I was in a pub ordering a cider a couple of months ago and looked up at the TV and saw what appeared to be a Jeep commercial with Mike Vallely. The sound was turned off but I seem to remember Mike sitting in a drainage ditch (LA River scale) and a graphic that said “Mike V on skateboarding” or something like that. I haven’t seen it since, but I did find a web site called Sportskool.com that is essentially trick tips for all kinds of sports, most of them no-so-Extreme. Mike V. is the go-to guy for skateboarding, and Jeep Patriot is the sponsor. At one time this would have struck me as odd. Maybe Jeep is trying to capture the Mike V and the Rats demographic.

The San Francisco Chronicle has an article on Zach Wormhoudt of Wormhoudt Inc. titled Chairman of the Board. Get it? “Board” as in “skateboard.” Ah ha ha ha! Get it? Get it? Oh stop, you’re killing me. Oh wait, you don’t get it? Wormhoudt’s father built Santa Cruz’ infamous Derby Park which is the world’s oldest surviving skatepark. Everyone is a critic, as evidenced by this quote from the article: “I have nonskater friends who say, ‘You have the greatest job in the world!’ My friends who are skaters say, “I don’t envy you.’ ” It’s a decent article. Check it out. Update: Links fixed. [Photos Top: Chronicle/Mike Crane and Mike Kane, Bottom: Wormhoudt Inc.]

Unfortunately, she’s carrying a Razor scooter for her son. Maybe that’s why it didn’t work out with Kid Rock. [Source: In Case You Didn’t Know]

This is golden. 80’s era footage of a skate park called Ramp City on a “Good Morning America” type show localized in Cleveland. Gary Lumpkin is the man on the scene. Lord. God. King. The banter between the hosts (not to mention the accents) and low key nature of this program has the Midwest stamped all over it. The skaters are good and the reporter is a good natured goof who really does his best, unlike some. Hear terms like hodad and youngster bandied about. Listen to the hosts go from genuinely concerned for the safety of the Lumpkin to Jackass-type encouragement in one sentence. Also, check out the incredibly corny (even for that time) canned background music during the second half of the location shoot. It’s almost a riff of a Keystone Cops movie. Highly recommended, it comes from a BMX site actually. The owner was a 16 year old BMX guy, although they conspicuously don’t explain where he got the money to open the place. I almost forgot the best part. Gary calls the ramp a half-tube.

Ben Pappas – who used to earn $15,000 a month as a teenage skate star in the US – was dragged from the water by police divers off Victoria Pier at Docklands. Homicide detectives had been looking for Pappas, 29, since the body of his former girlfriend, Lynette Phillips, was found at Dights Falls in Abbotsford eight days earlier. [Source: Herald Sun, Australia] Update: Link fixed, plus more links after the jump.

So there’s a stand with a bar that raises and lowers in height and swings away when you hit it. I’m going to go out on a limb and say that although silly, this thing would be useful if you were into that sort of behavior – for contests, errr, training or whatever. Never mind that the name has already been used at least three times before for a toy, some sort of fishing rod, and finally a scooter handle for skateboards. No other information available, except for the commercial after the jump.

He only lives about a mile from this park. You’d think he’d have it more wired. So is it Reinert, Rheinert, or Reinhert? I’ve seen it all three ways on the web. Shawn, set us straight.

One of the lynchpins of the BMX vs. Skateboards in skateparks arguments is that BMXers are always leeching of of skateboarders efforts. Well, that’s not always true. The first half pipe I ever saw, rode, or photographed was built by BMX kids in the woods of suburban Naperville Illinois, some time around 1984-85. The skaters (all three of us) were definitely riding the coat tails of the BMX guys. More pics, bad fashion and words after the jump.

ID check, supervision, consent, annual fee, per use fee, helmet, elbow pads, kneepads. A problem exists when facilities designed to promote action sports are more of a burden than a blessing. This burden is the Southern California skate park standard. From the editorial titled Skate parks constrained by unnecessary regulation by former skatepark employee Kory (Webster?) Prindle in the North County Times in Escondido, CA. I don’t want to beat a dead horse, but if you are from the land of free and relatively unregulated skateparks (i.e. Oregon, Washington, Idaho…) it can be a shocker when you travel elsewhere and suddenly have to worry about how much the park will cost, does it require elbow pads of all things, and whether or not the park will even be open during school hours or on holidays. it’s about time someone spoke up.

5-Minute Project: Drill-Powered Skateboard is a D.I.Y. project on the Instructables web site. It was a lot cooler before I realized that you were basically dragging the drill on the ground as the fourth wheel. I’m guessing battery powered drills won’t last long under the torque required to move an adult. I can foresee rigs with long extension cords and beer for a racing circuit. [Source: Zedomax.com]