Epicly Later'd - Penal Code 100A

Part 6 of Carroll's Epicly Later'd. Meza talks about making the classic 2nd video from FTC, imo one of the best videos of all time. Carroll talks about asking Huf and Keenan to quit Fun to ride for Girl. Amazing...

Make sure you also watch Part 7, where Carroll pressure flips over a picnic table LOL

Schmitt Stix Bryce Kanights

These two Bryce Kanights Schmitt Stix gargoyle boards are really memorable to me primarily because a lot of the older skaters that I looked up to around town were riding them. I never had one myself (never really liked pointy noses) but I'll always remember dudes flying off jump ramps rocking the gargoyle. Graphics from Disposable and Wheel Bite. Kevin Ancell was the artist.

I've been having a really hard time finding an actual copy of Disposable at any of the local book stores. I ended up borrowing a copy from a friend of mine last week and I gotta say, it's super awesome! Not only do you get to see lots of graphics from the artists but you also get their stories. Hope everyone has a great holiday and New Years!

Powell Peralta Tommy Guerrero

I learned to speak Spanish this past year and I can't believe how badly I butchered the pronunciation of Guerrero for the past two decades. Gotta roll those double r's! Classic TG flaming dagger graphic. This board was really popular when I first started skating... as a matter of fact, all Bones Brigade boards were popular. Never owned any of them. I did have a Powell Bug at one point that I got on sale and it chipped into a million pieces in way too short of a period of time. I also had Frankie Hill's first pro model with the bulldog, which I totally ended up hating. That was the last Powell board I ever owned. Two Powell boards in 20 years of skating! Graphic pillaged from Disposable. VCJ was the artist.

Emerica Warranty: Thumbs Up

So last week, I wrote about the really bad Emerica Hsu experience I had. In the end, everything worked out. Timebomb coordinated with The Boardroom to get me a store credit to replace the defective shoes. I ended up grabbing a pair of Supra Vulk Low's in Black/Gum, which IMO is one of the best colorways for any shoe style.


They look and feel, at least to me, to be one of the beefier vulkanized shoes available, which is fine by me. Neither the distributor nor the shop wanted the defective Hsu's so now I have two pairs of shoes. I'm going to try and Doctor Frankenstein the Hsu's with Shoe Goo to the point that they don't look like crap but will be skateable. A big thanks to Timebomb and The Boardroom.

Etnies brings back a Classic

This news comes from Rob Brink via YouWillSoon. I first saw Nike GTS's in the spring of 1994 at the first Slam City Jam contest.

This was a huge year in the changing of the guard for skateboard shoe companies. Airwalk was pretty much falling off, Duffs was just getting established, Etnies was already a few years into their North American invasion and DC didn't exist yet. During the vert contest, Danny Way was wearing tan/white Etnies Raps (even though he was sponsored by Airwalk at the time) and Sal Barbier, who was MCing, joked about "loaning" them to him because all of his Airwalks were stolen.

Back to the GTS's... all the Vancouver locals were skating them in navy with white vulc and gum sole, no visible swoosh, just a standard sized navy stitched swoosh camouflaged on the side. I was told they were only available at the Metrotown Nike store so I went out there only to find they were sold out in my size. I ended up getting a pair at some random shop over the summer. I'm not even sure what the original target sport was for these shoes. Regardless, they were great for skating, simple, easy on the eyes and the feet. The problem for me was they were never easy to find.

Fourteen years later, Etnies has released their own version of this shoe, called the ETNS. I'll definitely be getting a pair.

101 Gabriel Rodriguez Drill Kill

I rode Gabriel Rodriguez boards for the majority of the summer of 1992. I rode at least 3 or 4 drill kills and when the shop ran out of those, I started riding Gabe's The Penalizer slicks that had the same shape. Neither of those graphics were particularly appealing but the shape was on point! Art by Sean Cliver.

Triple Bogey = snowman on a par 5

I gotta give a huge thanks to the peeps at Triple Bogey for hooking me up with some gear. Everything about the shirts is on point: screens, material, stitching and construction. Get out there and find your balls.

Emerica Hsu: Thumbs Down

Back in July, I ended up buying a pair of Emerica Hsu's. They're obviously Half Cab inspired. Regardless, they're a great looking shoe. I was only walking around in them for a month, walking on asphalt and concrete no less than an hour a day, never skated them, and they got worn down a lot faster than any other shoe I've ever owned. fwiw, I'm not a heel dragger. I'm actually a little obsessed (thanks to my physiotherapist) with posture, arch supports and proper walking technique. Then one day some time in August, the heel started peeling off. At this point, I was really pissed. I paid good money for these shoes!

Several weeks later, I had read on the Slap forum that this sole peeling phenomenon is a manufacturers defect. I ended up contacting Timebomb, the Canadian distributor. They said it was indeed a manufacturers defect and they were going to coordinate with a local shop to see what they could do for a replacement. Still waiting to see what happens.

Blind Ronnie Bertino

I had this Ronnie Bertino Mr. Butts board in the spring of 1992. The board actually came with a cigarette in a bearing tube. The shop manager at the store that hooked me up smoked it and said it was stale. Rudy Johnson also had a board in the same series but it was Mr. J. It didn't come with a joint though. Graphic borrowed from Disposable. Sean Cliver was the artist.