The late Joe Lopes.
I've always wanted to get some Joe on here, but I've never found any pictures of him in the magazines I have. This is weird because I know I knew who he was back then, which had to have been from his classic Schmitt Stix BBQ graphic that Neil Blender did. It's not like you could look him up on YouTube at the time.
Joe helped keep skateboarding alive during the lull of the early 1980s with his backyard ramp. He was famous for his good natured hospitality and cooking food on the grill. His ramp was the site of Joe's Ramp Jam contest in 1983. In addition to Schmitt, he rode for Venture Trucks, Speed Wheels and Rector. Unfortunately, Joe was killed in an automobile accident in 2002.
It looks like Confusion was a board and clothing company in the early 1990s. Their ads never went beyond a quarter page and they probably didn't last too long. Phil Shao also rode for Confusion. His ad was too pixellated to be scannable. How they managed that for 1991 is beyond me.
The photo is by "Buzzman" Rodela.
Thrasher - March 1991 Volume 11 Number 3
9 comments:
Confusion was after he rode for Schmitt Stix?
Yes, Confusion would have been after Schmitt.
It's pretty incredible how 95% of the 80's vert pros ended up with super obscure and/or lame board sponsors in the big pant/small wheels era.
It's kind of sad how they all just got pushed by the wayside.
ive got tons of pics of joe if u would like to use some
nymann@sbcglobal.net
I miss that dude so much. Best boss I ever had. Apple pie's everyday.
I got to skate the Lopes ramp once. It was cool to skate it after seeing it in the magazine so many times. To me it did feel like a historic ramp to skate.
I just met a great friend of Joe Lopes who was on the Bar-B-Q Deck his name is Jesse he is the guy with his arms up and the ferret on his head! He was a great friend of Grosso and lived with him. Great guy and is keeping their memory alive!
That's awesome. I have the reissue of that board hanging on my wall. I always dug Joe, but he was from slightly before I really got into skateboarding.
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