So October 2009 was a big one. If this was anything to go by, then we can say that the downtown is over, at least in regards to the pocketbooks of serious skate collectors! Lots of stuff went for over $1000, and some went far higher than that. What do some of our big spenders do for a living I wonder? And are they even skaters? Or do we have art collectors out there who are starting to expand into old skateboards? Or do we have famous/rich folk who used to skate and who know want to recapture a piece of their youth and they don’t care what it costs to reclaim it? And just who the fuck has $5,000 discretionary income burning a hole in their pocket these days anyway? Just some interesting thoughts to ponder.
This month’s BayWatch is brought to you by the fine debut album “Psychosexual Chapter 1”, by Swedish band The Spookshow. I don’t know if you’ve played around with the new version of iTunes, but it has a neat feature that shows what other people have purchased who were looking at what you were just viewing. I was looking at psychobilly band The Creepshow, and underneath it were links to The Spookshow, Mad Marge and The Stonecutters and Zombie Ghost Train. I gave all 3 bands a listen, and ended up buying albums by each one! The Spookshow are my early favorites, but I like all of them. Imagine the best 50s style songs of the Michael Graves era Misfits, without all of the shitty metal solos and rock star attitude. Add to that a female singer, and you’ve got The Spookshow. Yes, some of the zombie/killer stuff gets kind of cliché, but it was just Halloween, and this just seemed to fit. The best thing is that all of the songs are short and to the point. They have great hooks and choruses and will have you singing along in no time. They are just a fun, great band, and I’m really glad that I stumbled onto them. Listen to any of the previews on iTunes. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.
60s, 70s, early 80s.
First up this month is this Dogtown Big Foot complete from 1978. Unfortunately I don’t know what the trucks and wheels are, but just look at the width of those wheels would you? Not much chance of slipping out is there! Those are seriously some of the widest wheels that I have ever seen! The deck is in very good shape with nary a scratch on it, and I assume that the tail and nose are virginal to, because they both have more protection than a hooker when the fleet’s in town. That tailskid alone probably weighs as much as most modern popsicles. This beauty went for $850, which isn’t bad business.
Here’s one of those 70s skateboards that I’m featuring “just because”. It isn’t from a big name company and isn’t a pro model. I’m intrigued, and that’s all. It’s a complete from Wayne Brown Skateboards whoever the hell that might be! Anybody out there have any info? The deck appears to be fiberglass, and I assume that the wheels and trucks are generic. The nose and tail have both been double drilled, so somebody serious was riding this. Maybe they altered the wheelbase for slalom? This has some history to it, but we shall probably never know. $79.
Now we all know this one. It’s a G&S Fibreflex complete in a lovely dark green stain. It’s obviously pretty damned old, probably circa 1974 or 1975 judging by the 3-hole truck mounting pattern and lack of any tail or concave. It went for $112.
From a few years later we have this standard Makaha complete. It’s in really nice condition, and comes with 4 different colored wheels. It doesn’t really have a kicktail, having more of a rocker instead. It’s in pristine condition, which considering it is probably 33 years old (at least) isn’t bad. $90. Now that would make a nice 70s piece for any collection.
And going back to the 1960s we have this Nash Fifteen Toes, complete with steel wheels. Let’s face it, it’s just an ironing board with wheels, and I assume that the “trucks” are mounted with nails or woodscrews from underneath, because there is no evidence of trucks from the top. Again, it would make an awesome 60s contribution to that skateboarding museum you want, and for $63 you couldn’t go wrong.
Now here’s a very early Santa Cruz slalom deck, probably from 1978-ish. It might be the John Hutson model deck, but I’m not sure. The bottom SC logo is a sticker, because the factory decks just came with the middle logo. This sucker has seen its share of cone action, and went for $321.
I love this. Much like the Nash above, it is simply a chunk of wood, vaguely shaped to be rideable, but this one isn’t shaped like a surfboard, oh no. It’s shaped like a rocket ship. And why not? Kids in the 60s were as crazy about space as they were about skateboarding, so why not combine the two? You could totally have seen Ralphie in A Christmas Story opening this under the tree on Xmas day. Just like the G&S above, it has the 3-hole mounting pattern. It sold for $112.
We have a nice Z-Flex complete here that went for a very reasonable price. It appears to be the generic variety from 1975ish, and it comes with Trackers and blue Kryptonics and stickers to match. It’s in great condition and is a fine specimen of a mid 70s complete that won’t break the bank, selling for $210.
Mid 1980s
So let’s start off the 80s section this month with this Santa Cruz Bullet complete from 1985. It’s in used condition obviously, but it isn’t too bad. The graphic is almost all there, and most of the wear is superficial and on the tail. The rails have done a good job of protecting the graphic. It is complete with Indys and blue Powell IIIs. This was the first edition of the Bullet deck. A later one featured a nazi-esque eagle on press clippings. $125.
Next we have this Powell Peralta Steve Caballero “Full Dragon” from 1986. It appears to be NOS, and is in a super rare pink dip. This is one sweet deck, and I’m surprised that it only reached $810.
And speaking of Steve Caballero, we have this Cab “Mechanical Dragon” from 1989. It continues the dragon theme that Cab had begun with his very first graphic years before, and actually I really like this graphic, and especially on this colorway. It is clean and simple, and you know it’s a Cab deck immediately. The curved name is a really nice throwback to his first graphic. Plus this one hasn’t exploded like a lot of cabs yet. $188.
This one is interesting. It’s a very early Blockhead Skates Sam Cunningham from 1986. The decks were made by Uncle Wiggley, and typically enough were an epoxy/glass laminate. It’s an unusual deck, put out before Blockhead really had their own thing going. The graphic was pre-Ron Cameron, and the deck also says “LA Skate Company” on it. It’s an interesting piece. $150.
Next up is this Alva Bill Danforth “Nomad” mini model. It has a completely different graphic to its big brother the Circle of Skulls, and a much better graphic. This graphic hangs together really well, and I’ve always liked the names in the banner. It’s simply a classic graphic, and it looks really sweet on this black dip. The blue and yellow are nice complimentary colors too. $200.
Aah yes, the Schmitt Stix Steve Douglas from 1988. This was the first Steve Douglas graphic, unlike what is shown on AOS. The tea one came second, then the postmark, and the keyhole was 1990. Anyway, like most Schmitt Stix decks, this was a great rider. The wood was durable as hell and the shape was super functional. It was the first deck I ever rode that had a kick nose. It came in a myriad of different colorways, and you see a lot of different ones on eBay, including a really smart silver speckled paint. If you can’t tell from the picture, the graphic is supposed to the label to a beer bottle, and the small print says “Brewed in Harrow”, a reference to the old Harrow skatepark.
OK, decks that go SUPERBIG are rare indeed. What do I mean by superbig? I mean over $5k. Yes, $5,000. And here we have such a deck. It is a mint Alva Christian Hosoi from 1985 in eye numbing pink. The thing is effing glorious, and is everything that a Hosoi deck should be: loud, stylish and with an interesting shape. Let’s face it, this thing is amazing, and it went for an amazing price. $5,100. You know somebody out there right now is cursing: “I used to have that exact deck and I left it at my mom’s house!”
Here’s another Schmitt Stix deck. This time it’s the Andy Howell “8-ball” deck from 1989. This deck is one you either love or hate, and personally put me on the hate list. I think this graphic is over-complex and muddled, but I know of at least one collector who was looking for this for years. Well hopefully he has one now, and at a reasonable price because this one sold for $257.
This is a Vision Marty Jimenez “Bat” complete from 1988. The graphic appears to be all there, but it’s tough to tell because of all of the plastic! It comes with the FULL compliment if plastic: copers, lapper, rails, nosebone and tailbone. All of that crap really detracts from what is probably a really sweet deck. Strip all that crap away and you have a very nice natural wood that allows the colors in the graphic to really pop. Somebody recognized the potential because it sold for $415.
Here’s the Santa Cruz Jeff Kendall “Graffiti” from 1986. It’s mint in red dip, and must be highly sought after because it went for a large $1,250. I’ve never liked this graphic. It seemed like the kind of thing that Nash would come up with: you know, typical skater sayings of the time sprayed on a wall. It’s cheesy and silly and very cornball. So again, I don’t understand the selling price, but that’s just me.
I love the angle of the photo on this Blind Jason Lee “Cat in the Hat” complete. You can see all relevant details: the angle of the kicktail, the shape of the deck and the quality of the graphic. All in one stylish photo! The trucks are black Gullwings and the wheels are Cockroaches. All told this looks to be a super sweet complete, and the $444 it sold for seems cheap to me.
I haven’t featured a Powell Peralta Mike McGill skull and snake for a long time, but I couldn’t pass up this one. It’s got the snakeskin background, and it’s on a vivid pink background. It’s mint, and was obviously highly desirable because it went for $1,900, which is easily the most that I can ever remember this deck going for. If you like this graphic, then this deck would be the one to win. It’s truly a head-turner.
Of all of the 1980s SMA Natas models, this is by far the most unusual. It strayed away from the usual panther/cat motif and instead went to a portrait. The panther on top of the head appears to be an awkward afterthought. It’s truly an oddball, and only had one limited run, so it’s very rare. This one is very well used, but I’m amazed that it only went for $147. It isn’t much to look at, but those in the know realize the true value.
So much like the Powell Peralta McGill above, here is the skull and sword team model from 1987. It’s on the full skeleton background, and is looking good in a white dip. It is complete with Indys and cross bones. The rails, tailbone and jawbone have done a nice job of protecting the graphics, because this board has been well used if the coned wheels are anything to go by. Overall it’s a nice complete package and it sold for $280.
Now this thing is just excellent. It’s a Powell Peralta “Rat Bones” team model obviously, and this one is NOS in a really nice metallic red dip. Being NOS is rare enough, but this is one of the best, if not THE best colorway for this deck, and the price reflects that. It went for $2,490. If AOS is accurate, then this is by far the most ever paid for a ratbones deck.
Now this is the case of me showing a deck even though I think the graphic sucks ass. Some will call this G&S Billy Ruff “Chalice” a classic, but I think the graphic looks like it was done in about 2 minutes by a 12 year old in history class. Nevertheless, it is a famous graphic that doesn’t come along that often. The deck has been setup: it’s drilled for rails and tail, but the graphics are pristine. The colorway is weak; at least it appears so in the photo. The blue is so light and watery that it’s almost not there, and there is nothing bold about the foreground colors. At the end of the day, the $233 it finished at is probably fair. Now, if the photo is bad, and the colorway is really like this one http://www.artofskateboarding.com/PG/aos_pg_detail.asp?prod_id=774, then I would say that the buyer got a real bargain.
Here’s a lightly ridden Santa Cruz “R/S C” team deck from 1983 (Ramp/Street Concave). They were sold to be versatile, ride everything decks, unlike the 11” wide pigs, which were too big for any kind of street moves at all. Even though it says concave, the concave was very slight, so the decks were almost flat. The classic SC dot graphic is there in all of its glory. This is a nice looking complete that would look good leaning in a corner, like you just put it there after getting back from watching “Back to The Future” at the movies. $266.
And now we have both versions of the Sims “flagship” team deck. Both featured the Union Jack, printed full bleed over the deck. The first is from 1983 and features a realistic if stretched version of the British flag, while the second is from 1985 and features the flag but in purple and denim blue for some reason. Now, I never fully understood while Sims decided to put the British flag down there. Wouldn’t the American flag have been more apt? Maybe it was some kind of pro Def Leppard statement, because they sold these t-shirts all over at about the same time too. Whatever the reason, it was and remains a popular deck. The first one is well used with lots of the graphic worn away, but not be skating by the looks of the wear pattern. It seems to have had stuff stacked on it, or it was left outside in the elements. It sold for $62.
And here we have the 2nd version of the graphic in the odd purple denim color scheme. This one is in much better shape, basically NOS. Note that this version has concave and also has some shape to it; it’s not a basic pig anymore. This one sold for $128.
It feels like I’ve featured a lot of Buck Smith decks recently, and guess what? Here’s another! It’s a Sims Buck Smith “Sun Face” complete from 1988. It appears to be on a dark grey stain, and that neutral background really shows off the yellows and oranges in the main part of the graphic. It’s a striking looking deck. The trucks appear to be G&S Chromoly, and the wheels look like something tall and skinny, T-Bones perhaps. I’d remove the nose and rails, leaving a very nice looking complete. Well worth the $134 that the buyer paid for it.
And finally for the 80s this month we have this Zorlac “Gargoyle” team model from 1987. I don’t know what’s more disturbing about this deck: the bright pink dip, the typical Pushead graphic or the extreme penis shape. All I know is that if anybody had have showed up in Champaign-Urbana IL in 1987 with this setup, He’d have been an instant hero for some, but looked at with distrust by most! I can’t imagine that this shape was functional at all for that era of riding. The nose would have been destroyed by wall-jams, and the severe cut-in around the back truck area would have guaranteed instant snappage on a launch ramp. And then it would have been garbage time, because I don’t think anybody was putting a big pink penis on the wall. Until know that is. And paying $900 for the privilege!
90s-present day
There are lots of big hitters in the 90s section this month. I can’t remember a month with so many 90s decks that went for over the $1000 mark, my watershed amount that separates the really prized deck from the rest. We’ll start off the modern day section with this Consolidated Scott Bourne “America is Dead” model from around 2000. I guess the graphic was to show how disenchanted Scott was with America at the time, and he was spending most of his time in Europe apparently. The top graphic shows the Eiffel Tower with ‘Scott Bourne Refugee” on it. A very interesting political statement on this one, which is unusual in this time of bland, juvenile, cookie cutter graphics. $543.
From 1991 we have this World Industries Ron Chatman “Ron Chatman Experience”. The graphic is a tribute to the Jimi Hendrix Experience album cover, and is a well conceived and beautifully executed graphic. I wish they’d put this kind of effort into all of the graphics of that period. $1,075.
I’d never seen this graphic before, so I assume that most of you haven’t either. It’s a Plan B Matt Hensley “Red Baron” from 1997. It’s not a bad idea for a graphic, but it’s poorly rendered, so it’s kind of difficult to tell what’s going on! The cartoony style reminds me of some of the Hook Ups decks of the era. It went for $556.
Now this is definitely deck of the month for me. It’s a Blind Jason Lee “Grinch” from 1990, and mint like this on a plain woodstain it would be worth a lot of money. But this one is a one-off on a multi-colored stained background. It’s truly a work of art, and the kind of thing that a Lee collector would drool over. It sold for $2,175, which is a nice chunk of change with Xmas coming up!
This is a mint condition World Industries Jesse Martinez “Rockem Sockem Robots” from 1990. It was the first of 2 graphics on this theme: the second shows the robot languishing in jail for his “crime”. It’s a clever graphic and $660 seems about right.
So here’s the first of two Rodney Mullens that both went for major cash. The first is the World Industries “Sure Shot” from 1991. I’ve covered it before so I won’t go into great detail here, but just know that this deck is rocketing in value. A few years ago this was selling in the $500 range, while this one sold for $1,725.
And this one went even bigger. It’s the World Industries Mullen “Rock is King” deck from 1992. Note the shape is changing, evolving into the popsicle shape that we all know and hate. It’s fatter than most popsicles of today, but still showing that shape, unlike the deck above, which still has a waist of some kind. Anyway, this deck is super rare in this condition, and I can’t remember the last one that came up. The price would back that up too: it sold for $2,652. Oooooooh.
And now we start a series of Natas decks. First up is this 101 Natas “Hard Boiled” deck from 1992. I guess that the graphic is from a graphic novel called Hard Boiled by Frank Miller. I assume it was one of Natas’ favorites, but it does absolutely nothing for me. Natas had such a run of classic and memorable graphics, that any graphic that is neither seems very disappointing. This one sold for $501.
Talking of Natas and memorable graphics, we have this, the 101 Natas “Oops” from 1991. If you don’t know, the graphic depicts the explosion of the Space Shuttle Challenger with a small box saying “Oops. . ..” in the lower right. It’s an instant classic that truly represents the smart, cutting edge graphic design ideas that were prevalent in the very early 90s. Nothing was taboo; everything could be lampooned. It’s a fantastic deck, and I’m surprised that it only went for $850.
Now this 101 Natas “devil worship” deck from 1991 is another example of skate artists pushing the boundaries of good taste and what was acceptable in their graphics. I think this one is too obvious and have never liked it, but that’s just me. This one comes with the original box that it was shipped in, something I’ve never seen before and a nice extra. It sold for $1,926, which is cheapish for a devil worship, and I’ve lost the link to the original auction, so I can’t check on the condition. It looks NOS but not mint. Maybe that’s why it went for the price it did?
Assorted Crap
So Airwalk are a joke brand now, but when they first emerged in 1986 they were a core skater’s shoe. A shoe that you couldn’t find just anywhere. You had to mail order the bastards, at least if you were from the Midwest you did. The only place you see them were the magazines, so if you saw somebody wearing them, you’d know they were hardcore because they had taken the time to mail-order them and have them delivered, not a thing to be taken lightly back then. The first ones were all like this, simple hi-tops in suede and canvas with the “A” graphic. The big boxy ones with lace savers etc didn’t come until years later. I had 2 pairs, one with cobwebs, and one in blue, just like this. I loved those shoes. And here they are again, looking brand new. They even have the original sticker! If I had known they would sell for only $31 I would have bid just for old times sake!
You want some instant oldschool credibility at the skatepark? Well, your reissue Duane Peters deck won’t do it, but this just might. It’s a vintage flyaway helmet complete with pinstriping and highlights. It even has the original old school stickers on it: Sims, Dogtown, Independent and Santa Cruz. To me though, the classic is the old school Pepsi sticker on there. That gives it instant credibility. Was the original owner a member of the Pepsi team? Maybe, and now you could claim that distinction if you ponied up the $225 to win the auction that is. If you show up at the skatepark with this and some of the original Hobie volleyball style kneepads, well, there’s no need to even skate. The other patrons should put you on their shoulders and proclaim you king.
I lost the notes on this magazine collection, so I can’t remember exactly how many mags that there were, but I think it was a lot, spanning from the late 70s to the mid 80s Skateboarder, other 70s magazines, early Thrashers, they are all here. This was a really nice collection and it sold for $400.
When the Z-Roller truck first came out in the mid 80s we all thought it was a fucking joke. Who the hell needed a truck that rolled through a grind, never mind trucks that weighed around 2 metric tons? They were rapidly consigned to the “Bad Ideas Bin”, along with things like skateboard truck lights and tail flints. Fast forward to today, and somehow the Z Roller Truck has established cult status. People bid on this mint set by the boatload, and they finished at $203, which seems insane to me. Is the winner actually going to mount these up and ride them? Or are they going to live in the cabinet of a fake 80s skateshop, which some millionaire has constructed in his basement?
Bargains!
I’ll admit that this one surprised the hell out of me. It’s a Walker Reggie Barnes “hieroglyph” freestyle deck from 1989. Walker decks come up very rarely on eBay, and when they do the Walker collectors are all over them. This one is unusual because normally the middle figure is in color, but this one is all in black and white, but I like it. It stands out and looks unusual. So for it to only go for $73? Well I’d say that’s a bargain, wouldn’t you?
And here’s a BBC Bill Danforth “Skull-kabob” from 1990. It’s been set up and has rails attached, but it looks to have no wear at all, basically NOS. The colorway is fine, and even though the graphic isn’t great, by BBC standards it’s a masterpiece! There are a lot of Danforth collectors out there, so for this to go for only $56 shocked me.
This is an Alva Skates Fred Smith “Loud One” from 1986. I bought one similar to this colorway when they first came out, but didn’t like the steepness of the tail, so I sold it to Kilwag who promptly snapped it on a jump ramp. I bought a SMA Natas instead if my memory serves me right. Anyway, this has the classic Alva fade around the edge, and although it’s been ridden, the graphic is all there and it would look fine on the wall. For $51 it would make a great start for any collection.
And talking of mid 80s Alvas, here’s a Jef Hartsel “Rasta” from 1987. It was his first deck, and this one is NOS, never setup in natural woodstain. It’s a fine specimen and I would have expected it to go for $200 at least, but it ended up going for $87.
The Powell Peralta Lance Mountain “Crest” has been exploding recently, and if you want a mint one you can expect to pay upwards of $400 depending on the colorway. So for this complete to sell for only $89 is a real surprise. The deck looks basically untouched! Strip off the Trackers, tail and the rails and you basically have a good condition Lance Mountain “crest” in red dip. Actually, the complete doesn’t look bad either. The seller has done a nice job of picking up complimentary colors in the graphic for his trucks and plastic choice. Nice job whoever picked up this bargain.
OK, so anybody who was serious in the mid 80s will remember this deck. After Steve Steadham left Powell he skated for Sure Grip International for a while, and then started his own company. They produced some really crappy looking decks, but this; his only graphic for SGI was a nice effort. It featured a skeleton riding on a WWII bomber, throwing bombs, and I think this was taken from some real WWII bomber nose art. It’s a really great idea, and makes a powerful graphic. The clouds fill up the empty space, giving it a complete nose to tail graphic. Lance Mountain used a similar idea on a Flip graphic in 2005, but didn’t use the cloud idea, so his looks compressed in the middle of the deck. Anyway, you don’t see this one too often, and it went for $70 despite the obvious discoloration (look where the risers were).
Re: Airwalk – that’s not an A graphic, it’s a pterodactyl head in profile. Check the sticker; that was their “mascot” along with the weird jumping man logo.
This month’s BayWatch is brought to you by the fine debut album “Psychosexual Chapter 1”, by Swedish band The Spookshow. I don’t know if you’ve played around with the new version of iTunes, but it has a neat feature that shows what other people have purchased who were looking at what you were just viewing. I was looking at psychobilly band The Creepshow, and underneath it were links to The Spookshow, Mad Marge and The Stonecutters and Zombie Ghost Train. I gave all 3 bands a listen, and ended up buying albums by each one! The Spookshow are my early favorites, but I like all of them. Imagine the best 50s style songs of the Michael Graves era Misfits, without all of the shitty metal solos and rock star attitude. Add to that a female singer, and you’ve got The Spookshow. Yes, some of the zombie/killer stuff gets kind of cliché, but it was just Halloween, and this just seemed to fit. The best thing is that all of the songs are short and to the point. They have great hooks and choruses and will have you singing along in no time. They are just a fun, great band, and I’m really glad that I stumbled onto them. Listen to any of the previews on iTunes. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.
Re: Airwalk – that’s not an A graphic, it’s a pterodactyl head in profile. Check the sticker; that was their “mascot” along with the weird jumping man logo.