Friday, June 6

State of Skate -- 06.06.03

By Keith Eric Davidson
EXPN.com

Editor's Note: EXPN.com proudly presents the first edition of our skateboard news column, the State of Skate. Lensman, wordsmith and Schlitz aficionado, the KED is living the Southern California skateboard dream. He will use his extensive trickwood expertise to keep you up-to-speed on the ever-changing world of professional skateboarding. So enjoy these grip-taped riches ... then share the wealth with a friend.

Summer is almost here and that means your favorite skate companies are hitting the highway for a little road trippin' via their respective tours.

Real Skateboards is hitting up the Midwest and Northeast with their "Loose Trucks & Loose Women" tour. On display will be most of the squad, including new tour edition Curtis Colomonico. Check out www.dlxsf.com for tour dates and cities.

Bootleg/Vans Pro Scott Kane helps his sponsors launch their summer bonanzas with clankers like this switch 10-set tailslide deep in the heart of company country.

Black Label and Duffs Shoes have joined forces to bring you the Label Live Tour, featuring the extraordinary talents of Jason Adams and Adam Alfaro. I wouldn't be surprised if Matt Hensley shows up at a demo or two, and if you can keep him off the dance floor long enough, Ragdoll might show up as well. Check out www.duffs.com for details.

Ed Templeton's Toy Machine Tour hits the road again with Thrasher magazine's own Mike Burnett. No demos, just skating and filming. Look for the upcoming article in Thrasher about the team Burnett tags as skateboarding's most hair-cuttingly handsome men.

DVS shoes, makers of the one-and-only Ozzy Osbourne signature slipper, are sending their illustrious squad to Salt Lake City, Denver and Chicago in late June. Shop appearances and filming missions are on the agenda. The roster boasts Keith Hufnagel, Jeron Wilson, Steve Berra, Daewon Song, Van Wastell, Brandon Biebel and new recruit Seek pro Mike Taylor. Check out www.dvsskate.com for the lowdown.

Beginning mid-June, Vans is launching its first tour of the West Coast. Along for the ride are Geoff Rowley, Scott Kane, Jim Greco, Ethan Fowler, Terry Kennedy, Tony Trujillo, Bastien Salabanzi and John Cardiel. More pros will join at various cities, so check out the all-new www.skate.vans.com for details.

Contest news of late finds Vans/Black Label skater Omar Hassan in the top slot at the recent Quicksilver Marseille Bowlriders Cup. The recognition of his concrete bowl consistency secured his well-deserved placing.

If Genetic still had a team they sure would be proud of now shoe-sponsorless Caine Gayle's backside lipslide down this Newport Beach niner.

The World Cup Vans Triple Crown contest in Jersey City, NJ, May 29-31, was a virtual washout. Street preliminaries were counted as finals, and World Industries' newest pro Ryan Sheckler landed yet another first place. The kid is on fire. Bucky Lasek won Vert, edging out the ever-present Andy Macdonald, who arrived that day on a red-eye from the West Coast. Click here for full results.

Longtime Element Skateboards pro Reese Forbes, who coincidentally is featured in their latest ad, has left the brand and is rumored to be starting something new within the Deluxe camp.

Many people recognize the name Jason Lee from his recent cinematic endeavors such as Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back and Chasing Amy, not so well known is the fact that Stereo Skateboards was the brainchild of Lee and Osiris team manager Chris "Dune" Pastras. Lee was a hugely influential skater in the late 80's and early 90's. Using what legends of progression Mark Gonzales and Natas Kaupas established during the cruder years of early street skating, Lee took it yet another step with his smooth style and all-terrain rippage. Talk of the two bringing back Stereo has been floating around, as have tales of Jason picking up his board and skating again.

Genetic and Airwalk footwear are no longer. Once considered giants in the skate biz, the companies are moving from marketing-based ventures (i.e. teams promoting the brands) to licensed brands. This comes on the heels of recent attempts to revamp the skate team with heavy hitters such as Chad Bartie and DNA upstart Micah Hollinger. No word as of yet on the state of the team, which includes veterans Bucky Lasek, Pat Channita and Caine Gayle. Don't be surprised to see Airwalk Taco Seasoning and Genetic Pogo Sticks in the near future.

I don't think OSHA had ex-Genetic rider Pat Canita's ollie in mind when they approved the plans to construct this handicap access ramp.

Recent haps in the L.A. area include Transworld's Fifth-Annual Skateboarding Awards at the Ford Theater in Hollywood. Danny Way claimed Best Vert Skater, which probably had something to do with his world-record stunts last year. Mark Appleyard was crowned Best Street Skater, and Paul Rodriguez snatched Rookie of the Year. P.J. Ladd nailed the Best Video Part from his P.J. Ladd's Wonderful Horrible Life video. The Flip team was given honors as the Best Team and Jaimie Thomas took home the Reader's Poll award. Following the awards presentation and a short music set by legends inductee Duane Peters' band The Hunns, Transworld premiered its 14th video effort Free Your Mind which included sick parts from Dan Drehoble, Rob Welsh and Darrel Stanton. Ads claimed the Gonz had a part, but this turned out to be false.

Other notable videos include the new Bootleg video, which features sweet parts from ams Ryan Nix and Brian Michaud, plus pros Elissa Steamer, Pete Eldridge, and wunderkind Scott Kane, who is keeping older pros on their tiptoes.

The long-anticipated Girl video Yeah Right! finally dropped, and it's a doozy. Big-time Hollywood director Spike Jonze and ex-Transworld Video maker Ty Evans have created an instant classic featuring one of the most innovative teams in skateboarding. Free of the usual rail, rail, rail-attack videos as of late, Yeah Right! shows skating at its technical best. I'm not saying that the rail carnage is missing, but tech lines ala Marc Johnson, Gino Iannucci and Mike Carroll give you that warm, fuzzy feeling that's been missing in recent videos. Enjoyable skits abound including an out-of-character Eric Koston confronting a car burglar. The easy-on-the-eye 35mm format should keep this tape in your VCR for quite some time.

Want to be included in the next State of Skate? Email your clips, quips and tips to stateofskate@expn.com.