The USPS has a set of Forever Stamps called Art of the Skateboard and set vinyl skateboard stickers that match the stamp designs. This stamp series might have been better off served with a different title as the “Art Of the Skateboard” typically brings to mind the history of production graphics rather than brand new art stuck on the bottom of the skateboard for the sake of art. So maybe “Art On Skateboards” instead of “Art Of The Skateboard.” It’s nit picky for sure, but you are reading this on a web site devoted to skateboarding and popular culture… How did I find out about it? Obviously, by reading the Winter 2023 issue of the official USPS magazine Philatelic. I’ll save you the trouble of looking it up: the collection and study of postage and imprinted stamps. I had a rant locked and loaded about my thoughts on the artistic merits of these stamps and how they looked a little clip art-ish. Then I found out that at least one of them was designed by Navajo artist Di’Orr Greenwood, who is indeed a skateboarder herself. From the Navajo-Hopi Observer: “Greenwood said the opportunity to have her art showcased nationwide is important not only for her but for her community and other Native people.” And so now I am shutting myself up, and hopefully saving some of our readers with very strong skateboarding/art opinions from the opportunity of putting their own feet in their mouths.

CJ Ramone hanging out with celebrities in 1990, wearing a Vision, Mark “Gator” Rogowski t-shirt while one still could…

May 5, 1990, the Ramones played the Mad Monk in Wilmington/North Carolina. In the audience that night were actors Kiefer Sutherland and Julia Roberts, who both fell in love while filming “Flatliners” a few months prior. The hype around Roberts’ latest movie “Pretty Woman” had not started yet, still the couple was recognized by Ramones friend Rick Johnson, who made sure the two would get to meet the band. Soon after, Roberts and Sutherland were welcomed to the Ramones dressing room. As the band got ready for the show, the actress was „intrigued by the alien on my chest“, as CJ recalls, while Sutherland „was laid back and seemed to get a laugh out of he whole scene“.

Head over to our reels to watch CJ remembering his short encounter with Julia Roberts, and learn more about one of his “How the heck did I get here moments”.

Source: Ramones Museum Berlin

Photo: Rick Johnson

91 adverts from Skateboard! magazine #10 ( June 1978 ) brings the total vintage skateboarding magazine adverts in the gallery up to 801! Skateboard! was a UK publication and as such, features some distinctly British ads, companies and slang in addition to the the usual fare from the USA. Half the ads seem to brag about products made in in England, while the other brags bout being made in the USA. Did you know helmets were sometimes called “Bump Hats?” Now you do. Someone in ad sales gave Uniroyal Corp. the hard sell, because they took out two, 2-page spreads in this issue. Check out the gallery.

The Vintage Skatemag Advertisement gallery has been updated with 30 ads from a rare, east coast skateboarding magazine called Skate, The International Skateboarding Magazine. With that addition the total number of adverts in the galley has reached 704! Some notable additions include very early ads from Zorlac and Santa Monica Airlines, in addition to the usual assortment of brands normally associated with the 70’s, like this classic with Tony Alva with no ad copy whatsoever. Skate magazine hailed from Melbourne, Florida. This issue is pretty slick, and the magazine probably would have been able to find a good sized audience if the bottom of the industry had not fallen out within the year.

I just added 62 advertisements from Volume 2 Number 6 of Skateboarder Magazine (1976) to the Vintage Skatemag Advert Gallery, bringing the total in the gallery up to 674 ads! 1976 was a good year for skateboarding.

Walt Disney’s The Beagle Boys #37, published by Gold Key in 1977. This issue does not feature any skateboarding stories or illustrations outside of another sales club advertisement with a Huffy 24″ Action Tail that you can earn as a prize for selling stuff, thus ending the mystery of what boards were in those illustrations, thanks to the plate-of-shrimp lattice of coincidence and my current lack of freelance work.

No, it’s not Tony Hawk in a Depend commercial, if only… Can you imagine? “When you need Extreme®! bladder control…” Nope. It’s just a couple commercials for Qnol health supplements. The commercials are short and to the point, with very little skateboarding. Both shot on location in his warehouse. The marketing materials are amusing in that they quote Tony’s lines from the commercials as if they were casual statements of his and not a script written for him.

Super Skate Spray! While sifting through hard drive buried treasures I rediscovered these pics from a 2018 auction, and remembered Super Skate Spray from the Vintage Skatemag Ad Gallery. It came from the Lubri-Kote company in Texas, circa 1976. There does not appear to be a Lubri-Kote anymore, but there is an international Lubrikote company based in India that was founded in 1975. Are they related? Who knows. Maybe Super Skate Spray was so successful that it launched an international lubricating empire…

The Wisconsin Department of Transportation has a program aimed at curbing impaired driving called Zero In Wisconsin. Their newest campaign posters can be seen at various rest areas, bus stations, and other locations. These posters feature people engaged in various Extreme!® sports and the tagline “Do this drunk!? That would be Crazy!” At first I was a little bit confused by this, because it almost seems like a suggestion and not a warning. As in, “That WOULD be crazy, let’s try it!” Turns out I’m not the only one. It’s not just a poster, but also a TV commercial, both of which were shot in the bowl at the 4 Seasons skatepark in Milwaukee.

– Thanks to Daminal for the tip.

Little Audrey must have been popular to warrant 2 consecutive titles published in 1967. Playful Little Audrey #70 only features skateboarding on the cover, but Little Audrey and Melvin #33 has a skateboard storyline as well. Melvin looks like a twerp.