Jake Phelps #4.

"You could say 'What's on page 52 of the September 1977 Skateboarder?' And he could tell you who it is, what they're doing, who shot it, what the caption says. I mean that is mind boggling. For whatever people think about Jake, whether love him or hate him, he is probably the truest skateboarder there is. He lives and breathes it, and that's all he lives and breathes. He is one of a kind no doubt. It never fails that you can fall back on Jake to be a true skater, like it or not. Great stories or horror stories." - Lance Dawes

Still watching.

Vert Is Dead will be back on Monday, December 2nd. Have a good Thanksgiving and week ahead. I can't believe we're almost done with another year.

Joe Brook snapped the photo.

For the quote: Skate Jawn - June 2019 Issue #50

Thrasher - January 2011 Volume 31 Number 1

Hesh Crue Overlords.

The ultimate power trio in skateboarding.

I like how this has the throwback feel of a vintage multi rider ad that Santa Cruz used to run all the time.

Lance Dawes was the photographer.

Thrasher - January 2011 Volume 31 Number 1

Tom Asta.

Tom is from Langhorne, Pennsylvania. His favorite skaters growing up were Josh Kalis, Brian Wenning, and Anthony Pappalardo. He was a fan of both the fresh and the hesh in that he liked Habitat and Zero. Living in the same area as Chris Cole probably had a lot to do with his interest in Zero. Tom was sponsored by Mystery and turned pro for them in 2011. He's got a complete mastery of technical street skateboarding and can do all the flips into whatever other trick you could imagine. The guy is smooth. He switched over to Santa Cruz roughly five years ago when the Mystery was solved. His other sponsors include éS, Ricta, Bronson Bearings, Mob Grip, Kershaw Knives, and Arcade Belts. He still lives in Langhorne with his wife and kids. His parents run a restaurant there, too.

The photo is by Joey Shigeo.

Thrasher - April 2011 Volume 31 Number 4

Leo Romero #6.

"As far as retirement goes, I don’t think the term actually applies in skateboarding. It’s been a 24/7 slumber party for me. I don’t know what I want to do really. I’m always going to go on trips, even when I retire. I will still be skating for as long as possible. I think of it more as making room for new guys. There is just not enough pie left and I want to see the new kids get a little piece of what’s left."

Leo had the closing part in Brainwash. It featured his high speed assault on a variety of handrails. There are a lot of switch heelflips, too. He blasts some big ollies and displays a mastery of flip tricks done while moving very fast. Supposedly he was not thrilled with how his part in Emerica's Stay Gold turned out so he wanted to do better for himself in the Toy Machine video. Leo was awarded Thrasher's Skater of the Year for his efforts in 2010. As a side note, he was wearing shoelaces in his shoes for Brainwash.

And that wraps up a look back at the last Toy Machine video. Their new one, Programming Injection, is out now online and in the physical DVD format. Brainwash is a decent little video that gets you excited about going skateboarding. It's cool to see that nearly everybody is still on the team and has a couple of tricks in the latest project.

Griffin Collins was the photographer.

For the quote: Thrasher - November 2019 Volume 39 Number 11

Thrasher - July 2010 Volume 30 Number 7

Matt Bennett #4.

Black Heart Procession.

Matt was the newest pro on Toy Machine at the time of Brainwash, having been granted a signature board in 2010. His part is full of his classic relaxed style. There are frontside nose and board slides. He does a fakie ollie nose grind down a large banister and a fakie ollie backside tailslide on a handrail. Matt also takes pole jams up and over the top of handrails for some grinds. This Bennett grind down a handrail from the ad is the ender for his part. Actually, he switched ollied down six stairs after landing his namesake trick for the technical ender, but whatever.

The picture is by Diego Bucchieri.

Thrasher - January 2011 Volume 31 Number 1

Collin Provost #4.

The Provider.

Kyle Camarillo took the picture.

Thrasher - September 2010 Volume 30 Number 9

Nick Trapasso.

Life extension, but spelled correctly.

Nick is from Phoenix, Arizona. He was sponsored by Bootleg and Santa Cruz before being flowed boards from Listen and enjoi. Nick was added to the Toy Machine roster in the mid 2000s and turned pro in 2008. He won the X Games Real Street video contest in 2010. Nick parted ways with Toy Machine in 2011 to start Life Extention in 2012. These days he is still running Life Extention Skateboards. The pro team is him, Dan Lutheran's brother Andrew, and Blue Headey. They also have a handful of ams. His other previous sponsors include Converse and Volcom.

The photograph is by Griffin Collins.

Thrasher - June 2010 Volume 30 Number 6

Josh Harmony #2.

Houses of the holy.

Josh has a bunch of tricks in the montage section of Brainwash. I think he might have been filming for a Fallen video at the same time. He skateboards on some big handrails and mixes in a couple transfer tricks on those rails, such as a frontside bluntslide and a nose grind. He jumps onto and off of a few banisters. There is a lipslide to big spin on that wavy ledge in China. Josh ends his section with a lipslide and a frontside 5-0 down a beefy sized hubba.

The photo is by Aaron Smith.

Thrasher - December 2011 Volume 31 Number 12

Ed Templeton #30.

The sun rises again.

Poweredge - October 1991 Issue Number 36

Diego Bucchieri #5.

Chop chop.

The Butcher blasts a few gaps and spins some frontside 360 ollies for his section in Brainwash. This Smith grind is in the video. He backside 180s a double set and ollies into a few different huge banks, too.

I thought it was going to be too windy on Saturday, but it turned out to be a nice day for skateboarding at the park. Nobody else has around, probably because I'm the only guy dumb enough to bother going when it's dry in November. I stayed for a long time. Sunday was slightly rainy, although I think it would have been okay in the morning. I'm kicking myself for staying out as long as I did on Saturday night since that left me not moving very fast for Sunday. A snow storm is hitting the area today and tomorrow.

The photo is by Ale Mercado.

Thrasher - May 2010 Volume 30 Number 5

Austin Stephens #6.

I've heard about Saturday nite.

Austin opens up the team montage part in Brainwash. He cruises along doing a bunch of pole jams and big ollies. There are blunt and tail slides. His ender is a kickflip into a tall and narrow banister. My favorite trick is a huge frontside pop shove-it off a little kicker thing.

One thing about Brainwash is that it is a fairly brief video and considered more a promotional flick. It has full parts, but most tend to be on the shorter side. The new riders are introduced with comprehensive sections and there is a montage of the vets. A key factor that made it shorter was that a few of the guys had been working on other projects so footage was limited. This makes for a more watchable video because anything much past a half hour tends to be drag, especially if you want to go skateboard. I wish the DVD didn't glitch out on my player and I could watch Brainwash more often. I'm not sure if it is the disc itself or my machine. I feel it might be a combo of both.

Michael Burnett was the photographer.

Thrasher - December 2008 Volume 28 Number 12

Jordan Taylor.

He's gone for the weekend.

Jordan is from Encinitas, California. He was one of the new ams on Toy Machine and had a full part in Brainwash. He skates fast and on a variety of terrain, such as ditches, hubbas, and rails. Jordan mixes in some wallrides and manuals, too. He does a few frontside board and blunt slides. A number of tricks in his part involved going backwards at or on the obstacle, such as a frontside 180 to fakie 50-50 to half-Cab out on a hubba. He also does a frontside 50-50 to frontside railslide down the Clipper ledge. Jordan was on Toy Machine for a number of years before he left for WKND. He was granted pro status in 2017.

The photos are by Dave Chami.

Thrasher - March 2011 Volume 31 Number 3

Billy Marks #4.

Silent Star.

For his part in Brainwash, Billy defeats a lot of handrails and gaps while Trans Am plays. He does a variety of flip tricks, including nollie inward heelflips, double flips, 360 flips, and more. Tre flips are done to lipslide on rails in both stances. I kind of forgot how good he was after all these years.

The photo is by Michael Burnett, aka Burn-Dog.

Thrasher - February 2011 Volume 31 Number 2

Johnny Layton #2.

Home: Long Beach, CA

Sponsors: Toy Machine Bloodsucking Skateboard Co., Vans, Vans Apparel, Theeve Trucks, Pig Wheels, MOB Grip, Bones Swiss, and Furnace Skateshop

Biggest Switch Tré: Carlsbad gap

Dog or Cats: Dogs

Musical Genius: Ray Barbee

Worst Injury: Left ankle Bröstrom surgery

Tightest Dude on Toy: The whole team. We're like family. Matt Bennett is probably the "tightest", though.

Last Tat: Van Wastell tribute. RIP. Wish you were here, buddy.

SOTY 2010: The rebel, Leo - hands down. He deserves it.

Words to live by: Skating is for the monkeys!

The photo is by Michael Burnett.

For the Firing Line: Thrasher - November 2010 Volume 30 Number 11

Thrasher - November 2010 Volume 30 Number 11

Daniel Lutheran.

Brain Wash.

Since Toy Machine recently released a new video, I thought I'd take a look back at their last video. Released in 2010, Brainwash was directed by Kevin Barnett. It featured the talents of Leo Romero, Johnny Layton, Nick Trapasso, Billy Marks, Matt Bennett, Josh Harmony, Austin Stephens, Diego Bucchieri, and Ed Templeton. Jordan Taylor, Collin Provost, and Daniel Lutheran were the new riders. The soundtrack was heavy on the indie rock and post punk type of sounds one would expect in a Toy Machine video.

Daniel is from Albuquerque, New Mexico. He got on Toy Machine thanks to a sponsor me tape and meeting some of the guys on the team. He filled the opening part in Brainwash with a bunch of big handrail grinds and jumping down big gaps. His style seems casual and relaxed, even when he's throwing himself down large obstacles. Dan's into art and creative stuff. He is still on Toy Machine and rides for Vans.

The photo is by Joe Hammeke.

Thrasher - October 2010 Volume 30 Number 10

Kristian Svitak #4.

Spooky Svitak does a frightening footplant.

Here's a sampling of the boards 1031 was making in 2007:

A few are surprisingly skinny and the graphics cover a variety of punk rock styles. I'm not sure if those are Michael Sieben drawings or simply drawings that look like his art.

Christopher Donez was the photographer.

Boards: Thrasher - December 2007 Volume 27 Number 12

Svitak: Thrasher - October 2007 Volume 27 Number 10