64 THRASHER
500
DAVE COYNE
Words and photos by
Michael Burnett
BOUT TWO YEARS AGO, DAVE COYNE "Well, Dave," I began, "getting sponsored seems to
called me to ask for advice. His dreams of be almost as much about luck and who you know as it
sponsorship were slow in coming and he is about skill. You can have just as much fun skating
was getting sick of riding Chad Knight's without worrying about all that stuff. Maybe you could
hand-me-down boards, and wasting his time, mum- go back to college."
bling unhappily through the eight-hour shifts of his
telemarketing job. While I don't remember the exact
question, the gist of his inquiry was, "Do you think
I've got what it takes?"
Suspicious that he was choosing a roundabout way
of asking me if we could shoot photos (a tactic used on
me by more than a few of the unsponsored), I was also
surprised that he thought I would have an answer.
I'm no Stacy Peralta. I tried my best. I told him what
I really thought.
It's not that I didn't think Dave was good. He was
really good. But, shit, there are a lot of people who
are really good.
Now, two years, a list of sponsors, and a pro board
later, it's obvious Dave did the right thing by ignoring
me. I'm glad, because Dave Coyne is a nut. He's fun.
He does his own thing. He sits on a pillow to see over
the steering wheel. He always skates. He's hell on
wheels. I'm so happy Dave Coyne didn't listen to me.
Dave rules.
ADAM'S APPLE
FUNNY
BONF
BROKEN
HEART
BUTTERFLIES
IN STOMACH
BREAD BASKET
ANKLEBONE
CONNECTED
TO THE
KNEE BONE
WATER ON
THE KNEE
WRENCHED
ANKLE
WRITER'S
CRAMP
A sound switch noseslide on the horrifically
kinked LBC Hubba Hideout.
65