Check out this early 80’s “Street Sucker” from the Netherlands. The graphic and two-tone wheels look like something distinctly American, although there is no visible company name to be found. – Thanks to Michiel Walrave for the pic.

“Vlees doet ‘t ‘m” translates to “Meat Does it.” This the skateboarding version of a series of stickers produced for the Meat Information Office (?) of the Netherlands. This sticker is about 3″ large and part of a large series featuring all manners of other sports. I couldn’t find a date anywhere, but it looks to be late 70’s or early 80’s. Nice astronaut helmet! – Thanks to David Maes for the tip, even if you did send it back in 2018!

Thanks to Matthijs for this picture of what is either a conceptual art piece or a very sad little skatepark located in Amsterdam. That round planter to right probably sees more acton.

You might remember a Dutch newspaper article from 1980 talking about how skateboarding was becoming very popular. Here’s remnants of the same skatepark in the May 4th, 1982 edition of the Leidse Courant newspaper. This article is about the sport’s demise. This must have been slightly better than it looked when Jeroen and crew found it in 1985. Even then, you had to keep an eye open for those Mad dogs. – Thanks to Jeroen for the tip.

Crazy expensive but beautifully designed and constructed by Focus in Rotterdam, these newly released tables come in two different sizes, and are constructed with the largest continuous surface area of recycled skateboard decks I’ve ever seen. The smaller one (200x90x77cm) aka DecksTop 33, is constructed with 33 skateboard decks while the larger (240x90x77cm) DecksTop 39 uses… well you know. They start at €2.726,45, but that includes the hefty 21% VAT tax. Man. that’s a lot of tax, but they probably have bitchin’ free health care and a decent education system. Someone’s is reaching their ID students well, that’s for sure.

Skateboard slaat aan in Vlissingen – Skateboarding is catching on in Vlissingen, according to the December 4th, 1980 edition of the Dutch newspaper Provinciale Zeeuwse Courant. Check out the photo of that skatepark. Even though it’s low res black and white newspaper photo, it’s clearly one of those fiberglass ramps that was part of the Skate Ball system, and possibly the same blue fiberglass ramps used in Thrasherland. It’s hard to know for sure, could there have been more than one manufacturer of blue fiberglass skateboard ramps? There are similarities and differences between the two if you compare, but it’s conceivable that there were a few minor iterations over the product lifespan that would account for that. This is the only photograph I’ve seen showing the incline, full pipe parts (only half here) and the Skate Ball ramp. I’m just shocked that some of them made it all the way over to Europe. The article comes courtesy of S&A reader Jeroen who rode this thing in the Netherlands. His crew actually found abandoned parts of the park and reassembled them in their own configuration and rode them in 1985.

Wrapping paper from the Netherlands featuring Sinterklaas (Santa Claus) companion known as Zwarte Piet (Black Pete). – Thanks to Matthijs for the pics.

This week’s installment of Dutch hipster pop music is brought to you thanks to Matthijs, who claims he isn’t into this sort of thing, but then how else would he have found it? At least I’m spelling his name right this time. As for Jeebus, all I have to say is Faberyayo, Zomer Aan De Wand, and I don’t know what that means.

Well who am I argue? I’d have to translate it first. The A-side title needs no translation – Get Rad (With the right protection). Sounds like a description of a dorm room poster for safe sex, but no, it’s almost as titillating. Nothing excites an adolescent more than a pullout poster extolling the virtues of hard plastic shells and tender, soft foam. This poster is courtesy of the Dutch organization known as the (translated) Consumer & Safety Foundation, circa 1989 or 1990, judging by that Nicky Guerrero mask model. – Thanks to Matthijs for the scans.

Random window decoration s in Rotterdam. From what I gather, the store sells old ipods to martial artists and skateboarders. – Thanks to Tom Miller for the pic.