Zine mail from 1991. Judging from the transcript on the back, I might have crossed paths with Pete D. from Clueless zine shortly before he sent those pictures, although it’s just as likely it was unrelated correspondence as nonsensical stories and rampant silliness were a big part of zine culture those days. I made the acquaintance of Pete through Dan at Contort. It’s been a long time since I’ve added any new (old) zines to the gallery, I’ll see what I can do in the near future.

Kevin Kowalski in Service For The Sick from Lifeblood Skateboards. Stick around till the last 15 seconds to have your mind blown.

Kickers looks like it was the 70’s equivalent of Sketchers, only slightly more hip. May not be anthropologically qualified to make that statement, so I depend on UK readers to chip in here. Although that is Rod Stewart in heyday, who was much cooler than Kim Kardashian, Tori Spelling, Britney Spears and even Wayne Gretzky. It’s unclear whether the Kickers shoe brand ever had an actual skateboard team considering the lack of functionality in those high heeled shoes that look more at home on Slade or Rod Stewart than they do on anyone riding a skateboard. They did have a sticker though.

A Sonic the Hedgehog Cracker Jack toy promotion for Sonic Hedgehog 3, circa 1994.

Ellray Jakes and the Beanstalk was written by Sally Warner and illustrated by Brian Biggs. There’s one skateboard illustration on the cover, plus two on the inside. When my second grader finishes reading it, I’ll have him write a review. Can Ellray master the moves in time to win his friend back?EllRay Jakes may be the shortest kid in his class, and he may get into trouble from time to time, but he can always count on his best friends Kevin and Corey. But lately, Kevin has been skateboarding with the meanest boy in class. Could EllRay be losing one of his friends?Not giving up without a fight, EllRay asks his older neighbor to show him a few jaw-dropping skateboard moves—like ollies and kickflips. EllRay must learn as many tricks as he can before the secret boys-only third grade skate-off. But will it be enough?

An assortment of drinking glasses with skateboard imagery, two from restaurants and one from a food product. From Australia to the USA, from 1977 to 2002.

This is a panel that originally appeared in the Adventure Time comic issue 15, released in April of 2013. I found it in volume 4 of the omnibus edition. To my knowledge, Skateboard Princess has only appeared in this single panel of the comic book series and has yet to make an appearance in the animated series. OK, so it’s really just Princess Bubblegum referring to herself in the 3rd person as Skateboard Princess, but the wiki treats her as a distinct character. The princesses in this story helped Finn and Jake recover from a spell cast by perennial jerk Magic Man. He’s simultaneously one of the most annoying and enjoyable characters in the Adventure Time world. Speaking of frustrating jerks, whoever made the decision to eliminate show-specific sections of the Cartoon Network website is clearly related to Magic Man. I wonder how Pendleton Ward feels about it.

I bought this vintage Russian skateboard advertisement some time before 2013, which is as far back as my Ebay history will show me. The stamps say 2009, but I don’t think it was that long ago. I wasn’t sure about the authenticity of this, but it did ship from Moscow, Russia, and the guy even had “SNA” in his name. I can’t even type in the Cyrillic alphabet to get an online translation. I’m not sure how old this is. It looks 70’s but it might be early 80’s. (1982) If you can help, please chime in. Maybe these guys know something. I remember at the time I bought it I felt like some sort of tomb raider, importing illegal cultural artifacts from the Eastern Block.

As a rule, if I decide to post a product release video, you’ll find it off the main page in odds and ends section known as Broken Kingpins. It has to have pretty bombastic footage or be highly entertaining to make to the font page. This 3 minute clip featuring Silas Baxter-Neal from Adidas made me laugh, and so here it is.

Here’s a trio of advertisements featuring Tony Hawk that range in date from 1999 to 2005. All of them are for non-skateboarding products and were taken from assorted comic books. Take what you want, but eat what you take.