experiencing its share of growing pains.
Australia is no exception.
HISTORIA
In the spring of 1987, a contingency of
American pros visited Australian shores en
masse for the first time. Since then, several
tours, teams and traveling Americans have
braved the eighteen-hour trans-Pacific flight
and lived to tell about it. They brought back
stories of a skate spot mecca and thriving
scenes in the major port cities: Brisbane,
Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide and Perth.
Like the U.S., skateboarding in Australia
never entirely disappeared during the lean
years of the late-70s and early-80s. Unlike
the States, however, a plethora of govern-
ment-sponsored bowls, snake runs, cement
and wood half-pipes survived, and many still
thrive next to cricket fields and tennis courts,
Peanut Brown, killing time before the next
skate session. Australia's greatest sporting
event, the Melbourne Cup (a three-minute
horse race bigger than the Kentucky Derby)
was on the telly and in an impromtu betting
frenzy five and ten-dollar bills flew around
the room as twenty-four horses made the
turn for the home stretch.
The latest invasion of Aussie shores by an
American army of skate pros had gelled in
a pizzeria on Fitzroy Street in St. Kilda, a
bohemian strip of art galleries, boutiques and
coffee houses just outside of downtown
Although Australia subscribes to the same
capitalistic tendencies that made America-
ahem-a great super power, they managed
to sidestep the insurance company red tape
and the bloodthirsty packs of lawyers who
make it nearly impossible to establish public
skate facilities in the U.S.
THEIR CUP RUNNETH OVER
It was Tuesday, November 1st, and the
boys were holed up in the seedy but spacious
Diplomat Hotel. I was sharing a room with
Venture capitalist Keith Cochrane and VA pro
62
Melbourne. Nash, Crescini, Gonzales and
Lee Ralph were on the Vision Street Wear
tour. Christian Hosoi and his charge Sergie
Ventura had just blown in. Neil Blender,
Jason Jesse and Jeff Grosso sauntered up.
Lance Mountain was scouting ahead for
teammates Caballero, McGill and Hawk, who
were on maneuvers in Adelaide. The Godoy
twins were alternately seen and unseen.
FLASHBACKS
As we inhaled pasta, the safest food we
could find in the country, our mob began
Previous Page: Hosol and Grosso lead a grass session
at Bells Beach. Clockwise from Top Left: Nice day at
Torquay. McGill & Hawk launch side-by-side McTwists
In Sydney. Speed Wheeler Chad Ford pops over chan-
nel of a gnarly half-pipe outside Sydney. MC Mad Matt
puts his neck on the line for Christian at Torquay.
Adelaide skaters Steve Gourlay (right) and Greg
Hogan at the Australian Grand Prix. Peanut Brown
idles, Cochrane taps at the fishpond, Melbourne.
recollecting four days of heavy sessioning.
The action all started with a demo before
1,000 kids at Prahran, a popular council ramp
with a slick metal surface and an adjacent
cement bowl that was constantly being work-
ed by the locals in a dangerous manner. Even
though the ramp slipped, the demo ripped.
Jason Jesse's air-to-fakies with no concern
for life and limb were the rulers of the day.
Tony Hawk wowed the crowd with a new ar-
ray of trickery honed on his home ramp-
human varials and 360° nosepicks-to-fakie
re-entry. The young rodents in the crowd
were frothing at the mouth. Christian goes
higher, skates longer and usually gets the last
word in with the kids before it's all over, and
was true to form this day. Mike McGill ended
the evening by floating a high McTwist as the
stickers began to fly. Meanwhile, Keith.
Cochrane had been holding court in the bowl
area which was churning with rad action as
Stacy Peralta was gassing, "Isn't this where
it's happening?"
That night was the Aussie premiere of
Public Domain ala Powell Peralta. It was an
intimate gathering of about five hundred at
the local games arcade. Corporate corporal,
Stacy Peralta, and his boys were on hand
signing autographs and obliging inquisitive
skate rats and their mums and dads. A small
but managable mob scene spilled into the
street as Hawk, Cab, McGill and Lance exited
and disappeared into the night.
Most of the American's were anxious to
sample the infamous Melbourne club crawl
and did just that despite an early curtain call
for the drive to Torquay the following day for
the annual Ramp Riot. Hardcore scribe and
540 mag editor David Walsh led a charge
which swarmed on several trendy nightspots