Halloween Skate Jam

The 2013 Burnside skatepark Halloween jam in Portland, Oregon.

Government Shutdown Gives Skateboarders New Life in Washington

This reminds me of the infamous "Skateboarding is not a crime" stickers back in the 1980s, when cities passed all kinds of laws prohibiting skating in public.

At WSJ:

Skateboarders score in shutdown; With D.C. plazas empty, the banned sport is suddenly on http://t.co/HAJ73E0KHb
— Wall Street Journal (@WSJ) October 7, 2013

Rachel Reinhard Dislocates Elbow During Women's Skateboard Street Final — X Games Los Angeles

ESPN showed a different angle during the contest. A horrible fall. Her arm just crumpled beneath the full weight of her body. Gruesome.

This made me think of how the sport's norm is for no safety gear in the street contests. The vert skaters wear full gear, although I'd argue that safety gear's just as important for the street skaters, especially helmets.



More at ESPN.

Bucky Lasek Wins Gold Medal in Skateboarding Vert — X Games Los Angeles

This guy's cool.

He won bronze in 2011 when I attended with my boyz

At LAT, "Bucky Lasek wins vert gold medal at X Games."

Also, "At 40, skateboarding vert pioneer Bucky Lasek still gets ramped up":

Bucky Lasek stands atop the vert ramp hunched forward, right hand on his skateboard.

Above his tidy brown chin strip and mustache, deep lines crease his cheeks. He watches other boarders drop in at practice Wednesday.

Tom Schaar, 13. Mitchie Brusco, 16. Jono Schwan, 16. All young enough to be his kids.

But at 40, Lasek is far from just the old Buck.

He's the best in the sport today and possibly of all time. He proved that again Saturday, winning his fourth straight gold medal at the X Games in Los Angeles.

"When I look at some of my classmates and stuff on Facebook, it's pretty crazy," Lasek said. "I wouldn't expect those guys to be rolling in."

At an age when many men are going through crises, Lasek is at the peak of his career and showing no signs of slowing down. He won in Foz do Iguacu, Brazil, this April after a nine-year gold-medal drought in the event, and on Saturday became the first ever to four-peat.

Once a pioneer in the vert event, Lasek is now breaking ground as the oldest to compete, especially as the one to beat.

"This is the best year I've ever had in my life competitively," Lasek said.

It's more than that, said retired professional skateboarder Tony Hawk.

"His last few competition appearances were far and above better than anything he's ever done," Hawk said, "and better than anyone has ever ridden on the vert ramp."

That's so cool.

More at the link.

Nyjah Huston Wins at Street League Series — X Games Los Angeles

It's just wrapping up on ESPN.

This Nyjah kid is so talented it's ridiculous.



Earlier, "Nyjah Huston Tops Prelims at Street League Series — X Games Los Angeles."

Nyjah Huston Tops Prelims at Street League Series — X Games Los Angeles

At Street League, "STREET LEAGUE AT X GAMES LA: PRELIMS RESULTS."



And at ESPN, "NYJAH HUSTON TOPS STREET LEAGUE PRELIMS."

Elliot Sloan Wins Big Air Gold at X-Games Los Angeles 2013

At LAT, "Elliot Sloan wins X Games gold in skateboard big air":

Elliot Sloan moved from New York City to Vista, Calif., 7 1/2 years ago and has been chasing a dream ever since. On Thursday night at Irwindale Speedway he finally achieved it, winning his first X Games gold medal, in the skateboard big air event.

"This is probably a game changer, to have one of these under my belt," Sloan said. "I'm so relieved right now. It's the last one out here, so to end it like this on a high note, it's definitely something I've been looking forward to all year." The X Games are moving from the Los Angeles area to Austin, Texas, next year.

Sloan used a tail grab 720 (two full rotations) and a tail grab 540 to notch a total score of 90.165, edging 13-year-old Tom Schaar and denying Bob Burnquist a golden sweep of all four X Games skateboard big air events in 2013.

Earlier this year, Sloan, 25, took bronze at X Games Barcelona and silver at both Brazil and Munich, falling to Burnquist each time. Before Sloan's winning run, Burnquist fell hard off the quarterpipe, later saying he broke his nose.

"It's the same stuff I've done all year," Sloan said. "Unfortunately, Bob went down on the one run he usually makes, which is crazy. ... It's awesome, but I would have preferred to beat him at his best."

More at the link.

Flashback: Jake Brown's 45-Foot Slam From X-Games 2007

I remember watching this on television at the time. The dude got up and walked away.

At the Los Angeles Times, "Jake Brown's epic fall is not forgotten":

It has been six years, but fans still ask Jake Brown the same questions: "How did it feel? What was going through your head? How are you still alive?"

It's understandable, but how Brown walked away from a 45-foot free fall really isn't.

It has become the main part of his legacy in the skateboarding big air event — not landing the first ollie 720, winning a gold medal after years of trying or skating on two broken ribs in Barcelona earlier this year.

"I haven't really seen too much of that change. It's still the same six years since I did that," Brown said. "Yeah it's always brought up, but I'm just here to skate and try to help us progress. I just want to leave a positive mark on the sport."

On that day in 2007, the Australian landed the first 720 in big air competition over a 55-foot gap before losing control, his body flailing in mid-air before smacking the wood ramp. His shoes flew 50 feet, his head was under his back due to the whiplash and the Staples Center crowd was eerily silent.

Fellow big air gold medalist Bob Burnquist was at the top of the ramp when he thought he saw his friend for the last time.

"I fell on the ground and started crying because I thought he had died," Burnquist said.

Brown's injuries were a fractured wrist, fractured vertebrae, bruised liver, bruised lung, ruptured spleen and concussion. And yet he still got up and walked off.

Two years later, Brown won the gold medal in that same event, when he realized mental preparation underneath the helmet is almost as important as technical prowess above the board.

"I thought I was good right away, but it took me a couple of years to mentally get back to where I wanted to be," Brown said. "Everything is heightened at that level: the danger, the rush, the reward."

More at the top link.

Taylor Rosenbauer

My son likes to fingerboard, and he's good at it

He wanted me to post this video.

This kid at the clip, Taylor Rosenbauer, is one of the best fingerboarders.

Artist Raymond Pettibon 'The Art of Punk' Documentary

I picked up this flyer below at Zed's Records in Long Beach, about 1980.

The LAPD broke up the gig. All the streets were blocked off and I ran with buddy Skatemaster Tate like my life depended on it. It was a total riot. Skate legend Steve Alba talks about it here, "Baces Hall Riot ... Film at 11!"

Well, it turns out there's a new documentary on the work of Raymond Pettibon, the artist of the iconic Black Flag flyers. At LAT, "MOCAtv releases new Black Flag/Raymond Pettibon doc on punk art." Also, "WATCH ‘THE ART OF PUNK’ DOCUMENTARY ON BLACK FLAG’S ICONIC LOGO AND ARTWORK."

And see Bryan Ray Turcotte, "PRETTY MUCH EVERY SINGLE BLACK FLAG FLYER DESIGNED BY RAYMOND PETTIBON."

2013 World Freestyle Round-Up Championships

Via Jim Goodrich on Facebook:

The website is here.

Skateboarding Photos From the Old Days

I dug out some old photos to show my youngest son.

Here I'm skating at Paul Schmitt's house back in 1985. Schmitt was featured in the Los Angeles Times in 2008: "SKATEBOARD MAKER STILL ROLLING ALONG."

At Paul Schmitt's backyard half-pipe, Costa Mesa, 1985. twitpic.com/cjegss

— Donald Douglas (@AmPowerBlog) April 14, 2013

The Sperminator

I took the boys up to Santa Monica today and we got back a little while ago. After I dropped off my oldest at the Third Street Promenade, I took my youngest over to Venice Beach to check out the skate park. I'll post more photos tomorrow, but I couldn't stop laughing when my son called me over to this effigy of Arnold Schwarzenegger as "The Sperminator." Gawd, this is hilarious:

More from Santa Monica later. We had a blast. And a nice break from blogging too.

Stacy Peralta's 'Bones Brigade' Marketing Campaign

A fascinating interview with the skateboarding pioneer, at the Los Angeles Times, "Bones Brigade's wheeler dealer":

Pro skateboarder turned filmmaker Stacy Peralta takes a suitably maverick approach to the marketing of his new 'Bones Brigade: An Autobiography.'

Read it all.

PREVIOUSLY: "Stacy Peralta's 'Bones Brigade'."

Stacy Peralta's 'Bones Brigade'

Peralta's new documentary is in theaters.

And here's the review at the Los Angeles Times, "Review: 'Bones Brigade' rides a skateboard back to the '80s."

High-Speed Skater Hits Deer

Or, "High-Speed Deer Hits Skater."

Either way, that had to hurt.

Watch it at the link.

Skate and Snowboard Pioneer Tom Sims Has Died

The Los Angeles Times has an obituary, "Tom Sims dies at 61; snowboard pioneer":

Tom Sims, an innovative skateboarding and snowboarding pioneer and former world champion who helped bring snowboarding to the masses by pushing ski resorts to embrace the fledgling sport in the 1980s, has died. He was 61.

The founder of Sims Skateboards and Sims Snowboards died Wednesday at Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital after suffering cardiac arrest, said his sister, Margie Sims Klinger.

"He was the godfather of all board sports," Michael Brooke, publisher of Concrete Wave Magazine, said Friday. "He literally helped build the professional skate industry, and he was one of the giants in the history of snowboarding."

Pat Bridges, editor of Snowboarder Magazine, said Sims "not only pioneered snowboarding, but he also popularized what has come to be known as the action-sports lifestyle. He had a different modus for having a good time standing sideways, depending on the season."

As Brooke said, "He wasn't just a business guy selling this stuff. He lived it."

"He was the true first pioneer of what's called longboarding — riding a skateboard over 4 feet in length," Brooke said. "He'd ride enormous longboards and cruise down the hills. He was doing this way before anybody else. He liked taking this surf kind of feeling and putting it out there on skateboards."

A New Jersey transplant who also was a surfer and wakeboarder, Sims moved to Santa Barbara in 1971 and began entering and winning skateboard contests, including the Skateboard World Championships.

"He became someone that all the kids looked up to and wanted to emulate and wanted his boards," Sims' sister said. "So he realized there was such a demand, he set up a business and began producing products. His specialty was the 4-foot-long skateboard that he started out making himself."

A few years after launching Sims Skateboards in the mid-'70s, he founded Sims Snowboards.

According to the article, "He also was the main snowboarding stunt double for Roger Moore in the 1985 James Bond movie 'A View to a Kill'."

Bar Refaeli Rocks Maxim September 2012 Cover in Luscious Lingerie Shoot

Lovely, as usual.

At Egotastic: "Bar Refaeli Smoking Hot Lingerie Pictures Grace the Pages of Maxim Magazine."

FLASHBACK: "Whoa! Bar Refaeli Tops Maxim's 2012 Hot 100!", and "Is Bar Refaeli, 'Maxim's Hottest', Dating Skate and Snowboard Champion Shaun White?"

Bob Burnquist's Big Air X-Games Los Angeles 2012

This guy is one of the most amazing skateboarders in a generation.

See the Los Angeles Times, "X Games: Bob Burnquist comes up big in air." Burnquist was injured and in extreme pain, but he went on to skate and ...

He nailed a switch-backside-Ollie-180 over the 70-foot gap into the 30-foot tall quarter pipe, where he successfully executed an indy-720-fakie.

Is Bar Refaeli, 'Maxim's Hottest', Dating Skate and Snowboard Champion Shaun White?

London's Daily Mail want to know, "Is Bar Refaeli dating Shaun White? Maxim's Hottest Woman In The World spotted 'kissing' Olympic Gold Medalist."

But here's this, at New York Post, "Shaun White raises the Bar":

Bar Refaeli had complained she “doesn’t get hit on by guys,” but Olympic gold medalist Shaun White gave it a shot over Memorial Day weekend.

The snowboarding champ was spotted with Maxim’s newly crowned “hottest woman in the world” at SoHo lounge Sway “dancing, hugging and kissing” into the wee hours of Monday morning, spies tell Page Six.

White was first seen entering the Spring Street club with five pals after midnight Monday, but sources say he was mostly concerned with monitoring his cellphone.

“He was distracted,” a witness said. “He was pacing, going outside and checking his cell.”

It soon became clear why, when stunning model Refaeli arrived to meet White at about 1:30 a.m.

The half-pipe hero and the Israeli ex of Leonardo DiCaprio promptly hit the dance floor, where they were going for the gold in the canoodle-a-thon. “They were all over each other,” our spy said. “They were dancing, hugging, kissing — you name it.”

Refaeli was seen leaving Sway at “around 3 a.m.,” and White gallantly walked her out and let her take his car home.

Actually, skaters always do well with the chicks, so I'm not surprised.

Recall I took my boys to X-Games last summer, and Shaun White won the vertical contest: "Home From X-Games — VIDEO ADDED!"