My first skateboard was a Variflex complete I got at the discount department store Brand Names. It really wasn't a bad place to buy electronics and other assorted things, but not so much for skateboards.
My first good board was a silver Tony Hawk. I bought it at Avenue Skates on Elmwood Avenue in Buffalo. I still have the deck. I got a complete with red Gullwing Pro IIIs that had metal baseplates and red Kryptonics wheels. The wheels were nice and soft, which was probably a good choice for the street quality in my town. I had the full board safety gear set up - nosebone, rails, skidplate and copers. I missed out on the laper, which was probably a good thing.
I remember Avenue Skates being jam packed full of gear. Elmwood Avenue in Buffalo has a lot of small businesses that often make use of old houses so you get some interesting stores. The store wasn't very big and the back wall was covered in decks. If I had any real clue about what I was buying back then, I bet I would have picked out something different. It's funny because today there is no way I would have bought red wheels or trucks. I hate the color red. I could go for a silver board again.
Transworld - December 1988 Volume 6 Number 6
9 comments:
what colour grip did you get? My first real set up had flourescent green LOL
Black tracker ultralites
Blue Bullet 60mm combos
I'm also not fond of the color red.
Black. I never used anything but black.
One of my friends from back then had the Tony Hawk claw with flourescent green. Ugly.
For the life of me I can't remember what color or kind of rails I had first. I know I put some Schmitt Stix on the board later, but I don't think I had those to begin with.
I also had Thunderbolts for hardware. You didn't need a screwdriver or allen wrench and just pounded them into the deck. I think I got hosed on that one.
My first set-up, a Jeff Kendall with the Jaegermeister graphic, had red grip and green wheels--and I rode it for over a year. I picked the deck because Jake Phelps reviewed it favorably in Product Patrol. I think my parents might have thrown it away when they moved a few years ago.
My first 'real' board was a Sure Grip Steve Steadham - right after he left Powell. It was a toss up between that and a blue Ripper, but I was super psyched on Steadham at the time. I ended up with one red and one black Gullwing and some goofy red/black swirled wheels (probably Visions). Full plastics too. I was so clueless but I wouldn't change anything about that setup.
I think my rails were some generic pink ones. Had to match the nose and tail guards.
It was so nice being completely clueless about all this stuff.
I had pink rib bones on mine. Also a pink tail bone.
thunderbolts! I remember being in a bike shop that sold decks and the dude was putting together a board with those and he was hammering the shit out of them to get the little notched part into the top of the board. Glad it wasn't mine!
My first was a Valterra Thriller then my first real board was a Vision John A. Grigley 1987 model, GandS Bam bam wheels, G and S trucks, G And S rails, nose bone and tail bone. The trucks came with a hollow axel and the surfer guy who put it together made a wildstyle griptape job which looked like a hard night of partying.
First board I had was a Nash "Skate Or Die" which had a had better shape and concave than the more popular "Executioner". The biggest problem with it was the horrible bearings. I was too young and dumb to know any better. My first good set up was a green stain Schmitt Stix Lucero X1 w/ white black Schmitt Silly Stix rails, white Gullwings and green Kryptonics csi wheels.
Ken Park wizard deck, white Tracker 6 tracks and Schmitt Stix Sawblades wheels (I think they had steel hubs which was pretty rad to an idiot little kid) all the plastic crapulence including lapper and cell block 3 riser pad and I topped off that 80s turd sundae with a clear grip tape cherry. After 4 years of skating Roller Derby or Variflex boards that I put vision stickers all over my first pro board felt so amazing. It’s too bad we get so smarty cynical with age
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