Jon Comer.

One of Mike Anderson's favorites.

The late Jon Comer blasts a one foot air every way possible on the classic Powell portable mini ramp.

Is that Stacy Lowery in the background?

Transworld - January 1998 Volume 16 Number 1

Sal Barbier #8.

Specifics.

Sal does a switch crooked grind, which is kind of an odd trick to see him do, in a bright yellow shirt while wearing Eric Koston's first pro model shoes from éS.

The photo is by Mike Ballard.

Transworld - February 1998 Volume 16 Number 2

Jason Adams #18.

Jason takes the plunge during the All Systems Go era of Pig Wheels. I think he was riding Sonic for boards in 1998. His part in Bag of Suck is great. The Kid has such a good kickflip and spins a proper backside 360 ollie in that part to go with all the other tricks you would expect from him.

Transworld - April 1998 Volume 16 Number 4

Judd Hertzler #5.

I never realized that Judd was on Capital. This would have been after he rode for Arsenal and before he was on Foundation. Being from Groton, Connecticut probably helped his cause a little. Although the assorted wheel companies that were run out of the Capital camp sponsored a ton of people from all over the country.

The photo is by Sean Dolinsky.

Thrasher - March 1998 Volume 18 Number 3

Jesse Fritsch.

Operatic.

Jesse grew up in the State College area of Pennsylvania and later moved out to California for skateboarding. He also rode for Zoo York. His favorite skaters are Mike Frazier, Matt Dove, Brian Howard, and Ricky Oyola. Jesse played in a band with Josh Vargo called Operatic. They had a couple songs in Emerica's This Is Skateboarding video from 2003. He got sponsored by Fender after a Tony Hawk Gigantic Skatepark Tour. Some of his favorite bands include Drive Like Jehu, Fugazi, Biggie Smalls, and Led Zeppelin. He currently runs The Anton Eye, which is a digital marketing and promotion company Jesse started with Josh in 2013.

The photo is by Grant Brittain.

For the info: Thrasher - June 2004 Volume 24 Number 6

Slap - May 1998 Volume 7 Number 5

Jason Lemanklewicz.

Jason gives new meaning to attacking the basket.

I am a big basketball fan so any time I can work in a hoops reference, I'll do it. Funny thing is for as much as I like basketball, I don't play at all. I did take a college gym class in it once. I got tired of my hockey loving friends mocking me for liking hoops so I decided I was going to embrace the hate and annoy them with basketball references whenever possible. The class was really mellow. In any of the pickup games we played, I don't think I ever dribbled. I did score a couple points and maybe got a rebound or two. I honestly don't remember much about the class for whatever reason.

Slap - May 1998 Volume 7 Number 5

Phil Shao #14.

"I don't have spare time. Whenever I'm not doing one thing, another thing is pressing instantly. From the time I get up to the time I go to sleep, there are things that I want to get done. There's never a time when I'm just sitting there doing nothing, thinking, 'This time is extra.'"

Phil passed away 23 years ago in a car accident. He was pro for Think, Venture, Emerica, and Freedumb, Dan Drehobl's clothing company. Phil was a graduate of UC Berkeley and earned his degree in English while shredding every ramp, park, bowl, and street out there. He was also working at Thrasher and was potentially going to be the next editor of the magazine before his untimely passing.

For the quote: Thrasher - January 1998 Volume 18 Number 1

Slap - February 1998 Volume 7 Number 2

Donny Barley #5.

"I go through a different stage in skateboarding every week or so. Sometimes I just want to put a big board together and bomb down the hills in Providence, and then some weeks I'll put together a small board and skate flatground all week and have fun with that."

Donny likes to switch things up for the sake of variety. This probably explains why he was so good on all sorts of different terrain.

The photo is by Thomas Campbell.

For the quote: Thrasher - July 1999 Volume 19 Number 7

Transworld - August 1997 Volume 15 Number 8

Jason Dill #18.

"I don't have a haircut, man. This hairstyle is going on two years of growth, and I just recently cut it back to my shoulders. Some people don't like it, but, hey, I don't have to do anything with it. One thing I absolutely hate is when people think I have a perm. People have actually come up to me and asked me if I have a perm. If I had a perm, it definitely wouldn't look like this, I'll tell you that much."

Mr. Dill explains his hair care technique.

The photograph is by Chris Ortiz.

For the quote: Thrasher - November 1997 Volume 17 Number 11

Transworld - September 1997 Volume 15 Number 9

Andrew Reynolds #13.

"Jump ramps and psycho skate. That must have been the 80s - colorful pictures from magazines and Pushead drawings. I didn't really know anybody, I just knew people looked cool and different and they were flying off jump ramps and I thought that was cool. I used to get my mom to rent Future Primitive from the video store, and they also had Speed Freaks and I'd rent those two. I liked Tommy Guerrero. I thought he was cool because he skated street and he was fast. In Speed Freaks there were so many random people in the video that I don't remember. I didn't have a real board then, I just started to learn how to skate."

The Boss talks about his roots.

Yes, Speed Freaks was an unwieldly hodgepodge of pros, ams, and dudes you had never heard of, but as a reference tool, it is now extremely valuable.

I listened to the Blank Generation album by Richard Hell & The Voidoids last week. You could hear the influence it had on Jim Greco and how it impacted what they would for Baker.

For the quote: Transworld - January 2021 Volume 30 Number 1

Transworld - July 1997 Volume 15 Number 7

Scott Smiley & Davey Rogers.

NBA Champs.

It's neat how Beer City keeps on chugging along. Scott and Davey are both longtime vert and pool rippers. They are still pro for Beer City and were featured in an ad in the latest Thrasher.

The photos are by Pete DiAntoni.

Thrasher - July 1997 Volume 17 Number 7

Alan Petersen #17.

Direct flight from Fresno to Sydney.

Thrasher - October 1997 Volume 17 Number 10

Karl Watson #3.

On the rise.

Thrasher - July 1997 Volume 17 Number 7

John Cardiel #16.

"I like all kinds of music. It's just a small part of my life. I don't like to waste my money on tapes or CDs. I'd rather save it for a road trip."

Modern day DJ John probably doesn't share his youthful approach to tunes.

RIP Adam "Scizzors" Effertz.

For the quote: Thrasher - July 1992 Volume 12 Number 7

Slap - October 1997 Volume 6 Number 10

Quim Cardona #9.

The lion flies into a brutalist concrete bank.

Slap - October 1997 Volume 6 Number 10

Chad Knight #4.

The big guy from Ohio blasts a big ollie out to the street.

I always appreciated the layout of Edward Sebastian ads, but I don't know too much about the brand. I think they might have been a clothing label by a snowboard company or something along those lines. I'm not really sure what their clothes looked like either. I assume kind of dressy and plain based on what the riders were wearing in the advertisements. The team included Marc Johnson, Dave Mayhew, and I believe Jake Brown.

The photograph is by Ed Dominick.

Transworld - July 1997 Volume 15 Number 7

Joe Pino #4.

Joe was inspired by a trip to Burnside so he built a concrete bench out of boredom when he got back to San Diego. The bench was so popular that Chad Knight along with the Rhythm team filmed some tricks on it. Unfortunately, the city claimed his bench wasn't up to code and took it away.

For the story: Thrasher - February 1999 Volume 19 Number 2

Transworld - July 1997 Volume 15 Number 7

Jessie Van Roechoudt #4.

Rookie of the year.

Jessie does a kickflip to fakie on an odd piece of modern art.

Quell Skateboarding magazine and Jenkem recently published a great article on the history of Rookie skateboards.

There was a nice feature on Brighton Zeuner in the USA Today the other day. The weird thing was that they didn't mention her board sponsor, which I always think is the most important thing. Somebody who rides for Frog was in the Olympics and that's pretty cool.

Slap - December 1997 Volume 6 Number 12

Matt Rodriguez #5.

Future Days.

Matt does the uncommon heelflip body varial. He's even got the odd stripe the long way in his grip that is popular with the contemporary hipster kids.

Slap - November 1997 Volume 6 Number 11

Clyde Singleton #6.

Thunder Storm.

Clyde does a fakie ollie to backside tailslide down a skatepark banister.

This ad is from the bronze era of skateboard history when guys who weren't on DC were getting more coverage wearing the shoes than some of the guys who were on the team. Clyde had a chance to be on DC, but he accidentally wore some Adidas to a meeting with the company. Whoops.

Thrasher - September 1997 Volume 17 Number 9

Eric Koston #11.

Shoes of long gone summers.

I had this exact color of Eric's first shoe. They were so comfortable. The only problem was that they wore out too fast. I tend to like light grey shoes. I've also been on a black with white soles kick the last few years. I sort of don't care for black shoes, but they match with nearly everything and the white sole makes it easier to see where your feet are on the board.

I think the photo sequence is by Atiba Jefferson.

Thrasher - August 1997 Volume 17 Number 8

Brian Anderson #11.

New Paths to Helicon.

BA flies out to 50-50 in his Sheep Shoes.

Brian skating to some Mogwai in his recent Lannibug video part for Ace Trucks was neat.

The photo is by Sean Dolinsky.

Slap - August 1997 Volume 6 Number 8