A rare coping
spider mea-
sures the blue
tiles in the
danger zone.
ASK DOCTOR
THE
With
Rick
Blackhart
TOUGH SHIRT
I'm twelve years old, I've been
skating four months, and most of my
shirts have skulls and skate stuff on
them. My mom has a problem with
that. If it has a skateboard on it, I
can't wear it. What should I do?
A Fashionable Skater
Grand Junction, CO
Tell mom to chill. Run this one by
her: If she lets you wear the least
offensive shirt you have, you won't
yell and scream and accuse her of
being like the rest of the skater
haters in the world. Vow to cause
her much grief for the rest of her
life if you can't wear it. That seems
fair. This is only one of thousands
of methods to bring Mom and Dad
to terms with skating. If they would
only realize that what we want to
do, which is skate, is what we will
32 THRASHER MAGAZINE
do. Skate until death do us part.
Live with reality. Skating is reality.
MASS APPEAL
In reply to the "hardcore" skater
from Boston. I live in Cambridge,
across a bridge from Boston, and we
have tons of places to skate. I don't
know how he missed spots like the C-
bowl, Turtle's and the Maximus
ramps, which anyone can skate. I
don't know where this guy has been
because every half-ass geek skates
these spots. Get with it, dude.
Manoli Boulukos and G.S.W.
Cambridge, MA
Obviously, hardcore is a term
used loosely. When I hear someone
call themselves a hardcore skater, I
can bet they're far from it, as you
knowingly pointed out. Those who
may be hardcore skaters need not
use the phrase while commenting
about their ability and experience
in skating. Number of years and
hours skated daily (or H.S.D.) says
it all. Thanks for setting the record
straight.
FOR GOOD MEASURE
I don't have a life threatening.
problem and I have enough common
sense not to bother you with an extra
stupid question. However, I fear
losing "Final Jeopardy" some day for
missing this question: Why are decks
measured in inches, while wheels and
trucks are measured in millimeters?
(At least when truck manufacturers
bother to give an actual measure-
ment.) Thanks for your time and keep
up the excellent work!
Matt Januliwicz
San Diego, CA
Mainly because the metric
system is more precise and wheel
and truck measurements must be
more precise than boards. Board
manufacturers have not come
around to the metric system, but if
they did, your average 32-inch
board would be 81.28 centimeters.
THE TROUBLE WITH OLLIE
I'm twelve and I live in a very small
town. I can't ollie. It makes me mad
because all of the bros I skate with
can. What should I do to learn how to
ollie? Don't say put in lots of time
because I put hours into it every day.
Shawn Astin
Jonesboro, IL
I think your main concern, and
that of many other skaters who are
stymied over a certain trick, is just
that you're overly concerned, if
not obsessed, with pulling it off.
The more you think about it, the
bigger that mental block becomes.
If you have the ability, think like a
winner and you will become one. If
you and your buddy skate on the
same level, only he can ollie and
you can't, it's because he knows
he can do it and you still say you
can't. Knock that crap off. Slap
that ollie and visualize yourself
making it. We've all had the same
dilemma at one point-skating
well, then getting stuck on one
particular move. Watch it being
done, visualize yourself doing it
and commit to pulling it off. With
these keys, you too can open the
doors to success. Just send $59.99
to Doctor Rick's Realization of
Successful Skating.
MUNDO KUNDABA KUN
THE DR. WANTS YOUR HEAD
BELL
CALL 1-800-456-BELL FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THE SKATEBOARD HELMET
FOR A STICKER SEND ONE S TO BELL, 15301 SHOEMAKER AVENUE, NORWALK, CA 90650