Archives

Last Words: Eric Koston
|TransWorld Skateboarding
Last video you rented: Soul In The Hole a basketball documentary.Last CD you bought:Redman.Last song you listened to: I don't know its name, but it was a Smashing Pumpkins song.Last famous person you saw: Ozzy Osborne at the Black Sabbath concert.Your last meal:Eggs, turkey bacon, and a glass of grapefruit juice.Last trick you landed: A backside 180 heelflip, where my board was about a quarter of an inch off the ground and most of the 180 was done by pivoting on my front wheels.Last board you set up:An Eric Koston... Read more...
Jon Humphries Portfolio
|TransWorld Skateboarding
"The most successful pilot is the one who turns his airplane's limitations into its strengths."–British Royal Air Force training manual, circa 1941We all have an amazing gift and a massive flaw. It's nature's way of balancing us. In an interesting twist of fate, the flaw–shortness, baldness, fatness, mental slowness–often surfaces early in life, when we're the least able to deal with it, while the gift usually remains locked away. It's possible that someone with the narrative talent of Hemmingway cleans toilets in a train station, or the owner of a... Read more...
Gasbag
|TransWorld Skateboarding
Way back around Christmastime 1998, we put a little ballot in our magazine. It asked you, the reader, to vote for the best street skater, vert skater, overall skater, skater with the best style, best video part, and best video of 1998. We left the blanks empty so you could fill them in with whoever's name you felt should be there.A month or so later, your votes started streaming in, and we kept a running tally of who was in the lead. Some of you felt your name should be... Read more...
Sin City Deserts
|TransWorld Skateboarding
"The snowball effect" would be the best way to describe the huge posse that formed for a seven-day trip to Phoenix, Arizona and Las Vegas. Ty Evans and I made plans for the trip a couple weeks beforehand; four people who were working on video parts for the next TransWorld video would go on the trip to get some footy, and Muska would be the tour guide of his old stomping grounds in Phoenix and Vegas. We asked Chad, of course. I talked to Willy Santos and he was down.... Read more...
Andrew Pommier Brainfloss
|TransWorld Skateboarding
I generally make it a practice to restrict any feelings of pride to things in which I played a role. I try not to feel proud, for example, that I'm a Canadian, I try not to feel proud of my ancestors, and I try not to feel proud that the Blue Jays won the World Series in two consecutive years. I'm not ashamed of these things, but I didn't have anything to do with any of them. I was born in Canada, I didn't have much say on that one;... Read more...
Winter Wonderland
|TransWorld Skateboarding
I wondered why we have winter in this land as I tucked my hands beneath my fleece. The street sweeper made its way by and splashed muddy slush near pedestrians' feet - disgruntled as they pushed past one another trying to beat the clock. I squinted so the wind wouldn't blind me. My backpack was stuffed and strapped extra tight to preserve heat - damned if I missed the next red. Sure enough it changed. I sped through the intersection with a first-class ollie over the snow before a dude... Read more...
Weird Story
|TransWorld Skateboarding
Bob Burnquist gets by with a little help from his friends. I had to go into surgery in San Diego to get a pin put in my wrist. The next day I'd get a cast. I talked to Atiba and asked him if he could pick me up after surgery. He couldn't, so he asked you Tania to. I drove my car to the hospital because I was running late and thought I'd be okay to drive back. But when I got there, they the hospital staff were like, "No,... Read more...
Valley - A Novel
|TransWorld Skateboarding
valley.novel.a review.but you don't even press your own clothesFADE IN:GARAGE-TURNED-BEDROOM, AT SUNSET.Long shot of room. Greg sits at desk reading, as Lisa enters through side door with copy of Valley by Mike Daily in hand.LISAGreg, is this book yours?GREGOh, there it is. This is the book I'm working on a review of.LISAIs it "Review of ... " or "Review for ... ?"GREGDon't ask me, I'm no editor. I can't even find a job.LISA tosses book over to GREG at desk. In doing so, a small piece of newspaper print falls... Read more...
Skateboarding Gets The Stamp Of Approval
|TransWorld Skateboarding
Ask any stockbroker, and they'll tell you as soon as the public knows about a good thing it's no longer a good thing. Following that line of logic, it could be argued that by the time skateboarding is recognized by an entity the size of the United States Postal Service, it's already on the downward slope from its peak popularity.Anyway, skateboarding is being recognized by the U.S. Post Office in series of stamps depicting the images of a skateboarder, a BMXer, a snowboarder, and an inline skater. The photo of... Read more...
Sneakers, Size Isn't Everything
|TransWorld Skateboarding
Sneakers, Size Isn't Everything, a squat, red, well-bound book, has been sitting on my desk for a couple weeks now, and everyone who's come in my office has picked it up. My guests ooh and ahh at the photos of old shoes and the arty layout. And rightfully so–the 240-page book is published by Booth-Clibborn Editions, the London-based publishing company famous for its beautiful, oversized art and design books.Mixed sparingly in with hundreds of images of old Nike, Adidas, and Puma trainers, patient readers will find skateboarding represented by interviews... Read more...
Video Review : Church Of Skatan
|TransWorld Skateboarding
Maybe I was expecting too much. I'm not quite sure in what capacity, but the Church Of Skatan is in cahoots with the Shorty's crew, so I anticipated a video of Fulfill The Dream proportions. However, Wild In The Streets views more like a recent issue of 411 Video Magazine. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but taking my misguided preconceptions into account, I was a little disappointed. The Shorty's team does make an appearance, and Steve Olson's footage is probably the highlight of the video. But the majority of... Read more...
Setup ¿ Andrew Reynolds
|TransWorld Skateboarding
What the pros ride and why.I ride a Birdhouse board, my model. The size of my wheelbase is 14.3. The length is 32 inches; the width is 7.88. The tail is 6.63, and the nose is 6.94. It's Birdhouse's M-80 concave. It's got pop.Every time I set up a new board I put new wheels on. I ride 54 millimeter Birdhouse wheels–always white. I ride Swiss bearings with the caps popped off. They're way better–they last forever. I use the same ones all the time.I ride Independent trucks–136. If I... Read more...
Mandatory Info
|TransWorld Skateboarding
EMB, R.I.P.There are few skate spots as famous as San Francisco's Embarcadero Plaza. It's red bricks and rough concrete ledges, stairs, and gaps were once the mecca of skateboarding. People came from the four corners of the globe to skate the plaza next to the Bay Bridge.Embarcadero was first skated around 1986 by early street skaters like Michael Kelly, Danny Alvarez, Craig Fry, and James Kelch, but it wasn't until 1990 that it started to become recognized as skateboarding's focal point. As the early 90s unfolded, the EMB locals began... Read more...
Favorites: Danny Way
|TransWorld Skateboarding
MoviesSilence Of The LambsCaddyshackRevenge Of The NerdsCheech And Chong Still Smokin'The Boys Next DoorMusicBlack SabbathOzzyEric ClaptonPink FloydIron Maidenflamenco musicStreet Tricks360 flipsnolliesbackside tailslidesVert Tricksslob Japan airsIndy airsbackside lipslidesrodeo frontside 540sOther InterestsRyden, Kari, Kindl Danny's familysurfingplaying guitar - jam sessionsshifter-kart drivinghousework - remodelingTravel AdventuresCosta RicaNew Zealandmainland MexicoBaja California, MexicoIdolsOzzyRandy RhodesChristian HosoiShane DorianEvel Knievel Read more...
Web Site Review : DLXSF.COM
|TransWorld Skateboarding
The Deluxe Distribution family of companies (Real, Stereo, and Anti-Hero skateboards; Spitfire wheels; Thunder trucks; Forties clothing; and Lucky bearings) have always based their image on backyard, punk-rock skateboarding. Theirs were the companies that didn't follow the nylon-basketball-short craze. At Deluxe, fancy finish has always seemed to take a backseat to the act of skateboarding. But you wouldn't know it by looking at www.dlxsf.com. The site is intricately designed, full of quality animation and downloadable video clips, and the Deluxe Online Store makes browsing at your local shop seem limiting... Read more...
Pin The Tail On The Atlas
|TransWorld Skateboarding
After going to the Philippines, Jody Morris and Willy Santos aren't surprised by cockfights and homemade jeeps.How exactly this decision process was enacted, I can't clearly recall. But knowing that I prefer traveling to places I don't normally go, who was to complain? Everyone has probably played this game once or twice. The one where you're blindfolded and you try to return a missing appendage to a disfigured donkey. The difference in this case were the stakes. The deal was this: Dave Swift and Grant Brittain would blindfold and spin... Read more...
NorCal Concrete Skateparks
|TransWorld Skateboarding
Seventeen parks in five days. Is that possible? by Kevin MarksFor as vast and unpopulated as Northern California is, it has a stunningly high number of skateparks of the concrete variety. Seventeen, by our best estimates. Since your tax dollars built and maintain them, we thought it appropriate to publish directions to them, plus a brief summary of what you'll find there.So we asked Kevin Marks, who claims to love to drive, to go check out all seventeen and make sure they're still there. They were, and he saw them... Read more...
The Mike Carroll Pro Spotlight
|TransWorld Skateboarding
In September of 1993, a month after Girl Skateboards opened up shop in X-Large's L.A. warehouse, I was hired as the team manager-Girl's first employee. My first day of work, I arrived to find Rick Howard and Spike Jonze packaging orders to ship to international distributors. It looked like the first time they'd ever done that. Spike had a cell phone in each of his back pockets. Francis Ford Coppola called him while he was taping boxes.I might have made that up. Give me a break, it was more than... Read more...
Last Words: Jason Dill
|TransWorld Skateboarding
Last time you envied someone:What does envied mean, exactly?Last video you rented:Tron from the Ty Evans video store.Last time you went to the movies:To see a big-wave surfing documentary in S.F. a couple months ago.Last CD you bought:Radiohead Running From Demons/No Surprises. It's a Japanese import.Last time you wished you were dead:Never have.Last song you listened to:"Palo Alto."Last meal you ate:A turkey French dip with Swiss, fries, iced tea without lemon from Canter's Delicatessen.Last trick you landed:Good question.Last time you were inspired:Daily inspiration from the people at Alien Workshop.Last meal... Read more...
John Cardiel Good Stuff
|TransWorld Skateboarding
Just yesterday John got stabbed with a ski pole, taking a nine-stitch chunk out of his face–some old man lookin' for a beatdown.One time somewhere in South America I couldn't go into a Japanese restaurant and eat dinner with everyone because you had to take your shoes off–the smell of my feet could kill canaries. So instead, me and John went and sat on the edge of a pool with a six-pack. Sitting there, we saw a guy get hit by a car–hard. He flew. The two guys in the... Read more...
Art As We Know It
|TransWorld Skateboarding
It was sometime back in early November. I was on the phone with Mark Gonzales inquiring whether he'd be down to do Last Words. During our conversation, Mark mentioned he was going to Germany in December to do some readings and a skateboarding performance at a museum. All of this was in conjunction with a book of short stories and poetry he just had published there. Through the phone lines I listened to the arrangement of music Mark was going to skate to; this performance sounded too good to miss.... Read more...
Gasbag
|TransWorld Skateboarding
Participation Is Nine-Tenths Of The LawI've always been intrigued by televised sporting events. More specifically, the fan who avidly and religiously watches them. I envision the stereotypical, overweight, sweatpants-wearing, pennant-waving fans, huddled in perfect formation in their La-Z-Boy loungers, biting their nails frantically over each field-goal kick, and heckling free-throw shots.In defense of these possessed fans, they are as obsessive and particular about scores and history as we are about skate videos and who-did-whats. These fans invest a great amount of themselves and their emotions in a game they are... Read more...
Danny Wainwright Interview
|TransWorld Skateboarding
As the vast flood of names that grace the colorful under layer of seven-ply maple increases, a natural reaction is bound to occur amongst you, the skateboard consumer. The once clearly visible pecking order of best-to-worst has become complicated. The rules are twisted and gnarled. No longer is the bias toward street or vert, tech or burly, East Coast or West–skateboarding is now a worldwide community with strong forces of influence at work in every corner of many countries.Danny Wainwright has been a member of the professional skateboarding community for... Read more...
Andy Howell Brainfloss
|TransWorld Skateboarding
I met Andy in the summer of 1991. He was one of my favorite pros and by far one of my favorite artists, so you can imagine how nervous I was to meet him. I thought he'd be full of himself because he's so on top of his game, but he proved me wrong. From the first time we hung out, he was one of the most down-to-earth people I'd ever met. We soon became close friends, and I got to see he was much more creative than I'd ever... Read more...