Damn, it seems like I make excuses every month for how late the column is! Well this month I have a real excuse: I was in Maui on vacation. I considered taking a laptop with me for about 10 seconds, but then the hassles of getting it through security and having something else to carry made me realize that it was a bad idea. Not to mention the fact that I realized that there would be no way I would be spending 4 hours inside typing while in Maui. Sorry guys, I had other stuff to do. I also became a US citizen in March, so that chewed up some time too! It’s been a busy month all in all.
This month’s BayWatch is brought to you by the fine debut album “Black Sugar Sessions” by The Lustkillers. If you are partial to snotty, punk rock and roll, then this is right up your dirty alley. The Lustkillers have 2 ex-members of The Black Halos playing for them, and they have a very Black Halos feel, which is a very, very good thing. If you want to know what they sound like, just check out their website at lustkillers.com and check the “Dead Living Legends” section. The first 4 names mentioned are Stiv Bators (duh), Johnny Thunders, Hanoi Rocks and Generation X (the band dummy, not the stupid social group). So that should tell you what they are all about. The first song on the album “Bad Kids” is a straight ahead rocker that sounds like Stiv had been resurrected and is leading a new, young, better version of The Lords of the New Church. Now, I do have a couple of problems with the album. First, it is short, weighing in at 8 songs and about 25 minutes. Also, the two longest songs on the album are mid-tempo, moody and actually kind of dull. Picture mid period TSOL. They’re the kind of songs that should have been left off the album and included as b-sides, making way for more up-tempo numbers. They might grow on me, but right now I get about 30 seconds in and I fast-forward them. Still, taken as a package this is a very solid album, and hard gigging bands like this are deserving of our support.
60s, 70s, early 80s.
First up this month is this Alva Skates “Splat” complete from 1979. It has Lazer trucks and red Alva conical wheels. The trucks appear to be in pristine condition, and the wheels and deck look like they’ve been ridden for about 10 minutes. There are some marks on the tail and nose, but just some scraping really. This is a fantastic example of a late 70s/early 80s Alva pig with period trucks and wheels. This was a real collectors dream, and that showed in the price: it sold for $3,100.
From a similar period I time comes this G&S sidecut in a stunning gold and black colorway. This was recently reissued by G&S, but like most reissues it can’t hold a candle to the original. It does have some shelf wear so it can’t be called truly mint, but it might be the closest that you can find! It looks like risers wear attached at some point, but the top shows no sign of grip tape ever having been applied, so who knows? It sold for $223.
Now this one I put in, not for the usual reasons, but because of the number of bids. Not that it isn’t a nice looking deck, because it is; and being a first generation Kryptonics foamcore, it is rare too. It comes complete with Trackers and Kryptonics wheels and is super clean. All of the plastics are green, as are the wheels, giving it a very sleek look. However, the thing that stood out to me the most was the number of bids on this item. Most items I feature get anywhere from 1 to 10 bids. This complete got 170 bids and finished at $999. The bidding history on this one is a site to behold.
Also from Kryptonics comes this 9-inch K-Beam complete from 1979. It comes with Gullwing HPG IV trucks and red Kryptonics wheels. It has 2 weird tail-skids on the tail that almost look like rubber brakes or something! This looks very much like a generic team model of the signature decks that Steve and Micke Alba rode. There was also an 11.25” version of this deck. It sold for $1,100.
There’s lots of good stuff from 1978/1979 this month! Here we have an amazing period piece, this one being a G&S Doug “Pineapple” Saladino, complete with Tracker Magnesiums (plus copers) and the ubiquitous red Kryptonics. It is a stunning looking complete, but the sellers description of it as being “the closest it gets to NOS” is a little off the mark. I never saw a deck on the shelf that was all stickered up or that had 15 holes drilled through it, but that’s just me! Of course, the stickers here do all a feeling of authenticity. I particularly like the Rebound trucks sticker on the tail and the Hobie and Barfoot stickers. The complete sold for $600.
So here’s a Dogtown Shogo Kubo airbeam, like it needs any introduction! This one is as near mint as you might find, and like the seller says, it would probably be the cornerstone of any collection. The colors are still vivid, and even though it was drilled for nose and tail, there really aren’t too many other marks on it. It has some stickers on the bottom of the deck: a couple of Town and Country and an Apple skatepark sticker. Nice items that just add to this great looking deck. It sold for $1,600.
This is a 1979 Sims Hardcore deck. It’s totally mint; it hasn’t even been drilled, let alone set up! And just look at the work that went into those wheelwells! The wheel wells have become part of the graphic basically. That’s a really nice touch. $534.
So enough of the oohs and aahs, let’s feature a more basic 70s skateboard. Let’s see one that’s a step up from the plastic banana board, but not a pro model like the ones above. One that was designed for that mid level of skater, or a decent skater whose parents couldn’t afford to drop $150 on a pro setup. Well here’s a Hobie Mike Weed model from 1977. It’s fiberglass and has XL600 trucks and Hot Lips wheels. It’s super clean: the wheels don’t look like they’ve ever touched cement, and trucks are still shiny silver. It even has the classic translucent red risers that we all had back in the day. For some reason I really like this. $180.
And we close out the 70s section with this exceptional looking two-tone Z-Flex deck from 1977. It’s in a highly unusual orange and cream colorway, and I must admit that I’ve never seen another like it. It has some wear on the nose and tail and has been signed by Stacy Peralta and Ellen ONeal. She even put a smiley face on it! It’s a real beauty, and I was surprised that it only sold for $656. Does anybody out there have any more info on this one?
Mid 1980s
So let’s start off the 80s section this month with this Powell Peralta Steve Caballero “Full Dragon”. It’s in a just excellent silver dip with orange lettering. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a better colorway for this deck; the thing is simply stunning! It comes complete with Stage IV Indys and Rat Bones, all of which look completely untouched by pavement. Remove the trucks and plastics and you appear to have a NOS Cab full dragon in a quite brilliant colorway. And for $400, that ain’t at all bad.
Now here’s an Alva Chris Cook “Jester” from 1986. It’s Chris’s first pro model, and is in a sweet black to pink fade. It has some scratches on the tail etc, but is in good condition, all things considered. Now I must admit that I’ve never understood this graphic. I just don’t get it, even though I’ve tried to. I’ve squinted at it, looked at it from different angles, used my imagination, and I still don’t get it. Is it a face? Is that a body with triangles for hands? Is it an anchor? Somebody please to explain. Whatever it is, it sold for $228.
Here’s a Blockhead Sam Cunningham “Full Sized Sam” from 1987. It’s his second graphic. This one is close to NOS but appears to be unfinished; it looks like it’s missing a screen or two. Even so, it is still a great graphic, clean and simple in the classic, uncomplicated Blockhead style. I like it a lot. It’s gripped on top, but has never been setup. It sold for only $150, and I was tempted to put it in the bargain section, but I already have a Blockhead Cunningham in there, so here it stays.
Here is a Santa Cruz Eric Dressen “Celtic Rose” deck from 1989. It’s mint and flawless. This graphic looks great on every colorway, but looks particularly good on this natural wood with gold and blue. It’s simple in some ways, but unbelievably complex in others. I never used to like this deck, but it’s really grown on me through the years. I own one but it’s beat to hell (hey Jeff), so I’d love a mint one. One day, one day.
Staying with the D’s we have this Alva Skates Dave Duncan “Claw” from 1987. It looks NOS in the picture but it isn’t. It’s been gripped, set-up and ridden, but very lightly, because the graphics look pristine. The colorway is superb on this specimen. The small image makes it look like its green and white, but it’s actually a more a metallic silver. It is super clean, and I have to mention the shape. Again, at first glance the sides look straight, but look again, they are scalloped all the way to the nose. Whoever did the grip job did an awesome job because it follows the contours perfectly and is super sharp and clean. This is just a great looking deck all the way round. It went for $148, which makes me angry that I didn’t bid on it. .
And here’s one for all you Dogtown freaks. It’s a Dogtown John Fabriquer “Fab Monkey” from 1990. It’s from right towards the end of the 2nd period of Dogtown. At this point the classic unified artwork style of Dogtown was long gone, replaced by a mish-mash of graphic designs and styles, some good, some bad. This in the middle ground: neither great nor completely terrible. It spells Dogtown in the trunks of the palm trees if you hadn’t noticed that, and the monkey is mechanical. The pine green colorway is really nice, and the deck is 100% mint. It’s a rare deck that you don’t see very often. $200.
Holy shit. It’s not often that I feature a complete for its wheels, but there’s always a first time I guess! Actually, I love everything about this complete. It’s a Vision Gator “swirl” first edition. I has front and rear wheel wells, is in the classic white and black colorway, the whole shebang. It comes complete with white Gullwing sidewinder trucks and simply stunning Sims 63 two-tone wheels. It’s clearly been ridden, but not much and everything is almost in new condition. It could be broken apart, but to do so would spoil an absolute classic, very similar to the setup that Gator himself rode in that epic pool scene in the first Vision video that also featured Agent Orange. This thing is so fucking perfect I can’t believe it, and once again I’m sick that I failed to bid because this went for $178.
This is the Santa Cruz Claus Grabke “Holding Back Time” model from 1988. There was a time a few years back when these were plentiful at the online stores. You could even have your choice of colors and stains. My how times have changed! This very pedestrian black dip just sold for $400. The black dip sounds like a good colorway, but for some reason the graphic is an unappealing red, yellow and blue. Basically it looks like complete shite in my opinion, but I guess that’s just me.
Whenever I see this graphic I think of our old friend Doug Didjit for some reason. He had a tattoo of a skull in a top hat with a monocle I believe, and this was the mid 80s. Anyway, this deck is a Sims Henry Gutierrez “Top Hat” from 1989. It’s in a very wonderful blue stain with a graphic that matches the background perfectly: greens, pinks, light blues. It all blends together and works as one, unlike the deck above. It is most excellent, and like most pro skaters from the north east coast, it features forks in the graphic. It went for $235.
So in the 80s we had all of the huge skate companies like Santa Cruz, Vision and Powell Peralta. We had the mid sized companies like G&S, Sims and Schmitt Stix, and we had the small ones like Blockhead. And then we had the teeny tiny companies that couldn’t even get ads in Thrasher with any regularity, companies like Eppic. I don’t think I’ve ever featured an Eppic pro model deck before, (I have featured that super funky concept deck that had a model for regular and one for goofy skaters) but there’s always a first time for everything, so here it is, an Eppic Don Hillsman “Snake God” from 1989. This is one of those ones that is almost impossible to put a price on because it is super rare, and yet who has even heard of an Eppic pro deck before, let alone Don Hillsman. How many people are interested in such a thing? Well, it had 3 bidders, and they bid it up to $132, despite the fact that it is well used with tail wear and big rips out of the top ply and griptape on top. So there you have it: the Eppic Don Hillsman. (Edit: I have featured an Eppic pro deck before! In April 09 I featured an Eppic Eddie Gomez in the Bargains section.)
I was very surprised that this one didn’t go higher, but after doing research now I’m not. It’s an Alva Christian Hosoi “Flaming Sun” model from 1984. It’s his second deck following the rising sun model on Sims. Very few of these ever see the light of day, especially NOS/mint like this one, and the last one that did went off for $2600 in 2005. So why would this one sell for only $531? Well, rumors abound that this isn’t an original deck; instead that it’s a very limited reproduction that was done a few years back. It looks legit to me, but it’s tough to tell from a smallish picture on eBay. All of the evidence points to it being a repro, and I don’t think that the seller knew, so I don’t think they were being dishonest. They have sold plenty of other “good” decks in the past, so I don’t think they would screw up their rep now. And that’s the problem with these accurate repros done in small numbers. Sure when they are first made and sold everybody knows the deal. But over time details get forgotten. They get sold from one person and then to another, and before you know it, the new owner doesn’t know that it’s not the real thing. It looks right and it’s never been officially reissued. Why would you doubt it? So anyway, here it is. The seller was probably expecting thousands so he’s bummed, but $531 is pretty good for a deck that’s actually only a few years old.
I don’t think that there’s any doubting this one though! Yes, it’s a Walker Skateboards Mark Lake “Nightmare” from 1986. There’s no doubting that it’s one of the most experimental shapes ever, and also one of the most awesomely terrible. A true product of the 80s this is both a monstrosity and a thing of beauty. This one is in a really bright yellow dip that helps to accentuate the uniqueness. It has been set up but is actually in very good condition. Remove the jawbone and the tailbone and you have an almost NOS Nightmare for $261 and not many other folks can say that!
Here we have a Tracker Lester Kasai “Dragon” from 1990. It’s not a commonly seen Lester, which is why I’m featuring it this month. It’s a nice full bleed graphic that builds onto the dragon theme he started with the “twisted dragons” deck from 1989. The colorway isn’t the best, but overall this is a very solid looking deck that would only set you back $103.
Decks don’t get much more classic than this Santa Cruz Malba “tombstone” from 1985, and the seller did a really great job with the photo here because the yellow really glows. I’ve seen this deck a lot with it looking really, really flat. The one on AOS is like that; this one looks a million times better. This one “is as close to mint as you will get” apparently, and I have to say that it does look superb. If you were looking for this deck at all, then this would have been the auction to win. It sold for $700.
Here is a Misfits “evil eye” deck from 1986. I remember these Misfits decks from circa 1986ish but don’t remember who put them out. What I do know is that this one is NOS, never been setup, and it has been signed by the master of horror himself, Glenn Danzig. The colorway is an interesting choice: bright purple and red, not exactly the most demonic of choices, but I guess I’m happy that it’s not black. The shape is very mid 80s, with the money bumps at the hips and slight penis nose. It went for a large $1,025.
And speaking of demonic influence, here’s a very silly Sims Jeff Phillips “Phillips III-Demon” in a disgustingly bright tie-dyed combination of red orange and pink. Look, the stupid badly rendered demon guy is bad enough, but couple that with tie dye in any colorway and you’ve got a huge no-no. And then add these colors? Man, this is puke-inducing ugly. According to the seller this deck was hand shaped for Jeff, but because it was red he wouldn’t ride it; apparently he wouldn’t ride red decks. Who knew? He made a good choice on this one though! Super mint and super rare, but super fugly. $732.
Neil, what’s the deal? Yet another Santa Cruz Rob Roskopp? I really must be going mental, but so must you guys because you keep bidding these things up and up! This is the “Eye 2” from 1990. I think I’m showing it because it’s simple: some of the later model Roskopp “monster bursting through target” graphics were so complicated that it was tough to make out what was happening. This one is an eyeball looking through a target. It probably looked really good appearing up over the coping and looking at you. It was also his last pro graphic, so that has to count for something! $400.
This might be the third month in a row for the G&S Billy Ruff “Invisible Man” from 1983, and I promise it will be the last! This one is complete with Trackers and Powell Peralta IV Street Bones. It features a delightful pink on yellow colorway, perfect for a spring day. It is in good used condition, and features the classic Powell skateboarding skeleton sticker on the tail. It was actually a real bargain because the whole things sold for $143, and I swear that I’ve seen that sticker alone go for more than that! It’s a funny, disjointed graphic that almost looks like different stickers stuck onto a deck. It doesn’t hold together at all.
Here’s a Schmitt Stix Danny Sargent “Barrel of Monkeys” deck from 1990. Like most Schmitt decks it has very clean lines and a classic shape. The graphic is funny, and the colorway, although a little Christmassy, is strong. However, the space on the tail really bugs me. If you are going full bleed on the nose, then why stop the graphic at the back truck holes? It looks squashed and like a mistake. Personally I’d have put the barrel on the tail and had more monkeys. Overall though, I was surprised that this deck only went for $255.
Here’s a real beauty. It’s a Brand X Bob Schmelzer “street” from 1986. Bob was one of those skaters who could skate street or freestyle, and he had this same graphic on both a freestyle and a full sized board for Brand X. A similar graphic was also used for his Circle A boards a couple of years later. It seems like he lifted this graphic lock, stock and barrel from The Lords of The New Church, but I’m sure that they lifted it too, so who really cares?! This deck is actually pretty damned rare. You see the freestyle board more than this one. It’s complete with Gullwings and unknown wheels. It doesn’t look to have been ridden much at all; the graphic looks flawless. The blue griptape on top is a nice touch too. Overall it’s a very clean and solid complete for $150.
This is a Shut Skates “Assault Vehicle” team model from 1989. They became Zoo York yadda yadda yadda. Of more import to me is that one of the founders was one of my favorite English pros of the late 70s: Jeremy Henderson. He even had a pro deck on Shut. You see this deck fairly regularly along with the ÔShark” team deck, so the fact that it went for $200 surprised me.
And for the H-Street freaks here’s a John Sonner “Open Window” from 1989. It’s totally mint, still in shrink. The simple graphic actually looks really good on the pale, natural deck and I have to say that I really like this one. $275.
Yes, you all know that this is a Powell Peralta Per Welinder “Nordic Skull” from 1987. But what you might not realize is that Powell just reissued this deck after years of requests from folks, so let’s see what that does to the value of originals like this. This one is in a white dip that makes the skull really pop, and is mint, still in shrink. It had 13 different bidders and 36 total bids and ended up going for $575. Judging by the look of the hips, this is the 2nd version of the deck.
And finally from the 80s this month we have this Uncle Wiggley “grid” team deck from 1985. It has the usual Uncle Wiggley epoxy/fiberglass construction, and it has the regular rivets in the nose. All UWS deck from this period has a very distinctive design sense, and this is no different. It’s simple and yet effective, and like the argyle decks, the graphic runs full bleed, nose to tail, which was unusual for the time. I thought I might be able to get this for a bargain price, but once it got to over $150 I was done. It ended up going for $203.
90s-present day
There was some big doings for collectors of 90s decks in February, most revolving around Tom Knox. But first up in the 90s section this month is this New Deal Andy Howell “Howell World” from 1991. It features a lot of the characters from previous Andy Howell graphics all together on one deck. The deck is NOS in a rich purple stain; pretty spectacular actually. New Deal decks of this time period are rare, and this one went for $1,050.
OK, let’s get to the Tom Knox decks. First we have this Santa Cruz Tom Knox “Cop Beater” from 1991. If it looks like a Black Flag album cover to you then you are perceptive. The SC logo looks like the Black Flag logo and the graphic is by Raymond Pettibon. The deck is NOS in the shrink, and Tom Knox has signed it. This is a super rare deck, and I was tempted to put it in the Bargains section, despite it going for $610. I expected it to go way higher, especially when you consider the next one.
From the same seller we have another Santa Cruz Tom Knox, this being the “Minor Threat” graphic from 1990. It’s NOS but not in shrink, and like the deck above is super rare in any condition. However, this one did go high, despite the ugly brown stain. It sold for $3,050, which blew minds, and actually still does as I’m typing this. I assume this going so high convinced the seller of the deck below to part with his.
So here’s a second Santa Cruz Tom Knox ÔMinor Threat” deck. It appeared on eBay about a week after the previous one sold, so it has to be more than a coincidence. Like the one above it is NOS, never been set up, and this one is in a much more appealing blue stain. It still went high, selling for $1,750, but the seller was probably bummed seeing how much the brown one sold for. I assume that there were 2 big spenders bidding against each other for the top one, and after that one sold there wasn’t anybody left who wanted it THAT badly. Or maybe some folks just love the brown and burgundy.
After the decks above this one seems like small potatoes, but it’s a good one anyway. It’s a Blind Jason Lee “American Icons” from 1991. It has been set up and ridden, but the main part of the graphic is very much in tact, despite the smears across the tail etc. The grip tape has already been removed, so all the buyer has to do is remove the rails and clean it up and he’ll have a really nice deck for only $355. And I say “he” because normally girls are too sensible to collect nonsense.
Miscellaneous
Now here’s something you don’t see every day. It’s a brand new set of 4 Hobie Super Surfer clay wheels with the original Super Surfer trucks. Apparently the seller worked for a skateboard manufacturing plant in the 1970s and he bought a truckload of inventory from there about 10 years ago. All of the wheels have chips on the back sides where the open bearing races were put in, but they display as mint on the font side. There must have been a lot of people looking for something like this to compete or refresh their Hobie collections, because they sold for $345
OK, this one I don’t get at all. I know that Red Bull and energy drinks in general are popular with “the kids”, but would anybody pay 6 times over the odds to get a Red Bull logo on their helmet? Well yes, I guess they would. This helmet was given to the seller by a Red Bull rep, so I guess they are not generally available, but really, who the fuck cares? There were 21 bids and it sold for $316. Just so your kid can look like an even bigger dork than he normally does? Or maybe it was purchased by some “aggro” roller blader who wanted to look less gay than usual. Sorry dude, epic fail. Not only do you look even more gay than usual, but also you got ripped off for the privilege!
So what do you buy the vintage Santa Cruz collector who has everything? He already has all of the decks, banners, t-shirts etc. Well how about this one of a kind Speed Wheels sign?!! It was made for a booth display in 1988 and I guess you plug it in and it blinks like a crosswalk sign! So now your collection will not only bore your non-skating friends, it will annoy them too! It sold for $305.
Now this one surprised me. It’s a small collection of 7 skateboard stickers from the late 70s/early80s. Obviously we have 3 ACS Trucks stickers, an AZF bearings sticker, a Kryptonics Star-Trac sticker, and 2 very old Independent Trucks stickers. They are clearly the jewel of this collection, and the reason that the lot sold for $324. Or maybe I’m wrong and there is an avid ACS Trucks collector out there!
Bargains!
Now here’s one you don’t see every day! It’s a Lake Skates Brad Baxter mini “circle of bones” from 1987. This must be the month for Lake Skates, what with the Nightmare that was up in the 80s section! This is actually a nicely conceived and rendered graphic. The colorway isn’t great, but how many of these do you ever see in any colorway? It sold for the bargain basement price of $89.
I know that there are quite a few Blockhead collectors out there, and I got some questions last month on S&B as to where I was finding some of the Blockhead auctions I feature every month, because the collectors weren’t seeing them! Well here’s another to make you mad. It’s a Blackhead Sam Cunningham “evil eye” from 1988, but it’s the rarer model without the face. It’s obviously old and weathered, but it doesn’t have any terrible dings or scratches on the main graphic. No it’s not mint or even NOS, but it’s good enough for most of us. $76 seems like a pretty big bargain to me!
There seems to be a ton of Powell Peralta Steve Caballero “dragon and bats” that go off every month, but this one seemed to be an outstanding bargain. It’s complete with Indys and Bones wheels. The tail has some wear and the deck has some stress cracks, but the graphic is totally all there (thanks rails!) and the colorway is really nice. Remove those rails and stickers and this would look pretty damned good for $81.
And here’s another used but not abused complete. It’s an Alva Dave Duncan “Claw” in a purple and green colorway. It comes complete with Trackers and Slimeballs. Actually maybe I’m wrong because the seller claims that it’s an Ava board, so what do I know. There is tail wear and the thing is marked up and dusty, but overall the graphic is in really great shape, all the way to the waves on the nose. It went for $68, and I think everybody can agree that is a good price.
Tired of used completes? Well here’s an NOS in shrink Lucero “Racing Stripe” from 1989. It was made by Santa Cruz for John, and came just before the Black Label name. Look, he even has the elephant logo on there! It’s in white dip, and the white is still white after all these years, it hasn’t yellowed like the modern Santa Cruz “white” dips do! You do see this graphic a lot, but for it to go for only $74 seems pretty crazy to me.
Look, I know this Santa Cruz Steve Olson “checkerboard racing stripe” from 1981 is totally beat to hell, but I love the graphic and I also love the angle this photo was taken at, so here it is! It’s got big ass cracks; the nose and tail have been repaired with bondo, and yet it still has an unmistakable charm and a sense of cool about it. Shit, even the blue Santa Cruz stickers and the Dead Kennedys and Minor Threat stickers rule! Spend $40 and mount this on your garage wall above your 1Ú4 pipe and have instant cool forever, even if you weren’t there.
Here’s an Alva Eddie Reategui “Warrior” from 1988, complete with Trackers and unknown wheels. Despite the crappy picture, the deck is actually in really good shape. It has a black to green fade going on, and the graphics look really bright. The nose and tail are in great shape, and overall this is a very solid deck (once the batman stickers have been removed) for $68.
And finally this month we have this, the bargain of the month. It’s a Madrid Mike Smith “monkey collage” from 1987. It’s been gripped and ridden, but barely and the rails and tailskid have protected the deck from the tiny bit of action that it has seen. Basically this deck is in NOS condition. The pointy nose it still pointy, the tail is all there. I know it’s not the best graphic in the world, but it’s representative of Madrid and Mike Smith at the time, and the colorway is pretty nice. Would you buy it for $28? I know I would.
Seeya next month.
-Neil
