feedback from Tino: I was hoping you guys could do an entry on something concerning that seems to be arising in the longboard skate market. Basically, a number of retailers are showing interest is selling additional lines to the already existent Sector 9's that they sell. Problem is, Sector 9 is threatening to pull their product from the stores if a competitor is added to the 'variety' that's being offered to customers.

Whats with bullying tactics? I've this same story from shop owners, the guys at Gravity, Riviera, GFH, etc. Wasn't skateboarding originally about expression, rebelling against the man and the establishment, etc? Seems like Sector is afraid of competition and thus turning into the Man.

I had a couple Sector completes over the years and even bought one for an ex, but from multiple accounts of the same story, i'll never buy from the corpo giant again. Let the underog's who do a fraction of your total business, Sector, have a chance. If your boards are truly better, you have nothing to worry about!!

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Well, you're in luck, here's your entry Tino.

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This is only one side of a story that, up until today, I had heard nothing about. It may or may not be factual, but below is posted the text of an email I received from one Danny Parks, who claims that DC Shoes ripped off the name "King of New York" from an event that one Lou Perez started back in 1995 and which has been run every year. Imagine if DC Shoes suddenly came out with an event called "Tampa AM" but it wasn't held at the Skatepark of Tampa, it was held somewhere else in Tampa, at some skatepark DC Shoes built, and the event actually had no relation to the Tampa AM we all know and love. You'd get confused, right? And of course the Skatepark of Tampa would be a bit miffed, right? Well, that's what Danny claims is going on here. If it's true, then it stinks.

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Ben Pappas body was recovered from the ocean soon after he disappeared following the murder of his girlfriend, in which case he is a "person of interest" which is legal language for "we're pretty sure he did it but we're not allowed to say that yet."

Frankly, this just stinks. First Shane and Ali last week and now this.

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Maybe I need a section dedicated to the blank deck debate. Here's something from a recent Steve Berra interview that I want to talk about. Partly because Steve says some things I haven't heard and would like to understand better, and partly because I've always respected Steve and feel like he's one of the more "thoughtful" pros out there.

Steve Berra: There will always be negatives to any field, to any part of life and really, I think we’re all aware of them. But some of the things that stick out? Obviously, blank boards. But that’s a touchy subject. I understand the dilemma as I was a poor kid growing up. I really do. I don’t, rather, I can’t support blank boards by the shear fact that I’m a professional and it’s directly affected my sales and taken money out of my and my friend’s pockets that could feed our families...

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Blitz Distribution (Baker, Birdhouse, Flip, and other brands) has launched AWorldWithoutPros.com where Tony Hawk, Andrew Reynolds, and Geoff Rowley sound off on the importance of buying pro decks instead of blank decks. I already blogged on the topic of whether blank decks hurt the skateboard industry back in '05, but let's revisit the issue, shall we?

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No, I'm not talking about those teams. I'm talking about the article in the December 2006 issue of Skateboarder about Diego where he tells his story about leaving Think to ride for Toy Machine. And this post isn't about Diego really, so if you're looking for info on him go elsewhere. This is about this trend of riders moving from one team to another and the team managers being angry about it.

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Listen up kids. Unless you don't mind skateboarding becoming like soccer, football, baseball, or, heaven forbid, rollerblading, stop buying any Nike skate products right now.

I don't believe there's anything morally wrong with Nike's businss approach to skateboarding, they're business people and their job is to make more money. Skateboarding is an opportunity for them to do that. But as they succeed it will change the culture of skateboarding, and that's something I don't want to see happen and certainly don't want to contribute to.

Feel free to buy their shoes for running, soccer, football, or your other mainstream sports, but if you're buying or wearing Nike's skateboard line, or especially sponsored by them, I'm sorry, but you're a sellout.

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Apparently Lance Mountain is shutting down The Firm after 15 years in business. It appears that nobody stopped The Firm but Lance himself, who felt it was time to move on to something else.

I know Lance isn't dead, and some people don't want to hear a lovefest about Lance, but tough, you're going to get one because Lance is one of the nicest guys in skateboard I've ever had the privilege of meeting.

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For those of you kids who don't know Jason Jesse, you missed out on an era. In only the latest of a string of strange occurences in his life, Jason Jesse was led off a plane and questioned by the FBI because someone next to him saw that he had scrawled the words "suicide bomber" in his diary.

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A website from the southern continent just came to my attention at http://www.skateboard.com.br/. Video clips galore, and a free 336MB downloadable video of Brazilian antics.

There's just one catch, you have to know how to read Portuguese in order to understand much of anything written on it. But since when does skateboarding require language skills?

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Answer: Because it's their choice.

I've been having a little discussion with some folks about blank decks and the one person had this to say:

"Basically it is this: All the cheapo blank boards and mini logos out there mean kids are not buying as many pro decks. Therefore the pros must make their money with sponsors other than skateboarding in order to get paid -- sponsors such as Oakley, Red Bull, Sobe, Nike, Nixon, etc."

My other posting responds to the blank deck issue, but then there is this other issue about why skateboarders sell out to these corporate interests that have nothing to do with skateboarding other than that they want to make a buck off of it. It's not because blank decks are eating away at pro deck revenue and pros have to endorse Mountain Dew or Red Bull to pay the bills, it's because the pros want to make more money.

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Ok, let's just have it out once and for all. First of all, here are links to other opinions on this matter. This post will re-hash some material that has already been posted on this blog (links listed at end of article) as well as things that have been said elsewhere, but I think it's worth revisiting the issue.

I recently received an email from someone who took issue with me starting a website that sells blank skateboard decks (for the reason that I am financially involved you'll have to consider for yourself how that might affect my opinions, although I think I would have the same opinions regardless). Here are some quotes from the email:

"Do you understand that this takes away from the kids and does not support them.........So take away all the pro's and what do you have a bunch of mongo pushing skateboarders that have no direction where to go!!!!"

"Blank decks are taking away from pro's and the people that work for them as a whole from sales to filmers etc..........."

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Here's an Eric Koston interview from SOLE Collector.

As you can see, beards are in.

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News Flash: Check out the Guy Mariano Mouse Part Contest.

I can hardly type I'm so excited...and I'm not the only one.

How many times have you seen one of your heroes retire, then come back for a spell, only to stink at whatever it is they used to do so well, essentially ruining their legacy?

It's happened so many times to me that I wish they would just stay retired sometimes. Then something like this interview with Guy Mariano comes along and because your expectations are so low you end up being blown away. It's not just that your low expecations were exceeded, it's that even if you had high expectations they still would have been exceeded.

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She's only sixteen and already one of the top US female skateboarders of any age. Super-skateboarder, Sasha La Rochelle, visited the Sanrio warehouse on March 31st to wow us with her skating skills, talk about some of her favorite Hello Kitty items and model for an upcoming Sanrio advertisement. OK, calling it modeling is a bit of an understatement-Sasha was in full action, kicking, jumping and ollie-ing for the camera. We've got some photos to share-check them out.

Do you think Sanrio discriminates against males by only sponsoring girl skateboarders?

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How long have we been speculating about this? Finally the word is official, Pappalardo is on Chocolate.

Want more info? Well, I can't help you there. Check out crailtap.

So this is the third pro in a month, in case you didn't catch the news about Justin and Devine being made pro for Chocolate.

Personally I think Popps is a decent fit for Chocolate. He's already part of the Lakai crew, which pretty much means he's in tight with the Crailtap crowd. I thought he was going to end up on Girl months ago after the Habitat thing didn't work out, but then the months went on with no word.

The thing that I find weird about Pappalardo personally is that sometimes I don't think he's any good, and then I think he's good the next day. It just seems like sometimes he's doing things where you think "Man, I could do that" and then he'll do something where you think, "You know, this guy is actually pretty good."

Well, he knows how to grip it and rip it at least.

I love the art Chocolate always has. More Hecox stuff?

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www.snoopdoggboardco.com

You gotta be kidding me. I don't even know where to start.

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I think we can officially say that Chad Muska has gone nuts. You've all seen his new Shorty's ad with the wallride? The wallride is just fine, although it probably doesn't justify a two-page ad like a some photos of Muska from a few years ago probably still could. But here's the evidence that Muska has truly gone mad:

1. The pants. Painted jeans?

2. The t-shirt in the pocket. Seems to me that would be really annoying while you're skating.

3. The weight gain. There's no doubt Chad's put on a few pounds. Double chin, soft arms, etc. You can tell he hasn't been skating as much just by looking at the guy.

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Somehow I miss out on things going on in my backyard...

Summer of Death!

Apparently these guys have been putting on contests in Utah for a few years. Next one is coming up August 6th 2005 at the Gateway, then the finals are September 10th at the Fairmont Skatepark.

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Jeron Wilson was involved in a radio piece broadcast by NPR about "brown and black atheletes".

The roots of skateboarding originate in the beach towns of Southern California -- idyllic communities that were, back in the 1950s and 60s, almost exclusively white.

But it's important to remember how brown and black athletes continue to shape the sport, which has grown from a cult pastime into a big-money international spectator sport.

Christopher Johnson profiles one such skater -- Jeron Wilson, a professional skater from Los Angeles' San Fernando Valley.

I love the caption on the photo--"Jeron Wilson negotiates a stairwell." Sounds like he's ready to move into politics or city planning.

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There's been a bit of discussion over at SkateboardRumors.com about Robbie McKinley not being turned pro by Girl started by his comments in this online article from Slap Magazine.

I agree that Robbie should have been turned pro by Girl, but not because he's all that good.

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If you know who Pat Brennen is, you'll know that he actually died about ten years ago around 1995 or so. So why is this news? Isn't news supposed to be "new"? Well, it's news because it's news to me. That is, I just found out about this yesterday. I read it at http://www.skateboardrumors.com/board/viewtopic.php?t=1976 and then confirmed it by emailing a friend of mine who knew Pat personally.

I didn't know Pat well at all, but I figured in light of this recent (to me) discovery, I'd write a little about what I remember about him and my interactions with him.

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Listen to what NPR had to say about Danny Way jumping over the great wall of China.

Hmmm, according to them, Danny "managed to do four spins as he flew over the Great Wall." Really? Is that the first 1440 ever? Man, I didn't even hear about that one. Way to go NPR on getting the scoop.

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Sometimes I get so busy I don't read a magazine all the way through the day I get it. Sometimes magazines include free DVDs that distract me from the written word, and that means sometimes I miss little gems, such as the one-pager by Kevin Wilkins on p 072 of the August 2005 issue of The Skateboard Mag.

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If you needed another excuse to raise an eyebrow at Nike's involvement in skateboarding, here it is. Nike, a large corporation with lots of expensive lawyers, you know, the kind you assume would know what they should and shouldn't do, apparently weren't consulted before Nike released their latest advertising campaign for their line of skateboarding related shoes.

Below we have an album cover from the band Minor Threat on the left, and on the right we have an image from Nike's latest ad campaign.

The cover of the Minor Threat album has come to represent in many ways the punk rock movement of the 80s, and by association the skateboarding movement. Tom Knox once used a likeness of the image on his pro deck, but with permission from Minor Threat frontman Ian MacKaye, who is also the frontman of Fugazi.

In some sort of ill-begotten attempt to curry favor with skateboarders and show them that "Nike is keepin' it real and hardcore!" Nike has blatantly ripped off the cover of the album.

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www.skatecoverage.com

Here's an interesting idea. This website (which isn't live as of this post) will catalog media coverage from every magazine in the world about every skateboarder in the world. Essentially you'll be able to go there and find out exactly what's going on with your favorite skater at any time.

Hopefully they'll be able to clean up their grammar and spelling or hire an editor to oversee their copy :)

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Just in case you weren't aware how good Chris Cole really is, here are the result from the Hammers Vs. Bangers contest at the Kettering Skate Plaza in Ohio.

Hammers and Bangers Main Event (12 stair)
Chris Cole $18,000

Ledge Session Best Trick
Chris Cole $3000

Best Two Trick Line
Chris Cole $3,000

12-Stair Best Trick
Chris Cole $3000

Best Overall
Chris Cole $5,000

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Apparently Baker/KR3W rider Terry Kennedy was shot in the face on June 6th while in Long Beach.

Need some links to believe it?

http://www.skateboarding.com/skate/news/article/0,23271,1070268,00.html
http://www.epiclylaterd.com/drewbdayslash.html
http://www.skateboardrumors.com
http://www.kr3wapparel.com/board/viewtopic.php?t=2829

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The return of Plan B Skateboards has been in the news for a little while. Is resurrecting an old skateboard brand a good idea, or a doomed attempt to recreate something that can never be?

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Terry Gross interviews Stacy on NPR's Fresh Air. Originally broadcast in 2002 because of Stacy's documentary but re-broadcast due to the new Lords of Dogtown movie.

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http://www.twsbiz.com/twbiz/features/article/0,21214,1060360,00.html

"at least half of the Bones' Web site hits come through a link included on the Bones' myspace.com profile"

Hmmm, interesting. I may have to give this a try.

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Hmm, so Transworld and Slap both got new websites on almost the same day. But I already reviewed Transworld's so let's talk about Slap.

Slap Magazine's new website.

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Aw swell, Hawk Clothing Licensed to Kohl's by Quicksilver

It's a good thing Hawk Clothing and Quicksilver have never been mainstay's of skateboarding's counter-culture culture or this would be a real downer. The way I see it though, this could be a positive thing.

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So I pop over to www.skateboarding.com this morning and what do you know, it's a totally new website.

The question is, is it any better than the old one?

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Remember Neal Mims? I never knew what happened to him. Every one in a while I'd think "Man, that guy was everywhere and then he just disappeared." But I never looked into it or anything. Well, I just read the article on the last few years of his life in the June 2005 issue of The Skateboard Mag and it's interesting stuff to say the least. It's interesting how a single slam could have such an impact on someone's entire life.

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Believe it or not, the company that uses the tagline "Youth Against Establishment" has elected to become part of upper eschelon of companies that make up what is commonly referred to as the establishment by filing to go public on the NASDAQ stock exchange. Don't believe it? Check it out at Transworld's business website.

Do I care? Not really, I know something about the business world and I know it's just a step to get more funding so that they can grow the company. Do I think it's funny for somebody like Dustin Dollin to be skating for a company that's going to be traded on the NASDAQ? Yeah, it's kind of funny.

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On the heels of talking about skateboard decks made in china I should probably talk a little about blank decks.

Like them or not, they're probably here to stay and there's not much anyone can do as long as the kids keep demanding them.

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If you're the average 12 year old skateboarder you probably aren't too concerned about the controversy in the skateboarding industry over skateboard decks that are made in China. You might not even know which companies are already manufacturing their decks there, such as Dwindle.

But if you're over 15 you might have heard about it and your main concern probably has to do with quality. "Chinese boards break easier" or "Chinese boards delaminate too fast" are things you might have heard others say.

And if you're over 20 you might have some US pride and don't want to see yet another product being made overseas. Maybe some people around you are talking about how this is putting some US companies out of business and their workers out of jobs.

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You know what's crazy? My dad was born in 1935. This was before WWII, before plastic existed (think about that, is anything today not made with plastic?), before drugs as we know them today, and before skateboarding. Skateboarding wasn't even on the horizon.

If you've seen Back to the Future where Michael J. Fox rips the orange crate off that kid's scooter and rides it around and "invents" the skateboard, that time period was when my dad was already in college.

My dad was already in his fifties when skateboarding got anywhere close to what it is today (I'm talking the late 80s).

In the late 80s skateboarding was popular. Then it waned, and then it came back in the mid 90s and enjoyed a surge of popularity. Even though skateboarding slowed down in the early...what are we calling this decade? The tens? Even though skateboarding slowed down over the past few years, it wasn't like it went backwards, as in the early 90s, it just didn't grow as fast as it had been. It was still bigger during this last slowdown than it was at its peak at the end of the 80s. And "bigger" is quite an understatement.

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Go to Grommie's website and you should see a photo of Tyson. You may have seen him in ads in Transworld too.

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Sublimited's headquarters are in Utah, so I get a special little feeling whenever I see Utah skaters placing in major contests. The latest good news is from the Phoenix AM, where Salt Lake City's own Adam Dyet took first.

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Everyone likes an underdog, right? The guy (or more frequently girl these days) who rips but for one reason or another hasn't caught the public attention yet. Well, here are a few of my favorite underrated skaters for what it's worth. Feel free to add some of your own.

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Ok, I know this happened a while ago, but I can't get over the new website Deluxe Distribution (DLXSF) launched.

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We're not going to pretend that we'll be able to keep you informed of everthing going on in skateboarding. First of all, we just don't have the time, and second we don't know everything that's going on.

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If you're interested in the history and background of skateboard companies, you might find this article on Element Skateboards interesting.

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If you don't like large corporate skateboard companies, then read Flip Skateboards Dissected, an interview of Flip founder and owner Jeremy Fox.

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This post copied from my other blog.

Video Mags Slash Prices

Ok, this is from last year, so it's not exactly breaking news, but I found parts of this quite interesting.

1. 411VM is returning to its twelve-year-old roots, effectively eliminating its snow, surf, and BMX video magazines to focus solely on skateboarding.

2. From here on, 411VM will only be sold in ’core shops, ringing the end of 411VM in large retailers such as Best Buy and Circuit City.

3. 411VM will come with an audio CD and a small magazine with photos.

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Seriously, where is Jess McRaney these days?

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