Skater's Lounge

[Harley Stroh]

... to keep the riff-raff out of the DCC threads.

Here's Harley before he learned even the little he currently knows about vert. It's the last segment of a "No-Pro Video" we did a few years ago. Thankfully, I've gotten a little better since then.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aAQvKi5VfFI

Also, now that I use my brain for a living, I've started wearing a helmet at parks. Joseph always makes fun of me when I show up to a convention with all my gaming gear and an extra bag for my board and helmet.

//H

[jason.richardson]

What a great video! Love me some Run DMC. Was that candy-glass you ollied through?

I don't have any video clips of me skating to share. I should work on that.

Always wear your helmet! I was skating a 12-foot quarter pipe a few years ago that went to vert and I didn't have my helmet on. A nail was sticking out of the ply, my wheel hung on it, and I did the Nestle Tea Plunge from about 10 feet up. Crack! Major concussion and I lost most of my sense of smell.

Yay!

[Harley Stroh]

Good call on the candy glass. We found a recipe and realized that we needed to find a way to jump through it. The whole skating thing was a natural progression.

Re: Sense of smell. *Damn.* I can't imagine taking a drop from 10 ft. I hang up on a mini and it hurts. But yeah, definitely a yes to wearing pads, esp. in the park, esp. in vert. Going off a 3 stair there's not terribly much that can go wrong, but when you're +12 ft. in the air it is an entirely different story.

So what are you skating these days? What have you guys got in GA?

//H

[Harley Stroh]

Also, if you ever do a cross country trip, stop in in Carbondale. We have this monster:

http://www.concretedisciples.com/skatep ... php?id=640

It breaks me on a regular basis.

//H

[jason.richardson]

Good call on the candy glass. We found a recipe and realized that we needed to find a way to jump through it. The whole skating thing was a natural progression.

Re: Sense of smell. *Damn.* I can't imagine taking a drop from 10 ft. I hang up on a mini and it hurts. But yeah, definitely a yes to wearing pads, esp. in the park, esp. in vert. Going off a 3 stair there's not terribly much that can go wrong, but when you're +12 ft. in the air it is an entirely different story.

So what are you skating these days? What have you guys got in GA?

//H

I was in a play once in college, and my character was smashed over the head with a beer bottle made from candy glass. It was a David Mamet play, American Buffalo. Good times.

Yeah, I smashed my head pretty good. My pal said I was flopping around on the concrete like a fishbowl-less goldfish.

I live in the very south part of Georgia, on the coast. I usually skate Kona skatepark. It is about an hour from my house. If that's not an option, I like to go to Brunswick GA and skate this indoor park called Rock Bottom - all wood but fun. I also like to journey to South Carolina and skate this free park in Port Royal - again all wood, but there's a killer mini with a spine.

I'm hoping to get to St. Augustine Florida soon. They have a free all-concrete park with a nice bowl I wanna skate.

Jason

[jason.richardson]

Also, if you ever do a cross country trip, stop in in Carbondale. We have this monster:

http://www.concretedisciples.com/skatep ... php?id=640

It breaks me on a regular basis.

//H

Man, lucky you! I'd love to skate that full pipe. I need to figure out how to manage a trip out west, especially Oregon and Wasington states. I hear they're overflowing with skateparks.

Jason

[Harley Stroh]

I was in a play once in college, and my character was smashed over the head with a beer bottle made from candy glass. It was a David Mamet play, American Buffalo. Good times.

Yeah, I smashed my head pretty good. My pal said I was flopping around on the concrete like a fishbowl-less goldfish.

Oof. Wow.

That play story is so cool. We cooked our glass too long, and it ended up pretty brittle. I took 2 tries at the sheet wearing safety goggles, chickening out each time. In the end it was, "Alright, enough of the the goggles. But if I go to the hospital you have to film it."

I live in the very south part of Georgia, on the coast. I usually skate Kona skatepark. It is about an hour from my house. If that's not an option, I like to go to Brunswick GA and skate this indoor park called Rock Bottom - all wood but fun. I also like to journey to South Carolina and skate this free park in Port Royal - again all wood, but there's a killer mini with a spine.

I love me a little spine skating. I had heelflips to rock and roll fakies last summer but then they pulled the spine out to make room for the world's smallest fun box.

My little brother lives in NC. Next time I visit we'll see if I can't head your way and fall down on some concrete.

//H

[Harley Stroh]

Man, lucky you! I'd love to skate that full pipe. I need to figure out how to manage a trip out west, especially Oregon and Wasington states. I hear they're overflowing with skateparks.

Yeah, well I suck at all the over vert. I was trying to wall ride the back (outside) of the Darth Vader helmet, fell, and nearly shot into the 10 ft. bowl. Whoops.

My wife and I are going to California soon so that she can meet all my relatives. An early morning trip to Burnside is definitely in order.

//H

[jason.richardson]

That play story is so cool. We cooked our glass too long, and it ended up pretty brittle. I took 2 tries at the sheet wearing safety goggles, chickening out each time. In the end it was, "Alright, enough of the the goggles. But if I go to the hospital you have to film it."

Haha, that's funny.

My little brother lives in NC. Next time I visit we'll see if I can't head your way and fall down on some concrete.

//H

Awesome. We must do this. We can meet-up somewhere mid-way. I'm sure we can find something to skate.

[xredjasonx]

So what was your first board? Mine was the one I'm sporting in that pic. It was a Vision Tom Groholski board with Alva wheels and Venture trucks. I can't believe I remember that but I do. lol.

[Harley Stroh]

I grew up on a farm, 45 minutes from concrete, so I got a pretty late start (1993 or so). In college I would sneak out at night with my roommate's board and go skate. I remember thinking that it was physically impossible to go off a curb.

Anyhow ... when I finally saved up enough cash from doing dishes in the dorm cafeteria my friend took me to Kevin Marks' place. He had a basement apartment before he opened up Move skate shop.

Anyhow, Kevin would re-sell his friends' boards once all the pop was gone. It was actually a good deal --- I needed a cheap deck and couldn't ollie anyway, and his friends needed cash for new boards with pop.

I remember it felt like a drug deal. This kid off the farm, in a dark basement surrounded by all these fierce looking skaters. I walked away with a Consolidated board. Don't know the name, just remember the repeating Q-bert style cube pattern.

//H

[jason.richardson]

Great story.

My first deck was a John Lucero from Schmitt Stix. The graphic was this creature behind bars. Man I loved that deck. It had Independent trucks. My mom ordered it for me from some company in California. Might have been California Cheap Skates.

My first encounter with a skateboard was about a month before the Lucero arrived by UPS. My pal Sean called and asked if I wanted to go play video games at the local game room. I'm talking stand-up, coin operated video games. The game room was a few blocks away, and Sean shows up on a skateboard. He let me skate it as we made our way to the game room. He kept showing me Bonelesses and I kept trying to make one. I was hooked.

The next day I saw Tommy Guerrero's part in Future Primitive and I haven't been the same since.

[Harley Stroh]

Amen to Future Primitive. Between that and Search for Animal Chin I'm set for life. Do you guys know if the Wallows still exist? Ditch skating is high on my to-do list these days.

[jason.richardson]

Isn't Wallows in Hawaii? That place looks so gnarly; the surface looks like sandpaper.

I've only had a few opportunities to skate ditches. They are fun though and you'd better like skating fast.

I once skated on abandoned water park's concrete slide in Hendersonville SC. It was very scary! Had like 20 foot drops over the side.

[xredjasonx]

Great story.

My first deck was a John Lucero from Schmitt Stix. The graphic was this creature behind bars. Man I loved that deck.

http://bakerpools.net/collection/lucerobars.jpg

[jason.richardson]

Great story.

My first deck was a John Lucero from Schmitt Stix. The graphic was this creature behind bars. Man I loved that deck.

http://bakerpools.net/collection/lucerobars.jpg

Awesome! That's it. Check out those wheel wells.

[xredjasonx]

This is the board I had except it was green:

http://networthy.com.au/collection/images/groholski.jpg

[Harley Stroh]

This is the board I had except it was green:

http://networthy.com.au/collection/images/groholski.jpg

Wow. What a gorgeous shape.

//H

[AstroCat]

We've been having some awesome weather here in Chicago, I'm so bummed on having a hurt elbow. I went down to the park on Sat. to just see the guys and hang out a bit. Next Sat I hope to be ok enough to at least carve around the pools a little. Just don't tell my wife or physical therapist!

[jason.richardson]

We've been having some awesome weather here in Chicago, I'm so bummed on having a hurt elbow. I went down to the park on Sat. to just see the guys and hang out a bit. Next Sat I hope to be ok enough to at least carve around the pools a little. Just don't tell my wife or physical therapist!

Man, my skate buddy of 20 something years tore his ACL a month or so ago and he's dying to get back out skating. I think he's looking at a year minimum before he's fully back to thrashing level. He's bummed.

jason

[Harley Stroh]

Man ... nothing says "weekend" like new grip tape.

//H

[jason.richardson]

Man ... nothing says "weekend" like new grip tape.

//H

Ha, that's the truth. New grip tape makes for a great session. I frequently re-grip my decks.

Did you skate much this past weekend? I was supposed to go to my friend's new mini-ramp jam, but I got involved with a boating trip that ended with people needing help after they got their boat stuck on a sandbar. Ugh.

jason

[Harley Stroh]

Yeah ... and busted my deck on Sunday after all the stores were closed.

It's actually be a while since I've heard that crack and looked down to see the layers cleaving up through the grip. Still need to learn to land on my bolts.

//H

[Harley Stroh]

Did you skate much this past weekend? I was supposed to go to my friend's new mini-ramp jam, but I got involved with a boating trip that ended with people needing help after they got their boat stuck on a sandbar. Ugh.

jason

Bummer. Mini jam would be fun. Barbeque + ramp = all my visions as a young kid of what vert skating was about.

//H

[Harley Stroh]

Hey, do you guys have any advice on trying frontside airs?

//H