Straight X-Files
Three palattes make
Stu Jacobs' ladder.
while your joints deteriorate and your bones stiffen.
You can't live without the feel of that breeze in your
face any longer. You need a hill, a ledge, a quarterpipe;
hell, you'd sell your soul for a half-hour session on a
waxed curb. Now is the time. You can only play video
games for so many hours until you turn into a zombie.
The days of inactivity are taking their toll. Now is the
time! You rack your brain for the possibility of an
enclosed space with a skateable surface. A basement,
warehouse, subway, construction site; whatever it may
be. Sneak in, break in, or pay off a security guard. Seize
it. Get ahold of what you can. Throw it together with
nails and plywood. Build it. Skate it. Love it. Destroy
everything. Turn your surroundings into your own
skatepark, your own park where no one's gonna make
you put your helmet on or say, "Time's up, session's
over." Your adrenaline is racing, as your makeshift
obstacles may collapse underneath you at any moment.
Ahh, that feeling of fatigue reemerges after laying in
hibernation for so many months. You've forgotten how
good it feels to be dead tired, muscles pulsating, and
out of breath. But you can't stop. The thrill is back and
you're in love once again. You are in charge. There's no
one to tell you "Hey, you can't skate on that!" Desks
become ledges, benches are fair game... tables, chairs,
toilets; whatever you see, it's yours. Take it and love it.
Build it and skate it any way you can.
Winter has awakened you to your long lost love. You
are now sensitive to the reality and awareness that only
the cold can provide. Find out what makes it for you.
Fall in love with skateboarding all over again. Your new
motto: Skate everything. Now is the time.
-Patrick Melcher
72 THRASHER
Erin go Brah, the Melch gets refreshed
with this burnin' up back lip.