10
Ra
ASK THE DOCTOR
Dr. Rick
Blackhart
WASTING TIME IN SAN JO
Im 12 and I've been skating for quite a
while now. The only problem is, no where to
skate I want to get into downhill skating. I
have a downhill board and no place to use
it I've been just street skating, which is not
real easy to do on a downhill board. So if
any one wants to come to San Jose to
skate, you're just wasting your time, be-
cause the closest skate park is in Santa
Cruz
Thanx
Jay Bertozzi
San Jose, Campbell
Oh come on now Jay. Don't tell me
you live in San Jo and there's no place
to skate. This is where I grew up, skating
10-12 hours a day. I admit sometimes it
did get a bit repititious. Of course we
were always looking for new places to
skate. No matter how hot a spot is, it's
just not enough. But really now, espe
cially downhill, I could turn you on to so
many downhill spots in San Jose it's
ridiculous. I would suggest that if it's
too hard for you to get to any nice down-
hills, maybe you should invest in a nice
street skate. Then head on down to your
nearest elementary school and start
practicing. I used to do 360s for about
an hour and a half just to warm up.
San Jose I can seem pretty dry, but
that's life. You didn't really ask any spe-
cific question, but I would imagine that
you would like some exact locations or
skate spots in San Jo. Well Jay, this is
between you and me, ok? There's this
downhill spot that's way cool. This is for
real, it's called Church on the Hill. Just
go down Curtner Ave. south towards Al-
maden, when you see a Church on a Hill
you'll know that's the spot. Good Luck!
PLAGUED WITH PUNK?
Why is Thrasher plagued with punk rock
articles? Can't Thrasher fill up its pages
with pure skate action? I grimace when
people say punk and skating go hand in
hand, music (all types) may help skaters
but it's not a driving force. Can you grind
without a radio? I can.
I love skateboarding I get depressed.
seeing more and more pages wasted on
punk They preach. They are as trendy as
the people they hate, except they are on
opposite ends of the spectrum. I have to
conform to their thinking to be a "Non Con-
formist
They claim their music is important,
seems that the hippies, who punkers laugh
at. felt the same way. Punkers, for the most
part, have no talent whatsoever. This is not
debatable. Their lyrics simply state obvious
problems without offering logical answers.
I like Cheap Trick and I go to college,
does this make me a geek? I'll stand toe to
toe to anyone who says it does
Why am I forced to read all this punk? I
liked Thrasher because it fueled me to try
new things, but now I think maybe it would
be better if I didn't read it at all.
I'm not trying to condemn, I just want
pure skating. Is this asking for too much? I'll
always skate.
Eric Harrison
Powell, Ohio
PS Thanks for listening. The next time you
are out on the street at night, alone, and
you are skating slow with one hand grab-
bing your rail and just gliding, think about.
what I said. Pure silence, Pure skating, No
drugs. No alcohol. No maneuvers. Not
cheering, it's still fun, isn't it? It's pure.
PS.S. Nobody rules, we gotta share.
Probably the reason you might see a
lot of punk or new wave type styles (in
writing, ads, and other factions of the
mag) is because a large percentage of
the skating populace is into it. That's
what they want. I myself am not heavily
into punk. But that doesn't mean that I
don't get put down for listening to music
that someone else just happens to hate.
It's all in the individual's own frame of
mind. Do you always put down things
you don't like? No, of course not. You
have to learn to give and take just like
everybody else. I (obviously) have no-
thing against voicing your own opinion,
just remember that might be all it is,
your own. There will always be some-
one who thinks differently. I'm sick and
tired of this music thing. If you don't like
a certain kind of music, don't listen to it.
If you think you're a geek for listening to
Cheap Trick, what would you call some-
one who listens to D.O.A. and Motley
Crue or even Pere UBU and Husker DU.
Whatever kind of music, if someone
likes it that's fine with me. I don't have to
listen if I choose not to. If you think
you're better off not reading Thrasher.
that's up to you. I also get flak some-
times from people who say "Oh, you
skateboard, well then you must be a
punk rocker. But most of those people
don't deserve to know the truth anyway.
The one thing that I thoroughly agree
on, and just happens to be the bottom
line in this story, is the feeling you
pointed out of grabbin' and glidin'. This
skate rush is something no true skater
should be without. There's no other feel-
ing in the world like a nice downhill run
at night with the local skate crew. Sung
to the tune of burning urethane against
black pavement.
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