enjoi #4.

Happy April Fools' Day.

Transworld - February 2002 Volume 20 Number 2

Ricky Oyola #10.

Upward Love.

Ricky launches a 360 flip up the stairs at Love Park with the aid of an improvised jump ramp.

I always used Black Magic until a number of years ago. I wasn't putting it on right or something so I'd get air bubbles. It occasionally wouldn't stick to the board. I solved the problem by switching to Jessup. That took care of the issues I was having. Even after all these years of gripping decks, I'm never comfortable doing it and fear messing something up. I keep some spare griptape on hand in case I screw up. I've never had to use the emergency grip yet. So I'm not just complaining about Shorty's, I stocked up on bolts from my friend's shop this past Christmas. I should be good on hardware for the rest of my life.

I got skateboarding at the park after work yesterday. The snow melted a lot faster than I thought it would based upon how much there was when I checked on Saturday morning. I started off OK and then my trucks froze up due to the cold. Things were not feeling right by the time I gave up for the evening. It really wasn't that cold either. The time has come to set up a new board, too.

The photo is by Shawn "Frankie" Brodsky.

Transworld - September 2002 Volume 20 Number 9

Satva Leung #3.

Please don't hang the DJ.

Satva had been an am on Toy Machine up until 1998 when he switched to Maple for the chance to turn pro. He would later make an in-house shift to Kien Lieu's Dynasty before starting Judah through Imperial Distribution. Imperial was the blanket title for the company that distributed Maple, Dynasty, and 151. Judah was around for a couple of years and combined Satva's interest in DJing with skateboarding. The team included German Nieves, Andy Bautista, Joel Meinholz, Dustin Charlton, Adam Crew, and Mike Barker.

Check out the sizes on those decks. 7.5" x 32" is flat out weird and 7.38" is about the width of a freestyle board.

Pete Thompson took the photo and Dave Kinsey designed the graphics.

Transworld - August 2002 Volume 20 Number 8

Jamie Thomas #10.

Chomp on this flatbar.

Portable obstacles were a trend in the early 2000s with several companies producing metal things to do tricks on. Zero had a couple different flatbars on the market. There was King Rails, which was run by former Blockhead rider Jeff King. Danny Way started Ramp Logic and enlisted Eric Koston and Tony Hawk to help sell a variety of launch ramps and ledges. I know there were a few more that I'm forgetting. I think these products were all kind of on the pricey side and the shipping cost would have been ridiculous, yet if a flatbar is there to skate, you will end up skating it. It's probably cheaper to buy wood and build your own launch ramp, but that might be beyond the realm of some people's woodworking skills.

Atiba Jefferson snapped the photo.

Transworld - February 2002 Volume 20 Number 2

Alex "Trainwreck" Gall #2.

Aggressive Perfector.

Monster Trucks were made by Giant Distribution/Element and intended as a sister company to Destructo. The team featured some heavy hitters, such as Jamie Thomas, Brian Anderson, Heath Kirchart, and Matt Mumford. They were not around a long time.

Alex crushed a ton of spots like a runaway freight train in Transworld's In Bloom video. This backside lipslide at the Brooklyn Banks was in that part from 2002.

Atiba Jefferson took the photo.

Transworld - January 2002 Volume 20 Number 1

Jason Adams #13.

"I grew up skating street, but the guys I always looked up to were the vert guys. I loved Ross Goodman, he was the best thing ever, and J.J. Rogers. Those are the kinds of guys I was influenced by. But we always skated street. I still look to that time for inspiration. I don't want to sound cheesey, but I still view skateboarding like that and try to apply it to today. I still think going out and doing slappy grinds on a curb is the best. That's what I grew up doing. I remember the grocery store we hung out at every day, we would just do slappys for hours. Ricky Winsor had the best slappy grind."

The Kid talks influences and curbs.

It's been a long week. I've gotten in a fair amount of skateboarding after work every day. I've just been skating the driveway at my parents house with the old portable flatbar. It still needs to warm up a little, but the sun has been out so that helps.

For the quote: Transworld - January 2004 Volume 22 Number 1

Transworld - August 2003 Volume 21 Number 8

Kevin "Spanky" Long #6.

Staring at the sea.

Kevin was one of the new ams on Baker and Emerica in the early 2000s. It's interesting to see who manages to stick around compared to the people who burn out after a short career. He had ridden for Sixteen and Kareem Campbell's City Stars before joining Baker. He won the Skate Park of Tampa's 2003 Tampa Am contest and turned pro soon after. The kid they called Spanky has had a few obstacles to defeat over the years, but he's still pro today with a board on Baker. He's also still on Emerica and RVCA. I'm glad to see Kevin has persevered to keep on rolling. He's put out some good video parts and interviews with a nice mix of modern and classic tricks.

Transworld - December 2002 Volume 20 Number 12