Josh Matthews.

Touch of Orange.

These are actually the trucks I am currently riding. I liked the orange color and bought a set even though they were skinnier than what I prefer to ride. I browsed around the big box of old trucks that I have and found two fresh hangers in silver to use. And that's what I've been using to hold the wheels on my board for almost a decade now. I did replace a cracked hanger and changed the bushings at some point, but they have kept on going otherwise.

Note: The ad skewed far into the red. The trucks are much more orange in real life.

Slap - October 2008 Volume 17 Number 10

Soy Panday.

Magenta in B & W.

The artist for Magenta does a 360 flip to fakie on a piece of sculpture.

Dekline was a footwear brand that Tod Swank started in 2003. It lasted until 2015. Over the years, the team included Aaron "Jaws" Homoki, Chad Tim Tim, Jason Adams, Ben Gilley, Shiloh Greathouse, Patrick Melcher, and a few others.

Transworld - July 2008 Volume 26 Number 7

Mark Gonzales #21.

Nifty, nifty, look who's fifty.

Thrasher and Adidas recently celebrated a half century of the Gonz by recreating the famous y-shaped mini ramp with the channel from an ancient NSA contest in Hawaii. The old guy still has it and was able to land the ollie across the void, just like when he rode for Vision.

I picked out a bunch of stuff from 2008 for the next month or so of content. I figured it would be a good time to look back at what was happening in skateboarding when I started this website.

Transworld - October 2008 Volume 26 Number 10

Skateboard Mask.

It wards off evil spirits.

I’m always down to give away old decks to people who need a board. The guy I gave this one to was a ripper and he broke it flying off a ramp. He showed up a week or two later at the skatepark and gave me this sculpture he made out of the board.

Vert Is Dead will be back on Tuesday, May 29th. Enjoy the weekend.

Mike Rafter.

"This is more like your average street creature."

Mike is from Sacramento, California. He rode for Arsenal before switching to Creature. He was also sponsored by Shaft, Voice, and later, Santa Cruz. His favorite movie is Evil Dead. Some of his favorite skaters include Cairo Foster, Ron Whaley, Brian Anderson, and Jeff Toland. Mike was into painting, too.

I always put one sticker on my board by the back truck. I'm not personally into covering a deck with stickers, but it's good to have a minimal amount of decoration. I had been using the Eswic shield logo from Jimmy Arrighi's now folded clothing company since I had a ton of them. I decided I had to change to a currently active entity and thought about what companies I liked. I always enjoy Creature videos so I ordered up a 25 pack of their small logo stickers so I'm all set.

I have the t-shirt of the skull with the horns in this ad. I got to the skateshop and my friend who was working told me they had pulled the plug on Creature so he saved me the shirt. I'll wear it occasionally for Halloween or other random days. It's held up pretty good over the years, not that it gets worn too often.

The photo is by Lance Dalgart.

For the quote and information: Big Brother - February 1999 Issue 45

Big Brother - December 1998 Issue 43

Mike Manzoori #4.

No groove.

Mike transitioned from being pro to making videos. He recently completed Album, the new video from Etnies. I need to check that out at some point.

Gullwing is running a solid team in this ad.

Slap - November 1998 Volume 7 Number 11

Ben Liversedge #5.

The real number of the beast is 50-50.

(Read that in a Mark Gonzales style voice.)

Slap - August 1998 Volume 7 Number 8

Dan Drehobl & Darren Navarrette.

Dan and Darren blasting some airs during the Emerica days.

Vert Is Dead hits the decade mark today so I figured I'd do a double shot of two of my all time favorites.

Thanks for all the support over the last ten years. It's a little hard to believe this thing has been going on since 2008. It also seems like those years went by rather quickly. Enjoy the ride.

Dan: Big Brother - May 1998 Issue 36

Darren: Big Brother - April 1998 Issue 35

Skateboard Stack.

Untitled
Digital photo
2018

I thought I'd switch it up and do something different today. This is a section of the stack of old boards by the door at my apartment. The sunlight hits the spot nicely in the winter.

Ben Horton #2.

Creepy crawly pole jam.

Big Brother - April 1998 Issue 35

Ethan Fowler #18.

The end of days.

This was Ethan's last ad on Stereo as he made the switch to Foundation by the end of the year. He stayed with the F Troop for a decade before starting his own company called Bummer High in 2008. The Dark Knight stuck around the pro spotlight for a few more years until disappearing in the early 2010s.

Slap - September 1998 Volume 7 Number 9

Julien Stranger #23.

Loose trucks at high speeds.

The head honcho at Anti-Hero does a frontside flip on a plywood mini ramp.

RIP Glenn Branca.

Slap - September 1998 Volume 7 Number 9

Chad Muska #10.

Secret stash pocket.

Doesn't advertising that your shoes have a secret stash pocket defeat the purpose of having a secret stash pocket?

I was a little surprised at how Chad's first pro model ended up looking. They occupy this odd middle ground between a technical design and the more straight forward skate shoes of the time. The shoes are fancier than most, but don't quite push the full tech look that would come later with his shoes on Circa. They do fit in with what éS was doing and are probably a product of that more than anything.

The sequence is by Paul "Skin" Phillips.

Slap - December 1998 Volume 7 Number 12

Alan Petersen #14.

Air attack.

Slap - August 1998 Volume 7 Number 8

Daewon Song #5.

Matix was a clothing company started out of the DVS camp. They made fresh gear in the late 90s and rolled with the changes of skateboard fashion over the years. As DVS has had some ups and downs, the brand was under the radar until recently when they started celebrating their 20th anniversary with a new series of ads featuring Daewon.

Big Brother - October 1998 Issue 41

Tim Brauch #17.

Supernova.

Never forget.

I watched Deluxe's 1998 tour video, Gnarcotica, yesterday. It features Quim Cardona's 50-50 at the St. Louis Arch that was posted on Tuesday. I didn't realize Keegen Sauder had so much footage in that one. Of course, I probably haven't seen it since it came out. John Cardiel demolishes everything. Gnarcotica has his Thrasher cover where he airs over the buckets in the rain. His lines at Chenga World are ridiculous.

Thrasher - February 1998 Volume 18 Number 2

Quim Cardona #7.

Saint Louis Blues.

Slap - November 1998 Volume 7 Number 11

Peter Hewitt #12.

Bombs away.

Peter take a leap of faith at the DC ramp.

I scanned some more stuff from 1998 to fill out the month. I went heavy on Deluxe because their stuff is easy on the eyes. I think the plan is 2008 for June and then new blood for the summer. I've got a couple ideas for skatepark stories that I need to piece together, too. Or something like that.

Slap - September 1998 Volume 7 Number 9

Kareem Campbell #5.

"I was with Danny Castillo, Davey, this kid Mick, and this other kid Tony Kelly. They showed me a Powell Peralta video with Ray Barbee in it, that's what really got me. Being a little hood kid, that was the first time I'd ever seen him. It looked like he had real style; that's when I really took an interest in the sport, and I did well in it."

Kareem takes the crooked grind to the top shelf.

Atiba Jefferson was the photographer.

For the quote: Transworld - June 1998 Volume 16 Number 6

Big Brother - September 1998 Issue 40

Keenan Milton #11.

007.

Keenan takes the switch varial flip over one of those LA trash cans. Chima Ferguson did the same trick down a double set in his recent Thrasher interview that corresponded with Spinning Away, the latest Vans online video.

Why can't we still have shoes like this?

Mike Blabac was the photographer.

Big Brother - August 1998 Issue 39

Tom Boyle # 5.

Big ramp, big wheels.

Unit was a truck company in the late 1990s out of Syndrome Distribution. The team included Jerry Fowler, Barker Barrett, Jason Maxwell, Jimmy Chadwick, and a couple others. Syndrome was formerly AZA Distribution before changing name and focus around about 2000. They launched the board lines of DNA and Status to go with FKD Bearings. Syndrome currently handles Stereo, Boulevard Skateboards, Silver Trucks, FKD Bearings, and Lurkville. Former pros Rob Mertz and Jason Maxwell work for the company. Rob is the president and Jason is the team manger.

Unit is still going today, but only as a maker of skate tools. I have one in my car. I got tired of people at the skatepark always asking if I had a wrench and then not having one so I pieced together a second full set of tools to keep in my ride. I've got 3/16" and 9/16" crescent wrenches, a screwdriver, duct tape, a squeegee, and the aforementioned skate tool.

The photo is by Adam Wallacavage.

Big Brother - January 1998 Issue 32

Rodney Mullen #7.

When Plan B fails, you call in the A-Team.

The A-Team was started in 1997 as a new board brand created by Rodney Mullen. The initial team was Marc Johnson, Gershon Mosley, and Chet Thomas. Dave Mayhew was added in 1998. Marc and Dave had been riding for Maple, Gershon was on Powell, and Chet was on Platinum. The ads and graphics occupied some sort of X-Files/conspiracy theory type territory that was popular at the time. I think they were hoping to get by more on the strength of the pros over anything else. The A-Team lasted until 2000 when everybody decided they weren't into it and wanted to ride boards they were stoked about the graphics on.

It was a little too windy last night for skateboarding. I did the smart thing by giving up after thirty minutes and going for ice cream.

Chris Ortiz took the photo. The video is by Botiller. I don't have a first name so if anybody knows, post it in the comments.

Big Brother - April 1998 Issue 35