Rob Mertz.

Happy Halloween.

It's not just about scary graphics, sometimes it is about scary tricks.

There will be a post on here tomorrow. New School is up for next week with 1995 Consolidated and Neighborhood to follow for November.

Jeff Newton took the photos.

Transworld - January 1990 Volume 8 Number 1

Zorlac Street Hell.

Zero Heroes.

Pushead whipped up a crazy and evil looking graphic.

The boards are for Donny Myhre, Aaron Deeter, Mark and Barry Abrook, and Craig Johnson.

Congrats, SF. KC, thanks for putting together one helluva a playoff run. Let's do this again next year.

Transworld - May 1991 Volume 9 Number 5

John "Tex" Gibson & Craig Johnson.

Texas is the reason.

John and Craig had ridden for Zorlac in the 1980s before switching to Alva. After street skating became more popular and Alva changed over to New School, the two went back to Zorlac.

Transworld - April 1991 Volume 9 Number 4

Rick Charnoski.

Creeping Death.

Since Metallica's James Hetfield rode a skateboard when his contract allowed him and Pushead was doing the graphics for both Zorlac and Metallica, a series of decks for the band was inevitable. The popularity of Metallica among skateboarders in the 1980s also helped moved some boards. There were a variety of Metallica graphics and shapes in the 1980s and early 1990s.

Rick currently works with Buddy Nichols for Six Stair Productions. The two have made a number of skateboard films, including Fruit of the Vine, Deathbowl to Downtown, Tent City, and Jeff Grosso's Love Letters to Skateboarding.

Might this be the first street pirate reference, long before Fourstar developed their own version?

Thrasher - September 1990 Volume 10 Number 9

Zorlac.

Don't mess with Texas.

In keeping with tradition, Vert Is Dead focuses on the spooky and scary for Halloween week. Zorlac was Jeff Newton's creation that helped define gnarly Texas skateboarding in 1980s. The artwork was done by Brian "Pushead" Schroeder. This gave Zorlac a very recognizable style that fit well with the guys on the team and the punk scene in the Lonestar State at the time.

Transworld - August 1989 Volume 7 Number 6

Chet Thomas #3.

Frontside flips on a mini ramp.

Powell Peralta to Public to Santa Cruz to Channel One to Platinum to A-Team to Darkstar. I think that's all of 'em.

Get ready for Halloween hi-jinx with Zorlac next week.

Transworld - October 1995 Volume 13 Number 10

Jon Miner.

Stay gold.

Tell me your name, age and where you live.

Jonathan Minor, sixteen, Santa Rosa, California.

When did you start skating?

In fifth grade I saw a whole bunch of kids skating this launch ramp and got a board for Christmas and I've just been skating ever since.

Who are your sponsors?

New School sends me boards. They're pretty cool.

What's the best thing about skateboarding?

I just love going fast and doing tricks solid.

What do you like to skate?

Curbs, big blocks and steps, just the usual.

What spot do you frequent?

Santa Rosas Junior High. That's where I hang out. I just got back from Albuquerque and that was really rad.

What's your goal in skating?

I don't really have any goal. I'm just doing it right now for fun. I'm not planning on going anywhere or anything.

Who do you skate with?

Joel Price, Brent, Jesse and a bunch of kids that hang out in Santa Rosa.

Any shout outs?

Hi to my dad in Arizona, Charlie Watts in Albuquerque, my friends John and Justin in jail, and all my friends around Santa Rosa and Troy in Salt Lake City.

*

I'm going to do a New School week at some point.

Sean Dolinsky took the photo.

For the check out: Thrasher - January 1994 Volume 14 Number 1

Transworld - January 1995 Volume 13 Number 1