Category Archive: Media Watch
Shmack. Sounds like…
This is just something that makes Shmack stand out from the competition. Check these pants that come packaged in this Nike SB style shoe box. These jeans feature Shmacks sneaker protector on the cufs of the pants to keep your jeans from ruining your kicks. And to put it the package over the top there are 2 gold Shmack sneaker tabs (the things that go on your laces, like the AF1s). And for those of you who skate we got some limited edition Shmack skate decks. CJ says you should get one and see him at the skate park. I’ll never win any fashion awards, and I’ve worn some stupid stuff in the past, but you’ve got a vanity problem if you are worried about your jeans somehow ruining your shoes. Dare I say, it makes you seem a bit feminine? Shmack is making a skateboard too, but it must be for posing since actually skating would definitely ruin your kicks. Does anyone know about this? Not our scene for sure. Ask CJ if you see him at the skatepark. Shmack makes a lot of 80’s style hip hop clothing as well as hoodies with a break away mask for…
Skate Iraq and Roll
It’s good to see that skateboarding on gravel is finally catching on. This picture is part of a feature called Day in Pictures from the international version of the BBC News. You can see it larger here, but you’ll have to manually select picture number 5 once you get there. More skateboarding in Iraq after the jump.
New Capitola Classic
Anyone who read Thrasher in the 80’s should remember references to the Capitola Classic downhill race series. They covered it when it was going, and pined for it when it wasn’t. It seemed there was always a Capitola rumor in On Board Trash. Of course, seeing as how my own front yard ramp got mentioned there once, they pretty much printed anything. Rumors be damned! Former competitor and second place women’s finisher Judi Oyama is doing her best to resurrect the Capitola Classic. She’s in talks with the city to try and bring it back. Not bad for someone who got uninvited to the race for being a chick. Judi has two recent appearances in local news concerning the Capitola Classic and getting the new generation, and especially women involved with their own scene. The poster is Jim Phillips design from the 1980 race and the picture is by Judi’s father. More Capitola links after the jump.
Car as Skateboard Part 5: Jeep Compass
This should really be part 1 I think. This is probably the first car as skateboard commercial I ever saw back in 2006, but I was unable to record it until now. This Jeep is so bad ass that it causes a ball of rolling jumk to follow until it spontaneously assembles into a robot and proceeds to ride the car like a skateboard. Automobile manufacturers are ever safety conscious, and so is the robot. He takes the time to rip a dome off the top of a nearby building to wear as a helmet. Quite frightening, actually. I wouldn’t want to have to worry about property damage suits everytime I drove my car. Watch the video and learn about the robot’s old schoool roots after the jump.
I don’t think it’s a video of the Clown Ramp.
Brands that can’t be stopped. Apparently Debbie Does Dallas, “a well known 1978 porn franchise playing off the sexploitation of the Dallas Cowboys football team cheerleaders” has been remade several times. The title phrase is so catchy even people who have never seen the film know the title. Give me alliteration or give me death. Likewise Shepard Fairey’s iconic use of the word Obey and the Powell Peralta Ripper graphic by V. Courtlandt Johnson are part of the popular consciousness. Not sure what the picture on the right has to do with the movie. but there they were together on the internet with that coopted skateboarding t-shirt design.
Gunning for Swank
There are lot’s of large skateboards, but only one title holder. Tod Swank has his work cut out for him running all that is Tumyeto without having to worry about people trying to take away his record for the world’s biggest skateboard. First there was that cheater (Update: Not a cheater) in Australia, Now there are a bunch of eggheads at Bay College who are building a 31 foot large skateboard as part of a project in a Computer Aided Design class. A student named Tim Timler (Seriously?) is the project lead. Tim, you suck. Tod didn’t need no stinking computers. The college president who is admittedly not a “balance person” is going to be one of the riders in the documentation attempt. Fantastic! [Source: Daily Press, Escanaba, MI]
Mike V. and Jeep
I was in a pub ordering a cider a couple of months ago and looked up at the TV and saw what appeared to be a Jeep commercial with Mike Vallely. The sound was turned off but I seem to remember Mike sitting in a drainage ditch (LA River scale) and a graphic that said “Mike V on skateboarding” or something like that. I haven’t seen it since, but I did find a web site called Sportskool.com that is essentially trick tips for all kinds of sports, most of them no-so-Extreme. Mike V. is the go-to guy for skateboarding, and Jeep Patriot is the sponsor. At one time this would have struck me as odd. Maybe Jeep is trying to capture the Mike V and the Rats demographic.
Zach Wormhoudt
The San Francisco Chronicle has an article on Zach Wormhoudt of Wormhoudt Inc. titled Chairman of the Board. Get it? “Board” as in “skateboard.” Ah ha ha ha! Get it? Get it? Oh stop, you’re killing me. Oh wait, you don’t get it? Wormhoudt’s father built Santa Cruz’ infamous Derby Park which is the world’s oldest surviving skatepark. Everyone is a critic, as evidenced by this quote from the article: “I have nonskater friends who say, ‘You have the greatest job in the world!’ My friends who are skaters say, “I don’t envy you.’ ” It’s a decent article. Check it out. Update: Links fixed. [Photos Top: Chronicle/Mike Crane and Mike Kane, Bottom: Wormhoudt Inc.]
Pamela Anderson hangs out skateparks.
Unfortunately, she’s carrying a Razor scooter for her son. Maybe that’s why it didn’t work out with Kid Rock. [Source: In Case You Didn’t Know]
Ramp City – Anytown, USA.
This is golden. 80’s era footage of a skate park called Ramp City on a “Good Morning America” type show localized in Cleveland. Gary Lumpkin is the man on the scene. Lord. God. King. The banter between the hosts (not to mention the accents) and low key nature of this program has the Midwest stamped all over it. The skaters are good and the reporter is a good natured goof who really does his best, unlike some. Hear terms like hodad and youngster bandied about. Listen to the hosts go from genuinely concerned for the safety of the Lumpkin to Jackass-type encouragement in one sentence. Also, check out the incredibly corny (even for that time) canned background music during the second half of the location shoot. It’s almost a riff of a Keystone Cops movie. Highly recommended, it comes from a BMX site actually. The owner was a 16 year old BMX guy, although they conspicuously don’t explain where he got the money to open the place. I almost forgot the best part. Gary calls the ramp a half-tube.










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