Bob Burnquist #8.

Bright blue skies.

Bob flying high and backwards during the Anti-Hero and éS days.

This was one of the two éS ads with Rick Howard's name. The other ran in January of 1997 with Eric Koston doing a switch nosegrind. Rick was in talks to get on éS and they had even started developing a shoe, but he decided to ride for DC instead.

I hear the new Foundation video is good. I'm not surprised because the F-Troop always delivers. I have to make the time to watch it this weekend.

Thrasher - December 1996 Volume 16 Number 12

Matt Field & Johnny Fonseca #2.

Two Real all-stars.

Thrasher - August 1996 Volume 16 Number 8

Tabias Walker.

Observe.

Tabias was pro for Invisible. He was also sponsored by Tracker, Half Life Clothing, and Kastel. I think he's from Florida and had a lot of coverage in San Francisco. He mixed it up with some tech, some gaps, and Pier 7 for his spot selections.

The photo is by Ted Newsome.

Transworld - August 1996 Volume 14 Number 8

Brad Staba #4.

Brad locks into a 50-50 transfer during the F-Troop days before he started making beer koozies for Skate Mental and cooking pizza.

Thrasher - June 1996 Volume 16 Number 6

John Reeves #4.

Motion blur.

JTMR and Kien Lieu are the unsung stars of Hokus Pokus. Go back and check the tape if you don't believe me.

Grant Brittain snapped the photo.

Transworld - June 1996 Volume 14 Number 6

The Sunset Car Wash.

LA's Best Car Wash.

I scanned the ad of Cardiel taking the plunge into the famous Sunset Car Wash bank and that got me thinking about who else has done tricks at the spot. It's worth noting that the photo was taken in 1996 and the footage didn't appear until the Anti-Hero video in 1998. After watching Mark Gonzales slam in the same video, I've had zero interest in anything done at Sunset. That wasn't the case for other folks.

In 2003, Jim Greco and Pee Wee were the next ones documented taking the drop with ollies into the bank. Pee Wee rode for Dogtown and Kre-Per Trucks.

This was the cutline in Transworld for Jim's ollie:

"Jim Greco takes the 100-percent hands-free approach and ollies into the infamous Sunset carwash at 6:00 a.m."

Are they throwing some shade on Cards? I don't get why they would do that. Jim got up very early in the morning, drank some coffee plus an energy drink, and went to the spot. He broke his board and wound up using Dan Rogers' board for the make.

In recent years, Milton Martinez did a kickflip into the bank and Alex Midler spun a backside 360 of doom down the embankment. Also amateur Gavin Kish did a half cab in this past April.

Jim's photo is by Bobby Pyn and Pee Wee's photo is by Keith Eric Davidson. Who took John's picture? I figure it would be either Gabe Morford or Tobin Yelland.

Cards: Thrasher - September 1996 Volume 16 Number 9

Greco: Transworld - November 2003 Volume 21 Number 11

Pee Wee: Big Brother - December 2003 Number 103

Jeron Wilson #5.

A young JDubs takes a switch flip over one of those mysterious and classic California picnic tables during the early days of DVS.

It did dry up yesterday so I got to skateboard after work. It was actually a nice surprise because it looked there could be a sudden downpour at any second. It was another successful Go Skateboarding Alone Day.

Transworld - June 1996 Volume 14 Number 6

Matt Willigan.

Metropolitan mood.

Matt rode for Capital. He is a graphic designer and has worked for a variety of companies including Girl, Chocolate, Pitcrew, éS, and CCS over the years. He's also worked for a few big companies outside of skateboarding.

It's looking like the famous Go Skateboarding Day might be rained out here today. I'm perfectly fine with that happening. I dig all the ennui that now goes with the day. It's amusing to consider the collective blend of enthusiasm and apathy that we treat skateboarding with.

The photo is by Mike Blabac.

Thrasher - August 1996 Volume 16 Number 8

Nanda Zipp #5.

Crush Us All.

Nanda has one of the best names in the biz. This was the last trick for his part in Transworld's Uno video from 1996. He's doing an awkward backside 180 over the handrail.

I dug Brad Cromer's latest part for Krooked, even if he does skate to The Lemonheads.

Sound Zone: I haven't written one of these up in a few months for a couple of reasons. I've been buying new tunes, but it has been mostly reissues and pre-orders so there is not much to talk about. I figure nobody really missed this feature so it wasn't a priority. Anyway, onto the reruns. Athens, Georgia art students Pylon got their first two records reissued again. Chomp and Gyrate are great slabs of catchy post-punk and I'm glad to add them to my collection. I had never really listened to Pylon, but figured I would like them based on their name alone. I was right. The Gordons are from New Zealand. Members of the band would later go on to form Bailter Space. While there are some similarities between the two, The Gordons are louder and much more obtuse sounding. Their self titled first album and Future Shock single have been repressed by the 1972 label. These are worth picking up if you like abrasive guitars. Finally, some day in the fall my copy of Bardo Pond's Amanita will appear on my doorstep. It's a repress of their debut record on Matador from 1996.

The photo is by Sean Dolinsky.

Transworld - March 1996 Volume 14 Number 3

Mike Frazier #10.

I always liked this photo and board graphic. The leaning tower looks neat. It kind of reminds me of a Polar or Magenta deck.

Thrasher has a new video of Lizzie Armanto's backyard vert ramp. She shreds it. Ronnie Sandoval shows up, too. He's got to be the best transition skater going right now.

Thrasher - January 1996 Volume 16 Number 1

Matt Mumford #4.

Matt blends in with his home country in this crafty Invisible ad.

Transworld - February 1996 Volume 14 Number 2

Darren Navarrette #16.

Tommy Gun Angel.

Darren has been with Creature for an eternity, minus a brief sojourn on 151. They recently celebrated this with a nice little documentary. I think he's one of the best guys in skateboarding, not just for his tricks, but for how he promotes skateboarding in general.

Grant Brittain took the photo.

Thrasher - January 1996 Volume 16 Number 1

Tim Upson #7.

Tim gets into a backside tailslide on a Jersey barrier during the Black Label days.

The photo is by Sean Cronan.

Thrasher - February 1996 Volume 16 Number 2

Gershon Mosley #6.

Gershon takes his Ventures for a backside Smith ride during the mid 1990s when he was crushing every spot imaginable. He's wearing some Simples on his feet.

Slap - February 1996 Volume 5 Number 2

Matt Reason #7.

Matt hits the wall in an ad for Philadelphia skateboard shop Sub Zero.

Thrasher - April 1996 Volume 16 Number 4

Barker Barrett #6.

The Greatest Gift.

Barker takes his curb wizardry over the death box in a pool.

Slap - January 1996 Volume 5 Number 1

Jamie Thomas #15.

Number of the Beast.

Toy Machine's Welcome To Hell is now 25 years old. I saw the the team's demo in Buffalo, New York back in the summer of 1996. They skated some slightly crappy ramps in a parking lot.

That's Satva Leung in the background filming the Chief.

Transworld - April 1996 Volume 14 Number 4

Kris Markovich #23.

Trucks on a truck.

Orion was a spinoff brand from Tracker designed to appeal to the street skateboarding scene. Were the trucks any good? I know they were popular amongst a bunch of pros, but how did they work out for the common folks? I believe the company is still around today, but I'm not positive on that.

Transworld - May 1996 Volume 14 Number 5

Nevada #4.

Ultimate disappearing act.

Gustavo Vargas penned the monthly feature in Slap called Nevada. Vargas did some art for assorted skateboard companies, too. I have no idea what ever happened to him.

Slap - March 1996 Volume 5 Number 3

Jon Miner #2.

The director of Stay Gold does a backside bigspin. Jon rode for New School and their spinoff brand Arsenal. He was also on Adrenalin before settling in behind the camera to film some of the best skateboard videos of the last twenty years.

Slap - May 1996 Volume 5 Number 5

Chet Childress #11.

Chet hits the streets riding Ventures during the Creature days.

Slap - January 1996 Volume 5 Number 1

Ron Whaley #3.

Ron frontside flips while Marc Johnson watches.

This is from the 1995 PSL Street Championships at the Olympic Velodrome in Carson, California. The contest was held on August 27, 1995. It was sponsored by Grind King and Vans. They staged a qualifying event on August 26 that was sponsored by Grind King and Airwalk. Ron placed 10th in the qualifier and was reward with fifty bucks. Marc placed 9th and was also rewarded with fifty bucks. Willy Santos won the qualifier and took home a grand. Neither Ron or Marc placed in the top ten of the finals. Eric Koston won and received $5,000 for his efforts. Willy got second and two grand. Steve Berra was third and won $1,000.

The sequence is by Grant Brittain.

Transworld - February 1996 Volume 14 Number 2