My Deck Collection (Batch 05)

The last batch / post of my deck collection. The Apocalypse Now deck has two wild stories associated with it, which is why I saved it for last.

 

Jeff Grosso / Crucified (on right)

I’ll start with the one on the right. Somewhere, somehow, I connected with Christian Cooper on the internet. Christian has been a long-time artist for Stereo, DLX, and Anti-Hero. He was also a life-long friend of Jeff Grosso, and did most of Jeff’s Anti-Hero graphics, including both of these decks. There is so much subtle detail in this deck’s graphic, with tons of social, historical, and political refences. The rug from The Shinning. Miller from Repo Man. Reagan. Etc. The graphics on this one were just really insane, so I got one.

 

 

Jeff Grosso / Apocalypse Cow (on left)

 

I saved the best for last. There are two really wild stories about this deck. First, how I helped contribute to the graphics. Second, a quasi-ghost story.

 

Christian would occasionally text me mark-ups of deck graphics he was working on. He sent me prototype imagine of this deck. Originally it said “anti-hero” across the center. I suggested “Apocalypse Cow.” And guess what made it to final product? I was shocked when I saw it. I obviously had to get my hands on one. Getting to contribute to the graphics of one of your favorite skaters, in a parody of a favorite movie? Priceless.

 

I had this board hanging on my wall for a long time. I’ll spare the long details, but I'll say this much. It fell off my wall one day. It’s the only thing, or deck, that’s ever fallen off my walls. The day it fell off my wall? March 31, 2020—which is the day he died.

My Deck Collection (Batch 4)

 This is the forth post / photo batch of my deck collection. 

 

 

Gonz and Hensley (reissues): I never had either of these decks when I was younger. If fact, I was off-put by both of these when they were current. However, with age I have gained deeper and deeper appreciation 1980s Gonz and Matt Hensley. I got both of these to occasionally ride, and as sort of a “lost tribute” to two skaters who “went over my head” during their time. 

 

 

 

Any Means Necessary (Alien Workshop): This came out right out after the Wall St meltdown in 2008. It was the first deck I ever bought, just for the graphics with the intention of hanging on the wall, during its contemporary time. The artwork, and message, speak for itself. 

 

 

 

Max Hesh / REAL shop deck: REAL made these special “shop decks” for a number of skate shops. Max Hesh was one of my favorite shops, ever. It was also local to me, and I was one of their shop team riders (in my mid-40s, even!). The shop lost their lease, and went out business in 2017. I have great memories of the shop, and met many great friends there. Indeed, home is where the heart is. 

 

 

 

Black Knight (original): This is from the mid to late 1960s. It was one of the first mass-produced skateboards ever made. Some claim it was also the first board with “real” graphics on it. This was also the first board Neil Blender had. I need to do more research on the history of these boards. I got this recently as a tribute / memento to early days of skateboarding, and also as a nod to my Polarizer.  

EDIT: Tommy Guerrero recently hit me up on IG, and informed me that this was also his first skateboard. I had no idea it was Blender's (or TG's) when I decided this was the "really old school" board I wanted to add to my collection. Now, it seems rather fitting that somehow managed to pic the first board two of my favorite skaters had.          

My Deck Collection (Batch 3)

This is the third post / photo batch of my deck collection. 

 

 

 

Danny Way (H-Street reissue): This was his first pro model. I was never a fan of these graphics (esp. compared to what was going on with Santa Cruz, etc.), but well, it was D. Way so I had to get it (at the time, and later as a reissue).

 

Danny Way (Blind re-issue): Danny had two decks on Blind. This was the second one. I loved Blind, and it was really cool when he ended up riding for them. I actually bought this one to ride (as these decks are in constant production, unlike many other reissues I have), but more on that later.

 

 

  
Dogma III (Brand-X reissue): These graphics are also quintessential “1980s” and Brand-X. I had one of these as a kid, and thought it was magical. Always loved the graphics, and was shocked/amazed/ecstatic when Brand-X reissued it. It’s just a fantastic piece of 1980s artwork.  

 

 

 

 

Corey O’Brien (Santa Cruz reissue): I never had one of these as a kid. I always though the graphics were pretty cool, but over time (and thanks to Neil Blender) this deck has become more and more of iconic 1980s skateboard. When Santa Cruz put out these colors, I got one, more as a cool piece of 1980s art to hang on the wall, than because of any personal attachment to it. “It’s 2025, boys. It’s time to reissue the skeletons.”

 

Danny Way (Blind original): This was another of my original decks that I kept. The main reason I kept this? It was the first board I dropped in on a vert ramp with (at Z.T. Maximus  skatepark in Cambridge, MA).

 

  

My Deck Collection (Batch 2)

 

This is the second post / photo batch of my deck collection. 

 

 

Top row, left to right

Lance Mountain (reissue): This is the only Lance deck I’ve ever owned. He was always a favorite skater, but I never had one of his decks. I always liked these graphics, and the “future primitive” concept and graphics (and video, too) has taken on deeper meaning to me as I grow older. It does not come across to well in this photo, but the red with purple accents on this are just beautiful.

 

Danny Way (Plan B reissue): Danny Way is a very complicated phenomenon in my skate history, as I wrote about here. It is impossible to think about my teenage years, and skateboarding during that time, without thinking about D. Way. It’s sort of like the Gator thing. Somehow you have to separate the fond memories you might have had as a kid, before tragedy struck, and the aftermath that follows. I will wrestle with that the rest of my life. In late 2024 D. Way came out as a Trump supporter. So, also total garbage person in current time, too. I debated throwing out my D. Way decks when I found out about the Trump thing, but decided against it, and am I glad I did. I later realized that these decks represent and are part of my history, not his sad story. So, I need to take them in regards to my reality, not his. Anyway, this Plan B reissue was one of his first Plan B decks, and certainly had significance to me.          

 

 

Bottom row, left to right

 

Natas Bulldog (original): This is another one from my youth that I kept.

 

Natas Panther (original): This was one of my early decks as a kid, and my first Natas.  

My Deck Collectoin (Batch 1)

Well, I’m out on injury again. Pulled a muscle in back about 10 days ago. It’s slowly getting better. In the meantime I’d thought I make a post about my deck collection. I am not a collector in the real sense of the word, but I do have a small* collection of (mostly) wall hangers. I’ve never had them all pictured (or explained) in one place before, and a blog post(s) seem like the best medium for that. So, here we go with my collection. I’ll post the pics in a few batches / posts. Here is the first (of five) posts. 

 
*My collection is tiny compared to some, huge compared to others.  

 

Let’s start with this wall.

 

 

 

Top row, left to right:

 

Natas Bulldog (reissue): This is an unofficial “cease and desist” reissue. Santa Cruz / SMA has never reissued the Bulldog graphic. Not sure why (assume it’s because they can’t get rights to the artwork). The Bulldog was one of my favorite decks/graphics as a kid. I had several of them. Natas was one of my favorite skaters in my early years.

Natas Bulldog (original): This was my deck as a kid. Glad I saved it, one of the few I did.

Tom Knox (reissue): I had a few of these when I was younger. I always loved these graphics. For anyone that doesn’t know, Santa Cruz ripped-off artwork from Virgil Finlay for many of its graphics. This was one of them.

 

 

Bottom row, left to right:

Brand-X Weirdo (reissue): Brand-X was this mythical company in the 1980s. The Weirdo graphics were quintessential “1980s” and quintessential Brand-X. I always loved these graphics as a kid, and always wanted one of these, but never had one. When Brand-X came back from the dead a few years ago, and reissued this, I jumped.

Sims Lester (reissue): The first “real” skateboard I ever saw in person was a Lester (with 169 Indys and City Street wheels). It forever changed my life, and here I am writing about it some 40 years later. Needless to say it made a deep impression. I honestly can’t remember if I ever had one of these as kid. Sims reissued these about 10 years ago, and I got one. Tom Sims later died, and the company with him. Brand-X has reissued these (same artist, no surprise there), but this one is a Sims reissue, which will never happen again. I still think this one of the best skate graphics, ever.

Tommy G. (reissue): Another iconic board from my youth. I had one of these in black, but always wanted the infamous light blue one. When Powell reissued it in this color about 10 years ago, I did not hesitate.  

What's My Best Trick?

Today the 50mph winds finally died down. Temps were in the mid to upper 20s. The sun was out. This meant it felt surprisingly warm. I skated the (shoveled out) ramp for about two hours. It was the longest session I've had on this ramp (or any "bigger" ramp...4' or taller) in quite sometime. About 90 min, I started to notice my lower back and left knee were getting sore...from all the run-outs when bailing tricks (can't knee slide out of everything).  I wanted to keep skating, but I've been down this rode before, and it leads to pulled muscles, injury, etc. Better to end it before things get worse (and assure that I'll be able to skate tomorrow).  As I was packing up all my stuff, I had a little epiphany. My best trick of the day? Knowing when to stop.

 

Somewhere in the middle of 360 boardslide.

 

Returning to the Source: A "Polarizing" Experiment in Existential Archeology

My friend Pete has been posting a ton of “Polarizer” clips recently on Instagram. For those who may not know, “Polarizer” is a term coined by Neil Blender and Steve Claar for what are essentially modern takes on 1960s skateboard designs. Apparently, Blender started making them, and when Claar saw it he said, “…call that a polarizer because people are either going to like it or hate it.” Hence, the name was born. Here is a really cool video of Blender and crew getting Polar.

 

Like anything with skateboards, there are lots of different variants. I won’t go into all the nuances, but here is a decent primer. I really like this intro quote from that link, "Initially, my pursuit of polarizer skateboarding felt like a leap of faith into a void. In hindsight, it was a leap into a wormhole that took me back to the early years of skateboarding."

 

Well, just this week I got my first “Polarizer.” Why? Well, fun, mostly. Pete’s clips (mentioned above) have been quite inspiring. Also, the two photos I mentioned in my previous post just really grabbed me on some deep existential level. When I see something that looks like fun, I instantly think, “I want in on that!” At this stage of life, I think I am more “ready” to understand, embrace, grapple, and appreciate the purity of what once was, before it became the skateboarding we know today. My first skateboard in the early to mid 1980s was not too different from a 1960s board, or a modern Polarizer.  To that end, I consider this a Polarizing project into experimental existential archeology. This is a photo of my very first skateboard (not my actual board, but same model).

 

 

 

My Polarizer set-up is a pretty straight-forward one from The HeatedWheel (Blender’s company). To what extent will I be “polarized” by this thing? Remains to be seen. Boston is a virtual Hoth landscape at the moment (with a “large” storm predicted later this week, too). So, it might be a bit before I really get to tap into this project. Here is my Polarizer. I will certainly update as this situation develops.