Channel One.

Channel One was started by former Vision pro Marty "Jinx" Jimenez. I simply liked their old ads and board graphics. Channel One was in cahoots with Acme and subscribed to the idea of not having pro models. At first this wasn't that big of a deal since they didn't have any pro riders. Most of the early team consisted of Huntington Beach locals. Later on in the 1990s, Chet Thomas, Chris Senn and a young Anthony Van Engelen would ride for the team.

Transworld - August 1991 Volume 9 Number 8

John Drake.

The 1990s Alien Workshop pro got his start on Assault Skateboards out of Dayton, Ohio. The company claimed three pros - Ned Hadden, Scott Ricks and Mike Chu. Ned was the owner, I'd never heard of Scott and Mike went on to ride for New School. Mike ollied the big four at Wallenberg as part of an impromptu contest at the school. Jesse Paez frontside 180'd the stairs and Kris Markovich almost kickflipped them at the same event. This was a good many years before Frank Gerwer finally landed a kickflip and the two Thrasher contests happened.

John had been working at Atmosphere Skateshop in Charlotte, North Carolina after leaving the professional ranks, but has recently stopped working for the shop. Atmosphere's website is on my list of links.

Transworld - May 1991 Volume 9 Number 5

J.J. Rogers #4.

J.J. hits the wall. You can't argue with a well done wallride.

Tobin Yelland always gets photos of the gnarly guys.

Transworld - September 1990 Volume 8 Number 9

Blaize Blouin.

If I had turned on the computer between leaving work yesterday and this morning you might be looking at a scan of Ken Fillion right now. But I didn't and you are treated to this photo of the late Blaize Blouin instead. Blaize was an East Coast ripper from South Carolina. He turned pro for G & S. I believe he started a company called Subliminal during the mid 1990s, but I need to check the old issues of Slap to be sure.

Footage was the last big thing to come from G & S before the company went into a decline. It was a trial run in a way for some of the ideas that Chris Carter and Mike Hill would use in the Alien Workshop's Memory Screen video. The team soon split apart. Neil Blender, Steve Claar, Duane Pitre, Rob Dyrdek, Scott Conklin and Bo Turner were all abducted to Ohio. Remy Stratton joined up with Acme and Willy Santos flew the coop to Birdhouse Projects. G & S lingered on after that, but didn't last long. I had the poster on my bedroom door for the longest time, but I never saw the video until 1999 when I was going to grad school at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville. I watched it in the living room of former Zero am Jud Ferguson's house while a bunch of people played cards in the kitchen. My friend Steve said he was going to send me a copy a few years ago, but I'm still waiting for the tape to show up in my mailbox.

Robert McClory took the picture.

Transworld - October 1990 Volume 8 Number 10

Mark Roach.

"You've seen it before, now see it again. Feeble grind to fakie - it's good, but hot. Mark Roach."

This is from the NSA Dallas contest in 1990. Mark got sixth. Jeff Phillips won for two reasons: he was awesome and it was at his own skatepark. Omar Hassan got second, Mark's boss Chris Miller was third, Eric Dressen was fourth and Wade Speyer was fifth.

Mark and Buster Halterman were two of the new faces on the vert scene in the early 1990s. They both rode for Planet Earth. He gets bonus points for wearing the Todd Congelliere shirt.

The photo is by Steve Sherman.

Transworld - October 1990 Volume 8 Number 10

Alan Losi.

Thanks to the Crailtap Couch we now know that Michael Burnett was a bigger fan of Alan Losi when everybody else liked Matt Hensley.

I don't know that much Losi, except that he started entering contests and getting coverage again in 1990 and people were stoked. Two of my friends spent a lot of time doing Losi grinds on the fun box in my driveway. I'm sure the PVC made the grind nice and easy. The trick is like a lipslide, only you are grinding on your front truck with the rest of the board over the obstacle. It was seen in some of the H - Street videos and occasionally makes a rare appearance these days.

Thrasher - October 1990 Volume 10 Number 10

Henry Sanchez.

The classic Sanchez ad for Spitfire.

Henry was the third pro for Real, but didn't stick with them for long before switching to Blind. I'm inclined to think this was his only ad for Spitfire.

Thrasher - September 1990 Volume 10 Number 9