Devine Calloway #2.

Aim high.

Force was a new truck company started in the summer of 2006 by Greg Carroll. Greg is Mike's brother and has a long resume in the industry, having worked at Think, Girl, and Venture. The pro team was Zered Bassett, Devine Calloway, Javier Nunez, Darrell Stanton, and Mikey Taylor. Torey Pudwill and Eli Reed were the ams. It was a little strange seeing Torey and Eli listed as amateurs in an ad, but this was seventeen years ago after all. I don't believe Force was around for too long and I don't think I ever saw a pair in the wild. I mainly remember the big and bright adverts that ran in the Skateboard Mag. I thought the company might have been a precursor to Ace Trucks, although that doesn't appear to be the case.

The Skateboard Mag - September 2006 Issue 30

Ishod Wair #5.

I like his little backside kickflips and heelflips on flat between other tricks that are similar to something from the low 1990s, except done way more stylishly.

Thrasher - March 2018 Volume 39 Number 3

Ben Schroeder #5.

Slumberland.

The burly lip trick master gets caught up in the air for a silly advertisement. This concludes the week of celebrating the 35th anniversary of the Black Label. In doing a little more digging through the archives, I found enough other ads I hadn't posted so there might be another Label batch in the near future.

I've been using a new scanner lately. It's faster, but I'm not sure if I like how it handles the ancient Thrashers. My old scanner, which is still in use as a backup, does a great job with the occasionally sketchy source material.

RIP Thomas Taylor.

Thrasher - September 1990 Volume 10 Number 9

Riky Barnes #7.

Riky drew up some beercans for the 35th anniversary of the Black Label.

I thought I'd scanned this one before, but nope. There was a similar ad with Skip Pronier. I like how John Lucero has kept using variations on the same character for all of Riky's graphics over the decades.

The photo is by Sean Sullivan.

Thrasher - May 1990 Volume 10 Number 5

John Lucero #7.

Thumbs up.

In 1990, John moved Lucero over to Vision for distribution. I don't think I even noticed the switch per se back then, although it was fairly obvious as a small tag of "Distributed by Vision Sports Inc." was added to the advertisements. You tend not to think about industry minutia when you are younger.

When Lucero was backed by Santa Cruz, John and Riky Barnes were the two pros with models. Based on ads, the other riders were Tony Chiala and Mike Lohrman. After the move, the team expanded into the cast of characters that we would know and love at the Black Label. This included Jeff Grosso, Skip Pronier, Shawn Martin, Ben Schroeder, and many more.

I didn't know this until recently, but John also worked in the art department at Vision and created graphics for some of their other companies. He did a board graphic for Kevin Staab at Sims, for example. This totally makes sense that he would also work there and was probably a good way to learn about running a business in skateboarding. Side hustles for 1980s pros were a little more interesting than our modern day gig based economy.

Thrasher - March 1990 Volume 10 Number 3

Shawn Martin #3.

Shawn was a Bay Area ripper who was pro for Black Label. He scored 3rd in the 1992 Back To The City contest in SF behind Tommy Guerrero and Mike Carroll. I think he got burned out on the industry and bounced.

I'm mildly surprised I found enough old scans for this feature. I figured I had posted nearly all the Black Label and Lucero stuff already, but it turned out fine.

I don't mind and even enjoy skateboarding in the cold to an extent. However, it hit 56˚ F on Sunday afternoon and that was really nice.

Thrasher - February 1990 Volume 10 Number 2

John Lucero #6.

Cheers to 35 years.

The Black Label turns 35 this year. John started Lucero with the backing of NHS (Santa Cruz) in 1988 after leaving Schmitt Stix. He took Lucero over to Vision in 1990. John renamed the company Black Label in either late 1990 or early 1991 and it became the independent entity it is today. The rest is history.

RIP O.
The O photo is by Rick Kosick and was in issue 25 of Big Brother, circa 1996 or 97.

Thrasher - May 1989 Volume 9 Number 5