NEAUP ROLLERE
by Jerry Hurtado
THE BIGGER THEY ARE THE HARDER THEY FALL
Who says you have to be five-foot five, one-
hundred and twenty pounds to ride a skateboard?
Who says you have to wear size 32 501's to ride
a skateboard? Who says you have to look like
Michael J. Fox to ride a skateboard? That's just it!
NO ONE! If you want to skate, you will. In the words
of the immortal Sammy Davis Jr., "Yes, I can!" And
that was one small man talkin' some big words,
mind you. So, if there's a will, there's a way. There
are quite a few heavyweights who get around just
fine on a skateboard and have no problems what-
soever with speed, balance, or style.
Let's take speed, for example. Have you ever
been asked the question, "What would hit the
ground first, a hundred pounds of feathers or a hun-
dred pounds of lead?" I don't care what any fool
sez, the lead is gonna come screaming down at
ya, while the feathers take their sweet-assed time,
fluttering down, one by one. Same goes for weight
on a skateboard. Give a 200-plus guy and a 150
pound guy a skateboard and a hill and Newton's
Law and plain common sense will tell you that the
big guy's gonna make it to the bottom faster.
Although the little guy will probably be popping
ollies all the way down, the big guy will win the
speed race.
Balance. If you fall into the category of a big guy
who skates and has skated for many years, taking
your share of spills, crashes and burns along the
way, you will have to agree that balance is one of
the first things you want to learn and get down pat,
'cause the last thing you want to do is lose your
balance. The bigger you are, the harder you fall.
Now we come to the most important part of our
discussion. STYLE! There's no secret, no hidden
law, no this, that or the other, that states a big guy
can't skate with style. For example, here's a few
names and weights for you to ponder. Randy
"Biskut" Turner of the Big Boys-over six feet,
200-plus pounds. Tom Karre, Madrid Skates-six
feet, 290-plus pounds. Frank of Goldenvoice,
bouncer par excellance-over six feet, over 200 lbs.
Max from the Boneless Ones, and myself, are under
six feet and close to 200 pounds. City skater Mark
Edwards, photog -O-, Steve Heck and crew from
West Oakland-all over 200 pounds-and they all
tear. Take Chris Gates of the band Junkyard, for
instance. He's one of the biggest, ugliest guys I
know and even he can skate with style. I've seen.
some pretty stylish maneuvers from heavies like
James Muir, who draws cool, low-rotational surf
moves, and some nice stylish high-speed carves
Heavy edger, Taters Hurtado
from Biskut and Bulky. Jim
Ganzer, corpulent owner of
Jimmy Z and longtime
surf/ skate madman, has
vintage photos of himself
cutting up the concrete in
the '60's.
To conclude this jive
about big guys, I'd like to
say one last thing. Life's
too short to worry about
how you look, or about how
people think you look. So
ace the diet, put one in the
pan and fry it, and hop on
your skate and ride it!
STEVE HECK
OBDON
Above: Slalom and downhill legend Henry Hester keeps his gut fit with
a few runs now and then. Right: Lighter weights, John Suzuki and Pierre
(in caps) join Potato, Max and the Video Commander for a chips and salsa
break in Golden Gate park. Top: Steve Heck (right) and heavy pals Matt
and Riley gang up for a midnight roll.