10
Ha
ASK
A QUESTION OF BRAIN BUCKETS
Once while skating I took a fall and my
board shot off the ramp, came down and
put a (nice) gash in my head (a 4-stitcher).
The big question that came out of that is:
"To wear a helmet or not to wear a helmet?"
John Ford
Spring Lake, NJ
Well John I'll tell ya. Once again I think
this is just a simple case of personal
preference. On one hand you have the
safety factor and on the other hand, you
have everything else. Myself, I never did
like helmets because you can't get that
naturalism and freedom that skating of-
fers, but, mainly because I've never had
a heavy skull bongo or face plant. How-
ever, when I knew that I was going to do
some get down vertical skating, more
often than not I'd wear a helmet. In the
event of a contest, of course, you are re-
quired to wear one. Maybe your cruising
the local ramp or spillway and you've
had just one or two more twelve packs
than usual, this would be a good time to
wear a helmet.
Brings to mind this one time I was
skating Campbell Skatepark with Del 13
and the Boys. We were ripping all day
long and none of us were wearing hel-
mets. It started getting late and Del
says, "Hey man, let's take one more
run," so I said OK. He then whips over
and puts his helmet on. I said, "Hey,
what the f--k are you doing? You've
been skating all day and now you wear
your helmet." Anyway, he puts his hel-
met on but doesn't snap the strap. He
takes off, I cut in front of him (not on pur-
pose of course), he falls, and cracks his
head open. So it just goes to show you,
sometimes you fall, sometimes you
don't.
In your case, I would suggest you
either be more mellow or careful when
not wearing a helmet or at least wear
one until your stitches get taken out.
E DOCTOR Dr. Rick Blackhart
Then you might invest in a nose guard
or invent a rubber board or something,
you'd probably make a million.
TIME WARPED
My name is John Emberton and I live in
Pinole, California (that's across the Bay
from San Francisco). Out here we (Pinole
skaters) skate streets and occasionally
freestyle, but our halfpipe is what we enjoy
the most and (we are best at). We skate it
everyday (weather permitting) and we are
pretty rad. My/our problem is that we want
to expand our horizons. We have searched
for pools, built and ripped ramps and
thrashed streets, but we crave the parks!
Last summer some friends and I tried to go
down to Del Mar for a week, but some
hang-ups interfered and we didn't go. Any-
way. I was wondering if there are any
skateparks around (2-3 hour drive) the
Bay Area? Does Winchester still exist? If
so, where the hell is it? We heard there was
a park in Sacramento, but the source is un-
reliable, so we are asking you with all your
supreme knowledge, if you could tell us of
a local skatepark? Please help us!
John Emberton
Pinole, CA
Listen dude, where have you been?
You mean to tell me you live in the Bay
Area and never skated Winchester? I
know skaters that came hundreds of
miles just to skate there. Winchester
was dozed years ago. Sorry bud, you
missed out. As far as Sacto goes, if
there is a park there it's unknown to me.
You say you want to expand your ho-
rizons and if you're looking for parks,
you're looking in the wrong direction. I
suggest you keep going in the direction
you are. Get out there and search. I real-
ize parks are a great training and ses-
sioning ground, but that was then and
this is now. Any private pool or ramp is
definitely your best bet.
ONIONS AND SILK SHIRTS
I am writing this letter to help a fellow
skater in need, a certain Tom Harper, a re-
cent addition to the radical ranks of Bruns-
wick, Maine.
Mind you, I too find it hard to picture a
relatively new board and a truck axle both
breaking during a single wipe, but my gut
wrenches at the thought of a choice ramp
being split for firewood.
So, Tom, if you read this, you can skate
my halfpipe whenever you want (I've extra
sticks you can use). It's 16 ft wide, with plat-
forms, 3' channel, 8' flat, 2' vert with coping
and a stairway. Height varies from 9% to
10...or I can help you rebuild, okay? What-
ever suits you best.
Get in touch with me at:
David R. Richardson
P.O. Box 106
Hanover, ME 94237
One question for your Rick: If you could
have your own private pool, what design
would you choose (or would it be a combi
like Upland)?
David Richardson
Alright, way to be Dave. Here's a nice
example of a skater reaching out his
board to another skater. Also, anyone
else in the whole world, if you want a
place to skate, go see Dave."
Now about the ultimate pool design, it
would have to be an oval at least thirty
feet wide with about fifteen feet of flat
bottom. Of course, the shallow end
would have to be skateable also. The
main reason this would be the best de-
sign I'd choose is because I've ridden
the very pool of which I speak. It was in
Gilroy, California, and it was known as
the "Brocerios Bowl" to the skaters that
witnessed the Mexican farm workers
who harvested the onions in the fields.
that surrounded a beautifully refur-
bished ranch house. It had been turned
into business offices of some kind, but
in the back remained the "Perfect Pool."
The only time at which we could skate
without getting busted was very early in
the morning. We had to be off the
grounds before the working day
started, about seven o'clock. This pool
was so rippable, we thought it must be
heaven, even as we skated to the
stench of the foul harvest, we paid it no
mind. The coping was part of the "Side-
walk" that surrounded the pool like an
apron, and was shaped like preworn
coping. Anyway it was definitely the
best pool I've ever ridden. I learned
frontside roll-ins over coping clad in
down jacket and Levis. Alas, it was jack-
hammered about two weeks after we
discovered it through the skatevine. So
if I was to have my own pool that would
have to be it.
Blakkest
7-WOODY
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