The Gonz
was under
an umbrella.
Not a rain
umbrella, but
an umbrella
of unusual
confidence.
Although sim-
ply recover-
ing from a
few broken
fingers, he
cool-handedly
limited his
repertoire to
the seriously
no-handed
tricks. He
rode fresh.
So fresh.
Mark
Gonzales
It kept raining. Still they could not
win the contact of her eyes. It could
be said that two phosphorous or
napalm type bombs dropped out of
the sky with exploding results, but it
would be a lie if taken literally.
However, the effects of the perfor-
mances of Eric Dressen and Aaron
Murray were as bombarding as the
above fictitious example. Aaron's
feet seemed to stay glued to his
deck as he soared high overhead in
frontside wall-walks. Eric, on the
other hand, skated like the pilot of a
hydroplane. That's because the
streets were wet.
With twenty-six pros, the proceedings were, inevitably, going to take a bit of time. During the prac-
tice, or "street-rehearsal," as one individual put it, simple demonstrations of strength were exhibited
upon the variety of structures supplied. Those who played included: Tony Guerrero, Marty Jiminez,
Chuck Treece, John Thomas, Teddy Love, Corey O'Brien, Sam Cunningham, Adam Muzikant, Jesse
Martinez, Aaron Murray, John Lucero, Ken McGuire, Mark Gonzales, Per Welinder, Eric Dressen and
Natas Kaupas among others. These graceful individuals sprang up and recoiled upon a one-hit, angle-
lipped little-over-two-foot-high ramp that was used for basic jumps and, when pushed up against a
wall, for projecting onto some vertical fun and thrills. A rail, the kind that trains ride on, was set up
for the good ol' rock 'n roll sliders. There were spontaneous moments when 'da-boys' were scootin'
across the rail with the velocity of a streakin' locomotive, a hundred cars long on a beeline to Omaha.
There was an approximately five-inch high platform that you could ollie onto and off of and there was
the picnic table with an incline leading up to one end. No sign of any picnic baskets. Then again, it
certainly wasn't the weather for it. Much of the practicing was done in the wet.