Raven Tershy #4.

"When Jake said something he meant it and the old man said a lot of things. But throughout every trip and all the time I was lucky enough to spend with the guy, the words I heard him speak/mumble or yell the most were, 'Nobody does it better than GT and Couch'" - Rowan Zorilla

One of Phelper's picks gets some airtime. This was a random choice for a scan and I'm glad I picked it after reading the latest issue of Thrasher. It all sort of fits together somehow. The new issue is a pretty heavy read as a tribute to Jake. There are a ton of old photos and stories about him.

Ben Colen was the photographer.

For the quote: Thrasher - June 2019 Volume 40 Number 6

The Skateboard Mag - June 2014 Issue 123

Ben Raybourn #3.

Ben gets inverted at Lance Mountain's backyard pool.

I like the little sample of Birdhouse decks they were running in their ads at this time. I'm not big on kiddie cartoon graphics, but these are kind of neat.

I picked out two weeks worth of stuff from 2014 to get this thing going again. I went with the Skateboard Mag for browsing purposes. This was their last year before being bought by the Berrics and eventually disappearing. I'm still a tad disappointed I never got featured in the Sklog Column. Oh, well.

The photo is by Brian Shamanski.

The Skateboard Mag - April 2014 Issue 121

Duane Pitre #4.

Ode to Pitre.

Duane wasn't in Mind Field riding his skateboard, but he did have some of his music in the video. It was a nice touch to have one of the original riders involved with the project.

That's a picture of Growing, the guitar drone duo who also had tunes in Mind Field. It's from a 2006 show in Buffalo at Soundlab. I figure since I'm taking next week off to throw in a little bonus content for the day.

The spring weather is finally here, not that our winter was particularly bad. I've been breaking in a new set of trucks over the last three weeks. They feel fine, but it still feels a smidge odd. I think I was so used to my old decayed trucks that the change is throwing me for a loop in a good way. My board is much more stable now. The lesson in all of this is to maybe not ride the same pair of trucks for a decade.

Vert Is Dead will be back on Monday, April 29th. I need a break. Feel free to leave suggestions in the comments as I'm a little short on ideas at the moment.

Transworld - February 1993 Volume 11 Number 2

Heath Kirchart #12.

Cowboy hat.

Mind Field would feature the last part of entirely new footage from Heath. Coincidentally, his efforts were also the last part in the video. He retired from the pro ranks in 2010. In rewatching the section yesterday evening, I got the feeling he knew he was done and went all out. There are the expected big rails and gaps, but there are other tricks you wouldn't associate with Heath. He does huge frontside and backside 360 flyouts at a skatepark, a frontside noseslide on a handrail, a 180 to fakie 50-50 on a rail, and double flips a picnic table in a schoolyard. Those were all a little out of the ordinary. He does a few opposite footed bangers, with a switch kickflip over a rail and a switch kickflip to boardslide down a rail. Heath adds some ledge lines at the same spots the other guys on the team were skating and even has an inside of the ledge trick with a long bluntslide. The 50-50 he did for the cover of the Skateboard Mag's second issue is in the video, which is probably the oldest trick since it was from 2004 or maybe 2003. The usual favorites are accounted for, meaning lots of backside tailslides and lipslides, frontside and backside bluntslides, and floating ollies over big gaps. Many a trick is either flipped into or out of. He gets a noseblunt on the opposite side down a banister, too. In a tip of the hat to Jeremy Klein, a picnic table is placed down a big set of stairs for a frontside 50-50 and a lipslide. This photo is the second to final trick in the vid, with the ender being a backside kickflip across the same street. The use of Speedway by Morrissey adds a dramatic touch that pairs well with what Heath was doing on his skateboard.

The picture is by Anthony Acosta.

Transworld - September 2008 Volume 26 Number 9

Anthony Van Engelen #6.

Model airplane.

Ten things about Anthony's part in Mind Field:

1. Ollies out of banks to flat twice.
2. 50-50s in some very tight spots.
3. Lip tricks at DIY transition places.
4. There aren't many flip tricks.
5. Half Cab noseslide to backside tailslide.
6. Danny Way guest appearance.
7. Half Cab crooked grinds.
8. Fakie ollie nosegrind and fakie 50-50 on handrails.
9. Straight into and out of everything, no flips in or out.
10. Ollies over rails to 5-0, nosegrind, and 50-50.

The photo is by Ryan Allen.

Thrasher - October 2009 Volume 29 Number 10

Mikey Taylor #3.

Driving.

Mikey's part in Mind Field picks up with where he left off after Skate More. It features some of the same spots, too. You get a blend of tech and big handrails from Mikey. He puts together really solid ledge lines. I like how smoothly he carves around between the tricks. Everything is landed perfectly. Mikey skates some huge handrails, such as the one in this ad. He lands a lengthy switch 50-50, a long distance crooked grind, combines a frontside feeble and a tailslide, and ends on a 50-50 to dirt ride as a somber Dinosaur Jr. song plays. The part also features a tribute to his late friend Van Wastell, who passed away in 2008.

Thrasher - April 2009 Volume 29 Number 4

Tyler Bledsoe #3.

Painting on glass.

Tyler's skateboarding seems very mellow to me. He's doing hard tricks, but there's a relaxed atmosphere to how he does them so it looks easy. For his part in Mind Field, Tyler throws down a number of bigspins, either as a stand alone trick or into/out of another trick. He locks into a long backside Smith grind, a long frontside feeble, and a long switch backside nose grind. Those three stood out to me. The guy takes on the inside of ledges as well as a couple of big gaps. The Thom Yorke voiced Modeselektor track adds to the mellow atmosphere of his skateboarding. It also references Jason Dill using Radiohead in Photosynthesis.

The switch heelflip photo is by Sam McGuire and the portrait is by Chad Bowers.

Transworld - May 2009 Volume 27 Number 5

Jason Dill #14.

Cellphone balloon.

Dill's part in Mind Field features a variety of manuals, DIY transition spots, slappys, and wallrides. He does a number of feeble grinds, too. There are even a couple of ollies. You get a glimpse of his life with scenes of his daily newspaper fascination and his crust palace of an apartment. The Animal Collective song that was used is fine for the section and fits well with the skating.

It's probably a toss up between Josh Kalis and Dill for my favorite part from Mind Field. Both guys were kind of in different places in their lives and what they were doing, but it somehow works perfectly for each.

The rough tiled volcano blaster in Thessaloniki, Greece photo is by Mike O'Meally.

Transworld - April 2009 Volume 27 Number 4

Grant Taylor #4.

Model rocketry.

Grant's part in Mind Field opens up with a model rocket lifting off and some blistering guitar tones from J Mascis. Since the video was filmed over the span of four years, we get to see Grant grow up and watch his trick selection progress. The earlier footage is a whole lot of jumping down big gaps and the later footage is more handrails plus transitions. His style reminds me of Brandon Westgate to an extent. I like his half Cab to backside 50-50 down a rail. He also ollies a triple set, which isn't really something you think of him doing. Grant spends some time in the Atlanta streets by hitting up the spots Andy Howell made famous, too. The Workshop turned him pro by the end of 2009 and he won SOTY of the year for 2011.

Shout out to Street Piracy.

The photo is by Ryan Flynn.

Thrasher - September 2009 Volume 29 Number 9

Josh Kalis #7.

Bug on the camera lens.

Josh delivers a part of classically trained street skateboarding in a variety of major metropolitan areas for Mind Field. He hits up Chicago, New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Barcelona, and maybe more. There's even a stop in Arizona. The amount of difficult tricks he strings together in lines is amazing. There are a ton of bigspins and switch backside tailslides. You also get Josh's proper pop and catch on numerous board flips. This very well could be the sleeper pick for best part in a video that offers a lot of great sections.

The 360 flip photo is by Anthony Acosta. This trick was in there. The other photos are by Greg Hunt and Fred Mortagne.

Thrasher - April 2007 Volume 27 Number 4

Steve Berra #6.

The Director.

Steve also has a short and sweet part in Mind Field. The poor guy was plagued with ankle problems that dated back to when he was filming for Skate More in 2005. Even with the injuries, he delivered a solid section full of his classic tricks. There are backside, frontside, and fakie kickflips down stairs, a couple of backside tailslides, and speedy lines on flat bars. He frontside boardslides a handrail, too. Steve's fakie kickflips are on point.

The frontside feeble grind photo is by Seu Trinh.

Transworld - March 2009 Volume 27 Number 3

Rob Dyrdek #4.

Dear Mr. Fantasy.

Rob has a short and sweet part in Mind Field. He takes one for the team on a frontside Smith grind to kickflip out that smacks him on the chin. He does land the trick later on in his segment. Rob puts down a bunch of speedy tech tricks on ledges and benches. His part mixes in some vintage ads and clips from Memory Screen for good measure.

The photo is by Anthony Acosta.

Thrasher - January 2008 Volume 28 Number 1

Dylan Rieder #7.

Dress shoes blues.

Dylan was the newest pro on the team for Mind Field, having been granted a board in 2007. He started riding for Alien Workshop in 2006 after being on Rasa Libre. He switched from Vans to Gravis for shoes during the making of the video. You can see his dress shoe pro model from Gravis in some of his clips. Dylan is still growing up for the part so you witness the evolution of his style. Most of the tricks he becomes famous for are there, like frontside flips, 360 flips, frontside heelflips, backside tailslides, big 50-50s, and more. It's not quite at the level of his solo video from 2010, but the elements are all present. He mostly skates street, but there are some ditches and transitions. There's even a random hardflip thrown in during a line. Sadly, Dylan passed away due to complications from leukemia in the fall of 2016.

Trasher - December 2009 Volume 29 Number 12

Arto Saari #3.

Battles.

Arto is one of the few established pros who switched to the Alien Workshop from a previous sponsor. He had been riding for Flip until the change in 2008. I assume it was in part caused by his riding for Gravis Footwear and Analog Clothing, two companies under the Burton Snowboards umbrella. Burton was assisting Alien at the time as well. He went back to Flip in 2011.

Mildly useful skateboard trivia out of the way, Arto put together a whopper of a part given that he only had about a year to film for Mind Field. There was probably some stuff that was filmed for Gravis prior to the switch that went to the video. I was never a big fan, but I've come to respect his skateboarding more now. I like that he has branched out into photography in the last few years. It makes for a more well rounded person, instead of only being a skateboard wonder kid. The 2001 SOTY did some big frontside boardslides and backside lipslides down double kinked rails. He also put together some long ledge combos and flipped into or out of a few tricks. It's a very strong effort.

I tried, but Battles never clicked with me. However, the song used for Arto's segment is a good choice. It fits well with his skating and with the overall Alien Workshop vibe. It's funny how going back over old videos reminds you of the music of the day and other little things you forgot about.

The photo is by Jeff Landi.

Thrasher - June 2009 Volume 29 Number 6

Jake Johnson #5.

Colored triangles and robot insects.

Jake was the new am on the Alien Workshop who made his debut in Mind Field. His part has come to be recognized as one of the highlights of the video. He does a lot of raw East Coast street skating in New York City. There are switch wall rides, 50-50s, and all sorts of other madness. I had to watch it a few times to understand it because the song does the section no favors. I'm not big on the Animal Collective as a whole, but My Girls has never worked for me, mainly because I find the vocals annoying. I think it probably would have been better if the music was either gritty NYC hip hop or art rock. Although I suppose either of those options would have left the part as being somewhat clichéd in terms of music.

The Skateboard Mag - September 2009 Issue 66

Omar Salazar #4.

Omar kicks off Mind Field with a two song part set to the music of J Mascis and Dinosaur Jr. It even features J rolling around in the driveway on a skateboard. I knew who Omar was from his time on Foundation, but in Mind Field, he's all grown and has developed his own breakneck style. He mixes in boneless ones and hippie jumps to go with blunt slides, handrails, and other assorted gaps. There's an over-vert ceiling grind, too. His skating has this fun aura, even though the danger potential is high for a number of his stunts. Everything is casual and loose, as if he's making it up as he goes along. This part made me a fan and I'm glad to see he's still going with his Doom Sayers Club.

The photo is by Dan Zaslavsky.

Thrasher - August 2009 Volume 29 Number 8

Mind Field.

Vert Is Dead is going to spend the next three weeks taking a look at Mind Field, the fourth full length video from the Alien Workshop. It was released in the spring of 2009 after four years of filming. Greg Hunt was the director and principal filmer. Mind Field was primarily documented in the United States. The team put in about 250,000 miles on the road. The pros were Steve Berra, Jason Dill, Rob Dyrdek, Josh Kalis, Heath Kirchart, Dylan Rieder, Arto Saari, Omar Salazar, Mike Taylor, and Anthony Van Engelen. Tyler Bledsoe, Jake Johnson, and Grant Taylor were the amateurs at the time.

Transworld - April 2009 Volume 27 Number 4