Jimmy Wilkins.

The floating ollie champ.

Jimmy is from Columbus, Ohio and lives in San Diego. Some of his favorite skaters include Chris Miller, Alex Perelson, Raven Tershy, and Sam Beckett. His mom is a professional ballerina and his dad is an orchestra conductor. He turned pro for Creature this past summer. Jimmy's other sponsors include Lakai, Bronson Bearings, Thunder, The Quiet Life, and Skeleton Key.

It will be older stuff for December starting on Monday. There will even be a Toxic Wheels post in the month since that seems to be the most commonly searched topic for finding this site. I have no idea why that is.

Dave Swift was the photographer.

Thrasher - July 2018 Volume 29 Number 7

Tyler "Manchild" Pacheco.

The Prototype.

Tyler is from Los Angeles, California. He started skateboarding as a little kid. His first board was a Tony Hawk and he liked Steve Olson and Chad Muska as pros. Tyler believed Owen Wilson was actually doing the tricks in Yeah, Right! because he was still young when he saw the video. Stevie Perez helped get him on Girl and the first trip he went on was the Stay Flared tour in 2015. This was the combined Emerica and Lakai cross country trip. Tyler's most recent contribution to skateboarding is the hilarious and clever Lakai commercial for Tony's new pro model sneaker.

Tyler got his nickname from some of the older guys he would skate with. It's also worth noting that Vision pro Marty "Jinx" Jimenez sometimes used the alias Man Child when he would take photos.

Thrasher posted the finalists for SOTY. Some of these guys are a little younger than I thought they were. I'm thinking Evan Smith wins it. I voted for Austyn Gillette.

Thrasher - January 2018 Volume 39 Number 1

Milton Martinez.

A disaster slide for the ages.

Milton is from Mar del Plata, Argentina. His dad owns a skateboard shop so he grew up around skateboarding. He started going to Europe for the contests and was sponsored by Red Bull before becoming a Creature. Milton was also going to the Skate Park of Tampa's amateur contests. He lives in Long Beach now and has since turned pro. His other sponsors include Indy, Converse, Volcom, Bronson Bearings, OJ, and Social Skateshop.

The photo is by Kyle Duval.

Thrasher - November 2017 Volume 38 Number 11

Antonio Durao.

Numbered editions.

Antonio is originally from Portugal and moved with his family to Long Island when he was ten. He grew up skateboarding on the Island and in New York City. His first good board was a Tony Hawk. He has a fondness for switch tricks and working on cars. Some of his favorite skaters include Gino Iannucci, Jake Johnson, Mark Suciu, and Dennis Busenitz. Antonio currently rides for Eric Koston and Guy Mariano's Numbers Edition and Nike.

For the info: Transworld - August 2015 Volume 33 Number 8

Thrasher - May 2018 Volume 39 Number 5

Oskar Rozenberg #2.

In your face.

This photo has more of an old time vibe to it instead of the panoramic/full spot view that tends to dominate skateboard photography these days.

I almost came up with the answer to the eternal question of how cold is too cold to skateboard on Thanksgiving. The forecast was calling for a high of about 20˚ F, but my town topped out at about 25˚ F. There was no wind and the sun was out so it was OK for about 25 minutes at the skatepark. I set up a new board so there was no way I wasn't going to try to skate at least a little.

The photo is by Nils Svensson.

Thrasher - March 2018 Volume 39 Number 3

Kenny Anderson #3.

Warm summer nights in parking lots.

Kenny has been pro for twenty years now. After Quartersnacks mentioned how good his tricks were in Pretty Sweet, I rewatched Kenny's section last night. They were right. It's funny that they brought him up because I had found this ad a little while ago and was intending to use it at some point.

I've only gotten to skate a light post a handful of times, but I remember them as being a cool obstacle to do tricks on.

Free Skateboard Mag posted a new part from Michal Juraś. I guess the guy has been battling injuries for the last couple of years and this is his first new footage since the Polar video from 2016. He had my favorite part in I like it here inside my mind, don't wake me this time and it's rad to see him back on board.

Vert Is Dead will be back on Monday, November 26th with a week of new guys. I'll do the usual throw back to 1988-91 for December. I've got everything planned out and will hopefully finish the scanning tonight so I don't have work on this thing until the middle of January next year. Have a good Thanksgiving and weekend.

The photo is by Atiba Jefferson.

Transworld - January 1998 Volume 16 Number 1

Jason Carney #5.

The ol' jump off a building trick.

I've been able to get skateboarding a little bit most days this month, but it hasn't been for very long. It's been fifteen minutes on my lunch break or a half hour after work. Most of this is because of the weather, which has featured a lot of spotty rain and snow showers. I miss spending more time skateboarding rather then trying to fit in a few tricks in a limited amount of time. That way you can try out things that take longer to land or skate at a more relaxed pace instead of checking off the minimums that will make it a good session.

The photograph is by Ed Dominick.

Transworld - March 1997 Volume 15 Number 3

Kien Lieu #5.

Method madness on Maple Street.

Ed Dominick worked the camera shutter.

Transworld - April 1997 Volume 15 Number 4

Alan Petersen #15.

Fear of Yellow.

The photo is by Lance Dawes.

Transworld - March 1997 Volume 15 Number 3

Matt Reason #6.

63.

The dearly departed Matt Reason does a decent air on a mini. I was always a fan of Matt back in the 90s and I think I appreciate what he was doing even more today.

The photo is by Ryan Gee.

Transworld - June 1997 Volume 15 Number 6

Marc Johnson #11.

Business & Company.

Marc flips out on a transition during the Maple days. He is working on a new project called Business & Company currently and has posted a few board samples on his Instagram. One of the graphics incorporates the classic Henry Sanchez Two Girls sticker as part of the art. Marc commented that he used to regularly put one of that sticker on his board and wanted to keep the tradition alive. I always thought that was a cool graphic and I like to know about people's sticker habits.

I missed a mild lunch break session yesterday because the forecast was a tad confusing and I didn't bring my board to work. Of course a rain/snow mix started up in the afternoon that eliminated the chance to roll later on. There were a few flakes in the air today, but I did give it a go at lunch. It was only about 32˚ F at best. I actually skated in my winter jacket, something I don't think I've ever done before. I rattled off my usual 50-50s, boardslides, and slappy tricks so I'm in a good mood.

Transworld - April 1997 Volume 15 Number 4

Vinnie Ponte #5.

Big pig powered frontside attack.

I appreciate the different angle on this photo. You get a sense of how high Vinnie is. I think this is a frontside air, although I sort of can't tell if it might be a wallride.

We got our first taste of snow over the weekend. It was nothing major and more annoying than anything. I noticed at work that there was a lot less snow along the immediate lake front so I checked out the park in the evening. There were a number of small drifts covering parts of most of the ramps, but the parking block, one ledge, and one flatbar were all dry. I got in a nice half hour of skateboarding when I wasn't really expecting to. It wasn't even that cold since Lake Erie is holding at about 48˚ F.

Congrats to Daisuke Ikeda for winning the 25th annual Tampa Am contest.

Transworld - August 1997 Volume 15 Number 8

Reese Forbes #8.

43.

Transworld - June 1997 Volume 15 Number 6

Chet Childress #9.

Chet 3000 circa 1997.

Chet slaps a frontside rock in a pool from a time before he grew a beard and had eye surgery. Also it is interesting to note the wheels he is riding had little holes in them as a weight saving approach. They would have been made by Direction, a mid 90s wheel brand done by NHS. The Vans have cupsoles, too.

The photograph is by Jai Tanju.

Transworld - October 1997 Volume 15 Number 10

Salman Agah #5.

Salman floats over a bench in his regular stance.

Lance Mountain was the photogapher.

Transworld - September 1997 Volume 15 Number 9

Oli Buergin & Darren Navarrette.

Lost in a European forest.

It's a double shot of two Vert Is Dead favorites. Oli had a great part in Pontus Alv's Strongest of the Strange video where he skates to New Order. I really don't know much about the guy, just I like what I've seen. Darren recently released a DVD for his Skeleton Key company that is over 80 minutes of mostly vert and bowl skating with some token street action. I watched all of it last night and the video is comparable to an old 80s vert VHS tape. The music is nearly all killer and the skaters include legends, current rippers, guys you've never heard of, and the children of obscure 1980s pros. There's also a Jeff Grosso segment that splices modern footage with his classic section from Streets On Fire.

I took the day off from work. It was too darn windy to skateboard. I tried, but had to give up. The wind off the lake at the skatepark was so strong you actually had to adjust how much you pushed because it zipped you along way too fast. On the plus side, I stocked up on new socks and ate some gravy covered hot dogs from a local restaurant.

The photos are by Vonarburg. I am not sure on a first name so if anybody knows, let me know.

Transworld - April 1997 Volume 15 Number 4

"Crazy" Eddie Nemeth #3.

Off the deep end.

This boardslide into a pool is from the 1997 video from Scarecrow Wheels called Disturb not the Sleep of Death. Eddie's part featured a variety of street and mini ramp skating with a little park and plastic launch ramp action for good measure. He rode for Creature and Scarecrow over the years and is part of the Tilt Mode Army in San Jose.

Lance Dalgart took the picture.

Transworld - March 1997 Volume 15 Number 3

Salman Agah & Tim Brauch.

100% Supercharged.

Este was a clothing company that was around for most of the 1990s and was run by Tim Brauch and Salman Agah. It was distributed through Sessions. The name came from the first letter of Salman and Tim's names, S and T, hence Este. The brand ended when Tim passed away in 1999. The team included Jason Adams, Chet Childress, Darren Navarrette, Karma Tsocheff, Alex Chalmers, and a few others over the years.

Tim's photo is by Aaron Sedway and Salman's photo is by Jai Tanju.

Transworld - February 1997 Volume 15 Number 2

Chris Senn #7.

Weight of the world.

I always enjoy Ed Templeton's haphazard use of the full page for ad design, but I like this less cluttered layout for a top shelf 50-50 by the 1995 Skater of the Year.

I ordered a t-shirt from Foundation because you got a free copy of their Souvenir DVD with each order. It showed up in the mail yesterday after placing the order on Tuesday. Talk about super company customer service. I also got the Skeleton Key DVD the other week. It features lots of vert on backyard ramps and is fairly awesome.

It appears fictional Anti-Hero offshoot Jalopi is making a Mike Archimedes guest board.

Transworld - September 1998 Volume 17 Number 9

Elissa Steamer #6.

Elissa does a frontside flip in those Etnies that looked like hiking boots.

My goal to skateboard every day in October came up a little short. I managed to roll 29 out of 31 days. There's been a lot of rain to end the month. November is off to a damp start, but it looks to be warmer and drier later this weekend and into next week.

Transworld - May 2000 Volume 18 Number 5