When We Was Rad:
Skateboard History from UK Vintage Magazine

You could win a pair of Natas shoes in this competition, and I’ve no doubt that everyone who entered stood a very good chance. To enter you had to design a pair of shoes. Competitions which involved serious work like that only ever got a small number of entries, so those who took the trouble had the odds stacked in their favour.

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 (more…)

As the introduction makes clear, the hope was that people would add to this information, or correct it. But in the days of one-way media very few took up the offer. So the R.a.D Encylopaedia limped along as mostly one person’s view on the skateboard world.

Captions:
Farnborough ramp overview with some ex-local getting in the way
(The ex-local was Danny Webster.)

Don Brown: 89 was the year that he emerged from the shadows and got the coverage he’s deserved for so long

Back after a summer break while the contest season dominated the magazine. Think we’ve got something wrong or missed something out? Write and let us know.

FABRIQUER, John The most powerful mushroom in the world: like an elastic band at full stretch ready to go off at any moment. Rad. San Jose local, skates for Schmitt Stix.

FACTION Definitive early skate band featuring Steve Caballero on bass See =CABALLERO, S

FAKIE To travel backwards. Dead trendy now: want to double your repertoire: do the same moves in reverse? Easier said than done.

FALLBROOK Town in southern California with a phenomenal ramp density. About twenty minutes from Transworld’s office and therefore heavily exposed in print especially Tobin’s ramp. In fact that was just one of many and has now fallen victim to insurance problems.
(more…)

This was a street competition before they became serious. Only one the pictures on this page involved riding anything. Which was as it should be.

Other occurrences are Wayne Ryder’s bike-less window to window transfer, Mad John’s amazing run wearing a foam mattress as a poncho and still negotiating the obstacles (he scored 10,000 but failed to qualify) and Ross Marshall’s ramp to car-roof Abubaccas.

An exceptionally, ridiculously dodgy cut is made then, after a short free-for-all practice, each rider in the cut takes a second run. High revert wall-rides are made by Angry, Zach and Slade, Nutter from Nottingham uses a ramp against the side of the car to pull airs, footplants and disasters on the roof. He also gets into and out of a Miami hopper. (more…)

I wish we had run more pictures full page, but space was always a problem. Although I hated big competions, I loved events like this.
Caption: Clive Gosling, Abubacca on a BMX. Imaginary boundaries crumble

David Slade’s report on this BMX street competition is a great insight into how it all was before big events had taken hold. This was about as rooty as it gets. Such things still happen now, but maybe they are the exception, not the rule. This is how it was. A good read, even if we couldn’t spell Zac Shaw’s name.

Captions:
Zach travelled far that day, to learn the meaning of fear
Remember kids: ride safe, like Mad John
From ramp to car to Bom Drop, Angry Brown

Home Made Jam

Accapella 12” Bombay Re-mix
by DAVID SLADE

The road is long, and the climb is uphill: all roads lead to the same place if you know where you’re going. There are five of us and we’ve been journeying on separate paths since early morning, all taking the same jibes, comments and stares from a multitude of people. The same reactions from day to day recur during this morning’s journey from the same basic sort of people who collectively share the same views and thoughts where we’re concerned. But it’s early morning and we’re tired. Perhaps we’ll see the world in a different light as the sun rises higher.

Higher up the road the venue is getting closer and the train guard hassle begins to fade along with the staring people, as the concrete passes underneath. A brief stop for directions confirms our optimism: we know where this road leads and what lies at the end of it. (more…)

Botheration! The text for this Intro doesn’t seem to be on the backup disc, so all we have is the scan of the page.
If it turns up later, I’ll add it.