not that there is anything wrong with that.

Transworld - March 1992 Volume 10 Number 3

Dan Drehobl #2.

"Cancer Dan Drehobl blindsides to fakie over the planter at the Welfare Bank in SF."

When in doubt, go with Corpsey and the air to fakie. I'm burned out from work and I was trying to find a picture to post, but nothing looked good until I found this one.

Bryce Kanights got the photo.

Thrasher - June 1995 Volume 15 Number 6

Fred Gall.

Along with Josh Kalis and Lennie Kirk, Fred helped keep the Workshop legit in the mid 1990s when some of their other pros were falling off due to injuries, partying or being in bands. His part in Time Code is brutal and he crushes everything in his path while the Black Sabbath plays. He's also been in the spotlight for a very long time, ever since he was a little kid in a Tracker ad.

For as much as people ripped on the Phillie guys for doing wallrides and pole jams that supposedly regressed skateboarding, they also did a lot of tech and switch stuff, not to mention placing an emphasis on rolling fast again. The Philadelphia scene helped end the doldrums of the small wheel/crazy tech era by bringing style back. It's better to do fewer tricks with control and confidence than flinging around a bunch of crazy flippers that don't look all that good.

Jeremy Traub took the photo.

Note: I believe Jeremy is his first name. Usually if an ad lists just a last name, chances are good the photographer has photos elsewhere in the mag. I checked the masthead, but Traub was not listed. I haven't had time to investigate further. If this is incorrect, let me know and I'll make the necessary change.

Thrasher - October 1994 Volume 14 Number 10

Julien Stranger #4.

When I was looking for photos of Phil Shao, I found so many good Anti - Hero ads. It's easy to see why everybody lists them as one of their favorite companies. This site has been a little too Deluxe heavy the last month or so and I'm going to start scanning in some new stuff on Wednesday to provide a little variety. One of the things I look for as I'm picking things out is that instant feeling of is this cool or not. It seems to happen more for older Real, Anti - Hero and Spitfire ads.

Thrasher - March 1997 Volume 17 Number 3

Max Schaaf.

"Why you?
There has to be one guy without funny glasses and a sport utility vehicle."

Thanks, Max.

Slap - September 1998 Volume 7 Number 9 (for the quote)

Thrasher - June 1997 Volume 17 Number 6

Phil Shao #3.

"When they put the railing up at Fort Miley, it was to save lives. Little did they know a terminator named Phil Shao would frontside grind it."

This is the definitive Phil trick and Thrasher cover.

The photo is by Luke Ogden.

Thrasher - July 1996 Volume 16 Number 7

Phil Shao #2.

"I had known him for eight years and I will tell you this straight up: the greatest skater ever. Pool, curb, ramp, gap or flip, he could do anything he wanted to. The tracks he laid on this Earth will never be matched. He never over did it, never sketched, never bragged. He was a terminator. In these days of media hype and industry brainwashing, he stood tall and proud to be a skate rat. Dirty shirt, peeled up griptape or rattling bolts, he couldn't care less. He was skating." - Jake Phelps

Thrasher - November 1998 Volume 18 Number 11 (for the quote)

Slap - November 1996 Volume 5 Number 11

Phil Shao #1.

12/28/1973 - 8/22/1998

"Phil had the style, the determination, and more than his fair share of ability, shining around the world, and touching people everywhere he went with the thing he loved to do the most: skate as hard as he could. The guy ruled, there is no question about it. No question." - Mark Whiteley

It's been ten years since we lost one of skateboarding's finest.

Lance Dawes snapped the photo.

Slap - November 1998 Volume 7 Number 11

Wade Speyer.

Wade dominated the 1990s. He killed it on ramps, streets, parks and anything else that got in his way. He was the first to do a nose grind down the Hubba Hideout, too. Slayer.

Tobin Yelland snapped the picture.

Transworld - August 1991 Volume 9 Number 8

Chris Johanson #2.

"This is Slap's art department. This is art by Chris Johanson. Negatron is some sort of alien vibe that Chris is always talking about."

Another dose of Chris Johanson. This would have been before Anti - Hero and subsequent art world fame came about.

The article is credited to Shay Nowick.

Slap - September 1995 Volume 4 Number 9

Bobby Puleo.

This is Bobby's first ad for Stereo. Very different camera angle and composition on the photo. I need to scan some new stuff in, but I'm feeling brain dead lately and using up anything I haven't posted yet. It's the dog days of summer.

Slap - September 1995 Volume 4 Number 9

Keith Hufnagel.

This should more than satisfy Mark Gonzales' request for an ollie pop from the Real To Reel video.

Thrasher - February 1994 Volume 14 Number 2

Sean Sheffey #2.

I like Sheffey's griptape art.

The portrait is by Tobin Yelland. The nollie flip sequence is probably by him as well.

Thrasher - April 1994 Volume 14 Number 4

60/40.

I don't think I was too into the art Mark Gonzales was doing for 60/40 at first, but my opinion soon changed. The stories he would write for Thrasher definitely helped change my mind. You got more of a sense of what he was going for creatively with the writing. There really has never been another company that had ads like this. Obviously Krooked is very similar, yet there was something different about 60/40.

Thrasher - April 1994 Volume 14 Number 4

Dan Drehobl.

"Versatility on all terrains makes Drehobl stand out. So does his habit of smoking cigs while pulling frontside inverts at Andy's ramp."

Much like Ed Templeton, Dan Drehobl is another guy that keeps on going. He's been my favorite pro for the last few years. Actually, I could see claiming him as my favorite pro ever.

Gabe Morford took the photo.

Slap - August 1995 Volume 4 Number 8

J.J. Rogers #2.

Bask in the awesomeness that is J.J. Rogers.

Thrasher - May 1991 Volume 11 Number 5

Phil Esbenshade.

Phil E. was pro for Skull Skates in addition to Small Room. I guess there would have been a board with his name on it from Small Room. I think they had pro models. Small Room was tiny and I don't believe they ever made it past half page sized ads. As a side note, Tony Buyalos rode for the company before he started Shorty's.

After retiring from riding professionally, Phil became a lawyer with the goal of defending skateboarders in trouble with the law. He currently is an attorney involved with enforcing child support court orders.

Phread Conrad took the photo.

Thrasher - May 1991 Volume 11 Number 5

Quim Cardona #2.

I'm too busy at work today, so enjoy the pretty picture. Lance Dawes probably took it, but there was no photo credit in the article.

Slap - July 1995 Volume 4 Number 7

Quim Cardona #1.

Rocking a Metropolitan shirt. I've still got the one that my parents bought me when they went on a trip to Santa Barbara. It's a little big to wear these days, but I'm not getting rid of it or anything. It's too cool of a t - shirt.

Slap - December 1995 Volume 4 Number 12

Rudy Johnson.

Does Rudy Johnson have the best part in Video Days? It's kind of an unfair question since the Gonz, Jason Lee and Guy Mariano are in the video as well. I guess you can't forget about Jordan Richter either, but I fastforwarded his part when I watched it this afternoon. Johnson does so many new tricks that are still done today and he does them so very well that he is just as relevant as anyone else in the flick.

Spike Jonze took the picture.

Transworld - May 1991 Volume 9 Number 5

Ed Templeton #2.

"Fast ollie in a steep alley"

I like obscurity and mystery. I like the guys that you never see photos or video of, but when they do surface, it's the best stuff ever. That being said, there is something about the skaters that have put in the time over the years and never fallen out of the spotlight or picked up whack sponsors. They just keep on going. Any footage that you see of them is cool, from a serious video part to a random mini ramp video. They have confidence in what they are doing and are in it for the long haul.

The photo is by the man called O.

Transworld - June 1991 Volume 9 Number 6

Gabriel Rodriguez.

I used to always get Gabriel Rodriguez and Rudy Johnson mixed up back in the day until I learned to remember which company each rode for. I almost did it again after I scanned this and went to save it as rudyjohnson01.jpg when I realized it wasn't Johnson. Whoops.

Anyway, I would believe this is Rodriguez's first model for 101 since it is from 1991. I did a quick online search to confirm this and/or see if the ad had been posted elsewhere and nothing turned up, although I'm sure it has been scanned to some other website. One thing I did learn was that this board was issued in tandem with the utterly evil Natas Satan graphic. I had never thought about that before. I was in high school in 1991 and I liked this ad because of Rodriguez's declaration that he wasn't going to get a job at El Pollo Loco because they would make him tuck his shirt in, even if I had no clue what El Pollo Loco was. For those still wondering, it's a restaurant chain that specializes in flame grilled Mexican chicken. They have no stores in New York, but to a then 17 year old in a small town they might as well have been on another planet.

I'm not feeling the religious graphics, but I think the candid snap shot is a good photo. Can't argue with the gap to lipslide either.

Transworld - June 1991 Volume 9 Number 6

Alien Workshop Problems.

"There's been some problems."

I was wondering today how much of an influence David Lynch had on some of the early Alien Workshop ads and footage in Memory Screen. It wasn't something that I thought about before, but Twin Peaks came out around the same time as the Workshop got started.

Transworld - July 1991 Volume 9 Number 7

Mike Carroll.

Mike went pro at the same time as Rick Howard. This ad was on the next page in the magazine from yesterday's post. In terms of layout, Rickoo had the better debut ad. H - Street was kind of corny and they packed too much little text on the page. I'm someone who really liked H - Street, but now some of their stuff makes me cringe. Oh, well. Both the frontside one foot ollie and nose grind to nose blunt slide aren't seen too often, so Mike had a good choice of obscure tricks. The park he is at is the Powell Peralta Skatezone, one place I wish I got to skate.

Mark Waters snapped the photos.

Transworld - June 1991 Volume 9 Number 6

Rick Howard.

This is Rickoo's first pro model for Blockhead. The guy is still going strong after roughly 17 years of being pro and Girl Skateboards is one of the most respected companies ever.

Blockhead was a solid company up until 1992 or so when they tried to keep pace with the rip off graphics and fresh trends of skateboarding. That didn't work out so well and their original ideas got lost in the shuffle. Plus their artist, Ron Cameron, left to go to Acme. That definitely hurt their visual image.

Note: Rick Howard's name is Rick Howard. No middle name and Rick isn't short for Richard. I don't know why I think that is neat, but it is.

The photo is by Steve Sherman.

Transworld - June 1991 Volume 9 Number 6

Matt Hensley.

"Ollie flip with a twist. Do try this at home."

This is Hensley at the NSA Del Mar Skate Fair from February 1990. He placed third in the contest with that Tony Hawk guy winning both street and vert. Tom Knox took second. This was the first pro contest for a lot of guys, including Ed Templeton, Ron Chatman and Jeremy Klein. Kevin Wilkins laments in the article that contest was held near the location of the demolished Del Mar Skate Ranch.

In addition to the A1 Meats, Natas and H - Street stickers on Hensley's board, there is also a sticker for Mario Rubalcaba's band the Committed.

Grant Brittain took the photo.

Transworld - August 1990 Volume 8 Number 8

Chris Miller.

One of the best to ever step on skateboard. Miller is another one of those guys that there is never a bad photo of. He is still going strong and riding better than ever.

The photos are by Grant Brittain.

Transworld - May 1990 Volume 8 Number 5

Ray Underhill.

After a battle with cancer, Ray Underhill is sadly no longer with us. He passed away on Friday. Ray was so smooth and did all the technical tricks effortlessly, such as this nollie one foot tail grab to fakie.

Spike Jonze took the picture.

Transworld - July 1991 Volume 9 Number 7

John Cardiel #3.

"Not stopping for anything, John Cardiel ollies a bench that got in his way."

All hail Cardiel.

Killer photo by Lance Dawes.

Slap - September 1995 Volume 4 Number 9