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He liked my "hair-do" and touched it
while exclaiming the cuteness of my
curls. I wanted no part of this, or him,
and fled the scene. But yes, that fella
had aided my hiccups into oblivion and I
sought refuge elsewhere.
Needless to say, waking up at 8:00
a.m. the next morning and driving the
100 and something miles from Phoenix
to Tucson, after finally getting to sleep at
about 3:30 a.m. or so, was a detail
overlooked.
It was one of your clear and sunny, "Is
it really January?," Arizonian, pre-
summer meltdown, nice mornings. All
except for the icky brown air resting atop
the cityscapes which we viewed from our
pollution contributing vehicle. It brought
to mind a song called. The Legionairres,"
by Fifth Column, a brilliant all-female
band from Canada:
"You claim that when you greet the
morning/ Dirty skies are just a harmless
warning/ You've lost a patience for the
air/ Atmosphere is here/ But you don't
care to tear the air..."
Asphyxiation excaped up, but for how
long I don't know, and we rolled into
Tucson, sputtering noxious fumes just
like all the other "shiny people movers" in
this world. The exhaust skateboarders
make is exactly the same as every other
human being, 'cept maybe a little
healthier, and the boards themselves
leave nothing but grind marks and paint
scrapes.
Upon arrival we discovered a bunch of
ramps, some parking blocks, a bench
and a couple of large truck tires. The
same thing one would see on any
average cruise down Main Street, U.S.A.
The 12 and unders were already
underway and boy was I surprised. In
fact, I was a bit scared, 'cuz if these little
dudes were ripping this hard, I could
imagine what I would have to deal with
against the Sponsored Ams (hereby
called spo ams or spams for the lincoln
of it). They really radically ripped, in the
way they sometime make you wanna
hate 'em. But no, I knew a few of the
crew who had come down from Phoenix
with the Cheapskate. So instead of
hooting, I found myself rooting. (Not that
I would ever audibly hoot at a little kid for
shredding, if I did I probably wouldn't let
him hear it...encourage the little twerps,
they're the future.)
Besides the up to twelvers, there were
three other unsponsored divisions, A
(skying), B (flying) and C (trying). The C
men fell a bit more than the 12 and
undies, but they did their darndest
which is the way to do it. Wade Keeler
was the definite crowd fave, but he only
got 6th, probably cuz all those "GOS"
and "YEAHS" interrupted his flow. Our
fashion fraulines, Beth and Amy,
commentated that he had "Brian
Brannon hair." Well, he also has a built-in
cure for the hiccups...Amy, JFA team
mother and dietician, and Beth, JFA
team fashion coordinator, called the C
winner, Calvin Wears, "tricky."
They had not yet seen the B division,
which showcased some impressive
moves and movements. John Ferris was
a rowdy and "bold son of a bitch," Beth
told fellow JFette Amy. His stalled inverts
and high boneless channels were about
as it as you can get. However, he fell too
many times in the finals, leaving Andy
Hetzel to win with what Amy called, "this
hippity-hop."
Between rounds, Mark "Gonzo"
Gonzales and Mark "Gator" Rogowski
showed the craving crowd some mean
and clean moves. Gonzo would ollie
over the bench without even touching
the dang thang. Both he and Gator
pulled airs so highly high, far gone and
twisted that we spectators and even
participators either gassed or gasped.
Eventually the two would retire to the
judgement table.
I think it was during the A division that
a dude jumped off a ramp from only
about half way, and his Madrid board
fully splintered, folding like a piece of
wheat bread. I decided to call me mum
back in Phoenix to tell her I arrived
safely. Well, about the same time all of
this was going on, a kid flew off a ramp,
missed, and spewed vomit on impact.
So now was time for the spams, (or
spos). I'd say there were about nine or
ten of us. There would be some raging.
Chris Cook was there to show how the
harsh roughness of the Devil's Pit fosters
keeler strategy, while fellow Alvamate
Jeff Hartsell would rip separate but
equally. The Dogtown contingent blazed
as is traditional. John Sills was there to
show that Tucson ain't all a bunch of
winos and pregnant women who give
themselves Caesareans in the bathroom
next door, prior to us stealing their towels
after the ambulance takes them away.
The JFA team was there to skate and not
necessarily participate. (Doug and Sam
did not, while Bri and Todd gave it a shot.)
Todd, amazed the many with an axle
stall to rock and roll and ended his run
with a JFA sticker to basketball hoop
ring. Brian pulled a hood ornament
one-footed carve to sticker fling, followed
in the next round by a tongue slide (to
find the true taste of street skating) and
then lost his pants for points. If he would
have lost his undies, he might have
made it to the finals. Todd also didn't
make it.
Going into the finals was a three-way
tie for sixth place, with sixth place being
the cut-off. So a skate-off was called
involving Gavin Troy, Eric Dressin, and
another Dogtowner. Dressin won.
The finals followed an abrupt eruption
of mayhem due to a sticker toss. After
the spasm, the spams were ready to
battle for the top titles. They would get a
full minute to ride, compared to the
forty-five seconds the lower classes had.
Eric Dressin from Dogtown took the
first run, which was fully speedful. He
flew over the "hump" ramp and romped
righteously.
Jeff Hartsell, fresh from Hawaii, where
jah is yah, was next, riding for Alva. He
aired airs and boned a high boner, as
well as a street slide at speed that must
have covered at least three feet. He also
pulled some twisted twirlies.
Aaron Murray, a young pup from
Dogtown, wailed with a real high and
clean 360° air off the "hump" ramp,
which had a banked wall on one side
and a semi-vert wall on the other. This
rager also did a fine frontside boneless
one to tail from one ramp to another. But,
unfortunately, he bailed on what would
have been a high and nice backside air
off the hump.
Chris Cook, demon from Frisco, since
relocated to Venice, rode with no bars
held. He pulled an ollie between the two
separate ramps and generally jammed.
Insane moves at speed will win my heart
any day. He also pulled a 360° air off the
Hump to a backside layback. But, by far
the most street inspired move of the day
was his grind of about 30 or 40 feet,
around the corner, still grinding for
another 10 feet. Woooh. That's street
style in my book.
Next was Tuscon's (pronounced
Tuck-sawn) own John Sills. The crowd
fully loved him for his lokeness. He
deserved it too. He did those street plant
things, bean plants, hand stands, a
Christie and highlighted it all with a
backflip to board. Even though he
missed his board, it's always good to see
an "Al Pinzone-style" backflip. The
spectators thought it was spectacular.
His run heard thunderous applause and
searing shouts.
Lastly but never leastly, was Jesse
Martinez of Thunder and Santa Monica
Airlines. This was the man who had
"street" carved into his hair for the
Scottsdale Community College BOB
Peace Skate event. Besides 360
everythings, he pulled the full street
inversion twists and stalls. He utilized
the full court with slides of the full
rotation caliber and rampular fly-offs.
Jesse seemed to anticipate victory
because he ended his run with two
number ones, symbolized by each of his
index fingers.
Afterwards the crowd went nuts for the
board Gator threw from a wall. It's always
good to see the rumble that ensues for
the equipment tossed to the masses. It
kinda reminds one of slam dancing. I
swear, one of these times, I'm gonna get
a band to play, and start the first song off
with a sticker toss, just to get the slam
going.
With the contest over, we returned to
Phoenix, contemplating if it had showed
us the true meaning of street style. It had
Brian Brannon
not.
Gonzales 360° spin
AND THE WINNERS WERE...
12 and Under
1. Steve Sparkman
2. Randy Colvin
3. Tom Bates
4. Eamon Ore Giron
C Division
1. Calvin Wears
2. Alex Genova
3. Chris Slowey
4. Andy Rothbaum
B Division
1. Andy Hetzel
2. Mike Sola
3. Dave Ryan
4. Mike Button
A Division
1. Baird Berganthal
2. Pete Green
3. Jeremy Schmidt
4. Del Nelson
Sponsored Ams
1. Jesse Martinez
2. Jon Sills
3. Jeff Hartsell
4.
Eric Dressin
5. Aaron Murray
6. Chris Cook
Todd Joseph Sums It Up
T.J. "L.B.A." sez, "Skating
at a contest is like sitting in
an open field during an
earthquake. It's no big deal."
Ye who seek the truth.
For the real, true inner
meaning of Street Style,
take it to the streets.
Continued on page 38