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 remember when I was a kid, I couldn’t figure out what the hell the Wu Tang Clan was. The Wu bat was everywhere- on skateboards, on CD’s, on Wu Wear clothing. It was all very confusing for a kid without much knowledge of branding. I remember skating a parking lot with a kid a year older than me. I asked him what he was riding and he flipped up a Wu Tang skateboard. OK, that solves it, I thought. These dudes obviously make skateboards. But later that week I saw a video for Shimmy Shimmy Ya and was confused all over again.

Eventually I learned that 36 Chambers is one of the greatest rap albums of all time, and that The Wu was just a group that started off on the islan’, AK Shaolin, willing to lease their name and logo to whoever came callin’. Their endorsements ran the gamut, from appropriate (St. Ides) to shameless (Method Man’s endorsement of Right Guard). In the end, I can’t blame any of the Wu for using the success of a few albums as a platform to try to get filthy rich. After all, they had kids to feed- in ODB’s case, 15 of them. Continue reading

Even though it was released over six months ago, Gift Skateboards and Nike SB’s video “It’s a Wrap” has remained under the radar, at least as far as mainstream coverage is concerned. I think a better name for the video might have been “Under Wraps”, because China’s local skate scenes, like so many things in the country, remain outside of the world spotlight. Actually, that’s a pretty lame name, but take a minute to compare Shenzhen to Barcelona, Spain. I think it’s a valid comparison because both cities were ‘put on the map’ by footage from visiting American pros rather than locals. But when you think of Barca, there are some local dudes like Daniel Lebron and Raul Navarro who come to mind. Shanghai? Unless you are connected to the scene in some way, you are probably drawing a blank.

As a friend of several of the SB crew, I can vouch for the fact that they are keeping a very close watch on skateboarding in China. This video is a good start. I’m really just posting it because I have an 800 word piece about Rob Dyrdrek and the Wu Tang Clan that I need to rewrite after an unfortunate incident with Starbucks Wifi. That will come soon. Until then, I will post outdated clips as long as I can peripherally connect them to China, skateboarding, or beef jerky. Enjoi It’s a Wrap.

Woodward has recently come to Beijing. ESPN meets up with some dudes there to talk about the growth of skateboarding in China. Decent piece, but as a resident of Shenzhen, which is basically the southernmost point of the mainland, I think they overlooked the south.

Whether skateboarding grows here or not, now is definitely a cool time to be part of the scene. It’s like the early 1990′s all over again in that skateboarders are part of a super close group.Enjoi.

I try not to generalize, but I feel OK saying that the Chinese are an entrepreneurial people. In any major city around the world, you will find a Chinatown, full of Chinese restaurants, dry cleaners, whatever. Vagabond Skateboards, out of Shenzhen, China, is the perfect example of this entrepreneurial mentality. Rather than wait for a Chinese board company to do things the right way, Eddie and Eric Lai started their own thing. Gotta respect that DIY work ethic. Check out Vagabond Skateboards. Credit Alan Smithee for the link that I should have found myself.

Shortly after last post I stumbled across the photo below. Notice the Acme Tattoo. Definitely Brad Hayes. Were squats the secret to all that pop he had?

and that kinda bums me out. I always pictured him as a payphone kinda dude.