Since everyone is entitled to my opinion:
Blog Time! —Clarkie

8/17/08
Come on out for Ramsay Skatepark Band Night! Real Skate will have a booth again this year drumming up interest in building a brand spankin new concrete skatepark. Come help out at the booth, skate or just chill. We will have some stickers to give away donated by Consolidated and hopefully other local skate people by then. Friday the 22nd 7 to 10 pm.

8/16/08
Santa Cruz Roller Girls (Yeahhhhh!) vs. Oakland Outlaws (Boooooooooo!) tonight, don't miss out!

8/13/08
The O-Games - Anyone going to watch the BMX event at the Olympics? Be prepared, it's not like any BMX event anybody has ever seen before. Like with snowboarding whole new competitions have to be dreamed up to fit with the IOC guidelines.So, this will be a track race! And prepare yourselves even more for the scariest part, the UNIFORMS Nike has designed for them to wear! Yes, Nike is the official clothing provider for the summer athletes. Any skateboarders out there who still think they will have things their way if skateboarding is ever accepted to the O-Games? Well you won't find out anytime before 2020 at least. (I have a story coming soon to update you on that. There are still rumors floating around that skateboarding will be in the 2012 Olys. Nope!)

8/8/08

Jim at Deluxe has been a godsend to Johnny and the Romano family, beginning when he and the Real team answered Johnny's wish from the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Johnny is still in the Children's Hospital in Texas undergoing more chemotherapy. He has had his ups and downs but this week in particular has been hard, prompting Jim to ask all skaters to rally once again with shout outs to Johnny and support for his family. All the ways you can help and follow his blog are listed on the Deluxe page, and we encourage all our readers to take a minute and show your support for this awesome kid.

8/7/08
Slap Magazine goes digital. I'm not sure I agree with Slap's claim of "last outpost of free speech in skateboarding" given the fact that posts on their message boards get censored, counts manipulated, and some deleted entirely such as a controversial hot topic at the request of Jamie Thomas, one of their advertisers. Also, I vaguely remember Big Brother as the pioneer of digital transformation, though not quite up and running yet. Anyway, I hate to see skateboarding lose another print mag, but best wishes Slap!

8/1/08

Ray Underhill, RIP - A skateboarding legend has passed away. Ray has fought a long battle with brain cancer as many of you know. Our hearts go out to his family and friends. He will always be remembered.

7/27/08

Skate Hole - Skate Hole is the first zine of it's kind, brought to you by a young (well, young to me) guy on the east coast who has been skating for 6 years. Starting up out of vacation boredom and on a very slim budget issue #1's entirety was posted on skateboarding message boards, yep— in a message! I loved it! Well the content was a little similar to parts of print mags we see over and over each issue, but what I loved is the balls he had to do it and furthermore maintain his seriousness and professionalism about it. Starting out in handwriting in black and white, Skate Hole went color by Issue #3. Of course you can imagine the flack he got from message board haters in general as messages flooded in. By Issue #4, he renamed it and subtitled Skate Hole: The Least Popular Publication in Skateboarding. I loved how he took the anonymous message board hate blows. Grain of salt is this kids's middle name.

Real Skate has had some pretty young talent on staff, Abbey at the age of 12 interviewing, Pennywise—Mike McCourt at the age of 15 shooting right alongside the pro photographers, Tim Fielder at 16 shadowing Wez Lundry for a day at Slam City Jam. I have always been a supporter and enabler of young people getting off their duffs and doing something, anything rather than criticizing how others are doing it. I've always encouraged journalism.

Skate Hole now has a permanent home on a blog, where all 5 issues are posted. He periodically interacts on message boards with his readers to get input, and sometimes quotes in the zine comments posted. I'm beginning to detect a little hint of acceptance. Keep up the good work Skate Hole, I don't care what they say - don't let the turkeys get you down, you rock!

6/27/08

Some of the most fun I've had in Santa Cruz lately is the SC Rollergirls bouts at the Civic Auditorium. Their colors are black and blue and it's out of control! I've been to 3 bouts now so I'm getting the hang of the game. Like Lex says, "This is not your grandmothers Roller Derby!!" Lex, the announcer for the bouts and whose wife is a SC Rollergirl makes all the action way more fun. You might remember Lex Van den Berghe from the show Survivor-Africa. Being a Santa Cruz Local, he wore an Independent hat during the whole show. The first bout with the Silicon Valley Rollergirls was of course met with lots of city rivalry, Lex not helping much by leading familiar yells "Valley Go HOME!" One of my favorites Pippy Hard Socking has been an inspiration. The first bout she was knocked flat and carted off to the hospital with a shoulder injury. But intent not to miss out, she went right from emergency room to the after party at the Blue Lagoon. The next bout with the Angry Beavers was a slaughter. In fact I think they are undefeated at the home games. The last bout I went to, they played each other for an over the top demonstration game, ending with a fake fight. One gal got a black widow spider bite that morning but yep, you guessed it she was there participating 100%. The community loves these gals and they love their community, providing all sorts of support. They are sponsored by or friends of all the local skate shops, SkateWorks, Bills Wheels, Santa Cruz Skate Shop, and of course Real Skate! Since we have no income I hope to do a fundraiser in the future to better support them. They may have some tickets left for tomorrow's bout, or you can come for standing room only. Some day I will get my courage up to get on the floor and photograph them; courage being the definitive word here! But for the time being they have a lot of photos on their website. I thought you might like to see some action at for-fun bout, Santa Cruz Skate Shop vs. Santa Cruz Rollergirls. Go SCRS! Real Skate loves you. Kick some butt tomorrow!

6/23/08
Go Skateboarding Day 2008...

...and the point is??? Oh yeah it will increase shoe sales.

6/22/08

"Beans" the Tim Brauch Movie Trailer - Pete Koff is putting together a documentary film on Tim, scheduled to be out in Spring of 2009 and will go on tour globally. Pete is inviting all of Tim's friends and acquaintances to participate in this community project by posting your stories and photos on the BLOG he has set up for this purpose. Please support Pete by getting the word out. This movie will be monumental for all those who knew Tim, and history making for all skaters hereafter to know why we will never forget Tim Brauch.

6/18/08

Just another reminder this year, to possibly spare skateboarders some police brutality and more arrests, that Go Skateboarding Day is a hoax. IASC copied "Emerica's Wild in the Streets" who had their very effective Love Park demonstration, and called June 21st GSD as a marketing scheme. They enhanced it by putting out media claiming that by way of Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez, (I quote from PrimeNewswire) "United States Government Goes Skateboarding—June 21 officially proclaimed "Go Skateboarding Day" by U.S. Congress. Ms. Sanchez' office totally denies this, obviously as anyone knows an act of congress requires just that, an act of ALL of congress. It's not ever likely a holiday for skateboarding will exist.

IASC's message to kids is to drop all their obligations and get out and take over the streets for "the grind heard around the world." Can you say "Go Get Yourself Arrested Day?" We all saw over and over the YouTube accounts of police interactions on skateboarders including the one famous account in Hot Springs Arkansas, when skaters celebrating GSD took over the sidewalks in an upscale tourist area where skateboarding on sidewalks is clearly posted illegal. These skaters were obviously empowered by the invincibility GSD implies as they mention it a few times in the video. Officer Joey Williams has been cleared of all charges of wrongdoing and has returned to duty. The altercations escalate every year and now cities are preparing for GSD by adding extra police forces on duty. Is this what we really want? A "Skateboarders vs. COPS Day?" Use your heads. If your town or your local shop has planned an event through proper City channels, that's great. But keep in mind the skateboarding laws are all in place and will be enforced, perhaps OVER-enforced on June 21st. Thank you very much IASC!

IASC continues to advertize and bill GSD, as an official National Holiday and has taken no accountability for the misery it has caused some skateboarders and their families, or admit it is a hoax. Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez can be reached in Garden Grove, CA at (714) 621-0102.

6/16/08
Emerica's Wild Ride '08 - Been chatting a bit with Ryan Clements of SPoT who is currently on the Wild Ride. For the remaining few skateboarders who are NOT on the Wild Ride, Ryan has posted a photo blog up today. Check it out and see what you are missing out on.

5/21/08

Johnny Romano - Real's youngest pro. who the team met at a Make-A-Wish Jam in Houston, unfortunately is back in the hospital with recurring cancer. Deluxe SF has made a message page for anybody to send little Johnny good vibes and supportive wishes. All our support and prayers go out to Johnny, his family and medical team. Come on skaters you know the drill, let's bombard that message board for this kid!

5/13/08
Let's Talk Shops - Skater, writer, and industry consultant Bud Stratford has written another well-researched essay on the state of skate shops. I encourage you all to take a look (grab a beer 'cause it's long) and hit him up with your feedback. We'll be hosting this in our "Articles" section.

5/8/08
Stop by and say hello to Peggy Oki in Carpenteria this weekend:

ARTIST STUDIO TOUR WEEKEND
FRIDAY MAY 9th - 5:00-7:00 p.m. -- 855 at the Arts Center
RECEPTION to meet the artists who will be opening their studios on Saturday. Come pickup a map, enjoy a glass a wine and view work of the artists on the studio tour.
855 at the Arts Center will feature artist studio artists in the gallery from May 2nd to May 30th.
Gallery hours Friday thru Monday 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

SATURDAY MAY 10TH - 2nd annual ARTIST STUDIO TOUR - 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Over 30 artists (including Peggy Oki) will open their studios.
Maps are available at 855 at the Arts Center, Porch, Hurley Optical and Sand Castle Time.
information: 805.684.7789

4/26/08

Find some old rollerblading gear from the 80's and skate the opening of Lake Cunningham Skatepark today. Good luck with knee pads restricting your pants and legs, don't get hurt. I'm very surprised insurance companies and cities haven't yet researched ACCURATE injury statistics as to better protect themselves. If they had, we'd know as the only gear requirement would be ANKLE PADS!

4/20/08

Consolidated is heading out and about on a shop demo tour this week:

S.B. Skateshop in Santa Barbara, CA Fri. April 25th 3pm
The Station in Fremont, CA Sat. April 26th 4–7pm
Derby Park "Der-b-que" in Santa Cruz, CA Sun. April 27th 4pm hosted by Skateworks

If your local skate shop is interested in having a demo, please call Leticia at (831) 457-8206

4/18/08

The Ultimate Border contest is set to bring in major $$ to it's promoters, $$ to the city merchants and $$ in purse to the token skater who is "crowned." The skateboarding part of this production is being held in Ventura where skaterboarders have been struggling for over 14yrs to get a decent skatepark/skateplaza built. My friendly neighborhood activists to the south decided to call out the organizer on it and protest/boycott with a demonstration at the event. The promoter caught wind of it an actually met some of their demands. But the demonstration is still going to happen as they have permission to collect (tax deducible) donations for the skatepark. Please visit their website as plans have been changing, and if you are in the area tomorrow (4/19) your support would be greatly appreciated.

I'd love to see more of this happening. People exploiting skateboarding to make their dream homes and caviar wishes come true need to give something back to skateboarders. All this money floating around and yet some of us are relying on bake sales to get our local city skateparks built. Major kudos to the skaters who are making this happen! I hope it sets precedent for more demonstrations at these high rollin events for the mainstreamers. Call 'em out!

4/17/08

"He said, for example, that kids at the Skypark skate park often scatter when they see a police cruiser pull into the parking lot. By bicycle, he says he can ride up to the park without being seen and nab kids who aren't wearing their helmets." —Quote from Press Banner.com

Seems Scotts Valley, CA just can't seem to get enough of those $360 skatepark tickets. They've tried an undercover cop, niled the idea of surveillance cameras due to expense, toyed with ideas of a monitor, paid admission and a dress code. So now have trained a bike cop to "nab" skateboarders easier. Skating where you are not suppose to skate will get you a $35 ticket, on the streets (under 17) without a helmet is $25. So financially speaking it makes sense to me that if you want to skate in Scotts Valley don't go to the skatepark that skaters themselves raised money to build, skate illegally - right? And for safety reasons you may get off cheaper outside the skatepark but you may get killed by a car. What's wrong with this picture? I wonder what Scotts Valley plans to do, in means of police training, about some of their non-skating teen population with drug problems and some who have a habit of burning down their schools and libraries and some who formed an Aryan nation teen group. Scary priorities! I guess the best advice I can give skaters about skating in Scotts Valley is don't skate in Scotts Valley.

4/11/07

System Skateboarding Magazine. A fairly new online skateboarding magazine out of Poland. I love the layout and format; the way you can turn the pages. Check out Issue 3. It's mostly features skaters as opposed to product even though it appears to be backed by a distribution company. Nontheless, it's cool! Thanks for sharing it with us Mateusz Paszkiewicz!

4/9/07
OOps, looks like ESPN made a mistake. VERT is back in the X-Games. From ESPN PR:
ESPN X Games 14 Sports & Competition Announcement
ESPN has decided to continue its 13-year tradition of vert competitions at this year's X Games. Over the past month ESPN has engaged in many conversations with the X Games BMX and Skateboard vert athletes in an attempt to transition the Vert discipline into one featuring a skatepark course design. While many athletes were initially receptive to the idea, the majority of them have indicated to ESPN that they would prefer to compete on a halfpipe. ESPN will also continue its plans to hold SuperPark as a new discipline for skateboarding and BMX at the X Games while working with the athletes to better define exactly how the SuperPark course will be designed. "The X Games has always had a commitment to the athletes and our consistent communication with them has allowed us to collectively grow this event to where it is today" said Chris Stiepock, General Manager, X Games. "In this particular case the communication took many turns but a consensus by the athletes has emerged that has lead us to reinstate Vert as an X Games discipline this year. We will continue to work with the athletes to make the X Games relevant and successful." Pro Skateboarder and 14-time X Games medalist, Bob Burnquist, said: "I think it's great that ESPN will continue to have a Vert contest, and I'm looking forward to working with them to make sure the vert competition at the X Games is the best that it can be."

4/9/07
Real Skate supports the Olympic torch run demonstrations in San Francisco today.

4/3/07
I've been hearing the X-Games (ESPN) was dumping BMX vert and thinking of doing the same with vert skateboarding. Today they dropped the axe. Not surprising, but what is surprising is that they took a decade to figure out vert wasn't popular. They plan to event a new game, er competition for the mainstream viewing pleasure called something like "super park." Watch out street skaters the magic of television is about to invent super jock park stars to watch on Cribs. This will be interesting, I imagine the other TV fake skate competition shows will follow suit. I bet the IOC is laughing their heads off!

3/23/08
Tampa Pro going on right now at the SPoT. 411 Video Magazine is live webcasting as we speak. Consolidated has 3 pros entered. Yeah for the home team! Go DON'T DO IT.

3/21/08
You know you've been on the Internet too long when the names of 50% of the people you know, you know only by their handles. Broken Magazine sent a bulletin "bobcat stuck in the pool at the skatepark this morning..." Of course I immediately thought it was "bobcat" from Sleestak and wondered how the heck that could happen! Check it out.

Now you get it. I swear, I just got an e-mail from MoveOn.org with the subject "FOX attacks Obama." Yikes, I'm afraid to look!

3/15/08

Roller Derby Girls! Hells yeah. So for all you target marketeers here's the new "in" thing. But don't take it too far, because you wrecked it for them last time. They have regrouped and doing a great job of mostly having fun. Here is a letter I recently got from "A-Bomb." I love their names, tattoos, their whole thing; they are gnarly for sure. I use to go to roller derby in the bay area with my Dad. Wow, twice my Dad has appeared here lately. First Willy Nelson now this! So I saw how it got marketed, finally becoming as fake as televised wrestling, so fake it just flopped. They're back, and I can really see some of the parallels with skateboarding. I think that's why I hear from so many roller girls. Well ladies you have my support and guess what? I'm going to see the Santa Cruz Roller Girls tonight! You go girls!

Dear Clarkie,
With all the sports out there for older women, very few allow you to compete in a full-contact competitive sport with women half your age.
      I hope you are well. My name is Annette Melillo. During the day, I work as a sales representative for a heating and oil company. By night, I'm referred to as "A Bomb," a 42 year old woman standing merely 4'9” tall, yet currently one of the top jammers for the NJ Dirty Dames Roller Derby League, located out of New Brunswick, New Jersey. I wanted to maybe pique your interest on the growing full-contact competitive sport for women, roller derby. In a way, roller derby has changed my life.
      At this point in my life, in almost every other sport that I've previously competed in, my opponents' ages ranged from 35 to 50. Oddly enough, roller derby has allowed me to compete on a level with skaters of varying ages; however, women in this sport aren't judged by age. They compete according to the level of their league. This is a sport that is inspiring and empowers women who perhaps never thought they could play a sport or had the drive to succeed in something active or fitness oriented, yet they attend every grueling practice no matter how difficult and push themselves to become the best athletes possible and get in the best shape of their lives. They are mothers, wives, daughters, students, computer geeks, office dwellers, librarians, waitresses…you name it, but on the track they are teammates working together to win.
      Roller derby has been around since the 1930s; however, the sport faded away after it became “scripted” much like professional wrestling and fans lost interest in it. Flat-track Roller derby returned as a competitive sport in 2001 and since then has grown into over 300 leagues across the country.
     Just to tell you a little bit about my league and what we do: Founded in March of 2006, The NJ Dirty Dames are a group of hard working successful women from all different backgrounds, ages currently ranging from 22 to 42 who are working to get the sport of roller derby back into the public's eye. We have been featured in numerous newspapers, magazines, and on television and are constantly trying to put our name out there aside from our normal day-to-day jobs. We normally have bouts once a month and practice three nights a week. We are a “by the skaters, for the skaters” organization meaning that every ounce of work comes from the skaters themselves as opposed to being run by any corporate businesses.
     I'm hoping that you will have interest in letting women know about this great sport. Many people, when they think of roller derby refer back to the days when it was scripted and consider it just a bunch of women on roller skates beating each other up. This couldn't be further from the truth and my goal is to get people to see that this is 100% a real competitive sport that has grown away from what made people lose interest in the first place.
  

For more info on the Dirty Dames, check out their website. Thank you so much for your letter A-Bomb!

3/12/08
Thrasher is having an interesting contest, almost like a treasure hunt. This weeks' booty is a Consolidated Roberto Aleman complete. May the best pirate win! UPDATE - Someone is really running away with the contest so Birdo and Leticia decided to also offer a complete to the second place winner. Nice!

3/4/08
Gotta love our Brazilian skater girls, not only their skating but their artistic, writing, photography talents as well. Don't miss AP and Bruna Massadas' photography show beginning March 13th.

What: Ana Paula Negrão & Bruna Massadas Photography Show
Where: 8484 Wilshire Blvd, suites 711 & 730, Beverly Hills, CA 90211)
When: From March 13 – May 8
Free Admission
Contact information: Andrea Curtin, (323) 651-2664, ext. 219 or
cultural(at)brazilian-consulate.org

2/21/08
Get off the message boards and GO SKATE! Heard that one before? Well that is exactly what 37 SLAP Pals have done and came up with their own vid under the anonymity of their "handles." I love it. I'd give that a "gnar" if I could! For now it's posted on YouTube in 9 parts. Check it out and be sure to leave good comments or better watch out, you might get "kooked!"

Part 1 ericlogan, bothersome, yeah dude!
Part 2 loophole, rocklobster, MFS, brandon, Zurg, L.S.
Part 3 Gest, Sony MDR V2 headphones, ATMurrel, Duffy, tonycoxhox
Part 4 natenola, diabolik, jura, tommy tuttone, mikey pioggia, somekid, mackattack, matt/tx, forks/knives save lives
Part 5 grimcity & joshewwuh
Part 6 toy machine, stagefright, iskaterowleyclassics, foray, SRjunky, peter
Part 7 universal remonster, Raw!
Part 8 ah lee, fuckyocouch
Part 9 nick immediato, iwishilevedinfinland

2/21/08
Kat Von D., my new best friend, is throwing the biggest music/tattoo art shindig of the century at the Orange County Fairgrounds this weekend. Seriously, Kat and I are tight, after all I'm in her top 936,840 friends on MySpace! I sent her a Real Skate sticker for her new ramp but haven't spotted it yet. She's a busy girl with this event and all.

2/14/08
Abusive COP Over the Top - More info is surfacing and more charges filed against Baltimore Police Officer Salvatore Rivieri. Check this out. Was Rivieri the the inspiration for this character? This "dude" is a monster. God forbid he has kids of his own.

Note to Youth: If anyone EVER abuses you in any way no matter if it's a COP, parent, teacher, minister, doctor, neighbor, relative, friend, ANYONE, PLEASE REPORT IT to the Police or someone. If you are too afraid or don't have anyone, call me and I will report it for you!

Baltimore Officer Salvatore Rivieri has been suspended pending an internal investigation. Over 500,000 views on YouTube of him verbally abusing and manhandling a 14 year old skateboarder.

2/13/08
Birdo and Consolidated's DON'T DO IT campaign against large sporting goods companies who are taking from skater built and owned businesses got national recognition last night on CNBC's new documentary Swoosh! Inside Nike. Several more air dates are listed on the site. Of the show my favorite quote is from Michael Jordan "I never wore a pair of Nike's until I signed with them. Adidas was always my favorite shoe."

2/12/08
Cops Gone Wild (again). This time in Baltimore, Officer Salvatore Rivieri. He didn't want this to show up on YouTube, well guess what DUDE! There's eventually going to be enough of these incidences for it's own reality show. This is a total abuse of power and totally unacceptable. I'm glad skaters are exposing what really happens in their lives. The citizen review board for formal complaints' number in Baltimore is (410) 396-3141. DUDE!

2/11/08
I went to a Willie Nelson concert last night, how nerdy is that? I've always loved his songs, they are sweet. And he's 74 and still going strong. Some of his songs I remember my Dad singing around the house. Usually the silly phrases he'd sing to me like "Hey good lookin, what ya got cookin, howz about cookin something up with me" and he'd do this little dance with me standing on his toes trying to follow. He cracked me up! Looking around the theater at all the cowboys, I wondered if they sat around the campfire (we know they didn't have message boards) talking about the cowboy boot brands like skaters talk shoe brands these days. Wondering if one brand tried to monopolize and overtake the cowboy culture by soaking up all the brands. Saddles, hats, chaps, all controlled by one corp? Nah, nobody could be more shoe fashion conscious these last 10 years than skaters. Hey my Dad was a pro in his younger years! He was a bronco rider in the rodeo circuit in Laramie, WY. I don't know how good he was but he always talked about a horse named "One-eye" the meanest horse around. I like to think he was pretty gnarly. I miss my Dad, RIP. Ohhhhhhhhhh mamas don't let your babies grow up to be cowboys...let them be [skaters] and lawyers and such...

2/10/08
No love for skateboarders. Fayetteville is the sixth largest city in North Carolina, praises itself as diverse, and has won All-American City awards and other honors. It has many parks, an award-winning golf course, and Cycling, Hockey, Baseball, and football clubs. Why can't they spare a tiny little plot where skateboarders can skate legally? There's nothing more "All-American" today than skateboarding, that's for sure.

2/8/08

Broken Magazine is holding a photo contest - best backyard shot of Jan.–Feb. '08. Winner wins an 8.25 Scarecrow deck. "It can be a pool, ramp, DIY, or some random thing rotting in your backyard." Good times!

2/6/08
Skaters, be the first to get your new "skurban" look on! Now you too can be more presentable (like snowboarders are now that they are in the Olympics) when you go with mom to the country club. Hot! Thank you Volcolm, marketing geniuses!

2/4/08
Tomorrow is the big day. After all has been said and done and all the mud has been slung, Real Skate is endorsing Hillary Clinton. Hillary played a very important role during Bill's administration. She's one of the smartest women out there today. If you recall, their administration cleaned up our country after Bush Sr. screwed it up, paid off the deficit, ended the meaningless war, etc. Now that same clean up is needed for what little Bush has done to this country. Hillary and Bill have the proven formula. Here experience is seriously something needed at this time. She worked hard on the Health Care system, only to be rejected by the Republicans who comprised the majority of both houses. Now both houses are Democratic controlled, and with that support, I am confident we will see the changes everyone wants.

I think Obama is a very good Senator and I would not be disappointed if he became president. And, the last thing I want is another Republican regime. I swear I will leave the country. If I had the confidence in American voters, who are a majority of Republicans over 40 and only 20% of people 18 to 29, and a whole slew of brainwashed evangelicals, I would push for him. He could be president by a landslide if only young liberals would participate in voting. And that's what would have to happen in the general election. The electoral college system is not the best system but still it is based on how many delegates are appointed according to popular vote. Bottom line, you have to register and you have to vote if you want change. And if Obama wins tomorrow, I'm going to get after ALL you young flake's who don't vote!

1/31/08
We just got word from VBS.tv that the Epically Later'd episode 1 of 16 of John Cardiel is finally out. We will be posting early updates from them as new episodes are released.

1/31/08

Right on THRASHER! Thrasher Mag has agreed to post this ad from Consolidated with a url to Birdo's response to Nike's Chet Childress' hypocritical bashing of Birdo (and other entities) which was printed in The Skateboard Mag. As you know TSM would not print Birdo's response. I have canceled my subscription to TSM and removed them from my Links page. Note to Chet: Take off your shoes and THEN maybe you'll have some validity in deciding who's keeping it real in the skateboarding world.

1/29/08
We are very sad to report that Dane's body was found on a street in San Diego according to this press release. Our sincere condolences go out to his family and friends.

1/28/08
Dane Williams Missing after ASR in San Diego - Got this from the ASR folks; let's hope he is OK.

Sorry for sending two e-mails this morning. But just got this and they need everyone's help to find Dane. Please see below. Dane Williams from the Hurley Marketing Dept. has been missing since Friday night at ASR (Action Sports Retailers Tradeshow). He was last seen Friday night at close to 2 am by the Hard Rock Cafe outside of the Marriott Gaslamp in San Diego. We are worried because no one has had contact with him since then. If you have heard from him or seen him, please contact the San Diego police department or call:
Amy- 714-553-4375
Jessica- 714-330-6952
Danny-714-613-2369
Or his parents Jim and Valen- 714-960-1341
PLEASE PASS THIS ALONG TO EVERYONE WHO WAS AT THE SHOW AS SOMEONE MIGHT HAVE SEEN SOMETHING. THANKS!
Robby Adams
Hurley Creative Dept.
robby_adams@hurley.com
949.548.9376 x3307

1/27/08
Here is Birdo's (Consolidated) response to The Skateboard Mag's article by Nike's boy Chet Childress (See 1/10 below.) Interesting TSM refused to print Birdo's response. Something's flat out wrong with this scenario. Keep fighting the good fight Birdo! When the day comes when Nike dumps skateboarding shoes, their pros, their mag spreads, we'll see articles titled "We Should Have Listened to Birdo." Keep it real out there!

1/24/08
Nike is on the cover of the February Forbes business magazine, "Going for the Gold." Gold, meaning money to Nike, of course. Personally I've never known a skateboarder who would fall for such a hoax as Nike trying to convince the world they are a skateboarding company. I don't even know anyone who would wear a pair of Nikes if they were free! But, they are walking the walk by buying a few pros as they have done with all their other disciplines like golf, running, biking, hockey, etc. It reminds me of a used car dealer "have I got a car [shoe] for you" thing. Interesting read for any skateboarders on the cusp of buying into this fashion statement illusion of a shoe being marketed primarily to sneaker freaks and non-skateboarders.

1/11/08
Danny Renaud - We were hoping it was a rumor, but Stereo has confirmed their Pro Danny has survived a 9-story fall from a building in Miami. He suffered broken legs but a full recovery is expected. Stereo also has provided a way to get well-wishes to Danny as he recovers. Please check out their website. Our best goes out to Danny. We will be supporting him 100%!

1/10/08
Starting off the year with a bang, but no big surprise. Pretty predictable actions when a skater and a skate magazine jump in bed with a major sporting goods company. You know the one. So Nike pro Chet Childress calls out Birdo in print in The Skateboard Mag. Birdo writes a response but TSM won't print it?? Something is wrong here, but like I said, predictable. Check it out. We'll follow this one for sure, and if Birdo wants, I'll publish his response here, gladly!

1/1/08 - Happy New Year!

12/31/07
Lists tend to pop up at the end of the year among ambitious people. Since I don't have one of my own I will post Michael Brooke's:

WHAT IF WE TREATED ALL ATHLETES LIKE SKATEBOARDERS?

1. A scandal would rock the badminton community when it discovered that some shuttlecocks are blanks with no graphics.

2. Swimmers, gymnasts and weightlifters would be pimping out their new Mercedes Benz's.

3. Golfers, curlers and dart players would wind up on MTV "Cribs."

4. Bowling shoes would be a 3 billion dollar industry. Studies would show that 90% of all bowling shoe buyers didn't actually bowl, but purchased the shoes because they looked cool and "felt comfortable." There would be 300 different types of bowling shoes.

5. The US Military would run recruitment ads in bob sledding magazines.

6. South Korean Archery champion I'm Dong Hyun would have his own reality show with Big Black. It would be called I'M DONG AND BIG.

7. Axe Deodorant spray would pimp out world champion fencer Keeth Smart's bathroom.

8. Table Tennis clubs would be set up at churches to bring in youth.

12/28/07
Concrete Disciples and (cream of the crop) company get a secret test drive of the new Lake Cunningham monstrosity. Nice work Zach!

12/25/07
Happy Winter Holidays from Real Skate!

12/24/07

Thank you, Z-Girl! Same to you and thank you for all your hard work throughout
the years with the whale movement. Peggy invites you all to participate in the "Minds in the Water"
Visual Petition campaign and help her win the competition for a sponsored trip to the IWC
meetings next May in Chile.

12/20/07

Blank Planks? A World without steel wheels? Gotta love those So. Cal. freestylers.
But, careful Bob you might incite a riot! Merry Christmas to you too, and thanks for
all your good work with the good non-profits.

12/13/07 Tribute to Big Mike - Any friend of Neal Boyd is a friend of us all. Hammond, LA's backbone of skateboarding Big Mike Jeansonne lost his life on November 16th in a freak skateboarding accident. Mike leaves behind his wife and son for whom Neal and the community have set up a trust fund. We are encouraging our readers to help out, any amount you can give will be greatly appreciated. If you are getting Christmas money for a new deck, you might want to wait until January and grab up Mike's tribute deck, designed by Neal and manufactured by Deluxe, SF. This will be a Real deck, part of the "Actions Realized" series sold through regular distribution. Look for it in your skate shops around the 3rd week in January. Call your shop and make sure they will be carrying it. Most shops will do a mail-order transaction, so if you're stuck out in the middle of nowhere, you're covered. All proceeds from the deck sales will go to the trust fund. Huge, gigantic thanks goes out to Jim Thiebaud and the staff of Deluxe who went out of their way to do this tribute deck for Mike's family. And of course thanks to Neal, Small Time Skates shop, and all those who have contributed in some way to help out Mikes family. The skateboarding community and all its goodness just makes me sit down and cry sometimes! Our sincere condolences go out to all of Mike's people who are suffering a tremendous loss. RIP Big Mike.

11/26/07
I had a nice long chat with Patrick O'Dell about the Epicly Later'd which aired Saturday night on MTV2. I think he did a good job editing which parts would work. By work, I mean depicting what pro skateboarders are really like. While watching it, I couldn't help doing my own mind comparison to Ryan Sheckler's skateboarding life. Quite an extreme difference (excuse the word extreme) whether it was intentional on Patrick's part or not. I loved Spanky's part and his Dad recollection of him as a young kid as well as Alex Olson's interaction with his legendary skate dad Steve. Spanky and Alex are skateboarders. Ryan is an "athlete." Braydon is just Braydon! hahaahh. Of course getting around to the proverbial question was this money driven, Patrick said no in fact he lost money producing this for MTV. He added EL is not scheduled for future MTV2 shows and doesn't think it ever will show again. Let's hope not, plus I don't think this will appeal to the mainstreamers. Let them idolize the White and Sheckler jocks of the skateboarding ranking system. Save the blood, cuss, and piss (and excellent skateboarding) for the rest of us to appreciate. Thank you Patrick, keep up the good work.

11/25/07

We are very saddened to hear Michael Reed, 21 of Rialto was fatally shot last Wednesday trying to stop an armed robbery at the Fontana Skatepark. A teen was holding a gun to another teens head when Michael intervened and was shot instead. Michael will certainly go down in history as a hero. RIP Michael.

11/22/07
Happy Thanksgiving Everybody! - Whether you celebrate the holiday or not there is always something to be thankful for. I'd like to thank all our readers and supporters and skateboarders all around the world. Keep fighting the good fights for your deserved rights. -Clarkie

11/20/07
Epicaly Later'd - I'm not so sure I want to post this, but so far I think EL has been keepin it pretty real. Colab with MTV though? I don't know, every skate thing that has mainstreamed to MTV has been a money driven flop, at least in the minds on non-mainstream skate minds. I'll give them the chance but well we shall see when the reviews come in. I hope they don't tell the world ALL our secrets!
Hey Real Skate,
Just wanted to drop you a note about the VBS.tv skate show Epicly Later'd. On Saturday, November 24th at 9PM/ 8C, MTV2 will air a compilation of three episodes of the popular VBS.tv web series, Epicly Later'd. Based on the photo blog of the same name and brought to life through VBS.tv, Epicly Later'd is the brainchild of Vice magazine photographer and skate world insider Patrick O'Dell. Hosted and filmed by O'Dell, Epicly Later'd features intimate and exclusive interviews and footage from the lives of pro skateboarding legends and young up-and-comers alike. It's a casual and candid look into the real, weird life of the pros. Saturday's 30-minute program profiles three of the hottest young skaters around today: Braydon Szafranski, Kevin 'Spanky' Long and Alex Olson. If you never seen it before, check out Epicly Later'd. You can also check out the clip about the show on Saturday here.

11/18/07
Longboarding - Found this article in the LA Times containing some competitive longboarding history. John Hutson is a Santa Cruz local, and there is quite a contingency of longboarders here trying to bring back the Capitola [Downhill] Classic. It's definitely not died and may even be safe to add it's growing. A friendly suggestion, please wear helmets on the roads! You are not a car. Bombing hills at high speed requires special boards and wheels. According to statistics compiled by Skaters for Public Skateparks from media feeds, last year over 40 deaths to skateboarders occurred on the streets, most of them hit by cars or just going too fast and out of control. I'd be safe to guess from my Google alerts it has risen this year. California has a mandatory state law that 17 and under wear helmets while skating on roads, it's a vehicle code. Yet the skateparks are getting stormed with riot tactics to ticket for helmets and pads which are not needed for park skating anyway. You don't see helmets and pads in the X-Games park and street comp. do you? The fine for being helmetless on the roads is $25. The fine for skating in a park without a helmet — $360 or more. Go figure.

11/16/07
So you think voting doesn't matter? Check out this article about the city of Los Gatos, in the Santa Cruz mountains and the skaters major fight to get a decent skatepark in their town. This is the first I've heard of a skatepark going up to a vote. Who do you think will win if skaters aren't registered to vote? Who will win if the majority of your town is conservative and NIMBY? If you are 18 better think twice about how lame you think it is to vote. And you can also vote for or against the city council based on their interest or lack of it in youth. Even the signers on the petition for the referendum have to be registered just to get it on the ballot. The article points out out of 3,098 sigs only 1833 were valid. They did get enough, however, to get it on the February ballot. For those skaters under 18 (which are probably the majority) better get on the campaign and get those 18 year olds on the stick and Rock The Vote in Los Gatos!

11/15/07
Mainstream Mania - Lately I have been receiving tons of skate related writings, photos from professional photographers of skaters which in their minds is a great skate shot, bands on the skate band bandwagon, and video companies producing "skate vids." This would be all good content and are the things I would normally gladly accept and post, however one glance and you know how clueless these submissions are. I'd rather post a pic a Dad took of his kid attempting a trick, no matter how blurry or fuzzy, or how "beginner" but because it is in fact a trick; it's real and depicts sincerity and meaning.

Nike, the biggest non-skate mainstreamer of them all (with no disrespect to the pro skaters they bought to form a "skate team") continues to detract all sincerity and meaning, all in the name of marketing shoes. I mean come on, Mamma, Pappa, and Baby bear skate shoes? Do they really think they are appealing to skateboarders? Check out Michael Brooke's opinion of the latest Nike "skate video."

The Whole Truth About Nike's Nothing But the Truth… November 15th, 2007

Not only did I receive the new Nike dvd, but on Monday, I received a 300 page hardcover book that features stills and information about the dvd (there is also another dvd tucked in the back of the book). I managed to catch about 45 minutes of the dvd. I have promised myself to watch the rest. The truth about “Nothing But the Truth” is that the skating is amazing, but the bits in between are having a weird affect on me. I can't really explain it, but the video (not the skate parts, mind you) seems like one of the most self-indulgent things ever done in skateboarding.
Arts for ARTS sake?
What does it REALLY mean?
How does it FEEL?
It's like some bad art film…you just want the damn thing to end.
Maybe I am too old…perhaps my generation doesn't get it…maybe we're not supposed to.
Look, I am not denying that Nike has a great skate team. They've also pumped a ton of money into skateboarding. Through an incredibly shrewd marketing dance, they have cultivated their Nike SB in core shops while at the same time moving the Nike 6.0 line thorough mass market channels…Yes Virginia, a 16.3 billion dollar company can suck and blow at the same time.
Yep, Nike posted 16.3 billion in sales in the last fiscal year. Their goal is to be 23 billion company by 2011.
That's a A LOT of money.
It buys you a lot of talent.
It also appears to buy you a lot of video tape and self indulgence. It's not just me who thinks this film was a dud.
Check out this review:
"You know what, I'm so sick of this movie, after 35 minutes, I can't stand it. full of scum, crap, lame stuff, non-skateboarding stuff (hey it's nike, what did you expect?) and it's straight up boring. i haven't been stoked once. i'll just wrap this up now, and say it's crap, i don't feel like watching the rest."
Hard to believe that a skate video would turn skaters OFF skateboarding.
Ironically enough, Craig Stecyk has contributed to the book. Yes, the Craig Stecyk who inspired and continues inspire skaters worldwide. Perhaps instead of giving him the writing gig, they should have put him in the directors chair?
The truth for me?
Nike will pump money into skateboarding till it bleeds…or their investors run for cover!

Thanks for the free content Michael!

11/12/07
SMP - Smoke More Pot? Skate More Pools? Nope, Terry Kennedy explains for Thrasher that the new acronym is Sober Mind Power. Seems the message is on the ups, let's hope this one sticks.

10/23/07
Our sincere hopes for the best go out to all those in So. Cal. experiencing the tragedy of the fires. Our support goes out to all the firefighters working with limited personnel and equipment due to our Reserves and planes being dedicated to Iraq. It's messed up. Here are some practical ways you as citizens can HELP. Help for animals.

10/19/07
Skateboarding as a Sideshow? Casino owner Joe Maloof is throwing down 1.5 million to showcase an X-Games style invitational competition they term as the Maloof Money Cup, the "The superbowl of skateboarding" to attract more attendees to the Orange County Fair according to this article in the OC Register. Step right up folks, here ya have yer livestock, here ya have yer carnival, here ya have yer skateboarders and the Flyyyyyyyyyyyyyying Tomaaaaaaaaaaaaaaato! If they're lucky, maybe a skateboarder will get badly hurt. Geeze, when we wanted to increase our fair attendance, we hired the Alaskan Racing Pigs. Worked like a charm. And they're cool. The announcer divides the audience to root for a certain pig. Their "purse" is a trough of food at the end of the course. And the girl pigs get as much "purse" as the boy pigs. Speaking of which, I noticed there will be no female vert skaters. Ya think Cara-Beth told them to $%@#-Off? If so, good for the vert ladies. Wow, just think want 1.5 mil could do for skatepark development. See you at the pig races.

10/17/07
Verdugo Skatepark Event - We are happy to announce that we will be having our third annual Teen Equinox at the Verdugo Skate Park. This is a great event and we have some great sponsors this year including eS shoes and our local Kiwanis club. We have a Battle of the Bands; which the grand prize winner gets to play at the 2008 Van's Warped Tour in Los Angeles, and a great 18 years and younger Game of SKATE with a best trick contest on a flat bar to follow. It is FREE to enter in the Game of SKATE and the Battle of the Bands but the bands need to submit a CD to us ASAP if they want to play. There will be fun booths which will include hair painting, henna tattoos, skateboard stenciling, photo buttons and more. Plenty of food and good music!
Thanks,
Adam Porte
Community Services Specialist/Skate Park
City of Glendale
work (818) 548-2786

10/10/07
Capitola Skatepark - Judi O is informing that Thursday, the 11th the Capitola City Council has the skatepark issue back on the agenda. Skaters are needed to rep and support the skatepark and voice your opinion on location. Meeting starts at 7pm but the issue won't be heard until 8 or 9pm. Please attend if you can, and please help spread the word among local skaters, it's very important to have a turnout of skaters any time skateboarding related issues are on the agenda. The Council chambers are where you see all the cop cars parked.

10/10/07
A couple of good objective articles on Nike. Validates everything Birdo has been trying to get across for years. Wake up some of you, and stop stretching it - Nike is not a skateboarding company:

Praise and criticism for Nike's foray into skateboarding culture –The Canadian Press

Nike Abandons Hockey –The Star.com

10/8/07
Peggy Oki, the Z-Girl of Dogtown is still doing good things; from saving the whales to blessing our world with her beautiful art. Here are two of her current art shows:

One-Woman Exhibit of Paintings by Peggy Oki
at Zookers Cafe
8 October - 1 December 2007
Mon-Sat: 11:30am - 3pm and 5pm - 9:00pm
5404 Carpinteria Avenue, Carpinteria, CA 93013
Ph. 805.684.8893

One-Woman Exhibit of Paintings by Peggy Oki
at The Sojourner Cafe
3 November - 14 December 2007
Reception 3 Nov (Saturday) 3-5 pm
Monday thru Saturday: 11am - 11pm
Sunday: 11am - 10pm
134 E. Canon Perdido, Santa Barbara, CA 93101
Ph: 805.965.7922

Peggy's Current Exhibits:

10/7/07
And speaking of bananas, here is a press release on the new "Drunks" Osiris (and later other major core skate companies in solidarity) will be making in support of the DON'T DO IT campaign.

Press Release—OSIRIS TEAMS UP WITH CONSOLIDATED SKATEBOARDS FOR THE DRUNK
SAN DIEGO, CA, Sept. 26, 2007

San Diego-based skate/surf lifestyle brand, Osiris has teamed up with Consolidated Skateboards to create a new special-edition of their infamous shoe called "The Drunk," which takes aim at large sporting good companies who are strategically trying to invade the action sports industry. The shoes are going to be sold only at core skate and surf shops in support of the Don't Do It campaign, a movement that seeks to put the power back into the hands of those companies that built the action sports industry.
       The Drunk, a thinly veiled comedic wordplay on a popular shoe style from one of the large sporting goods companies, bears a signature banana logo on the side of each shoe. It was created as a playful knock on the large sporting goods brands that are now making a strong push to take a share of the market in the action sports industry. Though the shoe is humorous in it's design, the message that the Don't Do It Campaign conveys is a very serious one. Steve "Birdo" Guisinger, owner of Consolidated Skateboards states, "There is a reason there are no football, baseball, basketball, or soccer, player owned companies-and there should be. "We don't want this to happen to our industry." Jay 'The Wizard' Wilson, Executive Vice President for Osiris, adds, "If they can make skate shoes, we can make basketball shoes that you can skate in. Can't we all have a little fun?"
      Osiris will be the first in a series of core skate companies who will be creating a new version of the Drunk each season. The Osiris Drunk is a patent leather paneled quarter top shoe, with it's design borrowed from a new style of shoes from Osiris called the South Bronx. "Ever since I can remember, I longed to work with the famous banana. It's a legend in its own right, for it's continued efforts to break down the corporate evils that plague our industry," says Brian Reid, Chief Creative Officer for Osiris.
      Consolidated Skateboards, who has been leading the Don't Do It campaign since 1997, rallied the support of the heads of many of the core industry companies to lead this awareness campaign by creating a new version of the Drunk each season. "Making quality skate shoes is not our specialty, so we are excited to co-op "Drunks" with Osiris and other quality skate shoe makers." says Steve "Birdo" Guisinger.
      The Osiris Drunks will be available at select core shops and will be priced at $69.95
For more information, visit: DontDoItArmy.com and myspace.com/dontdoitarmy

10/7/07
Consolidated's new video "Goin' Bananas" is being shipped out now and will only be sold in skate shops. Support your local skate shops and DON'T DO IT!

9/20/07
No Skateboarding in the Olympics! No, I'm not bugging you about my petition any more. I am announcing that there will be no skateboarding in the Olympics! At least not unless it's done right, by the rules, through the front door, and if skateboarders really want it to happen. I think we have spoken out loud and clear not only to USA Rollersports, the Cycling Fed, and the IOC but to Gary Ream's questionable USAS and International Skateboarding Federation and except for the latter, they listened.

Below is a news item that went out on Monday at "Around the Rings" a subscription-only news website all about the Olympics nitty gritty. I was given special privy to post it on Real Skate. You will more than likely be seeing this in mainstream media soon, especially by those who reported grave misinformation in all those articles in June.

Half-pipe skateboarding had been under consideration for addition to the London Olympics. (ATR)

Plans to bring skateboarding to the program for the 2012 Olympics are headed for a crash landing, sources tell Around the Rings. Discussions have been underway for months between the International Cycling Union and leaders of the nascent International Skateboard Federation about forming an unlikely marriage.

In a bid to increase youth appeal for cycling the UCI wants to add half pipe BMX to the London program, joining the motocross discipline which will debut in Beijing. As part of a play to make maximum use of the BMX half pipe track, UCI was also willing to consider bringing skateboarding into the federation for a double-barreled shot at attracting younger sports fans for the Olympics.

UCI's ardor for skateboarding has cooled, however, in the face of a number of issues, several of them involving breaches of established rules and requirements for adding sports and disciplines to the Olympic Games. UCI sports director Olivier Queguiner, who met recently with IOC officials to discuss the situation, now tells Around the Rings that the "no decision about skateboard" will take place during the UCI Congress in Stuttgart later this month. A vote of the UCI Congress is a must to bring a new discipline into the sport of cycling. Failure to act this year effectively kills the chance of adding skateboarding to London.

High-level sources in Lausanne say the IOC will take no action on skateboarding until it hears from the UCI. One source indicates 2016 is a more likely start for skateboard. But before the sport can make it to the Olympics, organizational issues have to be addressed, including whether riding along with cycling is the proper way to join the program. A number of federations which meet IOC requirements to join the program were said to be concerned over what they saw was a backdoor effort to bring skateboarding to the Olympics.

Who represents the sport is also a divisive question. The U.S. – based International Skateboarding Federation has yet to stage a world championship and is way short of the number of national federations needed to be considered for the Olympics. Efforts to reach the federation for comment for this report have been unsuccessful.

Meanwhile, the International Roller Sports Federation, which is planning to stage a world championship in 2009 for skateboarding, remains committed to seeking a spot in the Olympics for traditional speed skating, not skateboarding. And there seems to be as little enthusiasm among serious skateboarders for representation by the IRSF as there is for the current leadership of the International Skateboarding Federation. Skateboarders are also apparently divided on what event to stage in the Olympics, with the majority of top boarders believed to be in favor of a street-style event, not the half-pipe proposed by UCI.

Thank you, Around the Rings. So there you have it. Thanks to everyone who signed and helped circulate our petition and kept up the good fight on all the message boards; and thanks to those who had my back. I'm keeping the petition going as I have a hunch though this has been nipped in the bud, maybe not the end. But to anyone standing next in line to try and pull this off again, all I can say is BRING IT ON and let's play above the table this time. - Clarkie

9/13/07
Break Wainwright's Ollie Record!
WIN $500 FOR THE HIGHEST OLLIE AT THE HOBBY SHOW Canada's largest Hobby Show at International Centre 6900 Airport Road, Mississauga. Date: November 2, 3, 4 2007 Organization: Concrete Wave

Can you beat Danny Wainwright's High Ollie Record of 44.5"? If you can, you'll make it into the Guinness World Book of Records! If you do the highest Ollie for the weekend, you'll take home $500. Even if you don't win you could win clothes, shoes, boards and other prizes.

Here's how it works: Fill in the application at thehobbyshow.com. Send it along with a check or money order for $5.00 to The Hobby Show, 365 Colonsay Court, Oshawa, ON L1J 6H3. Yep. It'll cost you $5.00 to enter, but you also get a weekend pass to the Hobby Show worth $24.00!

The rules are simple. Each skater gets two shots at every level; if you fail, you are out. The finalists in each contest get three tries. The Contest winners will compete on Sunday for the final $500 and the draws for the raffle prizes.

This is your chance to showcase your skills. But even if you can't ollie that great, you'll enjoy watching the contest along with all the cool stuff at the Hobby Show. If you are under 18 we must have your parents' signature on the application. Contest times are: Friday 4PM & 7PM, Saturday 12PM, 2PM, 4PM, 7PM, Sunday 12 noon and Finals 3PM.

Michael Brooke, Publisher
Concrete Wave Magazine
1054 Center Street, Suite 293
Thornhill, ONTARIO L4J 8E5
905-738-0804

9/6/07
The Olympics apparently does NOT want skateboarding!
My suspicions all along have been confirmed by a July '07 e-mail conversation from Christophe Dubi, (IOC Director of Sport; through the e-mail address of Pierre Ducrey), when I submitted our petition to the IOC. Over the last few years, more than a dozen people in the sports field told me the IOC doesn't go looking for new sports to add to the program, that this push for skateboarding more than likely came from Gary Ream and Mike Jacki after the bombarding outrage from skateboarders effectively suggested Roller Sports change their mind about putting skateboarding in the Olympics. Gary was quoted in the media as saying he wanted to form USAS to "protect the look of skateboarding" in the Olympics. Another subsequent quote I found interesting from him something to the effect "...if we don't put skateboarding into the Olympics ourselves, someone else will," and "they (IOC) can do it with or without us." Gary hasn't spoken much to media, but every quote (NY Hearald; NY Times) implies that the IOC is responsible for approaching UCI to work on including skateboarding and that it was inevitable it would go in by 2012.

The e-mail exchange:

Dear Mr. Dubi - Skateboarders all over the world request that you do not
include skateboarding in Olympic games. It is not a sport.
Skateboarding was built as an ALTERNATIVE to sports for its
individuality and freedom. Skateboarders have no governing body and do
not want one. We urge you to leave skateboarding out of your long range
plans. Note our petition which has gained national attention.
Many professional skateboarders have signed it and big names in
skateboarding:
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/656763888
Sincerely,
Clarkie, Editor Real Skate Magazine

Dear Ms Clarkie,
Thank you for your interest and views.
Please note that the inclusion of the discipline of skateboarding in the
Olympic Games can only be considered if an International Sports
Federation puts such a request forward.
We would therefore advise you to contact UCI [Cycling Federation], should you wish to discuss
further of the creation of an international governing body for
skateboarding.
Best regards,
Christophe DUBI

Although Gary Ream has his USAS members under gag order, (perhaps to hide the inclusion of skateboarding from the Cycling athletes as they will lose two more events to skateboarding as they did to make way for BMX, which Gary holds a seat on) I think he owes the skateboarding community an explanation. Don't you?

So given this information, we will switch our petition and address the Cycling Federation which Gary holds a seat on. There is still time to sign our petition and we will be giving you a way to give your input.

Here is an article I stumbled across showing the cycling athletes presenting UCI with over 11 thousand signatures of bike riders protesting losing two Kilo races. Here again, UCI blamed it on the IOC.

http://quickrelease.tv/?p=115

Interesting stuff. You will be hearing more very soon.

9/2/07
Skate With Gusto - I was happy to hear from Ana Paula, one of our awesome Brazilian girl skaters, and happier to hear she is still involved in supporting not only female skaters, but any skater who needs funds to travel to events in So. America. I hadn't heard from her or Luciana and that crew in a long time, but they say they are still doing their magazine, Check It Out. If you are in the LA area, please do what you can to help support the cause. They will send us pics and coverage from the event later. Contact AP for more info.

8/31/07
The X-Games always stirs a flurry of laughable disgust among the skateboarding community. Not too many, if any skate media report on the X-Games at all. We did once, since we had a staff member in Sydney and there was nothing else to cover so we ran it. We will probably even see less as these fake TV show "contests" and non-skateboard related sponsors continue to attract mainstream media and turn ordinary kids into TV stars.

I seriously loved and laughed at the article Concrete Disciples did on this year's X-Games 13. More than likely their last article on the topic, but it's a gem. They also have some good pictures, however, in their gallery (even pics of WOMEN skateboarders; unusual).

8/29/07
Got this from our Aussie friends. I think it's a video game?? Check out their website for more details.

8/29/07
9th Annual Tim Brauch Memorial Contest coming up next month, don't miss it!

8/25/07
TWS Biz needs a few good opinions. I don't know what rock they've been living under lately, but it looks as if they may do an article about skateboarding in the Olympics. That's good, the more people getting exposed to it the better. It's being handled under gag orders and backroom dealing by people who have no business representing/governing skateboarding. Send in your letters, however note that the e-mail addy they provided doesn't work. Send to one of the e-mails on their "contact" page. You may also express your opinion (which will be sent directly to the IOC) by signing our petition (above).

8/24/07
Problems, problems everywhere! Even in London. Got this from the UK Skate Association. Please help them out by signing their online petition:

Written by Kevin Parrott, Thursday, 23 August 2007
In an amazingly odd move the management of the new London bridge skatepark have imposed a rule banning skateboarders over 18 from skating the park. Sign the petition organised by Seth and Slam at...
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/892230000

Here's a quote from the parks management..."In the case of Whites Grounds, we are not permitted to allow unaccompanied adults on the site at any time as young people. If a young person was to be assaulted or groomed during our supervised sessions, we would be held accountable."

You also have the chance to write a comment on the petition so please keep it articulate and sensible. This is a crazy rule that needs overturning so get signing.

More info can be found on the UKSA website.

8/16/07
Well hello! No, I haven't been traipsing off on exotic tropical vacations, I chose something about the same cost this year, knee replacement surgery. Insert your favorite swear word here as I tell you it HURTS! I will be back more often, I have some cool pics people have been sending in and other things to post. See you soon! *ouch, spell-check hurts*

8/6/07
Local shop, SC Skateshop has developed a skateboarding community on their website. It's kind of like a MySpace for skateboarding. It's pretty cool, you can post pictures, vids, blogs, stories, just about anything skate related, check it out!

8/4/07
X-Games - We don't report on the X-Games, nobody cares and it's more fun to make fun of them on message boards. But one thing that must be said is how irresponsible they were in handling Jake Brown's accident. We're hearing today that he has stress fractures of the spine, concussion, fractured liver, etc. Must be in the ESPN contracts that any injured "athlete" must walk off the stage after an accident? After a fall like that anyone in their right mind would have put him in a neck brace and back board before moving him. The so-called paramedics did nothing of the sort, in fact made him get up and walk off, put him in a chair and began manipulating his neck! How much more blood and guts will skateboarders give television programming before they realize their safety is not in the best interest of their viewers? It's really too bad skateboarders didn't come up with their own way of "advancement." And now the vert jocks going along with the Olympic movement, can't get much worse. We need to hit the reset button, get back to basics, and not consider skateboarding success dependent on how many cars you drive or getting a segment on "Cribs."

Our best goes out to Jake, and we hope he will make a full and speedy recovery.

7/29/07
Articles - We covered the 4th annual Ramsay Skateboard Competition, check it out.

7/28/07
We asked local skate artist Jim Phillips to provide us with some info on his new book fresh out, no doubt slated to be every skate collector's must-have:

SKATEBOARD ART OF JIM PHILLIPS
This retrospective on Jim's skateboard art boards the reader with colorful skateboard decks, logos, ad art, ad layouts, photos and stickers to illustrate the history of skateboarding from before the urethane revolution up to the present. You are invited for a ride, and an inside view of Phillips Studios, to observe the wacky world of his crazed studio artists, and examine their graphic assignments. The story traces the roots of skateboarding with more than a half-century of Phillips' involvement. It provides insight into the creative evolution of the sport and the worldwide interest and influence that has occurred from this California artist. 208 pages.

If you're feeling your hand screaming, tell it to grab your credit card—Skateboard Art of Jim Phillips can be ordered online at Shiffer Books for $29.95, or check with your local skate shop to see if they are carrying it.

Good luck Jim!

7/26/07
Good article from the Wall Street Journal about branded skate gear. Pretty much validates what I keep saying about the industry being to blame for their "world without pros" scheme. The only pros that will be well-known are those on TV, and yet the industry keeps pushing skateboarding towards the Olympics where then only ONE pro will be well-known, the vert winner. Can anyone even name the 2nd place winner of snowboarding half pipe in the O-Games?

7/25/07

7/20/07
Ramsay Skatepark Competition (ages 8 to 21) is tomorrow from 10 to 2pm. Real Skate will be one of the sponsors this year. We'll be out there schmoozing and drumming up interest to get a permanent park built replacing the metal ramps. Consolidated and SC Skateshop have donated stickers to hand out at our booth and we'll be giving out free bottled water. Come chill with us!

7/19/07
Ok this news article is making me crazy. Read it and see what you think yourself. A city is freaked out and requiring helmets because a skater dislocated his shoulder? And they call it life thraetening? Then, the fire department takes an hour using ropes and ladders to get the kid out of a 10ft. bowl? Isn't that standard? An hour? A 6ft. guy could have just walked or skated in right? I'm glad my life doesn't depend on THAT fire department! Or is this some kind of scare tactic propaganda. I see the city aims to go into the helmet business though. Geeze.

7/18/07
FLIP DEMO IN GERMANY/WUPPERTAL

7/17/07
Skateboarding is Dying—FINALLY! Here is an interesting article showing (according to the Sporting Goods Manfacturers Association), skateboarding isn't quite the cat's meow we have all been advertising it to be. Several years back the SGMA statistics showed skateboarding high on the fastest growing list: "More kids are skateboarding than registered in Little League." It helped getting concrete skatepark approval, and I think at least in California will continue to do so. They include skateboarding in "extreme sports" which includes definite extremes like motocross. I would think that is probably the most popular spectator sport. I wonder if TV crews still stage the X-Games spectators right around the vert ramps to make it appear well attended on camera? I was at the X's when Tony did the 900 and I seriously don't think there were more than 50 people there. Me and my crew were more interested watching the street skaters practice haahahahah. By 2012 the O-Games might get 50 people to watch a vert show, who knows.

7/10/07
TWS is publishing a story written by Yoon Sul on the "Wild in the Streets" final day in San Francisco. It sounds to me like WITS 2007 will go down in history as a success. Unrelated to the ride, Yoon writes of a very disturbing incident that happened afterwards that I am posting in hopes of helping out this young woman.

"ONE MORE THING—PLEASE READ!
On that night at Delores Park, some asshole was throwing M-80's at crowds at the park. Look, I know I love fireworks, but not dynamite, and I especially dont throw little sticks of dynamite at crowds. One of the M-80's blew up the hand of Roisin Isner, a drummer from the local SF band Tinkture. Unfortunatley, her hand is now disfigured and lost a couple of fingers. Her music career is over because of this asshole. I know that park was filled with skaters, so if you were there and saw this asshole, hit up roisin's father at chrisisner (at) hotmail (dot) com. He's offering a $20,000 reward for this mark ass bitch. Here's a description of the mark ass bitch: he was a white male, mid 20's, 5'10, had a dark newspaper boy cap on and had a black with red plaid messenger bag. He was last seen riding a medium blue fixed gear bike with black wheels and stickers on the down tube. thanks." - Yoon Sul

7/9/07
It is with heartfelt sadness to report that 20 year old Chelsea "Chess" Peters, son of skateboarding legend Duane Peters, was killed in an auto accident in Orange County 7/6/07. Our condolences go out to all his friends and family, we are so saddened. We will keep you posted of any memorial services and jams.

7/7/07
Sorry for the delay, I've been gathering all the reports on arrests and tickets Go Skateboarding Day brought to skaters. The worst reported was in Hot Springs, Arkansas: Advance media reports looked grim on the upcoming "Wild in the Streets" scheduled for July 4th in San Francisco that Emerica puts on each year (normally on 7/21). Misinformed press made it look