police informer

Huf

2009-07-26T21:40:00.001-07:00

It's hard to keep up with all of the skate blogs/websites lately, so I'm not sure if this Keith Hufnagel interview from Big Brother has been posted anywhere else yet. Regardless, it's a sick interview with a great layout from the classic days of BB. Enjoy.

Quim

2009-06-22T09:22:00.000-07:00

Sean

2009-06-21T10:33:00.000-07:00

The Anti-Hero Story

2009-06-15T13:29:00.000-07:00

Rad article from Skateboarder, January 2001. "If you skateboard for yourself and don't care what anyone else thinks, then you too are an Anti Hero!"

Fabian

2009-06-12T13:37:00.000-07:00

Kalis

2009-06-09T14:42:00.000-07:00

Duane Pitre

2009-06-08T13:30:00.000-07:00

I was at the bookstore a couple of days ago skimming through some new magazines and came across an article about Duane. I think it was in The Skateboard Mag. The article included a photo of Duane b/s smith grinding this flatbar on the same day as this 50-50, which made me wonder why they didn't run the smith back then. Got me psyched though; I was always pumped on this photo for some reason and was glad to be reminded of it.

Gonzo

2009-06-07T13:11:00.001-07:00

The top one was labeled a kickflip body varial. It seems like a lot of people have been busting some wild body varial tricks lately.

Howard and Carroll

2009-06-03T12:46:00.001-07:00

Classic duo.

Fred

2009-06-01T17:54:00.000-07:00

More Philly goodness.

Jimmy Chung

2009-05-29T06:54:00.000-07:00

Some "Mantis" footage in this montage, regrettably it's the one from Best of #2 and not the original version with the Guru track.

Tim O'Connor

2009-05-26T04:35:00.000-07:00

Not only is the pop on this kickflip unbelievable, the fact that he did it while wearing Air Force Ones(impossible to skate in, for me at least) makes it that much more special. I don't think that Tim O'Connor gets nearly enough credit for his progressive ledge game over the years, and I feel that along with a couple of other dudes he really sparked the awkward 180 or shove-it out of a grind in the middle of a ledge thing, although he makes it look about as far from awkward as you can get. Which was even more impressive considering he did it when everybody else seemed to be stuck flipping into crooked grinds or slithering across orange plastic barriers with jump ramp assistance.

(Anyone else remember that old Firm commercial from 411 where Ray Barbee laced a f/s nosegrind revert in the middle of a ledge? That's the kind of shit I'm referring to.)

Greg Hunt

2009-05-19T23:09:00.001-07:00

Not sure if this one has been posted anywhere else before, but I came across it today and thought it worth posting. When I was younger I found this pro spotlight and this video part somewhat boring, even though I liked Greg's photos and footage in other stuff. Now both have really grown on me, especially the awkward 50-50 tricks in Tincan, specifically the nollie f/s 180 switch f/s 50-50 180 out(followed by a killer "jazz push"*) and the switch f/s 180 50-50 to b/s 180 out in the middle of the ledge. The beauty and innovation contained in such subtle maneuvers was lost on me when I was younger, much to my regret.

*I was going to go off on a tangent about the contrived "jazz push" as executed(twice in one line, no less) by Marc Johnson in Yeah Right! and how it was perhaps some sort of homage considering MJ listed that Tincan part as one of his top five favorite video parts and has admitted to consciously referencing tricks done by other skaters in his Fully Flared part. However, something makes me not want to bash Marc Johnson on here (I like him sometimes) or get too analytical about the "jazz push", a term which I assume was coined either on the SLAP boards or by the folks over at YouWillSoon. I guess I sort of went off on a tangent anyway.

Serenity now...

2009-05-04T19:56:00.000-07:00

Still not in possession of all of my faculties AKA a closet full of mags and shitty scanner but I got some gems left on my computer and they happen to be on topic for whatever it is I want to say. Which is mainly that mid-90's New York footage still kills anything else - this sentiment of mine was strongly reaffirmed upon discovering this and especially this, both of which popped up on youtube sometime this week. I feel like I have been waiting too long to see footage of this sequence, thank you "mrkeekee" for granting my wish. Now someone tell me how to get my hands on those N.Y. Revisited videos, please.

The other thing I wanted to mention was the abundance of Javier Nunez coverage as of late, a phenomenon which was nicely addressed here. Best-trick victories, Transworld Interviews, etc. Good stuff. Kind of surreal, actually. Axion is back, Javier is killing it, Steven Cales is free and apparently skating, Pupecki had that interview at Bobshirt, and I have heard whispers of an Epicly Later'd Menace series. Weird and awesome shit.

Hiatus

2009-02-23T11:33:00.001-08:00

Classic Guy cover from 1997. Shades of blue. Looks kind of Stereo inspired.

Unfortunately I am moving temporarily and won't have my scanner or magazines with me, so this is going to be the last post for a bit. Back sooner than you might think.

Lennie Kirk

2009-02-22T15:57:00.001-08:00

Stalefish

2009-02-21T14:43:00.000-08:00

Those Vans triple crown ramps are quite the eyesore, but the form on this stalefish is too perfect to not post.

Socks

2009-02-20T17:07:00.001-08:00

Matt Reason, from SLAP.

Menace Tech

2009-02-18T13:37:00.001-08:00

Three eras of Pupecki. Been lacking in Menace content as of late.

My friend Jacob made this Police Informer shirt, I was pretty stoked on the results. My shitty photo doesn't do it justice. Thanks dude!

Kenny Reed

2009-02-14T13:25:00.000-08:00

That last one has got to be one of the best ollie photos ever.

Cruise

2009-02-10T12:20:00.001-08:00

Hickey

2009-02-04T09:36:00.000-08:00

Rough scan of a transcendent frontside flip and some bonus lifestyle shots.

Live and Uncut

2009-02-01T08:53:00.000-08:00

I'm stuck getting pumped on these old Zoo ads right now. "This is not simply skating. This is our life." Another genius concept.

R.I.P. Harold Hunter 1974-2006.

Pang

2009-01-29T07:55:00.001-08:00

Anthony Correa

2009-01-27T09:22:00.000-08:00

Zoo ads from the 90's almost always killed. Game boy sequence is out of hand.

Oh Shit

2009-01-22T00:01:00.000-08:00

I know I bemoaned the expiration of SLAP magazine a few posts ago, but the online version of the mag is actually killing it lately. Today I checked out this Josh Kalis commentary feature they have on there right now and was left quite satisfied by the benefits of the digital age. Keep up the good work!

I Found a Reason

2009-01-21T01:51:00.001-08:00

Rob Pluhowski

2009-01-20T00:01:00.000-08:00

Definitely a late 90's - early 00's style master. Best nollie 180 flips ever, and he sticks his tongue out just like MJ.

Quimtime!

2009-01-19T09:58:00.000-08:00

One of the dudes I get a lot of requests for is Quim Cardona.

Ricky Oyola

2009-01-18T19:56:00.001-08:00

Another Strength interview, this time with Ricky Oyola. Best push in skateboarding?

A.V.E.

2009-01-17T00:11:00.000-08:00

Anthony Van Engelen is too sick. I'm a bit late, but R.I.P. Slap, in paper form at least.

Cruise

2009-01-16T07:35:00.001-08:00

Anybody in the Toronto area should check this out, good times guaranteed.

Freddy

2009-01-15T18:39:00.000-08:00

I maintain that Strength had some of the best interviews. This Fred Gall interview contains all kinds of subversive shit, so enjoy.

Fowler

2009-01-13T21:48:00.001-08:00

MC

2009-01-12T22:33:00.000-08:00

I remember being stoked on this Mike Carroll mini-interview mostly because he trash-talks illusion flips.

Cards

2009-01-10T09:28:00.001-08:00

Gonz

2009-01-09T14:58:00.000-08:00

Henry Sanchez

2009-01-08T08:56:00.000-08:00

Live and Burn

2009-01-06T07:32:00.001-08:00

I saw some newish Andy Roy footage on youtube the other day. I'm glad that he is out and skating again. Did he ever get one of those Krooked "Gest" boards?

Mike Chin

2009-01-05T08:56:00.000-08:00

This Mike Chin video part that I came across was pretty shockingly sick. Happy New Year!

Keenan!

2008-12-30T14:26:00.001-08:00

Fresh kit, big snap, best style ever; that's Keenan. R.I.P.

Upson

2008-12-29T23:27:00.001-08:00

Bob

2008-12-27T15:35:00.000-08:00

Butt shots are generally well rank, but this is a pretty sick trick/spot, he's wearing Mike Carroll vans, and all Puleo photos are for the most part worth posting as far as I am concerned. Happy holidays to all you skate nerds out there.

Oh Mad One

2008-12-22T09:19:00.000-08:00

The sound of Kevin Taylor's bluntslides in this section are some of the best noises a skateboard ever made.

Mike Graham

2008-12-20T18:20:00.001-08:00

I'm pretty stoked that the folks at RAW gave Mike Graham a board. Is he wearing K-Swiss in this ad?

Bad for Business

2008-12-19T10:22:00.000-08:00

Took a lengthly hiatus from posting, real life duties were overwhelming my time for a bit. I am stoked to announce that the Lewis Cruise video is in the final stages of completion and an "official" trailer has been laced. Basically a video made by my friends which may or may not include: sketchy flatbars, buddy-cam, home tattooing, lyfestyle hammers, dudes older than twenty-five, ladyboys, Wade Desarmo, German techno, liver damage, self-immolation, feeble grinds, shitty spots, and a bunch of other incriminating stuff. So you can download a high-res version here, or you can just check the youtube.

Guy

2008-12-06T10:51:00.001-08:00

Shorty

2008-12-05T14:22:00.000-08:00

Shippy

2008-12-04T01:27:00.000-08:00

Candid Big Brother interview and a few photos of Carl Shipman.

Cards

2008-11-30T02:56:00.000-08:00

The style is unreal, front foot "english" for days.

Am Jam

2008-11-28T14:10:00.000-08:00

Early glimpses of some dudes you never got to see enough of.

Gino

2008-11-25T18:04:00.001-08:00

Kyle James

2008-11-24T15:49:00.001-08:00

"KYLE JAMES?
RODNEY: oh I loved Kyle. He was he best. He was the realest motherfucker. He’d show up at the banks, and he’d fuckin’ be rockin some Tims, and be all blinged out with his chain, and he would kill it. In Timberland boots, he would kill it. He would do more more shit than you could probably ever do."

- Quote stolen from a sick interview with Rodney Torres, Rob Campbell, Louie-Louie, Ray Wong, and German Nieves over at In Remembrance of Things Whatevs, an excellent blog that you should be checking.

Ben Liversedge

2008-11-19T22:29:00.000-08:00

Ben Liversedge is criminally overlooked. Skated everything with good style and amazing trick selection. He sort of gradually faded away in the late 90's, anyone know what he's up to now? Also, some kind soul put Ride On up on youtube. I used to watch that video every single day and in my mind it epitomizes mid-90's Deluxe. Check it out if you haven't already, I still watch my VHS copy all the time.

Hickey

2008-11-17T17:03:00.001-08:00

Last of the Ryan Hickey photos I have scanned right now. He sure got a lot of ill wallride nollie-out coverage, too sick. Big up to whoever made that youtube montage, should have included his line from Ride On though.

Ride On

2008-11-13T22:12:00.001-08:00

Anyone else bummed that Dickies seems to have discontinued that mahogany brown color?

Spider

2008-11-10T12:40:00.001-08:00

Fucking gnarly.

Only One I Know

2008-11-09T01:04:00.001-08:00

More Matt Reason. Nobody skates 63mm wheels now. Also, I totally forgot that he ever skated for Supernaut. Pretty weird.

Max

2008-11-06T13:09:00.001-08:00

Rare Max Schaaf street snap; the photo credit reads "Guy Mariano". Sick! Thanks for linking this site on your excellent blog Max!

Ricky

2008-11-03T20:59:00.000-08:00

L'Étranger

2008-10-29T21:11:00.000-07:00

Greg Hunt

2008-10-25T12:52:00.001-07:00

I'm a big fan of Greg Hunt's unique approach to skating, especially his part in Tincan Folklore. Good to see that he is still involved in skateboarding. Backside "almost" tailslide is pretty reminiscent of this classic ad as well.

Bob

2008-10-23T19:37:00.000-07:00

Mike Graham

2008-10-21T17:59:00.000-07:00

Legacy: NYC

2008-10-15T15:16:00.001-07:00

Super sick and not widely seen NYC article from Strength including interviews with Ryan Hickey, Mike Hernandez and Jefferson Pang. I was overdue for a longer post on this blog, so I hope you folks enjoy this one. Unfortunately, my plans to go to New York fell through for this year due to problems with accommodations, but hopefully next spring I'll make it down there and do some skating.

Mike Wright

2008-10-14T21:07:00.000-07:00

Anyone know what happened to this dude? He had some pretty wild stuff in that Gold video, although they put his footage after the credits for some reason.

Jones Keefe

2008-10-11T14:59:00.000-07:00

Chris's brother had some big snap and ill frontside heelflips. Gotta love those Metropolitan ads, best company out.

Lavar

2008-10-08T13:09:00.000-07:00

Javier Nunez

2008-10-04T10:58:00.001-07:00

A while back I did an interview with the nice folks over at YouWillSoon, one of the best skate blogs out and one of the sites I check daily. There's some photos and some comical footy included, so if you guys are at all interested, check it out. I gotta thank Dan Watson immensely for making that one happen.
I don't know what that has to do with Javier Nunez, but check the style in this ad, unbelievable.

Vinny Ponte

2008-10-02T00:21:00.001-07:00

Kind of a bad scan, sorry folks. Love the layout on this one though; Zoo York once was king.

Ricky

2008-09-28T12:47:00.000-07:00

Ethan Fowler

2008-09-24T11:25:00.001-07:00

"Ethan Fowler gets mad fresh when he chills, kid! Word!!!"

Chris Keefe

2008-09-18T07:09:00.001-07:00

Chris Keefe; one of the few short stocky men to be blessed with ill style. Keefe skated with unbelievable speed and that bouncy, no effort pop. This post is dedicated to my man Terry, who is resting up after a freak illness. The lifestyle is taking its toll on our posse. Terry maintains that the lipslide Keefe busts on midtown ledge in this montage is the best one ever, and I can't help but wholeheartedly agree. Check that pop-out! Listen to that east coast squeal! Get well soon buddy.

Eric Pupecki!

2008-09-16T19:11:00.000-07:00

If you haven't already, go peep the Eric Pupecki interview over at Bobshirt. They have outdone themselves with this one; it's packed with great photos and clips so check it now!

SJ

2008-09-15T14:21:00.001-07:00

Gotta love that first photo.

Mike Maldonado

2008-09-10T20:51:00.001-07:00

Midnight Madness

2008-09-08T21:47:00.000-07:00

201st post dedicated to Bobby Puleo. This Slap interview from 2002 coupled with this part were such a breath of fresh air for me back then; skating seemed to be stuck in a rut of handrails, stairs, heelscraper noseslides and jump ramps to orange plastic barriers. The Puleo approach made much more sense then and still does now. To paraphrase Kenny Reed: "I like the fakie ollie by Bobby Puleo, because it is postmodern." I used to kind of laugh about that one but in retrospect it almost makes sense to me, and seems to have caught on to some extent. Not regression, but refinement. I don't dare say that Puleo came up with that notion, but his representation of such an approach has no doubt been very influential to the point where certain types of spots(cellar doors) and clothing(brown cords, white t-shirt, half-cabs) are almost always associated with him. Bobby's parts(with the possible exception of 5ive Flavors) are all classics, and his latest joint is no exception. I love Traffic, loved "Via", and can't wait to get my hands on a hard copy of the new one. If only the shop by me would order their boards. Anyway, big up to Bobby for still holding it down after all these years.

Van Wastell

2008-09-07T12:06:00.000-07:00

R.I.P.

Mike Cardona

2008-09-03T14:52:00.000-07:00

Thanks to my man Royce for lacing the link to the Half-Life Industry section. R.I.P. Mike Cardona.

Bici

2008-09-02T12:13:00.001-07:00

These Zoo spreads from Big Brother were awesome. Pete Bici's Brooklyn banks wizardry and original cellar door assault captured in all of their glory. If all goes according to plan I should be in New York this upcoming weekend, so expect NY-themed posts until then.

Half-Life

2008-08-24T12:07:00.000-07:00

I'm not a major devotee of the whole Jah/Hippie vibe in skateboarding, but Half-Life was pretty sick, had a great team and a really good industry section in 411. Here's a nice ad featuring Keith Hufnagel from Slap. I'm currently out of town and away from my computer on a little skate vacation, but I should resume posting regularly next week.

The Unknown Asshole

2008-08-18T21:33:00.000-07:00

Nut shot, ski mask; Sean Young is punk as fuck.

Billy

2008-08-15T19:44:00.003-07:00

Charismatic and stylish, Billy Valdes rules.

Hufnagel

2008-08-11T23:21:00.000-07:00

Back from a crazed long weekend of shredding with this shot of Keith Hufnagel. The guy peering out at him is the best part.

Pete Bici

2008-08-08T11:49:00.001-07:00

King Style!

Reason

2008-08-06T21:11:00.001-07:00

I know it's a little soon for another Matt Reason post, but I noticed today that someone uploaded this gem on youtube, so I felt the need to share, although I remember the video being called "Unedited", not "Untitled", which was the name of a great Birdhouse video.

Shawn Mandoli

2008-08-03T13:26:00.000-07:00

Shawn Mandoli skated clean and fast. His penchant for preaching was a little creepy though.

Reason

2008-07-30T22:02:00.000-07:00

Dill

2008-07-28T22:12:00.000-07:00

Salman

2008-07-24T00:04:00.000-07:00

Thanks for putting a link to this site on your blog!

Tim Upson

2008-07-20T22:47:00.000-07:00

One of those dudes you never got to see enough of.

Puleo

2008-07-19T13:49:00.001-07:00

Ray Barbee

2008-07-17T13:16:00.000-07:00

Strictly for Money

2008-07-13T13:41:00.000-07:00

A poor scan of this ATM ad. Full Gonz saturation on here lately, but that's okay.

And a colorful Real ad from 1996. Crazy trick.

Steven Cales

2008-07-11T12:12:00.001-07:00

Mark Gonzales

2008-07-09T22:48:00.000-07:00

My magazine collection is a direct result of long bus and subway rides to school as a kid, as well as a general hatred for classes. To alleviate the boredom of public transportation and math class I would buy and read skate magazines whenever I could. I never had a subscription, yet in this way I managed to accumulate nearly every issue of Thrasher, Transworld, SLAP and Big Brother from about 1994 until 2002, when I pretty much stopped buying magazines. Usually the first three I would purchase were Thrasher, Transworld, and SLAP. Big Brother was insanely hard to find in my neighborhood and I don't have all that many of the early issues; although some of the older guys who skated had notorious collections of that glorious mag. If I managed to buy and read all of those magazines and still found myself emptyhanded at the bus stop I would turn to the "lesser" publications, namely Warp, Strength, and Heckler. These magazines were for the most part pretty terrible(one could argue that Strength was decent) mostly due to the fact that a good portion of their content wasn't related to skateboarding at all, but once in a while these magazines had great features, such as this Mark Gonzales interview from the August 1997 issue of Warp. Enjoy.

Sixty-Forty

2008-07-06T12:53:00.001-07:00

60/40 was the shit. I think that the original team was Mark Gonzales, Ron Chatman, Fabian Alomar, Lee Smith, Joey Suriel and Steven Cales. I personally was drawn to 60/40 via excessive readings of Thrasher magazine in 1994 through 1996; Gonz was writing short stories in the mag pretty much every month and I was definitely stoked on him. I even got a Mark Gonzales 60/40 deck for my birthday in '94, complete with Gullwings(hah) and 43mm A1 Meats. The footage of Gonz during this era in random 411's and Thrasher videos is my favorite besides Video Days; while it was amazing that he later had full parts in Non-Fiction and Kicked Out of Everywhere, I feel that Real presented him in some overly dramatic way which didn't really get me too stoked to go skate. The earlier glimpses of Gonz skating in Simples and f/s bluntsliding brick ledges down stairs in 411 were far more inspiring as far as I'm concerned, not to mention his appearances in those 60/40 commercials; the most vivid in my memory being a perfect f/s flip over a bump to can wearing cuffed Levi's. By the time Glasses For Your Feet came out, Gonz had already left 60/40, although his 43 seconds of footage in Gino Perez's part is some of his best stuff ever.

The bulk of the original team left to make up most of the Menace roster, but 60/40 added a bunch of new dudes, most notably SAD and Gino Perez.

Gino Perez had the best part in the 60/40 video for sure, check his tricks at Union Square and I believe you can spot a Menace shirt at 1:29.

Two comically similar ads which ran in different issues of Thrasher. Listing off tricks "Performed Daily" seems like a harsh beam, but Sixty-Forty was getting pretty rotten at this post-gonz stage so whatever.

SAD is criminally underrated. Judging by his multi-colored Fu Manchu and penchant for skating with a towel in hand he was definitely eccentric, but that only adds to his unique illness. "No time for slippin!"

60/40 had a bunch of other dudes as well, ranging from sick skaters like Ron Chatman, Rodney Torres(edit: not sure about this, but the part is good so I'll keep it up) and George Morales, to kind of boring dudes like James Qua, to straight-up crazy Larry Moore. And no one will forget Bobcat.

That's all I got to say for now about one of my favorite companies. Expect more Gonz related stuff soon.

No Stranger

2008-07-04T11:57:00.000-07:00

Pupecki

2008-06-30T13:16:00.001-07:00

Hammer Time

2008-06-29T17:56:00.001-07:00