O.D.G.

No complies (or as Ray calls them "Step-Hops") and shoes with toe caps are all the rage these days, but Ray brought both to the spotlight a looong time ago..  Talk about a life in skateboarding! What hasn't Ray done? And still does. Have yet to see the Vans Propeller video, but I assume he has some tricks? As an aside, how come he's never had his own shoe? Hm..... 

This page randomly fell out of a magazine from my collection recently and I picked it up, looked at it and thought "this is great!". I was going to scan it and put it up with some other random scans, but saw it again today and knew it had to be now. It's from a tour article that took place in Australia.  I followed in Terry's footsteps and did the sober thing this weekend. First time in a long time. Felt pretty good really. Was up early and skated Saturday, and also today. Who knows, could be a trend..  Will continue with a look at African American skaters for Black History Month.

In honor of Black History Month, I figured I would spotlight some African American (trying to be PC here, but if you're from France are you African-American?) skaters who have made an impact in skateboarding one way or another. To be honest, I never knew that Stephane rode for 23 skateboards until I copped this magazine from 1997 a couple years ago. It just adds to my admiration for the dude. This part back in the day really stood out to me at the time it came out.  Not sure why he faded out of the spotlight (at least in the U.S.), but I found him on Instagram and apparently still skates!

If I had to sum this shoe up in one word, it would be..."daaaammnnn"... super comfortable and stylish, very durable, and affordable. It's almost paying homage to skate shoes of yesteryear with a departure from the current trend of slimmed down designs, with a sporty kind of look, but also remaining functional. I was really surprised at how tough these shoes are. Usually I begin to wear down the side of a skate shoe within a couple times of skating them but these have lasted much longer than I anticipated. I did have to Shoe Goo it after about a month of skating, but the sole still shows only very little sign of wear and tear. They show up on the E merica website for $89, but you might be able to get them for cheaper. Either way, check them out. You'll definitely get your money's worth.

Never understood why Danny Cerezini has been bounced around within the skate industry. From  Flip to Blind, then wasn't he on Life Extension for a bit? I just checked, he's no longer on the roster. But damn, he's good. Hard flip front blunt?? Fancy footwork from Shorty's Alumni Sammy Baptista. Lucas Puig minus the beard but with that signature style of his... One of my favorite tricks in Pretty Sweet by Mike Mo Capaldi. So yeah..without dredging up the subject too much, crazy times in skateboarding right now..but personally I think it's good. Change has to happen. I will say this..thank you to Guy for showing us a PROPER one foot. I have been going crazy with this little 1/2 inch kicks that barely come off the board. Man, kick that shit out!! If you're going to do a retro trick, do it right.. (sorry, rant over). In other news.. great interview with one of my all time faves, power and grace personified, Gabriel Rodriguez, over at the Chrome...

Fancy Footwork by Moose. Why exactly did he get kicked off of Deathwish? This shit is hectic...  Not exactly a ledge trick but this I've been wanting to post this one for eons. Better now than never...Smooth Operator Chico Brenes with a wizard combo manual. Can't wait to see his part in the new LRG video. Wonder if it will all be done on that 9' hog he's been riding as of late...  Shane O'Neill shows his technical prowess with a trick that is almost as complicated to say as it looks like it is to do.. tre flip noseslide 270 heelflip out.

Cool little clip my Buddy Brian from Santa Barbara made of me, my friend Dan (from Brazil), and my other friend Zack. This was shortly before that launch ramp claimed my ankle.. (d'oh).  For whatever reason, there were a lot of gymnastics shenanigans going on that day.. Ledge-dancin' pt 2. coming up soon...