Coming back from a tough bout with illness, Christian Hosoi blew minds as well as stopped some
hearts while managing to continually stay on edge.
K.J.T.
34
distance. Neil went for a 36 ft
distance, and made it. The pool was
showered with cash. Neil racked in
about $150.00.
Soon after, the Pro event was
underway. As battling runs ensued, a
boisterous crowd raved on and raged.
on. In the finals were guys like Chris-
tian Hosol, Micke Alba, Allen Losi,
Tony Hawk, Neil Blender, Lester
Kasai, Lance Mountain and Steve
Caballero.
Call him Ted. Call him the Editor
of THRASHER Mag. Some people
call him K.T. and others call him
K.J.T. Regardless, he was standing
by the entrance to the pool, en-
couraging all the contestants as they
passed by, starting and completing
their runs.
Teno
"Uh Steve (Caballero), what is that
black band on your right hand? Does
it signify something? A memorian or
what?"
"It's Denise's good luck charm,"
says Steve just before he drops in for
his run.
"Christian, you've got a new
maneuver, the "Love plant" I've been.
hearing so much about. What's the
story?"
"Hey man, in this next cut, I'm
gonna pull in this new trick nobody
is ever gonna believe. It's gonna be
so intense, that it's gonna blow
several minds" Christian pants, as
he's just finished his run.
What's it called?" inquires the
curious ever-interested K.T.
"It's called, 'making my line'"
"That's pretty good...Whoa!
Caballero just did an Indy air with a
foot off, the massive frontside corner
air to a 50/50 grind off the hip,
rock'n'roll boardslide, a mute air,
backside boneless one off the hip; My
God!!! and a cess/one-two slide
across the hip, rock'n'roll in the
shallow end, a last bio fronside air
and he's in there." Ted is thoroughly
stoked as he turns to his travelling
cohort, Dr. Rick." That last run Doc-
tor, tell me about that one. Huh?
Would you want to recap that?"
"I'm talking gluefoot all the way".
Says the Dr.
"Even when his foot is not on the
board." adds the editor.
"The guy is so friggin' smooth, it
makes me sick", continues Black-
heart."
From here on it was hard-driving
power in the bowl. Through-out the
double eliminations some unreal ac-
tivity was erupting in the behavioral
patterns of these "Citizens of the
Radical" Some of Christian Hosoi's
runs were so on edge. He wasn't kid-
ding when he said he was going to
just finish his line. He had just
returned from a bout with illness and
had not practice prior to the contest
on the day before. All that con-
sidered, he would nearly collapse
after each run, nevertheless, ex-
hausted, he still pressed on.
After Al Losi landed in fifth and
Neil Blender in fourth the clampdown
began. Taking some of the hottest
runs ever, Christian, Micke and
Caballero absolutely poured it on.
Micke, was next to fall away to the
third place spot. The younger Alba
put in a tremendous performance,
this weekend.
The duel was now down to Chris-
tian and Caballero. Steve had just
won at Joe's Ramp Jam and it
looked as though he planned on win-
ning again. After all of this skating,
Christian was wearing down. At one
point, he collapsed in the bottom of
the pool from sheer exhaustion. He
finally settled for second place, and
Steve Caballero went on to win yet
another major Pro event.
Steve Caballero is most definitely
on the rise. There doesn't seem to be
anyone matching him run for run. He
just keeps winning. When asked
about his obvious, vertical skate-
boarding prowess, Steve will usually
just shrug his shoulders.
But out on the horizon is the
future of competitive skateboarding.
Despite what we've seen, we have
yet to experience the full potential.
Somewhere out in the future there
must be a final limit. And whether
it's the near future, or the distant
future, it's up to you.
THRASHER
HRASHER
Neil Blender clears the thirty-six ft. mark in this rare sequential.
THRASHER
Notice Neil's supreme concentration.
HRASHER
35