Once more from the collection of John Drummond, I give you Convert zine #7 from Indianapolis, Indiana. Strangely, for a zine based out of Indiana, most of their coverage was from other states. Although this is the “street issue,” it features mostly ramp skating, aside from a page of Chuck Treece from McRad on a bank, and a ditch contest. The same contest features “Kendall’s mom” who brings everyone White Castle sliders. This issue came out in 83 or 84, so I don’t know if Jeff Kendall was still a local or not. There’s an interview with Paul “Gramps” Hugasian or Heugeson, they spell it two different ways. An interesting note, “Gramps” was only 23 years old, something that would not raise an eyebrow now. The accompanying photos document the highest ever air witnessed on an Uncle Wiggly argyle deck, one that we in the Skate and Annoy circles used to fondly call “The Lead Sled.” Convert #7 is one of those full, letter size zines where the pages are stacked up and stapled on the side with no folding. This was the easiest way to go, and although I scoffed at the unprofessionalism of this style zine, I always secretly admired those who went for the large format without all the headaches of tabloid size printing and layout. Convert #7 has multiple colored pages too. In a move to cover more aspects of skating besided vert, this would be the last issue titled as ConVERT. Social Contortion was to be the title of the next issue, although I can’t say if it ever came out. These guys were close enough to Skate and Annoy headquarters in central Illinois, but our first issue didn’t come out until ’86, and I had never heard of this zine until I got it from John this year.
Featuring: Milwaukee Extravaganza, Marty and Bob Beaudoin, Paul Heugeson- who might be the same person as Paul “Gramps” Hugaisan, Oz, Chuck Treece, Sean West, Sean Long, Jim Charters, Mike Orfait, Andy Egger, Shawn from Arizona, Dump Contest, Corn Head, Kendall (Jeff?) and his mom. Hoop, Rob Roskopp.
Spots: The Turf, Vatolands BC, The Ditch in Carmel, Oak Ridge Ramp
Check out Convert #7
UPDATE: Comments closed here, but you can comment directly in this gallery now.
33 comments
Bob
i love this site.H
sloberts
I love the comments about swest. He could hang ten and kick it around at the end and do 3 360’s. Classic. Unfortunately we are all to dumb to see that as a totally original and cool thing because we are trying to learn the ollie.
Artists really never entered my life that I knew of until I was in another industry and then I realized, swest was an artist in the skateboarding industry.
Wish I knew.
dr
Kilwag
More Sean West memories here
Todd Morrow
I just heard that Shawn West, pictured in this ‘zine, passed away. R.I.P. SWest.
Kendall was the man. I skated the “Love Ramp” in ’85 and he completely blew me away. I’ve never kicked the skateboard bug since. Jade Corn, Egger, Slob, Bobby Hayes, Eric Lee, and Pribble were rippers too. I hope they all still skate (RIP Bob Hayes).
I have a Skate Hell to send ya’.
houseofneil
yes, I hear they’re still mad and are planning revenge. Also Fatz wants his $50 back. Plus interest.
PRBL
I remember driving to that demo in the front seat of the skateboard superstar’s 1932 Chevy Chevette with three of the superstar’s boys in the back seat and then driving home the two plus hours in the middle slot of the backseat with my leg and blown out ankle fully extended on the console between the driver and shotgun area…superstar probably bought us all McDonalds or White Castle with the $50 he made at that demo…I rattled his cage about this thread and am pretty sure he’ll post something apologetic about not living up to your groms’ expectations that day…
Kilwag
How does Mofo know I have his shirt?
No on the blue Cab. I a have a bunch of old trucks and wheels. I have some never ridden thunders, minus one baseplate. A bunch of assorted rails and risers. I threw out all my old decks when I moved back to Chicago in 89, got tired of hauling around boxes of wood. Wish I’d saved a few. I still have a few decks from the 90’s nothing interesting. Oh wait, I’ve got a used Schmitt Stix chain saw that I got from Martin “I own this ramp” Pelliquin and A Mike Smith long board that has been spry painted and screen printed over.
DetroitSteamer
Hey, Kilwag… I’ve been driving all over Portland this weekend looking for for your gimp ass. Went by Burnside, you weren’t there. What’s a guy gotta do to meet up w/you? Blah, blah, blah, Chris Cook, Alva, Blah…
houseofneil
the Thunder Lord t-shirt? Mofo did that artwork and i believe wants that shirt.
I have nothing from back then apart from trucks and wheels and one deck. I have no memory at all of what I did with all my old beat up decks etc. At one point I had a sweet blue Cab full dragon. I rode it once, but then have no memory of what I did with it. Did I trade it with you?
Kilwag
Yeah, I have one mint, never worn. It’s sleeveless, and gross..
I have a n old Thunder shirt that has a crappy logo, a threadbare skateboarding skeleton Powell shirt, and a threadbare Santa Cruz logo shirt. That’s it. I lost a bunch of stuff when I had the ramp in my backyard, kids would sneakin my room since it was on the fire escape (and we never locked the house) and steal shit.
houseofneil
I’m like an elephant, I never forget!
I’d kill for one of those Fatzjam t-shirts. You don’t still have one do you? Do you still have any of your old skate gear?
Kilwag
Come on Neil, I thought that was water under the bridge! It makes sense now, if Pribble rolled his ankle. Maybe that’s why the split in such a hurry. Besides, they didn’t miss anything besides me choking.
MAn, we did hate Kendall for like the next four years after that.
It only takes 22 years to get the full story. Now I can go to my death bed with no regrets.
Prisoner trade is the wrong term. I think I meant we could arrange mutual extraditions.
houseofneil
hold up, you were at Fatzjam in Champaign in 86? When Kendall was such a “superstar” that he couldn’t talk to the kids or hang with anybody, and cut out right after he got paid? He made the Skate and Annoy Hate page in every subsequent issue I believe.
And I guess I’d rather be a ballhanger than a ballsniffer.
PRBL
don’t remember exactly, but wanna say Champagne Urbana area …prisoner trade is on, but gimme details to run this one down
Kilwag
HA! What town?
Somewhere in central Indiana there’s a ballhanger who put a hole through a launch ramp in the warmup of a street contest. When I took my last warmup run My wheel stuck in the ramp and pitched me over onto my shoulder, separating it. We can do a prisoner trade.
PRBL
love this site, but wanna find that northern Illinois grom who ran out from the sidelines and under me and causing a viscous ankle roll after launching off a jump ramp at a demo in spring ’86 just after Kendall peppered the perimeter of the “street style” course with Santa Cruz stickers…come clean, Land O’ Ballhanging Lincoln
houseofneil
I guess I don’t speak Hoosier. What exactly is a “Illinois ballhanging third person speaking grom”?. Ballhanging? Third person? Explain please.
Kilwag
I think we’re all joking. I hate the internet.
JAKEANDANNOY
Meant to post before you Kilwag…
JAKEANDANNOY
Yeah, I definitely recall the collaboration on that zine being-OH MY CHRIST GOD IS THIS FUCKING BORING, WHO THE FUCK CARES?!
I fell asleep twice before getting through that last comment, any ‘those dudes local?
Any know them or funny stories? Aside from Kendall, any still riding? Oh. ok great.
Then it’s a big waste of time to build unwanted tension in this highly boring discussion.
Fucks’ alot, this officially just made my job more interesting.
Kilwag
Hoosiers. Pffft. LAND OF LINCOLN!!!!! I loved it so much I moved to Oregon. Go hang out with the rest of the Hoosiers, shouldn’t you be voting in a primary or something.
If it’s not over-documented on Skate and Annoy, it didn’t happen.
PRBL
not angry in the least, but it’s evident that you Illinois ballhanging third person speaking groms took publishing way more serious than us Hoosiers did with a fancy dancy skatezine masthead and now a full blown, interactive Internet site…if recollection serves, contributors to J.K.’s Street Issue were most likely Jade Corn, Dave “Slob” Roberts, Andy Eggars, Sean West, Scott “Hoop” Litherland, Shawn “Vato Man” Delong and Jim Charters
Kilwag
Errr.. not sure what you’re so angry about. Ours was and is a collaboration as well.
There’s no masthead on the zine so if you’ve never seen it or didn’t know the history, there’s no way to tell who made it. So you’re the expert, then tell us if was Jeff’s zine with contributors, or was it Jeff and “______” who put it out?
PRBL
of course J.K.’s zine was a collaberation…only groms from Illinois ballhang themselves
Kilwag
I guess Jeff Kendall would explain the “J.K.” in some of the credits. It looks like he shared the duties with someone else, or at least had another guy contributing, or else he liked to refer to himself in the third person.
PRBL
that’s definately Jeff Kendall’s zine…at the time, he was blowing it up in almost complete Midwest obscurity and then started getting flowed some Madrid boards before Stevie Cab put him on Powell after the Faction rolled through Indian-no-place, IN a year or so after this zine came out; Paul Hugasian is one of the only dudes other than the Beaudoin bros. (don’t forget Stevie Beaudoin) who kept skating after the old Surf and Turf Skatepark closed and later reopened later as The Turf…zine’s cover pic of Marty B was taken in his backyard on a ramp that the Indian-no-place guys came up to help build in Summer ’83 in thanks for all the hospitality showed on our Surf’n Turf trips…Beaudoins’ Mom was one of those skate moms that deserves a major call out 25 plus years after the fact!!!
Tom Kilroy
I skated with Paul Hugasian back in the day at Hoffman’s ramp in Villa Park IL. He was a serious midwest ripper. I also skated his ramp in a warehouse in Milwaukee Wi 85ish?.
Another time at Hoffman’s The Beauduin bros were there tearing it up. I remember Marty doing caballerials. I always knew them as Marty and Zill. They knew me as that F.I.B. If they knew me at all.
LP
the comic is funny and true.
JAKEANDANNOY
Shit on your face Kilwag!!!
Kilwag
For you, Jake.
Kilwag
One more thing, some of the layout uses the old green and white fat striped computer paper as a background.
JAKEANDANNOY
Cool picture, especially those really cool shorts from the 80’s that show off brain.
What happened to that style?
I mean, thats what skateboarding was all about in the 80’s right? Vert, neon, and um, showing brain off with male short-shorts? Why would we ever abandon that…Stan?
Holy Mother of Christ, Im glad that shot is in black and white and not of digital quality.
Kilwag
I forgot to mention the “Wimpy the want-to -be skater” comic. Always the obsession with posers, an early issue of Skate and Annoy had a comic with the same theme. Nowadays people just make fun of people who wear pads or old guys.
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