Reigning Alabama slam-dance kings,
Bart Burgess and Jon Moyer have
rekindled the downhill fever in Gadsden,
producing good racing at the Country
Club and Alpine View. Gadsden's young
skate crew are taking full advantage of
their environs.
Although Florence doesn't have a park,
there is a dense population of skaters.
Florence, located in the North West
corner of the state, offers along with
intense ramp and ditch sessions, a heavy
concentration of downhill racing. Steve
Desters skateshop occasionally brings in
touring Pros for the locals to meet.
A city sponsored skateclub keeps over
3 dozen members busy with a regular
program of activities; monthly meetings,
trips to skateparks, demos, contests,
etc....
Early skate pioneers, Jeff Held, Greg
Hodges, Scott Sloan and Max Russell,
got the Florence scene rolling back in '77,
and it shows no sign of letting up.
It's back to the streets for B'ham
skaters. Alabama's first park,
Wheel A'Wave, opened in '77. It was
bulldozed in the winter of '80 due to its
outdated design. Ramp, ditch and street
skating have become the steady diet of
the B'ham skaters. Hot locals, slalom ace
Mark Eddings and freestylers Andy and
Tim Spinosi (all of the old Pipe Dreams
Team), are still your daily hardcores.
Alabam's skate scene has gone
unnoticed for years. Mike Folmer put it
best during his first tour through, "I didn't
know it was here!" Skateboarding in
Alabama has come of age because of the
everyday dedicated skaters, too
numerous to mention, that made it hap-
pen.
Most reading this are probably
expecting this piece to end with some
typical Southern dialect like, "Y'all come
see us or such. Not so. It ends simply,
"WE LIVE TO THRASHI
-Patrick Wachter
Varifiex tourist, Lance Mountain enjoying the extremes at Get-A-Ways 13 foot keyhole
Florence Hardcore Max Russel, cranking a right hander in North Alabama during the winter of 1980
Eric Grisham blasts skyward and tip toes back into Get-A-Ways' 13 footer.
Photo Jeff Newton
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