Category Archive: Skate
California Free Former in a Box
First time visitor? I’m a sucker for vintage skateboard packaging. This is a box that California Free Former model #CF-26 came in. Thanks to Andra Malczewski for the picture. That’s her and Joe Collela on the box, photographed in Redondo Beach, California. Glorious!
Cadillac Double Pour
This is not a picture of a cored wheel in the traditional sense. You’re seeing an intact wheel surrounded by a second pour of urethane at a later date. I had never seen anything like this, but apparently it was a tactic used at some point in the 70’s used to sell old stock of smaller wheels that were no longer popular. In this case an open bearing Cadillac wheel was used as the core. Most of them look like these do now, many decades later. Mr Owl, how many licks does it take to get to the center? – Thanks to Dennis Kilian, Mark Manbars Baxley and Harvey Gallent for the pics.
Magically Delicious
Happy confusing St. Patrick’s Day! Yes, you are looking at what is essentially an informational comic book style publication put out by the US Army called Preventive Maintenance Monthly. How long have they been publishing these? SINCE 1951! A huge chunk of these (especially in the first few decades) feature a pinup style art of a blonde woman, usually looking out of place, sometimes in a military environment, sometimes not. In issue #304 from May of 1978, they decided to add a leprechaun to the mix. Bonus miscleaneous leprechauns on skateboards at the end of this post.
Counterfeit Sean Goff Redux
Here’s another counterfeit Brand-X Sean Goff deck, this time in a different color way. Amazing that they straight ripped off the graphic without changing Sean’s name, and hilarious that they stuck a Powell graphic on top. – Thanks to Christoff Vermeulen for the pics.
Vintage Skateboard Collection
You should go check out Miguel Melo’s 60’s & 70’s Vintage Skateboard Collection. It’s a beautiful site filled with photos of his personal collection. There are some of the usual suspects in there, but there are also quite a few lessor known decks, including some from well known brands.For instance, I can’t ever recall seeing the Cat by Nash, or even a GT Coyote III. I’m a longtime lurker.
Curb Cover
You’re looking at a set of covers for curbs, ledges and parking blocks that are made out of 16 Gauge USA cold-rolled galvanized and powder coated steel. The idea from Curb Cover is to make unskateable elements skateable. Sure, you could, you know, just find a different curb to skate, but what if you don’t want to? If you’re worried about these things sliding out from under you, they have padding underneath that has been proven to work with ample video evidence. The most interesting product here is the parking block cover. It’s actually sturdy enough to skate without placing over a parking block, and can be used as a mold to pour your own parking blocks. The ledge covers offer a lot of functionality too, you can cover bricks or even skate stoppers. That’s actually genius. If you cover a ledge, the entire ant-skate argument of property damage is null and void.
Happy Valentines Day – Betty 96
Nothing says true love lie a heart shaped Valentines Day skateboard. Nothing says mediocre comics quite like the Archie Comic book Group either. Still, they have provided the bulk of skateboarding in vintage comic book content, so they have that going for them.
Spot Check: It’s the DMV at the Dead Mall!
Are dead malls the equivalent of foreclosed homes with pools for street skaters? Is this spot a bust? The DMV is the only thing you can access, and it’s usually got a huge line. The employees inside are so busy they’d likely be oblivious. Is there a hoard of zombies trapped behind that plywood wall?
Spot Check: Chattanooga
This is the Tennessee Aquarium in Chattanooga. This photo is from a deleted account on Reddit. I originally spotted this in the subreddit TonyHawkitecture where it has appeared more than once. This particular subreddit is hit or miss, a lot of of the images are just vaguely skateable, but we’ve all done that in our heads when driving by a building or some landscape architecture. This spot looks pretty amazing, but allegedly carries a $300 fine and is heavily monitored.
Spot Check: Franco’s Bowl – San Pancho MX
A non-skating friend of mine was on vacation and took some pics of a skatepark he happened on in a small town Called San Pancho or San Francisco, depending on who you ask. It’s about 30 miles north of Puerto Vallarta. The locals were friendly and consented to being photographed, so don’t blow it out readers! “Franco, forever in our heart.” – Thanks to Stephen B for the pics.











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