While I was (supposed to be) in college, I lived in a house with a bunch of ne’er-do-wells, skateboarders and musicians. Actually, most of the guys ended up being do-wells after all. This particualr shot was the front yard of a house I lived in from 1987-1988. At least 14 people lived there. That’s my glorious 8 foot wide miniramp in the front yard. The platforms butted up against the front porch on one side and the sidewalk on the other. The chopper belongs to a roommate we called Mr. Grubby, who was otherwise known to the punk rock world as Doug “joe” Evans, the bass player for one of the top five most badass band to come out of Illinois, or the whole midwest for that matter, the Didjits. (OK, the rest of the list is Naked Raygun, Big Black, Cheap Trick, Husker Du…) Doug’s chopper had some sort of rebuilt BSA, or possibly Indian, engine on it. It wasn’t a Harley, I remember that much. He had the stereotypical, but awesome Iron Cross side view mirror. This thing was loud as fuck, a fact that did little to endear us to our rich, sorority girl neighbors, especially when…

I can’t recall the date exactly, but I’d say this was taken in 1990, or 91. There was a hipster nightclub in Chicago called Shelter. They would have all kinds of events and promotions, and since I was a partner in the silkscreen business that printed for them, I occasionally got to be involved behind the scenes in a minor way. For instance, I got to hang out with some the famous club kids from NYC, before they became famous murderers. Another event that I didn’t understand but certainly enjoyed, was the outdoor miniramp. Someone came up with the promotion to build a miniramp in the outdoor section of the club, whic was really large, if I recall correctly. The club was located in a sort of derelict industrial area, next to some railroad tracks, so noise wasn’t an issue. Originally I was actually supposed to build the damn thing, but somehow it got puled out from under me, and a guy named Sluggo took charge, which was kinfd of annoying as he was an employee of mine at the time. Sluggo? There are a few “Sluggos” in skateboarding scenes across the nation, this guy lives in Chicago. So they…

This is a detail of this week’s Shot of the Week, and another one from the archives. I can’t remember who this kids was, but I do remember feeling like I was becoming obsolete when I saw this young kid ollie to 5-0 on an overturned bike rack. It was something I would have thought of, but not pulled off. Anyway, this is one of the last skate shots I took before moving out of the Champaign-Urbana area to start silkscreen business in Chicago with a few partners. Needless to say, I didn’t skate a lot in those first years of trying get the business off the ground. This remains one of my favorite shots, partially because it reminds me of a pinnacle in my life. Dang, that kid looks familiar. Check out the full frame Shot of the Week.

This week’s Shot of the Week is Casey Morrow bombing a hill in the Dalles, Oregon, on something called the Skyline. Holy cow, it’s a guy on an extended wheelbase skateboard doing downhill on Skate and Annoy. Guess what haters, it’s all SKATEBOARDING! This is a cropped version of Carl Warren’s original photo. Check out the full frame Shot of the Week.

Kevin Kowalski made it over the face wall of the brand new Coos Bay skatepark last Saturday. It was his first time at the park, and this was his second attempt. His new, more aerodynamic haircut must have helped get the extra speed, because he was “booking” as they say, or at least used to say when I was in the eighth grade. That’s one hell of a death box. Thanks to Colin for the photo. Dude, ditch your old iPhone for one of the new ones, I hear the camera is a lot better. With Kowalski blowing up you should be able to afford it. Check out the Shot of the Week.

John Drummond sent in this beat up scan: I’ve been meaning to send you this picture. I thought you might consider it a “Shot of the week”. It’s a little grainy and scratched. It’s my buddy Chris Lowe in 1988 doing an Andrecht. This was kind of a common thing for him to do after a session. Take pads off, change clothes, and then mess around. Sometimes slides and stupid flat bottom stuff would turn into him busting a Madonna or an invert… barefoot, and in the dark. A little grainy and scratched? What makes you say that? Location: Moraga Ramp (Garry Mcleod’s). Check out the Shot of the Week.

Well after last week’s fiasco, I dug up this shot from when I went on a road trip to Boston back in ’88 or ’89. I can’t remember. This shot is an enlargement from one I took at a spot called Metals. I don’t remember the skater’s name, but he was just one of the many friendly, stoked locals I met. Everyone flowed when I was there. This was probably some sort of wall jam plant off the side of the metal bank that was an freestanding sculpture. Check out the full frame Shot of the Week.

I almost forgot to do a Shot of the Week, so I pulled this one out. This is street skating circa 1989, and part of that scene was being a dick to pedestrians and cars… This shot involved the fake ollies (layback ollies?) where you skate up to something and put your hand on it to support your weight while you ollie the board onto whatever impossibly high obstacle was in front of you. Of course, nowadays people could probably ollie onto the hood of a car without help. I still love to do this trick, and recently brought it out of retirement, although not on the hoods of a cars belonging to people I don’t know. The guy in this pictures shall be named only as “Carl” as he has since gone onto become a productive member of society, and probably wouldn’t appreciate this picture showing up in his background check the next time he applies for a job. Check out the full frame Shot of the Week.

I know this is a long shot, but has anyone heard the rumor that people are skating in the pools of homes that are in foreclosure? This is a close up of a shot of Broken Magazine editor Nick Gates taken in San Clemente, California, as shot by Peanut. Issue #9 of Broken is available for download. Yes, I’m going to make you click on through to see the full frame shot. Check out the Shot of the Week.

This shot came from the Royal Hawaiian Pool Service web site. The official title is Wallos – pre “Animal Chin” hype. This shot of Stacey Gibo dates back to 1985. Stacey was a local “skate punk legend, he later went on to work at Thrasher and Dogtown… …Probably the most fearless and feared skater from Hawaii. He was our Duane Peters. This pic was from one the first Wallos contests – Stacey won first place hands down. The Bones Brigade got nothin’ on him.” Check out the Shot of the Week, and while you are at it, .The R.H.P.S. store has been relaunched, they’ve got some cool stuff in there like stickers that will fit your (Indy) truck hangers and the Aaron “Fingers” Murray – Guest Model, complete with the sidecuts his name has become synonymous with.