The great thing about the new millennium is all the small skateboard companies that are started by guys who aren’t really trying to be the next World Industries, and are more concerned with making something they think is cool. A lot of times the first board is a signature model for someone who used to be quite a bit more popular than they are now. Why are so many non-industry type skaters doing this? Maybe because it’s not that hard to scrape up the money to get a run of boards done. Maybe it’s because once you are older it’s easier to meet these people, especially if the star of their celebrity has faded some. Frequently, these signature board projects end up being something that misses the boat in timeliness by about 10 years or so. I’m not being critical, just honest. Heck, I’ve done the same thing, even twice. No wait, three times. What’s the latest? De La Soul has board out on Signature Skateboards. It’s got artwork from 3 Feet High and Rising and comes in two colorways with a total of 150 boards in production. I like me some punk rock, but I probably would have bought…

I was reading an article in the Lower Hudson Online about Pioneering Rockland skateboarders still at it in their 40s and I had to chuckle when they got to the part explaining the team’s name. The Wizards came up with their team’s name to reflect the creative inspiration that came with each move, said Jamaal Bey, the team’s leader. The skateboard was the magic wand, and the skateboarder was the wizard who would perform each new trick. Now the 70’s sure were a groovy time. Wizards, dragons and unicorns were all very heavy and hip back then. Nowadays the idea of a private skateboard team with a ridiculous name seems laughable, except for the err, uh, Scrotes. I had to laugh again when the article mentioned the team would sneak into empty pools to practice. Practice what? Sneaking into pools? The act of skating the pool is the end reward, not something you practice in anticipation of something else. One of the Wizards has a truly wacky but passionate side business called Bey Boards that err, focuses on things like skate brakes, weird downhill bikes (that I swear I’ve seen before) Nascar-themed downhill boards, lace savers (that take a truly…

You will notice some changes this month. Because it’s my column and I can do what I want, I’m dropping some of the usual big $$ boards because I’m sick of looking at them. No skull and snake McGills for example, no Jason Jessees (except for a reissue), no Roskopps (except for a reissue). If I get bored writing about tem every month, I’m sure that you get tired of seeing them. I might bring them back next month, but probably not. I’m going to try to feature some graphics you don’t see as much by some lesser-known skaters. Or team boards. They don’t sell for as much, but it makes life more interesting damnit. Check out April’s eBay Watch.

Contort was pretty much the king of East coast zines. Everyone who traded zines or went to Boston knew about Contort and Dan Estabrook. He and Contort were constantly being mentioned in Thrasher or Transworld. This is issue #2, when Dan was still doing it with a partner. It’s a pretty straight forward zine with just of hint of the more artsy Swank Zine-like approach it would later morph into. I got this as a “back issue” after meeting Dan when he came to visit his parents, who had moved from Boston to Champaign-Urbana Illinois so his father could take a position at the University of Illinois. Blah blah blah. Dan was rad, we had a lot of fun when he’d visit. Later I would go to Boston to check out his scene. Talk about plate of shrimp coincidences, there are a couple of pictures of our own Mark Conahan in this issue. I wouldn’t meet Mark until after the year 2000. Cue Disney theme song.. It’s a small world after all…

Skate Cool #1 is one of those zines that probably never got circulated outside the group of kids that made it. The only reason I got a copy was because one of those kids was the kid brother of my best friend in high school, Jay Niedzwicki who was the guy I rode my first real skateboard and vert ramp with, discovered punk rock, etc… I had completely forgotten that when it came time to scan this. At first glance I thought was completely stupid, and it is, but I started flipping through it, and as stupid as it is, it’s still amusing. Then I read the credits and found my friend’s brother, Scott Niedzwicki on the, errr.. masthead.

The Ray Underhill benefit auction we mentioned earlier is about to start. The list of items is impressive. Visit the official Ray Underhill site to get the background story and more information, or make a flat out donation. On May 13th (tomorrow) you can start bidding. Grab those hammers – it’s time to break those piggy banks! What may be the largest auction for collectable skateboard items is upon us. Pros and industry notables from the past and present have donated a grip of one-of-a-kind gear to help raise money for Ray Underhill and his battle against a chordoma brain tumor. This auction offers one absolute guarantee that no other auction can offer: zero buyer’s remorse! This sounds cliché, but it’s true–Ray Underhill is one of the nicest guys in skateboarding, and his friends have come out en force to help him and his family in this difficult time. He may be the only pro skater who ever substituted “fudge” for the other naughty word that starts with F. Ray was always willing to step up and help others, and this auction is our opportunity to do the same for him.

When I got a copy of Skate and Mate, I was dumfounded. It seemed so obviously perfect because it combined everything I was interested in as a young male of college age. The photos (mostly pros) were good, there was punk rock, and of course the whole sex with girls thing. They even had an amateur topless pic that someone had donated, which seemed incredible at the time. This was before the days of the internet and Girls Gone Wild, and that kind of exhibitionism wasn’t as culturally pervasive. The humor in Skate and Mate was adolescent and sexist, to be sure, but so was I at the time. Ahh, the folly of youth. Now that I am older and more mature… I still wish I had put that zine out! Ha! The Skate and Mate crew talked a lot of shit, but if anyone could self-proclaim themselves “The King of Zines,” they could pull it off. Pokezine… Brilliant.

Not every zine was a winner. Then again, not every zine was as bad as it seemed on first impression. This is Concrete Crusaders #2, an eight page affair with no date and no mention of who put it together with the exception of someone who did some transcribing. Despite the raised expectations that the Electric Ocean logo provides, on the surface this zine is sucky, However, it was probably the work of one guy, a lone outpost in his community. That’s right, whoever made this was the Dances with Wolves of Ohio skate zines. He went to Ann Arbor Michigan and got some decent pics of Brian Mank, a Midwest staple of the time. Whoever made this zine may not have had a lot of artistic talent, but he was probably stoked by Thrasher to do his own thing, and he did it. This is issue number two, and the editor seems despondent by lack of reader feedback. Of course with a title like “Boring Summer Issue,” what can you expect? Summer should be the best part of the year for skate coverage!

Chi-Town Shred was the king of all Chicago skate zines in the late 80’s. I don’t know how long they published, but I’ve got 7 issues, the latest being #9. Their wacky web site (yes, they are online!) shows a cover for “the Last Issue” which looks like #11 from 1990. These guys had a short but prolific output. I think the key was photo-heavy issues without much blabbering on. That’s a good way to go. Our problem at Skate and Annoy which we still have, was we wanted to pretend we were a real skate mag with stories and coverage of events, interviews, etc… As a result we would unbearably delay getting things out, which explains our 12 year gap in printing. We got distracted, but we always intended on putting out another issue. I was still printing photos from negatives for the next issue in the late 90’s.

This was a Canadian zine out of Ontario. I’ve got four issues, the latest I have is #17. That’s Freezine as in “freezing,” not “free.” This is a good one, not a lot of reading or actual skate photographs if you analyze it, but put together well enough to make it seem like you were getting a lot.