ASK THE DOCTOR
Voodoo mojo
witch doctor
Xakanate flies
to rescue
Doctor Rick
from lacerated
compound
fractures.
Bummer for
the Doc, the
cure is gnarlier
than the pain.
Anyone who can possibly under-
stand the excruciating pain I'm in this
very minute has most definitely pum-
meled themselves skating. In the past
couple weeks I must have twisted,
sprained, bruised, slammed and
pounded all my major body parts. I'm
sure you are familiar with the likes of
the old twisted knee syndrome. You
know, the one that's never quite the
same again, and you had to put ice on
it because it was the size of a basket-
ball. Then there's the almighty swell-
bow, that huge purple and yellow
water balloon hanging off your arm.
Besides being extremely painful, it
also never completely goes away.
And who can possibly forget the ever-
so-popular hipper? Yeah, they can be
colorful, and sizable, but usually you
can still skate. The pain in the ass
(excuse the pun) comes when you
finally reach that dream state, roll
over and awaken with an incredibly
loud scream. Then there are all the
other extremity injuries: wrist slam,
ankle bite, possibly a chin skim. Boy, I
sure am glad skating's fun. Don't be
fooled, though; you don't have to
slam a lot to become a good skater.
Yeah right. Face it, if you skate you
will slam. I'll tell you what, though,
there's nothing like taking a bone-jar-
ring body slam and still riding to build
strong skate character.
HOT HEAD
I'm from Minneapolis and a lot of
people probably think we never skate up
here because of sucky weather, but we
22 TASH MICAZINE
do. Just the other day, I wasn't home
and my older step-brother poured
gasoline all over the bottom of my board
and lit it, then it went up in flames. I'm
really pissed, so do you think I should
get revenge?
No Skate
Apple Valley, MN
Revenge? For what? I light my
board on fire all the time. You've
heard of clearing out the deadwood,
haven't you? Actually, it's great for
night sessions-helps cut down on
electric bills. Now you can get a new
board, since that one was probably
worn out anyway. So, thank your
brother for allowing you to see the
light, as it were, and helping your pro-
gression in the skate world. Don't for
get to remind him that his car looks a
bit worn out and you can make it look
more like a Firebird if he doesn't buy
you a new board.
Don't look at it from the "skater look
bad" angle: maybe that's not it. What
this guy did was actually very helpful.
You can learn by watching someone
else pull it off. What we need here is
her point of view. Maybe she did learn
and was stoked. Just because you
didn't like this guy doesn't mean he
was trying to vibe the chick. Maybe
he was trying to impress her so they
could exchange notes after the ses-
sion, if you know what I mean. Maybe
he was trying to make you look bad.
So, just chill. I know what you mean,
though. It seems there's always this
one guy who thinks he's going to
show everybody every name trick you
can say in one breath. But hey, if the
guy can pull 'em off, more power to
him. Don't scream and shout, just
watch and learn.
SHAPE OF THE TIMES
I'm writing because I'd like your opinion
on skateboarding today. All the boards,
vert and street, look like over-sized.
freestyle boards and the tricks are very
technical and freestyle-oriented. Also, I
know people who would rather learn an
olle impossible than a slappy, and that's
cool if that's what they want. But do you
think skateboarding is losing its roots?
A Skater
Sacramento, CA
Yeah, boards do look kind of weird
these days. As skating ability devel-
ops and changes, so do new board.
shapes, which enable the skater to
progress. The shape of a board is
determined by which type of skating
will be done. If you're doing ollies of
any degree then you're going to need
a board with a good-sized nose. Lip
tricks on mini-ramps and vert require
the total package, mellow concave to
allow foot movement and still keep
you on the board, noses that look like
tails and tails that feel like noses. If
you're doing a board-backwards,
switchstance fakie, aren't you just rid-
ing normal? Of course you are. Boy.
that's progression. As far as roots,
skating can't lose its roots because
new ones grow every day. In twenty
years, the skating we are doing now
will be our roots. If a guy started skat-
ing today by ollieing up a curb and
over benches, those are his roots.
Unless you grew up riding five-inch-
wide boards with clay wheels, you
can't appreciate the thousands of
changes that have taken place in
the trick with no flaws. My theory was skateboarding. The bottom line is, the
that he wanted to make a fellow skater kid on the street doesn't give a rat's
look bad. My question is, if I ever see ass. He's too busy ripping it up to
this guy again what should I tell him so stop and wonder. Personally, I am still
he won't do this again?
more concerned about skating better
Alexander Something today than I was ten years ago.
CHIVALRY SHUFFLE
I'm a 15-year-old full-blown, confused
thrash madman who needs your advice.
On a Thursday afternoon I met this chick
skater and she was rippin'. She was try
ing to do a basic shove-it. After a few
attempts, another skater goes right in
front of her and, being a wiseguy, does
Manchester, NH
-Dr. Rick Blackhart
TAKE A BITE OUT OF CRIME
Kaine
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