Mike Crum #9.

Visionary.

The Nollie Lama pilots a switch pop shove-it over a vert channel. You can't go wrong with a good backyard ramp. Mike rode for Vision, Prime, and World Industries over his pro career. He was sponsored by Duffs, Recs, and DVS for shoes. I like his no handed approach to vert. It is progression without delving into the strange realm of doing new tricks simply because they have not been done before.

Transworld - December 1998 Volume 16 Number 12

Rob "Sluggo" Boyce #7.

Concrete Wilderness.

Rob launches a backflip out of the bowl at a Vancouver skatepark. The stunt made the cover of the May 1998 issue of Transworld. Rob rode for G & S and Real. He was on Real even before Tommy Guerrero and Jim Thiebaud were on. Jeff Klindt and Steve Ruge offered him a spot at the very beginning of the company during a contest at Linda Vista. Henry Sanchez was the only other rider at the time. Sluggo would turn pro for Real in 1991 and would switch to World Industries a couple years later. David Gravette would also score the cover of Transworld with a backflip in 2012.

Transworld - November 1998 Volume 16 Number 11

Daewon Song #9.

King Tech.

This is the series of ads that I was thinking of from the sequential vert week. For World Industries in 1998, they are not that bad. You get Daewon entering into the prime of his school yard furniture moving era, which probably resulted from being really good at skateboarding and the boredom of skating the same things every day.

Transworld has once again entered the print realm with a photo annual issue. I ordered a copy and we'll see how it turns out. It's good that they are back in some form in the real world.

Big Brother - July 1998 Issue 38

Kareem Campbell & Enrique Lorenzo.

Filler.

When I did the week of vert sequences, I was thinking of a series of ads that World Industries did in 1998. A quick browsing of the Chrome Ball Incident turned up nothing so I tracked them down myself. For Flame Boy/Wet Willy era World, they weren't terrible because they left those characters out. However, World only ran four ads in the series so I needed something else to fill out the week. That's why it is a double shot of Kareem and Enrique. Both of these are sick photos, especially Kareem's ollie, that are ruined with some little kiddie cartoons. In an era that was defined by fresh or not, I'm surprised skaters stuck with World.

There was a full size poster of the Kareem ad. I don't think it had the characters on it.

In a related note, CCS is doing a reissue of some assorted Flame Boy and Wet Willy boards and clothing. Nostalgia has maybe finally worn out its welcome.

Mr. Campbell: Transworld - April 1998 Volume 16 Number 4

Mr. Lorenzo: Transworld - May 1998 Volume 16 Number 5

Alex Perelson #3.

100 MPH.

Alex grew up skating vert at the Clairemont YMCA ramp with pros such as Darren Navarrette, Jake Brown, Rune Gilfberg, and others. His first real setup was a Zero with Destructos and Spitfires. His brother Brandon also skates and was sponsored by Welcome at one point. Jake Donnelly and Justin Brock were his favorites on Real in the early 2010s era. He was not a fan of Bucky Lasek's giant concrete backyard bowl. I keep posting Alex's ads because of how much of an influence he is on current vert skaters.

I met up with a friend at the Food Court Skatepark on Wednesday. He brought a buddy along who was ripping up the place and blasted some ridiculous transfers from ramp to ramp. It was sunny and nice so we wasted a late season good weather day indoors, but that wasn't a big deal. I actually had the best day of skateboarding I've had in a long time. I can still do backside 50-50s so that was a relief. I think I'm slowly and cautiously working out of whatever funk I've been in for the last few months.

Vert Is Dead will be back on Monday, December 8th.

I'm so tired of computers and the internet that I'm taking a longer late fall break. Have a good weekend and holiday!

The photos are by Brian Fick.

For the info: Thrasher - May 2011 Volume 31 Number 5

Top shelf: Thrasher - December 2011 Volume 31 Number 12

900: Thrasher - August 2011 Volume 31 Number 8

Rob "Sluggo" Boyce #6.

Flip out.

Sluggo uses his gymnastic skills to do a backflip. This is from the 2010 Rumble in Ramona. The Rumbles were an annual vert event that Darren Navarrette used to host. Rob is riding a Creature board. The red helmet and white shirt are a nice bit of Canadian color.

Thrasher - February 2011 Volume 31 Number 2

Jeff Grosso #11.

"The shenanigans. My coked-out, drugged-out shenanigans. Speed Freaks. I've gotten more feedback from that than any actual skateboarding I've ever done. It's not like I get, 'Dude, that eggplant channel in the Label video at Bakersfield changed my life!' I don't get that. I get, 'Dude, hahah! You were at the forefront of fashion. Dude!' That's my life. That's my contribution to skateboarding."

Jeff waxes poetic on his legacy.

The plan was a week of vert sequences from 2011. I got really close to that unusual goal. Four out of five ain't bad. The skaters had to be on a vert ramp and wearing pads, not at a park or bowl.

For the quote: Thrasher - July 2015 Volume 36 Number 7

Thrasher - February 2011 Volume 31 Number 2