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Skateboarding News

Blind box set incoming

Too much wanking makes you go Blind

I sense a few 20 to 30-somethings are about to bust their load when they find out what Blind is about to release… The Double Set DVD box which includes What If?, Video Days, Time and Henry’s Pack of Lies and all the Blind sections from the old World Industries videos i.e. 20 Shot Sequence, Trilogy, Rodney Vs, Daewon Round 1 & 2!!!

In other words Blind are throwing the book at all self-respecting street fanatics. Hopefully this early Xmas stocking filler will instigate the re-issuing of all the aforementioned World Industries videos… In fact, Girl have finally decided to release their quadruple box set (Goldfish, Mouse, Las Nueves Vidas de Paco, The Chocolate Tour) on DVD, and they’re even throwing in a bonus DVD with loads of random skits and odd bits and bobs.

www.blindskateboards.com for more.

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Skateboarding News

Good things come to those who wait.

As any self respecting amateur knows, there are moments in your career-building lives where the different paths you take aren’t always as amazing as the contract makes them out to be. Often kids will find themselves balancing precariously on the whim of Team Managers managerial skills and distribution company politics. London based ripper Lucien Clarke is no stranger to these types of situations. But today he can shrug it all of and put it back to experience because Element Europe have taken the 6 foot 5 yoot under their wing and applied his talent to the flow team roster. I think this the time when the competition gets a little harder… Nollie flip 14 stairs second try anyone?

www.elementskateboards.com for all Element news etc

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Skateboarding News

Ross gets 3rd at LG

Creme Skateboards UK rider Ross McGouran came in 3rd at the street skateboarding finals at the LG Action Sports Championships in Manchester UK. Daniel Viera came in 2nd with Wagner Ramos taking $30,000 for first prize. Ross beat the impressive Greg Lutzka who just could not string his runs together and use the entire course to gain him more points in the heats but killed so many tricks on the ledge. Danny Wainright, Rodney Clarke and Flynn Trottman all entered but did not make the top 10. The vert comp was also highly strung with Chris Gentry beaten to the finishing line by PLG in his last run who just nicked the cash off him at the end. Sandro Dias had a shoulder injury leaving the buzzing crowd packing away their 900 signs in droves and overall the skating in this final was off the hook.

1. Wagner Ramos
2. Daniel Vieira
3. Ross McGouran
4. Chris Dobstaff
5. Greg Lutzka
6. Josh Evin
7. Alex Gavin
8. Chad Fernandez
9. Dayne Brummet
10. Avi Luzia

Vert :

1. Pierre-Luc Gagnon
2. Chris Gentry
3. Andy Macdonald
4. Rune Glifberg
5. Anthony Furlong
6. Mathias Ringstrom
7. Tas Pappas
8. Buster Halterman
9. Sandro Dias
10. Lincoln Ueda

Visit: www.lgactionsports.com for more info.

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Skateboarding News

DITC won by a Mum

The fourth annual Snickers Day in the City DVD is now available to pick up at your local UK skate shop featuring Ross McGouran, Danny Beal, Tom Watts, Chris Ault and Ben Grove to name a few. Meanwhile, those behind the lens count Guido, Rich Holland, Kevin Parrott and Adam Gendle. The comp was won by Brendan Ryall, Tom Knox and the crew and beat Dan Cates and the Death Team dedicating their part to the Peckham posse of ‘Only Fools and Horses”. Go get the DVD this week, it’s a must have and it’s free…

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Skateboarding News

Tony and the Choco factory…

In a rather predictable twist of fate, Mr. Anthony Pappalardo has decided to bro-down with the guys at Chocolate Skateboards. I say ‘predictable’ because the Girl Family has a particular character trait of luring in their riders through sub-company sponsorship (Lakai, 4-Star, Royal…). Once you’re riding for one of those sub-companies, you can be pretty sure you’ll get invited to the club house sooner or later. However, fuck up and you’ve burnt your bridges for life. It’s sort of like the Real, Spitfire, Independent Bermuda Triangle…
Oh, and while we’re flirting with Skateboarding’s Golden Boys, Jereme Rodgers has just turned pro for Girl and is getting hooked up with Momentum wheels.

Felling Giants…

One time power house distribution company, Giant, has had a few braches cut off its dominant tree. Giant will no longer distribute Black Label, Destructo or 411VM, but it will distribute its latest brainchild: Bueno Skateboards. Even if Giant firmly denies it, Bueno is a direct replacement for Element (now owned by Billabong) – but Stacy Lowery doesn’t care because he’s the poster boy for this new venture.

Caballero’s Silver anniversary…

That’s right! Steve Caballero has been a professional for Powell for 25 consecutive years, in other words Steve is the most steadfast and dedicated pro to ever step on a board (Something very rare today, where everyone has a price it seems…). At the latest ASR Tradeshow, George Powell presented Caballero with a solid silver skateboard emblazoned with Steve’s first ever graphic. In fact, the graphic was designed by Steve himself, but never actually got used being replaced by the now infamous Dragon logo. I wonder what George said to Steve? “Alright Steve, you’ve been bugging me for 25 years to use this graphic, so here you go!…”

Call in the bomb squad…

Go fetch your Gimp masks because Unabomber is back! All the rumours and bullshit can be squashed because the virus has re-surfaced and a load of new faces are repping the working man’s skate company. Here’s a run down: Harry Bastard, Franklin Stephens, Tom Watts, Liam Sproat and Ben Grove.

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Skateboarding News

It isn’t the winning that matters…?

Every so often a press release will appear from of the major distributors of the skate industry. These distributors are like huge family trees because they support at least 4 or 5 different companies. Dwindle is one of those distribution companies and this is what they had to say: Ryan Sheckler, Ronnie Creager, Kyle Berard and Gailea Momolu have all one various contests recently. Gailea killed it on the rails, Ronnie with the manuals, Kyle on the mini ramps and Ryan on street (subsequently pocketing $75000 and a new car!). So, there you have it: Dwindle’s associates are running things on the contest circuit this fall! Oh, and Blind are looking to release a Special edition double DVD box set with ‘Video Days’, Tim and Henry’s Pack of Lies’ and ‘What If?’. Now that is a definite stocking filler!

‘Fly fishing’ by J.R. Hartley…

A lot of us had some of our best skating moments on that first board, didn’t we? Oh, the bulkiness and thick plies that coloured our shins like war medals; the inexistent nose that meant no nollie, switch, or nose manual tricks; those graphics… Ah! Well Powell smelt the bacon of yesteryear and have re-issued several old models that have the older generation spending their pension money. If you are after the Mike Vallely Elephant, Ray Bones Rodriguez, Ollie Tank, Mike McGill Fighter or Caballero Propeller Skull, get your fingers clicking over to www.calsk8.com

“Let the Games begin!” cried Caesar…

The run up to the Globe World Cup has begun. Yep! The World Cup only just happened it seemed, but before the actual comp bonanza, there is the Wildcard Series. Like a sweaty version of Pop Idol, skaters from all over the world battle it out for a golden ticket to Oz to participate in the World Cup. Cologne has just seen their opportunity and German skater, Kilian Heuberger from Munich grabbed it along with 3500 euros! Kilian was trailed by Yama’s Chris Pfaffner and Cliché’s Philipp Schuster. Of course, the now mandatory Best trick comp went down too, and it was Yannick Scall from Berlin that used his German precision to land a switch 180 frontside 5-0 revert on the picnic table.

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Skateboarding News

We’re lost in Music…

The showroom-arena is packed with sweaty kids and eager adults. The air is heavy with tension and the constant clicking of tails rings out like crickets in high season. Like a world record Gang Bang attempt, Es Footwear partner up 100 star struck kids to take on their King, Eric Koston, at his own game- S.K.A.T.E.

Once all the freakshow freestylers, video clones and desperate pros have been weeded out, the real talent takes centre stage. However, Koston has nothing to prove- He’s had it all and done it all, so he bows down and exits through the side door. Jim Bates and Jimmy Carlin are left to prove themselves and play the skateboard version of Russian Roulette. It goes down to the last letter, and with his last bullet in the chamber, Carlin fires out a frontside nollie bigspin heelflip. The crowd twists and groans… It’s all over… Or is it?

Carlin feels cheated, his gun jammed and Bates responds as if it were walk in the park. Ha! Bates ups-the-ante with a fakie inward heelflip frontside revert, but that wouldn’t suffice to claim victory. Helas, it was the fabled backside 360 nollie flip that nailed the final letter into Carlin’s coffin and left Bates to reign victorious over any technical trick wizardry. As a bystander put it, “He beat Koston!” Well observed mortal, but who has the greatest style, eh?

http://www.skateboarding.com/skate/video/0,23430,1103747-933408,00.html

The Entente Cordiale…

It’s a fact that only a few people move and shake up the skate industry. What they says goes- take it or leave it. Santa Cruz Skateboards head honcho, Rich Novak, is one of these people. A new blueprint for skateboard teams has been drawn up, but only a few people have grasped it. The colonial style era of all American teams simply flogging off their foreign counterparts as flow teams that the distributors can handle is over. Today, the Euros mix with the Yanks and an ‘Entente Cordiale’ is underway.

Santa Cruz have announced their latest team line-up: Lee Smith, Nestor Judkins, Emmanual Guzman, Sid Melvin, Alex Carolino, Flo Marfaing, Oli Buergin and Henning Braaten. Those last few names are European.

Whether or not these new faces (ebven though well established at home) will be accepted with open arms cannot be confirmed as of yet. Already the authorities of virtual skateboarding have had their say on the message boards of spin:

Monster Network: (Speaking about Henning Braaten) that guy is from norway. not seen much of him and the video clips are whatever. not sure why he’s pro to be honest Needless to say, the Jury is out on this one… In any case, Speed Freak Damian Smith saw it just to join his Philly Skate pal, Ricky Oyola over at Traffic Skateboards. www.santacruzskateboards.com

There’s no business like shoe business…

Before the days of Nike SB, Osiris D3s and collaboration models, skaters were pretty much bumming it off their pro stumpwood royalty checks (unless you were Rob Dyrdek). The arrival of pro model shoe contracts was like an interest free credit loan from the bank manager himself, and everybody has a price.

So, whilst some people refuse to let go and simply scratch the brand name off, along with a couple of riders, and others sell their souls to their supposed enemy, Element decide to step their game up. At the last ASR tradeshow, Element revealed their latest price of the pie that is Element shoes. This now means that Element produce everything from decks to bearings, travel bags to clothing, and now shoes. Tosh Townend has signed on and will only have to spend his checks on food, unless Element picks up the tab there too…

Meanwhile, as mentioned earlier, Ed Dominick killed off his brainchild 88 Shoes and re-named it Vox instead. When the plug was pulled, several riders including Corey Duffel were seen floating down the drain. All that remains now is Darren Navarette, Alex Horn, Dan Drehobl and Peter Hewitt. Let’s hope it works this time…

http://www.thrashermagazine.com/voxvid.mov

Oh, and Thrasher have been given a pro model on Nike! The day grainy camera-phone pictures of George Powell in bed with Steve Rocco hit the Net, we’ll know we’ve seen it all. http://www.skatehere.com/Article_Show.asp?ArticleID=638