Ha ha! No excuses this month because this one should be right on time! Midway through the following month is right when you should start looking for Baywatch, and I pretty much made it! Some months are a chore to write, and it feels like pulling teeth, but some months just flow easily, and that was true of March. I think there’s a really good selection of stuff this month, with some high priced items but balanced out by some interesting but cheaper decks too. But enjoy this one because April is looking absolutely terrible so far. I can’t remember a month with so few high priced decks and so many uninteresting mid priced decks! Really, it’s a barren wasteland out there so far this month! And it’s funny because I just had an argument with a guy on skullandbones who asked why there are so few good NOS decks on eBay these days. I argued that he just wasn’t looking hard enough, which was probably true in March, but judging by April he is right. I hope that this worrying trend ends quickly, because this is going to be a damned dull column going forward if things continue at this rate!

Well, someone half did their homework. Mongo Grinders is the name of the toys. They are basically little bendable animal figures with suction cups on their hands and feet, and a little skateboard. The skateboard is 100% cheap plastic and the suction cups are crappy too. They did do a google search for skateboard lingo and use it all the packaging and marketing. They didn’t quite get it right though. There’s a fancy web site too, with everything but pictures of the actual products. I’d post some myself but my camera is broken. There’s an indy sticker on that board and a half-assed “save the earth” message tacked on to the whole thing.

Skateboarding — like exotic animals and taking care of our environment — can be an interesting and rewarding activity in which to participate, but being smart and safe is the key to avoiding harm and continuing that enjoyment. And remember — planet Earth is our only skatepark, treat it with respect!

So yeah, get some Mondo Grinders.

And it stands for “Who Would Jesus Scam?” I was trying to track down rumor that American Ramp Company (AKA ARC) registered the names of famous skatepark building companies with alternate domains and had them forwarded to americanrampcompany.com. Think grindline.net, dreamlandskateparks.net, newlineskateparks.net, spohnranch.net, californiaskateparks.net and sitedesigngroup.info. I tried these myself and they ended up parked at Goddady.com and their anonymous registration service, save for Californiaskateparks.net that forwards to something called Hardcore Skateparks, which turns out to be wholly owned by… ARC. I had a post planned on ARC a while back. The used to have an unintentionally funny video introducing their staff and making them look like… a playground equipment company. Why did I bring up Jesus? Well because ARC did. They gave him his own area on the ARC site. I’ve heard rumors that ARC has taken to lawsuits and litigious threats of over lost bids. Maybe it should be Who Would Jesus Sue? Hey, has anyone tried skating in the rain on one of their metal ramps? ARC says it’s a go.

If they’re going to make all our skateboards, they might as well learn how to ride them. There’s a new Camp Woodward opening up in Beijing China. Woodward Beijing celebrates a grand opening on May 15th. Among other facilities, they’ve got a street plaza built by California Skateparks.

50-50.com has a Dan Bourqui gallery of sequential photos from the recent Clash At Clairemont. Clash At Clairemont is a Grind for Life event. The pictures might look a like an odd choice at first, but it’s because they are animated gifs and they take a while to load. That’s a cropped still of Lincoln Ueda up top. check it out.

This actually came in as a comment, but it was giving off a viral marketing vibe, like it was a plant. Regardless, this is the kind of stuff I put up on here anyway, so I don’t care. Marketers, there’s no need for subterfuge in a case like this. It’s a pretty cool commercial, that will seem less so once you see the rollerblading version they made for the same campaign. Without further adieu, here is the best Mennen Speed Stick commercial you’ve probably seen.

– Thanks to Saintmichel for the tip, if that is your real fake name.

Doling them out to you a little bit at a time. Thanks again to Danimal for the pics.