Variflex: From Contender to Trampolines
Newsflash. We won’t tell you how much your board is worth if you want to sell it on eBay, so don’t ask. Also, don’t send me a link to your auction or unless it’s freakin amazing, or weird, something like Stacy Peralta’s scalp from the 70’s or the bronzed fire hydrant that Nataas sessioned on in Streets on Fire. That being said, here’s a new one. I’ve never been asked to facilitate a trade, but I was looking for an excuse to post this Variflex advert I found in a circular for a local discount sporting goods chain. I’m going to beat this dead horse. Variflex used to be a legitimate skateboard company as late as the early, early 80’s, and well before this. And now they make trampolines. Right. Tom Livemore has some old Variflex connections trucks in pretty good condition, and he’s looking to trade for a decent set of OJ superjuices (I have some, but you can’t have them.) or a set of multi colored Panther wheels. Whaaaa?????
These Variflex trucks look kind of interesting actually. Not sure what vintage they are, late 70’s early 80’s most likely, since Tom had them circa 81.
These are Panther wheels.
And these would be the reason there are now OJ III’s. It started with jut an “OJ” back in the 70’s.
Veriflex was already crap by the time I first started skating. At least now they are making something that suits their name.
Wonder if we’ll ever see Independent Trampolines in Big5? “Built to Bounce.” I doubt it, but you never know what could happen if some investment group got its hands on the brand. Is the whole Independent, Thunder, Thrasher Creature etc. empire privately owned still?
Did the Losi family own Variflex? I thought I heard that once. The Variflex trajectory, there’s an interesting one to document. They were better than Valterra, but pure crap when I owned their “Wired” board.
If you remove the jump rubber thingy you got a coping for a minipool. See? they’re still skate…
Gil Losi owned it when their star, Eddie Elguera, invented the frontside rock at the urging of his coach Dale Smith… yes, coach… the first time I ever saw Eric Koston he was being chaperoned and dare I say it ,coached by Eddie… Where’s my team jersey?
Oh, but the trucks…yeah, their slogan was “no hang ups” when it should have been “no turning”…seemed like half their team refused to use them. They were called Connections as I recall. Good luck Tom. I used to want those wheels too, but nobody,then or now should want those trucks unless they’re attached to a mint “El Gato”.
was there a time where Varaflex was both a legit board company, and a maker of sporting good crap boards at the same time? did varaflex back Losi Skate Designs?
I was in Big 5 yesterday (sucked in by a different deal), but did not go to the trampoline dept. they sell a bunch of wierd World Industries stuff like life jackets and sleds. I did not look at the skateboard dept. but last I checked, Kryptonics was dominating the shelves at Big 5. one board (not sure if it was Krypto) was in a bubble pack with the set up partially dissasembled. the board was gripped, and bearings in the wheels. but the big selling point was, you got to “put it together yourself!!”.
Varaflex is a company that keeps evolving for better or worse. ssk is right about their name. they have found their niche. they are blowing it if they don’t start making “trampboards”. how else are your kids gonna learn Mctwists?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uiXcE5VbsfA&feature=video_response
Not sure but I don’t think so. The Losi’s sold the company, new owners shifted to pedalling crap, and I bet Alan got someone else to make LSD boards but I’m just guessing…ssk, last I knew Richard Novak was still at the helm at NHS. He’s the N in NHS ( bought out the other two dudes years ago), which owns the Santa Cruz, Creature, and Krux brands as well as being a co-owner of Indy. Mr. Novak has always been a shrewd business man with a cuttthroat corporate mentality, nothing he does will surprise me ….not sure who’s at the lead of the Indy, Thunder ,Spitfire empire now that Fausto’s dead, but I think it’s still family who share the original vision.
Doesn’t the Losi family do Losi RC cars? LINK
Prickly Pete:
You mean this one?
I found it here: LINK
Yes, that is the one. At the time I couldn’t believe how awesome that thing seemed, but reality soon set in. As if the wood didn’t suck, the clouds bushings blew out in a couple weeks. Still better than the Valterra “Meltdown” or the Huffy “Thunderboard” I was riding before it.
I learned to grind on those things as a wee lad. Had
’em set up on a worn down Sims Taperkick with Sims
Snakes. I also owned one of the last good Losi boards
that Variflex made. That board was tuff.
At one time Variflex had a legit team with Eddie “El Gato” Elguera, Eric Grisham, Lance Mountain, and a few others. El Gato was the innovator of a lot of tricks people do today.
I use to skate this pool in sanbernardino we called it the dust bowl Eddie and his brothers use to come down there Eddie use to shred then abunch of us went to the opening of the ranch skate park in colton hobie skate team did an expo Eddie blew them all away they were a little embarrassed