Salman Agah #9.

Hot Shot.

Big Salman crushes a handrail with a lipslide. This ad would have been from when he returned to Real after riding for the Firm. Salman had a few tricks in their Kicked Out Of Everywhere video from 1999. There were even some vert clips at Max Schaaf's ramp. Salman wasn't on Real too long before heading over to The Black Label in the early 2000s.

It's interesting how Real is constantly tinkering with board construction. None of the innovations seem to stick for long so it makes me wonder how well the new ideas work. Of course, they do probably pick out subtle things that do click and carry those forward for future deck designs.

Weren't there skateboard trading cards in the early 1990s called Hot Shots?

Slap - April 1999 Volume 8 Number 4

Real Team 1999.

Masters of Reality.

Real was running their usual heavy squad for 1999. These are some classic photos with Gonz mobbing a kickflip, Huf doing a big ollie wearing the DC Rick Howard IIs, and Max making a backyard pool appearance. Matt and Quim were also on the team, but didn't make picture day. From a design perspective, it's easier to put together an ad with five or six photos and not seven. I really dig the font Real uses. It's one they've used from time to time.

Slap - February 1999 Volume 8 Number 2

Ethan Fowler & Chris "Dune" Pastras #2.

Imperfections.

What do you do with somebody like Ethan Fowler? He's an important part of skateboard history, but flawed as a person. I don't really have a definitive answer. I suppose you recognize the talent to an extent while mentioning the transgressions.

I haven't posted anything with Ethan since the Free Skate Magazine interview with Benny Fairfax from May of 2021 was published. In the interview, Benny recounts how Ethan called him the n-word at a show Ethan's band was playing in Los Angeles. To say Ethan looks bad in the story is a major understatement. I have no intent to post anything else with him, but I found this ad and was pondering what to do with the characters who ruin their legacies.

I feel like the skate media probably covered for Ethan when he was at his peak. If you read between the lines and piece together assorted stories over the years, you get the sense that his personality could politely be described as prickly at best. I imagine there were a few incidents that were swept under the rug because he could do great backside lipslides on handrails. The fact that he has essentially vanished makes it much easier for him to be lost to the sands of time, which is quite possibly the best case scenario in this particular situation.

Slap - July 1997 Volume 6 Number 7

Carl Shipman #6.

Royal Air Force.

My mind might be a little fuzzy about this, but I think on one of the DC Euro Super Tours they were introducing Carl Shipman at demos as being from the USA simply for the sake of messing with him. It did not go over well with Carl.

Slap - June 1997 Volume 6 Number 6

Matt Rodriguez #7.

A Minor Lipslide.

It's well known that Matt is a musician, but I was mildly surprised that he is also a visual artist. He talks about drawing and wanting to study art at the university level in his Thrasher interview from May of 1994. It's very much possible I simply forgot Matt has done artwork for Stereo, Supernaut, IPath, and Creation over the years.

Slap - April 1997 Volume 6 Number 4

Mike Frazier #11.

Right side up, upside down.

Mike was a staple of modern 1990s vertical skateboarding. He rode for Powell, Birdhouse, Stereo, Toy Machine, Element, and Santa Cruz over the years. He missed having a part in a Toy Machine video. Mike was added to the team after Welcome To Hell and left before Jump Off A Building. I wonder how a part from him would have fit into a Toy Machine flick? His section in Tincan Folklore is a classic. Without double checking, I'm sure this invert was in there. It's good to know Mike is still out there shredding the ramps to this day.

I like how Spitfire would do team lists every now and again to answer any questions about who officially rode the wheels.

Profile: Slap - August 1996 Volume 5 Number 8

Invert: Slap - June 1996 Volume 5 Number 6

Chris "Dune" Pastras #6.

Sonic Raygun.

It maybe gets lost in the shuffle because Chris has worked in the industry for so long, but he's really good at skateboarding. This photo is great. Dune is wearing some Duffs, has the bigger wheels, and is locked in precisely on a frontside railslide. There might even be riser pads on his board.

Dan Rusin's new Into The Void video is out in the world now and it is top shelf stuff. He's even released it on DVD. Dan showcases more Minnesota skateboarding with the likes of Matt Boeltl, TJ Moran, and a few others. It's totally worth checking out.

Slap - June 1996 Volume 5 Number 6

Kenny Hughes #7.

Coastal Hiway.

I've been slowly trying to get more posts of Kenny on here. He was quite the ripper in the 1990s and early 2000s. He's one of those pros that didn't have many interviews so you don't know a lot about him. You'd just hear stories here and there. It adds to the mystique. This might have been his only advertisement for Emerica. Kenny would soon depart for DC Shoes. The switch k-grind was in Element's Third Eye View video from 1998. Everything about this ad is great - the traffic signal photo, the trick, the design, the colors, and the text.

I've been skateboarding lately, but it's not going great. Every trick can randomly become a chore. I don't know, man. I maybe need to take a week off or not be old. Have a fun weekend and stay cool.

Slap - June 1997 Volume 6 Number 6

Phil Shao #15.

Modern freeway systems.

Emerica was running a team list in their ads up until the fall of 1997. The pros were Jamie Thomas, Marc Johnson, Chris Senn, Phil Shao, Donny Barley, Kenny Hughes, Dan Drehobl, John Cardiel, and Darren Navarrette. Tim McKenney and Mike Maldonado were the amateurs. I'm curious about Cardiel's time on Emerica. I don't believe he ever had an ad for them. He was wearing the shoes in his coverage from 1996-98 and did have a few tricks in the Yellow video from 1997. Has he ever mentioned Emerica in an interview? This is one of those curious little bits of trivia that I'd like to know more about. It reminds me of when Rick Howard was on éS for a couple months before he was on DC.

Slap - August 1997 Volume 6 Number 8

Mike Maldonado #7.

Brutalism.

I believe this was Mike's only ad for Emerica. I didn't remember that he even rode for them. It's sort of hard to tell what shoes Mike is wearing in a lot of his photos, but they look like something from Emerica or éS. He was added to the Axion squad in 2000. I miss when skate shoe companies had a line of assorted, somewhat generic in a good sense, plain cupsoles. I might as well make this the obligatory happy 30th anniversary to Welcome To Hell post. It seems like only yesterday the Toy Machine team was doing a demo in a Buffalo parking lot on the tour for the video.

Slap - October 1997 Volume 6 Number 10

Ed Templeton #36.

Description.

Ed was added to the Emerica team in 1998 after Sole Tech put Sheep Shoes out to pasture. He had previously ridden for Vans. He gradually faded away from Emerica as his formal pro career wound down. I think Ed assists Jamie Thomas with his WARSAW shoe project to some extent these days while cranking out the art for Toy Machine. Ed isn't really a backside tailslide guy and this bank looks so rough and bumpy.

Slap - April 1998 Volume 7 Number 4

Andrew Reynolds #21.

Balancing Emerica.

The Boss floats a frontside ollie back in the Birdhouse days. It's a little uncommon to see a skatepark photo of Andrew, particularly for an ad. Emerica has been fairly consistent with their graphic design from the beginning up until now. You seldom see any horrible missteps. Sometimes they try a different green or use fonts that are too small, but they always round back into form. I appreciate that effort. It's cool they have a good looking aesthetic that allows for variation while sticking to their overall image.

Slap - June 1998 Volume 7 Number 6

Jim Menscer #3.

Red Medicine.

Jim was part of the Phillie scene with Ricky Oyola, Matt Reason, and the rest of the crew. I wasn't sure if he turned pro, but this ad confirms that he did. He also rode for Sub Zero and Kastel. His music tastes in the 1990s included Superchunk, Sebadoh, and Fugazi.

I hope everybody has a good holiday weekend. Try to stay cool out there and party smart.

The photo is by Kelly Ryan.

Slap - April 1998 Volume 7 Number 4

Rob Pluhowski #8.

Frame grab.

Everybody's favorite Habitat amateur blasts a set of stairs to a small landing pad for First Division Wheels. Rob previously rode for Element before being an original rider on Habitat. His feet were sponsored by Vita and DVS. He came to the conclusion in the early 2000s that skateboarding wasn't going to be a stable career for him as he got older and peaced out from the biz at a good point in his life. You have to respect that.

It's been hot here and things are hectic with the holiday for work so I am worn out. I've been skateboarding in the driveway in the evenings when it is less hot. It keeps being hit or miss for me. I think I'm tired, even if I don't really feel tired. Adult life is grand. Maybe some new shoes will help.

I'm puzzled as to why they didn't include a credit for the photographer. Maybe they weren't sure who submitted the sequence when the ad was being designed.

Slap - November 1997 Volume 6 Number 11

Andrew Currie #2.

First division from UK Colonies.

Andrew hails from Queensland, Australia and has ridden for SMA, Foundation, Silverstar, Hoon, and probably a few other companies over the decades. I wanted to find some more information on him as I feel he had an interview in print somewhere, but I ran out of time to fully do the research. He got a lot of coverage in Slap in the 1990s so he's a familiar face you maybe don't know too much about.

Happy 125th, Australia! I apologize for being a few months late. Happy Canada Day!

Slap - October 1997 Volume 6 Number 10