EUROPEAN HELLRIDE
BOLIP
Soon after we landed in.
Paris, we got busted on the
subway for the crime of not
having tickets. We learned our
first lesson right there: Offer
them cash as an option to
going to jail. We did, they
accepted and we were on our
way to the south of France and a date with a
cement biscuit, the Skatepark of Marseille.
If there is heaven on earth, it is Marseille, a
summer beach town on the Mediterranean
around the corner from Monaco. Two years
ago, the city built its skaters a park of incredi-
ble dimensions. Bowls, spines, metal coping and
smooth cement make it one-of-a-kind. After a
morning arrival at the train station, we made
our way through the stifling heat to the beach
where the park is. Shop was set up immediate-
ly. The park had some skaters but it was deso-
late as far as the locals go. With so much prod-
uct we set up the rules: Never let your guard
down, always have at least two people with the
stuff at all times, and keep your eyes open. So
we all took turns skating and watching. The
routine was simple-skate, work up a sweat, go
swimming at a topless beach and work on the
killer tan. Daylight was over when the locals
DIDGEN
TT SEEA
The Cartel was formed on July
31st, 1993. Our mission was to sell
as much free stuff on the continent
of Europe as possible, live for
nothing, piss off the world and
let them know the skateboard
invasion was out of control.
It is all about products. In other countries, kids
ride beat-up shit until there is nothing left. There
are no focused decks, and as for flatspots, who
cares? Months prior to touchdown across the
Atlantic, American skaters scramble around scav-
enging gear that they could turn into cash. In
some places, decks cost as much as one hun-
dred dollars, used wheels about twenty bucks,
and they will even offer to buy the clothes off your
back. The reason that the Cartel was formed
was that there is safety in numbers, and when you
are rolling eight deep, anyone that crosses the
line will be six feet under.
36 THEASIE
Danny Way (above)
looks for the pit on
heelish indy fakie. While
he was stuck in England,
Paulo Diaz (right) made it
work with 180' kickflips
A glimpse (far right) of
the pirate's share.
M