The Hundreds has two articles on independent brands of yesteryear (and today) Blockhead, and Acme. Both are good reads, although both could have been much longer. These have absolutely nothing to do with two collaborations by the Hundreds, reportedly sold out already. Against the Grain: How Jim Gray and Acme Changed Skateboarding Forever Garage Brand: The Blockhead Skateboards Story

I don’t know how all this works yet, so I am going to try and post a link. This is some footage I digitized from a 1989 Nude Bowl Session with myself, Lester Kasai, and Richard Salazar AKA Sal… Maybe after I do 10 or 20 bonehead moves like posting this, Randy will teach me how to put a proper link up… Editor’s Note: Here’s the link He has a YouTube account now, video after the jump.

Jim Gray made these stickers ages ago. No, it’s not from my collection, I just saw it on his Facebook page. This is damned funny. I hear Jim still makes a mean sticker.

MC’s comic about the Gray Slide prompted me to dig through some old Skate and Annoy correspondence that I have. Yes. I’ve kept at least 90% of it. Way back in August of 1988 he sent us a letter and some money for another issue. He specifically mentioned a karmic threat if we didn’t follow through. Funny thing is (sad, actually) I don’t think we ever followed through. So much so that when we did reconnect some time early in the new millennium I made a point of sending him something. Jim is good guy. Always nice to see or hear from him. So for those of you who care, here’s 22 year old Skate and Annoy zine mail.

Remember this shot of the week? The board that Jim Gray is riding in the picture, the Sidecut, has been reissued by G&S, but exactly who that entity is, that’s anyones guess. There appears to be an official web site, but the email contact gets bounced back. I’m pretty sure the G&S trademark has traded hands a few times, but I can’t get any confirmation. There are some online skateshops offering boards autographed by Steve Cathey, which according to SkateLegends.com is also coincidentally the guy who signed Jim Gray to G&S. I was curious why he would sign this board and not some others like his some retro-themed offerings with his picture on it. The answer turned up at Cal Streets. The sidecut was designed for Steve, but at the time Cathey felt he was a little overexposed commercially, so he declined to have his name put on it. Minutiae, minutiae, minutiae, but that’s why you’re here, right?

This week’s Shot of the Week is from Jim Gray, pictured at Skate City in Whittier, CA. This shot was used for his first advert ever, which was in Action Now magazine, circa 1980 or so. He can’t remember who took it, and I can’t seem to find it in the couple of Action Now’s that I have access to. So maybe our readers can help. I’m working on putting together an interview with Jim, so if anyone has any questions they’d like me to consider, go ahead and email them to me. Check out the Shot of the Week.