Hunter Simms emailed us about a Skircle he had just acquired, and agreed to share the images with us. When I tried to search for more, Skate and Annoy (big surprise) was the site that came up with the most frequency. I did manage to find a couple new (old) images and have compiled them into this post.
First up is this product release blurb as seen on Memory Screened. There’s no info on which magazine this came from, but I can totally remember seeing this in some skate mags from the 70’s and have to imagine I have an advert waiting to scanned for the gallery somewhere in a box.
This thing is first and foremost another ski trainer. It’s right in the name: SKIcrle. The barrier to entry on this was pretty low. It’s just a round slab of anodized aluminum with a cheap (paper?) sticker applied to it, and some off the shelf skateboard trucks and wheels. I’ve never seen these referred to anything other than a Skirlcle, so it’s interesting to read that it was a product of “The Round Skateboard Company.”
This next one appeared in Ebay Watch from April of 2011. Neil described it beautifully:
“What the hell is that thing?” Why you silly, it’s a Skircle, everybody knows that! Actually, it’s labeled underneath as “The Asphalt Ski”, so I guess you were supposed to stand on it facing forward, feet together ski style. And then you would wipe out in quite astounding fashion. It is 11” in diameter so has virtually no wheelbase, and is made of aluminum, so when you have broken your leg and are lying on the ground, it just might slice your throat on the way by too. The trucks and wheels are by MarcoPolo, so you know it’s quality
This next one showed up about a year later in another Ebay Watch.
There’s a Skircle that shows up on Worthpoint and amazingly enough it is this very same image, in a different color space, and with a different optional view. No idea wan this sold because it’s a subscription service.
Lastly, Here are two images from Hunter. These are the first I’ve seen in this beige/bronze color, there rest have all been blue.
Stay tuned for the inevitable Skircle advert scan. I’m going start looking I those mags. In the mean time, here’s another product announcement from the New York Times online archive in the May 8th 1979 edition.
Now there is a round skateboard, called the Skircle. The platform, inches in diameter, rides on a shorter wheelbase than does the average rectangular board, and because the Skircle is round you can tilt it without lifting the wheels. Short, precise turns are accomplished by shifting body weight from side to side, as in parallel skiing. This kind of maneuverability has given the Skircle the nickname “the asphalt ski.” Indeed skiers can use it for summer conditioning. The price is $16.95, plus $3.50 for postage and handling. Order from the Round Skateboard Company, 35088 De La Cruz Boulevard, Santa Clara, Calif. 95050, (408) 988?2411.
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