76
Exciting new shaped
board shown here
by:
"Are
You
Playing
With
A
Full
Dependable
Deck?"
Service
Since
1972
in the
CROWD
"He's done so many things he's not supposed to do."
Orange Cycle Decks
The NEW "Are You Playing With A Full Deck" board
is available ONLY at Orange Cycle Decks!
(Board Design by: V. Perez)
OVER 250 BOARDS IN STOCK!
BRAND NAMES BETWEEN $40 - $50
POWELL PERALTA Lester
SHRED BRAND-X (3050)
VISION
SCHMITT STIX
Complete Board Special: Blanks $3895
Congratulations
to:
Max Eicholz
of Aptos, CA.
Our 1st Prize
Winner in our
Skateboard Art
Contest!
The
Winning Design
shown here is
available on
T-Shirts from
Orange Cycle
Decks!
ORANGE CYCLE DECKS⭑
(a division of Orange Cycle Works)
2204 EDGEWATER DRIVE
ORLANDO, FLORIDA 32804
Stickers Shorts T-Shirts Glasses
Accessories Safety Equipment
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1-800-423-9805
Send $1.00 for
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...STICKERS SHIPPED FREE.
CENTRAL MOUNTAIN
Sa-5p 78-4p 6a-3p
Saturday 9a-4p 8a-3p 78-2p
& Sticker
HOURS EASTERN
9a-6p
da-1p
LANCE
BENSON
Lance Benson, a 13-year-old
ripper from Knightdale, NC,
is truly one of a kind.
He was born without legs, but he has never let that
biological fact get in his way.
Story and photos - Vernon Wingo/Gold Leaf Farmer
SIMS
Although Lance has his own halfpipe, he frequents other local ramps
around North Carolina and his attitude about skating is certainly reflected
by the facial expressions in these pictures. Opposite page: Lance acid
drops into Timmy Johnson's halfpipe. Above: Andrecht handplant.
When I heard about this
skater with no legs, I simply
couldn't believe it. Then I got a
chance to see Lance for myself
at a local streetstyle contest and
I was completely blown away.
The site for the "streetstyle"
contest was a Raleigh, North
Carolina, roller rink, which had
built a few street ramps and was
propping up its sagging busi-
ness last summer with skate-
board sessions.
Contest day arrived and the
place was a human obstacle
course, swarming with skaters of
all shapes and sizes, all trying
to get in those last few practice
runs. In the midst of this anar
chy was Lance Benson, flying off
the jump ramps, ollying all over
the place and stalling hand-
plants. When the smoke cleared,
he'd earned a fourth in the very well on small halfpipes but
12-and-under division.
Lance doesn't just rip for
someone with no legs. He just
plain rips. With powerful arms
developed through years of use
as his primary source of locomo-
tion, he does handplants with
seeming ease. Because he often
rides sans pads, he seems vir-
tually indestructable as well.
And he's not just a street
skater. About two years ago he
started shredding on ramps as
well. Now he has his own half-
pipe with nine-foot transitions
and a foot of vert, and he's plan-
ning an even larger one for his
family's new home. With no legs,
he can't pump (although local
skaters have been scheming to
figure out a way), so he loses
speed on each wall. He skates
has been making frequent trips
of late to the Farm Ramp III on
the south side of Raleigh, which
has 10-foot transitions and a
foot-and-a-half of vert.
Lance has a pair of artificial
legs to use when he's not on a
skate, but I've never seen him
with them on. And he has never
even owned a wheelchair. Accor-
ding to his father, Jerry, a
wheelchair is "kind of like a
crutch...of any kind. The more
you lean on it, the more you
want to lean on it."
His dad and his mom, Bever-
ly, don't find anything unusual
about their son's activities. His
dad built the ramp for him and
both parents have been active
in cheering him on in other
athletic endeavors. Besides
skating, Lance has excelled on
the local three-wheeler ATC cir-
cuit and has a pile of trophies
to prove it. (His dad modified the
shifters on his machines so he
could shift with his hand.) He
also enjoys boogie-boarding,
and last summer he competed
in relay races with a local swim
team.
Given Lance's experience
with athletics, his dad didn't find
it unusual when his son decid-
ed he wanted a skateboard
about four years ago. "He's
done so many things he's not
supposed to do," Jerry said
matter-of-factly.
When asked what he enjoys
about skateboarding, Lance
responds like any skater would.
"I just like doing it," he says.
"It's fun...just letting it loose."