Up Front
ON A HILL KNOWN AS SEAWAY, to the north of Seattle, a human torpedo
named Kurtis Head rides skateboards from zero to sixty-five in ten seconds.
When he stands up, he says he can hit 72 mph, but when he lays down in
his patented face-first position, Head says he can clock speeds of 85 mph.
Even with his own noggin' acting as a potential bumper at such break-
neck speeds, Head has no fear. "I'm not afraid of crashing," he says, "but I
am aware of it." Using a walkie-talkie system to monitor traffic and wearing
motorcycle leathers, football hip pads and a motorcycle coat on top of that,
Head says he has nothing to worry about. "I hit a c
ta curb at at fifty a
y and
nd went u
over it a couple weeks ago, and I can tell you about two hours worth of
thoughts went through my mind in about two seconds," says Head. "But
besides some shortness of breath, there was nothing
it up
A thirty-one year old resident of Lake Terrace, Washington, Head says he
believes that anything which has wheels and steers by leaning is technically
a skateboard. "Every form of skating is just as intense as the next," he says.
"You push your limits in anything and it's gonna be 100%. I just want skaters
to know that downhill is also a part of skateboarding. They should learn to
try all of the cake and not just the frosting."
-Skip Towne
Clockwise from
top: Kurtis Head,
anatomy of a
speed demon.
The luge crew
Rich Lemmert
demonstrates the
traditional luge
technique. The
fastest man on a
skateboard, Kurt
Head goes at
face-first.
Look, off on the dusty horizon, it's...
CHOCOLATE
THE MOVIE
STARRING: Chico Brenes, Paulo Diaz, Keenan Milton and Gabriel Rodriguez.
COSTARRING: Daniel Castillo, Richard Mulder, Shamil Randle, Ben Sanchez and Mike York.