This
A CLO
MAS
SURGE
Eric "Tooma" Britton shifts a backside
ollie on a Hollywood skate stage.
MEDIA MASSACRE
The Skateboard Kid
Hello. My name is Jonathan Pekar,
but in 1993 you will know me as Hamilton
"Ham Tanner from the movie The Skate-
board Kid. Yes, a skateboard movie.
Well, sort of. The Skateboard Kid stars
Bess Armstrong, Cliff De Young.
Timothy Busfield and the Venice Skate
Crew: Lee Divinchi, "Duckman," Joey
Tran, Eric Britton, and "Little Man."
Concorde Studios used a warehouse to
build a skate facility with a halfpipe con-
nected to a spine with an extension that
led to a vert wall about 20 feet high.
Needless to say, it was fun. The boys
ripped it hard. Later in the shoot, they
shipped in Jesse Roach and Jason
Dill, who gave us big ollies of every kind.
Those kids are a prime example of too
much spare time. I'm not sure what hap-
pened to Roach, but apparently he got
kicked off the set for some reason. His
father would be proud. Anyway, use
some of your spare time to see The
Skateboard Kid. You probably won't
like it, but then again, what do you like?
Ever since Mark Gonzales left us, we
have been lost.
A portrait of an average skateboard Joe's home life.
TRASH
"Show me a hero and I'll write you a tragedy."
NAME GAME
Enquiring minds want to know, what is
the first name shared by the most pros?
After a long and tedious count, number
one without a doubt is Mike: Carroll,
Frazier, Kepper, Vallely, Chu, Santa-
rossa, Crum and York. Tied in second,
with four each, was Danny: Sargent,
Way, Mayer, Peterka, and Ron: Whaley,
Chatman, Bertino, Knigge. Honorable
mentions go out to the Erics:
Koston, Ricks, Dressen, and
the Toms: Guerrero, Knox,
Boyle. So parents, please take
note and plan accordingly.
ROCK QUERY
Is Henry Sanchez living in the greater
LA basin with pal and teammate Guy
Mariano? Has Mike Carroll been seen
driving around the Bay Area in a bor-
rowed Volvo without a license?
Meanwhile, is Greg Carroll being
sought by police in connection with a
phony ID that "somehow ended up in the
hands of Josh Swindell?
Is Big James Kelch the proud owner of a '66
Malibu (with only 54,000 miles) that he bought
from pal Tom Knox for the sum of $5000? Has
Canadian funny man and hot skate commodity
Tony Ferguson switched from Real to Plan B due
to the sudden departure of Ryan Fabre?
Even more unlikely, is it true that Tracker Larry
(who once lived in an outside tent rather than inside
a multi-million dollar Oceanside crib) has taken to
trailer living? Balma has been spotted with his small
port-a-potty parked on the sand lately.
Did the co-founder of another notorious mag
briefly bolt the fold over that periodical's non-board-
ish tits, ass, crime and grime overview?
Todd Swank has been looking very buttoned-up
and almost clean. Could the reason for this dramatic
turnabout be a creature of the feminine persuasion?
Surely the vicious rumors regarding Swank's lur-
ing of luscious Keva from a semi-sponsored team
rider into his lair are totally unfounded. Even
stranger was the fall-out from the Josh Beagle
interview. Foundation HQ was the recipient of a
fusillade of calls from the field ranging from death
threats to salutations.
DIG IN
Everyone knows that no one takes this column
seriously, but consider the twisted trail that ended
in the Thrasher offices being attacked by gunfire.
First, Ron Allen got so offended he offered to re-
-F. Scott Fitzgerald
adjust a certain journo's head gasket. Then, a
prominent Santa Barbara team manager was so
upset over an apparently bogus statement that he
allegedly offered to go head-to-head with another
mouthier team manager and rave aficionado. After
that, a very major manu reportedly browbeat his
female office staff looking for a security leak.
Supposedly, this somewhat legendary man
accused one of the women of having an affair with
the dictator of Slap. You figure it out.
Shovelhead, a tight combo
featuring Steve Caballero,
Skin Graft
Shipping meister and all-around
tough guy Tony Perez is the
recipient of this month's rood
rash prise. A heinous beef in
a backyard pool caused the
concrete cherry in question
John Testani, Chris
Landon and John Haugh.
recently surfaced at San Jose's Cactus Club. The
band has been on hold for over a year while vari-
ous members fought in Kuwait, skate toured and
served in the LA riots with the National Guard. Word
has it that Cab even kicked his own girlfriend out of
the group as a keyboardist, feeling that this would
increase the amperage of the power format.
California governor Pete Wilson is said to be
signing a bill which will allow Palo Alto skatepark
to exist as a free public park. Incidentally, it is
reported that the governor's daughter was once
married to Mike Doyle, the skateboard/single
ski/snowboard pioneer. Wilson is said to be very into
all of the legal spraypainted art at Palo Alto.
SMA devotee Skip Engblom surfaced on the
set of the television show Baywatch as a stunt actor.
For serious money. Mr. Skip played a drowning man
and later parlayed this rather non-strenuous role (in
heavy one-foot surf) into an extended part on the
show as a "boy asleep on the beach." Imagine
banking all that hazardous stunt duty pay for float-
ing and sleeping.
Mark Gonzales debuted a new series of paint-
ings at Extra Large in Los Angeles. The prolific
Gonz was seen painting during the opening of the
Vermont Street show. Some peg the Gonz as
moving back to NYC to join ex-Shut guru Rodney
Smith who has resurfaced in the skate industry with
a new company called Zoo York. No word as of yet
if old schoolers Puppethead and Papo are involved
in this action as well.
NO TRESPASSING
Word has it that some of the higher echelon in
the rap industry have a bone to pick with mysto
skate artist Andy Howell. Talent is talent, but the
Cypress Hall and the House of Pang graphics
have reportedly miffed and worried certain home-
boys in the know.
Some say that Danny Way is now a hired
henchman for Plan B boss Mike Ternasky. Repor
tedly, Way tuned up on Sean Cliver's head dur-
ing a dispute over the graphic similarities in new
loads by Ron Bertino and DW-something about
Freddie Krueger and Jason from Friday the 13th.
The CASL Santa Barbara contest held in the
Sk8 Zone was definitely noteworthy. The main
event featured the Carney broth-
ers going off on an irate
father who was swinging
at them amid riot-like
conditions. Sonja was
ready to shut it down,
yet was kind enough
to let it finish off with
no further complica-
Coco Santiago flexes
his vocal chords in
preparation for the
upcoming tour of his
King Diamond tribute
band, Metal Coco.
Drip Dry
After being stranded in
Death Valley with nothing
to drink except the oil
from his bearings. Alan
Petersen trudged some
hundred odd miles and
happened to find a
friendly faucet that
quenched a thirst as big
as the Atlantic Ocean.
tions. For the record,
Ms. Sonja noted twen-
ty-plus infractions ren-
dered. Locals Brad
Lilley, Mike Zeeman.
and Chris Lane rolled
hard. Erstwhile associ
ate Robert M. "Bert
Bradley caspered his
way into a first place
street finish.
SHARK BAIT
Not even buying a for-
est of plants or painting
out the graffiti with the San Jose Sharks' team
colors could save the World Industries headquar
ters from eviction. The ex-landlord mentioned
numerous explosions, television test drops and fly-
ing fluorescent light tubes as being contributing
factors. Others mentioned Rocco's unauthorized
go-kart grand prix. Still when push came to shove
in those ugly final days, how could any rational per-
son explain the alleged "accidental" tipping over of
the landlord's car with a fork lift. Sal Rocco told
the three carloads of cops and the responding
fire truck unit that he didn't have a clue. Other mute
not-so-innocent bystanders included Cliver. Steve
and Terasky.
Balletin
Bird
Tony Alva has been turning to his Hopi indian
ancestry lately. He described experiencing eigh-
teen-foot waves in the middle of the open
ocean as an "almost spiritual experience."
Word has it that the
intrepid Alva was
venturing sea-
ward again to
check out some
ancient indian
dwellings on
remote outer.
Californial
islands. TA's
occasional
partner in these
exploratory
ar
A group of micro-hockers
express their disploesure
at the disappearance of
the Thresher bulletin
boord, Cheer up, it's back
and 14,400 bps. Moder
in at 415 822-5630.
exploits. Todd Hastings, has hooked
a new base camp high atop the pres-
tigious El Captain Ranch. Reportedly,
the lads are training in Hastings
palatial compound lap pool as we go
to press.
ROLL CALL
A Los Angeles audition for a
Mountain Dew television commer-
cial drew a heavy battalion of tal-
ent that included Cara-Beth
Burnside, Jonah Wray, Chet
Thomas, Pat Duffy, Frank
Hirata, Frankie Hill,
Jeremy Klein, Justin
Yates, Kareem Camp-
bell, Eric Ricks and
Saecha Clark. Evil
machinations included
a frenzied rolling ses
for grabs for the lead part in the TV gig, and
$10,000 for supporting roles, bodies flew. Intrepid
photog Chris Ortiz recorded some of the more
daring deeds on film.
GUEST LIST
Markovich's latest antics on video drew raves
from the crowd when it debuted before a Quick-
silver production party. Aussie lens guy Sarges
Quick depicted surf stars Tom Carroll and Kelly
Slater slamming innumerable times on a ramp.
Carroll's tight shorts gave him little protection as
he tail-dropped into the hematoma zone. Mean-
while, Oz legend Andrew Currie and NSA 1992
street champ Jason Rothmeyer are both part of
the new master plan from Foundation Super Co.
Andy Roy, Bod, Cab, Pope, Forbes and
Jason Adams have been active on Cannery Row.
Some claim that even Roskopp was seen rolling
amongst the hips and trannies.
Clandestine sessions are still reported at the
defunct San Jose Skatepark. Names like Corey
O'Brien, JJ Rogers and Reeps keep coming up
as those who know keep quiet.
John Lucero celebrated his 28th birthday with
pals Grosso, Salba, Barnes and Mike Smith in
the backyard of Huntington Beach local Kelly
Belmar. Between rainshowers and drying the
custom-built pool, the crew tore it up and laughed
at growing old.
RED DAWN
Concrete cowboy Mark Scott and a crew of
wandering hessians stormed through California
in mid-December. While visiting the Bay Area,
they stayed the night at a haunted indoor pool
nestled in the hills above Oakland. Reportedly,
ghosts carve the love seat and grind the coping
during the witching hour.
The PSL reared its ugly head and hosted a pro
contest (double points) at the well-worked Powell
Sk8 Zone. A good turnout was highlighted by
supreme local Mike Santarossa, who took on all
comers and cashed the winner's check. Other
names included in the top ten were Hawk, Speyer,
Hassan, Santos, Woodstock, Senn and Brauch.
Santarossa's switchstance backside ollie 180°
over the box, Bertino's frontside half-Cab heelfip
varial and Markovich's backside 180' nosegrinds
on the coffin at mach speed were the toast of SB.
AND I QUOTE...
sion which erupted Shit, I thought I was doing at least a hundred."
with fifteen stair
ollies into traffic on
Wilshire Boulevard
during the rush hour.
With $40,000 bucks up
-Salman Agah after being busted for going
99 miles per hour in Steve Caballero's car.
"What is it about 'no that you don't under-
stand, the 'N' or the 'O'?" -Coco Santiago
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