Kris Markovich #26.

Burning up the 90s.

I don't think it would be an absurd claim to make that Kris was probably the best street skateboarder of the 1990s. Based on his body of work, few others had as many top tier video parts, photos, interviews, and overall coverage for the ten year span. I'm not flat out saying he was the best or that we even need to declare a best, but Kris was out there skating as hard as possible year in and year out. His trick selection was spot on and he avoided the pitfalls of following the trends too closely. The pundits always ding him on the sponsorship changes, which mostly happened in the early 1990s when the industry was in a state of flux. It's important to note that Kris never stopped ripping regardless of what company's board he was riding.

Slap - September 1999 Volume 8 Number 9

Reese Forbes #11.

Blinding sunlight.

Like Scott Johnston, Reese also took the Maryland to DC to California route for skateboarding. He rode for Goodtimes, turned pro for Element, and was part of Rasa Libre with Matt Field and Nate Jones. Brad Staba added him as the first professional for Skate Mental when the company went beyond making ping pong paddles and beer koozies. For shoe sponsors, I think he might have ridden for Emerica before landing on Vita and then the relaunched Nike skateboarding program. Reese was featured prominently in Dan Wolfe's Eastern Exposure video series.

I don't really have too much to say about Reese since I'm a fan of his skating and followed along with his career over the years. He didn't have a lot of interviews so there wasn't a lot of background to dig up. I'm beginning to write these profiles for people who might be stumbling on this site for the first time or if somebody skated and then stepped away for whatever reason. I'm trying to avoid writing stuff that could easily be churned out by a machine, too. That's a new creative approach that we didn't have to deal with a few years ago.

Slap - August 1999 Volume 8 Number 8

Scott Johnston #8.

Crispy clean.

Scott burns a noseblunt slide across a handrail. He's from Maryland and skated in DC a lot before getting on Think and moving out to San Francisco. Scott would turn pro for Think, switch over to Mad Circle, and end his career on Chocolate. He rode for DC Shoes and got in on the ground floor at Lakai. Scott has since moved on to being a shoe designer. During his time in SF, he used to skate vert at Max Schaaf's ramp with Max and Bob Burnquist.

It was mostly dry, although a tad on the chilly side for the weekend. I stuck with skateboarding in the driveway. I was thinking about going to an indoor park, but decided to stay home instead. I've been kind of worn out lately. I need to check the local park to see if all the snow has melted away. I figure there are probably a few drifts left. This week's warmer temperatures and rain should take care of that. I probably need to set up a new board with new wheels soon. I probably need new shoes, too.

Slap - July 1999 Volume 8 Number 7