Santa Fe
STORY & PHOTOS BY BRIAN BRANNON
THE CITY OF SANTA FE, NEW MEXICO,
is known more for its boundless stockpiles of
Indian art and turquoise jewelry than skate-
boarding, but the crew that resides in this
high desert oasis is as hearty as any you'll find
anywhere in the galaxy. Meet the players:
Jesse Hotchkiss is a raw dog who has been
skating for eight or nine years and is renown
throughout the 505 area code for his willing-
ness to go big whenever and wherever.
A New York transplant named Pablo (aka
Squirrel) has ridden for a long ess time and is
considered by all who've rolled with him to
be bad to the bone.
Aaron Banks is a loc of the old school
who gets much respect.
Jeff (aka Mad Dog) is currently in the
detention pen for his second offense of urban
beautification through the spray nozzle.
Meanwhile, Native American art is plagarized
left and right with little compensation by the
white man. The gang wishes Mad Dog all the
luck while he's stuck in the D-Hole.
66 THRASHER
Pete Gardini (opposite topl
backside nollie at Batoon. Poblo
the flying squirrel (above), fakie
ollie. George Christiansen (right),
frontside 5-0. Eric Lopez (below)
180 kickflip. A few of the crew
kickin' back (opposite bottom,
from left to right): George, Pate,
Eric and Kevin Valdez.
Carlos Caldwell (aka The
Human Wheelchair) got his
nickname because he broke
his leg a while ago and is now
making his comeback.
Chris Botkin goes by the name of
"Pinky" because he lost a digit trying to
caveman a handrail in his garage.
When it comes to manuals, the man
named Monster is overlord.
George Christiansen moved out from
the Baltimore area and is down for life.
Big Jesse and Pabs are two cool older
hombres who own the local mini..
Adrian Levin hasn't skated that much
lately but is still a certified mental case.
Then there's all the younger kids, Lil'
Mike, Lil' Chris, Charlie, Eric and Kevin,
who are keeping the torch burning.
Besides the skate scene, there are
always a bunch of vatos and hippies who
hang in the town square and throw keg.
parties at night up on the mountain.
Santa Fe hot spots include the Mon-
toya Building and Bataan Memorial,
where the heads all chill until they get
kicked out, only to come back later and
make peace with the security guards.
When it's raining, there's The Under-
ground, an indoor parking garage
with lots of curb space.
The Santa Fe crew stays tight with their
fellow New Mexican skaters in the towns of
Albuquerque (Ray, Mike, Tommy, Poo,
Dan and Angry Abe-the fastest of them
all), and Las Cruces (Chris and Jeff). So if
you're ever in the land of enchantment and
want to know what's up in Santa Fe, just
ask local man about town Pete Gardini.
"It's all about 505," he says, "the sickest
crew in New Mexico.*