ASHINGI
PEARL JAM YIELD
BEST
BUY
Now that's a great idea!
EPIC
Produced by Brendan O'Brien and Pearl Jam
"Epic Reg. U.S. Pat. & Tm. Off. Marca Registrada./
1997 Sony Music Entertainment Inc.
MAIL DROP /
THRASHER
Bring all rings, things, and
snowboard dings to Mail Drop
c/o THRASHER magazine,
PO BOX 884570,
SF, CA, 94188-4570
BAD BOLT
It's hard to believe that the last 7
years have gone by so quickly. Time flies
when rough pavement is catching the
eye. It seems like yesterday I was just
learning how to ollie, then skating at
Burnside with Red, Roger Sellener and
Josh Falk, then having my first session
in SF with Chris Senn. Sponsors came
into the picture soon after, then I was on
my way to the trade show,
New brakes on the truck, money in the
wallet, a few spare boards in the trunk,
and off we went. There's nothing like a
road trip with the bros. But we never
made it to the trade show. A tire came off
the truck as we were travelling down the
highway and caused a horrible accident.
Apparently, the mechanic forgot to tighten
the lugnuts on the left rear tire after
installing the brakes. My bronco rolled
3-and-a-half times before we finally
stopped, near death. For the first time in
7 years, time suddenly came to a halt.
Mr Cronan, how could you write an
article on Connecticut without mentioning
these rippers? Do the names Mearkle,
Gaucho or Big Tim ring a bell? How
about Sloppy Sam, Batogowski or Smiley
John Deer? Known for snaking and
brewski drinking, they give new meaning
to the word "rampage." Fearless leader,
Chris Mearkle throws down big Texas
plants, optical illusions and a full bag of
ridiculous tricks. Mike Gaucho lets his
skating do the talking with airs and ollies.
to tail, high-speed rock 'n' roll slides and
nice lapped-over backside Smiths. Bring
on Big Tim Klemonsky, a bull of a man.
Tim goes at it with big frontside airs, bone-
less ones and, if you're lucky, a high-speed
nude attack for your viewing pleasure.
Then there's the snake machine, Iron
Man Mike Batogowski. The favorite
skater of both Craig Johnson and myself,
Mike drops in faster than anyone. His
specialty is an insane disaster-in (a man-
in) that breaks both coping and boards.
Iron Man grinds, backside airs to smash,
frontside slingshots to fakie, and fakie
Iron Man nosegrabs. The Street Walker
or Smiley is the name given to John.
Kasner. An expert on all terrains, Smiley
will amaze you with all the tricks you've
always wanted to learn: front and back.
rocks, crazy tailslides and pull airs to long
grinds to pull airs out. And finally,
there's Sloppy Sam Madison, a man
known worldwide for adaptability. Big
ramp, small bowl, grippy surface or beer
slick, Sloppy Sam is the man. Double
high-speed grinds, airs and the patented
"slollies" will make your jaw slack, as well
I suffered 2 broken vertebras, one broken
bone in my neck and a broken finger.
Needless to say, I lost my privilege to
skate. Now I find myself stuck in Okla-
homa without the ability to grind, the bal-
ance to carve, or the momentum to do a
downhill. The sponsors, I assume,
dropped me. I haven't heard from them
since the accident. Which brings me to the
point I want to make. Skateboarding isn't
about free product, photos in mags, or
who's better than who. It's about the love
that we as skaters feel and share with each
other as we paint beautiful pictures in time
while rolling into tomorrow.
Ronnie Hodges
Oklahoma City, OK
Skating is better in your mind, anyway. T-ed
HERE SAY
I don't care about who likes punk or rap
or whatever. The first few letters were
enough, that got the message across, you
don't have to write 53 letters on what
punk is or isn't. Thrasher isn't even a punk
mag, it's a skate mag. They do articles on
punk and rap, but above all, they do them
on skateboarding. So shut the fuck up
and stop taking up space in Mail Drop so
that people who really have something to
say can get their letters in.
Ryan
Island Park, NY
But, what are you saying? T-ed
CONN AIR
I am writing to inform you that you
have been screwed! You have been
cheated and lied to, and now is the time
to set the record straight.
What I am referring to is the article
on Connecticut skaters, written and
photographed by Sean Cronan. What Mr.
Cronan failed to tell and show was a
group of animalistic skaters that demolish
all skate terrain. Known as the Connecti-
cut Hardcores, Trash Crew or even East,
this group of manhandlers will crush,
destroy, and dismember anything or any-
one in their path.
Ch1-700A
11- Jo+ 23/05
58
BPO AE
09227
Thrasher
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P.O.Box 884570
San Francisco, CA
94188-4570
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98