*STICKERS*
When in Doubl
Whip it Out!
madrid
SKATE
OR
DIE
GO FOR IT
FAT
CHICKS
NO
50¢
Each
RADICAL
CAUTION:
Rider may bail
at any time!!
THRASH
FANTA
SHUT UP
SKATE
TEA
If You're Fried
ME
EXPERT
OGS
WAX
GUARANTEED
GENUINE
100% PURE
BULLSHIT
You Can't Ride 55
HATE.OR
GOHOME
POSERS
SKATES
Suvelers
Wimps
THRASHER
G&S
SKATE
DESTROY
IF I WANTED
TO LISTEN TO
AN ASSHOLE,
I WOULD FART
CRASHING ANTA CRUZ
SUCKS
ACID
DROP
Coors
POWERED
1 Only
PARTY
The
BEST
Circle the Stickers that you
want, Send .50¢ for each
STICK EM UP
RO. BOX 2049
Dept.
SOB
LIVERMORE, CA 94550.
38
ASK
THE DOCTOR
With Rick Blackhart
MISHAPOLIS
You might not think people in Minnesota
skate, but we do. We have the wildest skate
scene and not too many problems with the
coppers. I have a ten-foot half-pipe in my
backyard, a trick ramp, and a four-and-a-
half-foot high launch ramp. One day I had
pulled about five or six method airs, but I
wanted to go higher and farther so I picked
up more speed right before I got into the air.
I leaned back too far and went flying through
the air upside down. I would've landed on
my head, but I stuck out my arm, jammed
it when I came down and broke both bones
in my arm. Then I hit my chin and bit through
my tongue. The doctor put a cast on my arm.
When I came back in three weeks, the doc-
tor cut off the cast and had the nerve to tell
me I couldn't skate for eight weeks. This guy
must've been brain dead. I told him there
was no way I could stay off my skate for that
long. Then he told me I broke my arm near
the growth plate and if I hurt it again my arm
would stop growing. So I thought I should
ask you, should I skate or shouldn't I?
Smashed Dave
Minneapolis, MN
Dude, come on. Don't be stupid. We're
talkin' about your arm here. You want to
chance screwing up your arm for life just
for another hot session? Shine that.
Listen to your doctor, that's what we're
here for. Before you know it, your arm will
be fine and you'll be able to skate. But
I'll tell ya right now, when you do skate,
be real mellow or you might regret it.
WALLET RIDE
Well, I'll tell ya my friggin' problem. Earlier
today (about five minutes ago) I was shred-
din' on my bad launch ramp, pulling front
and backside airs. I was just off the coping
backside when my wheels made this noise
like a p.o'd bumble bee. It made me laugh
so hard it was all I could do to jump away
from my board to keep from cracking my
noggin. When I returned to sanity and
checked my skate, my front right Slimey was
rollin' toward me and the rest wasn't.
Lemme give you some info before I go any
further: I got my board in November '86 and
had no trouble with it 'cept for my front
hanger got brittle and cracked in January.
It was promptly replaced. Anyway, my front
axle cracked just inside the hanger and I
at least need a new axle, right? How can
I keep this from happening again?
Madly & Sadly
Brick Chumley
Louisville, KY
Okay. One more time I'll try to explain.
If you skate with any regularity, then you
probably skate pretty hard. And when
you skate hard that means that you're
thrashing your board around, slamming
that board, slapping it, kicking it, throw-
ing it, letting it fall nose-first from about
fifteen feet and then going "HUH! Check
it out, man, my board broke." And you
wonder why? Maybe it's just me, but !
think the damage to your board and
trucks is about as self-explanatory as the
pain you would get from a slap in the face.
As far as skating goes in general, if you
want to play, you gotta pay, one way or
another. If you skate hard, check your
equipment all the time, especially after
a good session. You might possibly
discover and prevent any future damage
that could result in injury to you, your
board, or your wallet.
BOILED OVER
Be straight with me, Doc. Are Santa Cruz
decks made out of different wood than Vi-
sion decks? I am asking this because it's
been my experience that Santa Cruz decks
break much faster than Vision decks. I
would also like to ask you about Santa Cruz
wheels being a little harder than wheels of
the same durometer by different companies.
How also could I soften a set of 97A OJ's
to make them about as soft as a set of 95A
OJ's. Is there any way? Keep up the ex-
cellent work,
Bob Mitchell and the rest of DFS Boys,
LAFB, VA
PS. I tried boiling the wheels like Thrasher's
May issue said, but it didn't work. Should
I try boiling them longer? Thanks for your
time, dude!
Well, I'll tell ya. Whether or not they use
the same wood doesn't really make a dif-
ference if one board breaks easier than
another. Obviously, you want the one that
doesn't break. Actually, there's not much
you can do about this. You might have
gotten a bad stick or maybe an extra good
one. You see, they vary. Same thing is
true about the wheels. You could have a
wheel that the manufacturer calls 97A but
is really slightly higher or lower. When
companies deal with that many wheels,
there is no way they can be sure. Just
check 'em when you buy 'em. As far as
boiling goes, if you want a softer wheel,
buy a softer one.
WHEEL SMART
I have a set of Rat Bone 90A wheels that
are starting to cone. Right now I can't af-
ford a new set of wheels, so I was wonder-
ing if it is okay to reverse them for a while?
Or would this affect their performance?
Rob "Toecutter" Jordan
Silver Spring, MD
If your wheels are SHOT and you're wor-
ried about performance, then you're
fighting a losing battle. If you want to
squeeze a little more life out of them,
then, yes, go ahead and rotate. But don't
be concerned about performance
because you won't have any.
IT'S HISTORY
I remember a couple of issues ago some-
one wrote a letter saying, "What's the
elephant part of the skate key used for?"
Well, the cylinder part tightens the truck and
the wheels, but the wrench part doesn't
tighten anything. Why?
Chris Blum
Jamaica, NY
Now, here's a good point. I've been
baffled by this on many occasions my-
self. As far as what the original designer
had in mind for that particular part of the
tool, only he knows for sure. I'll tell you
what, though. The only thing I've ever
used that part for was a bottle opener,
and not a very good one at that. I think.
it's mainly there just to dig into the flesh
of your hand when you come across a
stubborn axle nut. I challenge the
designer to come forward and explain to
the skateboarding youth of America just
what the hell that forked thing is for.
Seriously, though, if any of you
wheezers out there remember the old
Bennett and Chicago trucks, you'll recall
they had a lock nut on the kingpin, just
below the lower bushing washer. To ad-
just your trucks you loosened it with the
wrench end, then tightened the screw
headed kingpin down into the base with
the driver. Got it, babes!
Blackhajt
Sick of loud, graphically-overcooked
t-shirts? Buy mine! Just send $10.25 for
the real thing (postage and handling in-
cluded) to: THRASHER Magazine, Ask
The Doctor T-shirt, P.O. Box 884570, San
Francisco, CA 94188-4570
ELEPHANT
BRAND
The
Original
Skate Key
*PATENT PENDING
ALL
NEW!
MOUNTS TO ANY WALL
HANG BOARD & LOCK
Skateboard
Lock*
(PADLOCK NOT INCLUDED)
SEE YOUR LOCAL DISTRIBUTOR⭑
SPORTS
CENTER
SANTA CRUZ TRACKER VISION POWELL SKULL SCHMITT
ZORLAC HOSOI ALVA S.M.A. SIMS G&S MADRID BLOCKHEAD
COMPLETE SKATEBOARDS FROM $89.95
VISION DECKS $35.75
-MARK GONZALES
-JOHN A. GRIGLEY
-MARK (GATOR) ROGOWSKI
-JOE JOHNSON
-MARTY (JINX) JIMENEZ
11 am to 7 pm. M-F
10 am to 6 pm. Sat.
12 pm to 5 pm, Sun.
PACIFIC TIME
PLEASE ADD SHIPPING
US Canada
Decks & ACC 53 $7
Completes
SEND NAME AND ADDRESS
FOR FREE CATALOG
VANS
CUSTOMER SERVICE
AIRWALK
VISION
STREET
WEAR
Лим
IMMY
Rector
OPEN
7
DAYS A
WEEK
NO
SALES
TAX
39
(503) 345-5945
TOLL FREE-ORDERS ONLY
1-800-433-9601
2705 Willamette Street Eugene, Oregon 97405