R
R
IVERSON
0
PRYCIACK
30
BIG DADDY
mayhem in virtual seclusion. Their choice
of anonymity is in a sense a choice of
purism. The impulses of mass media
accreditation are by definition acts of overt
commercialism. Looking back over the
years, one notices the mass media's
typical approach. Life mag. favors buxom
blond boarders and priests on wheels in
their '65 expose. Elsewhere in the same
period, chimps on skates proliferated. At
the opposite end of the spectrum was Ed
'Big Daddy' Roth. Acclaimed as a leading
auto-abstract expressionist by writer Tom
Wolfe, Big Daddy spewed out specific
street art imagery. Unfortunately, Roth's
insistence on personal reality caused
conflicts with the corporate types who
signed his paychecks. The upshot of this
was that Ed walked away from his big
bucks gig at Revell modest reportedly
because he refused to dress in the
approved company style. Roth still favors
sweatshirts over suits.
On these pages appear photographs of
individuals whom for highly differing
reasons are amont the avant-garde of the
sport. Their positions of leadership are
rooted in action only, their reputations are
well known in hardcore circles, yet all
remain curiously unaffected.
IVERSON
At this moment Iverson is most likely
somewhere in the backcountry polishing
his craft. Downhill slides are his specialty,
long courses are his domain. Iverson
carries the pass keys to certain high
altitude private roads with him at all times.
He has no competitive rating because
where he hangs out they don't issue
numbers. Besides, could the judges
handle the walk back up the hill? Iverson
wears his wheels down paper thin. There
are lots of guys like him, except you
probably will never see them (unless you
are one yourself).
31