Jim Thiebaud & Corey O'Brien.

New graphics.

These are a pair of ads from Strange Notes, the NHS publication that was part catalog and part 'zine. You've got the debut of the Thiebaud Avenger and a fresh set of spooky graphics for Corey. I dig both of these decks.

Have a safe New Year's Eve. There will be a year end wrap up post at some point tomorrow and then I'm taking a two week break. I might even get to go skateboard today in the cold, if it stays dry.

Jim's picture is by Sean Sullivan.

Jim: Strange Notes - October 1989 Number 12

Corey: Strange Notes - May 1990 Number 14

Hugh "Bod" Boyle #7.

Awake to Venture.

I always liked how Bod rode for Venture. I wonder how many folks only know of him from the song in Memory Screen by Toxic Death Sentence and didn't realize how good he was at skating vert?

Thrasher - March 1990 Volume 10 Number 3

Nicky Guerrero #5.

Nicky is from Copenhagen, Denmark. As luck would have it, he had relatives in California and got into skateboarding at a young age on trips to visit them. He was able to skate a number of the concrete parks in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Through contests and demos in Europe, Nicky was sponsored and turned pro. He rode for Titus, G & S, and Powell Peralta. Some of his favorites include Claus Grabke, Chris Miller, Steve Caballero, Ben Schroeder, Steve Salisian, Steve Claar, and Omar Hassan. His dad was in band that scored a few hits on the Danish pop charts. Nicky is into science fiction and outer space, along with music and art.

Transworld - September 1990 Volume 8 Number 9

Buster Halterman #4.

"I live on a dirt road on a farm and I wake up to the rooster."

Buster explains his hometown scene. He was born in New Jersey and relocated to Wellsville, Pennsylvania at a young age. Due to the lack of street spots, he gravitated toward vert ramps and built one in his barn. His favorite skater is Chris Miller. He liked a plain board with no rails, Gullwings, white wheels, and a minimal amount of stickers. For music, Buster was a fan of King Diamond and The Damned.

The photo is by Mark Waters.

For the information: Thrasher - February 1991 Volume 11 Number 2

Transworld - April 1991 Volume 9 Number 4

Toxic Boards 1990.

Merry Toxic Christmas!

The 1990 spring board lineup from Maryland's favorite waste merchants featured decks for Dave Crabb, Ken Fillion, Denny Riordon, and Bernie O'Dowd.

The photos are possibly by Steve Sherman.

Transworld - March 1990 Volume 8 Number 3

Jeff Grosso #10.

Bye m'friends, goodbye.

Remember to do a couple extra ollies and grinds the next time you go skateboarding for those who aren't around any longer.

RIP Steve.

The intro line is a reference to a song by Maserati.

The photos are credited to Rescue. Anybody know the name behind the alias?

Transworld - May 1991 Volume 9 Number 5

G & S Pro Team 1990.

Footage days.

The G & S squad represented a good variety of skateboarding in 1990. They had East Coast vert rippers Blaize Blouin and Sean Miller. Sadly, both of those guys have passed on. Mark Heintzman was helping to develop modern street skating in Ohio. Florian Böhm added some European flare to the team. Steve Claar and Doug Smith are underground legends. And of course, you've got Neil Blender simply being himself.

The photos are by O, Tobin Yelland, Daniel Harold Sturt, Dave Swift, Thomas Kalak, and C. Curtis.

Transworld - July 1990 Volume 8 Number 7

Aaron Deeter.

Vibrantly abrasive colors.

Aaron was pro for Zorlac in the early 1990s. I looked for more info and couldn't find much of anything. He was pretty good at riding a mini ramp and skated to All in the Deadbolt trucks video from 1991.

Congrats to Mason Silva on winning SOTY for 2020.

Transworld - September 1990 Volume 8 Number 9

Reese Simpson #5.

Reese slashes in a pool during the heyday of BBC. He was born in Minnesota and moved out to California at a very young age. Reese grew up skating all the concrete parks in California in the 1970s and 80s. He has ridden for Variflex, Allen Losi, Schmitt Stix, and BBC. Some of his favorite skaters include Allen Losi, Neil Blender, Mickie Alba, Mike Smith, Blaize Blouin, and Buck Smith.

The photo is by Jamie "Mouse" Mosberg.

Transworld - August 1990 Volume 8 Number 8

Anthony "Ragdoll" Scalamere.

Ragdoll is from Las Vegas, Nevada. He acquired the nickname from a friend and with an assist from Chad Muska. John Lucero turned him pro for the Black Label after he split with Zero. He had a unique approach to skateboarding that doesn't seem out of place for what is going on today. Ragdoll chucked his carcass down some big handrails and ledges, as well as launching a few king sized street grabs into traffic. He was also surprisingly technical and not afraid to do some stupid tricks, including his famous running jump down a set of stairs to landing on his board at the bottom. His favorite skaters for 2003 included James Atkin, Lance Mountain Jr., Alex Olson, Dustin Dollin, Tony Trujillo, and Jason Dill, minus The Osbournes situation. He liked skating in Vans slip-ons, too.

I was surprised some of these guys haven't made it to the internet as yet. I feel this era of Black Label has a decent underground following and the Blackout video was well received when it was released in 2003. I'm glad I finally pieced this feature together since I'd been thinking about it for a long time. It all started randomly when the song for Ragdoll's part got stuck in my head and I was lucky enough to quickly figure out the tune since I hadn't watched the video in ages. For the record, the song was "I'm Stranded" by The Saints.

For the info: Transworld - May 2003 Volume 21 Number 5

50-50: Thrasher - April 2002 Volume 22 Number 4

Nosegrind: Thrasher - September 2002 Volume 22 Number 9

Ben Gilley #4.

"I just skate, eat burgers, and that's it."

Ben explains the simplicity of his life.

For the quote: Thrasher - January 2002 Volume 22 Number 1

Thrasher - August 2002 Volume 22 Number 8

Patrick Melcher #2.

"I love Chicago. I stay here now because the city is so full of life, man. You need, on top of skateboarding, to actually live your life. You just don't get that in Southern California. In Chicago, you've got the culture and energy and a nice sense of history. It's a great, vibrant place."

Green fire.

I like Melcher's approach to skateboarding. He will do a hurricane down a handrail or something gnarly and then mix it up with an odd footplant or transition trick. It's nice to see the variety.

It's probably for the best Vert Is Dead didn't get mentioned on Thrasher's Guide to the Internet.

For the quote: Thrasher - July 2001 Volume 21 Number 7

Thrasher - February 2002 Volume 22 Number 2

Jason Adams #17.

The Kid locks into a lengthy frontside slider.

Six Gun was a spinoff of the Black Label that Jason did in the early 2000s. Chet Childress was the other team rider.

Thrasher - January 2002 Volume 22 Number 1

Jason "Jub" Taylor #2.

"Yeah, I'll die in Michigan. I guarantee it. Michigan is just where my heart is forever; it's where I grew up and for sure I'm gonna live there again."

Jub shows some love for the Wolf Eyes state.

It's a week of Black Label from the early 2000s. This is one of those ideas I have been meaning to do for a while, but never really pieced it all together. It's kind of neat how John Lucero turned nearly his whole amateur team pro at time.

Thrasher's got the polls open for SOTY. Alexis Sablone made the final list so she got my vote.

For the quote: Thrasher - February 2002 Volume 22 Number 2

Thrasher - November 2001 Volume 21 Number 11

Robbie Russo.

Don't get run over by a viking.

Robbie grew up skating at Channel Street in San Pedro, California. His dad used to skate, too. The first good trick he learned were Smith grinds. Robbie got run over by Rune Glifberg at the Copenhagen Pro in 2010 and sustained some nasty injuries, but he's much better now.

I know they are trying to be funny, but I prefer the Anti-Hero ads that have less Photoshop hi-jinx. The photos they use are usually good enough to stand on their own, like this one.

For the info: Thrasher - August 2012 Volume 32 Number 8

Thrasher - October 2010 Volume 30 Number 10

Lee Yankou #2.

Jumping higher than when Blake Griffin dunked over a car.

Thrasher - August 2010 Volume 30 Number 8

Dan Pensyl.

"I might be one of the only skateboarders who can honestly say this, but I never had any desire to be a pro skateboarder because I was realistic. Even just getting sponsored was a gift to me. That's why I appreciate every single time I step on a skateboard, I will work 40 hours a week doing manual labor and still make time, even if it is raining. Yeah, it would be awesome to own an apartment in New York and have a car. Right now I'm driving around in a pickup truck my grandfather gave me because he bought a new one at a yard sale. That's how I grew up."

Making it work.

For the quote: The Skateboard Mag - April 2008 Issue 49

The Skateboard Mag - October 2010 Issue 79

Lucas Puig #4.

I had these shoes. They were on the snug side so I donated them to the thrift store. I always felt like I should have given them more time to get broken in. Oh, well. Somebody got a hella fresh pair of kicks for dirt cheap.

I got skateboarding for the 300th time this year yesterday afternoon.

Giovanni Reda snapped the photo.

Thrasher - August 2010 Volume 30 Number 8

Ishod Wair #3.

Get on the good foot.

This trick was in Ishod's part in Real's Since Day One video from 2011. I watched the segment again last night and it's amazing how good he is. In addition to all the flip tricks and handrails, I think it's cool that Ishod has put in the effort to skate transitions, too.

This was the back cover of the December 2020 issue of Artforum:

Every month the Galerie Bruno Bischofberger runs a unique photo of Swiss village life for their ad. This time around I guess they felt like giving a mid 1990s punk house their moment. The photo is credited to Andri Pol. I found a picture of the same ramp from a different angle in Photo Graffiti in the June 1997 issue of Thrasher. The info they had was that it was the Bellevue Punx house in Geneva, Switzerland. Anybody out there have more details about the photo? Am I crazy in thinking it might have run in a mag in the 90s because it sort of looks familiar?

Thrasher - October 2010 Volume 30 Number 10

Andrew Reynolds #12.

"I don't know if anyone else is going to think it's good, but I keep trying to jump off of things."

This was the last trick by the Boss for his part in Emerica's Stay Gold video from 2010.

For the quote: The Skateboard Mag - November 2010 Issue 80

Thrasher - November 2010 Volume 30 Number 10

Dan Drehobl #25.

"I got sponsored by Foundation while skating the Blockhead ramp. Tod Swank was all, 'Hey, you want to ride for us?' I didn't understand it, though, 'cause all I did was frontside airs. I told him, 'Yeah, but all I did was frontside airs,' and he's all, "Yeah, whatever. We suck.'"

Dan talks about how he wound up on the F-Troop.

No. 3000.

This is the 3000th post on Vert Is Dead. That's a lot of scanning over the past 12 1/2 years.

The photograph is by Jon Coulthard.

For the quote: Thrasher - October 2001 Volume 21 Number 10

Thrasher - May 2010 Volume 30 Number 5

Matt Mumford #3.

Black metal stars.

The Mutt clocks some serious airtime.

I like Ben Horton's artwork, but I never kept up with $LAVE for whatever reason. The ads and graphics looked pretty cool, yet I don't think I ever saw any of their videos. I believe the company had a decent following back when it was around. Or are they still around? It's impossible to keep up with everything these days.

No. 2999.

Thrasher - December 2010 Volume 30 Number 12

Justin Figueroa #3.

Cover model.

The latest issue of Thrasher is all about the 40th anniversary of the mag. It's pretty cool and they explore some of the more behind the scenes history. There's an interesting interview with Kevin Thatcher, the former editor. He discusses the printing process and graphic design, which I thought was a neat read. There's an article on the best covers. I was surprised to learn that Figgy has been on the front six times. It turns out he has.

1. May 2010 - Backside Smith grind on a handrail.

2. June 2011 - Switch backside 50-50 on a handrail.

3. December 2012 - Crooked grind a double kink rail.

4. September 2015 - Crooked grind a handrail.

5. November 2016 - Crooked grind grab transfer from a rail into a bank.

6. January 2020 - Gap to frontside feeble on a handrail.

The September 2015 cover was for the Lakai and Emerica Stay Flared tour. They did two versions. The other was a Raven Tershy over vert backside tail at FDR.

No. 2998.

The photo is by JT Rhoades.

Thrasher - October 2010 Volume 30 Number 10