S
34TH MA
Skating, in its most natural form,
belongs in the streets. Strip away
the hype, sponsorships, skatepark 1
fees, contests, expensive ramps and
what have you got? The streets. No
admission price, no memberships,
no limits. From the earliest down-
hill bomb to the latest spinning
heel flip, the street is a proving
ground and launching point. This
overview cannot pretend to tell the
whole story, it's just a bookmark in
an ongoing saga.
The destruction of the
ninety degree transition
barrier left everyone
dumbfounded. Leading
the charge was the guy
with the funny name,
Natas Kaupas (left),
and the boys of Venice.
The physics defy rea
son and the action is
brutal, but when you
can get up four feet of
vert, like Natas did in
1987, it's worth it.
Modern man Mike
Chu (right) steps
lively at a hog cross-
ing. If we were to say
this is a step-off 720
shove it, would you
believe it? Well, to
be honest, we don't
know what it is.
Modern street
activity is so com
plex that only the
rider knows for
sure what's
happening.
THE OLD GUY REMEMBERS
by R. Mansfeld
This is all ancient history of course, but us old
guys, that's what we do best, sit around
drooling in our wheelchairs with our heads
screwed on backwards, locked in position so
we can only see into the mist-enshrouded
past. As I squint back
there now, I can recall the first skateboard I
ever seen. It was somewhere around 1964.
The dinosaur was on the verge of extinction
back then, though you could never have
guessed it from the 487 cubic inch Olds-
mobile my folks had squatting in the drive.
AN
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF
STREET VERMIN
by Prof Beha
They come out at night and skate the castaway
junk of modern society, the back alleys, und
parking lot wastelands and once proud cement
curb. Nothing can keep them from feasting on
the reads and sidewalks. Because they are
orphans, they have no bome. Because
they are bomeless, they live
in the street.
Stacy Peralta (left) gracefully
bridged the gap between the side-
walk surfers of the sixties and the
low riding Z-Boys of the seventies.
He was one of the first skaters with
a signature model and
later kept the industry in
check with his own compa-
my. Although this photo
was mapped in 1975, you
might still see Stacy
spinning 360's down the
double yellow en Marine Hill
in Santa Monica. The tricks
may change, but the cream
always rises to the top.
Christian Hasal is a true
master of ramps, poels, carbs,
streets and nightclubs. This
sequence of Christian (right)
was taken in 1986 at the first
Sacto street bash. The trick, a
boneless hand-out on a car hood,
is rarely seen today.
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