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Books 2010 #14 Disposable: A History of Skateboard Art

rob — Sun, 28 Nov 2010 15:07:11 +0000

Quick, go look through my old school Boston skateboarding flickr set.

Then, ask yourself how much I enjoyed Disposable: A History of Skateboard Art.

You answered: "A lot?"

Yes.

It made me want to go back in time and design skateboard graphics for a living in the late 1980s, early 1990s.

It also reminded me of Steve Rocco. If you were around skateboarding then, it will do the same for you. You'll know in advance whether or not it will be a good association…

I seriously geeked out over this book. Boards I'd ridden, boards I'd lusted after and boards I'd forgotten flowed for page after page, accompanied by personal recollections and anecdotes by the skaters and artists themselves. Just an incredible document of a fascinating, creative movement.

Here are some of those decks/skaters/artists culled from flickr

Hand Painted Griptape by: MARK GONZALES

Handpainted Deck by Neil Blender

Powell & Peralta- Mike Vallely Elephant

Rocco

Graphic Violence Skate Zine- The Full 1st Issue Scanned For Your Enjoyment

rob — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 16:55:30 +0000

I dug out the original and scanned everything. For those of you from my era, in Boston, you'll bug out at everything.

Personally, I spent a lot of time remembering Sean.

For the rest of you, check out a YOUNG Rob Gangemi.

Here's the whole issue in one big monster post:

Thanks To The Power of the Internet I Can Share Five Mark Gonzales Skate Videos

rob — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 00:19:14 +0000

From the "because I can" department here are five videos featuring the legendary skater Mark Gonzales. This guy was the shit when I was 14. He's still the shit now.

Kicked Out of Everywhere

Krooked Kronichles

Video Days

Non Fiction

Coconut Records "West Coast"

A Random, Incredible, Skate Video

rob — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 02:41:31 +0000

That is all.

via skate and annoy

Every Deck I Skated Between 12/85 and 7/88

rob — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 06:08:05 +0000

I actually put together a hand written list (20+ years ago) of all the decks I'd skated until that point. Now I'm sharing it with you.

Thanks to some fine folks over at flickr, I've also got some visual reference:

Here's the list:

12/85 Santa Cruz Special Edition
4/86 Alva Dagger
4/86 Vision Hippy Stick
7/86 Skull Skates Hosoi Hammerhead
8/86 Santa Cruz Roskopp 3
10/86 Vision Gator
11/86 Powell Steve Caballero
12/86 SMA Natas Kaupas
2/86 Santa Cruz Roskopp 6
3/87 Santa Cruz Claus Grabke
6/87 Santa Cruz Roskopp 6
6/87 Santa Cruz Roskopp 6
7/87 Blockhead Sam Cunningham
7/87 Schmitt Stix Monty Nolder
9/87 Powell Tony Hawk
10/87 SMA Natas Kaupas
12/87 SMA Natas Kaupas
1/88 SMA Natas Kaupas
2/88 Powell Tony Hawk
3/88 Vision Mark Gonzales
5/88 Santa Cruz Jeff Kendall
6/88 Powell Tony Hawk
7/88 Powell Tony Hawk

Looking back on the list, I have the fondest memories of the Tony Hawk "Chicken Skull," and the later Natas deck.

The Tony Hawk deck, by the way, would frighten kids today. It was a beast the size of a Buick and I loved it. 32 inches long, I think? 11 inches wide? Something like that. I'm sure Google could tell me the exact dimensions, but guessing is more fun.

Missing from this list is a later deck that I absolutely loved, the Dogtown Eric Dressen from 1988-89. I rode about six of those. My favorite deck of all time.

Apparently, they go for good money these days…

If anyone wants to pick on up for me, my birthday is coming up soon. That's a perfect excuse!