Bill
Danforth Sighting
While Pat and I were at a local tattoo
shop that had a nice pool with an 8' deep
end somewhere in Maryland, we heard
that the one and only Bill Danforth was in
the area. We decided it was necessary to
find him. We went to Landsdowne
skatepark and skated for about an hour or
so with no Bill Danforth to be seen. We
headed back to the tattoo shop and there
he was, skating the pool. He even had an
old cut off Thrasher shirt on. Met and shot
some photos of Danforth; I was stoked.
Gambling is Addictive?
Went to Atlantic City in New Jersey
and did some gambling. Bad. I only
had $40 on me, so I thought I would
just "play around with it." Next thing I
knew, I lost it and was mad at myself
for throwing my money away. I told
myself, "I got to get my money back."
In an hour I was down $120 (my food
and gas money for the trip). I had to
win it back. Two hours later I got my
money back, and was up $250. At 5:30
AM, I walked away with $100. It was
such a rush to lose and win money.
Gambling rules.
The Clones
Went to Shred For Life on the last
weekend of the trip. It was crazy.
Just picture a 100,000 square foot
expo center with a few small ramps
scattered here and there. Plenty of
space between each obstacle, with
too many kids occupying that
space. I saw Sean Sheffey, Mike
Maldonado, and Danny Gonzalez
lookalikes. Or were they clones? The
clones dressed and looked like
"their favorite skater" and tried to
do some of their signature moves
without much luck.
Rock Stars
Rocket From The Crypt, who
were touring with Foo Fighters,
are now rock stars. They have
their fancy (and matching) outfits
and own pet tigers. They still
rocked out for their adoring fans.
Dead Moon opened up for them
and they played hard. Never
heard of them before and I was
blown away. After the show Pat
and I got asked by the lead
singer if that was the best show
we ever saw. I had no comment.
What a fucked up question.
"Yeah, dude, you guys rock!"
Rise and Shine
On my first day in
Philadelphia, I woke up at
7:30 AM after five hours of
sleep to go shoot photos
of Jim Menscer. Jim filmed
and shot some photos in
the AM and was beat and
done by noon. Jim rules.
I'm glad I went on this
shoot, because it would be
the only photo I would get
to shoot in Philly.
84 THRASHER
Sequence: Jake Rupp demonstrates the vital
role that hangtime plays in the elusive
backside wallride nollie 360 shove-it.
Far right: Bill Danforth, the king of
rock 'n' roll, frontside.
I would like to say thanks to all the
people I shot photos with. Thanks to
the 1919 crew in Philadelphia for letting
us crash, the Smith family for their
warmth and hospitality, Jake Rupp for
being Jake, Chris, PIT CREW, everyone
at More Skatepark, West Side Tattoos,
Luke and Jake for their support, and
Patrick Smith for making my trip and
article possible. Peace. -Brian Uyeda
85