While it may look like product placement, this post is actually a PSA. In 20 years from now when some other nerd skate historian finds a beat up board with this graphic, they will know it actually came from Brand-X Toxic and was not another weird 80-90’s bootleg mashup. Technically, this model is called the Weirdo Stick, and it is essentially a mashup of the classic Brand X Weirdo and a Vision Psycho Stick.

Oof, yeah. Sorry about that post title. Normally this is the kind of thing I would be practically tripping over myself to make fun of, but for a certain segment of the population, this makes a lot of sense. This is Ookkie, “The World’s First Learner Skateboard.” Is this product necessary? No. But if you think about all the brightly colored push and ride toys out there for toddlers, why not make it a skateboard? You can use it with the “adult” handle for control, with just the kid handle once they are more comfortable, and without the handle at all before they move on to a real skateboard, if they do at all. No, these guys did not pay me for product placement. Yes, this is at odds with my own opinion that skateboarding in the Olympics is silly. I am going to call bullshit on the advertised “specially designed trucks” that are lightweight and turn easy. What they meant to say was “cheaply produced since the baseplate is part of the plastic deck.” Who makes this? You’ll be slightly surprised.

You know we’re suckers for vintage skateboard wheels, especially when they include packaging, not to mention Sears skateboards. This set of Sears Sidewalk Surfer replacement wheels currently has a buy-it-now option of $169.99 from an Ebay seller named “Lots O Camera Stuff.” The box says these wheels are compatible with skateboards “equipped with rink roller skate wheels.” So they basically stuck half set of rollerskating wheels in a special box. Check out that open bearing wholesomeness.

Many moons ago (I think I had a different phone…) I worked out a deal with Doc SkateRock to import some of his books over to the states and sell them at a reasonable price, just to make it more attractive to buy here in the USA and Canada. Well I finally got everything sorted out on my end so now is the time for you to BUY THE BEST BOOK ON VINTAGE SKATEROCK! Sure, I prefer to call it skatesploitation, but I didn’t write the book.

• 192 pages
• 7“ format
• hardcover
• about 350 colored scans of record covers and labels
• plus many photos and extras
• year of release: 2012
• printed in Germany

Because this required some bookkeeping I had to set up an actual store instead of a couple of PayPal buttons. I’d say that was the reason this took so long, but regular readers (and Doc) knows that isn’t true.

HUGE NEWS that Lionel Messi is coming to MLS and joining Miami FC. How huge is it? Even the skateboarding sites are talking about it. OK, this one is at least. How bizarre is it that the world’s most famous sport celebrity is wearing a skateboard related shirt on TV during an interview? Well it turns out it’s a lot less bizarre than I thought, now that I’ve learned it’s a Louis Vuitton shirt that somehow slipped under the S&A radar. Let’s talk about how bizarre that is… Louis Vuitton designers capitalizing on a Tony Hawk / Berrics bit. I don’t know how much it cost when it was released but you can buy them on the collector’s market for around $1,500, or $20 on the knockoff market. Am I missing something? is there a reason they used the Icee bear typeface? Make your own if you want.

This showed up in my feed and I have no idea what the hell it’s all about other than the company To The Stars appears to be somebody’s art project, and one of those somebodies is a guy from Blink 182. The plush toy allegedly says things when you press the beer can, but they wont tell you what. Is that supposed to be Russ Howell? This makes me want to Blink 183.

The Real Ghostbusters in this context refers to the UK based Marvel comic series that ran from 1988-1992 for 193 issues. Issue #53 dates to 1989 and features I was going to try and buy one cheaply but I managed to find the entire issue online at a sketchy website that threw up some security warnings so I won’t post the link here. There is no real additional skateboard art other than the cover because the story is a written one that appears in a feature called “Winston’s Journal,” which is kind of a bummer, but’s a cheap way to fill pages. Check out the cover, and the story, plus a bonus shot of a crab on a skateboard from an advertisement for Tom & Jerry comic book in the same issue. And for the heck of it, a bunch of Ghostbusters skateboards from the late 80’s to present day.

– Thanks to David Maes for the tip

Digitally printed grip tape in bulk. This is the first time I’ve seen this service advertised before. The product looks good, but I’d have to ride it to tell if it functions well. It’s from a random merchandising company called Brandsick that is not skateboard specific, but they also offer skateboard wheels. I really have to wonder about the quality of those considering they don’t offer any details other than an Orangatang Wheels image that looks like it was poached from somewhere else. A sheet cost you less than $5 but the catch is you have to order at least 50.

Seriously, it brings me joy that in the year 2021 I can still make the occasional Gratuitous Tony Hawk post. These rubber rings from Groove Life feature two “new” designs, which means the other two must have been around for a while. I’m pretty sure Ive seen these before today, the images must be languishing in one of many “Save for future posts” folders on my hard drive. The construction of these makes sense if you want to wear a ring and your day to day circumstances make that a potentially dangerous proposition. The thing that doesn’t make a lot of sense is making them so explicitly Tony Hawk themed. I feel like if I wore one it would signify some sort of personal commitment to Tony, like those teenagers who give and wear rings as a promise to abstain from sex. At the rate Tony is going through wives, maybe mass production made more sense… Sorry Tony, that was a cheap shot. I don’t have a distinguished career as a professional skateboarder to fall back on. All I got is the low hanging fruit….

Sure… why not? Someone must be buying these because the wheels are being advertised as a re-stock.