26 THRASHER MAGAZINE
NI
MT
CT
RI
MA
NEW
ENGLAND
Story and photos
by Garth Wilkins
ROAD JOURNAL
What do you get when you combine a bunch of
Pilgrims, some Yankee chutzpah and a lot of
the East Coast? The answer is New England. I
recently visited the upper right hand comer of our
country to skate New Hampshire, Maine, Connecti-
cut, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Rhode Island and
New York all in a nine-day whirlwind tour. Here is a
diary of what went down.
Friday April 24 11:24 am
I arrived in Boston with nobody there to meet me.
After a few phone calls, I hopped the eighty-five
cent subway for a ride to Cambridge to meet Kevin
Day. The train took twenty minutes and soon
enough I was in Central Square waiting for my ride.
The blue Previa pulled up and I was on my way to
Framingham to skate an empty pool at an aban-
doned hotel.
Four years ago, Massachusetts Governor Mike
Dukakis ran unsuccessfully for the top job of the
country. While he was out gallivanting around, his
home state went down the drain. The hotel stands
dormant on Route 9 and is surrounded by vacant
shops and deserted strip malls. Unlike most New
England pools, this one was made in a time when
things were done to perfection. It had a deep bowl
and wide open shallow end with a surface that was
smooth but never slippery. The coping had to be
removed, but after thirty minutes the edge was
customized to satisfaction. Martin Freedman and
Andy Strachan were there also, so the session was
light but fun
After we skated for about three hours we felt the
first drops of rain. We got into the war wagon and
headed back down the tumpike for a session at ZT
Maximus indoor skatepark. The redesigned park
featured a small but very rideable street area that is
ever-changing with modular quarter pipes and a tall
vert wall. Add to that a mini vert ramp that is twen-
ty-four feet wide, and the picture is complete. The
locals this night were: Jahmal Williams, Adam Ayer,
Preston, Matt Piles, Frank Lannon, Davey Rogers,
Sebastian Nichols, Easty and Roby Gangemi. The
scene was awesome, you can hang out and not get
heckled or feel any type of vibe. Owner Ken Deutch
is about as laid-back as they come. After the ses-
sion, the crew that remained played skate basket-
ball, in which everyone is on a board and rides
around the ramps shooting the ball through the
hoop in the middle of the course. The weather was
cold, in the mid-40's, but with all the action going on
inside, nobody cared.
Saturday 25th 12:20 pm
The Playground in Wallingford, Connecticut is
today's destination. With the rain it is likely to be
crowded. Our caravan left Beantown and two hours
later we were at the park. Suspicions confirmed, the
place was packed. Ten bucks is a rip-off, but when
I pay I always get my money's worth. We took ten
guys down and they all paid, even the guys that
built the shit. Once inside, I found the park more
than adequate. There is a vert ramp that is twenty-
three feet wide and ten and a half feet tall with.
metal coping, a whopper spine ramp that features a
manual platform and extension with cement coping.
as well as the ever-popular street area with all the
necessities. The street area was mobbed, add the
red Rector rental helmets, many mini-ramps and
pressure flip circles made the scene complete.
Locals who rip include: Matt O'Brien, Tim Upson,
Chris Cavallero, Jim Greco, Jim Gagne, Damion
Siver, Corey Shaw, Little Brian and the owner's son
Tony. These guys all put on a hell of a show.
Nobody rode the vert ramp but us and the kids on
the flatbottom. Has vert died? You bet, it's dead.
One of the guys who came with us broke his wrist
so we must be having fun, right? We headed home
at about six. It was snowing on the highway and I
thought surely we were going to die.
Sunday 26th 9:17 pm
It rained all Saturday night, and Sunday morning
dawned very gloomy. We thought the pool was self-
draining and planned to go skate it. When we got
there it was filled with about three feet of rain water.
The sky was overcast but dry, so we quickly went to
work with the bucket brigade. After we got the water
out, we littered it, swept it and were skating it within
a hour. When we felt the first drops of rain, we
headed back to ZT to close out the weekend with
another indoor session. For grub, we all went to
Moody's Falafel Shop in Central Square where you
can get a BBQ chicken sandwich for $2.50 that rule
in hell. I ate two.
Monday 27th 9:24 am
It was again overcast. I took the solo cruise
around Boston. I checked a bunch of spots: Copley
Square, which has a fountain with a block similar to
EMB. Needle Park: Stairs, handrails and blocks.
Christian Science Pond: Big banks with a marble
roll out edge. Elevator banks in Allston: smooth
asphalt bank with a bowled corner. Cambridge
Pool: Full of water. City Hospital: Construction has
blocked the pushing area, so it was limited access.
Tuesday 28th 11:37 pm
The sun came out in the morning so that meant
back to the pool in Framingham for one last blast.
Santos, Victor, Kit Shigur, the Rhino boys, Jeff and
I all rode away the morning and got ready for the
aftemoon trip to Maine. By one o'clock we were on
our way to Ratz skatepark in Biddeford, home of the
infamous Who Skates posse. An hour and a half
from Boston through New Hampshire we were
blessed to find an empty nirvana park. The layout
featured a vert ramp that is probably the best in the
country. The forty foot width and big rusty Pringle's
can-sized coping are hard to beat. The bowled
spine configuration is kind of slow but the bowl
alone is more than fast. The street area is wide
open with many movable ramps that make it ever-
changing as well as fun. Tom Noble is the mastermind
behind it and he is friendly as well as dedicated. I wish
there were more like him. There are some ripping
locals who include: Andy MacDonald, Chris Mathews,
Sweeney, Geoff Shenk, Dan Drehobl, Eddy "The
Eagle Hale and Jaime Hodgdon. The scene was most
enjoyable, I didn't have to pay and they told me one
day a week they have a free skating day, which can't
be beat.
Wednesday 29th 10:24 am
I went to visit my mother in Marblehead. I learned to
skate there and it was quite a trip into the past. When I
lived there, the skate punks were outcasts, so right
when I left town, they built a skateboard court that
sucked. Black asphalt and shaped like a horseshoe, it
is a skin graph for sure. Everyone in town asked, "So
you're back from Cal?" Like, I was a complete failure
and crawled back home. I said, "Sure," and took the
bus back to Boston.
Thursday 30th 11:21 am
After gathering my muck and saying all my good-
byes, Barry Brown, Andy, Martin and I all took off for
New York. Before we hit the Big Apple, we took a
detour to Middletown, Rhode Island, for a stop to see
Sid Abruzzi at his long running Water Bros. surfskate
shop on the beach. I've known Sid for years and this
guy is straight-up cool. He has his shop set up with a
sixteen foot by ten foot tall vert ramp and next to it there
is a little shit ramp called the "Cheese." The vert ramp
it is fast because of the metal surface, but the width
made it scary as hell. Situated in a rough asphalt park-
ing lot, the ramp eats decks for lunch which can't be
bad for business. Middletown is next to ever-so swank
Newport, and the shop is like a meeting place where
connections are made. On the day we were passing
through, Blaize Blouin and Pat Tuck were in town tray-
eling the country and selling decks the grassroots way.
We skated all afternoon with the local ripdogs. Jason
Jesse, Mr. Mike, The Martian, Brugsie, Doug Sabetti,
Jay Maxwell and the Old Salt himself, Sid, all threw
down in the righteous beachfront session. After the
ramp was laid to waste, the session packed up and
went to the "Boatyard," which is a dumping ground for
old ship hull castings. Some of the shells were almost
forty feet long and went to vert. Like mini-ramps with
holes for the keel, they made for an interesting session.
Jeff Thompson pounded out frontside grinds while
Blaize made lipslides that almost knocked everyone out
of the boat. We rode until the sun went into the western
sky, and found our way back to 1-95 and headed west
toward Gotham City.
Friday May 1st 10:07 am
Our mob hit the city at midnight, parked the van and
went out hell-riding. Bars, food and coffee all crossed
our path on our quest through the vast catacomb of
steel and concrete. The streets are smooth as a baby's
ass and the metal curbs make every mile just another
skate spot. New York is full of barf, I must have ridden
through it ten times and even slipped out on it when I
was pushing at top speed. At 4:00 am, when the bars
closed, we got in the van and headed out to New Jer-
sey to sleep on the beach. We pulled the van into a
wooded area and crashed hard.
Saturday 2nd 11:03 am
In Asbury Park, after three days without a shower and
more than five good sweats, I needed one. My feet felt
like they were submerged in water and when I took off
my socks, they got up and ran away. I went down to
that big bathtub called the Atlantic Ocean and went
swimming. It was cold as a witch's heart, but I needed
to jumpstart my system. By noon we were at Brick
Skatepark waiting for it to open. It was hot, in the mid-
80's, but the park was air-conditioned and made break-
ing a sweat very comfortable. Brick is cheap: three dol-
lar membership and a dollar an hour. It is a bit on the
dusty side but laid out well and very rideable: a vert
ramp that is wide but short, a monster spine ramp and
a dogleg four-foot bowl with fat PVC coping that was
fast and furious. And a street area that had many lines
and lips. I met the Sigafoos brothers there and they told
Opposite page, top to bottom: The fountain
at Copley square in Boston. Drain time at the
Framingham pool, with Stuntman, Wrecka
me that this was the coolest place for many miles. and Punky. Boston street prince Jahmal
Sean Miller, Jim Murphy and Darren Menditto all call Williams at Beacon Hill skateshop. Mini-
the vert ramp home. Matt Lewis told me that once a shredders pose on the vert ramp at Ratz.
month they have bands play or a contest to keep the This page, top to bottom: The beachfront
scene happening. Some local talent to look for: Dave ramp complex of Sid Abruzzi's Water
Anderson, Jesse Mellick, Pat Godati, Pete Bottino, Rick Brothers surf/skate shop. Ragin' in the
Oyola, Jim Menser, Mickey Ippileito, Steve Herring.
Mikey Campolino and Dan Meruro. Located about a
hour and forty-five minutes away from NYC, it is a good
day trip to be sure. Hey, Tim Payne helped design it so
I say go skate it.
1
Sunday 3rd NYC 12:07 am
After another night in the Lower East Side,
we got word of a public skate spot at Mullaly
park next to Yankee Stadium in the Bronx. It i
was very hot and it seemed that the whole
city was out enjoying the day. The outside
skate area has a good assortment of hips,
trannies and ramps. Add to that the sounds
of springtime in the big city and it was a
beautiful day. The vert ramp is twenty feet
wide and about nine feet tall with metal surface and
small coping. Andy Kessler of the Zoo York crew was
there along with a strong BMX crew and even some
rollerbladers. There is good interaction among all the
users of the facility and nobody cares what you do as
long as you do it. Burimiesters to watch for: Victor Ortiz,
Luis Perez, the Nimbus Crew, Jeff Pang, Jeremy Hen-
derson, Q, Harold Hunter and Danny Parks. We went
to get some grub at The Royal Canadian Pancake
House, big mistake. After I dinner, I had to take a shit
and in one motion I wiped my ass then turned around
and barfed. We skated around mid-town Man-
hattan, went to Bubble Banks and the Hyatt,
but everywhere we went we got rousted with
in ten minutes. Roling in a pack through the
cavernous streets was hard to beat. We
stayed on the floor of some freaks house
who kept talking until I took off my shoes.
Never take off your shoes before they say
you can stay.
Monday 4th 9:00 am
The trip is over. We slept in vans, on
floors or in the grass, but bottom line:
wherever we found skateable terrain, that
was where we slept. My body is beat, my
clothes are filthy and my plane ticket says
today so I guess I'm gone. Thanks to all
the folks who gave me rides, beers and
tokes, you know who you are.
boatyard with the gang. Roast beef over
the hip at Brick. At Mullaly park, the crew
mug it while kickin' it.
SKATE
27