Our new friends over at Skateboard Fieber tipped us off to an article about a visit they made to Jim Phillip’s studio. It’s posted on FecalFace.com. it’s not really an interview, but more of a recollection and visual tour. Definitely worth checking out for fans of skateboard history.

I served on the selection committee and read all the proposals for the Glenhaven skatepark in northeast Portland, Oregon. Dreamland Skateparks’ proposal was the clear favorite of the committee, even though there was a street skating faction that didn’t believe that Dreamland could build a good street park. The committee pared the field to three firms who would be interviewed but in the end only Dreamland was properly licensed to do work in the state of Oregon. Grindline’s license had expired and NewLine didn’t have the proper licenses in the first place.

Here is the original Dreamland proposal for Glenhaven. This was actually one of three designs originally proposed for Pier Park. During the Pier Park process there was a lot of static from street skaters about the designs being favored by Skaters for Portland Skateparks. This of course pissed off the guys who had spent three years doing public outreach and fundraising and lobbying.

The funding was available and we knew Dreamland was going to build the thing, all we needed was a design that would please everyone.

I have posted a lengthy rememberance of the project with many of the design drawings I did between February and April 2006 over on Antigravity Press. You’ve seen some of it if you went to any of the meetings but I wanted to put it all together. Hard to believe I did all that a year ago.

Yes, I’m struggling again. Here’s some pics of Chris Nukala from April of 2004 on his ramp in his back yard. The point of this is not to mention the crappy photos (my fault) or the fact that Chris hadn’t gone through puberty yet (his parent’s fault) but rather to point out that he recently had to tear down his ramp due to complaints from the neighbors or some city ordinance problems. Typical BS you have to deal with whenever you decide to take matters into your own hands. This was a quirky, but cool set up. Fortunately, Chris lives near Pier Park now. He’s a lot better skater post-puberty. Puberty. Puberty. Puberty. And death metal. Enlargements and a more recent shot of him after the jump.

This should really be part 1 I think. This is probably the first car as skateboard commercial I ever saw back in 2006, but I was unable to record it until now. This Jeep is so bad ass that it causes a ball of rolling jumk to follow until it spontaneously assembles into a robot and proceeds to ride the car like a skateboard. Automobile manufacturers are ever safety conscious, and so is the robot. He takes the time to rip a dome off the top of a nearby building to wear as a helmet. Quite frightening, actually. I wouldn’t want to have to worry about property damage suits everytime I drove my car. Watch the video and learn about the robot’s old schoool roots after the jump.

retailers, don’t limit yourselves to what they want you to sell. sell what’s best for your shops needs. push the limits. don’t conform.

Chinese manufacturers fight back… with North American hardwoods, dubious slogans, and innovative shapes. See more of these fantastical, mind-blowing innovative shapes after the jump.

It doesn’t open until June 4. Do not skate. The kids you see were subjected to extreme rendition and are currently being interrogated in a secret facility in Eastern Europe.

If people start showing up there I’ll bet the local police will step up their efforts and write a few trespassing citations or haul a few guys in.

Oh yeah, click the images to see them bigger.

No, actually. The reason I asked all you guys to become contributors is so I wouldn’t have to make lame posts like this just to keep the site fresh. What, are you all actually skating today instead of sitting in front of a computer? As seen on eBay.