THRASHERLAND 84-88
WILD
RIDERZ
THE
BEST OF
THRASHER
MAGAZINE
TALL
TALES
G&S
Imposing grey August evening skies
threatened the O'Boy/Thrasherland/TNT
Skate Shop series finale. Sky-wide lightning.
danced above deep, booming thunder. Many
an entrant turned his gaze to the heavens.
in hopes that a summer monsoon would not
cause a cloudburst of hot desert rain..
Just as run rehearsal was wrapping up, the
dour clouds spat sour droplets on the small
ramp's six by sixteen foot sheet metal walls
and eight feet of transition. Bummed eyes
saw an abstract pitter patter turn to a thick,
runny water color. Soon it was too slick to ride
anything but the leeward section of the
eighteen-foot fiberglass fullpipe. Eventually
the streams and streamlets found their way
there too. All dry places were cozily shared
by muddy, soggy, rain hating skaters.
The voice of David Boydstun rang across
the Public Address, "I'll tell you what, I'll bet
$50 it won't be raining in fifteen minutes."
Unfortunately, there were no takers. Dave
said if it stopped, the contest would resume
in an hour, so it was time to hang. Some
sought drink and some just sat.
An alert pipe monger noticed the short
squall showed signs of slowing, and quickly
initiated mop-up. A few others followed suit
to clean up the half as a team. From under
the snake's blue launchway, Last Laugh let
loose a dazzle of ditties from an open and
festering punk rock vein. Rain removal
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RAIN DANCE
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Story and Photos by Brian Brannon
squads ran over the ramp with newspaper
soles to fully prepare its surface.
Again, the contest began, and all was well.
The fourteen-and-under division went by with
I visual proof of the prowess of its riders.
Fourteen-and-over came on strong. Advan-
ced moves drizzled into a misty shower of
tricks and a gradual downpour of rocks,
slides and fakie grinds. The clouds lifted and
the skaters began to reign.
Within the circumference of the fullpipe,
lines were being stretched higher to the
sound of the True Sounds. From the big
ramp's bottom, Hostile Bridge tore a fast and
funky set of twang and melody.
The advanced division began, and Jeff
Ariza came on with the calm aggression that
is bred in pools, throwing Kiwi rock and rolls
to rollout laybacks. Pete Johnson pushed
smooth and methodical, with rock slides and
180° fakie rocks, despite a hyper-tweaked
ankle. Eugene Howell walked a path of sliced
grinds and too-laid lipslides. But it was Chris
Lange who carried the consistency. His vic-
torious slew of moves boasted a full lineup
of fakie rock slides and way extended lays
with never a loss of confidence.
The sponsored ammos soon took it farther
than any spectator could feign imagine. Mike
Taylor commenced with frontside tail 180's,
long drawn out lip slides and forward ollie
to fakie rock and rolls. Richard Zucerello
shifted into full-on mode, catching tall speed
off high frontside boosters and shooting into
rotating LBA's. His bro and cohort Charles
Amparan dispersed a host of left-field moves,
pulled jolted lien-to-grinds and posed.
numerous unanswered questions.
Chris Farrell flowed upon it. Texas
transplant Chris Calstrom burst forth, mak-
ing many new friends and fans. Jade Corn
skated a bulky, solid style despite the gripe.
of injury. Jeff Ferriss was the man with the
moves. He put together a 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8 rope
of rides with utter control to carry home top
honors. His fastplant 360's and tweekster in-
verts got the crowd on their feet, and the
switch-stance invert varial had them.
screaming.
When all was said and done, a friendly, fun
and hassle-free series was finis, and the
results stood thus:
UNDER 14
1. Randy Bortin
2. Troy Griffith
3. Mike Dyson
INTERMEDIATE
1. Matt Schnurr
2. Terry Bortin
3. Jason Christie
OVER 14
1. James Greszler
2. Billy Cathey
3. Mike Ortega
ADVANCED
1. Chris Lange
2. Eugene Howell
3. Pete Johnson
SANT
SATEBOARD RULES
CHECK IN AT OFFICE
BEFORE ENTERING
RAMP AREA
WEAR HELMET PADS
AT ALL TIMES
NO CUSSING
NO SNAKEING
NO SMOKING
SKATE AT OWN RISK
RIPPING
INTERVIEWS
Collector's Edition "1
#1
We've recovered the best photos, stories,
interviews and artwork for our first big special
issue of THRASHER. Don't miss out! Pick up
this limited run special edition now. Look for
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residents send a Check or Money Order for
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San Francisco, CA 94188-4570
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SI-11
4. Jeff Ariza
SPONSORED AM
3. Chris Calstrom
4. Mike Taylor
Clockwise: Curt Baker gets laid(back) in the shade.
Thrasherland overview shows two forms of rock & roll. The
mop-up brigade. A scrub makes sure he's being a good boy.
This is not a monthly issue and will not be sent to subscribers
1. Jeff Ferris
2. Richard Zucerrello
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