Archives

My First Hero - Blaize Blouin
|TransWorld Skateboarding
When you first start skateboarding, there is always some skater that you see who sticks in your mind more than any other skater. After only skating for a few months, I found myself at a backyard vert contest in Georgia. There were a lot of the South's top skaters there. One stuck out beyond the rest - he did tricks with more speed, power, and grace. At that time I didn't know who that rider was, but I wanted to skate like him. Growing up and traveling in the Southeast... Read more...
Flight Into The Weird
|TransWorld Skateboarding
A 73-year-old skater recalls being thoroughly "patted down" by LAX U.S. Customs agents. I am a skateboarder, though I am much older than most skateboarders. I am 73 years old. Yeah, 73, so shut up with the "wows!" and "no ways" and keep reading.In May of 1998 I went with my friend Carlos de Andrade to Vancouver, Canada for three days to watch the Slam City Jam contest between 105 professional skateboarders. After the competition, Carlos drove to Bellingham, Washington to visit his girlfriend, and I returned to Los Angeles... Read more...
Berlin Exposed
|TransWorld Skateboarding
There's more to Germany than irate gas-station attendants. It's a shame that when you mention Germany to skateboarders they automatically think of Münster. From what the majority get to see in magazines and videos, they may be under the impression that German skateboarding only goes on for one weekend a year inside huge auditoriums and is limited to a 40-minute practice and two one-minute runs. You would, of course, be very wrong.Nowhere is there more skating going on than in Germany's capital city Berlin, but the city gets so little... Read more...
Personal Profile - Donny Barley
|TransWorld Skateboarding
Favorite Tricks olliesbackside Smith grindsslappiesalley-oop tricksIf You Weren't A Skater, Other Occupations You'd PursueNational Geographic journalist/photographer/videographergym teacherNavy SealFBI AgentFavorite Travel/Skate SpotsAustraliaMarseillesBostonPhillyMost Influential PersonDadFavorite Skaters Of All TimeEric DressenJulien StrangerBen SchroederBrian AndersonChris Senneverybody on ElementGrouchiest Timesin the morningwhen hungryaround rude, inconsiderate peopleFavorite Movies/TV ShowsShawshank Redemptionall the Star Wars moviesall the Nature channels Read more...
Adrenalin & Goodtimes Tour
|TransWorld Skateboarding
Germany, Czech Republic, Austria, Switzerland, Belgium, and Holland. Jaya Bonderov, Joe Pino, Justin Strubing, Jon Miner, and Hans Classens.Picture a European vacation. Clark Griswald, right? A cheesy American family trying to flow with a culture far from what is familiar. Sounds like a terrible vacation.Now picture yourself and your skateboard. It's comfortable, familiar, and it's "you." You can just roll around and you don't have to act fake. Skateboarding is an international language amongst skateboarders. It's real. No communication barriers. I feel very lucky to have experienced Europe for the... Read more...
Tony Alva Interview
|TransWorld Skateboarding
Tony Alva started skating during the Vietnam war–the early part of it. Born in Santa Monica, California in 1957, the ten-year-old So Cal boy grew up to earn the reputation of skateboarding's rebel. His involvement with teams like Z-Flex and later Alva skateboards put him in the spotlight for over a decade.But his contributions to the act of skateboarding dwarf those he made to its image, including pioneering the kickturn and aerial on vert and in pools. The value of his presence is unquantifiable, except for simply stating that skateboarding... Read more...
Sammy Baptista Interview
|TransWorld Skateboarding
Sammy Baptista How old are you? Fifteen.What are you going to do New Year's Eve 1999?I'll be at Jesse's house in Santa Barbara - chilling, packing gats.Do you know who Tony Alva is?Yes. He was a pro back in the day who had a board company. Actually on my plane trip here, I sat next to a girl who drove Tony Alva to the set of the old movie Skateboard.Since you've been skating, who's been the most influential professional skateboarder to you?Dylan Gardener, Jason Phillips, my brother, and the Questionable... Read more...
Steve Caballero Interview
|TransWorld Skateboarding
Steve CaballeroAfter twenty years as a professional skateboarder, Steve Caballero has yet to show signs of slowing down. His accomplishments include prospering through three eras of skateboarding, inventing the Caballaerial, winning numerous pro contests, inspiring generations of skateboarders, signing hundreds of thousands of autographs, having his name on a successful pro-model shoe for over a decade, and keeping the faith when others lost it.What was your favorite year in skateboarding?I don't really have a favorite year; all my years in skateboarding have been fun.Was there an era you liked more?Not... Read more...
Tony Trujillo Interview
|TransWorld Skateboarding
Tony TrujilloThe millenium, computers crashing, food shortages - is it hype? Do you think anything will happen? No.Just hype. I guess. Computer are retarded.Do you have anything planned for that night? I'll probably just be doing whatever I'm doing, anyway.Who do you think are the most important skaters in the 90s? Oh man. Bob Burnquist, he came up. I don't know, it's hard to say.Is there anyone that had an influence on you? Not really. I used to just skate. I didn't really pay attention the whole pro thing. I... Read more...
Tony Hawk Interview
|TransWorld Skateboarding
Tony HawkSome sucker on ESPN claimed Tony Hawk was the "Michael Jordan of skateboarding." That's bullshit. If anything, Michael Jordan is the "Tony Hawk of basketball." Does Tony Hawk really need an intro? No, but in case you're clueless, let me fill you in. The first kickflip McTwist and first 900 are only a couple of his contributions for this decade. Tony has stood tall through all of skateboarding's cycles, never quitting. When skating was "dead," he still skated his ass off and improved his skills. A young skate prodigy... Read more...
Stacy Peralta Interview
|TransWorld Skateboarding
Stacy Peralta Finder of valuable treasures.Even though Stacy Peralta had discovered skateboarding was his all-consuming passion as long ago as 1968, and regardless of the fact that he helped pioneer vert skating as well as the surf style that eventually became the modern skateboard posture, and despite the fact that he was skateboarding's clean-cut champ by the age of 20, his greatest legacy to skateboarding was as a team manager. As the second half of the powerhouse Powell-Peralta, Stacy engineered the Bones Brigade, made the first modern skateboard video, and... Read more...
Ryan Johnson Interview
|TransWorld Skateboarding
Ryan JohnsonOut of nowhere. Bat out of hell. With all the hype around the millennium, do you think something will happen on New Year's Eve 1999? Yeah. I think a lot of changes are going to come about, but I think I'm going to have to stop sending love letters to Ulysse Soto and signing them Newanda. Any other changes you perceive? I'm studying computers, and I think the extent of what's going to happen we even don't know. What do you have planned for New Year's Eve 1999? I... Read more...
Ryan Gee: The Genius Behind The Lens
|TransWorld Skateboarding
Ryan Gee: The Genius Behind The LensThe GZA, Geezuzz, Genius, Geetard, G Money Grip, Gill–all nicknames for the man of the hour, Ryan Gee. The story goes something like this: born on March 16, 1974 in Newark, New Jersey, Ryan is the only child of Norman and Anne Marie Gee. Growing up, Ryan was into your average kid stuff–baseball, basketball, Frisbee golf, and tiddlywinks–but was hit with the surfing and skateboard bug in his early teen years. Ryan soon realized that all of his friends were getting seriously good at... Read more...
Rob Dyrdek Interview
|TransWorld Skateboarding
Rob DyrdekAt 25, Rob Dyrdek's track record for choosing sponsors wisely is uncanny. A native of Dayton, Ohio–which is also home to Rob's career-long sponsor Alien Workshop–Rob moved out west to San Diego, California seven years ago to try his luck at the skateboard dream. But when you look at the strength of his sponsors and his influence in their direction, you have to wonder, "Is it luck?"Regardless, Rob's influence on modern street skating comes not only from his ability on a skateboard but also from his focus as a... Read more...
Rick McCrank Interview
|TransWorld Skateboarding
Rick McCrankTalent. Hardwork. Makes anything look easy. With all the hype around the millennium, do you think something will happen on December 31, 1999? No. I think it's just gonna be people having fun.What do you have planned for that night? I'll just see what happens - hang out with my family.Who are the most important skaters of the 90s? Guy Mariano, Danny Way, Mark Gonzales, Jason Lee, all the Blind guys in the Video Days video. Colin McKay rips, Jeremy Wray going bigger, Eric Koston.Who is Alan Gelfand? I... Read more...
Peter Smolik Interview
|TransWorld Skateboarding
Peter Smolik Mad Steez. Tech. Creative. Best at what he does.Millennium hype. Computers crashing. Food shortages. What do you think is going to happen on New Year's Eve 1999? Computers might crash. But then again, they might find some way to prevent that from happening. It's going to be way different because it's the starting of the millennium. It's going to be crazy. The psychos will come out. Do you have anything planned for that night, or are you going to just see what happens? Hang out with real good... Read more...
Pat Duffy Interview
|TransWorld Skateboarding
Pat Duffy"My mom has a photo of me skating this little blue board in diapers," recalls Pat Duffy. Though he has been around skateboards since he could walk, it was in 1992 at a mere fifteen years old, when Plan B's Questionable Video came out and Pat's part transformed him from unknown suburban teenager to skate rock star, forever changing the concept of skating handrails.What was your favorite year in skateboarding?Probably '90, right after H-Street's Hokus Pokus. When that video came out, it was either quit skating or just cut... Read more...
Nester Judkins Interview
|TransWorld Skateboarding
Nester JudkinsHow old are you? Thirteen.And where are you from?Los Gatos, California.Have you heard about the Y2K thing?Yeah.What does that mean to you?Nothing.Do you have a curfew at home?Yeah, probably, but I don't know what it is.So you can just go home whenever?Yeah.If you get bad grades, will your parents not let you skate?No. I don't really get bad grades.How long do you think it'll take until you're good enough to turn pro?A long time. Hopefully.Why is that? Do you think you have a long way to go?It would be... Read more...
Neil Blender Interview
|TransWorld Skateboarding
Neil BlenderNot only was Neil Blender a skateboarder, but in the early and mid 1980s, Neil was skateboarding. An artist, a creator, a laugher at people, a namer of tricks, he made skateboarding fun in the lean years before the boom of the late 80s. He opened the door for the skater/artist, who, to this day, keep skateboarding as much a lifestyle as a sport.But change is constant, and to Neil's dismay skateboarding's direction turned toward hot pink, then gigantic clothes, then hip-hop music, and Neil wasn't having any part... Read more...
Neal Mims Interview
|TransWorld Skateboarding
Neal MimsHungry mother. Handrail killer.With all the hype around the millennium, do you think something will happen on New Year's Eve 1999? I don't think it's going to be too chaotic. I think it's just going to be another year. I think the partying might be a little more drastic. People are going to go more crazy than usual just because everyone thinks something is going to happen. So I think it's just going to turn into another year and just be another New Year's party for everyone.What do you... Read more...
Mike Vallely Interview
|TransWorld Skateboarding
Mike VallelySkateboarding's warrior-poet, 29-year-old Mike Vallely hasn't only held skateboarding's hand as it's transitioned from era to era, at times he's dragged it by the ear. He's fought for skateboarding, and at times it's fought him back, but his devotion to the activity that gave his life direction has changed it forever. He is the skateboarder's skateboarder.What's been your favorite year in skateboarding so far?Eighty-six was pretty good. LaughterWhat about '86 did you like?I got sponsored, I won the NSA amateur championships in Oceanside New Jersey, I was on the... Read more...
Mathias Ringstrom Interview
|TransWorld Skateboarding
Mathias RingstromStraight-out Euro. Crazy vert flipper.With all the hype around the millenium, do you think something will happen on New Year's Eve 1999? I don't think that much is going to happen. I heard people who work for some big computer company packed up all this food, so they can survive for a year or something. That's not going to happen. No huge riots. Some small things might happen. It might be messed up for a little bit.Do you have something planned for that night? I want to spend it... Read more...
Mark Gonzales Interview
|TransWorld Skateboarding
Mark GonzalesThere are certain people whom words don't do justice, and Mark Gonzales is one of them. For the last fifteen years he's made skateboarding seem fun without making it look silly. His video part in Blind's Video Days, will simply never be equaled. His only apparent flaw is his atrocious spelling, but when words can't describe someone as phenomenal as The Gonz, does spelling really matter anyway?What's been your favorite year in skateboarding?It all seems like one year, so I don't know. I don't see it in years, really.Who's... Read more...
Matt Hensley Interview
|TransWorld Skateboarding
Matt HensleyAt 29, Matt Hensley is the missing link. A member of the group of skaters who found themselves floating in limbo between the death of vert and the birth of modern technical skateboarding, Matt became every town's hometown hero. No flash, no dreads, no neon-pink jumpsuits, Matt was the embodiment of every skater.As a key figure in H Street's domination of the skate industry in the late 80s and early 90s, young Matt Hensley's touring, video parts, and desire paid off. He was transformed from being every skater to... Read more...