Ask the
Doctor
Blackha
DECK DAMAGE
Rick Blackhart
Why is it one can't get a strong board
anymore? I'm heavily into the street skat-
ing bank skating thing and I cannot find a
deck that will last longer than a couple of
months of riding. I've been through 5
boards within the last year. Hell, one board
I only rode for about 2 days until it broke
doing an acid drop. All the boards broke
because of bad laminates: glue breaks not
wood breaks. I mean your average board
should be able to easily handle a thrashing.
right? So what in hell is wrong with the
major companies these days? On our ramp
we have our busted boards nailed up.
These boards get seriously weathered.
One five-year old board shows no signs of
delamination while next to it a 6 month old
model has 7 laminates held together only
by the nail holding it to the ramp. What's
with skate companies? Do they think just
because there is an upswing in the market.
they can cut their quality? Low quality skate
products kill the business. I'm not just talk-
ing your fly-by-night companies, these are
the heavyweights. Is there still a company
which makes strong, reliable decks? Or has
planned obsolecence corrupted the whole
market. Help us DOC! We're running out of
room on our ramp to nail our busted decks!
Who still makes good equipment?
Jake Huffman
Burlington, VT
Obviously this is turning into a prob-
lem that has to be reckoned with. I was
just going through this month's batch of
letters and again I've already thrown
away about five that had to do with bro-
ken decks. The reason for throwing
them away is that broken boards are
pretty commonplace these days; who
hasn't broken a board before? But the
letters keep coming so either the skate
makers are getting to be cheap, chintzy
chumps or the general skate populous
is becoming too rad to hang with today's
equipment. Most likely six of one and a
half dozen of the other. As far as what
you can to to prevent buying a bad
PSYCHOTIC
By The Way You Respond.
You Think I'm CRAZY!
a
board is, of course, to examine prior to
purchace. Don't buy if there's bad look-
ing grain near a heavy stress area or
even de-lamination that you might not
notice until after you've been ripped off.
On the other hand, don't be whining
about your broken board when all you
do is slam it around with acid-drops or
bench breakers.
Gimpy deck scandal? You make the
call. Next time you get a board and it
deteriorates faster than what you think
should be normal, write a letter to the
manufacturer and tell them the story.
Maybe they'll keep a closer watch on
quality control.
BAILING AND WAILING
I'm bummed!!! I've been a dedicated ska-
ter for 3 years now, and I usually learn at
least a few new tricks each month. About
six months ago I pulled off my first invert,
and I was so stoked. But then, a couple
months later for no apparent reason, NO
MORE inverts. My friends say it's because
I'm scared, but I'm not scared-I know I
can make them. I have before and I will
again.
Rick, has this ever happened to you?
Confused but Skating
Donny Cudney
Fort Walton Beach, FL
I'm bummed with my skating lately.
explain. When I was 10 or 11 years old (had
pipe and me and my friends got radical
on it. A few years ago (now I'm 16) I tried a
large pipe for the first time, I bit the dust
and screwed up my foot for a while. Since
then I've lost my aggressiveness and my
go-for-it attitude. Now, when I streetskate
and want to try something new like high
acid drops or boneless ones. I wimp out
and get the urge to bail. Am I washed up as
a skater or a curable case?
Unsigned
Saint Louis, MO
Now this is a tough one. Usually in a
case like this I would tend to say hang it
up before you really get hurt. Once you
wimp out it's very difficult to regain
one's intensity. However, if what I say
really bothers you, there might be a
chance. Everyone at one point has been
in what you might call a slump; failing
and flailing on moves always pulled off
before. One, you're pissed because you
fell and two, it hurts worse every beef.
This is where you sink or swim. Re-
member the saying: if you think you're
going to fall...you're going to fall. Just
bear down and concentrate with utmost
determination and pull it off. Otherwise
you may be doomed to a life of wimpism.
I'm sure there's a chance you can be
cured if you stick with it. Same thing
goes for "Confused." It happens to
everyone at least once. Again, just stay
loose, aggro and keep skating. Practice
helps too! Otherwise you'll both just
have to join all the other wimpy skaters
out there. HA! later.
Batht
Rider: Andy Coghlan
Photo: Hubert Schriebl
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you. This hard work results
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you'll do it better
on a Burton.
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