MAIL
Send all Info, Compliments and Criticisms
for Mall Drop, THRASHER Magazine,
P.O. Box 24393, San Francisco, CA 94124.
POSITIVELY
I'm writing to tell you how much I
appreciate your mag. I think you
have some real positive influence for
the scene. Some of my friends have
started to skate because of your
mag. I think it's great.
I really like the fact that you guys
are so positive that's the kind of at-
titude it takes to rebuild the scene
not the old action now 'Skating is
Dead type of thinking.
Another group of people I see
having a great positive attitude is the
band America's Hardcore. They're
real cool and have a lot to offer to the
scene. I was thinking that you guys
should do an A.HC. Interview, it
might help people to get involved.
This is our scene, and it's time we
realize that it's also our responsibil
ity to keep it going
Yours in skating.
John Haley
Evergreen, có
DEAREST THRASHER,
I'm sick and tired of hearing
people complain about not having a
skate park. WE only had ours for a
year! There used to be a lot of good
skaters around, but the park closed
so they all quit. There's plenty of
good street action out there, just
look for it. WE found about 15-20
good banks, we get concrete curb-
ing from parking lots and see it on
top of the banks for rock & rolls and
board slides. It's really not too hard
to build a ramp eitherf
Don't complain, Skate!! Some
say, "Skate Tough or Walk."
Thanx,
Erich Bittmann
Tacoma, WA
DO WHAT YOU WANT TO DO
I was just reading two mail drops
in August '83 issue, "BMX Sucks"
and "Advisor," amen!! Let them do
what they want to do. I just got into
skating five months ago and there
are no ramps except quarter pipes in
Sonoma but street skating is how we
rip. I'm not totally into punk but I like
it, the local bands are Double Cross,
Idiot Savants, and other under-
ground bands.
My set-up is a Zorlac, Gibson with
Gullwings and B-52's. The cops
here don't harass us but they look at
us like we have leprosy. Some old
people are amazed at our ability and
some think we suck. There is a
sports store that carries a tiny bit of
skate stuff, like 10" boards with 6
trucks! But we'll get by.
"Skate tough or go home."
Stuart Sperring
Sonoma, CA
COMPETITICISM
As I "kickback" by the pool I have
time to reflect on last weekend's
comp at Paramount; and how it dif-
fered from comps back home in En-
gland. The answer is "not a lot." It
was like Disneyland, which was
good but I expected more than just a
fourist attraction.
Do I expect too much? I enjoyed
competing more when I was first
getting into skateboards. Has skat-
ing changed or have 1? Probably
both. People stop enjoying comps
when they become veterans-they
enjoy winning-but that's after
they've skated to the rules.
Competitions mean rules-skat-
ing means freedom. Only when
you're sessioning with mates can
you change the slalom course or go
for an impossible contorted hand-
plant. The top English vert skater
wins because he is radical, consis-
tent and skates to the rules (bal-
anced routine, lines, etc.), but after-
the comp is when the truly hot skat-
ing takes place, and if you wipe-so
what? There's no clock telling you to
jump up and go for that quick lame
hand-plant for those two extra
points. Skating becomes fun again,
You can let a grem have 60 kickturns
to set up for that two wheel aerial
halfway up the wall. The "There's
only half an hour before the comp
and I'm going to practice and if that
means snaking tough shit..." mental-
ity disappears.
Jason made his act of defiance.
He stopped competing, left the Eng-
lish Skateboard Association, be-
came a THRASHER dealer and built
a halfpipe.
But I still like comps; you get to-
gether at places you wouldn't nor
mally go, you help make money for
the manager of the park and some
association which "promotes skate-
boarding." It's cool.
Well, got to get back in the water.
See you at the next comp.
STOP THE PRESSES
Paul Price
LONDON
I've discovered the skateboards
and in Missoula, Mont., even! (Un-
fortunately, the "hardcores" here
have migrated to Seattle.)
And what's worse I've got to move
to Washington, D.C. Where am I to
go? What am I to do? There has to
be a scene there, hasn't there?
What about clubs?
Also, aren't there any women out
there? I know of only one other
female skateboarder, and that's my
mate, Tinall
Okay-someone's got to have
some answers!! Please send 'em in,
and please, people in D.C-tell me
what's going on!!
Like to thank all those "gnarly
men from Missoula (of Seattle
now), Deranged Diction, and to
those from Seattle, 'Rejectors (R),
and, of course, to THRASHER-
who've all stuck to their boards and
gotten Tina and me interested
(hooked).
Forever,
Gretchen Fischer
Missoula, MT
JUST LOOKING FOR A LOT
OF SKATE
I'm a 13-year-old skater from New
Jersey. I've been skating for about
two years and all my friends skate. I
mostly street skate. There's a lot of
curbs around here and besides that
it's mostly free falls and foot plants. I
skate all over with my friends every
day looking for sktae spots. I'm plan-
ning on building a halfpipe about six
feet high, but I'm looking for wood. I
just got the August issue, it's totally
hot. Start the hard and fast etc. artí
cle again and do an article on the
Northeast. THRASHER rules.
STOKEDTON
Dave Force
Belmar, NJ
I'm in Stockton, Calif. Where I live
the skate scene is pretty alive. BMX
(sucks) was on for about a year and
a half while just me and a handful of
people kept on skating. Now BMX is
past history and I'm glad to say that
skateboarding, the hottest sport
ever, is getting more popular all the
time. Even the little shits are getting
involved.
Like I said before, the skate scene
is pretty good. As far as ramps go,
there's mostly quarter pipes but a
friend of mine is working on a half-
pipe. A local band called the Straw
Dogs has a pretty cool halfpipe but
at the moment it's under repair (re-
surfacing is what I've heard).
This dude I know pulls off this to-
tally cool footplant onto a 360°
bombdrop. I'll send some photos
once we get some. Till then Skate or
Die.
SKATE OR DON'T
Rat
Stockton, CA
People say Skate or Die. Skate or
Live, Skate or Create. For me, it
breaks down to one simple phrase
-Skate or Don't!! My friend Tom
Eckert wrote these lyrics:
We're street kids-growing up on
the street.
We know a lot that the schools don't
teach
We're street kids-out on our own
The street is our home sweet home
We're street kids-living in the gutter
We got nuthing but we got each other
We're street kids-we fight for our
turf
We know what life in the street is
worth
We're street kids, we're street kids,
We're street kids and proud of it!!
We're street kids-abandoned youth
We don't want any institute
We're street kids-running free
Making our stand in society
We're street kids-we know who we
are
We also know that the pavement's
hard
We're street kids-we're part of the
Don't feel sorry, we don't want your
pity
We're street kids, we're street kids,
we're street kids and proud of it!!
Skate or Don't
Jim Murphy
E.S.T., NJ
HEY FROM HOUSTON
While ordering your un-trendy
shirts and stickers, I thought I'd drop
you a line from Houston, Tex. As of
today Texas Pipeline is still skate-
able (I skated it this morning before
the Texas heat). Rumors have it that
it's gonna be smashed for a post
office, but those rumors have been
going 'round for a while.
The skate scene is not exactly a
hot bed of activity, but there's a lot of
places to ride. Parking garages, pipe
line, occasional pools, and some kil-
ler banks me and a friend found
under a office building (always
skateable). Only problem is a lot of
people go there at night to drink beer
(lame cowboys) and we got beat up
and our boards ripped off by some
urban cowboys.
Tommy Harmel goes to my high
school and he skates at Pipeline. He
is f-kin' unreal. Easily one of the
best in the state. I've seen Gibson at
Pipeline and he shreds too. The only
cool clubs in town have closed up,
but this gig at the Pull for Youth
Center was rad. The Big Boys are
great and J.F.A. shredded. Flipper
was good too. The slamming was
hot.
Anyway, thanks for the shirt and
stickers. I've been reading THRASH-
ER since it started and the July issue
is definitely one of the best. Cover
shot is great. Moto is a literary god
and deserves the Pulitzer and Nobel
prizes. Keep up the good work and
keep skatin
Vaughan Boone
Houston, TX
DONEL,
THE LEADER
OF THE PACK
It's not easy to stay number
1 in this industry for 7 years,
but we have. Knowing what's
hot and what's not has helped
us to help you, The Dealer,
in selecting the most com-
plete line of skateboards and
rollerskates for your retail
store's profit.
We offer friendly service, fast
shipping and only the top
names.
SKATERS!
Norçon Helmet
$8.50
Send 50c For Socker And All
New Hot Stuff Mail Order
Catalogue
DEALERS, CALL FOR CURRENT
CATALOGUE & SPECIALS
DONEL
DONEL DISTRIBUTORS, INC.
13422 FLOYD CIRCLEGALLASTE 75431
LEADING THE WAY INTO THE '80s.
RECTOR
ROUGH
DEALER AND DISTRIBUTOR
INQUIRIES INVITED
Rector
P.O. BOX 2022 SAUSALITO, CA 94966 (415) 331-5200