Check out these excellent Skateboard Champion embroidered patches. I’m not sure what a “cashpatch range” is, but I know that poster boy looks more like a comic book superhero than a skateboarder. Even without the great display, these patches are well worth the $46 cost. I’ll bet you could sell them for $5 a piece easy, if you had the right shop. A close up of the patches reveals a bunch of Easter Island heads on the skaters. Click through to check out other anatomical abnormalities, possibly elephantiasis. Bonus Stupids video too.

– Thanks to David ODK for the tip.

I was going to say “I like this kid” but he’s a grown man for the love of Hosoi. Check out his new video part for Sector 9, it’s got a good mixture of street, transition, ditch, diy and skatepark terrain. The guy that looks a little like GVK in the doubles section is actually his father, Larry Martin.

I bought this copy of Superkernel, Volume 4 #12 on Ebay, hoping there would be more skateboarding inside this obscure title. Sadly, the original seller had since passed away. His wife was unable to locate this and many other items he had listed for sale. As I was about to post this, I found another one for sale. Superkernel was a comic book made by Guy and Brad Gilchrist. published by Weekly Reader Books. I first became aware of this comic over at Time Passages Nostalgia. I was about to let them know that they had incorrectly given the date of the skateboard cover as 1978, because my copy says 1982. Then I looked closer I realized they used the same cover twice, in Volume 2 #11 from 1978, and Volume 4, #12 from 1982.

I’ve seen a lot of Nash skateboards over the years, but I’ve never seen the Ramp-ant, which you can buy from Hermann’s Attic on Ebay. I’m not sure what the LSD inspired artist was going for, but I can’t believe they missed the obvious opportunity for a double pun had there actually been an ant on a ramp on the bottom of this deck. Even so, it’s a pretty great example of a horrible graphic. It reminds me of the Tubes for some reason. A Tarampula could probably take this Ramp-ant.

The 60’s were the true, toy store fad era of skateboarding. At no other time would you expect to be able to purchase a serviceable piece of sporting equipment from a snack food manufacturer. Yes, manufacturers have been sticking scooter handles on skateboards since shortly after the handles were torn off scooters to make the original skateboards. This one was a special order produced for the Burry Biscuit company, now known as Burry Foods, one time manufacturer of the Burry’s Scooter Pie. What better way to market a scooter pie than to sell an actual scooter? The box came with a skateboard and the handle, so you didn’t have to turn it into a scooter if you didn’t want to.

This is an excellent 60’s era window display for the Continental Surf Skater. Tommy Ryan, San Diego’s Skate Board Champion says “Get the Winning Continetal Surf Skater Here!” – As advertised on TV. How cute: Little Tommy looks adorable and the industry is still using the two word qualifier “Skate Board.” There was a Tommy Ryan in the downhill circuit in the 70’s, given the young age of the kid in this poster, likely the same one. This has nothing to do with the Replacements reunion tour.

I learned that Rodney Mullen was in Wired by following J Grant Brittain on Instagram, as the Wired feature uses quite a few of his pictures. The lengthy article covers the events that led to Mullen’s first TED talk, his love of Linux, and his subsequent speaking and consulting business. Mullen obviously likes to use skateboarding as an instrument for illustration and inspiration in his new work, as it that’s where his credibility and recognition comes from. He draws parallels between skate culture and tech culture. It’s all very interesting, in a warm fuzzy way, but none if is paradigm changing or particularly new for that matter. It’s important to remember that the job of a professional speaker is more or less to inspire, often times through getting an audience to adjust their thinking a little. It’s the equivalent of removing a few pieces in a log jam or loosening up a few strands in a knot, hopefully allowing the listeners to attack their problems successfully with a new prospective, or at the very least, make them believe they can. On the front page of Wired there’s currently an opinion piece by former competitive skater and NHS team member Kathy Sierra. Sierra’s opinion piece dwells on sexism in the skateboarding world at the expense of everything positive that skateboard culture has to offer. The important thing to note, there is no singular skateboard culture. Rampant sexism certainly exists, but it is in no way indicative of the entire culture, or even the entire industry.

Another shot of vintage skateboard equipment from one of my favorite sources, old department store catalogs. These offerings from JC Penney were available in 1977. There’s a generic board, a Free Former brand, and two that I can’t quite make out with the name Class in it, possibly ODO Class or DDO class. (Update: Pro Class. Thanks Daymond! Pics added.) At the top the page is the venerable Roller Derby brand roller skates, a company that also made skateboards at the same time.

There’s certainly no shortage of skateboarding documentaries, but I wouldn’t mind seeing one on the larger history of Powell, the company and the man. Stacy Peralta put together this short 4 minute video that plays like a mix between a trailer and a marketing piece for Powell. For me, one of the more interesting things about the footage are the teasing glimpses of their manufacturing equipment and process. Everybody knows how skateboards are made, but everyone does it a little bit differently. Make it longer Stacy!

– Via Tim Jamison on Facebook.

Check out this trailer for a short film called Kung Fury. There’s a little skateboard action in the beginning that sets the tone for this flick really quick. It was a kickstarter project and now it’s in production. The only bad thing I can say about Kung Fury is that it’s only going to be around 30 minutes long when completed. It should be a full length feature!

– Thanks to MC for the tip.