Tim Gavin #3.

Happy trails, 2010.

Hope everybody has a good weekend. Vert Is Dead will be back on Monday.

Thrasher - October 1996 Volume 16 Number 10

Forties #3.

Forties had some great ads in the mid 1990s. I think Micke Reyes did a lot of the art.

Already Been Done.

Slap - November 1996 Volume 5 Number 11

Scott Copalman.

The thrill of it all.

Scott was part of the original crew on Zero. Zero started to get big at the same time the Smashing Pumpkins had their t-shirt with the word zero on it. Some of the younger kids I was skating with would heckle college students that they saw wearing a Smashing Pumpkins shirt. The results were usually a nice alternative boy and his girlfriend left wondering who Jamie Thomas was and why would they be down with him. I'm sure they were also wondering why are these fifteen year old kids picking on them.

Transworld - August 1996 Volume 14 Number 8

Jesse Paez.

The holidays are over and it's back to 1996.

Jesse was the little kid who went big in the early years of Consolidated. He launched himself down some huge gaps. He later switched to Think and was on that team until he disappeared in the early 2000s. His brother Richard was also pro for Consolidated.

Airwalk decided to enter the then fledgeling pro shoe market by giving models Jason Lee and Tony Hawk.

I'll do another 1980s/early 1990s week sometime again soon just to add a little variety.

Jamie Mosberg was the camera guy.

Thrasher - July 1996 Volume 16 Number 7

Jeff Phillips #10.

"I never imagined I would get what I got. I never imagined I would be pro, making money doing all this stuff. I lived up to my goal in life. I remember being a kid and saying to my friend Kevin, the guy who dug out the Rathole, 'I'm going to be pro someday,' then laughing like there was no way. And here I am."

Merry Christmas & happy holidays.

For the quote: Thrasher - March 1990 Volume 10 Number 3

Transworld - October 1990 Volume 8 Number 10

Ray Underhill #3.

Ray is another fine skateboarder who left this mortal coil far too soon. He also invented the classic Experimental graphic that you would see Powell Peralta pros riding in the videos.

The old Powell stuff always makes me think of Christmas time, probably because there was always a new Bones Brigade video that came out just in time for the holiday.

The pictures are by Grant Brittain.

Transworld - April 1989 Volume 7 Number 2

Mark "Gator" Rogowski.

I wasn't ever a big Gator fan. His Transworld Pro Spotlight seemed really weird to the fourteen year old version of me. I don't think his graphics ever appealed to me either, although now being older I can fully see the benefits of continuity with variation on a theme. Sean Cliver has written a couple of great pieces on the numerous versions of the Gator spiral at his Disposable website. This is a stark comparison to the high turnaround rate of today's industry. When you say the name Tony Hawk or Steve Caballero or Jason Jessee, there is an instant art image to go along with the skater that is already burned in your mind, if you are old enough.

When was the last time that happened in skateboarding? Maybe with Chad Muska, but that was over a decade ago now. What pops in there for Eric Koston or Daewon Song or any of today's top pros? Are you really thinking Mike Carroll's Calvin eating mac & cheese model when you read his name? Well, OK, I am, but most probably aren't. I guess what I'm saying is that most of today's young pros aren't going to have an encounter down the road with somebody who got their board graphics tattooed on their arm like so many of the 1980s finest have.

I'm not writing any of this to complain or berate any of the fine artists and designers in today's skateboard world. A lot of you guys and girls are doing a great job. Please keep it up. These are just a few observations on how the visual mythology of skateboarding has changed. And for those that are putting the rider's name in a giant bold font and passing it off as art, try a little harder.

Transworld - December 1988 Volume 6 Number 6

Mark Partain #2.

Taking a classic ramp trick to an abrupt street obstacle.

Gnarly.

The photo is by Miki Vuckovich.

Transworld - December 1988 Volume 6 Number 6

Omar Hassan #2.

Omar has been pro for twenty years now. He turned pro for Blockhead, went for a few years without a model at Acme and then it was back to having a model for Formula One. He switched to Black Label after that and has been with them ever since.

I watched the first Consolidated video on Saturday night. Or rather I watched most of it before I fell asleep on the couch. Alan Petersen and Andy Roy killed it. That's about all I remember.

Vert Is Dead will be updated every day this week, including Thursday and Friday. I don't have to work either of those days, but I'm still going to post something. Things have been busy at work the last few days and it will probably be that way until Wednesday afternoon. I'm also trying to finish up the art for a friend's CD on the side and that's been taking up most of my free time at the office. I will also be updating the week after Christmas. It might be back to 1996 stuff for then, but I'm not completely sure right now.

Steve Sherman was the photographer.

Transworld - May 1991 Volume 9 Number 5

Ed Templeton #10.

Work's been too hectic the last couple of days. It was supposed to be Gator today, but I never had a chance to write something up. I guess that isn't too important, but for somebody like Gator, there needs to be a little something more.

So anyway, I'm going with classic Ed Templeton from the Schmitt days. It looks like RVCA is still printing their ANP Quarterly magazine since a new issue showed up in my mailbox yesterday. It's got a neat little interview with OFF! and a longer interview with Brian Roettinger, the graphic designer who has done work for No Age and Liars.

Christian Kline took the photo sequence.

Transworld - October 1989 Volume 7 Number 6

Dave Carnie, Grahme Stanners & Tod Swank.

A beardless Carn Carn getting hella puke craze on a frontside grinder. Whalecock represent.

Transworld - August 1989 Volume 7 Number 4

Blaize Blouin #3.

The late and great Blaize Blouin.

I watched Geoff Graham's film Flying Sutra For Beginners last night. It's pretty cool. It kind of comes off as a long form music video for the band Flying Sutra and their sonic experiments. There is skateboarding in it, but it isn't a skateboarding video per se. There are some heavy duty lines at FDR and mini ramp destruction. If you like the arty montages Alien Workshop puts in their videos, then you will probably like this. If you hate the artiness, then don't even bother. I wonder if the Crailtap staff has seen the film yet because I think it would be their favorite video of the year. One section in Flying Sutra For Beginners features goats frolicking on a farm while a guy skates the back of a trailer. Goats! Lots of them.

Larry Workman was the photographer.

Transworld - January 1990 Volume 8 Number 1

John "Tex" Gibson #2.

John is doing Embassy Skateboards these days with Ken Fillion, Todd Prince and Troy Chason.

I'm wearing an Arcade shirt from the first time that company was around. Nostalgia online, nostalgia in real life.

Skateboarding Is and the Chrome Ball Incident are on the same page today.

Transworld - October 1988 Volume 6 Number 5

Tom Groholski #4.

"I wear Skate Rags because they say skate."

Skate Rags was a clothing company done by Tracker. A lot of the Tracker and Blockhead riders wear on the team. I think I had a pair of their shorts.

Tom is making good use of simultaneous contrast with the yellow and purple.

Transworld - April 1989 Volume 7 Number 2

Tommy Guerrero #2.

I'm not going to lie. I never cared for the shape of any of Tommy's boards on Powell Peralta. However, the graphics are completely awesome. Not to mention that he's one of the best and most stylish skaters ever.

Transworld - December 1988 Volume 6 Number 6

Sam Cunningham #2.

Herpetology.

The photos are by Kimball and Spike Jonze.

Transworld - November 1989 Volume 7 Number 7

Ricky Winsor #3.

“If you’re from Sac and you skate, you’re a badass, I guarantee it.”

I found the above quote from Ricky Winsor on a website called Midtown Monthly. It was in an article for an art show that covered the glory years of the Sacramento skate scene. The show was called Sacto Street Damage and happened in August of 2009 at Artifacts Gallery in Sacramento.

I usually try to find a little background to go with what I post, especially with lesser known pros just to provide some details about them. Even back then you didn't know much about people, just because there wasn't all that much information readily available. You certainly couldn't hook Joey Brezinski up with a spot on Twitter. A lot of times the internet doesn't turn up very much and other times, you find some good stuff. This time I found something cool. The article talked about the history of skateboarding in Sacto and gave a brief timeline of the scene. As for Winsor, he is working as mechanic who restores old cars and still skateboards every so often.

Transworld - December 1988 Volume 6 Number 6

Damon Byrd.

Hey Jake H., here's the Damon Byrd you requested.

You gotta love the trick terminology from 1990.

Transworld - October 1990 Volume 8 Number 10

Natas Kaupas #2.

Brave Captain.

According to the new Transworld Buyer's Guide, Santa Cruz has a Rob Roskopp deck in production again. They are also making sweatpants, too. Yup, sweatpants. That's kind of gross.

In other 1980s skateboard news, Mike Vallely is back on Powell. Third time's a charm, right?

Transworld - February 1989 Volume 7 Number 1

Dan Drehobl #10.

Add it up.

I'm going to switch things up a bit for the next three weeks and go back to the late 1980s and very early 1990s. I've got a bunch of good stuff that's been sitting on my computer that I want to clear out. Christmas time makes me think of the old school stuff for some reason. Then it will be back to 1996 on either December 27 or the week after. I might take a little break. It's going to depend on what I feel like at the time.

Thrasher - June 1996 Volume 16 Number 6

Mike Manzoori.

Underrated 1990s all around shredder. He rode for ATM Click and Adrenalin. Mike made a graceful move to behind the camera while he was pro and is still a filmer for Sole Technology. He worked on some little video called Stay Gold recently.

In other related news, eS is going to be putting out a Sheep reissue sometime next spring.

Transworld - May 1996 Volume 14 Number 5

Pontus Alv.

I'm stoked on what this guy is doing. After Arcade fell apart the first time, I lost track of Pontus until Jocko Weyland sent me a copy of Strongest Of The Strange a couple years ago. That video is great and I need to track down his new film, In Search Of The Miraculous.

Mike Blabac snapped the sequence.

Transworld - May 1996 Volume 14 Number 5