When I was in the seventh or eighth grade I used to draw this graphic over and over and over. It must have appeared in every binder I had and also some of my friends lockers. I was always interested in drawing and art from a young age, and I think the way it got started i…
Pushead and Zorlac
When I was in the seventh or eighth grade I used to draw this graphic over and over and over. It must have appeared in every binder I had and also some of my friends lockers. I was always interested in drawing and art from a young age, and I think the way it got started i…
Vintage 80's Roskopp
One of the aspects I used to really appreciate on a number of older online skate sites was their "eBay watch" feature. I'm not even sure anyone is doing these anymore. Maybe things have moved far enough along beyond the initial collecting craze -- when these …
Rare Non-Dogtown Wes Humpston "Kona Boys" Deck
The following images present a view of one of Wes Humpston's rare, non-Dogtown designs of the 1970's: a "Kona Boys" deck art ridden by and made for Gunmar Haugo. The image quality is unfortunately not that great as it comes from a video still from the 1980…
Jay Adams by Glen E. Friedman
Typically I have used the site proper here for written pieces and social media for photo posts, but when it comes to the photos of Glen E. Friendman, that's a whole other story because they are a story in and of themselves. Glen's Instagram page is sharing some amaz…
Not Quite Bootlegs
Back in the day, we didn't have internet so you couldn't just pop online like you can now and check out the latest offerings of skateshops from Venice Beach to Europe -- and it was the same for punk albums and the like as well. (I remember how big of a deal it was …
80's Skate Punk Posters
Skate Culture is so rich. Here are some old zine like concert posters from the 80's Venice Punk Rock Facebook page, showcasing some of the early promotional posters for punk shows in the Venice area. Most are from the epic skate punk band, Suicidal Tendencies but other…
Sean Cliver "Unless II" Deck from Paisley Skates
There is some really great new skate art coming out these days. We recently showed Andy Jenkins new Jason Lee 'Grinch Feast' deck put out by Primewood L.A., and continuing on with this Dr. Seuss theme, Sean Cliver and Paisley Skates have now released this little g…
Grind: The Graphics and Culture of Skateboarding (1995)
When did the first exhibitions of skate art and skate culture begin to take place? I don't proclaim to have the answer to that -- though it would be interesting to research it. However, one thing that can be said for certain is that it was at least as early as the autu…
Old School Dogtown Decks
Sometimes you don't need much in the way or words. Just images. Here are some old school images showing old school Dogtown Skates boards as designed and drawn by Wes Humpston and Jim Muir.
Early 1980's Skate Punk from Oxnard: Agression
It has been awhile since we have covered off any skate music, so let's remedy that right now. Agression was originally an Oxnard, California based skate punk band that started up in the early 1980's. Three of their members originally skated for Sims.
The cover of …
Impressions of "Made in Venice"
I was privileged to receive a copy of Made in Venice today. As many will know, Made in Venice is a recently released documentary film which chronicles the rise of the Venice Beach skate-park with a particular focus on the efforts of pro-skateboarder and Venice local, Jesse…
New Board Art: Jason Lee 'Grinch Feast' by Andy Jenkins
Andy Jenkins was responsible for the art and design of the original Jason Lee 'Grinch' board which needs no introduction here. It is one of the most iconic boards of the 1990's -- and also one of the most collectible today. Interestingly, Jenkins himself consid…
Treasures of the NHS Secret (Skateboard) Archives: Natas Art
Everyone knows Sean Cliver. Sean was one of the artists who came on board with Powell Peralta in the late 1980's and is responsible for graphics like the Ray Barbee "Rag Doll" and Steve Cabellero's "Ban This" deck -- not to mention numerous othe…
Most Iconic Skateboards of the 1980's?
There have been others who have created lists (always a risky business) of the most iconic skateboards of the 1980's of course, but let's face it, these things are rather subjective -- and I am going to put it out there right from the get-go: my list will be no dif…
The First Ever Zephyr Board Produced?
The Surfing Heritage and Culture Center in San Clemente, California is presently hosting a "Surf 2 Skate: From Liquid to Asphalt" exhibition. The stated purpose of the exhibition is to "cover the origins of skateboarding to sidewalk surfing and the early sur…
Skate-Punk Culture as Seen in an Epic Topside
It is not too often that I focus on the topside of a board (though there are surely some great topside graphics out there) but that is precisely what I am going to do today. It really doesn't matter what's beneath (though if you simply must know, it's an Uncle W…
Chlorine: A Pool Skating Documentary
Recently, I picked up a copy of Chlorine: A Pool Skating Documentary which was originally released around 2005. I've always had a particular affinity for pool skating because of its roots in skateboarding history -- and because of the greater diversity of what you can d…
Felix Culpa: Vision, Sean Goff, Bernie Tostenson and the Unknown Deck
One of the things I have said about skate art before -- or if I didn't say it, I certainly meant to -- is that the industry was so prolific art-wise that you can seemingly look at historical board art everyday and still, even after years of doing this, expect to run int…
Thoughts on the Place of Vans in Skate Culture
Recently I was contacted by one of the senior editors of the periodical AdWeek . They were doing a story on the history of Vans and wanted an angle on the brand taken from its skateboarding roots. I don't proclaim to be an expert of course, but I know what I know and it&…
Empty Pools
Pool skating is something I've been thinking of a lot for a long while now. For me, it is my holy grail of skateboarding. I'm not suggesting that other forms of skating are somehow second rate -- far from it. The rise of half-pipes and, of course, street skating, co…
