Tim Gavin #3.

Happy trails, 2010.

Hope everybody has a good weekend. Vert Is Dead will be back on Monday.

Thrasher - October 1996 Volume 16 Number 10

Forties #3.

Forties had some great ads in the mid 1990s. I think Micke Reyes did a lot of the art.

Already Been Done.

Slap - November 1996 Volume 5 Number 11

Scott Copalman.

The thrill of it all.

Scott was part of the original crew on Zero. Zero started to get big at the same time the Smashing Pumpkins had their t-shirt with the word zero on it. Some of the younger kids I was skating with would heckle college students that they saw wearing a Smashing Pumpkins shirt. The results were usually a nice alternative boy and his girlfriend left wondering who Jamie Thomas was and why would they be down with him. I'm sure they were also wondering why are these fifteen year old kids picking on them.

Transworld - August 1996 Volume 14 Number 8

Jesse Paez.

The holidays are over and it's back to 1996.

Jesse was the little kid who went big in the early years of Consolidated. He launched himself down some huge gaps. He later switched to Think and was on that team until he disappeared in the early 2000s. His brother Richard was also pro for Consolidated.

Airwalk decided to enter the then fledgeling pro shoe market by giving models Jason Lee and Tony Hawk.

I'll do another 1980s/early 1990s week sometime again soon just to add a little variety.

Jamie Mosberg was the camera guy.

Thrasher - July 1996 Volume 16 Number 7

Jeff Phillips #10.

"I never imagined I would get what I got. I never imagined I would be pro, making money doing all this stuff. I lived up to my goal in life. I remember being a kid and saying to my friend Kevin, the guy who dug out the Rathole, 'I'm going to be pro someday,' then laughing like there was no way. And here I am."

Merry Christmas & happy holidays.

For the quote: Thrasher - March 1990 Volume 10 Number 3

Transworld - October 1990 Volume 8 Number 10

Ray Underhill #3.

Ray is another fine skateboarder who left this mortal coil far too soon. He also invented the classic Experimental graphic that you would see Powell Peralta pros riding in the videos.

The old Powell stuff always makes me think of Christmas time, probably because there was always a new Bones Brigade video that came out just in time for the holiday.

The pictures are by Grant Brittain.

Transworld - April 1989 Volume 7 Number 2

Mark "Gator" Rogowski.

I wasn't ever a big Gator fan. His Transworld Pro Spotlight seemed really weird to the fourteen year old version of me. I don't think his graphics ever appealed to me either, although now being older I can fully see the benefits of continuity with variation on a theme. Sean Cliver has written a couple of great pieces on the numerous versions of the Gator spiral at his Disposable website. This is a stark comparison to the high turnaround rate of today's industry. When you say the name Tony Hawk or Steve Caballero or Jason Jessee, there is an instant art image to go along with the skater that is already burned in your mind, if you are old enough.

When was the last time that happened in skateboarding? Maybe with Chad Muska, but that was over a decade ago now. What pops in there for Eric Koston or Daewon Song or any of today's top pros? Are you really thinking Mike Carroll's Calvin eating mac & cheese model when you read his name? Well, OK, I am, but most probably aren't. I guess what I'm saying is that most of today's young pros aren't going to have an encounter down the road with somebody who got their board graphics tattooed on their arm like so many of the 1980s finest have.

I'm not writing any of this to complain or berate any of the fine artists and designers in today's skateboard world. A lot of you guys and girls are doing a great job. Please keep it up. These are just a few observations on how the visual mythology of skateboarding has changed. And for those that are putting the rider's name in a giant bold font and passing it off as art, try a little harder.

Transworld - December 1988 Volume 6 Number 6