SKATE SLATE
LIAM MORGAN Vs the Slugs
CATALINA CLASSIC Island in the Sun
THE GAIJIN REPORT 5 Things to Know About Japan
18.5
Late summer 2014
SKATE SLATE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF & DIGITAL DESIGNER Justus Zimmerly
DIGITAL EDITOR Blake Smith
STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER & CORRESPONDENT Max Dubler
PHOTO EDITOR & CORRESPONDENT Jon Huey
STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER & CORRESPONDENT Ari Chamasmany
SKATE[SLATE] CREW Adam Auger, Adam Crigler, Billy Meiners, Blake Smith, Brock Newman, Dan Pape, Jordan Shepherd, Marisa Nunez, Patrick Switzer, RJ Roush PUBLISHER Tim Cutting
Letter from the editor Skate[Slate] is a company that is continuously growing and evolving in an effort to keep you, the reader, stoked and informed about all that is going on in the world of downhill skateboarding and longboarding. To that end, we are super excited to say that we have expanded our crew to include Blake Smith as our new Digital Editor. Blake has been a fixture in the scene for years, capturing stylish
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skaters with his lens around the Bay Area and beyond. He’s now been managing the Skate[Slate] website for a few weeks and helping us to progress to the next level. We’re always trying to dream big and grow the sport for everybody. Stay tuned for great things to come! – Justus Zimmerly
Contents
18 THE GAIJIN REPORT
Five Things to Know
36 CATALINA CLASSIC
Event Report
50 LIAM MORGAN
Vs the Slugs
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60 GEAR REVI
Landyachtz Canyon
70 THE ROAD
With Ari Chamasma
Mighty Marisa Nunez, throttlin’ down the straight. photo Ari Chamasmany
IEW
n Arrow
TO RECOVERY
any
TH GAI REPO
5 THI TO KN
words and p Dan Pape
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HE IJIN PORT
INGS NOW
photos
Traveling downhill skaters know how connect all around the world with like minded adrenaline junkies. Going to Japan, however, and using the same formula simply didn’t work as well as I thought it would on my first trip here. For DH skaters in Japan, this stuff is all common sense. But just in case you’re planning a trip there, I thought it would be a good idea to spread these five basic guidelines to help make your trip run smoother. Before reading on, please understand these are only suggestions and aren’t to be taken for rules. The Japanese way is always to check with your guide, and the group that you are adventuring with. Assumptions can get you into a lot of trouble in Japan, so just make sure you’ve reached a consensus among the group before making any decisions. Consider this approach and you’re already half way there.
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LEARN HOW TO SKATE MORE THAN ONE THING Longboarding is easy to do but can sometimes be inconvenient in Japan if you’re hoping to hit the best spots. Learn how to skate more than one style and you’re guaranteed to have more fun on a regular basis while you’re there. You may be disappointed if you’re hoping for a five day paradise where every day you’re hitting a new spot. The roads are amazing, it’s true, but the best roads sometimes have long commute times in between. Being a well-rounded skater gives you a lot more options. Bowl skating, banks, and park can help you excel in all levels of skateboarding, so why not dabble in these arts? Bring a second board or a hybrid board set up with you. Good balance is never a bad thing.
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FIND SPOTS THAT DON’T UPSET PEOPLE There are plenty of awesome spots to skate here. But give it some good thought before you session somewhere that might upset your neighbors or the people near by. Revert to the suggestion that it is always best to consult the group first. A location may look skateable but if it’s gonna bring heat, probably best not to push it unless one of your ambassador friends has given you the green light first. If worst come to worst, at least you are on the same page and they can help talk you out of a situation escalating beyond repair. Japanese skaters have a very good record of keeping things cool so you definitely don’t want to be the guy that tarnishes this reputation.
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PH: MICAH COOK
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MAKE WEEKEND TRIPS TO GREAT LOCATIONS Going away for the weekend to hit up an epic location is probably the best way to enjoy yourself. Bring some camping gear and skate remote locations with friends for a few days. It may be a long drive to get there, but if you’re crashing the night you can get up and skate as soon as the moisture has left the ground. If it’s during the hotter seasons, skating can get intensely hot and humid after noon so make sure not to sleep in. If you do, you’ll be eating through those wheels a hell of a lot faster and you’ll be praying for water and a cool breeze that will never come. This is also an amazing way to experience nature and skateboarding all in one.
TALK TO YOUR NEIGHBORS
Trying to skate somewhere under the radar sometimes works, sometimes it doesn’t, especially in Japan. The skaters here have researched their spots multiple times before dropping in. It’s always better to scope the terrain well, both for people that are welcoming and for safety issues. A good analysis of your surroundings will ensure that you’re not wasting your time ruining a spot for skaters that plan on riding there. A lot of the best roads in Japan have massive cliffs, guardrails for days, and dramatically changing pavement. Walk your course or at least ask your guide to drive it slowly on your way up. It’s very helpful to have a friend in the group that speaks English. If this is not the case, don’t be that gaijin (foreigner) who’s keen on showing off his skills before properly reading the situation. Use common sense and just do what everyone else is doing. Pretty basic, but in Japan it’s easy to get excited by the amazing roads around you. 27 [SKS] .5 LATE SUMMER 2014
ONE WAY OR DEAD END ROADS
Choosing a nice road that has only one way access is always good to try before any other road. Not only do you have a spot with only one entryway for vehicles and people but also a one way road is a very good time. Sure they are hard to find, but when you do, you can pretty much skate there the entire day with no worries at all. Be sure to check out path skating too, don’t just set your sights on big mountain bombing. Taking cars out of the equation is the best option by far. Drifters (car racing enthusiasts) and motorcyclists often use the same roads we love. Keep this in mind if you do choose a regular road. Radio spotting a huge plus since these high performance Japanese-made machines can come out of nowhere. Usually you can hear them from miles away but if you’re coming down wearing a full face and determined to rail the corner, it can be a terrible recipe. Just like anywhere in the world, ask the local skaters to watch your back.
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Downhill skateboarding is growing in Japan, that is for sure. As it does, skaters are finding ways to sustain it well into the future. The underground skate culture here is still very much present, even after enthusiasts have been exploring mountains all over Japan for the past decade. By working with our friends in Japan, the scene should continue to grow for all to enjoy.
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Catalina Classic wo Ar rds a iC ha nd p ma ho sm tos an y
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a
K-Rimes
The Catalina Island Classic, originally held in 1977, was the stuff of legends. An invitational downhill skate event held on a small island off the coast of California that featured the world’s best riders blasting down the spirited paved inclines of the city of Avalon. It was an event that would forever live on in infamy. Now some thirty-six years later, the good folks at Resource Distribution have revived the legendary happening, this being the fabled third year running in an ongoing series of annual events which attract riders and attention from all over the world. Each year the maestros of the downhill skate scene flock to the small resort town of Avalon to do battle with the technical track. Friday kicked off the event with an afternoon ferry departing from Long Beach to the small island town. Like some kind of giant family reunion, friends from all over the globe boarded the boat bound for a weekend of downhill and debauchery amidst sea breezes and sunshine. As the day blurred into night, a golden sunset gave way to a bustling evening of inebriated interaction. Abec 11 played host to a fundraiser at a local island club with all of the proceeds going towards the construction of the island’s first skatepark. Peter Croce and I manned the turntables, as free beer “until supplies ran dry” acted to fuel the fire for a first night on Catalina that only a select few can recollect. The start time for Saturday practice kicked off bright and early. Attendees, still reeling from the previous evening’s exploits, shrugged off their hangovers and turned on the seriousness as they got their first taste of the course. Short and technical, the track demanded more from racers than just straight line speed; cornering technique became paramount as lines were plotted and apexes were learned. A flurry of brightly colored suits and wheels hissed through the hills of Avalon, as the day of practice runs melted away with the late afternoon sun. Saturday evening led to yet another night of uninhibited decadence. Kicked off by the sublime musical stylings of skate legend Ray Barbee, the evening encapsulated the essence of jam as Ray opened on his guitar and yours truly closed out the evening at the helm in the DJ booth. The next morning’s early morning wakeup time for racing was quite the feat of souless self-endurance.
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Party wave
Catalina Classic
Amanda Powell, overtaking Rachel Rayne
That aero lid steeze
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Sunday, race day. Supporters gathered and sponsor flags flapped proudly as Mike Girard, Max Capps, and Justin Reynolds manned the mic and entertained the audience. Anxiousness began to build while racers amassed and loaded onto shuttle vehicles bound for the top of the hill. As race heats ran, the eliminated riders retired their bulky leather suits for shorts and shade. It wasn’t long until the final four for the men’s and woman’s finals had been established. Photographers and onlookers culminated in droves near the finish line to catch sight of the final two heats. Almost as soon as everyone had gathered, word echoed over the radio of riders on the course. Distant cheers signaled their arrival as the women’s, and then men’s finals were run. In a flash of color and draft, riders blasted around the final corner reaching the finish line to find themselves engulfed within a course lined with cheering onlookers. In the end, the California local AJ Haiby seized first place victory for men’s, while the reigning champion Elena Corrigall maintained her place at the top of the woman’s bracket with yet another first place finish. It was sometime around 7:30pm on Sunday evening when we boarded the ferry home. Memories of the whole experience were still swimming around in our heads as the island faded away into the orange haze of a late evening sun. The Catalina Island Classic, this being the third year running since the revival, will undoubtedly go down in incline oriented skateboarding history as one of the best events to have ever been held. Not specifically because of it’s location, or even because of the events held there, but because of the collection of people and friends who were there to bring it back to life and make it possible for a generation of new skaters to it keep alive.
Catalina Classic
Catalina Classic
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words and phot Jon Hu
GAN VS S
tos uey
If you skate this spot then use spotters, because people walk their dogs without a leash
Liam hits the corner by himself
A few weeks ago, Liam Morgan flew into Seattle for an autograph signing at Motion Boardshop and to skate some hills with some of the dudes in the scene. I met up with all of them at a hill they call Slug Wars and made some photos. I was excited to see this spot because it was a narrow pathway that went through a forest. Not surprisingly for Seattle, it started raining right when I got there. Luckily, the trees gave us a little bit of cover and some time before the trail got too wet. Everyone was still itching to skate so they took some runs and I snapped some photos. I didn’t want to my flashes to get wet so I just bumped the ISO on my Canon 7D to 6400, hoping that some noise reduction in post production would make the images look fine. I think it worked. The rain started making the trail a bit patchy with wetness, so hands down slides seemed to be the safest way down the hill. I switched lenses and searched for a good angle while everyone sessioned the corner. We could only skate for so long, because Liam had to get to the airport to continue his travels. We hung out for a bit longer, chatting and enjoying some beverages. I gave Liam a ride to the airport and then went to go visit my parents.
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We tried one more corner, but it was much patchier than the other corner we sessioned
Gabe Akin leads C.J. Garner during a tight run together
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GEAR REVIEW
LANDYACHTZ CANYON ARROW words Nathan Harris photos Nathan Harris and Jon Huey
Straight out of the wilderness and under your feet the Landyachtz Canyon Arrow combines classic design with more modern features to give you a board that’s both incredibly simple and effective. To start, this board comes in at 37 inches long and is constructed with 9 plies of solid Canadian maple. Featuring a mild “W” concave and sharp edges this board provides an incredibly responsive ride. Another thing to be noted on this deck is a direction taper in width. Up by my front foot the board measured in at a comfortable 9.5 inches, while my back foot sat on around 8.75 inches. Having rather large feet (11.5) I was slightly put off by this much taper at first, but as I got more comfortable with the board I began to enjoy the new found mobility of my back foot. This taper, coupled with a mild “W” provides an amazing amount of control for your back foot ideal for railing corners in a tuck or positioning your foot for slides. On my first ride one of the most prominent aspects of this board I felt was how incredibly natural it felt under my feet. It is clear to see what Landyachtz was intending to make when they designed this deck. They kept things simple and made a rad, down-to-earth top-mount to get the job done. My first experience with this deck was some mild downhill. The 9 plies of maple felt reliably stiff and responsive through turns regardless of my food placement. Within a single run I felt at home and confident with the Canyon Arrow under my feet. Once I began throwing some slides, I noticed some of the more subtle details of this board. The sharp edges, “W” concave, and wider front made the Canyon Arrow
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incredibly comfortable even when sliding. As I got more accustomed to the shape, I felt the amount of effort needed to initiate slides reduce significantly. I even noticed a visible difference in my posture when doing standup slides. Taking advantage of the mellow concave and sharp edges, I was no longer bending my knees and digging my heels into the rail to maintain grip on the board. I most enjoyed this board setup with These™ FRF 717 (69.5mm, 80a) wheels, and Munkae 42.5 degree precision trucks. With this setup this board truly lived up to its name “The Canyon Arrow”. Built for speed and agility, this deck was amazingly comfortable and agile no matter what type of run I took. As someone who usually prefers freeriding and street skating, I couldn’t help but want to take this deck faster and faster. Gripping through curves and tucking through straights with some speed checks here and there couldn’t have been more enjoyable with this board under my feet. One small detail I would have done differently on this board is the shape of the tail. I believe a slightly more rounded tail would make this board much more user friendly, as the square one featured can feel inconsistent to kick off of. I also feel this board could be improved as freeride deck by reducing the taper slightly, making it more consistent and natural for switch slides. Overall, the Canyon Arrow is a solid topmount that can excel at almost any style of riding, featuring incredible foot control and a comfortable board feel that anyone could fall in love with.
THE BREAKDOWN QUALITY PERFORMANCE STYLE VALUE
8 9 9 8
THE RoAD TO 69 [SKS] .5 LATE SUMMER 2014
O RECovE rY words and ph otos Ari Chamasm any
Genuinely, there are no words to describe the feeling of being told you’ll never skateboard again. The closest thing I can compare it to would be that cold sinking feeling you get when you realize something really shitty just happened. At first the news didn’t seem real, it was like the doctor had just told me a bad joke and I was waiting for her to come out of it and say, “just kidding!”. Alas, she coldly sang her song about how the bone was shattered in two places and that it was going to be very unlikely that I’d ever skate, much less walk correctly again. After carpet bombing my dreams, the doctor then proceeded to loudly slam her aluminum medical dossier closed and marched out of the room exclaiming that “corrective surgery would be taking place in an hour or so”. It was at that point that I frantically glanced over to my mother who had been sitting there beside me. “Mom, this is bullshit, it’s really all bullshit” I exclaimed, fighting back tears. The look on her face was one of distress, I could see her trying to formulate some plan. “Screw this!” she exclaimed loudly, stunning the team of nurses bustling about the room. “We’re transferring you to another hospital”. Before I could really come to terms with what I had just been told, I was fighting back pain and counting the passing hospital florescent lights on the ceiling as they wheeled me back out to a waiting ambulance. Upon arriving at the second hospital, I lay there in the bed completely void. The idea of not being able to skateboard again was nothing short of a death sentence. For the better part of the last ten years I’d worked tirelessly to build my life up around skateboarding. It had become like a child to me, something I birthed, nurtured, raised. Skateboarding had taken me around the world, to places I’d never dreamed of… For the better part of the past decade, it had been my meditation, my escape, my mantra, and now it’s vitality hung in the balance. I hadn’t been there sulking for more
then fifteen minutes when I caught sight of my tenacious mother, marching through the emergency room door with a doctor in toe. “Hey buddy, how are you feeling?” she said calmly. “This is your assigned orthopedist, he’s seen your X-Rays”. Without hesitation I expressed, “Doctor, please tell me, will I ever skate again!?”. He paused for a minute, then said, “Well, that all depends on you now doesn’t it?”. I fired back quickly, “So you’re saying there is chance?”, to which he immediately replied, “Of course! It’ll be tough, but you’re young”. It was at that moment that I made a decision. I decided I had to keep on skateboarding, no matter how hard I’d have to labor to get back to where I was. “It’s not pretty, but with a titanium rod and four screws, we should be able to get you back in the saddle” he said with a small chuckle, a smirk, and a face oddly reminiscent of Santa Claus. There was a warm sense
of relief that washed over me, I knew full well it wasn’t going to be easy, but I also knew what I was capable of as long as there was some kind of hope for me to stay in the game. It’s been the better part of 7 calendar months since the initial accident, and looking back, it’s been a long and arduous road to recovery. However, as grueling and painful as this recovery process has been, it’s also been a process of, oddly enough, joy. Joy in the sense that I’ve learned to love the sport, bit by bit, all over again. Like renewing wedding vows, my love affair with skateboarding has began afresh, and while still painful, it hasn’t kept me from escaping reality aboard my four meditative wheels of rolling bliss whenever I find the time. In some ways, I view this incident as a test. I feel like I keep waiting for the point where I’ll finally throw in the towel and say, “yeah, I’ve had my run and
maybe I’m over this”, yet, that moment never seems to come. There is always something new and wonderful I discover about the sport that time and time again, brings me back to savor the thrill. My test has been a long process of rediscovery, a process of finding out for myself just how deep my love affair with this sport really resonates within me; and if compound fracturing my tibia and fibia after smashing into a guard rail at 45mph isn’t one, then I don’t know what specifically is. So, ultimately, if there is anything I learned from this whole grueling ordeal, it is this: you are your only limitation. This article is dedicated to my loving mother Donna Marie Eble. Thank you for being there to pick me up when I was down.