Just because you don't hear about Mike Tyson on TV everyday or read about him in the mag-
azines, that doesn't mean that he's dead. He's just in prison waiting to kick some ass. I know a
lot of people who quit skating vert because everyone thought it wasn't cool anymore or because
they were pros who thought it would help their board sales. But these guys are either just skat-
ing to be as cool as the next guy, or they're just doing whatever it takes to make some money.
I quit skating for Powell and later got a manual labor job for eight hours a day when George
Powell told me he couldn't support vert skating anymore because he was catching too much
flack from kids and shops. He said, "Unfortunately, there is just no room for a vert skater in
today's skateboarding world." I never stopped skating five hours a day, I just had to work for
eight hours before I could. But things have changed, as all things do, fortunately for the better.
There are a lot of skaters who
never quit vert. They were just
having fun, and didn't really
care if some bullshit magazine
or video had vert in it.
About a year ago, Tom Boyle and Tony Hawk were labeled as
"washed up" in a certain skateboard magazine. Well, both these guys are getting the last
laugh. Since then, Tom Boyle has won two pro contests and a couple of thousand dollars.
Now, all these companies are asking him to skate for them. He's not any cooler today than
he was yesterday or last year, it's just that Tom Boyle is fucking amazing! As for Tony
Hawk, he doesn't skate contests anymore because it's no contest-everyone knows
who the best is. I guess he must not need the money because if he did, he could
have easily won the last ten contests and pocketed a cool ten G.
42 THAN
Backside roll-ins have always been rough, but to do them switchstance (above) was downright
unthinkable, that is, until Bob came along. To do the backside noseblunt revert on vert, it is
either commit (right), or die. Bob (for right) explores the limits with a very contorted air to fakie.