Free Former Safety Set

There was a brief time in skateboarding when it was considered the height of hipness to have a full, color coordinated safety gear set. These days you can still buy a full set of decorative safety gear, but it’s’ all for little kids. These pics come courtesy of Butch Olivier who picked up this near-mint […]

Elgin Pipes Action

If you were more than a casual skateboarder in the 80’s who lived in and around the orbit of Chicago, you would eventually hear tales of a mysterious spot called the Elgin Pipes, allegedly located near a mental hospital, and in 1983, the scene of a double homicide. You could say the spot defitnely had […]

Skateboarder Magazine – Feb 1979

I just wrapped up adding 61 ads from volume 5, number 7 of Skateboarder magazine from February of 1979. There are some good ones in there. A few that caught my eye were for Turning Point, Haut Lamaflex (Lama-flex?), Hobie (skate shoes), Powerflex, Independent (w Henry Hester), and Caster with Wally Innouye. Also of interest, […]

Qwik Trucks

When I posted the Switch Board a couple months ago, longtime friend of the site Danimal informed of prior art in the form of Qwik Trucks. Qwik Trucks are the same concept, but with a patent, allowing you to switch out your trucks or board in less tha 30 seconds. The Qwik version seems a […]

Later Gator and the Variflex V-Man

In my quest to bring you weird/crappy/cool boards I found this Variflex board called the “Later Gator.” It’s crappy, but something about the look in that Gator’s eyes is appealing. As the manufacturers and bootleggers of those boards were wont to do, they produced versions with multiple top graphics, which is where the gold in […]

Sims Wheels Reissues/Tributes

Brand X is offering a limited release of 2 Sims wheels poured in the original molds with updated modern urethane formulas. The Sims Snakes are limited to 100 sets in each color, while the Comp IIs are limited to 25 sets per color. They are being billed as a Tom Sims Tribute, in premium urethane […]

Skateboard Tow Rope

My first skateboard was a yellow plastic rRoller Derby banana board bought from a Sears catalog outlet in Midland, Michigan. I was in grade school in the 70’s, and soon after, all my neighborhood friends had skateboards, including Gene & Gary Wang, who lived across the street, as well as a kid names Allan Lockwood […]

Switch Board

Hey kids, remember the Morfboard, Morfboard 2, and Morfboard copiers like the Flybar? Well you can add the Switchboard to that esteemed group of wacky boards, and this one might be best engineered version yet. It’s one skateboard with special mounting plates that allow you to swap out trucks and accessories in a snap. Is […]

Night Birds and Wimps

Two unrelated bands, two unrelated songs, two unrelated skateboards. This post has been in draft mode so long that the Night Birds have since disbanded, but fortunately The Wimps appear to be still active, and not to mention, actively embracing skateboarding hot-dogs.