Wednesday, December 5

Lib Tech Am Profile

By Marshall "Stack" Reid
EXPN.com

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Editor's note Marshall "Stack" Reid has been skateboarding for over 19 years. He hosts major amateur skate competitions including "The Sound and the Fury" and all Rain City Skate Park competitions. Marshall is currently producing a skate video based in the Northwest called "Urban Rubble" and he owns the soon to be released Manik Skateboards with his partners Eric Green and Nin Truong.

Name: Alien
Age: 17
Home: Vancouver B.C.
Sponsors: Lib Tech

Alien bluntslides a well used ledge.

I used to think they called him Alien because of the control that he had of his skateboard but then I found out that he looked like an alien as a kid and his parents just called him "Alien". Whatever the story is behind the name, his skills are definitely on point. Alien is a household name in Canada and soon to be in the States as well. He toured the east coast last summer with the Lib Tech team, entertaining everyone in his path. He frequently visits Seattle to skate, film and enter local contests. He does all of these very well except for sometimes he wimps out on big stuff without even taking the slam first. Keep your eyes out for Alien destroying some popular Seattle spots in the upcoming "Urban Rubble" video that is soon to be released.

Name: Aaron Artis
Age: 18
Home: Tacoma, WA
Sponsors: Lib Tech Skateboards, Globe Shoes, Spitfire Wheels and Tracker Trucks

Aaron f/s flips the carport gap with ease.

Aaron Artis is a very well rounded skateboarder with an extraordinary ability to throw his body as far as it will go. I remember a few years back he said to me "I want to see how far a human body can actually drop on a skateboard". I would try to talk him out of doing ollies off of vert ramp decks but he wouldn't listen and he would show us all that it was quite possible without dying.

He grew up in Tacoma and spent many hours mastering transitions before he was 15 years old. You could see him at the B&I Skatepark doing the weirdest tricks ever. After there weren't anymore tricks to learn on the tranny, Aaron applied the same technique to the streets as he had at parks. Simply destroy everything in his path. He took his back-lips from mini-ramps to ledges to 13-stair rails. Instead of doing ollie-melons off of vert ramp decks he just kickflips huge double-sets or flip-melons off of the biggest drop he sees.

People quickly noticed Aaron and he is beginning to get some recognition in the industry as well. With an industry as large as skateboarding's is, it takes a special talent to get recognized. He has recently appeared in the newly released "Collage" and "Who Cares" videos with full parts in each. Check your local shop for a copy. He has traveled the entire east coast, skating his hardest in every Lib Tech team Demo. Keep your eyes out for this guy.

Name: Alex Bland
Age: 19
Home: Sequim, WA
Sponsors: Lib Tech Skateboards, U-Project, Relic Bearings, Tracker Trucks, and Evos Shoes.

Alex spreads out for a switch crooks somewhere in Canada.

Alex Bland has been killing it in the Northwest for years now. I remember the first time I saw him, he was doing a switch hard-flip to switch frontside crooks on a bike rack rail. I wanted to tell him that he was wasting his time but then he started landing them. I didn't know the kid but he erased the concept of "impossible tricks" from my mind that day. Since then he has developed his own style and bag of signature tricks. If the terrain is extremely dangerous, he'll like it. He doesn't usually skate your typical obstacles during the sessions, he'll go around the corner and find something that no skateboarder would ever see as skateable and perform tricks that are ridiculously difficult. In the past year, Alex has been traveling nation-wide, with photos appearing in various magazines and video parts in recently released Amateur, Who Cares?, Progression #5 and Collage. Alex Bland skateboards to make his living and he should be making a comfortable living in the future if he keeps up the good work. Keep your eyes peeled for a soon to be released "Alex Bland" pro model from Lib Tech.

Name: Matt Cantor
Age: 23
Home: Miami, FL
Sponsors: Lib Tech, Etnies, Tracker, Accel

Cantor boardslides down this Florida set while the ladies wait in the pool.

Matt Cantor has been in the scene for a while. He frequently visits Seattle and he lived in Portland for a year. His parent's house in Florida has hosted many of the Lib Tech Team riders and there are enough rooms in the house for each one to have their own shower. Matt Cantor will do whatever it takes to make a trick. He can do any trick he wants because he will work as hard as he has to in order to get it. He's appeared in lots of skate videos and magazines and I'm sure he will appear in many more. He is also a skateboarding encyclopedia. If there is a fact that is related to skateboarding statistics, Matt Cantor is the man. He is also incredibly funny and entertaining, making any situation interesting. We'll surely be seeing more of him in the future.

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