Whatever your stance on Nike’s presence in the skateboarding industry, you’ve got to hand it to them for the commercials they made and actually aired on broadcast TV the first time around. They are great from a skating and an advertising perspective. I’ve been trying to get ahold of these and post them, but someone else has already done all the work, so why reinvent the wheel? My personal favorite is the running one because it brings back the times when people literally thought you were a freak if you were over 12 and still skateboarding on a public sidewalk. Of course now you’re a freak if you are over 30 and the hassle often comes the skaters instead of the non-skating public. So you can still be a rebel and participate in one of the world’s most popular sports. [Source: Transworld beat me to it.]

The Death video parts that pop up on the Interwebs seem to get people talking. This Patrick Melcher spot is no exception. I thought he was on Black Label but apparently he chose Death, no matter how angry that makes Wham! (80’s time warp again, bad kind.) This video has something for everyone unless you are a humorless twat. Street, tranny, break dancing, rails and even slalom… I wish all video parts were like this one. I included the Richie Jackson spot at the end as well, just to jog your memory. – Thanks to JF for the tip.

I saw this video a few years ago on the web and completely forgot about it until it showed up again embedded in Kristian Svitak’s profile on the 1031 skates site. I don’t know who or when, but it’s good for a chuckle. The stunts are amazing!

1987’s Skate or Die spawned an NES only sequel in 1990 that was imaginatively titled Skate or Die 2. No word yet on whether Nike has plans for a shoe based on Skate or Die 2. I don’t remember this game at all, but there’s probably a lot of info to sift through. Apparently, you accidentally run over the mayor’s wife’s dog on you skateboard, causing the mayor to ban skateboarding. Then you have to skate through the ghetto avoiding thugs and dragons, etc.. you know, normal skateboarding stuff. Unlike the other skateboard “simulators,” Skate or Die 2 looks more like a regular walking adventure game with skateboards pasted onto the feet of the characters. In some of the frames of the sprite animations (old 2D gaming terminology) the skateboard almost disappears. Oh yeah, you get to carry a gun too. Actually, it’s getting more and more realistic as time marches on. One thing that is worth checking out is the theme song, or at least the first 30 seconds of it. It’s got a very heavy Devo vibe. Check it out after the jump.

Shoe fetish. I don’t get it. I’m only mentioning it because it’s a good excuse to post a bunch of shots from the home version of Electronic Arts’ Skate or Die video game that came out in 1987. This isn’t even Nike’s first shoe inspired by or in tribute of 80’s skateboard video games. If they really wanted to do a tribute shoe, they should re-issue the red and black canvas Air Jordan’s that everyone wore while skating and playing video games. If you think skateboard forums are annoying, you should check out some of the sneaker forums where users have tons of Google ads in their signatures as well as bad Microsoft Paint graphics about how the user and/or their crew rules and everyone else deserves a beat down. Awesome community you’ve got their. Makes the comments on SnA look like one big hippie love fest. A little bit of shoes and a lot of Skate or Die after the jump.

Were you a good boy or girl? Did you get a skateboard for Christmas? If you didn’t, maybe it was because Santa was too busy skating to stop by your house.

What about all the skateboarding Jews? We just don’t see Hanukka skateboarding marketing tie ins like we do with Christmas. Jew, Gentile, regular, goofy… it’s all the same. I don’t even know when Hanukkah is, it’s probably over already. Here’s an Israeli TV commercial for what looks like an exploding energy bar that blatantly rips off the Girl Yeah Right! video. Who knows, Maybe Spike Jonze directed this one too.

Jason Jesse has a few choice things to say about the “documentary” on his life (Pray for Me) and David from Shitbird who made it. First off, I don’t get the cult of Jason Jesse, but I don’t begrudge anyone of their right to identify with him. Jesse comes off as a bit unstable at times in this video appearances (come to think of it, maybe I’m just thinking about a trailer I saw for Pray for me…) Also, I’ve only had very minimal interaction with Dave, but I’ve heard some questionable stories and read a lot of unsubstantiated crap about him on the Interwebs™ – all hearsay, mind you. The video is made by some Japanese cats, and it’s basically Jason Jesse on camera stirring up a shit(bird) storm about Pray for Me and Dave Shitbird, who he accuses of admitting to being an informant for the FBI and in general just being a lying scumbag. Take this video with a grain of salt, and watch it for some pretty amusing quotes from Jesse as the interview gets going. He maintains that Shitbird has gotten some sort of revenge on Jesse just by infecting his life. Jesse has resigned…

Fuck, man. It was a stroll down memory lane for me seeing this thing. I loved so many of these bands. There’s plenty of great footage and music. and lots of funny anecdotes. Gang Green touring with a skateboard ramp on stage, remember that?

If you are in Portland, the show is on a Thursday night. You’ll be able to contribute to Howard’s campaign for city council. Howard will be speaking and collecting qualifying contributions. Click here to see the flyer larger, or here to see why you should care.