SAVANNAH
SLAMMA
リュ
by Kevin Thatcher
The great soldier, eminent statesman and
famed philanthropist General James Edward
Ogelthorpe, who, on February 12, 1733,
founded the colony of Georgia, must've been
doing loops in his grave. A merry band of
streetstyle pirates landed in Savannah, the
site of his historical triumph, and were caus-
ing a commotion the likes of which had not
been seen in these parts since the last
musket ball fell at the end of the Civil War
back in 1865.
Probably the most unsettling thing for old
Ogelthorpe's corpse, however, was that this
visit by the most dangerous army of street
skating swashbucklers ever produced no
casualties and inflicted no damage on his
delicately preserved stomping grounds.
Well, almost none. A few local hairs were
left out of place after this cavalier contin-
gency swept through the town, sampling the
hospitality and waking up a few minds. But,
when the smoke cleared it seemed most of
the damage had been confined to the floor
and walls inside the 5,000-seat civic center
arena during the Savannah Slamma.
streetstyle battle.
Our call to arms came by messenger from
Tim Malins and his folks, proprietors of the
local High Tide Surf shops; an invitation to
stage the first-ever indoor professional street
meet. Within weeks a scouting party had
surveyed the site and laid out a plan of attack.
Then, on August 12, a construction party
stole into town to begin preparations for this
rather unique event.
First on the site was the wood craftsman
and ramp rancher from Atlanta, T.K., and
the lady, Maria. T.K. came armed with saws,
hammers and chalk. He then coordinated
a supply drop of 2x4" planks, several stacks.
of plywood and a thousand rounds of nails.
Work was already under way, according to
plans and diagrams drawn up by master
skatesmen Stacy Peralta and some of his
street brigade, when a back-up construc-
tion team arrived. Red Dog Muir, V-man, B.
Ware, Sir Lance, T-ed of Thrasher and
D-skate took to hammer and nail, creating
an obstacle course on the sidewalk-smooth
arena floor. Another team of documentarians,
the Dragon man, Jim Fitz and Lowboy among
them, rolled in and began taking video notes
of the proceedings.
As a strange assortment of wooden forms
began to take shape amid the sawdust, the
local folk began to show their colors. A shift
of arena workers gathered in the surroun-
ding seats, chattering noisily. A few-just
a few-neighborhood skaters puttered in
through the open doors and were soon put
to work.
The arena manager was pacing nervously,
mumbling something about insurance and
extra lighting fees. Even the local sherriff
idled past, checking for access routes in case
a "disturbance of the peace" occured.
After two full days of building and drink-
ing Gatorade by the pitcher, the crew had▸
Left: Eric Dressen explores the vertical regions.
Opposite Page: Christ Hosol-high speed rock 'n roll
and a violation of uncharted vertical terrain (inset).