I’m combining two goofy posts into one, featuring Goofy and Mike V. Who you calling goofy? I’m certainly not calling you goofy, Mr Vallely, Sir. What we have here are two items that are only marginally related at best, because they both feature the Disney character known as Goofy. There’s a glutton of Goofy products with skateboards, only one of which I’ve featured here before. I’ve got others on deck though. (I slay myself…) On the left, original artwork and press proofs for an 80’s era Aladin lunchbox featuring Goofy and the gang at a skatepark. On the right, someone auctioned off Mike V’s season pass to Disneyland.

Learn to skate with Sportskool, just don’t try to learn how to spell. Instructional books and videos for learning how to skate are nothing new. The only reason I paid attention to this one is because I happened to catch a video shot with Omar Hassan at Pier Park, here in Portland. (There’s another one with Omar skating in West Linn Oregon too.) Sportskool has videos and DVD’s for the whole gamut, including Extreme!™ sports and even fishing, but sadly, no curling that I could see. Some of the videos are available for free via Youtube channel, but others require a subscription fee. Choose your discipline, street, bowls or vert. Who are your instructors? Omar Hassan, Mike Vallely, and Andy McDonald. Did you know Mike V. wrote a book? Would it surprise you to learn that it appears to be about a fight he was in? (FISTFIGHT VOLUME 1: THE CKY3 FIGHT EXPLAINED) It’s important to note, as every Sportskool video will remind you, Sportskool is not liable for any injury or accident “befalling” any viewers of their programs. The large image above is from “How to Skateboard a Small Bowl with Omar Hassan.” Unfortunately, it’s all general skateboarding instruction,…

Mike V is making the nostalgia rounds lately. First he ditched his own company to team up with Powell again, and now he’s going back to Airwalk. I had completely forgotten (more likely failed to register in the the first place) that he ever rode for Airwalk. They’re re-releasing the Enigma. as well as releasing some new versions of old classics reworked by Vallely. You can hear him wax poetic about returning to the Airwalk roster after the jump. I think Airwalk has changed ownership at least twice since he left. [Source: Artist Direct] – Thanks to Tito for the tip.

So many titles to chose from. There’s For Life, or For Now, and Fall On You Own Sword, or Victimized Again? What am I talking about? it only took six months for Mike V. to bail on By the Sword, the skateboard company he started after ditching Element. By the Sword heavily used the slogan “DIY or Die” in marketing and products. So what beats doing it yourself? Vallely has signed with Powell Peralta again, a company he complained bitterly about on several occasions. It seems every skateboard entity is intent on making Mike a “pawn” and exploiting his hard work and reputation, but I guess time and money heals all wounds. One can’t help but feel bad for all the shops and distributors that fully got behind Mike V. It’s almost like he used them like… pawns in his game. I realize this is a scene from Sid & Nancy. Somehow a reenactment of Sid Vicious singing “My Way” is more appropriate than the actual footage embedded on the official By the Sword web site, with no offense meant towards Gary Oldman.

Seriously. Joining a semi-pro hockey team and quitting his bread and butter sponsor Element in a few short weeks? His new skateboard company is called By the Sword, No wait, try this one instead. The OC Weekly interviewed him about it. He’s also setting up a skatepark tour where you can buy tickets to hang out with him. I’m sure he’s got another movie or two in the can or in the works. He’s a busy, busy guy who makes some odd decisions. He must be putting the fear of God into his press agent because it seems like I get an email every other day. The image above is a still within a still from the Mike V promo reel. He should have put news footage of his brawl outside the hockey rink. It’s probably not in the best interest of promoting the Mike V franchise, but it would have demonstrated a good sense of humor.

Mike V: Do or Die has been out for about a week now. Reviews are mixed, some people love it, while others are perplexed by what appears to be a driving game grafted onto a skateboard title. Which begs the question, if you can drive around the city, can you stop off at a hockey game and fight some fans? (Cue Rimshot) But seriously folks… One of the things that lookspretty cool is the fact that you can play as Mike during different points in his career, including the Powell days, complete with licensed Bones t-shirt in the graphics. Actually, the developers made a big deal about the fact that there are licensed products in the game. What does that remind you of? As a pacifist, I’m waiting for the less macho lite version tentatively titled “Mike V: Live and Let Live.”