John Drake #3.

"My first deck was a Fred Smith Loud One. That board ripped. It was a Fred Smith 3, Loud One. Then they had the punk size which was pretty decent."

Fat switch pop shove-it.

John is from West Virginia, but lived all around the midwest - Kentucky, Michigan, and Ohio. He rode for G & S and Assault before eventually being asked to ride for the Alien Workshop. John was also sponsored by Droors, Venture, Pacific Drive, and Etnies. He had a 23 second part in Footage of him skating curbs. The trick for the ad was his ender in his section in The Dreams of Children. His part in Timecode was cool.

The video is by Dave Swift.

For the quote: Transworld - July 1996 Volume 14 Number 7

Transworld - September 1994 Volume 12 Number 9

Heath Kirchart #9.

No refund.

I always liked the thumbs up photo.

I've been skateboarding a lot lately, but I've been skating like crap. It's kind of a bummer. I was sort of doing OK for me up until this last week. I set up a new board and it was good for a day until I realized my shoes were done. Now I'm breaking in a new pair of kicks so it's going to take a little bit before things feel right. Tricks don't seem possible that I used to be able to do easily. I'm talking simple stuff, too. I know it's more mental than anything plus wear and tear from work. The office has been similar to final exam time at college for the last two months so my brain is fried. Work has calmed down now so I'm finally starting to unwind. I guess this is what happens when you get older.

Thrasher - June 1996 Volume 16 Number 6

Drake Jones #6.

5ive Style.

Thrasher - March 1996 Volume 16 Number 3

Tim Brauch #16.

"He likes Mudhoney, but doesn't know what Sub Pop is."

The photo is by Lance Dalgart.

For the quote from Mark Waters: Transworld - November 1991 Volume 9 Number 11

Transworld - December 1996 Volume 14 Number 12

Julien Stranger #20.

Who are some people who've had a predominant influence on the way you skate?

Mickie Reyes and Aaron Murray, Mark Gonzales - he always made me push myself a lot. It's different with every person. With Mickie, it is his attitude towards the terrain, he can see lines no one else does. He always goes fast, combinations, really high energy. Aaron Murray influenced me a lot in pools and the lines he could draw. He's like a master of pools, kind of figuring them out like a puzzle. Mark because he's always been at the forefront, just pushing street skating. He's got rad style.

Julien talks about his influences in an old Transworld interview with Thomas Campbell. I like to get in some of the slightly lesser known names and picked this quote because Julien mentioned Aaron Murray.

Quote: Transworld - March 1992 Volume 10 Number 3

Thrasher - January 1996 Volume 16 Number 1

Thomas Morgan #6.

What about your Honda Civic?

Oh, it's run down. There is probably nothing that isn't wrong with it except for the stereo - the stereo is good and that's it. It's probably been to Ohio and back ten times. It's time for a new one, but I'll only buy a 1985, not one of those new ones. There isn't any class behind the new ones - 1985 was the year. The 1985 is by no means the fastest Civic, but they are the best.

All right, time to fire this thing up again. Thomas is from London, Ontario in Canada. He rode for G & S before becoming part of the Alien Workshop. He was primarily a vert skater, but switched to street in the early 1990s. I dig the Neil Blender art that has been added to the advertisement.

The photo is by Paul "Skin" Phillips.

The quote is from an interview conducted by Dave Swift.

Quote: Transworld - September 1994 Volume 12 Number 9

Thrasher - January 1996 Volume 16 Number 1

Moses Itkonen & Colin McKay.

Happy Canada Day!

Golden State was a wheel company done by Mad Circle, hence the similarities in their ad layout and team riders.

Enjoy the holiday weekend in both the states and north of the border. Vert Is Dead will be back on Monday, July 11th with more mid 1990s stuff. It's summer and work has been brutal the last two months so I need a break.

Thrasher - April 1996 Volume 16 Number 4