It’s amazing how unsophisticated skateboard graphics were in the early 80’s when companies first started to explore designs that were more than just a small logo on the bottom. Believe it or not, some people are going to be pissed off that I posted this picture of a rare old Neil Blender deck that is currently up for auction on eBay. They will say that we are somehow affecting the outcome of the final price, blah blah blah. I’m just using it as an excuse to embed a few Neil Blender videos from YouTube. Notice there is no link to the auction. I don’t want to encourage any (more) of the “Hey, check out my auction!” emails that we already get. After you are done watching these videos, head on over to Neil’s official web site The Heated Wheel.

This is part of our never ending quest to bring you the best street skating coverage. Sure he stands upright and is riding switch, but he’s got no style! Animal retard or genius? Is that a third eye? You be the judge, after the jump.

Grover’s Video Korner often reaches for greatness, but Rory Sheridan is like Icarus flying too close to the sun. Ok, that’s a bit much, but his Behind the Griptape skateboarding exposés are damned funny. They can be a little too drawn out, but as the second episode shows, he’s honing his craft and they are getting tighter. Good scripts, some decent acting, skateboards and copious onscreen beer bongs. What else could you ask for? Watch the videos after the jump. [Source: South of the North]

My wife watched a little bit of his show on MTV and said it made her feel sorry for him. I guess his mom and dad split up, the mom is more than a little self-centered and the dad is a jerk. She said that basically, the only sympathetic character is Ryan’s eight year old brother who is having a really hard time with the divorce. I say, go on to this online Sheckler Tattoo generator at 8 equals D and have at him. Damn! Why didn’t I think of this first? [Source: Irvine-sucks.com] BTW – “the only site that matters?” I think you mean the only other site that matters. I do.

Is inline skating back from the dead? Yes, according to the Press Enterprise story “Inline Skating Part of Action Sports Tour Lineup.” I’m not sure why that warrants the headline. it seems like only a few years ago that inline skating was dropped from the X-Games. So uh… kudos to the Dew AST for having it’s finger on the pulse of Extreme!™ youth trends so that the skateboarding community can heckle the booters instead of BMX guys or worse, each other. Exclusive video of the official promo video for inline skating after the jump. The crappy watermarked image that I couldn’t be bothered to fix in Photoshop is “courtesy” of All Posters, who claims that it has “pure color and exceptional detail that is suitable for museum or gallery display.”

The 70’s was a funny time in skateboarding. At times, the industry and the public at large tended to view it almost as a carnival ride or amusement park attraction. Case in point, Skateball. I received a couple old pictures of a Skateball installation at the Olympic Skatepark in Crystal Lake Illinois a few years back when SnA was being updated on a very infrequent basis. Seeing the Radical post reminded me of them, so I dug them up. Fortunately, I was still able to contact Jeff Hottle for some larger scans, and he obliged with a few bonus shots as well. Skateball was basically pinball on a halfpipe, where the skater simulated the ball. It’s one of those things you hear rumors about but don’t quite give them credit unless you actually see it. Five pictures and a little history after the jump.

Insert joke about shitty bowls here. Oops! Shoulda made this photo of the Kent Washington skatepark a Shot of the Week. [Photo: Tony Davies via Sleestak]

From SnA contributor John Aguliar: Ok so im driving back from visiting my mom and im going 70mph on I-5 and my daughter looks over on the drivers side and says look!!! I turn over and theres this old lady with a full covered ear pro tec helmet on. Doesn’t that crazy old lady know her helmet is older than her? Let the “barney” jokes begin!

Jacob Marcinek of Tranny Whiskers is one of those guys with too much free time on his hands. Sounds like a college student to me. Fortunately for the hard core skateboarding gamer, he has created the BEST SKATEBOARDING VIDEO GAME, EVER. Forget everything you’ve heard about Tony Hawk’s Proving Grounds and EA’s Skate, because Radical Mathematical blows them all out of the water. What could be more fun than using your grade school knowledge of math to navigate through three totally awesome levels of skateboarding? Nothing, obviously. As you can see, even the graphics have eclipsed the cutting edge. I would go so far as to say that Radical Mathematical is so advanced that it is more of an extremely accurate high tech simulation than simply a video game. What are you doing still reading this? Check out Radical Mathematical.

This photo of Speedy Duncan (is that his real name?) was sent in by his father Guy. Learn the shocking truth about this up and coming X-Games daredevil after the jump.