76 THRASHER
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Clockwise from above:
Dave and Kanten with their
cootie-protectors. The Flip
team joined us for a couple
of demos and wrecked shop.
Geoff Rowley forgets to grab
a backside heelflip on a
seven-foot spine. Street Rune
takes a break from the raw
roads to blast a tailgrab
transfer in a Japanese mall.
チャチイトス
千七
Thrasher Photographer. Maybe I should just get a T-
shirt made.
Fashion is very important in Japan, and there
were some wild get-ups going on in the train sta-
tions and shopping malls that we often found our-
selves in. For the young men, it was common to see
leather pants and Rod Stewart hair cuts. Perms and
dye jobs seemed very popular for all. The ladies
were really a treat, as their looks involved an eclec-
tic combination of Euro-trash, Britney Spears jail-
bait, Mariah Carey, and a good dose of Huntington
Beach slut.
Huge platform knee-high boots with short, short
skirts, neon-pink boob tubes, and Diana Ross home
perms were common, as were corn rows, weaves,
and platinum tresses. Among the truly fashion-
tossed were girls with extremely tanned faces and
large rings of white makeup around the eyes,
creating an amazing non-human appearance that
resembled solarized and cross-processed Marilyn
Mansons. I really wanted to take their pictures,
but, honestly, I was scared to.
The skaters seem to have looked towards MTV and
some old New Deal videos circa '93 for their look,
which was XXL, camoed, and undeniably Smolik.
Even grown-ups had the fashion bug, and I was
tickled to see dumpy-looking men in their 50s
parading around in sweatshirts and windbreakers
that had "Prada" screened across them.
Skaters in Japan get kicked out of street spots
just like skaters everywhere else. However, in Japan
there is a nationally recognized signal for "no, it is
forbidden," which is the quick crossing of the arms
in an X formation. It's like a northbound version of
professional wrestling's popular "suck it" gesture.
People would give it to us everywhere, not just
security guards, but people walking down the street
too. Another gesture I learned is one equivalent to
the American bird. You stick your tongue out while
pulling down on the lower eyelid with your forefin-
ger. Try it, it's fun.
The tour was a lot like most demo tours-lots of
vans, trains, bank ramps, flat bars, and autographs.
When on tour, the non-skating/non-traveling time
is generally divided into three areas: eating, wishing
you were eating, or standing around wondering
what you're doing just standing around.
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