Kevin "Spanky" Long #8.

Defy.

Emerica has reissued an updated version of Kevin's first pro model shoe from 2005. It's great to see him keep on cranking out video parts and doing some of the art direction at Baker.

The new version looks like it turned out pretty good. The shoe retains the look of the original with a few modern updates.

The shoe photo is from the Emerica website.

Thrasher - August 2005 Volume 25 Number 8

Louie Barletta #8.

It's weird how some skaters can ride for companies that aren't exactly considered the freshest of the fresh and nobody bats an eye, but other skaters are forever doomed by one poor sponsor choice when they were younger. The opposite also occurs when a particular middle of the road skater is deemed cool simply because their sponsor happens to be the hottest thing going. Of course there are a multitude of factors, some valid, others arbitrary, that all go into deciding what is hip on any given day. Skateboarding is a strangely fickle creature.

Thrasher - August 2012 Volume 32 Number 8

Austyn Gillette #7.

The Walkman.

There was a recent internet dustup between Austyn and Elijah Berle. All that we really learned from the beef was that secretly nobody likes Habitat, but everybody loves Fred Gall and thinks Mosaic is a total classic of a video. Skateboarding is stupid sometimes.

The photograph is by John Bradford.

Transworld - January 2010 Volume 28 Number 1

Elijah Berle #2.

Five facts about Elijah:

1. He was sponsored by Foundation. He wasn't sure if he fit in there and was hanging out with Mike Mo Capaldi a lot. Mike helped him get on Chocolate.

2. He won the 2010 Tampa Am contest at the Skate Park of Tampa.

3. Elijah plays a little bit of electric guitar. He also likes working on cars and motorcycles.

4. He contributed some backing vocals on a Suicidal Tendencies song. He's friends with Jim Muir's son so that's how that connection came about. Jim's brother Mike is the frontman for the group, in case you somehow didn't know that.

5. Elijah lived in a skate house with Cory Kennedy. They had a mini ramp and a pool. He said he found all sorts of mold covered beers, Taco Bell, and Nike sneakers in Cory's room when he cleaned the place out before moving. There was even a dead rat in the ceiling.

The photo is by Jason Hainault.

For the info: Thrasher - June 2015 Volume 36 Number 6

Transworld - July 2010 Volume 28 Number 7

Shiloh Greathouse #2.

Killing Moon.

Shiloh would have gotten on Dekline during or after his part in First Love, the Transworld video from 2005. It looks like he is wearing Lakai a bunch in the video, although I'm not completely positive on the shoe ID.

The Kevin "Spanky" Long KS1 reissue from Emerica looks good. Actually, they look better than the shoes did the first time around.

I got a pair of Lakai Manchester Selects for chilling. They are the same as Manchesters always have been. That being said, I preferred the Sheffield model they had been running the last few years. It's the same dang shoe, but the Sheffields are superior. I'm curious to try a pair of the Telford Low, too.

I was thinking about grabbing a pair of Last Resorts, but my taxes were not nice this year so frivolous footwear spending has been scaled back for the time being.

How long before that one new ugly shoe brand with the big advertising budget realizes skateboarding doesn't want that crap? Does anybody who isn't paid to wear or review them really support the company?

The photo is by Deville Nunes.

Thrasher - May 2005 Volume 26 Number 5

Zarosh Eggleston.

Zarosh is from Monterey Bay in California. He rides for Death Skateboards. I think he was also on Consolidated. Zarosh has built a skatepark on some of his family's land. He runs a screenprinting company, too.

The photo is by Chris "Rhino" Rooney. Congrats on the guest board from Creature.

Thrasher - March 2006 Volume 26 Number 3

Ben Gilley #5.

Buildings in a state of decline.

Ben takes a break from the handrails to do a sketchy wall ride in an abandoned building.

Thrasher - September 2005 Volume 25 Number 9

Gareth Stehr.

New Zealand Vampire.

Gareth is from Auckland, New Zealand. He worked construction and delivered pizzas to earn money to move out to California for skateboarding. Foundation turned him pro and released a US tour video called Gareth Stehr's Go-Go Toe Jam. It's a fun romp across the states full of demo stops at skateparks from 2006. Gareth does some serious ripping in the video, along with the rest of the F-Troop. He's into pirates and vampires.

To clarify things about the history of Dekline, Tod Swank handled the distribution of the shoes. The kicks were designed by August Benzien and Kevin Furtado. Both worked at Duffs previously. August is presently a designer for Nike and Kevin runs State Footwear.

Thrasher - December 2004 Volume 24 Number 12

Dekline.

Glam boys on wheels.

Dekline was started in 2004 and distributed by Tod Swank at Tum Yeto. The original art direction was very much in tune with the burgeoning rock revival of the early to mid 00s. The shoes were vulcanized with a couple different low and mid top models. I think the brand had an appeal outside of skateboarding to punks, hardcore kids, and other assorted arty folks. This is probably due in part to Dekline not being a big corporate shoe entity. Over time, the company's look simplified to a less flashy, more skateboard-centric style. Dekline stuck around until 2015.

This is the initial team. The photo is notable for Cyril Mountain, Lance's son, being on the squad. Cyril's name would always pop up in interviews, but you never really saw much coverage of him. I figured he just liked skating for himself and wasn't into the spotlight. Ben and Patrick were both on Black Label and Gareth was on Foundation. Some of the other riders in the beginning for Dekline included Matt Ball, Sammy Baca, and Anthony "Ragdoll" Scalamere.

The photo is credited to an Anderson. I am not sure on a first name.

Thrasher - June 2004 Volume 24 Number 6

Andrew Reynolds #15.

Whole lotta wall hangers.

I'm guessing this is a frontside flip at the Baker warehouse. What else would Andrew be doing? I dig the photo. It almost looks like it was taken in a barn.

RIP Consolidated.

Thrasher - February 2014 Volume 35 Number 2

Neen Williams #2.

Healthy lifestyle.

It's probably a heelflip done the awkward way down those stairs.

Thrasher - January 2014 Volume 35 Number 1

Brian "Slash" Hansen #3.

Flyin' Brian.

Altamont was never afraid to run the lifestyle shot for their ads. They usually picked out some compelling photos, such as this one of Slash with a department store skateboard.

Thrasher - September 2013 Volume 34 Number 9

Justin Figueroa #4.

I always thought Figgy should have gotten SOTY in 2012 after his part in Baker's Bake & Destroy. He was on a serious handrail destruction spree back then. Actually, he's still on that rail killing spree based on the recent video of Emerica's East Coast road trip.

The mild weather and extra daylight are a pleasant combination.

Thrasher - November 2012 Volume 32 Number 11

Jon Dickson #3.

Jon floats a death wish of a frontside flip over some stairs and a guard rail. I'm a fan of this dude's skateboarding.

It's a week of Altamont. I just like the photos and art in their ads. They've had a solid team over the years, even though the riders kind of change every so often. I'm not even sure if they have a team these days. Mark "Fos" Foster from Heroin does or has done a lot of the art direction for them. I've never bought any of their clothes, which maybe explains a few of the ambiguities about their current state.

Best wishes to Mr. Hawk on a successful recovery from your broken wing.

That new Emerica amateur video is pretty darn good. They make the best videos. Ed Templeton has to be proud of Braden Hoban's impossible powers.

Thrasher - October 2012 Volume 32 Number 10

Marc Johnson #14.

Welcome to Flavor Country.

Marc closes out Fully Flared with a three song magnum opus of a part. I only ever watch the first third where he skates to Q Lazarus. That section has such a mellow and fun mood compared to the other two thirds. I did watch the full part for the sake of this review. He covers a ton of ground in terms of tricks. There is some serious ledge dancing, handrails, DIY spots, a caveman to darkslide, a pole jam to fakie a la Daewon Song, and difficult manny combos. It's easy to see how he earned Thrasher's SOTY.

I thought I'd mention some of the things I enjoy about Marc's first section. The song creates the perfect atmosphere to go with the skating. He's not killing himself jumping down big gaps or getting overly technical. The tricks are carefully selected or created and he busts out some obscure ones. There's a frontside 50-50 to back foot flip, a cannonball off a loading dock, and a late shove-it over a bump to bar, to name a few. I really like the rock to pivot he does on a natural transition in Australia. Also the straight nollie over the same bump to bar as the late shove-it is cool. As an added bonus, Marc is riding the Girl reissue of Rick Howard's Blockhead Skunk board for some of his tricks.

Fully Flared holds up as more or less a classic. I think your opinion of it depends on how old you were when it was released. Being a little bit older, I picked out the sections I liked and was fine with those. It's honestly not a video I watch very often. I probably hadn't seen a good chunk of it since it was released so it was interesting to revisit the project.

The photo is by Atiba Jefferson.

Thrasher - February 2005 Volume 25 Number 2

Guy Mariano #5.

National Acrobat.

Fully Flared marked Guy's return to skateboarding after some major life struggles. It was his first full part since 1996's Mouse. The section is dramatic and heavy on the slow motion, which makes sense from a story telling point of view. The two songs from Band of Horses add to the serious mood. Although I'm not sure how great this functions for a skateboard video. Of all the music in Fully Flared, this part is probably the most attached to the era it was made. The cinematography is fine and essentially shows off Ty Evans' filming and editing skills as much as the part shows off Guy's skateboarding skills.

For the skating, Guy gets clips at many spots all over the world, including China, Australia, and Europe. He hits up a lot of ditches and ollies a few larger gaps, which are somewhat unique locations for him. There are many technical combos done on ledges and flat bars. Guy also skates a number of midsize handrails. He does Sam Smyth's noseslide to crooked grind on a rail, which was neat. This part is a good return to form for one of the innovators of technical street skateboarding.

I had these shoes in brown. They were decent enough.

The sequence is by Giovanni Reda.

Transworld - June 2006 Volume 24 Number 6

Eric Koston #13.

Lasers.

In hindsight, Eric probably should have stuck with éS until the Nike offer came along instead of putting in a pitstop at Lakai. Of course, it is way too easy to armchair quarterback somebody else's career 15 years after the fact. Moving on from that topic, we get another strong part from Eric in Fully Flared. I was a little surprised at some of the bigger gaps, stairs, and rooftops he did tricks off of for the video. I didn't realize he was still doing some Zero style stunts. You get plenty of high tech rail and ledge skating from Eric that is done with remarkable precision while the Public Enemy plays.

The sequence was photographed by Jeff Landi.

Thrasher - November 2006 Volume 26 Number 11

Brandon Biebel #5.

Redline.

Since Biebel needs more juice, his part in Fully Flared kicks off with him drinking some type of weird high powered energy drink. He then proceeds to wreck a ton of spots with a consistent variety of flip tricks. Stairs and gaps are jumped down and grinds are done across ledges. Brandon works in a few manny combos with flips in and/or out. There are even a couple of handrail hammers and tricks done on picnic tables down stairs. This part is prime Biebel.

The photo is by Jeff Landi.

Thrasher - August 2005 Volume 25 Number 8

Mike Carroll #23.

Hesh & Fresh.

Mike covered both bases with a two song part in Fully Flared that featured Judas Priest and Three 6 Mafia for the tunes. There are plenty of lines out in the streets. Mike also jumps down a few bigger obstacles with backside 180s. All his usual moves are there, including bigspins, feeble grinds, and backside tailslides. He does some variations on tricks out of backside Smith grinds, too. Mike's frontside feeble at Hubba Hideout is in the section as well. This really is a standout Carroll part that probably gets lost in the long playing time of Fully Flared.

Those low top Carroll 4s look really good.

I finally set up a new board for the weekend. The old one was beyond done after four months. It was nice to have a new ride and some warm weather for the weekend.

The photograph is by Mike O'Meally. I like how they paid tribute to Eric Dressen instead of calling the trick a frontside salad grind.

Thrasher - July 2005 Volume 25 Number 7

Rick Howard #17.

Echo & The Bunnymen.

Rick's part in Fully Flared begins with his board getting away from him after a nose grind to 360 shove-it goes awry. Photographer Ben Colen makes a valiant effort to save the board from going in some nearby water, but is extremely unsuccessful. Ben, his camera, and Rick's ride all end up getting soaked. I'm going to float the idea out there that Rick has the best part in Fully Flared. I think this ends up being his last full segment as a pro. You get a bunch of classic Rick Howard skateboarding without any filler. There are manuals, bluntslides, a solid 360 flip over a bank gap, and flips out of assorted ledge tricks. He skates some banks, ditches, a full pipe, and even has a pool trick to add some variety. "The Cutter", by Echo & The Bunnymen, scores the part perfectly. Four stars.

Seu Trinh documented the sweet manny combo.

Thrasher - April 2006 Volume 26 Number 4

Alex Olson #6.

Steve's kid.

In addition to Mike Capaldi, Alex was the other fresh face who debuted in Fully Flared. He was the new am on Girl and Lakai. His part began with a montage of clumsy teenage moments paired with some Kerry Getz level temper tantrums. Alex skates fast and does a lot of big ollies, kickflips, and frontside flips. There are a few park clips and he hits up a bunch of handrails. He also spins a couple of nice frontside 360 ollies. It's a solid introduction to the world of his skating.

This was Alex's only Lakai ad. He split for Vans after Fully Flared was released. I like the sequence. The footage was in the video.

I know it has been discussed a few times over the years and Alex has said he was fine with the song selection, but the King Diamond just does not fit with his skateboarding. It doesn't really fit in with the overall soundtrack of the video. Although after watching his part again last night, "One Down Two To Go" wasn't that out of place either. I guess I've seen it enough that I'm used to it. I dunno.

Shout out to Lucas Wisenthal.

The photo sequence is by Dave Chami.

Thrasher - September 2007 Volume 27 Number 9

Jeff Lenoce, Scott Johnston & Rob Welsh.

Power Trio.

Jeff, Scott, and Rob have a shared part in Fully Flared. Jeff opens with a heavy gap and stair assault. There are an assortment of ollies, nollies, switch ollies, and frontside flips. He mixes in a couple manual tricks and nollie heelflips, too. This was Scott's swan song as he was retiring from the pro ranks and moving behind the scenes to design shoes. Rob does a bunch of the noseslides, manuals, crooked grinds, and blunt slides that you would expect from him. His board looks really small. Sadly, this handplant isn't in the video.

I never had the Soca II. I wish I had gotten a couple pairs. I don't think they were in production for very long. I did have the Trifecta in brown. They had a slightly different type of sole.

Jeff's photo is by Atiba Jefferson and Rob's photo is by Ken Goto.

Jeff: Transworld - February 2006 Volume 24 Number 2

Scott: Transworld - November 2005 Volume 23 Number 11

Rob: Thrasher - June 2005 Volume 25 Number 6

Cairo Foster #14.

Cairo jumped down a lot of gaps and skated a bunch of oddly shaped handrails to the sounds of The Flaming Lips for his part in Fully Flared. He did some seriously big nollies and took the frontside noseslide to new heights. There's even a nollie hardflip for old time's sake. Cairo was in his prime for this video.

I'm glad I used mostly Lakai ads for this feature since they show a variety of the shoe models they were making. I had a bunch of them. It's interesting to note that nearly all the shoes are cupsoles.

The photo sequence is by Jeff Landi.

Thrasher - September 2006 Volume 26 Number 9