When We Was Rad:
Skateboard History from UK Vintage Magazine

Media Watch

We’re used to seeing skaters blamed for everything in the papers — most of it total fiction — but the strangest ‘skate rats’ clipping of recent months has the ring of truth. It’s from the Fort Worth Star-Telegram’ and begins “Up to 5 car burglaries on recent weekends may have been the work of teenagers who scooted through underground sewers on skateboards, popped up through manholes and pilfered items from unlocked cars.” Police had spotted two kids climbing out of a manhole, collared them and found a collection of items and two skateboards (more…)

In this issue the new products page concentrated on relatively few companies: Airbourne, Zorlac, Shut, Mike Smith’s Liberty and Minus K. I think Minus K was the small company pressing decks in Bristol. The Zorlac section mentions a new model from the Abrook brothers.
This is another page which would benefit from re-typing all the text so that you can read it properly, but I’m afraid I’m pushed for time at the moment. I may try and get back to this later!

NSA Pro Final: Hwak, Gator Bod!
Tony Hawk confirmed his position as the top pro skater yet again at the NSA pro finals in Florida just before Christmas. It’s almost as if the real contest is for second place these days and in St Petersburg this time Gator was totally on form. But the biggest stoke for European skaters must be the news that Bod Boyle took third in a field which included all the very best skaters in the world.
Boq qualified in first place, with the highest number of points despite skating in the first group in the elimination rounds where judges have a tendency to mark low. That meant that he not only went straight through to the final without having to skate any intermediate rounds, but also skated last in the final — the favourite spot. (more…)

Academy Awards
A Delirium inspired celebration at the end of a decade at Brixton’s Academy Theatre ran the Snakes Lane New Year race a close second as skate non-event of the holiday season. At Snakes Lane only three people showed up to race. The turn out at the Academy was much better with Rodga Harvey, Matt Bain, Shane O’Brien, Mike Manzouri, Mick Forster and Paul Wright on boards and Craig Campbell on bike, but the ramp was a nightmare, about 6.5 feet wide, soggy, and with no flat bottom to start with. To make matters worse, it was perched on a stage with no possibility for riding out and there were no safety nets. (more…)

Seek, find
Be yourself
Don’t follow the heard
Don’t repeat, in spite of ‘encores’
Have Fun. If not you’ll bore us.

One of Gavin Hills’ trademarks (apart from the spelling) was the quotation or aphorism with which he annointed each issue. At this point they appeared on the contents pages, but later they moved to the cover. (more…)