When I first saw this sculpture I assumed it was just a temporary installment that was part of the D-Town Throwdown context in Dallas, Texas. It turns out that “Skaterbird” by Brad Oldham Studio was in fact, the impetus for contest, and is a permanent installation. The sculpture sits atop a parking garage which is home to the sanctioned downhill portion of the contest.

[ Photo: Billy “Bones” Meiners ]

R.I.P. Gerry Hurtado AKA “SkateMaster Tate”

UPDATE: Benefit board for his family.

Brand-X skateboards are being re-issued! These are hand screened (not heat transfers) made by Watson Laminates, the same company that produced Brand-X boards before they shut down. However, it gets a little tricky here. Bernie Tostenson owned and screened and supervised the original Brand-X, but he sold the company in 1986, but stuck around to supervise until some time in 1989. The company rereleasing these is the one that bought it from Bernie. It’s unclear whether or not these early Brand-X designs were ever produced by Watson, and they do mention having to recreate the separations, a task that I know to be a time consuming one. The decks have an old school truck pattern but will be distinguishable as re-releases by varied color ways on the top graphic as well as being laser etched in editions of 111 each. The first three models are the Knucklehead and two variations of the Weirdo, one on a natural wood that has not actually been released before.

It’s Wile. E Coyote on a Pepsi promotional drinking glass from 1976. He’s got a sail and an electric fan on his skateboard, but that rascally Road Runner has pulled the electric chord on him mid-canyon. This seems like exactly the sort of thing that would have been in one of these cartoons, but I can’t recall seeing it animated. Maybe that’s because I aways rooted for the Coyote to catch Road Runner.

Located in Everton Park in Liverpool, England (insert gratuitous Men in Blazers reference), this is second glow in the dark skatepark in existence. Korean artist Koo Jeong A, who came up with the concept had some pretty lofty goals:

“I devised extremely steep, sharp angles, which would be a challenge to the most courageous and skilled skaters,” Jeong A told The Guardian. “It was as if they would be the great mountaineers that the rest of us would admire. And with its glow-in-the-dark surface, I hoped the Wheels Park would offer an experience of contemplation.”

Maybe a glow in the dark skatepark that looks like a stealth battleship will inspire contemplation that will hopefully result in kids picking up their energy drink cans, cigarette butts and Big Gulp cups. It’s not clear how much she actually has to do with the main skate terrain aspect of the skatepark. It would be incredible if a non-skating artist had free reign in skatepark design and somehow managed to design a park that wasn’t a disaster, twice.

[ Source: The Guardian ] – Thanks to Boy Ipoh for the tip.

There are 19 new (old) 90’s ads posted from the January 1998 issue of Thrasher. There’s a couple doozies in there, including a weird one with Tas Pappas, Z-Roller Trucks still going, recycled 70’s safety advice from Goodtimes, a classic Dwarves album art, plastic launch ramps, and some total crap art from Think. In the loose ends department there are two that I can’t figure out what they are advertising because I have no recollection of these companies – Solar and Amp.

It’s been a while since I updated the 80’s Skate Zine gallery, so here’s Contort #7 from some time in the mid to late 80’s. Theres no date listed, but both MC’s Bodyslam and Skate and Annoy are listed/reviewed so I’m guessing ’88 or ’89.

I had to both cry and laugh when I saw his Kevin Harris deck (on the left) or what is left of it. First I thought I could finally afford a Harris mountie for a reasonable price, but when looking at the pics it seems like the seller ‘restored’ the deck and turned the mountie in what looks more like the guy on the psycho stick who just had the intestines of the beaver. The picture on the right shows the original mountie (although this is a reissue, seen on the Powell Peralta website). Another bad example of restoration you can find here. Surprisingly enough, this sold on eBay within a few days.

Check out this gallery of Burnside photos from 1990-1993. Amazing and rare shots of history being made. Donate to the fundraiser!

This 2012 George Faulkner production is less a true documentary and more a collection of random Seylynn footage through the years, heavily weighted towards the 80’s, but inclusive of the 70’s and 90’s. Also includes some interviews with the park’s designer, rare photos during construction, and shot of the time the riverbank eroded and the whole thing almost slid into the water, and what appears to be an original soundtrack.

– Via Tim Kerr on FB