ing, and I'm so fucking happy, I'm just peeing,
and I go, and I'm hanging out, and Gator gives
me a ride home, and it's the best because
Gator's still punk, or not really punk, but just
dirty and really cool, not dirty like Seattle dirt,
but more of a sacred dirty. I guess he had his
life cut out for himself. He had everything, then
got thrown in the joint, for life.
Steve Keenan: I call Santa Cruz, knowing that
team is more my style. At that time, SC was
really punk. I call up and talk to some clown
named Tim. Luckily Steve was in his office at the
time, so I'm on. Keenan hooked me up. He was
crazy. Good thing he had a kid. There's too
many stories. He was team guy with an attitude.
I loved it. I could do no wrong.
Salba: Picked on me. Made me a man. I think.
Steve Claar: I would not skate or go anywhere
without Steve. A gay slave, if you will. Best
frontside ollies ever. Best friends once.
Christian Hosoi: He laughed at me because I
couldn't carve with the trucks I was riding. Then
a few years later, we're in a German airport. He
just won the contest, I got third, and he's hand-
ing me $3,000 for my phone bill. He says, "Pay
me back whenever, Holmes." We leave without
paying. NHS gets the bill. The King.
MoFo: I'm in Canada, walking down the street,
seventeen years old, totally scared of MoFo,
but I'm hanging out with him. We go in this
liquor store. He's wearing dark glasses. He says,
"Give me all your porno mags. "He looks at me
and says, "I study their layouts for the mage-
zine." He probably spent 100 bucks.
Rob Roskopp: A real let-down. A real dump.
Christian Fletcher: In fifth grade, I buy my first
surfboard off him. Ten years later, we're at
Gerry Lopez's house on Pipeline. He's telling
me he wants to do a stalefish surfing. So the
next day, high on mushrooms, acid and weed,
he does them. He did the shit they're doing
now on surfboards five years ago.
Jeff Phillips: He won Anaheim in '86. I wish I
was there to watch. I first met Jeff at Skilly's
ramp in Westminster in '84. I told Neil, "When
I meet Phillips, I'm taking him to Sizzler." I was
Sworn to fun, loyal to none. Jason (above) poses for
Biker's Anonymous. After being flown to England with
Salba (opposite top), the pair were caught doubling up
on an ancient snake run before they got ripped-off for
everything they owned. The master of Gold Cup hand-
plants, Neil Blender (opposite bottom) could stall these
puppies for almost ten seconds and then return to the
Masonite. At the now defunct Sadlands, Jason (below)
barely hung onto this fat frontside ollic over the con-
crete volcano, but alas he did, and lived to tell.
fourteen, so I did. He was one of my idols. He's
gone, and it sucks. To my knowledge, the vagi-
nal vortex had something to do with it. Every
frontside olie I do, it's for Phillips from now on.
Neil Blender: Neil came over to my house one
day, I was about seventeen, and we're talking
about how retarded our lives are, and the next
thing I know, I look into the neighborhood
lady's sliding glass door, and she's chunky and
about forty or so, and she's fully making out
with this other bummer of a lady. I'm fully
stoked. Me and Neil were just laughing. I was
nervous because I was getting all horny. They
were going down on each other and then wip-
ing their faces off with McDonald's napkins.
Gavin O'Brien: I always wanted to impress him
at contests. But I don't think he really cared.
Corey O'Brien: Best sweepers ever. The
calmest under IRS pressure. The Fonz.
Bryce: I never got a cover.
KT: Promised me an interview I never got.
Bob Denike: I used to get demos lined up for
me from NHS, and at the last minute, I would
back out. I'd wait about a weak, then go cash it
in for anywhere from 300 to 800 dollars, till
finally got caught by Bob. I was so
pissed and so scared. I guess I owe
Bob an apology. They never fully
understood my ways.
Ben Schroeder: Never really hung
out with him. He seemed about as
smart as a bologna sandwich.
Joe Johnson, Tony Hawk, Kevin
Staab: Never really had anything in
common with them except crap-
ping every morning, even though
they were all real nice. Once, Joe
and Kevin showed up at a contest
with a crimping iron and hair dryer.
I shaved my head.
Julien Stranger: All I know is the
guy that Julien busted up Back East
somewhere is going to get the
same punishment from me.
Jay Adams: I was at Del Mar once,
and this crazy drunk girl showed
up, and we got in this argument
and the next thing I know, we're
fist-fighting. I was so happy I'm
fighting a rough girl. So after all the
biting, name-calling, hair-pulling
and her face in the back of a truck bumper, I
find out it's Jay Adam's girlfriend. I was so
scared waiting for him to come to the park to
kill me. He shows up and says, "No big deal.
Sometimes she needs that. It keeps her in line."
Jay's my all-time skating, surfing, anarchy hero.
Fred Smith: Touring Rhode Island in 1990, I was
fat from drinking wine. After skating the Hut,
we light bombs at the beach, then go to a bar
and fight. I never had so much fun in one state.
That's where Sid "The Package" Abruzzi lives.
Mark Gonzales: I ditched school one day to
hang out with The Gonz. We were skating
Skilly's ramp, and Skilly came out saying Mark
didn't call or something and just starts hitting
him. It was so retarded. Then he runs in the
house yelling, "I beat up The Gonz! I beat up
The Gonz!" What a fucking retard. I felt really
dumb for being human. I love Mark.
Mike Lohrman: There was a demo at a college,
and this guy Greg Ducolan says Mike can't
skate, so Mike pulls out his weiner and pees all
over the sign-up sheet and Greg. He rules.
Jake Phelps: Inflicts enough guilt to make any
one want to skate. A love-hate guilt.
Ron Chatman: Seen me naked in a hotel room
once somewhere in Texas.
My friends and the people I've hung out with
have made me who I am, so I guess I owe some
thanks to everyone. Skateboarding is the best
thing to ever happen to me. I