Jeff Pang #5.

Thunder & lighting.

Jeff is from NYC. He rode for Shut, Underworld Element, Cream, and Zoo York. In addition to being pro for Zoo, he also served as their team manager. Later on Jeff would work at DC Shoes in the same capacity. He was working as an electrician and not skateboarding as much when Andy Howell offered him a spot on Underworld Element. There was also a chance Jeff might have gotten on Blind in the early days, but he politely declined out of loyalty to Shut.

It was warm and sunny yesterday with the always present high winds. I gave driveway skateboarding a go after work. I wasn't really landing much and was worn out, but I wanted to get outside since the weather looks cold and wet going forward.

Thrasher - September 1992 Volume 12 Number 9

Moses Itkonen #4.

We rule the school.

Moses skips the roll-in ramp and does a crooked grind to noseslide to revert on the ledge at Wallenberg. This Thunder ad looks much like a Real ad, which makes sense, but they usually try to separate the companies a little with the graphic design. John Shanahan had a cool photo doing an ollie over a fence and into the bank at the school recently. It's neat to see tricks at a long time spot that don't involve a different flip down a giant set of stairs.

It warmed up for the weekend. Due to a little rain and high winds, I only skateboarded on the ledges I have in my driveway. I was thinking about visiting an indoor park until I decided I was too out of sync from the stupid clock change. I probably made the right choice to get outside and enjoy the fresh air.

Thrasher - November 1992 Volume 12 Number 11

Peter Smolik #3.

Lord Pillage.

Pete rolls the dice on a backside kickflip over a roof gap. This trick would have been during his prime in the Shorty's and Osiris era. I haven't scanned a lot of his ads over the years. Pete falls into the category of being well documented already. One of the goals when I started this site was to focus on the more obscure skaters and companies. I've basically achieved that goal so that gives me the space to revisit stuff I might have skipped over earlier.

I remember how big a deal his shoe was back at the end of the 1990s. Pete also had a pair of signature jeans from Osiris. The gimmick was that the jeans had a velcro tab on the inside of the cuff that paired with a matching tab on the shoes. It would keep your pants from getting frayed by preventing the cuffs from touching the ground. I believe his shoe was synthetic. Funny thing is that I doubt Pete was overly picky about such a thing. My vegan friend had a pair and I know he wouldn't have bought them if the shoes used suede or leather. He had the jeans, too. I thought it was a little odd to attach your pants to your shoes, but Osiris found a market niche to occupy with an innovative product.

The weather has been alternating between dry days and rain. I've gotten in some driveway skateboarding this week and it will probably be good for today once the fog clears out. The weekend looks warmer, but with a chance of thunderstorms. I need to set up a new board with some fresh wheels. I've only skated my current board 25 times due to winter and yet it is looking worn out. Most of those times weren't very long and it's not like I'm doing anything gnarly so it feels too soon to set up a new ride. Hope everybody has a good weekend.

Slap - January 2000 Volume 9 Number 1

Tim Upson #8.

"JJ Rogers. I used to get stoked to see pictures of that guy, he was burly."

The Updog floats a heelflip over a jersey barrier for Spitfire. He's from Connecticut. Tim rode for Black Label and Anti-Hero. He was doing Hard Times Manufacturing with Brian Seber in the 2010s. I'm not sure if they are still in business. I kept flipping by this ad thinking I had scanned it already, but I never did. Tim is one of those underground rippers with that aura of mystery that makes him cool.

For the quote: Thrasher - April 1996 Volume 16 Number 4

Slap - November 1999 Volume 8 Number 11

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

Mike Holloway & Phil Vaughn.

The Texas to New York Connection.

In addition to Anthony Correa, fellow Texans Mike Holloway and Phil Vaughn were also on the squad at Zoo York. Both are from Houston. Phil rode for Shorty's, Venture, and Adio. I don't know too much about Mike. His last name might be spelled wrong. This was a two page ad with Phil's side turned sideways that I split up for ease of viewing. The Texas Rangers tagline caught my eye and was what prompted a week of Zoo York.

It's been varying degrees of cold for the week. I've gotten in some skateboarding in the driveway. The sunsets are noticeably later so I don't have to rush after work. There's a possibility it warms up soon, too.

Giovanni Reda possibly left the city to take the photos.

Slap - September 1999 Volume 8 Number 9

Anthony Correa #5.

Ocularge.

I don't really know too much about Anthony. He's from Houston, moved to NYC, and was pro for Zoo York. His part in Mixtape is a great collection of ledge tech along with some big ollies out in the streets. I hate to make a clichéd statement that he has proper style, but he truly does.

Check out Sk8 FYI. Will Simons is creating a digital archive of all the skateboard mags. He doesn't have much up on the site as yet, but he's working on the fun part: scanning the copy.

The photos are by Giovanni Reda and I think Eli Morgan Gesner.

Slap - June 1999 Volume 8 Number 8

Danny Supa #6.

Rusty Metal.

Danny takes a switch 50-50 to a sketchy looking free standing rail in Tokyo. He was actually on Tree Fort before riding for Zoo York. Those are some Converse sneakers on his feet. I think that's Anthony Correa standing in the background. Danny was an East Coast pioneer in pushing opposite footed skating to new levels in the middle and late 1990s.

After a few days off due to snow, I was able to skateboard in the driveway again when I was finished with work yesterday. It was still on the cold side, but it wasn't too bad once I got moving around. I think winter is finally starting to chill out a little.

The photo is by Dimitry Elyaskevich.

Slap - June 1999 Volume 8 Number 7

Akira Mowatt.

Maps & Atlases.

I dig how Zoo York had a few guys with mysterious names on the team, like Loki and Akira. It added to the mystique of company and made you curious about life in the big city. Akira is from Okinawa, Japan. His family moved to New York in the mid 1990s. He met up with Harold Hunter and really got hooked on skateboarding after that. He had appearances in the assorted Zoo York videos of the day.

I'm running Tahoe 26.3 on the new iMac and updating on Blogspot is a pain. Safari won't let me upload pictures or log out cleanly. Firefox will let me upload pictures, but I can't log out cleanly. The site doesn't display properly in Firefox either. The fonts look thin and anything in italics is in bold italics. Is there another browser I should be using?

Giovanni Reda was the photographer.

Slap - June 1999 Volume 8 Number 6

Robbie Gangemi #4.

Confidential.

Rob survives a handrail backside lipslide out in the field. This batch of scans are all from the summer of 1999 and ran in Slap. I found a couple Zoo York ads I didn't remember and made a week of it. Their graphic design was some top notch work that still stands out today.

There was a slight amount of snow over the weekend so there was no skateboarding for me. Things almost dried up for Saturday, but the sunset got here first. I think I needed the days off anyway. I hope the East Coast is doing OK after the blizzard went through.

Slap - May 1999 Volume 8 Number 5

Dylan Rieder #11.

A couple or three weeks ago, I started to rewatch some old videos. I haven't really been interested in watching videos at all lately, but I decided to dig through the archives to see what I had forgotten about. I found some good stuff, like Jimmy Lannon's part in Volunteers. This was a video made by Mikey Bueso in 2015 and is a great collection of gritty East Coast street skating. I revisited solo joints by Brent Atchley and Dylan Rieder since those are quick views. It's wild to think that skateboarding had the money to give away free DVDs fifteen years ago compared to how things are today. Plenty has been written about Dylan over the years and I doubt I can add much of anything worthwhile, except to say that revisiting the classics after some time away is never a bad idea.

Thursday was warm and dry for driveway skateboarding. I wanted to be sure to roll for a while since the weather looks dicey going forward. My legs were tired, but I made the most of it. It was one of those days where skateboarding is simply a reason to be outside and not worry about a stupid noseslide taking way too many tries to land. I did see a couple of robins in the yard so maybe spring is getting here sooner instead of later.

The Skateboard Mag - October 2010 Issue 79

Jake Johnson #8.

Enjoy the winter now.

Dime is a clothing company from Montreal, Quebec. They have enough juice to host the occasional fancy contest where skateboarders go for the glory on ridiculously expanding obstacles. I imagine if Dime was around in the early 2000s, they would be referred to as a "hipster" company, but thankfully we don't live in those days in any more. The team includes Andrew Reynolds, Una Farrar, Alexis Lacroix, Etienne Gagne, and probably a whole bunch of other people.

It looks like we've got one more dry day left of fake spring before the seasonal weather programming returns. I've been able to skateboard in the driveway after work this week. The milder weather and later sunsets feel good.

The photo is by Mike Heikkila.

Thrasher - May 2021 Volume 42 Number 5

Will Marshall.

St. Lawrence River.

Will hails from Cornwall, Ontario. The city is located somewhat near Ottawa and Montreal so Will had options for spots once he started really getting into skateboarding. He rode for Alltimers until that company came to an end. I guess he's still on DC, depending upon how they are doing these days. Will also rides for Dime, Spitfire, and Thunder.

Mike Heikkila was the photographer.

Thrasher - January 2020 Volume 41 Number 5

James Capps.

The Sheffield.

James is from Boise, Idaho and grew up in Oregon. He moved down to SF and then LA for skateboarding. Based on his Transworld Check Out from 2012, some of his favorite skaters are Stefan Janoski, Josh Mathews, and John Cardiel. At that time he was on flow for Organika, DC, Spitfire, and Fourstar. In the years since, James has turned pro for Chocolate. He enjoys camping.

Even though it was basically the same as Lakai's popular Manchester model, the Sheffield was somehow a better shoe. I can't really explain it. I was a little disappointed when they discontinued the design and brought back the Manchester. I had a few pairs of Sheffields. I still have one ratty pair I'll wear around the garage.

Ben Colen took the photograph.

For the info: Transworld - July 2012 Volume 30 Number 7

Thrasher - August 2017 Volume 38 Number 8

Jon Sciano #4.

Stairway to Attic.

Jon ripped it up for Anti-Hero and Lakai in the middle 2010s before stepping away from the sponsored spotlight. He's from Oviedo, Florida. His dad is a tattoo artist. Jon pops up at video premieres and assorted events on Thrasher's website from time to time so he's still out there doing his thing.

Last week was hectic. I update the site at work and my iMac has been having troubles for the last year. It finally crapped out on Monday and we had to get a new computer. Fortunately the replacement was here on Tuesday so I was back in business, but I was swamped with getting everything running correctly that posting on here wasn't a priority. Everything is in good shape now.

Winter took the weekend off so I got to skateboard every day. I skated the driveway and checked out Jamestown Skateboard Products on Saturday. I was a little worn out from the week and I was low on energy. It was nice to roll in some better weather for a change.

The photo is by Ben Colen.

Transworld - February 2014 Volume 32 Number 2

Ben Kadow #3.

Flambé.

Ben burns a lipslide across a tall and difficult handrail in NYC. I'm a fan of what Ben does and the assorted articles he has written for Thrasher. I like that he's into weird hardcore and noise bands, as well as being a chef. It's things like this that make a skater interesting instead of simply being good at skateboarding as their main selling point.

I got to skateboard in the driveway for a second day in a row yesterday. It was still 20˚ F at best so I wasn't out there for long. I did a couple frontside 50-50s, tailslides, and ollies off the jump ramp before calling it a day. These little bits of skateboarding feel nice and it's good to be outside for something other than shoveling snow.

Thrasher - February 2025 Volume 46 Number 2

Rob Welsh & Cody Chapman.

Thee good ole' days.

I don't even know why I picked this one. I guess I thought it was funny. It doesn't exactly fit into a review of 2025. I definitely dragged the look back at last year on for a week longer than I should have. Even as this thing limps along to the 18 year mark, I'm still learning how to pace and edit the copy, which I suppose is a good thing. Unless it is a specific video recap that warrants longer, two weeks is the max for any one topic.

One bit of relevancy to this Lakai ad would be that Cody joined up with the Anti-Hero crew in 2025 after UMA Landsleds came to an end. I think Evan Wasser or somebody else had a photo doing the exact same trick at the exact same spot. I remember flipping by it, but didn't take the time to mark down who it was.

I skateboarded in the driveway after work on Wednesday. It was 20˚ F at best. The driveway had only a few small damp spots and ice chunks so I had more room to roll in than on Monday. I managed enough tricks to make it count before my trucks froze due to the cold.

The photos are by Andrew "Ando" Caulfield.

Thrasher - July 2020 Volume 41 Number 7

Sam Narvaez.

Cracklin' Rosie.

Sam turned pro for Krooked in 2025. She also rides for Adidas and HUF. In the tradition of Dan Drehobl, her part used a Neil Diamond song to accompany the assorted krooked grinds, manuals, and bank tricks. I think the video was mostly filmed in Cuba, which provides a colorful background for her skating.

Thrasher - September 2025 Volume 46 Number 9

Breana Geering #4.

PUNX ROCK.

Breezy had a few sick photos for ads and a quick part in Splinter, Girl's video from the summer of 2025. She also had a gest part for Krooked with Una Farrar in 2024, too.

I shoveled out the driveway on Sunday and was able to skateboard after work on Monday. I had to deal with some big wet spots. I fit in a bunch of noseslides and boardslides before I got cold. Things felt good and wish I had more time.

Thrasher - March 2025 Volume 46 Number 3

Deandre "Lil Dre" Thebpanya.

Lil fluffy clouds.

Lil Dre is from San Francisco, California. He rode for Karl Watson's Maxallure until that company floated off into the ether. Girl Skateboards recently added him to the pro team. His other sponsors include Adidas, Venture, and Spitfire. Dre can fakie front crook anything and has great skill in doing flip tricks. He's really good and brings an element of style back to Girl that has been somewhat lacking in recent years.

Thrasher - April 2021 Volume 42 Number 4

Tom Schaar #2.

Zombie.

A young Tom catches a stalefish in a pool. He would have been on Element back in 2012. These days he's riding for Birdhouse Projects and New Balance. Tom used his vert skills in the recent Thrasher bowl contest at Supreme in LA. He was blasting some big airs and getting tricks on a very tall makeshift Supreme extension. It was cool to see Hugo Boserup tearing up the bowl to win the contest, too.

Try to stay warm out there. Spring has to get here sooner or later. I'm almost mildly optimistic about getting to an indoor park to skateboard this weekend. Our usual winter cycle is snow a couple days, dig out, warm up, dry up, and then snow again. You can fit in some skating at the end of that cycle, but we haven't had a break from the snow and it sure hasn't warmed up.

The photo is by Mike Blabac.

Transworld - December 2012 Volume 30 Number 12

Chris Joslin #2.

Champion Matador.

Now that the dust and hot takes have settled, we can evaluate Chris winning Thrasher's SOTY for 2025. I feel he picked up the honor for a career body of work, along the lines of when Anthony Van Engelen won. Add into that one amazing 360 flip with a great backstory and it's a done deal. That said, he's still an oddly surprising choice. I had the frontrunners as Antonio Durao, Greyson Fletcher, TJ Rogers, and Tom Schaar so Joslin wasn't on my short list. I figured Tom would win because of two ridiculous vert parts and knowing that Michael Burnett has a soft spot for the tamers of giant halfpipes.

Joslin has been out there hucking flip tricks down massive stairs and gaps for over a decade now in the skateboarding spotlight. He isn't somebody I keep up with. I'll watch a video part here or a contest run there and that's about the extent of it. He's great at what he does, it's not the type of skateboarding I'm into. And that's fine.

I remember when he turned pro and how popular he was with certain skaters. Joslin was also on nearly every other page of the mags back in the middle 2010s. His part in Album, the Etnies video from 2018, is a tour de force of big gaps, ledges, and handrails. He even does a couple of no-complies and 43s in the section.

I am curious about how Plan B is doing these days. I can't imagine they have the draw they once had. I think they probably do have a fan base that keeps buying the boards. I live in a poor area to do market research on what is popular, but I've seen more Hardbody decks than Plan B for whatever that is worth. I'm also curious what the average skater thinks of the new version of Lakai. My guess would be they are oblivious to all the behind the scenes ownership changes that cost the brand most of its supporters. I'm just wondering aloud about all these things since we don't have Transworld Business publishing the numbers like we used to back in the day.

The photo is by Sam McGuire.

Thrasher - August 2017 Volume 38 Number 8

TJ Rogers.

Survivor.

TJ had a productive 2025 with several video parts of gnarly street tech and a pro shoe on éS. He's from Whitby, Ontario. Bill Weiss hooked a fellow Canadian up with a sponsorship from Blind in the early 2010s. When Dwindle came to an unsightly end in 2022, TJ found a home at SK8MAFIA. He's elevated ledge tech to new heights and distances while also still jumping down big stairs as he gets older.

Thrasher - September 2025 Volume 46 Number 9

Bobby de Keyzer #2.

Canadian Broadcasting Company.

Bobby filmed an entire video part at the plaza next to the CBC's office building in downtown Toronto. He spent the fall of 2024 with videographer Tomas Morrison going back to the plaza enough times until he was probably sick of the place. I believe he said it wasn't really one of his favorite spots and wanted to see what he could do there over time. BOBCBC is an arty middle ground between a traditional video part and a raw files dump. You get to see the process Bobby uses for landing tricks and putting together lines, along with all the frustration that goes into said process. Barret Avner's experimental score keeps the video moving along. It's a good soundtrack to break up the repetition of the tricks and broken boards. I like how they included bits of weather data throughout the project. I listen to the CBC radio station that Bobby is skating in front of so there's some kind of odd connection for me to the part.

The sequence was documented by Mike Blabac.

Transworld - January 2015 Volume 33 Number 1

Tristan Funkhouser #2.

"You go disco and I'll go Funkadelic, man."

DC dropped two new ams on us in 2015 with four pages of ads in Transworld. The new riders were Tristan and Bobby de Keyzer. Both would go on to become pro and are very much relevant to skateboarding right now so that was some good talent scouting at DC. T-Funk has been wrecking both spots and himself the last few years. He still rides for Baker and I think he might be on Vans.

It was cold and snowed this weekend so there was no skateboarding again. I've been trying to watch some old videos on DVD and I gave Grey Area's Neverwhere from 2018 a fresh viewing. The whole video is really good with Michal Juraś having an outstanding closing part. Neverwhere opens with a skater ollieing up onto a car and slamming. The video ends with him making the ride over the car after the credits. I'd never noticed that bit of symmetry before. Try to stay warm out there.

The photo is by Mike Blabac.

Transworld - January 2015 Volume 33 Number 1

Antonio Durao #4.

Interlude.

A young Antonio does one of his patented switch 360 flips down a six block in San Jose. He had a few interesting video parts for Hardbody and Spitfire in 2025 that put him in the mix as a legitimate contender for SOTY. I bet Girl thought they had the next Gino Iannucci when they added Antonio to the team. I'm still not really sure what I think of Hardbody, but I dig how grainy and ambiguous all their videos and ads are. It was cool to see some new footage from Hjalte Halberg to close out the year.

It's been cold here all week and is looking to be cold here all next week. The odds of getting skateboarding any time soon aren't looking so hot. It is January so this tracks.

Sam Muller was the photographer.

Transworld - August 2015 Volume 33 Number 8

Nathan Midgette.

Bones Brigade.

Skeleton Key is Darren Navarrette's company. He started it more than a few years back to make copers, t-shirts, and other assorted vert related trinkets. Darren has expanded the manufacturing to include boards. Nathan, Alex Hajimihalis, and Josh Rodriguez comprise the pro team. Nate is the son of Schmitt Stix pro Allen Midgette. He drew the graphics for his board, but it looks kind of like something his dad would've created. I'm stoked on seeing their ads in Thrasher every month. It's a nice throwback to the 1980s vert days while adding a contemporary touch.

The photo is by J. Grant Brittain.

Thrasher - September 2025 Volume 46 Number 9

Cruise Mosberg.

Power Play.

Cruise is the son of Jamie "Mouse" Mosberg. Jamie is a photographer and videographer who worked for Life's A Beach/B.B.C. back in the 1980s. He also filmed some little video for Birdhouse called The End. Cruise had a good Thrasher interview. He talked about his dad's career and mentioned the Life's A Beach video called Skaters From Uranus. In spite of the name, it's a solid flick that showcased a whole lot of skaters, including Jeff Phillips, Bill Danforth, Ron Allen, Bryan Pennington, and many more. It was the second or third video I ever saw. My friends had it and we watched it all the time since viewing options were limited back then. Cruise's interview was an unexpected bit of feel good nostalgia.

It's funny because when there are two of something, one will inevitably be good and the other will be bad. Hockey feels exciting and looks interesting while FA feels and looks tired. I think Hockey has the better art direction and overall aesthetic. Although Sage Elsesser's recent interview with Slam City was a good read so maybe I'm being needlessly nitpicky. It's probably that.

The photo is by Kris Burkhardt.

Thrasher - July 2025 Volume 46 Number 7

Nelly Morville #2.

Professional Limo Driver.

One of the highlights in 2025 was Nelly being awarded a pro model from Limosine. She also had a signature wheel from Spitfire. Her short iPhone filmed videos of skateboarding and the assorted antics that go with it are worthy watches on YouTube.

Thrasher - April 2025 Volume 46 Number 4

Zion Wright #2.

Jupiter's Finest.

Zion had a ripping 2025. I like how he can skate handrails along with being able to do inverts and 540s in bowls. I'm not so sure about his golf fascination, but whatever. His backside 180s ollies on street more than make up for the baggage fee to fly golf clubs to Greece.

Back to the grind. I wound up scanning more stuff than I initially planned on for the review of 2025. I guess that's good. I tried to pick out older stuff for the stars of the last year and found a few things. The early to mid 2010s are starting to look more interesting by virtue of the passing of time.

There's a mistake regarding the flame head logo in Thrasher's Spitfire wheels article from the December 2025 issue. The article states that the first appearance of the flame head was in December 1993. Kevin Ancell's creation actually debuted in May of 1992 in a somewhat drab grey ad. I have no idea how to let them know about the error and don't really feel like trying so I'm posting the correction on here.

I've gotten to skateboard three times this year. We've had winter. It hasn't been too bad in terms of snow and cold. There's been a couple warm days, but it rained by the time I was finished with work. The sunsets are getting later at the least. This week unfortunately looks to be bitterly cold. I'm glad I got to skate in the driveway for a while on Sunday afternoon. Even though it was on the chilly side, there was plenty of bright sun so it was fine.

Thrasher - June 2025 Volume 46 Number 6