FEAR AND LOATH-
ING ON THE TRADE
SHOW CIRCUIT
The bi-annual Long
Beach ASR trade
show was, as always,
BLACK LIGHT (Pa good pressure
gauge for the general climate of the action
sports industry, into which skateboarding is
sometimes lumped.
Let's start with the adventures of Joe
Lopes. Act I-Joe sees snowboard, wants
it, but doesn't think he can scam a freebie.
John A. Grigley assures him that a little
creative conversationalism works every time.
Act II-Joe approaches show booth rep from
Company X and gives his opener: "My name
is Joe Lopes, I'm a pro skater for Schmitt Stix
and I was wondering if you could flow a
board?" Meanwhile, Grigley, pawing the
board in question, looks up and blurts: "Hey.
Joe, you still doing that photo session in
Tahoe with Thrasher and Sports Illustrated?"
SCHOOLYARD NEWS
Big as life, Thrasher is prominently displayed
in one scene of the new dance film, Tap. When
one of the kids at Gregory Hines' girlfriend's
tap-dancing school refuses to participate, he
seeks refuge behind the blue sky cover of our
December 88 issue.
Huntington High principal, Gary Ernst, (bot-
tom) is trying to solve a school vandalism crisis
(and possibly work out some personal prob-
lems) by banning skating at his school. In a
stroke of genius, Mr. Ernst earnestly installed
speed bumps on the walls. In an interview with
the Huntington Daily Pilot, Ernst associates
skaters with the destruction of three school
vans (the vandals used clubs and iron bars).
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Act II-Joe nods, then in wide-eyed inquiry
asks rep, "What do you want to see me on,
an X or a Y?" Without further ado, X-rep
hands over the board. The End.
Was Chip Morton, chieftain of Limpies
skatewear, told he couldn't have a booth
because of an offensive logo? Did Chip point
out several other name brands, including
Spermy's, Tiddies and Bare Assets that were
not given similar treatment?
What smallish squirm is still trying to steal
someone else's name, everyone's riders and
worked the trade show handing out business
cards with dollar bills attached?
Luckily for Rocco, he was unavailable for
comment. Aleric was seen scurrying about
suspiciously. Then there was the incident
where a large unidentified strongman type
and a fast, notorious Asian type were seen
Did certain high-placed skaters break down by a security type chainsawing the SMA
in tears on confronting
their sponsors?
Tony Alva was
seen talking hoops
with Magic Johnson.
Henry Hester, Ray
Rodriguez, Brad
Bowman, Fausto V..
Olson and Peralta
were seen holding
court and holding up
the walls of the Hyatt
bar late Saturday
night. G. Powell and
SPECIES ENDANGERED BY
RAPIDLY SHRINKING HABITATS-
CALIFORNIA
COMBOR
SALT MARSE
HARVEST HOUSE
CALIFORN
SKATER
Eric Swenson were seen drooling on a street
corner after much wine tasting at one of Long
Beach's finer establishments.
Was a WWII armored troop transport park-
ed at the Powell-Peralta booth? Were George.
Stacy and their sales personnel wearing
fatigues and handing out refreshments?
And how about the Santa Monica Airlines
booth that was or wasn't there for three days?
booth to pieces dur-
ing show hours.
Red Dog and his
Dogtown Skates
booth were allowed.
back (after a two-year
ban for alleged
thievery of a case of
wine coolers). It
seems several people
had reported seeing
a confession note.
from another quasi-
manu claiming re-
sponsibility for the dirty deed.
Santa Cruz show rep. Larry Wilson,
reportedly came unglued after surf punk.
Drew Steele dispensed a spray can of kook
repellent (think Silly String) over the entire
SC booth. After things cooled down, Dave
Macintyre was seen finishing off the rest of
the can in same said booth, while Denike
mistook it for hair mousse.
Opposite
Page, Top Left: The
latest and hottest collector card
series-Jonestown Massacre Memorial Cards. For
those who feel they're in bad taste, be reminded that
it's better to remember lest we forget. Center: Car-
toon from the San Jose Mercury News reflects state
of skate in many communities nationwide. Above:
Harking back to the grand days of innocence, we've
uncovered this sequence of some of the boys hard
at play between contest events. Notice Neil Blender's
form as he swings on Jeff Phillips. Look at Chris Miller
piling headlong into a bedside table as Blender
ducks. Witness Hawk going airborne with help from
Nell as Kasal looks on. Ah, those were the days-when
bedsprings were springs and nobody had a girlfriend.
Did juvenile behavior reach a new low
when certain urethane brains completely ran-
sacked the room of their benevolent skate
den-mother? Whose tab did the pogrom
(which included total consumption of the
robo-bar's contents, mucho graffiti, $300.00
in long distance phone-calls and actual
human excrement) end up on?
HOGS LOGS AND SLOBS
Novak earned Lee Cole's undying respect
when it was learned that Harley gnarler
Dudley Perkins and hill-climb champ Bud
Eakins had reportedly announced that
Dickvack was one of the best natural motor-
cycle riders they'd ever seen.
Did Jeff Grosso actually sleepwalk into
Steve Beaudoin's room, thinking it was the
bathroom? Did he then walk into the corner
NSA Finally. Left to Right:
Craig Johnson holds metal
for top-eight showing.
Grosso premieres his
browless look for '89.
Lance, on crutches but
still dorking. Jimmy Mur-
phy bares his teeth. Dan-
forth amongst locals. J.
Grant B. finally cracked
up after shooting his
200th contest.
PHOTOS BY NEWTON
ON BOARD
where a toilet would have been and hang a
piss? In reality, wasn't Steve's bed in that
corner? Did both slumbering slobs sleep
through the ordeal? Luckily, only Jeff's
bladder was full.
Are rumors true that Ricky Barnes, Mike
Lohrman, Lurch and E.T. were driving home
from a punk gig when they all fell asleep and
wrapped the front end around a telephone
pole, causing it to fall over on another car?
Were the damages assessed at: two wasted
cars, a near torn off ear ala Barnes (it re-
quired plastic surgery) and two severely
bruised kneecaps on the person of
Lohrman? Do MADS (Mothers Against Drunk
Skaters) want to use them as poster boys for
their next campaign even though driver E.T.
passed the sobriety test?
FURIOUS QUERIES
Will a central Los Angeles public swim-
ming pool be drained and opened to skaters
during the off-season? Are the authorities
there stoked by this ready-made opportunity
to keep kids off the street?
Do Transformers, those high-tech Japan-
ese robot toys, make one model that actually
turns into a skateboard?
Did Gabe Richman from Louisiana really
see a 13-year-old Tony Hawk shredding Del
Mar on a Captain Kangaroo re-run? Was Mr.
Greenjeans totally stoked?
Have the California Raisins, always on the
cutting edge, turned into hardcore skaters?
Justin X. Grape was allegedly spotted
carving high speed without safety gear.
Is the Mr. Trashmore mondo-ramp getting
a full metal jacket? Did the city of VA Beach
A young Italian named Luca Giammarco
defeated Swedish slalom great Jani Soderhall at
the Euroskate '88 championships. Here's a brief
interview with Luca to give you a taste of slalom.
What's your story, Luca?
I'm 20 years old, I live in Turin, Italy and I've
been skating since 1978. I ride all disciplines, but,
of course, I skate a lot of slalom on slope. This
is also good training for my snowboarding.
How did you start skateboarding?
My parents gave me a plastic board when I
was a child. One day when I was skating in Valen-
tino park, I met some skaters from the Ferrero
skateboarding team. I met Gianluca Ferrero, one
of Europe's best slalomers at that time. He ad-
vised me to try a new wood board and he was
surprised by my slalom ability. From that mo-
ment he has been my trainer and friend.
What competitions have you won before?
The 1980 and 1982 Italian Junior Slalom and
Combined titles and several official Italian races
between then and now.
What do you think of Europe's slalom scene?
Euroskate '88 was my first international ex-
perience. I was very happy to see all those skaters
from all over Europe (the Eastern countries too)
and to race with them.
Who are the fastest slalomers in your mind?
Surely Jani Soderhall. He is perfect. Then
Auers, Stefka, and Ugolini-he's so vigorous.
Paolo Gatti is especially good at special and
parallel slalom. In the future, I think the Eastern
countries will be stronger.
How often do you train?
Two times, six to nine hours a week. Then I
teach skateboarding four days a week. I'm train-
ing to get better in freestyle, but I hope to win
the parallel slalom and the Catalina Classic.
Well, the Catalina's gone now, but we'll swoop
some cones, with you any time, Luca
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