Cody Chapman #2.

"The sickest Derby story I have is my 21st birthday. Raven Tershy got a taco truck to pull up, we had all the homies from SC, SF, and Oakland. Homies were jumping over fires with the moped, glasses were shattering, it was epic. What else could you ask for?"

Cody is one of those all terrain rippers who somewhat flies under the radar. From growing up in Santa Cruz, Emmanuel Guzman is a big influence on his skating. I like how Cody mixes transition, street, and natural street transition stuff. I also like that he rides for Lakai. He had turned pro for Omar Salazar's Doom Sayers in 2019 before getting the call from Evan Smith about riding for UMA Landsleds. The rest is history.

It was another springlike day in December so I got to skateboard for a long time this afternoon once last night's rain finally dried up. Things weren't really clicking at first, but I got all my dumb tricks together eventually. Twas a nice end to the year.

Happy New Year!

The photograph is by Brian Gaberman. The art is by Griffin McPartland and Nathaniel Russell. Russell is one of the creative minds behind UMA.

For the quote: Thrasher - October 2020 Volume 41 Number 10

Thrasher - January 2022 Volume 43 Number 1

Maité Steenhoudt.

Maité is from Antwerp, Belgium. She turned pro for UMA at the start of 2021. She had previously ridden for Element. Maité also rides for Adidas. Her favorite skaters include Nora Vasconcellos, Elissa Steamer, Ronnie Sandoval, Oski Rozenberg, and Mark Gonzales.

I got skateboarding for the 300th time this year yesterday. Everything was damp from a night of rain, but I fit in an unspectacular lunch break flatground session at the skatepark. I even did a boardslide on a wet flatbar to keep it real. I didn't think I was going to hit the 300 mark unless we got the mildest December ever. Turns out we did. It wasn't a big priority except I was getting so close to 300 that it would have been disappointing not to hit the mark.

Is Jimmy Wilkins off of Creature? I realized he didn't have any tricks in Gangreen and he isn't on the website.

The photo is by Dennis Scholz.

Art: Thrasher - April 2021 Volume 42 Number 4

One footer: Thrasher - October 2021 Volume 42 Number 10

Roman Pabich.

Roman is from Ocean City, Maryland. His older brother Cedric rides for Anti-Hero. Their whole family relocated to California a few years ago. Roman had a part in Welcome's Fetish video full of pool and park destruction from 2017. He has since switched over to UMA and turned pro in September.

As of this past fall, Andy Jenkins is now the art director at UMA after Thomas Campbell departed.

For the love of all things evil and unholy, why aren't there any titles in the new Creature video? I know who most of the guys are, but I was at a loss trying to identify a few fiends. Gangreen was sick. I liked the Darren Navarrette part and the assorted East Coast road trips.

The UMA photo is by Alex Papke and the Welcome photo is by Richie Valdez.

Portrait: Thrasher - December 2021 Volume 42 Number 12

Welcome: Thrasher - April 2018 Volume 39 Number 4

Evan Smith #4.

Pittsburgh Steeler.

Evan spent much of 2020 confusing people on who his board sponsor was by riding a variety of decks from different companies. He even scored multiple guest boards on Anti-Hero spinoff Grimple Stix. Evan put in the work on video parts for Grimple Stix, which made his sponsorship status even more up in the air. Things all became clear once UMA Landsleds was officially announced at the end of 2020. Mr. Smith and photographer Alex Papke spent a night in jail after an ollie on the Bay Bridge. The photo was used for the September 2021 cover of Thrasher so it was probably worth it in the end.

I know I could've used a more recent picture for Evan, but I found this one a while ago and thought it was neat. That's basically how this site works.

Art: Thrasher - August 2021 Volume 42 Number 8

Indy: Thrasher - January 2012 Volume 32 Number 1

UMA Landsleds.

Land sledding.

UMA Landsleds was launched at the end of 2020. The initial team was Evan Smith, Maité Steenhoudt, and Cody Chapman. Longtime artist and photographer Thomas Campbell is the creative force behind the company. I believe they are partnered with Ace Trucks for distribution.

Evan: Thrasher - December 2020 Volume 41 Number 12

Maité: Thrasher - January 2021 Volume 42 Number 1

Cody: Thrasher - February 2021 Volume 42 Number 2

Adil Dyani.

Oslo's finest vert ripper feeds a dinosaur sculpture a Wheat Thin.

I kept flipping by this when I was looking for other stuff and I decided I had to scan it. The ad is just too amazing.

The weather was basically spring today so I got to skateboard for a long time this afternoon. It was so nice not to have to worry about an early sunset or racing back to the office from the skatepark on my lunch break.

It's only a ride-on backside 50-50. My new ledge turned out solid.

Happy holidays to everybody out there. Stay safe and party smart.

The design and photography are by Niko Achtipes.

Transworld - April 1996 Volume 14 Number 4

Adam McNatt #3.

Big sky country.

Adam was exploring some different spots in the 1990s. He was up on the rooftops and grinding some long curved handrails.

The new Chocolate video is pretty sweet. The best thing is there aren't any skits, except for one good one. It was a tad puzzling why Carlisle Aikens didn't get either the first or last part, but that's trivial. Congrats on the pro nod, Carl.

What's up with skating inside businesses and/or people's front yards? There was a bunch of that in Bunny Hop and it popped up in the new Quasi video. We really don't need another kickflip down a giant set of stairs or 50-50 across somebody's front porch just because there is a handrail.

The photo is by Brian Reid. The design is by Niko Achtipes.

Transworld - September 1996 Volume 14 Number 9

Mathias Ringström #2.

"On the infamous Osiris paint-balling day, Mathias drove up in his brand new Audi. I was checking it out and he said to me, 'You know, Jerry, if you skated vert maybe you could drive a car like this.'" - Jerry Hsu

The high tech vert ripper gave Jerry some classic life advice. Of note is that Mathias is riding a Mako Urabe board in the photos.

The design and photography are by Niko Achtipes.

For Jerry's quote: Thrasher - December 2019 Volume 40 Number 12

Transworld - July 1996 Volume 14 Number 6

Dan Connelly.

Dan does a casual 50-50 on a non-casual guardrail. He would go on to start SK8MAFIA in the future.

The design and photography are by Niko Achtipes.

Transworld - December 1996 Volume 14 Number 12

Tyrone Olson #2.

"During the height of The Storm I was out skating with Tyrone. We had to stop at his house to get something, the mail showed up and he saw his Osiris check had come. He opened it in front of us, pulled it out and was like 'Six grand? Kibbles, yo, kibbles. This isn’t even worth my time cashing!' And then he ripped it up and threw it away. Such a gangster move." - Louie Barletta

It's not the Sonic Youth album, but the cast of characters that made up the skateboard brand in the mid 1990s. EVOL happened after H-Street had run its course. They also had a shoe and clothing line that later evolved into Osiris.

The design and photography are by Niko Achtipes.

For Louie's quote: Thrasher - April 2021 Volume 42 Number 4

Transworld - May 1996 Volume 14 Number 5

Edward Sebastian.

Edward Sebastian was a 1990s clothing company distributed by Type A Snowboards. Carl Hyndman, the artist and graphic designer for Plan B Skateboards, was in charge of the brand. Most of their ads were arty lifestyle shots. The team had a few Plan B guys to start with and branched out to include Marc Johnson, Chad Knight, Jake Brown, and Dave Mayhew.

It hit 65˚ F yesterday. I only got to skateboard at lunch for a little bit, but it was really nice in the unseasonable warmth.

The new video from Limosine is a fun ride. It's far from perfect, but Paymaster feels genuine. I liked the parts from Nelly Morville and Max Palmer.

Chad's photo is by Ed Dominick.

Photo collage: Transworld - August 1995 Volume 13 Number 8

Matt Hensley: Transworld - May 1996 Volume 14 Number 5

Chad Knight: Transworld - September 1996 Volume 14 Number 9

Front Gear Co.

Frontside.

Front was a mid 1990s clothing company originally based out of the Cincinnati area. I'm not sure if they stuck to Ohio or moved out east. The team included a lot of guys from the Alien Workshop as well as Jahmal Williams and Panama Dan Zimmerman. They even had an ad with De La Soul. I believe Kyla Duffy, a vert skater for Rookie, also rode for them.

Panama Dan: Transworld - April 1996 Volume 14 Number 4

Jahmal: Transworld - July 1996 Volume 14 Number 7

Satva Leung #5.

Vanilla was a clothing company done by Joyride Snowboards in the mid 1990s. The team consisted of only amateurs. Sean Mullendore also rode for them.

The photo is by Paul "Skin" Philips.

Transworld - March 1996 Volume 14 Number 3

Caine Gayle #3.

Caine frontside 50-50s that one famous rail in a hallway for a poorly named clothing brand. It really would not have been difficult to think up a better name and gimmicks. Vinnie Ponte was also on the team and scored the cover of the October 1995 Transworld wearing the same jersey. Ah, the 1990s. I'm glad that's over with.

Was Pervert backed by Intensity Skates?

Grant Brittain took the photographs.

Transworld - July 1995 Volume 13 Number 7

Jamie Thomas #16.

A Zero on Zero Sophisto.

Actually Jamie would still have been on Toy Machine at the time of this ad. Sophisto was Andy Howell's clothing line in the 1990s. In looking back through Transworlds from 1995-6, I dig Jamie's no frills skate rat style.

Congrats to Mark Suciu on winning SOTY.

The photograph is by Gabe Morford.

Transworld - August 1995 Volume 13 Number 8

Kenny Hughes #5.

You may think you are cool, but you will never ever be Kenny Hughes standing in front of a Mercedes-Benz with a flock of penguins cool.

(Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know the penguins are stuffed, but we're gonna pretend they are real. This was the one shoot they probably could have used live animals for. Although I imagine penguins do their own thing and won't stand still.)

It's another Mike Blabac photograph. According to a Chrome Ball Incident interview with Mike, the same stuffed animals are still in circulation from the company that rents them.

Transworld - August 2002 Volume 20 Number 8

Stevie Williams #3.

This one looks believable. Well, except for the tiger. Otherwise, you could picture Stevie chilling with his sport bike in real life.

DC only did four of these ads and that is a crying shame. I think their apparel line was more of an afterthought.

I've been slowly building a new ledge over the last week. It should end up being the same height as my launch ramp so tricks can be done off the end. It's also designed so you can do ride on grinds, as those have been quite popular the last couple of years. I think the next project is going to be a silly little Neil Blender style quarter pipe.

The picture is by Mike Blabac.

Transworld - July 2002 Volume 20 Number 7

Rob Dyrdek #7.

Already been done.

Rob broke the ice on this advertising concept with a similar photo on the cover of the March 2001 issue of Big Brother. He was doing a frontside boardslide on a loading dock handrail while his Mercedes Benz, a model named Bronze, and a $19,500 stuffed leopard occupied the foreground of the photograph.

It's a Mike Blabac photo.

Transworld - June 2002 Volume 20 Number 8

Colin McKay #8.

DC Shoes ran a series of ads for their apparel line that featured a rider paired with a fancy vehicle and a stuffed animal during the summer of 2002.

Mike Blabac took the photo. The car was provided by 310 Motoring.

Transworld - May 2002 Volume 20 Number 5

Rudy Johnson #8.

Fresh kicks.

This was Rudy's third pro shoe from DC. Kenny Hughes was wearing a pair in the Landspeed ad from last week. A lot of folks were wearing this shoe at the time and I can never remember what model it is so I tracked down the ad. I sort of can't believe this advertisement has never been scanned before. I think they look pretty good, but the toe area might be a little snug. I have no idea since I never had a pair.

The photograph is by Mike Ballard.

Transworld - April 1998 Volume 16 Number 4

Donny Barley #7.

Gnarly Barley floats a frontside ollie on a unique piece of architecture.

This ad teases a video called Mobile Destruction for February 1999. The video would end up being called CKY and we all know how that turned out.

So I suppose we're at a toss up between Mark Suciu and Yuto Horigome for SOTY? I say give the people what they want and award the trophy to Mark. Yuto is young and still defining himself. He can win it next year. Although from what I gather on the internet, people have mixed feelings about the whole SOTY affair. The process does leave a lot to be desired and blatantly staging a campaign to win it feels forced. Also everybody is very good and that complicates the matter immensely. In the olden days, it was usually somewhat obvious who shredded the hardest for a given year.

I sort of can't tell what folks think of Mark. I thought his favorite part selections for Quartersnacks went beyond the clichéd picks that often populate those lists, but the comments were mostly negative so I never bothered to write about it on here. I know he has plenty of fans, too. Since a Deluxe guy won it last year, nobody from any of their board brands is winning it this year. Flip had some back to backs, but that was kind of an anomaly that reflected a different era. I'm saying Corey Glick for SOTY. And it's not just because he skated to Polvo. Although that certainly doesn't hurt his cause any.

The photo is possibly by Jamie Thomas.

Transworld - December 1998 Volume 16 Number 12

Kenny Hughes #4.

Big Hughes styles a backside noseblunt slide across a nice ledge in some classic DC Shoes.

Dan Wolfe took the picture.

Transworld - November 1998 Volume 16 Number 11

Kerry Getz #6.

Long Haul.

Kerry does a 50-50 across a long flat rail. He always said he preferred flat bars over steeper handrails. Did Kerry ever have a Pro Spotlight? I keep thinking he did and then nothing much ever turns up in my random searches for interviews.

The Landspeed logo soon evolved into a futuristic human figure set in motion.

Ryan Gee took the photo.

Transworld - August 1998 Volume 16 Number 8

Brian Seber #2.

The Ghost Pilot.

Prior to launching Landspeed, Rob Erickson had a wheel company called the Wheelie Co. He even used basically the same car logo. Brian rode for Wheelie Co. so switching from one to the other made sense.

The Pixies sounded nice with Andrew Allen's skateboarding. Polvo also sounded nice with Corey Glick's skateboarding. Glick for SOTY.

The photo is by Adam Wallacavage.

Transworld - July 1998 Volume 16 Number 7

Landspeed Wheels.

Landspeed Record.

This is the first ad for Landspeed Wheels. The creative person behind the company was artist Rob Erickson and the wheels were distributed by Tum Yeto. The team was mostly East Coast heads, many of whom also rode for Toy Machine.

Skateboarding was weird for me in November. It dawned on me why things had been out of sync on Thanksgiving. Here's the run down:

Week 1: I set up a new board with new wheels.

Week 2: Tossed old shoes that were done and skated in new shoes that were not very good at all.

Week 3: Went back to an old pair of shoes that had a little life left, but really weren't great.

Week 4: I finally decided to break in a new pair of kicks. Things started to click after about five days. The clock change and less daylight didn't help much either.

Hooray for skateboarding. At least my new wheels are nice.

Transworld - June 1998 Volume 16 Number 6

Jerry Hsu #11.

“We all knew how good Jerry was. Jerry was one of us but he was way cooler. That’s part of his personality. His skating is cool; his photography is cool; Jerry is next-level in terms of coolness. That’s why his part shined so bright in Bag of Suck.” - Matt Eversole

The Sci-Fi Fantasy man closed out Bag of Suck with a truly epic two song part. I watched the section again the other night as a refresher on what all Jerry did. There are so many classic and amazing tricks in his part. I really like his switch heelflips. They are so solid. Supposedly he pushed into nearly everything instead of relying on the now standard tow in. That's just way cooler. The tunes properly score the part, too. The Cass McCombs' song is more lively and follows nicely after the Rod Stewart from Louie's part. For as much as I think Sonic Youth is great, I was never into their Carpenters cover when it came out, but the song has the right atmosphere for all the hammers Jerry was dropping.

Here's the original review of the premiere from Thrasher by Greg "Schmitty" Smith:

Hope everybody has a good weekend.

The photo is by Jonathan Mehring. Jerry did a backside Smith on this same rail in Argentina that was used for the cover of the May 2005 issue of Skateboarder. Both tricks are in Bag of Suck.

The review: Thrasher - June 2006 Volume 26 Number 6

Thrasher - June 2005 Volume 25 Number 6

Louie Barletta #7.

“Louie has a reputation with Tiltmode videos of goofing around, but he did take Bag of Suck very seriously, but not in a corny way. It shows in a dedicated kind of way. He treated the part seriously. With how good he is at skating, to see him smash it like that and that he mixed in fun stuff with top-level skating, I was super proud of his video part.” - Jerry Hsu

Louie delivered a charming man's part in Bag of Suck. I don't really care for Rod Stewart, but that song totally works so perfectly. I'll hear it at the grocery store and be completely reminded of Louie's skating. I never realized he lived in Finland for some of the filming. I knew there were plenty of European spots as everybody was crossing the Atlantic for videos. It never occurred to me he skipped out on San Jose for a year.

This enjoi feature came together haphazardly. I had found this ad and the photo of Jason Adams, but didn't know what to do with them. I already had the Jose Rojo ad scanned, too. Once the anniversary article was printed in Thrasher, I decided to roll with it and find the rest of the characters to fill out the story.

For the quote: Thrasher - December 2021 Volume 42 Number 12

Skateboarder - September 2005 Volume 15 Number 1

Jose Rojo & Clark Hassler.

Jose and Clark were the two ams in Bag of Suck. Jose survived a nasty car accident during the filming of the video. They would both go on to turn pro for enjoi. Jose retired a couple years ago and Clark is out there doing whatever he does. Louie says he is still pro and on the team.

I think we are in the time of the year when the weather gets dicey. Yesterday morning was nice before it turned cold and rainy for the afternoon. I decided to break in a new pair of kicks this weekend and it wasn't overly awkward. How often does that happen?

Congrats to Yukito Aoki on winning the Tampa Am.

Jose got two photos in the same outfit, as he is wearing the same clothes in an ad selling hot dogs from August of 2001. That must have been regarded as a productive day at the enjoi offices. Clark's photo is by Jonathan Mehring.

Big Red: Big Brother - June 2001 Issue 73

Mr. Hassler: Skateboarder - May 2007 Volume 16 Number 9

Jason Adams #19.

“I really liked Jason Adams’ part. It’s so sick. It’s so unique and so himself. I was really proud of him. The song, the skating, everything was so right.” - Jerry Hsu

Jason's part in Bag of Suck more than holds up as a classic. You don't tend to think of The Kid as a handrail skater, but he has defeated a bunch of them over the years, especially in the 1990s. This was Jason's second to last trick in Label Kills, the Black Label video from 2001.

The photo is credited to Son Of Sinan. Any guesses on a real name?

For the quote: Thrasher - December 2021 Volume 42 Number 12

Strength - November 2001

Caswell Berry #9.

"We’re out skating one day and I asked Cas where he wanted to eat. 'Wienerschnitzel,' he replied without hesitation. So we drove over to Wienerschnitzel and as we walked up to the counter the server was like, 'The usual?' to which Caswell responded, 'You know it, buddy.' I’ve seen Caswell do a lot of gnarly things over the years, but for some reason that seemed like the gnarliest." - Louie Barletta

Cas is the best. I don't think he gets the full appreciation for how talented he is overall. I like fast food so any amusing anecdotes on the topic are always entertaining to me. I sort of wish we had a Wienerschnitzel in New York, but maybe we are better off without one.

Dave Chami photographed the sequence. This trick was in Feed The Need, the Osiris video from 2008.

For Louie's quote: Thrasher - April 2021 Volume 42 Number 4

Thrasher - June 2007 Volume 27 Number 6

Tony Manfre.

"We were in Arizona filming for Bag of Suck and I think we had been giving Tony a hard time for a couple days, just zinging him a lot, but maybe we were being worse than I remember? Anyway, it reached a point where at a random stoplight he just opened the door to the van, got out and said, 'I quit.' I didn’t see him for years after that day. It was so badass. I respect him forever for that." - Jerry Hsu

Straight up legend.

I've been meaning to do a post on Tony for a while, but could never really find anything until I remembered he did the switch ollie at Wallenberg. He had a few tricks in the montage section of Bag of Suck. Tony is a producer/DJ these days and recently made the tunes for a part by Jereme Knibbs in a Santa Cruz video.

The photo sequence is by Luke Ogden.

For Jerry's quote: Thrasher - December 2019 Volume 40 Number 12

Thrasher - May 2002 Volume 22 Number 5

Bobby Puleo #12.

City explorer in a burned out limo with a chicken walking by.

Bobby took up Marc Johnson's request to ride for enjoi. A couple of years later when Marc quit, Bobby moved on as well since Marc was his primary connection with the company. He would go on to ride for Ricky Oyola's Traffic. Bobby had a couple of tricks in the montage section of Bag of Suck.

RIP Zane Timpson. I really liked his Sufferlove part from over the summer where he skated to vintage Modest Mouse.

The photos are by Allen Ying.

Thrasher - December 2006 Volume 26 Number 12

Marc Johnson #13.

Love will tear us apart.

With Bag of Suck celebrating its 15th anniversary this year, I thought I'd jump in on the fun with a slapdash feature on the video. The original lineup was intended to include Marc Johnson, Bobby Puleo, and Tony Manfre. All three departed before Bag of Suck was released in March of 2006.

Marc started enjoi in 2000 after the A-Team had run its course. His goal was to inject some much needed humor back into skateboarding. After creating a solid template for the brand's image, Marc left for Chocolate in 2003. That could have been the end of things, but fortunately for skateboarding, enjoi kept on going. There is supposedly a rough edit of a part for Marc that exists on a couple of computers out in California and has never seen the light of day.

Thrasher - May 2005 Volume 25 Number 5

Justin Strubing #5.

Good Enough.

I always think of Justin Strubing when I hear "Good Enough" by Mudhoney. It was the opening song in Foundation's 2001 tour documentary, The Good Times Are Killing Me. Capt. Strubing lays waste to a whole bunch of spots in that video.

Skateboarder - October 2001 Volume 11 Number 2

Donny Barley #6.

Gnarly Barley levitates a pop shove-it in Germany. This is a great photo of a fundamental trick done very well.

It dawned on me that This Is Skateboarding could have had parts from Donny and Justin Strubing. They were both on Emerica at the start of the filming process and split before the video was released.

Who does the Skate Video Site? It's a handy resource to have for looking up videos and the corresponding soundtracks. However, there are so many little errors and omissions. Nobody ever has the Don't Mean Maybe song listed for Memory Screen, even though "Bliss" is cited in the credits. Another band that never gets recognized is Fluf, O's band. They were in a ton of videos in the early to mid 90s. I understand full well that skateboard videos can drift into super obscure territory for music and that's why we love 'em, but a little more research can go a long way to making a project better in the end.

Skateboarder - August 2001 Volume 10 Number 9

Andrew Reynolds #14.

The Boss flies down two sets of stairs in Lyon, France. The ollie was in his part in This Is Skateboarding. Geoff Rowley did a backside 50-50 at the same spot for the September 2001 cover of Thrasher.

Skateboarder - November/December 2001 Volume 11 Number 3

Tosh Townend #3.

Stop for Emerica.

Tosh floats the ever popular frontside kickflip down a hefty chunk of real estate.

I skated a pair of Emerica Gammas this summer. I hadn't worn Emericas since the 1990s. I really liked the original Gama from 1997 so I jumped on the nostalgia train when I needed a new pair of kicks.

The soles took a long time to break in. They didn't grip great until they were broken in. The break in period was about six or seven weeks before the shoes felt fully comfortable. I skateboard every day so you can see what I mean when I say it took a while.

The uppers were kind of oddly thin. They wore out quickly, too. I didn't like how the toes were on the pointy side, but that eventually squared away. However, the Gamma reached a point where the wear wasn't getting worse and you were left rocking a beat up pair of skate shoes that were mostly fine. They held up from a lot of punishment. I retired the sneakers after this weekend. The soles were too worn out. It's always a bit of a downer when the time comes to toss the shoes you skated all summer.

Notes: The first version of the shoe was spelled Gama and the modern version is Gamma. They added an extra M the second time around. The photos are from September. They look way worse now.

Skateboarder - September 2001 Volume 11 Number 1