CROP TOPS
The NSA Regional Amateur Winners
Pride Pavillion
Phoenix, AZ
Dec. 2, 3 & 4 1988
Blaize Blouin, NSA vertical champion.
"Public opinion is not as deadly as your
own opinion
WHO? Blaize Blouin, twenty years old,
born and bred in Charleston,
South Carolina.
WHAT? I would like more people to en-
joy my scene when they're
around. I'd like more backyard
action-just check out the east.
WHEN? I started skating in '78-just
dorking around on Fiberflex and
Bahne boards. I started park
riding in late 1980. My main in-
fluences were Kieth Durden, the
McKinnon (Speed) brothers, the
Uke Boys and the Toke Team.
WHERE? I'll go underground from here.
Skating is heading for trouble.
Hospitality and unity barely even
exist anymore.
WHY? I skate for personal enjoyment.
It's a natural way to release all
of my aggressions. I'm not very
concerned with other people's
reasons for skating.
HOW? Competitions should be judged
by the top ten in the jam after the
judges make eliminations.
FAVES? Concrete, plywood and pool
coping. The Rancheros, Reese,
the Wainrights, the Toke Team.
Lenny, Leaphart. The Farm.
Ramp Jam. The Rolling Stones.
jazz, reggae, psychedelic rock.
Above: Baird Bergenthal, Valentino of the
crop top league. Right: Fleet footed Powell
prodigy. Ray Barbee.
STX
AND THAT'S FINAL
by Brian Brannon and Bonnie Blouin,
Ladies and gentlemen, the NSA has sifted
top ams from across this great land to bring
them directly here to you in Phoenix, Arizona,
for the 1988 national finals.
Please observe the smooth and shining ser-
vice station finish on the floor. The streetstylers
are loving it, but rumors say some freestylers
are complaining that it is too slick. Remember,
freestyle is an intensely precise discipline. Total
control is required at all times. Applaud loudly
for them, but try not to disrupt their concentra-
tion. Let them know they're not neglected. How
about three cheers for the slalom, downhill and
women's divisions that couldn't make it!
The freestyle competition is underway now.
What a blur of fancy footwork, agility and abili-
ty. Sean Coons is looking good, as is Cameron
Martin. But Yo! New York native Joe Humeres
is the one who takes it all with style born from
dodging muggers and cabbies on the streets
of the Big Apple. You can see it in his air of
spontaneity, speed and aggression. It clearly
G&