Thursday, July 18, 2013

MagPile: Class of 95'

 I was recently looking for a photo I had (my 1st) in an old Concrete Magazine when I realized that there was a crazy amount of O.G. rippers & friends in the same issue. This is the issue that came out after I moved to Vancouver, exactly half my lifetime ago. Get ready for a flashback brothers....


The Cover. Ok.... what is this ? It's probably the essence of an epic pow pow moment or whatever, but it kind of looks like the top half of an outerwear mannequin from Westbeach being thrown into a pile of snow. It says Chalmers and Jeff Logan are in it though.... that sounds good.... (editor's note: the magazine dropped "powder", in name and content years ago. Concrete Skateboarding now, all good.)


 Jeff Logan. One of my all-time favorite skateboarders, and a good friend who hails from my home province of Nova Scotia. He was a legend even before he moved out west. All terrain. Switch 360 flips on 9 inch boards on call. Longest 5-0 grind on vert winner. Still killing it. Look at that nosegrind.... Jeff is the best.



Barry Walsh. The master blaster himself floats some of the biggest backside ollies you will ever witness. This one takes place at the Clubhouse Skatepark, which should need no introduction. Sick EMBC tee.


Alex Chalmers. I met Alex on my first day in Vancouver, when I walked into the Clubhouse. I ended up working and living there... in fact, he's skating above my bedroom at the time in this photo. I built and pimped out a room under the vert ramp when Jason Ellis returned from the European contest circuit and reclaimed his old bedroom. That elevated trailer home you can see in the background of some photos and video clips is where a few Clubhouse employees and locs lived. The things that went down there after hours were nuts. Gonz dropping by to do bonelesses across most of the vert ramp ? Sure. Jason Lee and Dune hanging out while shooting a movie a few buildings over ? Yup. Naked guys forcing me to attempt dropping in on vert for the first time, in the middle of the night ? Ouch. Good memories from that place... legendary debauchery.


Speaking of Chalmers, here he is in classic launch form with a massive (and rare) kickflip tailgrab out of the park during the relocated NFA Blockbuster. Even more rare is this gem of a Patty Morin photo that shares space on the same spread. Boom ! Been a fan since I saw him skate when I was a young teenager. 


 Craig Williams. Look at that skinny fella flying high above the crowd like some sort of radical Mothra or something.... how'd he get get up there so easy ? Is there helium in those cheeks ? Love ya Craig ! Jokes. Throw in Tom Hill for a few extra triple O.G. points. I work with Craig everyday.... he's still got airmiles saved up, spending them wisely whenever he gets the chance. 


 Commercial Break. One of the classic old Droors ads. Signature underwear... way back.


Syd & Judah. Both skate with power and style... and they were both on fire at this time. It was like some sort of Colin & Danny thing... feeding off each other. Happy they're both still living in Vancouver. Syd has Menu Skateshop on the go, and Judah has been holding it down at Timebomb trading forever and taking some great photos. 


 Dylan Doubt. Unique ripper who seems to be able to master any transition, regardless of it's jankyness.  This may be the first time the skate world got a glimpse of the infamous Hedley pipe. That thing ain't easy to skate.


 Dylan adds one more spoonful of style to his Penticton bowl feast. Still a great skater to watch, and one of my favorite photographers. 


Spike Jones. The Canadian one. Whiterock skate royalty. Spike, Jon and the boys were bringing the Zero-esque balls out skating to the north before Zero even existed. Something about being from Whiterock means you can just stand on rails in your sleep and jump down huge gaps like you're on your way to the store. Spike is Godfather status. Still killing it, skating all the time. Don't bet on a game of SKATE against him..... 


 Chris "Les" Ramsay. Lester. Loose and well rounded. Ripped for years right alongside his good friend Spike. Les is a talented artist who has been following his art to all sorts of interesting places for a long time now..... miss that soft spoken shredder.


 Jon Laliberte. This photo is almost exactly what I see in my mind when I remember Jon's skating. The old Langley park...... HUGE pop. Jon was one of the guys I always wondered about, he seemed to disappear from the skate world not long after I moved to Vancouver. Really good style, nice cat. Look at that team roster.... ahhhhh, nostalgia. 


 Aren Scott. Multi talented travellin' man and all around ripper getting up on one of the most highly regarded skate spots in history. Funny how this classic 50-50 on the west coast reminds me of the Eastern Exposure aesthetic. Rad, Aren.


 The photo that sparked the trip down memory lane, my 1st ever coverage in a magazine. This was taken a week after I moved to Vancouver by Nicholas Burke, at the Eatons Plaza. I remember being stoked that the big New Deal sticker showed up in the photo.

 Still can't believe how many awesome photos of old friends are in this single issue of Concrete.... glad I held onto it. I feel like going for a night roll downtown....

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