This image comes from the home page for the distance learning portion of the Portland Community College web site. Actually, now they are calling it “Distance Education.” No word on if this is an actual student or a stock photo, as well as whether it’s a boy or a girl.

– Thanks to Mrs GVK for the tip.

From a recent Hanna Andersson catalog, offering “quality clothing for kids and families, inspired by our Swedish heritage.”

Ok, it’s more like a lot of late, late 80’s and 90’s nostalgia, but the title should give you an idea. Vert is Dead in a nice collection of magazine pages and flotsam from the era. Pictured above left is a 1989 photocopied product catalog from SMA. On the right we have a 1991 Thrasher advert for the infamous Natas graphic on his 101 skateboards. If you go back to the first post, Vert is Dead kicked it off in May of 2008 with a Tracker advert for GSD’s airplane evacuation graphic board. The advert appeared in the October 1988 issue of Transworld, the first issue of a skateboard magazine that the site’s author Justin ever saw.

Canadian manufacturer Control Skateboards has licensed the likenesses of adult film actresses from Vivid Videos. The series includes Vivid Girls (L-R) Sunny Leone, Nikki Jayne, Hanna Hilton and Meggan Mallone . It’s supposed to be a limited edition run, but they are priced like normal boards. In fact, they appear to be on a bit of a closeout in some locations. I wonder if they aren’t selling as well because Control doesn’t have the same distribution as the bigger brands.

[Source: Tacky]

Aero, a candy bar brand popular in the UK, filmed an commercial spot with Bob Burnquist skating at the Lake Cunningham skate park with the bowls filled with brown balloons to resemble the bubbles in the chocolate. It looks great, trouble is, it’s an exact copy of the same concept that was actually shot here in at Portland’s D.O.S.. Ignorance is going to be hard to claim, considering Apple Computer is currently showing the original video in some of their in-store loops for Apple TV. Of course there is a chance that the originators might be getting paid too. Watch the video after the jump. UPDATE: Added for making of interviews.

[Source: Brand Republic]

– Thanks to Aaron Shims for the tip.

From the marketing book, Chasing Cool. Tony Hawk has at least one quote:

“I can’t imagine having to hire a so-called Cool Hunter. If I had to go to someone else to be cool, I’d just pack up my bags and find a new profession.”

Joesf Heffner sent in a screen grab from the 1991 Gene Wilder and Richard Pryor film Another You. I watched the trailer and I can’t figure out how the road warrior on skateboard fits in. Looks like they chopped off the front of the board and attached a cow catcher, possibly even painted some 215’s blue. That board’s been actually used for more than just a prop.

That video of Rob Dyrdek eating it pretty hard while dressed up as a Carls Jr mascott has been making the rounds lately. He’s got some promotional drink cups coming out through Carls Jr, who have also made a donation to the Skate Plaza foundation. This is as good an excuse as any to trot out these old 70’s era collectable slurpee skateboard cups from 7-11.

[Source: Pitch Engine]

I don’t know what the title of The Chrome Ball Incident refers to. Calls to mind pinball for me. This site picks up exactly where I stopped paying attention to the major skate mags. Even as someone who doesn’t really feel a connection with the popular culture of skateboarding during that time period, I still find these old archives interesting, sometimes even fascinating. It’s all about the hindsight and knowing how it all shook down in the end. Through all the cat fights and temper tantrums in the industry, there was still some great skating going down. One post I enjoyed reading was an interview with Matt Hensley as he was fading out from the public eye of skateboarding. HE was working at the Chicago Sessions shop, who was actually a client of the silkscreen company I was a partner in. He came in with the Sessions dude (Scott?) and we worked up the art for a Sessions T-shirt that looked like a “tribute” to the first Specials album. I remember I vaguely knew who he was, but totally didn’t recognize him. I only mention it (becauee I want you to love me) because in the interview Matt briefly talks about kids coming into Sessions and giving him attitude, sometimes poorly feigning not to know who he was to get a reaction. Matt, if you are reading this, I really didn’t know who you were. Check out The Chrome Ball Incident for a full dose of 90’s era skateboarding. The cool thing is, the pages are uploaded a higher resolution, so you can actually read the whole thing. Thrasher should take a cue from this.

The first comic I submitted to Thrasher appeared in the February 1982 issue. That must have been my birthday present. I turned 21 that month. Thrasher Magazine has posted all of the issues from their second year on their website.