The Encyclopaedia sometimes provided an opportunity to run some much older pictures, such as these. Jeremy Skelton is shown skating the pool in the West Midlands Safari Park in about 1980, while the picture of Stacy Peralta is from a demo for Blue Peter (I think) at Putney skatepark in 1978. The Blue Tile full-pipe was shipped in specially for the day. And it rained…
Jeremy Fox gets an entry in this excerpt, alongside Don Brown on the previous page — making it quite a ‘skate industry’ special.

CAPTIONS:
From the days when Foot-plants were Foot-plants: Jeremy Skelton, Kiddy Pool Championships August (80?)

Blue Tile’s mobile full-pipe. Peralta in Putney in the rain, 1978

FLAT BOTTOM Vital part of most purpose built skate structures, but missing from early seventies designs when most half- pipes featured a semi-circular cross section. Amount varies but no less than 14, no more than 18 with 9″.5 to 10 foot transition. 16 works well on a ramp that size. Minis need less, say about 12, or you’ll loose speed. See = RAMPS

FLETCHER-COOK, Graham Veteran London skater. In the seventies he was a presenter on the Saturday morning kid’s TV programme, Our Show, and was responsible for Van’s biggest free plug and much skate mayhem. In 88 he made Ollie the Gap, the first attempt at a British skate video of the eighties.

FLING, Sticker End of competitition crowd pleasing tradition. Vast stocks of stickers, and sometimes product, thrown by the competitors from the top of the ramp. Serious carnage results, especially when professionals, like Dean Bennett, are working the crowd. See = COMPETITIONS

FLORIO, Jason Famed Farnborough local from the seventies/ eighties. Also built his own highly suspect micro concrete bowl in his back garden.

FLOW As in to skate smooth, flowing lines. OR to distribute free stickers, shirts and equipment. Which definition you prefer speaks volumes about you.

FLY-OFF A divisive subject: either an invention of the the devil, or the most fun, depending on your attitude. Small, frequently very dodgy, quarter pipe section ramps. The genuine item should be made of stolen, rotten ply and should disintegrate within half an hour (no problem as it only took five minutes to build). Kept both deck manufacturers and knee specialists busy. See = RAMP

FLYAWAY Stylish fibreglass helmet originally marketed by Kanoa in the late seventies, complete with flashy air-brush graphics. Now available again as a good looking alternative to the ever- popular ProTec.

FLYERWAY Eighties British version of the original Flyaway design from Death Box. A very close copy, but with minor modifications. See = FLYAWAY

FLYING EGG Alley-oop into an Eggplant (hand-plant variation using your leading hand). See = EGGPLANT

FONTAINEBLEU Just south of Paris: the site of a series of late eighties contests strongly linked with the resurgence of skating in Europe.

FOOT PLANT Family of moves with foot planted on the coping or whatever. Frontside, Fakie, Texas, Fast-plant etc.

FOX, Jeremy Boss of Death Box. Freestyle skater from the dark period who went off to California and learnt the art of making and (very much) screening boards. Runs a large and argumentative skateboard team in his spare monents. Probably puts as much into promotions here as everyone else put together. See = DEATH BOX

FREESTYLE Aspect of skating which fell from popularity as vert took over in the late seventies. Now showing signs of a come-back as street-style lures the masses back to the flat. Very international: Don Brown and Shane Rouse are British, Gunter Mokulys is German, Per Welinder Swedish but, but, but: See = MULLEN, R

FRIEDMAN, Glenn E Late seventies, early eighties surfer skater photographer prodigy. His first roll of colour film resulted in a centre spread in the (infamous) Action Now magazine. Now noted rock photographer by appointment to Beastie Boys.

FRIGID AIR Air taking your front foot off and kicking it FORWARD. (Kicking it backwards would be a Judo air)

FULL PIPE As in huge tunnels, eg at Mount Baldy in California and various other drainage projects, silos etc. Rare and splendid. UK examples were the metal ones near Redcar (now gone) and concrete at Telford (never dry). Also concrete skatepark versions at Upland, California or Plymouth, UK (both now gone). Even portable demo ones, eg Blue Tile (UK, 70s). Duane Peters looped one with aid ofa monster run in ramp as part of a touring skate stage show.

FULLY Not a bona fide American skater? Tack this handy word on the end of every sentence and your friends will never suspect. Means anything you wish. See = WEBSTER, Dan

FUN RAMP Usually taken to mean small ramps which are anything but unless you’ve got a degree in advanced snake technique. See = MINI-RAMP