It’s not unusual to hear about a school program for pressing skateboards, but Benson Polytechnic High School in Portland, Oregon goes a few steps beyond that.  Skateboard Engineering is a half a year elective that also goes delves into 3D design, using CAD software to design trucks, 3D printers for prototyping, and their on-site foundry and machine shop for actually manufacturing trucks.  I’ve been visiting their open house for a couple years now, and each time I go they’ve added more to the program. The curriculum is evolving as the teacher learns more. He did not have a previous background in skateboarding, but rightly thought it would be something that students would be into.

Jake Phelps, longest running editor of Thrasher Magazine, dead at 56. Cause of death has not been released.

I was in Atlanta for about 30 hours to watch the MLS Cup. The Timbers lost, which was a bummer. My experience was essentially Airport to Marta to Hotel to Stadium to AirbnB to Airport. I didn’t get to see a lot, but I did catch some nice looking, but mostly wet terrain.

What is this thing? Is it an ollie trainer, or is it just a regular ole Maui and Sons skateboard that some eccentric nut decided to make even more dangerous by replacing the trucks with giant springs? I’m not sure what you could actually do with this, besides try to sell it on Ebay. This appears to be the “Thrasher Sharkson” pro model.

Thanks to Matthijs for the tip.

It seems like a lifetime ago, but it was back in 2015 when I originally posted on Folkestone Skate Park, a multi-story skatepark whose contoured bowls would form the ceiling and floors of each story. I said I’d be shocked if it ever progressed beyond a design exercise, and well… I’m shocked, stunned, and amazed! Guy Hollaway Architects posted some construction updates. This thing is real. Wow.

– Thanks to Tallboycan for the tip.

Yesterday we saw preliminary reports that Julie Lynn Kindstrand may have been sexually assaulted as a minor by Neal Hendrix, but the source was abstracted enough that we left it until today to post. These are serious accusations, and we didn’t want to post something half-baked. Since then it has started appearing on ESPN and the Wall Street Journal. Neal Hendrix denies the allegations. Julie Kindstrand has provided a six page document to the Costa Mesa police, as well as the International Olympic Committee and the U.S. Olympic Committee. Although suspended, Neal Hendrix is still listed (at the time of this publication) as an Athlete Representative and Executive Committee member on the USA Skateboarding web site.

Update: Video statement from Julie.

NOTICE: Comments will remain open on this thread. Anything misogynistic or overtly inflammatory, such as threats of harm will result in an immediate ban. It’s time to be an adult.

Get all the distressing details here. Charlie Wilkins is not the idiot in the video shot during the protest. Every Portland skateboarder that has ever met Charlie Wilkins would likely vouch for him. I would. Help spread the word on social media. #notcharliewilkins.

Update: The story was covered on local news KGW.

You can’t make this stuff up folks, or maybe you can.

IKEA has teamed up with LA-based fashion designer Chris Stamp, and freelance designer Maja Ganszyniec for a limited edition collection: SPÄNST. Inspired by street fashion and an active lifestyle, SPÄNST features furniture, accessories and items for storing, displaying and organizing some of your favorites at home. So whether it’s for a skateboard, the jacket that could be considered a work of art, or for the shoes that look better after each wear, SPÄNST is a way for you to uncover your lifestyle; to exhibit it at home with the same amount of artistry and pride within the four walls, as you do outside of them.

This is a handful of months old to be sure, but our site was down when this was fresh. If a tree falls down in a forest when S&A isn’t online….

Is it conceivable that a politician would ever use a skateboard as a prop to help get himself elected? Beto O’Rourke does. Make sure you’re registered to vote.

Dennis Dragon died unexpectedly yesterday. It hasn’t been reported officially, but rather through friends and relatives of his on Facebook. Skateboarders know and love him as a founding member of the Surf Punks, and musical director for those famous Bones Brigade movies. He also appeared uncredited in the movie Skateboard Madness as the character Dick Damage. I can tell you, as a high school age kid who grew up in the Midwest, the Surf Punks had an abnormally large impact on me. I knew that he lived in Southern Oregon and had often thought about trying to locate him and meet him. I’m sure he would have been annoyed, but maybe not. A sad day on Skate and Annoy, enough to get me out of retirement and make a post again.