Another obscure note in skateboarding history. This is the Gary Horeskowsky pro model, dating back to 1987. You may point out that you’ve never heard of this fellow, and that could be because he may never have actually existed, and if he did, he resided in Finland, home of Statum Skates. According to Mikko Antero (thanks for the pics) it’s a local brand from an era when American pro models were still hard to come by. In the end of the eighties this changed and Statum went dormant, only make a come back in 2012. Statum is indeed a thing again! You can buy decks online. They have a history page online but it’s very short and very light on the details, even if you view the translated page.

Congratualtions son, your photo is going to be used on some product packaging! Millions of people will see it and you’ll be famous! You’re looking at DryNites sleep diapers for rippers and bed wetters aged 8-15. They were spotted (tee hee!) in the Prisma supermarket in Kuopio, Finland. It’s a serious problem that some kids have. These are no doubt super helpful, but they didn’t need to traumatize the kid on the package. He’s surely going to be ridiculed, no matter how many radical (or upside down) skateboarding silhouettes are on the bag. The product is sold in 21 countries, but the US isn’t one of them. There are lots of active lifestyle and bedtime pics on the DryNites sites, but I can’t be expected to go through them thoroughly searching for skateboards because I have to go to the bathroom. – Thanks to Nicolas Bouvy for the photo

Daniel Evans johnny’s trick tip for the frontside ollie has been blowing up hard in the last few days Daniel Evans I couldn’t figure out why Daniel Evans until I found this Daniel Evans <video link> Colin Sharp fontside ollie=en Colin Sharp that’s rad Colin Sharp if you do a search can you find his or something Daniel Evans yeah

Yesterday we had metal from Finland, and today it’s _________. Things must be pretty cold in Finland, because if these music videos are any indication, they’re always lighting their skateboards and turntables on fire. This is the Wool and Vortex video for the track Magic Carpet, as heard on the EP of the same name from the Top Billin label, which I think is from Finland, although the DJ’s don’t appear to be. – Thanks to Glen Brady for the tip.

Chris Cole, Jamie Thomas and Tom Asta appear in the Children of Bodom video for Was it Worth it? Can’t find the video anywhere, but I did find a trailer and some stills from the video on Metal from Finland. – Thanks to Boy Ipoh for the tip.

Since we’ve already discussed the merits of natural and synthetic wine corks, I feel we can confidently add modern landscape design our list of high brow topics. I’m not talking about skate plazas or the appropriation of public spaces. I’m talking about how Thomas Dolliver Church, the acclaimed author of Gardens are for People and the father of modern landscape architecture (California Style) who was widely credited with influencing garden and pool design with his influential free form pool in his most famous work, El Novillero. Truth is, he didn’t invent the kidney pool though. He most he was inspired by a visit to FInland’s Alvar Aalto Villa Mairea, which also featured a free form pool. That’s El Novillero above left, and Villa Mairea on the right. So there you have it. Kidney pools were invented in Finland in 1937, not in California, circa 1948. [Source: Intercontinental Gardener] – Thanks to Jarno Väisänen for the tip.

PLUP is a Finnish company that sells bottled water. In Finland PLUP Ltd donates 10 euro cents from each PLUP bottle sold, directly to the Baltic Sea Action Group to help clean up the Baltic Sea. Stefan Lindfors shot a commercial for them, and lo and behold, it features a certain professional skateboarder by the name of Bam. It also features the music of Bam’s buddies HIM. Just in case you’re wondering, is that really Bam, or a blond guy with creepy blue eyes that just looks like him, he’s got a gratuitous skateboard on his back. Does anyone else see the irony of an environmentally conscious bottled water company? There’s no actual skating in the commercial, but there is some wakeboarding or wake skating or whatever it’s called. I know the U.S.A. is weird for sure, but so is Finland. [Source: Justskate via Kingpin. ] – Thanks to Doug for the tip.