Dressen skated speedy and low but, unfortunately, broke his tail
on a backside air. His bro and fellow shredder Aaron Murray was
also cut short on a killer run by a broken board. Sticker tosses and
cookie tosses were the rage, but no arrests were made. Natas flew
an ollie over four kids and Jesse Martinez raged in nonstop locomo-
tion that had 'em going wild. Some people reported that he should
have gotten first.
The amateur vertical event was supposed to begin immediately
following the pro street. In anticipation, a virtual stampede of anx-
ious spectators headed for the half-pipe at the conclusion of the
street meet.
During the extended practice session, a skater named Dan Stuart
took a spill and landed on his knee. Blood squirted all over the ramp
as he writhed in pain. However, when help arrived, he stood up
laughing. It seems he had a "trick knee," a
hidden blood pack which exploded on im-
pact and tricked everybody.
"The blood was rad," said Jeff Hartsell
from team Alva.
I found Brian Ware, an alien from the
planet Frisco, and the mastermind behind
Deluxe Productions. I asked him what he
thought of Phoenix.
"We cruised downtown and found it is a
desolate decaying urban sprawl of nothing."
he said.
"Yup," said I
I searched for my other out-of-town pals
but could find no such spacemen. Instead of
mingling more, I decided to grace the already
sticker-covered ramp with a few more decora-
tions. No sooner had I mounted the top of
the ramp than Frank Hawk, N.S.A. honcho,
demanded that I cease and desist. I asked
what a few more stickers would hurt and he
yelled, "Get down."
Mr. Hawk asked to see my press pass. I
kindly showed him what Mrs. Hoffman, the
N.S.A. logistics lady, had given me for just
such an occasion. He declared it a forgery
and I had to get a Mr. Fo to explain that I
was legit before I was cleared.
I looked to my side and saw one of my
space pals staring at Mr. Hawk with burn-
ing eyes. I strode over and sat next to him,
fearing he would vaporize Mr. Hawk on the
of the ugliest boards I have ever seen. Taters long-boarded it like
no other vegetable. Mondo did what had to be done and Aaron
Murray styled many a rad layback and slashing slide.
My outer space connection commented, "This is cosmic."
We decided to hit the Hisco banks, ignoring the bust-ability
probability.
Aaron Murray ground the parking block at the top so ferociously
that he sent sparks flying off his trucks. Each time, my cosmonaut
comrade jumped back in fear, thinking lasers were being fired at
him. "Don't worry," I said, "the sparks don't mean bad, they mean
rad."
The other skaters ground away in a session that would leave a
good impression on the spacely visitor.
When a paddy wagon passed by I yelled "Ditch the beers," know-
ing it would be back. I explained to my friend
we had to leave unless we were willing to
endure a major confrontation with the
authorities.
Old skate dogs don't die. they learn new tricks.
Steve Schneer contributes to the skater's hobby.
limit pushing, with his personalized ho-ho plant.
spot. He asked why I so calmly took such abuse. I explained that
even though I would have appreciated an apology, I understood
Mr. Hawk had a lot on his mind trying to organize such a large
contest.
I told him such impersonal and unfair treatment is often a side-
effect of these events. Sonja Catalano and Jean Hoffman work very
hard to help out, but behind-the-scenes people rarely get credit.
"It is up to the skaters to give credit where it is due and suggestions
for improvement where needed," I said, "We can also organize our
own contests and do our own things whenever we want to."
He understood.
To give him an idea of some different types of skating, I gathered
Micke Alba, Rob Roskopp, Steve Olson, "Yams" Sweet Potaters Hur-
tado, Mondo Beck, and Aaron Murray, and we all set out for the
Hohokam banks.
Some intensive ripping went down at the banks, let me tell you.
Malba slid and surfed on the sweet concrete. Roskopp shifted into
attack mode and sped and blasted. Olson ripped full-on, riding one
"Question authority" was all he said
before he vanished into thin air. Roskopp.
Malba and Murray did the same.
The copper cornered the rest of us and said
this time he would only take our names
down, but next time we would be in trou-
ble. Of course, we all gave fake names and
addresses.
A word of advice to you skaters who might
find yourselves in a similar situation. Always
give the correct first name so if one of your
bros slips and says it, you'll be okay.
Sometimes the cops separate those who skate
and double check everyone's story. You can
say you only know this dude by his first name
and don't know where he lives. It's a bad
idea to use Tony Alva. So many skaters have
used that alias that the bacon will be takin'
you to jail if you say you're him. Besides, T.A.
himself has had some close calls because so
many other people have used his name.
Bob Schmelzer knows how it goes. He
once said, "Some dude from Arizona was ap-
prehended while street skating, he lied and
gave my name. Then, I was skating, got stop-
ped, and got a ticket for it."
We looked for those missing in action but
could not find them, so we returned.
After a good sleep I returned to the contest area for the second
and final day of competition-the pro vertical. A good number of
people were on hand to spectate and speculate.
I found my good friend Fidel Castro sitting with one of the
spacemen, explaining about the contest. "This is a pro con," he said,
"It's got its pros and it's got its cons. Some of the cons are making
more money than the pros."
The man who fell to earth nodded, grasping one of the basic
tenets of organized sports in a capitalist society. We looked on as
the contest began.
Tom Groholski, "the Jersey Devil," was ripping heartily. He pull-
ed a "Todd Twist," named after Todd "Layback Air" Joseph. This
left the outer spacer gasping for oxygen.
Mark Rogowski ripped high and hard doing such things as a grind
to cess-slide, fakie air over the channel, a 360° foot plant over the
channel, and a lein air hang to make.
A lone Englishman, Danny Webster, showed that he is a Brit who
knows his shit by pulling some good inverts and airs
TH
Known for is fluid style, Steve Caballero leaves no doubt with this high and graceful lein air.