As a kid I can remember seeing ads like this in the back of comic books and other publications aimed at adolescents. The gas is, you send away for some sort of sales kit, most likely a catalog and some motivational text, and then you could sell greeting cards and who knows what else to all your neighbors and extended family in hopes of earning enough credit to get some free stuff from the advert. It was your job to take the orders, collect the money, send it to the company and then deliver everything when they mailed it to you. This scheme for using a child labor farm sourced from comic books has been around for a long time, probably dating back to the 40’s with Grit, which amazingly, is still a thing. The practice of bribing kids with the potential to earn prizes probably had it’s heyday during the 60’s and 70’s. Here are 2 examples from the late 80’s and early 90’s in which you can earn a Nash or Variflex skateboard.

Sure, it’s been 11 years since we posted a Nash Sound Board, but there have been new archeological developments thanks to reader Vivi Kristensen.  This version of the Sound Board has moved the radio compartment from the tail to just behind the front trucks, and all mention of the Nash brand on the board graphic has been removed. However, the radio compartment still bears the Nash logo mark. This radio was no doubt perfect for listening to The Rest of the Story with Paul Harvey during a heated vert session.  It’s unclear how on earth you’re supposed to tune this radio. Looks like a set it and forget it situation. All so quaint compared to modern day implementations even if it did take 30 years to improve on it.

These images were sparked by a post in the Vintage Skatemag Gallery for a board called the Chaka Zulu. I had a vague recollection of these advertisements from back in the day as being some sort of foil clad foam core deck, but I wasn’t sure. Nathan McDernott saw the post and sent in some pictures of his Galaxy board collection. He has confirmed that these are foam core boards clad in a thin sheet of aluminum. He also mentioned there were some Nash skateboards made with the same technology. Texas Rec Corporation was the manufacturer of the Galaxy skateboards, and their mailing address in Wichita Falls, Texas is about 120 miles from Nash’s location in Fort Worth. These two companies are separate entities, so the Nash models might have come about through geographical proximity and one company or the other reaching out for more business. Both Nash and Texas Rec are still in business, primarily making water sports accessories, with Nash tending towards the more active items you might ride on, while Texas Rec makes a lot of lounge chairs and life jacket related items.

I’ve seen a lot of Nash skateboards over the years, but I’ve never seen the Ramp-ant, which you can buy from Hermann’s Attic on Ebay. I’m not sure what the LSD inspired artist was going for, but I can’t believe they missed the obvious opportunity for a double pun had there actually been an ant on a ramp on the bottom of this deck. Even so, it’s a pretty great example of a horrible graphic. It reminds me of the Tubes for some reason. A Tarampula could probably take this Ramp-ant.

I couldn’t find out a single thing about who this Tiffany Eubank is. There are too many current day Tiffany Eubanks littering social media for Google to be much help. I believe she must have been an English model or actress. She was featured in a series of ads for Ushers Green Stripe scotch doing things like skydiving and skateboarding. The advertisement on the left ran in 1965, the same year as this Nash Sidewalk Surfboard ad. Actually, It’s unclear what company produced this advert. It appeared in a surfing magazine, and Surfing Heritage lists Ventura International Plastics (in Ventura) as the manufacturer of the Duke Kahanamoku surfboard model, but the Nash name is not on the (at least) 2 different Duke Kahanamoku skateboards, and their address was in Texas even back then. Then there’s the mail away surfing stickers. That address is for a third entity called Program Sales with a Hollywood address. It’s a bit of a head scratcher, but the Cowabunga ad is a pretty cool one.

Happy New Year from Skate and Annoy! Thanks to all our contributors, readers and tipsters. We’re working on improvements and additions to the site for a better S&A in 2014. Good health, good fortune and a Dog Cheeze for everyone in 2014! Now go out and skate!

I made some 7 color, screen printed reproductions of an advert for Nash skateboards Park Rider model. These ads appeared in comic books around 1978. I thought I had posted my copy here, but I must have been thinking of this old Bullwinkle ad instead. The idea of printing these has been in the back of my mind for a long time. I went as far as working on the separation file before sitting on it for a year. Earlier this week I got it in my head that I should try to crank these out in time for the Above Coping art show benefit at Commonwealth Skateboarding in Portland tonight. On Tuesday I called RC Screen Shop, luckily they had four screens stretched that the original buyer never picked up. They were large enough that I could burn two colors side by side on one screen, so I decided to go for it. After a few sweaty late evenings (cutting it down to the wire) I have a finished print run. If you buy one at Commonwealth, all the proceeds will go directly to Above Coping. Original advert and more after the jump.

Sure they are crappy, but they are so bad that they’re… still bad. Even more so now that they’ve seen an updated, craptacular re-imagining of the graphic. As if there there is a pent up, unrealized nostalgia for the worst boards any given skater has ever owned at any point in their skateboarding life. Blind’s Danny Way Nuke Baby was a brilliant, but these are just as bad, if not worse than the original, especially the most famous of all bad 80’s Nash boards, the Executioner. They did have some cool graphics in the 60’s. It’s ironic that they haven’t tried to cash in on those graphics, even more so because they apparently own the Hobie name. Way to massively miss any sort of reissue connection. Oh well, all the better for someone else. I can’t recall if there was ever a Nash “Blaster” model, but I included it anyway because it’s a confusing mix of 70’s imagery on an 80’s shape that came out some time in the… dammit! What the hell are we calling this decade? The tens? Crap. Nash makes skateboards again. I guess they finally recovered from the fire.

Never saw this Nash board back in the day. Mazed and Confused. HILARIOUS! They must have had some clever bastards in the art department. Carl Warren captured this one in the wild at Gabriel Park.

Here’s an interesting piece of history. Aside from looking really sharp, this vintage Nash skateboard features clay/composite wheels and something I’ve never seen on a board from this time period, wheel covers. Some people would have you believe these are a recent invention. Check out the auction while it lasts for some larger versions of the pics. A really nice board here. UPDATE: Some 13 years later I’ve added photos of the hubcap bearing protectors thanks to Mark Bader. I’m scratching my head as to why I didn’t post the pics from the auction in the first place.