The great thing about the new millennium is all the small skateboard companies that are started by guys who aren’t really trying to be the next World Industries, and are more concerned with making something they think is cool. A lot of times the first board is a signature model for someone who used to be quite a bit more popular than they are now. Why are so many non-industry type skaters doing this? Maybe because it’s not that hard to scrape up the money to get a run of boards done. Maybe it’s because once you are older it’s easier to meet these people, especially if the star of their celebrity has faded some. Frequently, these signature board projects end up being something that misses the boat in timeliness by about 10 years or so. I’m not being critical, just honest. Heck, I’ve done the same thing, even twice. No wait, three times. What’s the latest? De La Soul has board out on Signature Skateboards. It’s got artwork from 3 Feet High and Rising and comes in two colorways with a total of 150 boards in production. I like me some punk rock, but I probably would have bought one of these back in 1990. Signature’s web site is a little error prone right now. So details are slim. Now about that P.M. Dawn skateboard… [Source: Nerd with Swag]

I had always kind of wondered if this day would come, and it looks like it is finally dawning upon us all. That’s right folks, skateboarding is being considered for the 2012 Olympic Games. Spurred on by the success (success being a relative term of course) the IOC is considering the proposal right now, which would allow our favorite 4 wheel warriors to finally win those real gold medals instead of the cheesy X-shaped ones that they win at the X Games every year. What will the track and field athletes think? Read more after the jump.

When it rains (Tony Hawk) it pours Tony Hawk. ABC’s “Fast Cars & Superstars: Gillette Young Guns Celebrity Race.” premiered last night. I didn’t catch it and it’s not online at ABC.com yet, so I can’t say how much screen time Tony Hawk got, but he is one of the celebrities appearing in the show. Hopefully Tony drives better under the camera than Eddie Griffin. And speaking of Nascar promotions, Tony is also one of the celebrities designing Daytona 500 tickets that fans will ultimately decide whether or not to produce by voting in a poll. I’m guessing this is the last time they have a design contest, because Tony’s is actually one of the better ones. Some of these celebrities either had random small children do the design or spent a grand total of 30 seconds on the whole thing. It’s embarrassing for them, really. The artwork is being auctioned for charity and some of these guys didn’t put any effort into it. Anyway, the Speed Racer reference is just an excuse to post a picture of the new Mach 5 from the upcoming Speed Racer movie. I’ve been waiting for that car all my life. [Photos Clockwise: Tony Hawk from ABC, Tony Hawk’s ticket design for the 50th Daytona 500, and the Mach 5 from Warner Brothers Pictures.]

Old friend of Skate and Annoy Bob Mechtly sent in these pictures of a Tony Hawk demo at Six Flags. Bob didn’t send any details, but near as I can tell from the color cast of these pictures, the event was held in the late 70’s, probably underwater. But seriously folks! Take my wife, please! Maybe it was just an added attraction, or maybe he was promoting the new Tony Hawk’s Big Spin ride, which would be odd since these shots are from Missouri and the Big Spin is at a different Six Flags in Texas. I love the kid looking in the opposite direction as if to say “I wish I was riding on that roller coaster instead of sitting on my dad’s shoulders watching this carnival sideshow.” Check out the size of that screen. Jeebus, that’s huge!

Mit dem “Mama-Board” darf man in jedes Geschäft und ist auch nicht mehr – im Vergleich zu den Roller-Blades – aus öffentlichen Verkehrsmitteln ausgeschlossen!
Ich spreche da aus leider bitterer, eigener Erfahrung!

Err… yeah? Mama Boards are available at Germany’s finest Babies-R-Us.

[Source: Gizmodo]

There’s a Bennett Skatepark DIY Skatepark BBQ & Show this Sunday, June 10th @ the Larimer Lounge in Denver. All proceeds from the door go to the park! Also, check out our eBay auction for a chance to bid on a super rare (one of 125!) Pushead Swampwoman skateboard from Conspiracy. Auction ends on the 19th. Support the Bennett project! What is the Bennett Project? It’s a skater-built project in Denver that is similar to Burnside in nature with a main difference being that they are trying to get approval in advance of building. Go to coloradoskateparks.org for more info. That bowl at the top? Why that’s a concept render for the “left nut” bowl. If you are in the area, go to the benefit. Just make sure you are on the lookout for any bad eggs.

Graffiti facing same issues as early skateboarding is the name of the article, to which I respond “Bullshit!”. The gist of the article is that just as communities provide public skateparks, so should they provide public art canvases. Hmm. That’s a pretty weak argument.

Donald Cassel of Grind King was interviewed on malakye.com, which is a sort of Monster.com for the action sports industry. I had always been a little curious about Grind King. I remember the showed up as king pins first, and eventually moved to making trucks as well. The interview doesn’t go into much depth but it does have a few interesting bits. I’d say it was a missed opportunity, but maybe there just isn’t that much to say. It’s a quick read.

A little slow on releasing this news from the Skate and Annoy Press Desk, but here todays juicy news for a Southern Oregon Skateshop owner now in custody of the Jackson County brickhouse. What sucks is his son Vinny Jr was a good skater, I bet its hard for him to walk around that small town and skate. Now read the sheriffs report with your mouth closed, its gonna be hard.

I lifted this text from a Swedish (I think) blog that linked to Skate and Annoy. I suspect we have Stefan Hauser, who keeps threatening to be our resident Swede, to thank for that. I can’t read a damn thing on the blog, except for the word “plywood”:

Vad har hänt idag. Inte mycket med bowlen, men renoveringen av streetytan med ny plywood har tagit fart, trots att Erik..

Come on, the country that gave us Ikea doesn’t have it’s own word for “plywood?” I’m having a hard time swallowing that. I’ll bet they have a word for “particle board” for damn sure. I don’t know what the Swedish equivalent of D.I.Y. is, but you can see it in action on Wavebridge Pioneers