January 25, 2010
Festivus: Tampa Am ‘09
Words: Rob Brink
The Skateboard Mag, March 2010
This year’s Tampa Am contest may have been the most incredible Tampa Am ever … seriously. “Why?” you ask. Well duh! Obviously because all sorts of history was made!
As you all know, Luan Oliveira won. And that makes him the first person to ever win Tampa Am twice! History in the making! You should be excited. One might assume that after two Tampa Am wins, he won’t be am too much longer, eh? Or maybe he’ll win next year as well! Three-peat history! Luan beautifully flipped his board really fast and high and spun around a lot. That kid sure has one hell of a pre-trick windup. Hit pause next time you are watching his footage and check it out.
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January 21, 2010
Mike Anderson: Behind the Ad
Words: Rob Brink
esfootwear.com, March 2010
Was this a spontaneous session or did you plan this spot and trick?
I wanted to skate the pool but I didn't know I was gonna do feebles.
Where do front feebles fall in your hierarchy of favorite tricks?
They’re fun sometimes.
Where’s this spot?
My friend Squeak’s house.
What’s the 7-10-1975 stand for?
That’s Art’s pool. Squeak’s uncle. 7-10-1975. RIP.
How come you didn’t shoot a fakie thruster for the ad?
My knees couldn’t get stylish enough.
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January 21, 2010
Rick McCrank: Behind the Ad
Words: Rob Brink
esfootwear.com, December 2009
Didn’t anyone ever tell you that regular belts are out and you’re supposed to be wearing a shoelace around your waist?
I wore a shoelace belt for a while. It kept digging in to my side and it looked like a G-string so I went traditional again. Chocolate makes a nice belt. I've been wearing it forever.
Do you feel weird about the amount of underwear showing in your ad?
Yeah that's a bummer. That ledge has a nice sized drop off of it. I guess I caught the wind.
Where do you buy your boxers?
I don't need to buy boxers because Matix makes really good ones.
How about those chicks in the upper left corner? Were they checking you out?
I don't know? They were there for a really long time. I think one of our dudes was chatting them up and got a number.
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January 7, 2010
Festivus: Damn Am Costa Mesa ‘09
Words: Rob Brink
The Skateboard Mag, February 2009
On October 24, 2009, a landmark event occurred: the Skateboarding Hall of Fame was created.
Breathtaking.
Democracy reigned supreme and four dudes were inducted—one from each decade of skateboarding’s existence thus far. You might have heard of some of them… but we’re only gonna discuss one. His name is Tony Alva and he is the Skateboarding Hall of Fame inductee for the 1970s. Congrats, Tony.
But this isn’t about the Skateboarding Hall of Fame or Tony Alva. It’s about something waaaaaay bigger. I simply told you that story so I could tell you this one: On October 25th, the 8th annual Damn Am contest was held at Volcom headquarters in Costa Mesa. As the finals commenced… some leathery-skinned dude in a red shirt and fedora, carrying a brand new Alva cruiser board, complete with colorful and authentic-looking Alva logo griptape, arose from the crowd.
He chugged from his liquor-filled sippy cup while weeble wobbling back and forth before belligerently “not giving a fuck” and stumbling onto the street course… all the while proudly waving his Alva board in the air… as if to say, “I’m here to let you know what elements of skateboarding’s history resonate with me! All hail Tony Alva! Inductee into the all-new Skateboarding Hall of Fame! King of 1970s skateboarding!”
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January 7, 2010
Flick: Strange World
Words: Rob Brink
The Skateboard Mag, February 2009
Despite the fairly common “I’m so cool and I don’t give a fuck” exterior and attitude of skateboarders these days—many of them, believe it or not, frequently get just as warm and fuzzy and sensitive and sappy as your mom, grandma, great aunt or girlfriend do.
For skateboarders, though, it takes something a little different than say, a dozen roses, pictures of you as a baby with a bowl cut and birthday cake frosting on your face, a box of chocolates, a teddy bear, a moonlit walk on the beach or a platinum-set 5.98-carat oval-cut diamond ring for the butterflies to start twitterpating in their tummies.
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January 7, 2010
Storefront: Push X-Change
Words: Rob Brink
The Skateboard Mag, February 2009
On August 15, 2009, Craig Glover decided to put his livelihood in fate’s hands and open up a skateboard shop in Santa Clarita, California… smack dab in the middle of the sketchiest economic climate of our lifetime thus far. Of course, having a brand new 40,000 square foot skatepark less than five miles from the shop helps out a bit… but still. As if that’s not enough of a feat… the shop’s construction… to opening day, complete with ordering inventory, took less than 30 days.
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December 26, 2009
Figgy broke a kingpin the other night at the TF. He was bummed. Then Collin busted this out of his trunk. Haven't seen one of them in ages!
The handoff! Collin saves the day!
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December 12, 2009
Nick Trapasso
Words: Rob Brink
November 2008
This was the original 2008 Year's Best Am Nick Trapasso interview for The Skateboard Mag. When all was said and done, Nick asked that the interview be redone with someone he knew better and it ended up being assigned to Mike Sinclair. No hard feelings or anything like that. It's not drama. It just is. Nick's amazing. I'm a fan. Enjoy.
“I wish I knew Nick.”
-Ed Templeton
“Nick has been one of my favorite skaters since Suffer the Joy. It always confused me that I won Years Best Am last year when Nick should have easily got the award. If he didn't win this year I’d whoop someone’s ass! Well deserved. Congratulations, Nick.”
-Sean Malto
“Nick stands out from the herd because of how original he is. He's not a new version of this guy or an amalgamation of these two types of skaters or part of some skate trend movement—he's just Nick. Skaters, young and old, pick up on this refreshing originality and relish it.”
-Kevin Barnett
Nick Trapasso is a quiet fellow who doesn’t seem to trouble himself worrying (or caring, for that matter) about much in life. He doesn’t have answers to many of the questions presented to him… not because he’s clueless, but because he seemingly knows that none of it really fuckin’ matters in the grand scheme of things—which is somewhat admirable actually. It’s apparent he’d rather be kickin’ it with his crew or out skating than sitting on the phone talking about himself. Which is just fine, because in the last year or two, his skating’s been speaking volumes anyway. So make Nick proud: Grab a beer or twist one up and enjoy a glimpse into the modest world of 2008’s Year’s Best Am… “fo’ sho’.”
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December 10, 2009
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December 7, 2009
Killing time with some more Tampa Am crap. Ben Hatchell never misses this:
Check the catch on Luan's frontside nollie flip over the hip... the hard way. The landing point was usually just past the huge Gatorade logo on the far side of the bank... you know... on the metal lip. Just sayin'...
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