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LAND OF
themselves: a broken hip to a quick re-
covery and now he catches air off street
ramps at Jefferson ditch like no bone-
head has ever seen. Most of them have
thrash trash in their guts and know
something about Agent Orange. They're
the ones shooting for rocket airs and
tricks we don't know what to call yet.
They've been bombarded with NSA
jargon and visions of "Twists." Yes,
times have changed, but somehow it's all
balanced in an insane sort of way.
There are as many different ditches as
there are people who ride them. I've seen
stylers who make anyone else's best runt
look like a rough draft for an outhouse, just
with their rhythm of execution and extra
flow of original well-being. Some tweak so
hard and with such contortion that I'm con-
vinced they have an eject button on their
spines somewhere. One guy, in particular,
is a human rage wave who floods the ditch
and leaves nothing dry. He twists and
spills, hypnotizing everyone into a calm.
For a select few, the Team Radsters,
The Truth is skating. They're an
anonymous bunch to anyone who don't
know. As vague as the team is, kids have
come up to me and asked,
"Doesn't he skate for
Team Radster?" I
think it's kind of fun-
ny, but tell them yes,
anyway. Young Radsters are
sprouting up everywhere. Skater
Education is taught to the few who
show the potential to shred and tell Pud-
dles to shut-up. They learn that Budweiser
is king, that Steve Eisland is God and that
they should never, ever compromise.
Somehow they learn the do's and dont's,
which basically means do it anyway.
Fashion fags and assholes don't have a
prayer. A Radster might say something like
this: "We're serious about our skating like
we're serious about our skating." Don't ask
them stupid questions like, "Why do you
skate?" or even, "What's for dinner?"
They're just hungry monsters who eat
concrete and take bites out of the sky.
Thankfully, there are a few organized
brains who can get a contest going on their
own, thereby avoiding any skate shop
control. All it takes is word of mouth to get
people from Santa Fe, Las Cruses,
Farmington and Las Vegas to show up and
get a dose of what life is like for a skater in
Albuquerque. Sometimes a sort of
unanimous decision or vote is made and
the small fees that would otherwise be put
toward prize money turn into keg funds.
You've got to be aggressive in this ditch
game. There are a lot of snakes around.
They get away with it after some obnoxious
name-calling and, sooner or later, are
snaked in revenge by someone else. If
Even at a multi-beveled, V-shaped ditch like
Jefferson slough, It sometimes takes a vivid
Imagination to keep the fun at max levels.
Obviously the New Mexicans have what it takes.
Top Left: A jump ramp on the banks, why not?
Spread: An unprotected soloist in full press
flange, face first drop in. Far Left: Hangin' five
the hard way.
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