VANCOUVER
SKATE
MONUMENTS
North Vancouver:
Part of the Red Dragons' pursuit
of world domination was to open a
shop, which now serves as home
base. While in Vancouver it's an
absolute must to visit the shop, buy an official
Red Dragons T-shirt and make up some crazy
story about how you were initiated into the
famed skate gang.
White Rock:
Home of the "Raging Infernos";
members include Jon West, Josh.
Beagle (honorary member), and
Gary. These guys will learn stuff on
their skatepark rails and then go on stealth mis-
sions downtown to do them on real rails. If you
plan on going out to visit them you might want
to leave your track pants at the gym..
Hot Shop:
Home of PD, the owner of Skull
Skates. This isn't really a plug for
the shop or the skate company,
because after about two decades, it
doesn't really need one. PD puts on all sorts of
events, such as the cemetery longboard cruise,
and he can direct you to all the skateparks.
UBC:
The best underground spot in
Vancouver. Should you decide to
come skate here, don't be an idiot.
No littering, no tagging, and if you
have a truck, bring something to skate. The inter-
national hostel is sort of near here too, which
beats the needle-infested hotels downtown.
Downtown:
The gathering place for skateboarding downtown is at Eaton's, which
is a popular department store located on the busiest corner in
Vancouver. Coincidentally, it also has a pristine set of ledges out front;
this leads to all sorts of confrontations between skaters and police or
umbrella-wielding businessmen. If you come all the way to Vancouver to get
yelled at, make sure to skate between the hours of noon and 6 PM; if you come to
actually skateboard, later in the evening is your best bet.
r.i.p
Richmond Skate Ranch: R.I.P.
This is a part of Vancouver skate
history now. Great while it lasted,
but we haven't had a decent vert
ramp in over five years. If you are a
vert skater living in Vancouver, you'll need a lot of
air miles.
Tswwassen:
The "reservoir" is one of the few natural street spots where it is
guaranteed you will receive no skate harassment. You will, however,
be subjected to some of the worst graffiti ever. However, the forest
beside it and the endless waxed ledges make it all worthwhile.
*You will note there are no skateparks listed here; we could not find enough room i
this article and map to put them all in. You'll have to come out here to see for yourse
84 THRASHER
Clockwise from far left: Gary Robinson launches into a
noseblunt slide on the Poco rails. Back for more, Machnau
frontside boardslides a North Van double-kink. Missing the
premiere of Being John Malkovich, the other Spike Jones
snaps a fat gap. Moses Itkonen parts the waters at White Rock
for a switch backside tailslide to fakie.