SEAT
Voices from the Pacific North
Story by Brian Brannon
Photos by Jody Morris
H
RIGHT HAND
TURN ONLY
"We have nothing to skate but it's still flourishing." -AARON DEETER
"People don't care what the real scene is, they make their own." -MICAH SHAPIRO
even the little ones. We need a park, no forget that."-TOM PEHA
speed. Some stand, others lie down. One guy goes headfirst. His name
is Curt Head. There are espresso bars galore in the Emerald City.
Pool Dust editor Wes Lundry calls it, "a fascination with getting wired."
Zines are a means of underground communication. Mark "Mank"
Hubbard irregularly publishes Ald.Ed.Ly. Rail Riders about life on the
vagabond tip, hopping freights to spots far and wide. Joe Caldwell puts
out Destruct Zine, spinning stories of skating and sounds. Nels
Grevstad throws down Escape Zine, which he describes as "skating
tied with political shit." There are numerous other ripping rags around
too, for info write to Wes at 5035 11th Ave NE, Seattle, WA 98105.
"There's a good tight crowd here. They all have heart,
ell and high water are familiar sights to those who ride the innards
of metropolitan Seattle. There are days when the rain hasn't stopped
for years, and the mileage between transitions seems like eternity. But
then there are sidewalks, rails and spots everywhere along the way.
When the rain is pouring down, skaters take shelter under bridges,
tarps, and inside parking garages. Current dominators include Davey
Rogers, Coan Nichols, Mike Kime, Andy Culberson, Yep Tat and
Haywood Jublowme. Meanwhile, crazy gnarlers like Matt Galardo, Pat
Quirk and Scott Smiley are local legends that destroy terrain like no
others. Hardcore downhillers rage the asphalt slopes around town with
Tech is up to spec in Seattle Driving a respec-
table 55 miles per hour down 1-5, keeping an eye
on the pigs cruising alongside
Brian Brannon
intered
Chad Vogt
Danny Minnick
Wes Lundry and
Joe Caldwell
What's up with
the skate scene
in Seattle?
Danny It's good
The weather's
bad, but you just
skate with your
friends at West-
lake Pop some
zits, blow-up
some cars, focus
some windows.
Is Westlake all
that it's cracked
up to be?
Danny Yeah, I
love skating there.
Who are some rad
dudes up there?
Danny: My friend Huy Lee (the Grinchee).
Sonny, Cavin, Olaf, Leigh Peterson, Dexter,
Willie, Trevor, just everyone.
What's there?
Danny Nosesliders, bulkheads, curbs. It's lit.
Chad: Boneless banks.
Where do you skate at Chad?
Chad: Minnick's eight-foot wide ramp. I got to
Barb's, go down to Portland or Canada every
weekend. Mike Ranquet's ramp
How's that?
Chad Big and burly.
Wes, What do you think of Seattle?
Wes. I dig it. All of our friends are here. We have
a saying that all Seattle people are nomads. It's
always raining. We don't have that much good
shit to skate indoors. It makes us travel.
Chad Seriously, I never stay here. Once I'm
While the city watches, Chad Vogt (opposite top) puffs
a fakie ollie noser at a parking lot near the King
Dome. Cheese swirl master Leigh Peterson (top), 180°
kickflip with attitude at the Westlake gap. Stylization
at Metro, Huy Lee (right) lacerates a 180' nosegrind.
Longtime ripper and travel vet Danny Minnick (below)
kicks a switchstance noseslide shove-it at Gas Works.
M
here for a while I have to go somewhere.
Wes But you're always stoked.
Chad: Stoked to come back.
Flash to the parking lot of U Slate so
our cars don't get towed with Seattle
locals Leigh Peterson, Danny
Minnick and Huy Lee.
How does the scene here com-
pare to other places?
Leigh: It's good in the summer, but
it sucks in the winter.
What are some of the hot spots?
Leigh: Gas Works, Westlake. When
it rains, the University parking
garages
nosegrind to shove-it off backside big spin.
Leigh was doing kickflip frontside nosegrinds
He did a switchstance noseslide to frontside 5-0
to switchstance crooked nosegrind out.
What were you doing at Westlake?
Huy: Half-Cab noseslide to 360 shove-it out on
the bulkhead
Danny: Frontside noseslide nosegrind heelflip
You guys skate vert at all?
Leigh: Usually street, but ramps sometimes
when there is one.
Danny: We go to Ranquet's once in awhile.
Is he down?
Danny: Yeah. He's the sickest ever, pro snow-
boarder, he's going to give me a snowboard and
Is it a pretty good scene, are all I'm going to start snowboarding. Sick ass ramp,
the skaters together?
has kegs like every Friday. Ten foot tranny, two
feet of vert. Of course I have a ramp. It's four
feet high and eight feet wide.
Leigh: There's a group of old
school nerds. Then there's a
bunch of people who come in for
the weekends from places like
the suburbs, who are just nerds.
They skate Westlake at night and
Gas Works on the weekend.
How do you think it compares
to other places?
Huy: I've never been to other
places, just skated here.
It's cool.
Mostly skate street?
Huy: Yeah. Ramps
Minnick's ramp.
Got any memorable
stories or anything?
Huy: I'll always be skat-
ing with Minnick and lit-
tle weird things always
happen to us. People
always want to fight us or
cause shit with us. But
we always end up fuckin'
someone up.
Who's hot?
Huy: Dan Minnick. Tom
Cady. Chad Vogt. Aaron
Deeter's probably the
best, in his own thing.
He's not into companies,
he's just into skating.
Any new tricks?
Danny: Frontside blunt
heelflips out on mini-
ramps and stuff.
Switchstance noseslide
Leigh: I've got a patio, Rodney can come over
and do some flatground.
What are your favorite bands?
Huy: Beastie Boys, Del, Pete Rock, Grinch Mob.
Leigh: Fu-shnicks.
What's out?
Leigh: Tight Levis pretty much are out.
Huy: Pink corduroy coats. (continued on page 62)
H
K-STR
48 THRASHER