hip ramp that he'd built at his last location. Second, Brewce is
researching to apply for a National Endowment for the Arts (NEA)
grant so he can put a skateboard museum together (he already has
thousands of boards from the '60s, '70s and '80s) In addition to a sep.
arate building and parking lot, he also wants to construct a '70s-style
snakerun covering his property where people can come and try out
some of his vintage boards.
Other plans include an indoor park, an outdoor amphitheater and a
new house for him and Brandon. After seeing the bowl, I don't doubt
he could accomplish all of it.
All around the barn were remnants of the campsites of the sum
mertime visitors. Brewce said as many as 1,000 people came to his
farm this summer, with about 15 staying from June to August.
The rule of Skatopia is that you have to work if you want to skate
Our "work" amounted to standing around in the mud laughing while
Brewce set up a collapsed army tent. While pounding in the stakes, he
started rambling on about his bowl.
"Chicken's! Hah! My bowl's five feet deeper!"
"Basic Bowl! Three feet bigger!"
Hubba Hideout! Nine feet bigger! Nine feet!"
some of the highlights include a Dilard's department store with 8-foot trans-
tion walls, a street spot behind a shopping center with a bank-to-wall, rails,
bumps and hips all in one area, and a wall gap to bank transfer that Scott
went bonkers trying to conquer. We also got treated to a free punk show at the
Dick Street house in Greensboro, which featured a ramp out back as well
To tell you the truth, after three weeks on the road, all I could think of was
getting home-which I did, on an airplane, followed by Jason a week later. Scott
refused to end the trip and continued to travel the next two months by him-
self-which is the perfect amount of people to fit in a 1988 Ford Festiva.
Now, I don't want anyone to think that living in Middle America is some kind
of death sentence or anything. From the photos you should be able to see that
fun can be had anywhere you can find something to roll your wheels on or
someone to joke around with. It takes commitment to stick to your turf and
make it as great as you can. All the people we met can attest to the fact that
you don't need to move somewhere supposedly cooler to improve your life
On the other side of the coin, Middle America kind of dictates a pretty hum
drum birth-school-marriage-work-death lifestyle that many skateboarders
aren't satisfied with. The weather can be bad, the people close-minded, and
the roads rough especially when it's just you and your one friend skating, while
hicks hurl beer cans from passing trucks at you. Lots of pro skaters like Steve
"The flying Lopez brothers came here, and they wouldn't Berra. Jamie Thomas. Danny Mayer, Sean Young, Jeff Kendall, Sal Barbier,
even drop in!"
"Let's see a frontside blunt in this bowl, Andy MacDonald!"
It really was entertaining. He also let us in on a pact he made with
his friend Science Fair.
"We said that if either one of us won the Warped Tour, we were
going to drive straight to San Francisco and take a sledgehammer to
Hubba Hideout! Just smash it to se
Obviously the near-death of vert in 1993 has left some psycholog
cal scars on Brewce.
Over lunch he let us in on another of his ideas: The Steadham
Conspiracy Theory. Paraphrased, it goes like this: Steve Steadham-the
80s vert skater who skated for Powel before starting his own empire
at Sure Grip, the skater who wore make-up at demos, the pioneer
who took the backside boneless to new heights and was affection
ately referred to as "Stageo" by his fellow pros, the guy who all but
disappeared from the scene around 1991, the original dreadlocked
schraper. Steve Steacham alone-controls the skateboard industry.
Hard to believe, but Brewce claims to have researched the copy-
rights of the major companies in Washington DC and found that they
are all in Steacham's name
"If you look at World Industries' copyright, you'll see Steadham's
name right above Rocco's," Brewce explained to us. "Same with
Powell. It's right above George's."
Furthermore. Brewce claims Steadham ushered in every trend in
the 1990s.
"Chain wallets? That wasn't Hensley, it was Stadham. You've got
to have your wallet on a chain when you're hustling at the bus station"
The decline of Hosol, fat pants, small wheels-all due to Steacham
according to Brewce.
Some more sightseeing, another frigid session, and we bid
farewell to Brewce. I'll say it right now, Brewce Martin is the most die-
hard vert skater on the planet. He's definitely defying the drag of
Middle America, and his Skatopia is something that everyone should
cake a chance and visit
The next few days were spent in various towns of North
Carolina, as dictated by local-boy-done-good Scott Bourne. I had a
hard time remembering which town we were in at any given time, but
Duane Pitre, Rob Dyrdek, Greg Hunt, and countless others have escaped
Middle America's mundane grasp and thrived so can you.
Thanks to everyone we met and skated with, especially Unah, Lore, Gieb,
Khampi, Michael. Tuan, Phil, Ultimate Phil Nate, Dan, Indy kids, Brewce and
Scott's Carolina buddies. Middle America, represent
KR
Sequence: While Blender chain smokes
somewhere in Ohio, Scott Bourne
takes his nose stall to the alien terrain
of the Chicago sea wall. Left: Screaming
Lord Phares plows frontside across the
boundaries of popular skateboarding.