The Pine Log – The Independent Voice of Stephen F. Austin State University reports that student there have formed the second collegiate skateboard team. The team is looking forward to competing with UNC, the first University to have a skateboard team, in the spring.

“…It was rad as hell, kinked as f#@k, rough as an alcoholic tongue, but it was our spot!” – an anonymous creator of La Caverne In Marseille, France there lies a dark, dingy abandoned warehouse beyond the view of the common people. The telltale graffiti and discarded trash of society’s undesirable class littered this area, and as a result the former site of productivity seemed more like a cave than a building. It is no surprise that skaters, who are often associated with the mantra “Skate and Destroy,” would create a place to express their styles without the regulations of a system that failed to understand them. La Caverne’s beginnings operated in a similar fashion to the Grimm Brothers fairy tale “The Pied Piper of Hamelin;” the rat catcher enticed the rats.  The abandoned warehouse attracted artists from all over France, and a tagger by the name of Nours, who also skated, told his friends about it and the work began.

This week’s Shot of the Week is from September of this year. It’s Billy Coulon transferring from the perpendicular face of the low hip to the high wall in Newberg, Oregon. Rich at EPM has a better shot (and then some) from a different angle, I just happened to be standing there while he was shooting, so I poached him. Check out the full frame Shot of the Week.

From the website: Subhead Grip was founded by Jesse Milden. These products were inspired by years of riding skateboards and making custom grip tape designs. Jesse grew up riding around the block in Los Angeles. He has continued riding in Oregon, New York, Boston and now Seattle. Subhead Grip is designed and manufactured in Seattle, WA. $12 a pack (12 skulls for example or 4 strips with whales) – why didn’t we think of that? The website says they do custom orders! Came across this on Boing Boing

This makes me think of what Misfits album covers should have looked like. Now that I have thoroughly insulted this awesome graphic by comparing it to the Misfits… xXx Skateboards pumped out a few limited edition boards featuring some nice finishing. I really love this graphic, to the point of I’m considering getting it tattooed while I’m still single. Anyone know the artists name? Images courtesy of xXx Skateboards More after the jump.

Joesf Heffner has been sending in pictures of the progress on his quite involved learner’s project in DIY concrete. Here’s the next installment. Hey, guess what? It’s not all a cakewalk. It looks like they had a little bit of trouble with some unruly cement, but all’s well that ends well.

“Health board blinks, suspends ban on backyard skate ramps.” That’s the title of the article in the Salt Lake Tribune. SLC ramp owners and would-be builders have a six month reprieve while county officials “…study the noise issue, hold more public hearings, then present a new recommendation.” Skaters converged on the Health Board hearing to protest the ban. I especially like one skater’s shirt that read “Skate Utah (just not in your own backyard).” Officials back peddled a bit in public statements, reminding me of a certain situation in Tigard, Or. Things are looking up SLC ramp builders. We’ll check back in six months. Until then, check Skate Utah for any updates. – Thanks to Tito for the tip. [Photo: Adam Barker via Visit Salt Lake]

Scott Selover sent in a handful of pics from The Tim Brauch Memorial contest. It’s all old men or young kids! He said they weren’t up to SnA standards, but I showed him! Don’t forget that results are at Skate Daily and there are some more pics from Larry over here. Otherwise, Scott’s pics after the jump.

East coast reader John Egerston sent in a few pictures from a semi-recent spot tour in northern Virgina. Roots = Two ditches and a full pipe. Photos by Mike Alexander.

Mail order skateshops are nothing new. During the early 80’s it was the only way a lot of kids were able to get decent skateboards in remote skate outposts like the Midwest. California Cheap Skates has been around for a long time. At some point in the 90’s (I think) they revamped the “brand” into CCS. They are a pretty big player in the mail order skate business. A couple of days ago, Skate Daily reported that CCS is being bought by the straight sports apparel company Foot Locker for $102 million. Think global, buy local! The old California Cheap Skates advert in the background is courtesy of the print gallery at The Skateboard Archives. TSA has some of the 80’s era California Cheap Skates ads, and Rotten Apple Media has a gallery of complete catalogs from the 90’s. I like looking through those old ads and catalogs to see the old boards.