Mike Sinclair.

The Toy Machine team manager kickflips from pipe top to pipe top. He also rode for Nice Skate Shoes.

Thanks to Creature for posting a link on Facebook for Vert Is Dead any time I scan something from their past.

Thrasher - June 1997 Volume 17 Number 6

Chad Knight.

Enjoy your retirement.

Based on the retrospective video 1031 posted, I'm thinking Chad is one of the more under appreciated rippers of the last two decades. Vert, street, mini ramp, crazy rigged up warehouse situations, the guy crushed it all.

The photo is by Ed Dominick.

Transworld - July 1997 Volume 15 Number 7

Sam Hitz.

"I like grinding, dude, that's what it's all about. For me, alls I want to do is fucking grind my back truck to hell and back. It's all about grinding the back truck. You're not skating unless you grind the back truck. I don't give a fuck about the front truck, grind the back truck. Grind the back truck, and then you're a real skateboarder. Grind it. Grind the fucking back truck."

Blader hater, Shed frontman, Creature Overlord and guy who really likes to grind the back truck.

The quote is from a Big Brother interview where Dave Carnie went down to San Diego to hang out with Hitz, Darren Navarrette, Peter Hewitt and company. They drank a lot of beer, went to a strip club and played some heavy metal.

Grant Brittain was the photographer.

For the quote: Big Brother - November 2003 Issue 102

Thrasher - September 1997 Volume 17 Number 9

Carl Shipman.

Carl never made it into DC Shoes week back in January so I'm taking care of that today.

He had a wallride and a switch wallride on this bank in Stereo's Tincan Folklore video.

The photo is by Mike Ballard.

Slap - December 1997 Volume 6 Number 12

Antonius "Toad" Dintcho.

"The Toad flies over a metal edge that would crush a such a tadpole. Service is where you find it."

Blood Wizard.

The photo is by Jaya Bonderov.

Thrasher - April 1997 Volume 17 Number 4

Tim McKenney #2.

"As a kid growing up, I went to demos. I went to the Swatch Watch tour at Hillsdale Mall, saw Rodney Mullen do his yo-yo, and was more stoked than I've ever been. Seen Cab 360˚ air over a fuckin' Honda, made my day. I wish someday I could do that for some little kid. If he comes up and goes, "Hey you're Tim. It's nice to meet you." I'd sit there and go, "You know what? It's nice to meet you." Many times I've done that and had some guy go, "Who the fuck are you? Get out of my face." That's kind of a let-down, it kind of breaks your heart for that second, but at the same time, I'm going to do it right. I'm going to go, "Hey, what's up, kid?" Give him an autograph. If I got some stickers or some product, give him that, make his day. I know that made my day when I was young. Get a little product, you're on top of the fucking world for the next month. Like a set of wheels, costs the dude 6 bucks to make, it's like a million dollars to you for some reason. It really means a lot, and I hope I can give some back, because I've gotten a lot. Just little things here and there, but it's meant the world to me. I hope I could do that for some other little chump just like myself when I was a little chump. It'll make me happier. It'll make me stronger. It'll make me feel like I'm doing something for mankind. I ain't walking on the moon, but for that second I will feel like I'm walking on the moon."

Today's episode of Vert Is Dead is for the kids.

For the quote: Thrasher - July 1997 Volume 17 Number 7

Thrasher - November 1997 Volume 17 Number 11

Dave Mayhew.

Tyrone Olson's homie.

Dave rode for Maple, A - Team and enjoi before injuries forced him to retire from being a professional skateboarder. He was also on Pig Wheels and had a good part in the All Systems Go video. He was on Direction Wheels before Pig. Dave had a solid and easy on the eyes style when he was doing the more technical tricks. Bolts.

Other than maybe Peter Smolik, nobody cashed in on the glory years of the Storm like Dave did with his D3 pro model on Osiris. However, Smolik does admit to having partied away his financial gains. Let that be a lesson to the kids: save your money.

What's going on at the Black Label?

Ed Dominick took the photos.

Transworld - February 1997 Volume 15 Number 2

Tyrone Olson.

Dave Mayhew's homie.

Tyrone got up on some big rails in the late 1990s. He's still skating, along with working as a catering chef in Wisconsin.

Tyrone rode for Arcade after EVOL. He was also on Osiris during the glory years of the Storm. He's had a few boards out on a few different small companies in the years since.

Brian Reid took the photo.

Transworld - May 1997 Volume 15 Number 5

James Lapuyade.

This photo is amazing. James is doing a tweaked out melon to fakie on a board with dual Cellblock risers on an eight foot wide plywood mini ramp that looks to have PVC coping.

Adam Wallacavage even slipped a doll from his toy collection in to the photo.

Slap - June 1997 Volume 6 Number 6

Javier Mendizabal.

"In downtown Algorta, we ran into Javier Mendizabal who destroyed this ledge with frontside nosegrinds and noseslides, backside 180 nosegrinds and a sweet frontside noseblunt to finish off. Check the old Grigley t-shirt"

A thirteen year old photo of Javier rocking a John Grigley shirt from the 1980s? That's like skate blog gold.

Javier is one of my favorite pros. Everything he does is so stylish and effortless looking.

To answer any lingering questions from yesterday, Gonz was doing a frontside bluntslide down a handrail as seen in Real's Kicked Out Of Everywhere video.

The photo is by Mike O'Meally. This is one of those rare times I edited out the caption with Photoshop.

Slap - December 1997 Volume 6 Number 12

Mark Gonzales #9.

Happy St. Patrick's Day.

Thrasher - May 1997 Volume 17 Number 5

Brandon Biebel #2.

Before Biebel's World, Lakai and Girl, Brandon was a kid jumping down big stairs for ATM. He's got to be bummed about the Kings possibly moving to Anaheim.

I actually got to skateboard in the driveway after work for a half hour yesterday. That was the first time this year and officially puts me at 24 years deep of rolling around. The winter has stuck around a little too long.

All hail PARKING BLOCK KULT. Ditto for BARRIER KULT, too.

Big Brother - December 1997 Issue 31

Bob Burnquist #2.

I think that's a nose grind to revert.

Anti - Hero has always been consistently good with their ads. Even if they do have a "bad" one, it is usually intentional and that makes it even better. That being said, I get nostalgic for the days when Todd Francis was doing the bulk of the graphics.

Thrasher - April 1997 Volume 17 Number 4

Jason Adams #4.

The Kid pole jams to fakie.

Thrasher - January 1997 Volume 17 Number 1

Andrew Reynolds #3.

The week started with the vert winner of the Skate Park of Tampa's third pro contest and it ends with the street winner for 1997. The SPot is having their annual professional shindig this weekend. Hope the party goes well and nobody gets arrested or hit on the head with a toilet.

I can still basically fit into a Tony Hawk sweatshirt that I got in the 9th grade. Ah, the things an 80's night will make you do. I rocked my Walkman with an old Black Flag tape, too.

One other Mike Frazier tidbit. He is one of Leo Romero's favorite vert skateboarders as we learned in the SOTY interview.

Atiba Jefferson shot the sequence.

Transworld - May 1997 Volume 15 Number 5

Louie Barletta.

Last call for this spot.

Louie puts a hurricane down on the now demolished Hubba Hideout.

In other news, Mike Vallely is back on Airwalk after more than a few years away from them. First Powell, now this. The rumor is that they are going to make reissues of the Enigma, Reflex and JIM shoe. It looks like somebody got Rob Dyrdek's time machine to work.

The photo is by Jai Tanju.

Transworld - September 1997 Volume 15 Number 9

Scott Conklin #2.

A Vert Is Dead favorite. Prepare to Timecode.

Jamie Thomas can pull off a convincing Chad Muska circa 1999. No pun intended.

Also head over to Already Been Done for Chops' interview with Rick McCrank.

The photo is by Jody Morris.

Transworld - February 1997 Volume 15 Number 2

Ben Liversedge.

Ben rocking one to fakie on small vertical wall.

I watched most of Tincan Folklore and did a little research last night. Mike Frazier never had a part in a Toy Machine video. I want to say that he got on after Welcome To Hell and left for Element before Jump Off A Building.

Slap - February 1997 Volume 6 Number 2

Mike Frazier #3.

100% Raw.

Transworld - February 1997 Volume 15 Number 2

Matt Field & Johnny Fonseca.

Real killed it in the 1990s with their ads. Not that there's anything wrong with what they are doing today. The new video premieres at the end of the month.

New Habitat pro Austyn Gillette has some good answers over at Tha Tap for his Top 5. He's got Nate Jones in "Real to Reel" and Dan Drehobl in "Free Your Mind" as part of his top video parts.

I'm slipping. I could have just used a Modest Mouse or Built To Spill song title for yesterday instead of the condensed history of Supernaut.

Slap - January 1997 Volume 6 Number 1

Cairo Foster.

Supernaut was started by Paul Sharpe and Mike Ballard around 1996. Cairo was an am for the company, then rode for Mad Circle. Mad Circle came to an end and Cairo turned pro for Real. After that he did Pop War through Giant Distribution before going to enjoi. Cairo's been on Lakai since the beginning.

The next Josh Kalis episode is up on Epicly Later'd. Kalis, Rob Dyrdek and Jamie Thomas talk extensively about Lennie Kirk.

In other Lakai news, Lucas Puig now rides for adidas.

The photos are by Mike Ballard, Tony Cox and somebody with the last name of Nyman.

Big Brother - September 1997 Issue 28

Daewon Song.

Here is some classic Daewon from the stacked picnic table and endless noseblunt slide days.

Circuit was a wheel company done by Think. There were some heavy hitters on the team.

Thrasher - October 1997 Volume 17 Number 10

Ryan Wilburn.

Life's a gamble.
I put my chips on skateboarding.

Ryan was pro for Stereo and Consolidated. He had a board on Consolidated with the above phrase with a graphic of a roulette wheel and accompanying gambling table.

It looks like he is working at Goldfield's Tattoo shop in San Francisco.

Thrasher - November 1997 Volume 17 Number 11