Archives

Mandatory Information
|TransWorld Skateboarding
Mandatory InfoThe Gravity Games (NBC's version of ESPN's X-Games ) have dominated the town of Providence, Rhode Island for most of early September. Big prize money (115,000 dollars for skateboarding alone!) and the potential to appear on network television lured many quality pros into the eye of the media vortex. Word is, the course was good, the skaters were treated well, and judging was pretty fair. The events will be broadcast on NBC throughout the month of October.The top three finishers in the street-skating portion of the Gravity Games were... Read more...
Last Words - Steve Berra
|TransWorld Skateboarding
P ALIGN="CENTER">Last Words: Steve BerraLast video you rented: Cape Fear.Last time you went to the cinema: Last night - Twin Falls Idaho.Last film you worked on: 7-teen Sips.Last script you wrote: 7-teen Sips.Last CD you bought: Moby.Last time you felt like a dad: I always have that feeling.Last time you ate meat: Yesterday after five years - chicken salad.Last time you wished you were dead: Trying to kickflip five-0 a handrail in Kansas with the Birdhouse team when filming The End. I got so embarrassed.Last time you washed your hair:... Read more...
Kerry Getz Interview
|TransWorld Skateboarding
Kerry GetzStressor. Consistent. Tech. With all the hype around the millenium, do you think something will happen on New Year's Eve 1999? Nothing is going to happen. I think it's going to go by real smooth, like every other year, and everyone's just hyping it up. It'll be a smooth year.Do you have anything planned for that night? Maybe I'll get drunk for the first time with my girlfriend. Who are the most important skaters in the 90s? Adrian Lopez, Tim O'Connor, Eric Koston, Arto Saari, and Rick McCrank.Do you... Read more...
Kareem Campbell Interview
|TransWorld Skateboarding
Kareem CampbellAt 27, Kareem Campbell has done more to shape the look and image of modern street skating than most his peers combined. Through avenues like World Industries, Menace, City Stars, and Axion (many of which he founded), Harlem's smooth-talking, smooth-skating Campbell has helped bring color to the blindingly white world of skateboarding. Proving once and for all some barriers don't have to be broken through … they can be ollied over.What's your favorite year in skateboarding been?I'd say '93/94.What was good about those years?Everybody got along. It was just... Read more...
Josh Kalis Interview
|TransWorld Skateboarding
Josh Kalis Twenty-three-year-old Josh Kalis is the lone wolf. He's a member of the one-percent of one-percent who didn't hop on the wagon train to California to strike it rich. Ask any pro who didn't grow up in Southern California, under skateboarding's magnifying glass, and they'll tell you it's mandatory to migrate west if you want to have a successful career.Someone must have forgotten to tell Josh.During the past few years, the man of many addresses (and none of them in California) has seriously come into his own as much... Read more...
Jerry Hsu Interview
|TransWorld Skateboarding
Jerry HsuGenius. Effortless.With all the hype around the millenium, do you think something will happen on New Year's Eve 1999? I doubt anything will happen.Do you have anything planned for that night, or are you gonna wait and see what happens? I'm just gonna wait. It's going to be a night like no other.Who are the most important skaters of the 90s? Marc Johnson, Rodney Mullen. There're so many people.Do you know who Alan Gelfand is? Yeah. He invented the ollie.How do you want to go down in skateboarding's history?... Read more...
Hermosa Bowl Contest
|TransWorld Skateboarding
Hermosa Bowl Contest by Remy StrattonThis contest impressed me because whoever schemed the event had a vision of the ultimate scaffold system. Being a bowl contest located on the sand of L.A.'s Hermosa Beach, one might've asked, "How will we be able to see?" The bowl wasn't in the ground; it was above the surface. So walking toward the event one saw grandstands, judge tents, VIP tents, and media and food areas that were fifteen feet off the ground–and those were just the low areas. The top row of seats... Read more...
Gasbag 18-1
|TransWorld Skateboarding
TransWorld SKATEboarding: Y2K CompliantOn a recent trip I came across an interesting advertisement in an airline duty-free catalog. It read:Y2K Survival KitWhile we here at airline's name omitted look positively toward a bright future for frequent travelers, we've also learned that it's always best to plan for the unexpected. With the upcoming millennium approaching fast, it's a good time to ask ourselves, "Are we really prepared?" Our Y2K Survival Kit will help ready you to respond to whatever the "Y2K" has to offer. Kit includes: 50-gallon-per-hour water purifier, global positioning... Read more...
Felix Arguelles - Good Stuff
|TransWorld Skateboarding
Good Stuff Felix Arguelles"Good Stuff," the title of this article, pertains not only to Felix and the things he does, but also to the vibe he radiates. After ten years in the pro ranks, many of you may have witnessed his skating, but what the camera can't capture is Felix's great passion for life, people, family, and friends. If you're one of those fortunate people who call him a friend, you know you have a friend for life. I feel he's one of the most creative people on and off... Read more...
Ethan Fowler Interview
|TransWorld Skateboarding
Ethan Fowler Ethan Fowler saved skateboarding. Well, he may not have saved it, but he certainly helped bring it back to Earth during the late-pressure-flip days of the early 1990s. Around 1993, when cut-off size-48 pants and 37 millimeter wheels ruled skateboarding, Ethan's part in the first Stereo video (back before Jason Lee was a famous actor) was like a breath of fresh air. Filled with styling ollies, turns, and 180s, it was a distinct departure from the (at times ridiculous) norm. Whether consciously or not, Ethan shifty ollied his... Read more...
Eric Koston Interview
|TransWorld Skateboarding
Eric Koston Interview Bangkok-born, 24-year-old Eric Koston is the posterboy for the phrase "actions speak louder than words." Since his early days with H Street, Eric's skateboarding's stood out in the sea of cookie-cutter pros and trendy tricks, but he's been far from vocal about it. From mini-ramp 540s to nollie heelflip noseslides on ten-plus-stair rails, Eric may not have written the book of modern skateboarding, but he was certainly one of its biggest contributors. Just don't ask him to read it aloud.What was your favorite year in skateboarding?Maybe the... Read more...
Heath Kirchart Interviw
|TransWorld Skateboarding
Heath Kirchart Most of what you know about 21-year-old, Orange County- born and-bred Heath Kirchart centers around his amazing skateboarding talent, and that's just how he likes it. His personality has been hidden from you and most of his professional peers since Heath broke onto the scene way back in 1992–partly because he believes his skating should do most of the talking. Some have said Heath hasn't proven himself in skateboarding because he hasn't entered many contests. But if you look back over the years, you'll find that Heath's resumé... Read more...
Danny Way Interview
|TransWorld Skateboarding
Guys like Danny Way really piss everyone off. It's bad enough that as a little kid he put all the tired vert skaters to shame–then he had the audacity to become an amazing street skater! Being one of the best at both street and vert is something no one else has really accomplished. Just check out his part in the Plan B Questionable Video. How can someone be so talented at so many different things?–Shad LambertWhat's been your favorite year in skateboarding? Probably '91/92. I liked it because that was... Read more...
Andrew Gordon Interview
|TransWorld Skateboarding
Andrew GordonHow old are you? Thirteen.Do you have a curfew? Not really. Well, it depends. On school nights it's 10:30. If you get bad grades at school, do your parents not let you skate? No.What's the worst grade you've ever gotten? Probably like 50s.What about A, B, C, D, or F? Well, they don't really go like that. I guess it's like a D.Oh, percentage wise ... last time I checked a 50 was an F. Anyway, how long do you think it'll take before you can be pro, or... Read more...
Nude Bowl Blowout Turns Violent
|TransWorld Skateboarding
It's all fun and games, until somebody gets stabbed in the heart. A Nude Bowl party loaded on three bands, seven kegs, and upward of 200 revelers erupted violently on Saturday, May 22 as drunken punkers squared off against out-of-place muscle men. Resulting in an all-out brawl that left dust flying, young girls crying, and four fighters with upper-body stab wounds. One victim suffered a life-threatening knife jab that punctured the protective membrane surrounding his heart. As friends applied direct pressure to the gushing gash, he was rushed down the... Read more...
alienworkshop.com
|TransWorld Skateboarding
Under no circumstances should looking at the Alien Workshop Web site (or any other Web site) interfere with the time you spend skateboarding. If said interference has already occurred, you may want to reconsider your entire program-you're probably doing everything else wrong, too.If, on the other hand, you're stuck inside on a murky fall day, stranded in the computer lab, you've managed to tear cartilage, or something shitty like that, one of the first things you should do is plan a effectual visit to your old buddies over at alienworkshop.com.... Read more...
Rough Guide To Australia
|TransWorld Skateboarding
Rough Guide To AustraliaPlanning your next journey to the land down under.Traveling can seem like a daunting task; there's so much to organize and never enough time to do it. In fact, what holds most back from taking some kind of journey is the planning process, but you shouldn't let any of that stop you. To make life a little easier, and to show you how simple it really is, here's a rough guide to planning your dream trip to Australia.1. Saving up. First off, you're gonna have to get... Read more...
The Tas Pappas Interview
|TransWorld Skateboarding
Call It A Comeback Tas Pappas is back from the brink of destruction.In 1996 Tas Pappas was on top of skateboarding. He was doing seven-foot kickflip Indys, getting heavy rotation in magazines and videos, and placing in the top three of every contest he entered. So when he stood above Tony Hawk on the winners platform of the 1996 Hard Rock Cafe world championships clutching two first-place trophies (for winning the final and for accumulating the most points overall for the year) and a check for 11,000 dollars, and sporting... Read more...
Last Words with Wade Burkitt
|TransWorld Skateboarding
Last video you rented:They Live.Last time you went to the cinema:7:15 p.m.Last CD you bought:War Of The Worlds.Last vinyl you bought:I don't wear vinyl.Last time you left L.A.:9:20 p.m.Last time you were sick:9:30 'til 9:35 p.m. Ill minded.Last song you listened to:Directions In Music, song two.Last meal:WeetaBix with beer and vegimite.Last time you were inspired:Around 10:00 p.m.Last book you read:Weegee.Last time you broke the law:10:05 p.m. No helmet.Last magazine you read:July 1973 National Geographic.Last time you were in a fight:Private hell-1:40 p.m.Last time you walked away from someone:When I turned... Read more...
Imperial Conquest
|TransWorld Skateboarding
It seems like Australia has as many skate spots as it has kangaroos. This past winter (Australia's summer), the Imperial teams Maple, 151, Dynasty went on a tour to this blasting hot continent. With boards in hand and sunscreen in back pocket, we set out to skate as many spots and parks as possible.After flying for what seemed like a week, we finally arrived and met up with Spur Distribution's main man Rich Celm and Slam magazine's photographer extraordinaire Dave "The Gambler" Adair. Most of us had never been to... Read more...
Gonz On Grego and Lee
|TransWorld Skateboarding
I met Gregor Rankin through Lance Mountain or Rob Schmeltzer; I'm not sure which it was, but I remember clearly riding Lance's ramp with him. Normally, I would watch guys skate and judge how good they were by the size of the airs they did. I saw this guy in a white long-sleeved sweatshirt and it was hot out; he kept doing loads of small backside airs over and over. I thought he was okay. I'm just about as good as he is, I thought. I was doing airs four... Read more...
Gasbag 17-12
|TransWorld Skateboarding
For a few weeks I've been trying to come up with an angle for this Gasbag column, which is of course (if you haven't realized by now) the intro to our Australia Issue. Like any other issue, this one's filled with words and photos, but unlike most, our main goal in producing a magazine full of images and information about a far-off land was to motivate you to travel. If we can make Australia seem like an inviting place, you'd want to go, right?A few ideas bounced around my head,... Read more...
The Story Of The Century - Element On Tour
|TransWorld Skateboarding
Many, many, moons ago, God took it upon himself to bless a woman with the divine seed of life, which in turn blossomed into me, the Tim O'Connor. I remember in the beginning changing from larva to charismatic zygote, then finally into my rebellious embryo days. When the time was right, my mother popped me out. Instantly at this moment there was world peace, and all the planets aligned in perfect harmony. In the early days, my mother nurtured and trained me in the art of incredible-ass writing. All along... Read more...
Dr. Laura Hates You
|TransWorld Skateboarding
Dr. Laura Schlessinger, a nationally syndicated talk-show host/moralist/entertainer, went into a skate/surf shop in Costa Mesa, California earlier this week and picked up a copy of Big Brother skateboard magazine as she waited for her son to pick out some gear. She was at once dismayed at either the content, the publisher's name, or both. Feeling the magazine was "pornographic in nature," she went on her show Tuesday and spent an extensive amount of time railing the skate shop, the magazine, and skateboarding. Thursday morning, Howard Stern, having heard about... Read more...