Are you the guy that ordered this? It should be in your hands already or very soon, becasue it shipped out on Tuesday. What about the sexist nature of this graphic? Exploitation? No! Well… yes, but that’s the point. When I conceived this graphic back in the 80’s skateboarding was in the middle of a boom and there was an influx of crappy equipment being sold by toy stores and sports chains trying to get a piece of the pie. Add to that the fact that some of the major skate companies were overcome with greed and began employing pimping out the image of skateboarding.

So the point of this graphic was to convey how sleazy the industry was becoming. Also, we thought it was funny. And well, there were boobs too. I am conflicted about using it these days, but I think it still resonates. Click to enlarge, but don’t order any because we’re out of wood for a couple weeks.

This was my fourth year going on this trip. This year the group was in full disarray. Hailey, Lake Cunningham and Washington State were all possibilities being discussed. In the end, small groups went their separate ways. We started for San Jose but ended up touring southern Oregon and the Oregon coast. Too many choices!

When you think of skateboard companies based in Texas, one word comes to mind. Zorlac…. oh wait. Did you know Nash had it’s manufacturing plant in Fort Worth Texas? I would have guessed China, if anything. In 2006 there was a fire at Nash Manufacturing that destroyed the facility. The cause was said to be under investigation, but nothing ever surfaced, at least not on the Interwebs™. I’m going to make a case for industrial espionage and sabotage, because Nash is a true industry innovator. Proof after the jump.

Phil Tedder makes the raddest coping blocks around. Check out his website to see projects he’s worked on and order up some hard long-lasting blocks for that backyard bowl. Tedder tells me shipping is prohibitively expensive over 1200 miles these days (Thanks Bush administration) but if you’re local this is the block for you.

Lance Robson snapped some photos at a Tampa pro vert contest. Which one? I don’t know. That’s right, I don’t know. AST? Actually, this was the warm up day, not the actual contest. He’s also got some shots of the Bro Bowl from the same day thrown in the mix. He’s got a photo set and a short but interesting write up. Check it out on Flickr.

I don’t get “Go Skateboarding Day,” but this kid in the shot above certainly does. Carl Warren went to eight different skateparks on GSD and took a bunch of photographs. Update: Ugh. Follow this link then hit the link that says “go skateboarding day 2008”

Word from Portland Parks is that the official opening day for Gabriel skatepark is July 11, 2008 – a short 16 days from now but in fact it may open for skating sooner than that. Stay tuned for more details.

update: No word on early opening. They still need to do some hydroseeding. There is a Portland Tribune article that talks about the budget woes. Enjoy the complaining about the city spending money on anything and a particularly uniformed shot at the new mayor, even though Parks is Saltzman’s bailiwick, in the comments.

Even though he’s “all old and rickety,” Fox 12 spotlighted Mark Conahan in the Oregon Sports Final segment. Did you know he invented skateboarding in Portland? And then he went on to fund, design and build all the skateparks in Portland. All this was done in his spare time away from his job drawing skateboard comics. You can watch him being interviewed by a barn owl on the FOX 12 web site. Keep your eyes peeled for other notable figures in the Portland skate scene media. I wonder why he’s not promoting this…

Issue number three of Preparation S is courtesy of the collection of Sonny Robertson of SPS fame. Preparation S is from Palestine, Texas, circa 1987. It’s all meticulously hand lettered, and almost every page is covered down to the last bit of white paper. This issue is mostly comprised of the “Staff” of Preparation S, except for a spread on Art and Steve Godoy, and a few other pics of Texas locals like future Zorlac pro Rob Mertz.