Will Harmon.

Blank stare at the TV.

Will is from Raleigh, North Carolina. He rode for Channel One and Supernaut.

Transworld - October 1996 Volume 14 Number 10

Kingdom Skateboards.

Kingdom week might be asking a bit much, but I'm OK with posting one of their ads.

Chris Gentry and his wife Ricca started Kingdom in 1996. Chris had been pro for Vision and a few other assorted post-Vision companies during the rough years for vert skaters in the early 1990s. I'm making an educated guess that since Chris competed in the early X-Games, he earned enough from that to begin Kingdom. The brand was famous for their outer space themed ads that featured Chris and Ricca floating free from the bonds of gravity. Ricca was often wearing an outfit straight out of Barbarella. The team also included George Nagai, Jason Womack, and Wayne Patrick.

The photos are by Chris Ortiz.

Transworld - October 1996 Volume 14 Number 10

Real Ams 2002.

Vanishing average of .667.

Chris is from New Hampshire and had a bunch of tricks in Real's Seeing Double and Recipe For Disaster videos.

Darrell turned pro for Real and then switched to Element. He kind of slipped out of the spotlight over the last few years, occasionally resurfacing with an interview or sequence here or there.

Peter has been on a steady diet of spot destruction for Real over the years.

Vert Is Dead will be back on Wednesday or Thursday. I went to Buffalo for a two day noise fest so I didn't have the time to scan any new stuff in over the weekend.

Thrasher - May 2002 Volume 22 Number 5

Danny Gonzalez.

Hardflip to fakie. The late 1990s.

Danny was on a serious spot wrecking spree in the mid to late 1990s. He was doing big tricks like a kickflip melon grab down Wallenberg and different tricks like a one wheel nose manual at Pier 7. He turned pro for Stereo and eventually quit. He rode for Chapman and a few other smaller companies. Injuries were what ultimately ended his pro skateboarding career.

Slap - March 1998 Volume 7 Number 3

Nanda Zipp #4.

You're getting zip today.

Sean Dolinsky was the photographer.

Transworld - October 1996 Volume 14 Number 10

Tony Cox #2.

Conspiracy theories.

Tony does a nollie hardflip over the wall at the Brooklyn Banks. All the feathering and special effects kind of takes away from the trick being done.

Dennis McGrath shot the sequence.

Slap - December 1997 Volume 6 Number 12

CCS.

So long and thanks for all the shoes that were on sale.

The catalogs from the former California Cheap Skates have been a mailbox staple as long as I've been skateboarding. Around about 1992 or 1993, the company shortened their name to CCS. Now if you live in an area that has a real skateboard shop, then there wasn't much of a point to shopping at CCS. However back in the 1990s when skateboarding was much less visible and there weren't as many shops, particularly in small town USA, you were stuck going the mail order route to get new gear. A few times a year, you would get a new catalog of board porn to drool over. As the years passed and skateboarding grew, CCS was acquired by Foot Locker in 2008. The catalogs kept coming, but they were more focused on lifestyle brands that usually left me scratching my head. Earlier this summer, CCS was shut down and you can now get skateboard gear from Eastbay. Yeah, right, like that's going to happen.

Top to bottom, left to right:
1. Drake Jones, Pepe Martinez
2. Brian Childers, John Reeves
3. Scott Johnston, Andy Roy
4. Jeremy Klein, Josh Beagle

Marisa Dal Santo.

After black hammers.

Marisa is from Chicago and moved out to California to ride for Zero. She was also on Emerica. She had a part in the Strange World video from a few years ago and a couple tricks in Stay Gold. Marisa is on the team for Freedumb Airlines. I'm not sure about any other sponsors at the moment. The internet is not being helpful about these things.

Michael Burnett took the photo.

Thrasher - March 2008 Volume 28 Number 3

Alexis Sablone.

"The first girl to catch the critics' eyes since Steamer, Alexis lays it down with proper flippage, no-bullshit sponsors and membership in one of the heaviest East Coast crews, Coliseum."

Strategies in support of architecture.

Alexis was sponsored by the Firm and had a part in P.J. Ladd's Wonderful Horrible Life video. She was also on éS. I'm not exactly sure who she is currently sponsored by, but Alexis is still entering those contests for ESPN. She is also working on a degree in architecture at MIT.

The photo is by Sally Vitello.

Thrasher - May 2003 Volume 23 Number 5

Patti Collopy.

"I don't even ride for the Label."

Arty Thursday.

The story is by Patrick Melcher.

Chris Anderson took photos.

Thrasher - December 2001 Volume 21 Number 12

Kyla Duffy.

Rookie was a company out of New York City that was started in 1998 and lasted into the early 2000s. The team was mostly women and featured Jessie Van Roechoudt, Lauren Mollica, Kyla Duffy, Jaime Reyes and Lisa Whitaker. Later they sponsored a few boys, including Tino Razo, Sean Kelling, Shane Medanich, and Jon Klein. I was a fan of what they were doing.

Kyla had a few photos here and there in the mags for skating vert.

Miki Vuckovich was the photographer.

Slap - December 1997 Volume 6 Number 12

Jaime Reyes #2.

"Jaime Reyes shows the boys what's up with a 360˚ kickflip at Aala Park in Hawaii."

Has it really been twenty years since a woman graced the cover of a skateboard magazine?

Hailing from Hawaii, Jaime rode for Real and turned pro for Rookie. She was sponsored by Globe's side company Gallaz and Alphanumeric Clothing.

Scott Starr took the picture.

Thrasher - April 1994 Volume 14 Number 4

Cara-Beth Burnside.

Women of the World.

Cara-Beth has been rolling for a long time. She was mentored by Duane Peters back in the day. Cara-Beth had the cover of Thrasher in August of 1989. Vans gave her a pro shoe in the mid 1990s. She even competed in the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan for snowboarding. She is currently running Hoopla Skateboards with Mimi Knoop.

The photo is by Luke Ogden.

Thrasher - February 1989 Volume 9 Number 2