Gideon Choi #3.

Invisible Pedestrian.

The new Vans video. Kyle Walker for SOTY?

Slap - March 2000 Volume 9 Number 3

Gershon Mosley #4.

Crazy Maze.

I watched a bunch of old video parts from G-Mos this morning. The guy was a machine back in the 1990s. It was cool to see the progression from one part to the next with the tricks getting bigger and more consistent. Gershon's switch game was on point, too. I forgot he was also a mini ramp champ capable of blasting some big flip tricks, with or without a grab, on transitions.

Bon voyage, Cliché. I'll put together a look back on the company in the new year.

Slap - February 2000 Volume 9 Number 2

James Craig.

Small.

James is from Fullerton, California. He rode for Society Skateboards before riding and turning pro for Blind. He is currently running SML Wheels with Austyn Gillette.

NC Boardshop is a skateshop in Los Gatos, California. They have been around for about thirty years. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, they were advertising a bit and had a very respectable pro team.

It rained from Wednesday night until possibly early Sunday morning so my Thanksgiving holiday was a damp one. Work shut down early on Wednesday so I got to skateboard for about an hour. I was watching a clunker of a Jaguars/Bills game on Sunday and decided to check out the park at half time. It was a good idea since it was warm and the wind mysteriously died out rather quickly after I got there.

Slap - December 1999 Volume 8 Number 12

Quim Cardona #5.

Blues Explosion.

Quim blasts an ollie on orange wheels. I always like how orange wheels look. Lately I've been riding nothing but white wheels as the stack of used Spitfires by my door will attest. I did have some colored ones in the 1980s and 90s. Orange and light blue are about the best colors. Light green and yellow are OK. I've never been a fan of red or black wheels. I've noticed that some of the kids are riding four different color wheels these days, which seems like it would be a little distracting, but whatever works for ya.

Vert Is Dead will be back on Monday, November 28 with a look at the NC Clothing team. Have a good Thanksgiving and weekend.

Thrasher - November 1996 Volume 16 Number 11

Justin Bokma.

Platinum.

Justin was from Toronto, Canada. Over the years he was sponsored by G & S, Change, Premier, and Platinum. He had the cover of Transworld with a backside lipslide at Hubba Hideout in March of 1996. Justin was killed by a gunshot in July while attempting to diffuse a fight that had broken out at the club he was a doorman for. Rest in peace.

The photo is by Pete Thompson.

Transworld - April 1996 Volume 14 Number 4

Hondo Soto #2.

Hondo, not Honda.

Mr. Soto was pro for New School back in the mid 1990s. He also rode for Simple Shoes. Hondo had a part in Slash Dogs, the New School video from 1994. He played a little foosball to open the section up, which featured a lot of street tech.

Transworld - July 1995 Volume 13 Number 7

Peter Hewitt #11.

Peter flying around back in the Goodtimes days.

Vans has reissued the Salman Agah Camel Toe pro model.

Dave Swift took the picture.

Transworld - October 1995 Volume 13 Number 10

Chad Muska #8.

A room with a view.

The photos are by Mickey Reyes.

Transworld - August 1995 Volume 13 Number 8

John Reeves #2.

Vanishing Point.

John has been in the skateboarding spotlight since the H-Street and Life days. Along with his friend Kien Lieu, he was pushing ollies higher and doing tricks on taller obstacles.

How are éS round two? I need some new kicks and was thinking about a pair of Accels.

The weather folks are calling for some snow on Sunday. The next couple days will be warmer than usual. It's been nice here during the days so I've been going skateboarding at the park on my lunch break. The lights are still on at night, but the temperatures cool down fast. Yesterday evening was a tad on the chilly side.

The photos are by Paul "Skin" Phillips.

Transworld - May 1995 Volume 13 Number 5

Kelly Bird #3.

Magic Carpet Ride.

It's another photo by Paul "Skin" Phillips.

Transworld - April 1995 Volume 13 Number 4

Kien "Donger" Lieu #3.

Big air in front of the crew.

Pacific Drive is a skateboard shop in San Diego. They are still in business today. I picked them for the week because I like the design of their ads. They always had good photos that were balanced with just enough retail information to keep it interesting without resorting to a list of products.

The jump ramp sadly didn't make the photo.

The photo is by Paul "Skin" Phillips.

Transworld - March 1995 Volume 13 Number 3

Guy Mariano #4.

All Star.

Mouse featured Guy's first full part since Blind's Video Days in 1991. He got the ender and delivered a magnum opus of street skateboarding to the tune of Herbie Hancock's "Watermelon Man". There are a lot of crooked grinds, tricks on picnic tables, and board flips in both stances. He takes the switch tricks to handrails as well. An interesting note is that Guy is wearing a variety of shoes from Vans, Converse, and Sheep.

This has to be one of the stranger ads in skateboard history. You've got Guy doing a crooked grind on a rail, which should be strong enough to stand on its own, but the folks at Converse didn't see it that way. They added in a display of fine glassware and china. I guess this makes the statement that Guy is smooth enough on his skateboard so as to not damage the breakables in a tight situation. Probably true, but there's no need to get carried away with the Photoshop to sell your shoes. Adding to the weirdness is that this ad ran for months in all the mags of the time so the image becomes stuck in your mind through the repetition.

How about that new Spitfire part from Dennis Busenitz?

This wraps up the look back at Mouse. It will be a week of Pacific Drive ads starting on Monday.

Slap - August 1995 Volume 4 Number 8

Eric Koston #7.

After Girl funk.

Eric's part in Mouse is a showcase of modern street skateboarding. It's chock full of lines and handrails. Eric takes nollie tricks to the rails. He adds in a number of switch ledge tricks, too. There are also a surprising number of 50-50s, including a sizeable double kink rail. The dude is good.

Is not having a board sponsor the new way of being pro?

How's everybody doing out there?

Transworld - August 1995 Volume 13 Number 8

Mike Carroll #17.

In-N-Out Burger.

Transworld - March 1996 Volume 14 Number 3

Rick Howard #12.

Slipping Into Darkness.

Rick shared a part with Mike Carroll in Mouse. Mike was recovering from some injuries that limited his on board time. Rick does a bunch of fakie 5-0 and noseslide variations to go with a number of frontside pop shove-its. He even hits up a couple of handrails. Also of note in Mouse is Rick's skateboarding in the woods skit. He rides through the leaves and fallen trees in the forest with a little help from some well placed plywood.

I hit my goal of skateboarding at least 200 times on the year today during my lunch break. I went to the park for fifteen windy and kinda crappy minutes. It was cheap, but it counts. I knew I'd get to 200, but I think I was stressing out a little the last couple of days since the weather is looking variable.

The photo is by Lance Mountain.

Transworld - May 1995 Volume 13 Number 5

Tony Ferguson #4.

Smooth soul stylings.

Tony is from Ottawa, Ontario and headed out west to Vancouver, British Columbia. He was an amateur for Plan B and was part of the crew that defected to form Girl. His part in Mouse features well done tech tricks, like backside tailslides, nose grinds, and fakie 5-0 grinds. There are a few nollie flips thrown in for good measure.

Thrasher - February 1997 Volume 17 Number 2

Keenan Milton #10.

The name of this poem is called best of the nineties.

Thrasher - March 1997 Volume 17 Number 3

Gino Iannucci #5.

New York Islander.

Gino is from Long Island, New York. He was pro for Black Label and 101 before being added to Chocolate. He had shared a part in Mouse with the late Keenan Milton. He had about two tricks in the minute long section. I think he would have just gotten on Chocolate around this time after putting out a part in World Industries' Trilogy video that was a better showcase of his talents. Again this speaks to the brevity of videos back in the 1990s, free from slow motion, second angles, and lifestyle shots.

Thrasher - May 1997 Volume 17 Number 5

Richard Mulder.

Nautilus.

Richard is from Rialto, California. He rode for Foundation and World Industries before being asked to join Chocolate. His part in Mouse featured a lot of long lines done at ledge spots with a good balance of switch and regular tricks.

Transworld - February 1996 Volume 14 Number 2

Ben Sanchez #2.

Burger Time.

Transworld - November 1995 Volume 13 Number 11