So yeah, it’s strictly product placement time here. Unpaid, to be sure, but it’s been a long time since I’ve seen a recent picture of Stacy Peralta on a skateboard. For some reason I remembered he had knee or hip injuries that were keeping him off the board. It’s good seeing him on a board. Here’s one that came with the announcement of (the second version) of his Hipster model, the Hipster 2. Although I don’t see a goatee on that action shot. I don’t know…

Gold Cup Skateboards comes to you from the mind of Lance Mountain. The boards are all made in U.S.A. and distributed by NHS. The product looks fully flushed out, right down to the “Power Slider” tail blocks. It’s not all retro nostalgia. Well maybe it is actually, but they do seem to be built with functionality in mind, as long as you are OK with a bizarro Streets of Fire ( Note “of” not “on” fire ) scenario where the technology of the future is wildly available in the past. It’s as if somebody forked a parallel universe on GitHub where certain niche technologies and fashions remained the same while the rest of the world advanced. Maybe they can get a young William Dafoe on the team. It’s a strange but interesting time in skateboarding. You can basically buy skateboard technology form any past generation right now. I can’t think of a similar scenario in any other sport. Imagine a football team where everyone decided to wear the old leather style helmets. I suppose you can still buy a basic wooden tennis racket. Maybe it’s just that skateboard styles and technology are more distinct through the ages.

I met a guy lurking outside of the Street League contest in Portland.he said he could show me something I hadn’t seen before. I told him “Not, here. Not now, especially with my kids present.” No, no… I took a glance and said “I don’t know man, I’ve seen hubcaps on skateboards before.” But then I took a closer look, and he explained that these were bearing covers. If you look closely, you can see that these are indeed unlike any other bearing cover that you’ve seen. I’m still unclear as to whether Sk8rNutz are a complete assembly that include the bearings, but they are definitely more useful than Sk8nutz. Sk8rNutz vs. Sk8Nutz, a subtle distinction in product names, but not in product. If you are going to spend a hundred dollars or more on ceramic bearings, these look like they might do a good job of protecting your investment.

File under another good idea that is 20 years too late. Beavis & Butthead skateboards from Globe. – Thanks to Boy at skatemalaysia.com for the tip.

Spotted at an REI store in Washington. Thanks to John Aguilar for the photo.

An iPhone case in the shape of a broken skateboard, complete with truck and wheels, making it impractical for carrying anywhere besides a purse. It’s times like this that I start to rethink my policy of “sometimes it’s good to execute an idea, no matter how impractical it is.” It comes in a bunch of different colors too. UPDATE: This post originally contained links to the web site ducksizedhorses.com. Almost 3 years later, the domain appears to have been hacked, or lapsed and was taken over by unscrupulous parties, and as of 5/4/16 is a suspected phishing site. The links have been removed. [Source: Duck Sized Horses (Site infected) ] – Thanks to Matthijs for the tip.

It costs about $67, but they might hand painted or… I don’t know because I don’t read Japanese. Get yours at Choemonshop.com.

Another skateboard stairs concept reaches reality. Though featured on Recyclart, those are clearly all new skateboards, and kind of crappy modern Kryptonics if I’m not mistaken. The metal supports are a custom fabrication. See skateboard stairs: Part 1 – Part 2 Addendum: I was looking at the Kryptonics web site, and they have a little page bragging about being around the original Burnside skatepark! There are some weird illustration/caption combos in their timeline.

Yeah, I don’t know what that means. Salt Surf is the name of the company and I was just struggling for a title here. I like the shape and the product, but the Pottery Barn style faux weathering rubs me the wrong way. Has anyone seen a copy of this 43 Magazine that they are also selling? Looks interesting and more like an artifact. Not something you keep next to the toilet.

So there’s a DIY article about making a ceiling fan out of skateboards. Nothing really to it besides, you know, drilling holes in skateboards and replacing existing blades. Seems like it would be awfully heavy. It’s not a new concept actually. There have been commercially available skateboard fans for a few years. So long that The X Board ceiling fan from Hunter Fans has already been discontinued. You can still get their model with mini surfboard shaped blades. You can also get a Radical Fan from a company that apparently decorates fan blades and resells them. – Thanks to Charles Glover for the tip.