Above: On the other wall at Andy's, he goes 50/50
then grabs on and jumps. He missed his head by a
micrometer. Right: When the Cancer and the Ox go
head-to-head, look out. Frontside roll out to
kamikaze drop into the kink. Far right: The Volcano
at Palo Alto gets scorched with a blistering stale
lipslide. Sequence: The man knows no fear as this
bean to D at Greer Park clearly shows.
78
Even video can't tell the whole
story. Pete's skating affects
the air you breathe. You know
how boxers are trained to exhale
with force and focus when
delivering a punch? Ox does it
as a matter of course, fists
clenched, punctuating the
moments of personal gnarliness
he experiences in the midst of
his line, often as he brings a
trick home. And that's the
bottom line: The Ox does not
bail. He will try to make
anything. If you're just cooling
at your favorite spot and you
witness it being steadily and
incomprehensibly dismantled by a
crazed mongo-foot with clenched
fists, relax and enjoy the show.
You're in for a treat.
"When he told me his favorite
skaters were Red and Munk, I
knew we were in for a
horror show."
- Phelps