O.D.G.

              I don't know much about Jeff Phillips other than he invented the "Phillips 66" , had his own skatepark in Dallas Texas, and skated with a skull crossbones on his helmet..  that pretty much qualifies him for Legend status. R.I.P...

So...I'm all set to start working on posts regarding skaters who have passed on..my brilliant scheme is to use scanner at work rather than purchase a new one.. and the damn thing stops working on me! I swear, I'm cursed. Anywho, should be ready to go by next week. In the meantime, came across this Wink's Links video with Tom Penny, Jesus Fernandez,Brahian Londono (not sure who this is) and Chris Roberts aka "Crob" in Barcelona. Fascinating character that Tom...

Dear Tactics, If you are going to "Pay Tribute to Keenan Milton" featuring a clothing line, decks, etc.... ..the least you can do is feature an ad of said legendary skater rather than his former teammate. Here is the original ad with Stevie Williams via Chromeball. I'm sorry, I don't mean to be negative, but if you are spotlighting one of the most revered skaters in skateboarding, you need to make sure that you are honoring the right guy. Stuff like this just really irritates me. And so, I will be starting a series that I hinted at a while ago featuring Pro Skaters who have left us. So that we don't forget..

Note: Scanner took a dump so I couldn't get all the images I wanted on here. I'll be back with some more new/old stuff soon.. In no particular order...  1. Andrew Reynolds' frontside flip. Alright, let's get the obvious out of the way. Dude owns this trick and can do it down, up, over anything. Almost looks too easy for him. Close runner up would be Mike Carroll and of course Tom Penny, both legends who have shown total mastery of the trick for years with unique style and minimal effort. 2. Dylan Rieder's impossible. I couldn't think of a better description for Dylan's use of the trick than the name itself. Going over the barrier at Street League then that bench in NYC was already a mind-fuck. Than dude takes it over the chain link fence to massive drop with a tail grab to boot and it's a done deal. It would be a sin if I didn't mention Ed Templeton as well.  My historical facts are murky but he was clearly one of the pioneers of bringing...

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For your viewing pleasure... Matt Hensley from one of the most influential skate videos of all time. 

So February came and went. I only thought to focus on skaters for Black History Month partway through the month, and quickly realized that it would be quite a Herculean task. I also had a moral dilemma about the whole thing. Is it cool to single out skaters based on their race? I always thought of skating as being an equalizer in terms of if you got skills on the board, it doesn't matter what color your skin is. But that's just my experience... Ron Chatman, back in the early 90's, and again in 2011.  One of my heroes, Ron Allen. Was at a Demo/Contest at the same time as him recently and just missed him by a hair. Would love to do an interview..  Couple Jovontae Turner flicks. Eric Britton  Can't leave out Sal! Stevie Williams with a massive frontside noseslide..