SKATE SLATE
LOOKING BACK The Year in Review
BLOWING IT Skatepark Etiquette
KNOW HOW
1 [SKS] .5 Garage WINTER 2014 Parking Shredding
16.5 Spring 2014
SKATE SLATE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF & DIGITAL DESIGNER Justus Zimmerly
PHOTO EDITOR & CORRESPONDENT Jon Huey
STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER & CORRESPONDENT Max Dubler
STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER & CORRESPONDENT Ari Chamasmany
SKATE[SLATE] CREW Adam Auger, Adam Crigler, Billy Meiners, Brock Newman, Dan Pape, Jordan Shepherd, Justin Readings, Marisa Nunez, Patrick Switzer, RJ Roush PUBLISHER Tim Cutting
Letter from the editor 2013 was a pretty good year, overall.But don’t take my word for it. Just look at the photos held in these pages and you’ll see that some pretty rad stuff went down.
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What will 2014 hold in store? It’s hard to say, but I’m hoping it’s just as great a year as the last. – Justus Zimmerly
Contents 09 WILD AND CRAZY
Ari’s Top Ten Photos of 2013
15 BLOWING IT
The Longboard Guy’s Guide to Skatepark Etiquette
18 KYLE WESTER
An Interview
22 UNSEEN
Jon Huey’s Favorite Unseen Photos of 2013
31 KNOW HOW
Parking Garage Shredding
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This page: Mad Mike, on the edge of grip. photo Ari Chamasmany Cover: New Mexico native James West Jr. does some sort stinkbug tail-slide grind 180 thing that was impressive to watch. photo Jon Huey
WILD AND CRAZY ARI’S TOP TEN FROM 2013
Adam Stokowski blasts out9 a[SKS] big.5 heelside slide on WINTER 2014 a corner in Santa Barbara
And so, 2013 has come and gone. The conclusion of yet another year in the long, ever evolving lineage that is our sport. It’s been an adventurous year for me with quite the tumultuous conclusion. However, as wild and crazy as these past twelve months have been, there is nothing I would take back, no experience I would not live again. It’s been up, down, and everywhere in-between, but it is the rhythm of a life lived documenting a sport that eats and breathes thrill, excitement, and adventure. Here are my top ten favorite skate photo moments I captured over the course of this past year.
THERE IS NOTHING I WOULD TAKE BACK, NO EXPERIENCE I WOULD NOT LIVE AGAIN
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Early 2013, Brian Bishop blasts out of the Bowl at King Of Kona.
Going big at the Muirskate Downhill Disco
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The Broadway Bomb 2013 was crazy. Never has dodging police been so much fun.
Skatie Katie and Amanda Powell get close at the 2013 Maryhill SheRide.
Angies Curves put’s P-Swiss’s skills to the test as he navigates this tight chicane.
Daniel Fissmer fires a lofty 360 flip on a deserted street in Downtown Los Angeles. 14  [SKS] .5 WINTER 2014
A lone she-skater blasts down the straight during the 2013 Maryhill SheRide.
Trevor Baird gas pedals this high speed corner in Malibu with no fear. 15 [SKS] .5 WINTER 2014
Dustin Hampton’s 2013 Malibu Hit It and Quit It was a huge success.
With the Skate Everything Movement™ taking the world by storm, longboard dudes are going to skateparks in unprecedented numbers. This is a welcome development. Skateparks are awesome. Unlike downhill, there’s very little danger of getting hit by a car, falling off a cliff, hitting a guardrail, wobbling out, or getting hassled by the cops when you’re at the skatepark. You can learn something new every time you go. Also, grinding pool coping is one of the best feelings in skateboarding, up there with mashing a fast slide into a corner, tucking past a world champion, and getting g-forced in a banked turn. The skatepark is a different environment than the hill, with different rules.
THE LONGBOARD GUY’S GUIDE TO SKATEPARK ETIQUETTE 17 [SKS] .5 WINTER 2014
That said, the skatepark is a different environment than the hill, with different rules. When you go to the hills with your friends, the slow guys go in the back and you take turns driving, but everyone drops in at the same time and skates together. As long as you don’t crash anyone out, you’re solid. This is not the case at the skatepark: there’s a well-developed system of etiquette that governs your actions at the park, and it’s good to know the unofficial rules before you show up. Here’s how not to blow it.
1. Don’t be that kook on his downhill board at the skatepark. You don’t bomb hills on a shortwheelbase board with TKP trucks and super hard wheels; trying to skate a park on a long-wheelbase board with RKP trucks, soft wheels, and no kicktails is going to be pretty frustrating.
6. Your run lasts until you bail, fall, or decide you’re done. That said, don’t be that guy going back and forth doing rock-fakies and tailtaps over and over again for five minutes. If you’re not going to challenge yourself to try anything new or difficult, it’s good style to stop after a couple minutes.
2. Be aware of your surroundings. Watch where you’re going and look out for other skaters. This is pretty straightforward.
7. When you are the first person to get your board on the coping after someone bails or finishes their run, it’s your turn. Drop in promptly. Standing there forever with your board set up to drop in is a waste of everyone else’s time.
3. Stay out of the way when you’re not skating. Don’t stand around in the middle of the course. Most parks have easilyidentifiable drop in points where it’s cool to stand around when you’re not skating. 4. The bowl and the half pipe can only accommodate one rider at a time. If someone is skating the bowl/mini ramp/flow course/whatever, do not drop in until they’re done. Even if they’re way on the other side of a big bowl, dropping in on someone’s run is very disrespectful. 5. Everyone, no matter how big or small, or how good at skating they are, gets a turn. You just have to step up and take it.
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8. Don’t hang your board over the coping and set up to drop in while someone else is skating the bowl or halfpipe. That says “I cannot wait for your lameass run to be over” and is extremely disrespectful. 9. Don’t snake people. Remember: everyone gets a turn. If there are five people standing around the bowl, wait for the other four people to skate before you take another run. 10. If you see someone struggling with a trick, don’t be that asshole who goes and does it first try, right in front of them. That’s just a dick move. If you see
someone land a trick they were struggling with, no matter how basic, be stoked. I’m way more hyped to see a new rider get a tiny scratch grind on a 3’ than I am to see Louis Pilloni feeblegrind the deep end of the Bread Bowl. 11. If you’re new to skatepark riding, go to the park when there are less people. I like the bowl at the Venice Beach park, but it’s usually super crowded with ripping skaters in the afternoon and on weekends, so I go early in the morning to get a low key session with my friends. If you’re just learning the basics, the early session is your jam. 12. Sometimes you should just sit and watch. I sometimes see legendary pro dudes at my local parks. I could skate— everyone gets a turn!—but I don’t really have anything to add, so I just enjoy the show. 13. Fuck ‘em. If you skate politely and people are still hating on your style, fuck ‘em. There are no rules in skateboarding: you can ride whatever you want, however you want. Do your thing.
Matt Elver
www.sabretrucks.com
KYLE WESTER interview Justus Zimmerly photos Jon Huey
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We caught up with Kyle Wester just before he took off for Puerto Rico to talk about the NHS/Rayne deal and how he became a team rider for Rayne. Photos by Jon Huey, shot in Puerto Rico. Hey Kyle! Why don’t we just start off and talk about what the NHS and Rayne deal means for you personally, being on the Rayne team now and explain how that came about. I’ve been working and riding for NHS for a bit now and we found out that we’ll be distributing Rayne from 2014 and on. So I’m on the team now, I’m having a pro model board come out in a few months, that’s what we’re hoping for. I’m still riding for Road Rider Wheels. People have been tripping out on that, like, “You’re riding for Road Rider and Rayne?” Well, no, we (Road Rider) are just doing the wheels now, so I’ll still have my pro model wheel that we’ll be pushing a little harder than we were before. Is Road Rider still doing downhill boards? No, no more downhill boards. We’re just sticking with the wheels, the wheels have been around since 1973, so we’re sticking with the original wheel brand. Connor Welles tried to make it into a full blown skateboard company, with boards, trucks, and wheels, but as of now it will just be trucks and wheels. Other than that, I’m riding Rayne boards, still riding Mob Grip, all that good stuff. It’s kind of a crazy change, that’s not all that crazy, haha. 21 [SKS] .5 WINTER 2014
So what do you do at NHS apart from being a team rider?
So are you still located in Colorado? NHS is in Santa Cruz.
Right now I’m the NHS Rayne sales rep, so I’m leading the charge on that for North America and I’m helping with the transition over and getting Rayne settled in with NHS and helping with that. I know a lot of people in the downhill community, so I’m helping bridge the gap between the, I guess you’d call it “core street” and the downhill longboard scene/community.
Yeah, NHS is in Santa Cruz, I’m still in Denver. For right now I’m not going to make the move, I’m just gonna stay in Denver. It’s central to everything and I can just jump on a plane and be anywhere. The riding out here is pretty awesome, I don’t really want to leave my hills behind!
What do you think it means for Rayne now that they have this distribution deal? I think it’s just going to help them grow. It’s the same quality product that it’s always been, that’s not changing. They’ll still be in North Van, all of the components are the same, we’ll just be distributing out of Santa Cruz. But yeah, it’s just going to help them grow. Our distribution at NHS is top notch, so it’s going to get more of the product out there in North America specifically. How did you get involved? You’re from Colorado, right? How did you end up working for NHS?
I DON’T REALLY WANT TO LEAVE MY HILLS BEHIND! 22 [SKS] .5 WINTER 2014
Yeah, I’m from Colorado. Shit, what year are we in, 2014 now? So that’s… I don’t even know, I’ve been riding forever, skateboarding most of my life, I started downhill in 2006. Really got into it, started competing, raced in all the Buffalo Bill events for the five years that was going on. Got sponsored by Timeship Racing and then started funding myself to skate like everyone. I started getting acceptance and moving up, it was my passion you know?
What are your skate plans for 2014, are you going to keep fighting for points on the IDF race circuit? Yeah, 2014 I’m doing the full deal. I leave tomorrow for Guajataka and the first World Qualifying Series race, Ponce. I’ll be doing that for the next 11 days. After that I’ll come back and lay low and work for a bit on Rayne stuff. Then head out for Danger Bay, Jakes Rash, Britannia Classic, that stuff, Whistler, then Euro tour, South America, full blown IDF schedule. Sounds like a busy year! Yeah, it’s going to be busy, it’ll be good though. Last thing: Are you at liberty to talk about your pro model with Rayne? Have you started on it yet? Yeah, a bit. I don’t have a lot of information on it. It’s going to be cool, it’ll be more of my standard, classic shape, which is what I like. That’s about all I know right now, it’ll be a good addition to the Rayne lineup for sure.
David Helmer
SIGHT
UNSEEN Jon Huey’s Favorite Unseen Photos of 2013
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James Kelly stand up slides on one of his favorite hills in Malibu, CA. This framing of this shot was James’ idea.
2013 is over. It’s time to reminisce about the previous year’s achievements. For me, that means showing photos that I’ve been saving that never got used editorially or in advertising. I saved many photos for the 2013 Photo Annual, but not all of mine made the cut for the best photos of 2013. The following photos are still some of my favorites but were cut from the design.
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Zak Maytum at Pikes Peak, CO.
Byron Essert in Oakland, CA
Trevor Baird 26  [SKS] .5 WINTER 2014
Hugh Johnson in Puerto Rico
Will Royce pulls a melon grab half-cab slide (I don’t know what else to call it) in Puerto Rico.
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We found this random driveway, Byron hit it quickly, and got kicked out as we were already leaving.
Will wallrides down one of the many wonderful ditches of Albuquerque, NM.
Liam slides switch into a steep corner in the Bay Area.
Nick Ronzani gets backwards sliding through a hidden forest hairpin in San Francisco, CA.
At the start of 2013, I photographed Byron Essert and Liam Morgan for a double interview feature on the two young and talented skaters. Here’s one of the outtakes.
We found it on one of our session nights. It was sitting there, brightly illuminated, directly in front of us the whole time. Eight speedy floors of pure parking garage bliss. It was completely gated off, but after catching sight of its various concrete chutes and corners, we deemed it necessary to attempt access. Trevor and I hopped a fence and made our way down a little space between the building and the fence with the hopes that we could get in through the back. It took a bit of lock-jimmying, but our efforts paid off. What we discovered is one of the best garages we’ve ever skated. A multi-directional, figure eight shaped structure with two ramps leading down to one chute in the middle on each floor. To most people it was the beginning and the end of their daily rush hour commute, but to us it was a thing of beauty.
KNOW HOW: PARKING GARAGE SHREDDING
words and photos Ari Chamasmany
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It has been a year and change since we found that garage, and it continues to serve as a wonderful after hours retreat for everyone who knows how to get in. However, it has survived as a shred spot as the direct result of a few rules. I believe these few simple truths can aid in maximizing the amount of enjoyment you and your troop can reap from these towering concrete creations.
NIGHTRIDER AND THE SAD CLOWN
Skating parking garages at night (usually past the hour of 11:30pm) means that there’ll be less cars and less chances for you to be hit by them. Additionally, there will be little or no security, with the occasional guard who is actually on duty counting down the minutes until he gets to go home and watch Friends re-runs while stuffing his gab with Pringles and crying softly to sleep. Shred at night.
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SILENCIO
Sometimes this is hard to achieve with a large group of rough and rowdy hessians on skateboards, but if you want to rage a garage for as long as possible without alerting a potential security guard from phonin’ up the boys in blue, this is a proper move. Keeping the banshee yells to a minimum is usually a good start.
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NEVER GO BELOW THE 2nd FLOOR
Sometimes all it takes is for you and your posse to come steamin’ past the security kiosk on ground level to get your party rumbled. No two parking garages are the same! It’s important to remember not to fully indulge, and to get out while the gettin’ is good.
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STAIR MASTER
A little bit of cardio ain’t never hurt nobody, and besides, you should be working off that “little more to love” you acquired after GTA 5 dropped. Taking the elevator in garages is an easy way to get popped by Mr. Windbreaker-and-a-Mag-Light, because more often than not there are cameras in or around elevators, and all they have to do is push a button and wait for you to come to them. So if you want more runs in that epic garage you just discovered, being a stair master is sometimes the way to go.
KILL THAT LITTERBUG
If you’re lucky, you’ll get a security guard that hasn’t entirely forgotten what it was like to be a kid, and will, on rare occasion, be stoked on you shredding the structure. Don’t make him regret the decision that could potentially cost him his job. Be the respectful youth that we all know you can be and throw away your trash, leaving the garage looking like you were never there to begin with.
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NEVER STOP FOR THE ANGRY SECURITY GUARD
He’s upset that he didn’t make it into the police academy, and he’s got crushing-your-good-time on his mind as therapy to make himself feel better about it. Don’t give him that satisfaction. Diplomacy won’t work with these raging bulls, so your best bet is to be like Batman and vanish. He can’t arrest you, and he’s furious he’ll never have the chance, so don’t stop and let him keep you there until the 5-0 show. Put the hammer down and make use of those ceramic bearings you never actually needed. Contingency Plan - What if things have gone pear shaped and the cops have been called, or have arrived and are in the garage? It’s important for you to have a proper contingency plan. When exiting a structure under these circumstances, it is essential to take measures to avoid receiving a nasty trespassing ticket, or worse, being arrested. Staying together while mobbing structures is always a solid survival move. Separation leads to stragglers, and stragglers are always the kids with their helmets on backward, not well prepared to fend for themselves. To avoid getting caught, staying together and getting to that exit is paramount. Again, taking the stairs is usually your best bet to avoid being seen. If the cops have rolled, get out and get gone.
BE NICE & HAVE FUN
No one likes a goober. Keep yourself together, be respectful, be smart, be nice, and have fun. If these things are coming as an epiphany to you right now, “do not pass go, do not collect 100 dollars, go directly to jail” -Monopoly, The Game.
With these simple tips in mind when touring your town’s structure scene, it ensures that you’ll get the most amount of hassle-free shredding, while minimizing your chances of getting caught. Parking garages are a rad way to get your roll on in the city at night, but also an easy way to get popped for trespassing. Don’t be a coconut, be alert, skate safe, be nice, and you’ll do fine. 40 [SKS] .5 WINTER 2014
PH: JEFF NASS
PH: MICAH COOK