State of Skate

Next to Extreme, adrenaline is probably the second most tiring word used to describe skateboarding and other Action Sports: “Up next, this Nor-Cal shredder gets ready to hit our adrenaline-pumping Monster-sponsored Skate PlazZa, the world’s first ever ALL GREEN Skate Plaza designed by Rob Dyrdrek and Bob Costas!”

The word adrenaline sucks. It’s played out, a cliche. Funny then, that the first skateboard company to use it was pretty much the complete opposite of the 00′s mentality of big sponsors, big money, and big contests. Adrenalin, the oft-forgotten wood company formed sometime in the mid-90′s, was broke and gritty, and never spectacular.

I don’t mean it wasn’t good- it was. I don’t remember much about the art direction, but the overall vibe definitely had a Stereo Visual Sound influence. Check the clip below to see what I mean.

The team was talented, and one that a northern Californian like myself can’t help but be attached too with riders like Hanzy Driscoll, Justin Strubing and Toad. I don’t know where Hanzy or Strubing come from originally, but I think most associate them with the Bay Area. Maybe Hanzy lived in Santa Rosa?

Englishman Mike Manzoori as an answer to Stero’s Carl Shipman, a promising Mike Chin, and Jaya Bonderov, who eventually took his skills from board to camera, all have good footage in addition to the aforementioned dudes. From the beginning, with Hanzy’s wallride nose manual, until the end, with Jaya’s 50-50 on the Golden Gate Bridge, this 411 Adrenaline Industry section is full of memorable skating and editing.

Behold, the longed-for opposite of Extreme:

At the age of 32, Heath Kirchart has retired from professional skateboarding.

It’s nice to see a guy walk away from skateboarding at the top of his game (which I argued that Jereme Rogers did) and with his dignity firmly intact (which was not the case with Rogers, unless your definition of dignity is praising Jesus Christ nude on your rooftop at 3:00AM and then resisting arrest from Redondo Beach’s finest).

Everything Heath skated was bigger, longer, sketchier than what people were skating at the time. And he made it look great. Check his ride away from the back noseblunt in Sight Unseen- classic Heath.

Go and visit UC Irvine one day, then you’ll see.

It’s also nice that dude seems to be leaving the skate industry entirely. No hanging on, no sad fall from revered pro to fat TM, or to crouched and aching videographer.

Instead, Heath has ambitions and investments outside of the skate industry, and according to him, he already has enough money to never have to work another day of his life if he chooses not to.

Skateboarding can be sickening insular culture, and it needs Heath a lot more than Heath needs it. Here you can keep up with Heath’s current project of riding a bicycle from California to NYC.

Here’s Heath, back when it all began:

I’m really into Wes Kremer’s part in DC’s web video Skateboarding is Forever. Kremer has excellent trick selection, rarely repeating tricks and looking dope on board at pretty much all times. Wes is that newish breed that grew up skating everything, ripping tranny and ledges equally. It has been nice to see Wes and the rest of the Skate Mafia dudes put skating in San Diego back on the map since its disappearance after The Storm. Wes Kremer, keep it coming.

Huntington Beach legend Brad Hayes was a fixture in skate mags in the mid 90′s, during which time he rode for Acme Skateboards. Definitely a crouching tiger on a skateboard, Hayes had a pretty unique bag of tricks. Hayes skated fakie a lot and had a nice frontside heelflip. I respect anyone with a nice frontside heelflip (what up, Jason Wussler?). This part is from the classic Baker 2G video. Jay Strickland really liked slow-mo, but it actually worked for this one. A search for Hayes turned up False Profit Skateboards and their flash-heavy website. Alongside Hayes on the roster was another dude who never really made it out of last decade- former Shorty’s rider Toan Nguyen. No idea how current that is though…

I am currently working on a much longer piece involving Rob Dyrdrek, the Wu Tang Clan, and deodorant. So don’t worry, this site is not turning into another 90′s nostalgia website. I’ll leave that business for those who can do it better than myself, like chrome ball, which really covers it all.

If I had the material, I’d do like the Berrics and have a Caesar Singh Sunday every week. Actually, I probably wouldn’t, but it’s a nice thought. Mr. Caesar Singh, out of Long Beach, California, was kind of tall and skated ledges really well but didn’t leave the skate world a lot to remember him by. This clip is from the obscure Planet Earth Video Silver, and shows Caesar doing some classic 90′s tricks, most notably the half cab frontside noseslide and switch backside nosegrind 180 out. No flare, no flash, just nice lines. Inspired by Singh’s tre flip noseslide sequence as seen on Vert Is Dead.