Nobody bashed the July Baywatch on Skull and Bones, so I guess I must have done an OK job! Kilwag, thanks for inserting the comments section. It’s cool to see what people think, and it’s a way for instant corrections. Cool stuff. Just out of interest, how many hits a month does the site get? Thanks for all of the kind words everybody btw. I started writing these for my own amusement before the eBay boom really hit. Who could have thunk what it would become?
For the time being, I’m sticking with the “era” method of writing the column, though that could change at any minute. By the way, for those interested, this column is fueled by Typhoo Tea, the sounds of Teenage Bottlerocket, and is 100% created on a Mac.
60s – 70s.
Continuing on from last month, let’s keep the Sims love going. Those mint, undrilled Sims rarities just keep coming, and keep fetching ungodly prices. How about a Gregg Ayres Flying Wedge? Nothing that $2,500 wouldn’t buy ya. Holy shit. Were those wheel wells dug out with a trenching tool?
A very similar Mike Folmer went off last month, but it was a stinger, where this is a more traditional pig shape. This is undrilled though, and has a yellow graphic instead of blue. $900.
And this exact deck went off on eBay last month too. A Sims Lonnie Toft snub nose. This one went for $1,530, which although high, is a good $500 less than the one in July, so that buyer must be pissed.
Sorry about the picture on this one, but I didn’t want to not show it. It’s a Logan Earth Ski Laura Thornhill model. There were only a handful of female pros out there in the 70s, and as far as I know, Laura was the first one to get a pro model. Of course, it’s pretty much the same as all of the other Logan Earth Ski decks, just with her signature on it instead of Bob Biniak or somebody else. Interesting nonetheless. $367.
And here’s another undrilled 70s beauty. A Z-Flex Jay Adams Z-Woody deck. A serious hunk of lumber for the serious collector. $1,200.
And now for the wheel show. First up we have set of blue Gyro Hubs. Gyros were recently reissued in a limited form, but here’s the original deal. $306.
Then we have an awesome set of green 70mm Kryptonics, complete with the original tube they came in, original bearings and spacers, sticker, instructions and registration card! Absolutely awesome to see the entire package like this. $455.
And to wrap up the 70s section are a set of Kryps that I’ve never seen before. The way I remember it, red were the softest, blue were medium, and green were the hardest. But white? I have never seen white Kryptonics before. I never even knew they were made in white, but we live and learn I guess. I guess they are rare though, because they went for $555. They are 60mm and have the original Kryptonics bearings. Sweet.
80s
Wow. What else needs to be said? A mint, pink Alva Hosoi. I’ve seen these in black and white, but never hot pink. And it has history too. It was auctioned by 80s Thrasher skate photographer/legend MoFo, and is signed on the top to him by Christian for all of the coverage he gave him in the magazine. Or something like that. Awesome. $2,575. (Ouch. That’s kind of harsh to sell something so personal on eBay. Either Mofo needs the money or he doesn’t get along with Hosoi anymore – k.ed)
A Blockhead Skates “Meaning of Life” deck from 1988. Blockheads are very desirable: seems like a lot of old skaters have a soft spot for this small and skater owned company. They always had great graphics and innovative shapes. This deck went for $312.
A Sims Buck Smith. Great graphic, but it seems like you could get this deck at any online store for about $70 a couple of years ago. This went for $424, which seems incredible to me. It’s great that a lot of people are prepared to bid high for a deck from a relatively unknown skater like Buck, but I guess it only takes 2 to get into a bidding war. Nice leopard skin throw in the background. The seller must have been stoked.
The Cab “full dragon” or “Chinese dragon” is a very desirable deck. Hell, even the reissue that Powell did a couple of years ago is going for over $200. This is in my opinion, the worst colorway of that deck, so of course, it’s one of the 2 colorways that Powell decided to reissue. It is dull and uninspired. The black is flat and lifeless, and the graphics look cheap and Nash-like on top of that flat black. Of course it’s an original, so that guarantees a decent price. $816.
The Sims Flagship. It seemed as if every crew had at least one grom with this deck. They must have had them at every bike/skate shop in the country in 85, and it probably seemed like a safe graphic for the worried mom and dad, proudly buying their kid his first read skateboard. I’m guessing that this complete weighs only slightly less than the Titanic. Still $439 isn’t bad at all.
On the opposite end of the skateboard spectrum were the Godoys. They’d probably have beat down the dad for having long hair, fucked the mom and stolen the kids money. Just kidding Art and Steve. This is Art’s first full size model on H-Street from around 1988, and isn’t seen very often at all. The mini is a lot more common (that one has the devil and the sea serpent). Even pretty worn this one fetched a decent $235.
No Baywatch would be complete without a Vision Gonz first graphic. Yawn. $811.
The Santa Cruz Jeff Grosso Acid Tongue from 1989. Everything Grosso goes for decent dosh these days, so it’s no surprise that this went for $365.
Were you wondering what a mint in shrink Hawk “chicken skull” was going for these days? Wonder no more. $260. Of course the blue is very common. Rarer colors fetch more, and prices go up close to Christmas.
A Dogtown Tim Jackson. You know, I don’t recall ever seeing a picture of Tim Jackson in any skate magazine or video from back in the day, but I guess he must have been good to get a pro model. Of course everything Dogtown from the 80s goes for decent cash, even for a little known skater (at least everything but the Lucien Hendricks), but I digress. $255.
Now this surprises me. Jeff Kendall decks have been hot recently, and this great condition Kendall “pumpkin” should have gone for big $$. It might be one of the occasions when being a complete actually hurt the value of the board. $480 seems low to me: somebody got a real bargain. It isn’t even drilled for rails or a nosebone: a rarity back then. The Trackers did it in, either that or the seller calling it a “tip top skateboard”. And what’s up with that back truck?
Ooh, it’s the leopard skin throw again, from the king of the diagonal photo! Lance Mountain “future primitive”. Pink. XT Mini. $560.
This is a real classic. A Sims Jeff Phillips “breakout”. Classic in the way that the Lester “splat” was classic. A simple graphic that stuck around for years until the pro was synonymous with the graphic. It looks great in the black with the pink and purple. $885.
Now this IS a deck that you could get at the online stores for $60 a couple of years ago. The Salba “baby”. His last model on Santa Cruz, and just a hideous deck. The nose is double drilled. Remember that? Salba’s popularity with the older skate crowd has meant that anything with his name on will be worth cash, even this hideous creation. $276.
90s – Today
An H-Street Colby Carter from 1991. Mint in a charcoal wood stain. $286.
A Jeff Grosso “butthead” deck. One of the earliest Black Label decks after Lucero changed the name of his company. Rare. $404.
And now for a couple of Bulldogs from a couple of years ago. First up we have this awesome “Warrior” deck. The seller describes it as having “car paint” that shifts in color. It certainly does look like something very special. The big ugly Wes Humpston autograph on the tail says that it’s #1 of 5. Wow. $886.
Then we have this deck that I swear I’ve seen before. It’s a one of a kind, hand drawn Wes Humpston Dogtown graphic, created for some art or surf show. Something like that. I don’t remember exactly and I can’t find the link. Suffice it to say, it’s something special. How special? $1,200. Oooh.
Now here’s something I don’t feature every often. A complete series. A lot of contemporary companies often have a graphic theme across all of their pro models, creating a series of decks that look great together. Throw in artwork by a known artist, and you’ve got a winner. This car series was produced by Chocolate in 2001, with artwork by Evan Hecox. The series contains all 7 boards by riders Chico Brenes, Gino Iannucci, Keenan Milton, Mike York, Richard Mulder, Scott Johnston and Stevie Williams. They do look great together. You don’t often see a compete series like this sold off. $833.
And next to last we have an oddity, sold off by Lance Mountain himself. It’s a framed set of 3 hand painted tiles, graphics courtesy of one of his later Powell models (originally painted by his infant son I believe). He recreated the graphic on 2 tiles, put a #3 in the middle, and framed them so they look like the tiles in the shallow end of a pool. Weird, but strangely compelling. $282.
Finally this month we have a ridiculously overpriced per of Adidas shoes. They are Adidas Super Ape Star apparently, and only 100 were made. They were listed in the Skateboarding section of eBay, so I list them purely for this reason, and to highlight the idiocy of shoe collectors. $1,844.
See ya next month
-Neil
