Destinations: Evansville, Indiana

A few weeks back, Glenn Davidson invited me to Killer Skatepark's Two-Year Anniversary Bash. Since it'd been a couple solid years since I'd been down to Evansville, I figured that it was high time to get my ass up, and get down that way. Since I was already burning the gas and making the drive, I figured that I'd make a weekend out of it, and go see the entire southwestern part of the state while I was out and roaming around. Besides, Indiana's kinda pretty in the fall. And my itinerary would be taking me through some of the best scenic routes that the state has to offer. With the promise from Glenn and Sheena that I could crash at their place on Saturday night, I was off and running. Well, driving.



The Itinerary:

I may be a forty-something, fat jackass... but, I'm also a horribly ambitious forty-something, fat jackass that's also a total glutton for punishment. So take that, bucko! This was my semi-grueling schedule for the weekend. I say "semi-grueling" because any traveling skater that knows what he's talking about will tell ya that these things never quite work out as planned:

Saturday, October 29th, 2011:

Plainfield, IN^
Greencastle, IN^
Terre Haute, IN^*
Vincennes, IN^*
Olney, IL^
Evansvlle, IN^^^**

Sunday, October 30th, 2011:

Princeton, IN^
Washington, IN^
Paoli, IN^
Bedford, IN^*
Bloomington, IN^**
Franklin, IN^
Greenwood, IN^
Beech Grove, IN^

^= Cities/towns with skateparks *= Cities/towns with skate shops






This Indiana map illustrates my travel route. That little side-trip into Illinois took me from Vincennes, to Olney and back.



The Sleepworker

Every weekend that I plan a road trip automatically starts off on the wrong foot, because of my utter inability to get a good nights' sleep before I leave. I think it's because I just get so damned excited about these things... even at forty years geezered, I still wake up like a sixteen-year-old-teenager, all bright eyed and bushy-tailed at stupidly ridiculous hours of the night. And this weekend was no different. Two in the f'n morning, and I was lit up like a lantern. Dammit. So, I typed a few emails and tidied up some last-minute projects, and left town at four in the morning, too scared to look back. Lest I start daydreaming about that queen-size pile of plushness that I'd just left behind.





Saturday, October 29th, 2011, 6:51 AM: Clabber Girl billboard. US Route 40, just east of Terre Haute.





7:16 AM: The sun rises over Terre Haute International Airport. US Route 40, just east of Terre Haute.





8:10 AM: This was definitely worth getting up early for. Terre Haute skatepark at Voorhees Park.




Olney

My travels took me to several skateparks that I'd visited on my 2008 Tour. At the time, I was largely documenting them for Jeff Greenwood at Concrete Disciples. Mostly by verifying addresses and directions, and getting good, descriptive, and complete photographs of the parks... because the guys at Concrete Disciples never, ever seem to have enough photos on hand. This time around, though, I was pretty much just checking up on everything, and making sure they were still there... while giving them some Everything Skateboarding sticker-love, and getting a little bit of quality skate-time in.

Believe it or not, I seriously get heckled for making such a point of stopping by all of these out-of-the-way little skateparks all over the place. But I think it's important work. Those little scenes deserve acknowledgement and recognition, just like anybody else does. Even if I rarely see a skater at any of these places... the few that I do meet out there on the long and lonely road get stoked as hell that somebody... anybody... even gives a shit about them. And that makes it all worthwhile.





10:10 AM: Grain elevators, just east of Olney, Illinois. I spent the next hour or so, looking high and low for Olney. Having only been there once, I forgot that it was off the main road. So I basically missed the whole town, and didn't even catch my mistake until a whole forty minutes later. Those small towns, man... if you blink, you'll miss 'em. Literally.










11:10 AM: Finally! The Olney skatepark, a video overview, and some Olney sticker-love.




12:29 PM: Vincennes Skatepark overview.



Party Hearty...!

I got to Killer... late, as usual... at about two in the afternoon. There were burgers on the grill right out front, which got my attention straightaway. There was also a ton of kids inside. And there was a pretty hot session underway on the mini ramp. For the next three hours or so, an entire amateur contest happened that I payed virtually no attention to. Because Jay Lauf, Zach Newhouse, Coby Kreig, and the rest of The Evansville Wrecking Crew were putting on a hell of a good show, demolishing Killer's spined mini.





The crowd, just a few minutes after I arrived. I thought this was pretty crazy: There were another couple dozen kids outside, waiting in line for burgers and dogs or bullshitting or whatever. But Glenn told me that it would be twice as crowded by contest time. I thought he was seriously on crack. But, he was right! Lord almighty.






Just one of Coby Kreig's many long, sure-footed lines around the mini. Note that quick little backside 180 up the euro to frontside 180 back down...





...and tall man Zach Newhouse, with his lanky, easygoing style...






... and Jay Lauf, with his impeccable, classic bag of tricks. Between these three guys, that mini didn't stand a chance in hell of getting away unscathed.



The Street Shootout

When the "advanced" division hit the street course, I tore myself away from The Wrecking Crews' antics to catch some last-minute finals action. And good thing that I did, because I was just in time to watch the tie-breaking, head-to-head handrail shootout between Joe Lester and Craig Edwards. This hail-mary overtime battle was called up to determine which guy was getting second place, mind you. Now, you'd think that a battle for second place might end up being a pretty ho-hum affair. Nope, not this time, dudemeyer. This was a heavy-duty, knock-down, all-in, and knock-out slugfest unlike anything I've ever seen. It was, by far, the most exciting finals that I've ever witnessed in my entire life. I didn't even care who got what. I was just stoked that a bunch of guys would skate that hard, and for that long, for the runner-up prize. Watching it all unfold was actually pretty draining, emotionally. But it was still early, and there was still heaps more to see and do.

When Glenn puts together an event, he doesn't screw around.





Nate Ives, nollie noseblunt (down the handrail) during the street finals.





This clip shows part of the tiebreaking battle for second place between Joe Lester (blue shirt) and Craig Edwards (in gray). So many tricks were landed, so fast, that there was no way in hell that I could ever film 'em fast enough.





Nate Ives again, switchstance frontside bigspin heel. Say that one ten times really fast. I had a hard enough time saying it once.





Joe Lester and his frontside bigspin.





It's hard to keep your hands off the red-knobbed joystick on the "Super Snake" costume on Halloween. Trick...? Or, treat...?






Killer had these crazy little fingerboards lying around that had their shop-deck graphics on 'em. Later, Glenn pointed out that they also have real wood decks, real bearings in the wheels, and really soft bushings for the ultimate in fingerboard turn-ability. Really?! Scroll down a bit for the product review, and the photo evidence that shows that I'm seriosuly not kidding around on this one...





Tech-Dech Uber-Seriousess.



The Video Premiere

After the contest, Glenn premiered Killers' second video, "Killer or Die". The coolest part of it was seeing Glenn- the owner of Killer- skating. And skating really, really well. You don't really see that from many skate-shop owners these days, unless it's Buddy Best or something. But even Buddy Best could never think up some of the mind-bending shit that Glenn's done over the years. It sort of reminded me of Todd Falcon's tiny-transition skills. If you don't know who Todd Falcon is, well, maybe it's time that you and your little buddies YouTube that dude. Search for his "Candyland" video, and witness the genius for yourself. Glenn's not quite that good. But he's not that far off, either. And that alone makes Killer's video well worth the measly five bucks they're charging for it. And that's not even counting the rest of the rippers that are ripping in it, too.





Post-premiere pandemonium. That's Glenn Davidson- the owner of Killer- in the red circle.




Leave No Trace

I woke up on Sunday morning after a solid 24-hour-day that ended at two in the morning Saturday night, feeling pretty damned lucky. Lucky, because I somehow survived a twenty-four-hour day of partying, skateboarding, troublemaking, and reckless mayhem. Lucky, because the day before had been such a total hoot. Lucky, because the Evansville locals are the coolest bunch of dudes you'll ever meet. Lucky, because I saved hella hotel money by crashing at Glenn and Sheena's pad. And best of all, lucky because as I woke up from my sleeping-bag slumber, I slowly began to realize that Glenn and Sheena's house had somehow been blessed with some of the softest, plushest, and thickest carpeting that I've ever felt under my tired old bones, in my entire adventure-filled, couch-crashing life. There must have been three or four carpet pads under there, and it felt absolutely fabulous. This was the high life, right here baby. And the last thing that I was gonna do was screw up this golden ticket, nuh uh...!

Listen up, kids: The best way to insure everlasting good karma on the road, is to follow the same sort of ethics that you might employ while camping, hiking, or doing anything else in the great wilderness: "Leave No Trace" of your visit. And as I wiped the sleep from my sore and tired eyes, I suddenly realized that Glenn and Sheena are, above all else, extraordinarily tidy people. Their place is nothing less than impressively immaculate. And my job, as their handy houseguest, was to make damn good and sure that it stayed that way. So I brushed my teeth, rolled on some deodorant, rolled up the sleeping bag, played with their two cats for a while, and quietly checked my tracks for filth before sliding out for the day. When I finally got back home, I found a sincerely thankful "thank-you" note from Glenn and Sheena waiting for me in my e-mail inbox. And that "come on back anytime you want" invite is the priceless Golden Ticket that makes the world go 'round for a traveling skateboarder-journalist (like me).





Sunday, October 30th, 2011, 11:10 AM: Washington, Indiana's "Blue Thunder" skatepark. One of the many American Ramp Company skateparks ("ARC Parks") littering Indiana, they're not nearly as bad as they look. That mini-ramp is actually hella solid, baby-butt smooth, and frightfully fast. Just my cup 'o tea first thing on a sleepy Sunday morning.





12:00 Noon: As I was booking across the countryside on US 50 out of Washington, toward Paoli, I noticed this dark, oily plume of smoke rising out of the fields a few miles ahead. Being so far in the middle of nowhere, I decided that it might just be prudent to take my First Aid kit and my American Red Cross training, and go check that shit out. Entering a small village, I parked my car at the end of a dead-end street, and hiked down to the calamity. When I came out of the brush, I saw that the fire department was on hand, and pretty much in control of the situation. So, I decided that it was probably best to get out of their way, find Route 50, and continue on my way to Paoli...





... but, what's this...?! A skatepark! In this little town...! How strange. Loogootee, Indiana has it's own "ARC Park", along with a total population of exactly 2,475 people (as of 2010, according to Wikipedia). That means that any town this size might have it's own little skatepark, too. The search never ends.





1:10 PM: Amber waves of grain. US 50, just east of French Lick, Indiana.





1:17 PM: Renovating a classic "Phillips 66" gas station. US 50, between French Lick and Paoli, Indiana.





1:31 PM: Paoli, Indiana's little "ARC Park". I could spend all day skating the little quarterpipe to the far right. Sometimes, I nearly do.





Scenic downtown Paoli, Indiana.





2:24 PM: Bedford, Indiana's Skatewave skatepark. When I got here, all the kids were sitting around the park like a bunch of blobs. I grabbed my board, strolled in, and asked everyone "Hey, why isn't anyone skating?!" So, they all got up and started skating. That's the power of suggestion at work, I guess.





2:34 PM: "Team Shredford" is Bedford's local skateboarding crew. Notice the "Everything Skateboarding" sticker.





3:03 PM: Rhett Skateboarding in Bloomington, Indiana. Neat little shop. Lots of local little brands on the walls, like this one:





"Lab Ratical". It looks like this shop understands that they're never gonna compete with Zumiez by selling Bakers and Deathwishes. Surviving in the biz today means that you've gotta be doing something that they're not doing, and doing it better than they are. Rhett looks like they're doing a pretty good job.





4:00 PM: Any time you're in Bloomington, it's mandatory that you stop at The Trojan Horse on the square downtown, and get Gyros and Cokes. But, it gets better! You simply can't leave until you've had...





... their famous Baklava ice cream. This is the shit, fer sure. It's well worth the drive from hours away, just to get a taste. It's also a great way of killing time before meeting up with Ryan Draper at Upper Cascades for a photo shoot. Which was the last thing that I had going on this particular Sunday. That pile of plush was beckoning, and my sleepy eyes were starting to revolt. It was time to start the long trip home.





4:50 PM: The final stop: Bloomington's Upper Cascades skatepark.





4:55 PM: Of all the times that I'd ever been to Upper Cascades, I've never, ever noticed this small, flatbar-handrail-skatepark-slab across the parking lot from the "real" skatepark. I spent a few watching this skater-dad film his kid as he learned the basics of boardslides, while I waited on Ryan to arrive.





5:15 PM: Totally worth the wait. Ryan Draper, Rooftop Skateboards owner, and spontaneous-photo-shoot-champion. Ollie noseslide down the Upper Cascades' tall hubba.

Product Review: No-Comply Fingerboards

Generally speaking, I try to shy away from reviewing anything that could be considered "hokey", "gimmicky", or "some sort of freakish novelty" here at Everything Skateboarding. So, you'll probably be asking me in just a second (or less) why in the hell I'm reviewing... of all things... a fingerboard...? Well, the reason is pretty simple: This little thing impresses the shit out of everybody that sees it. Even the most hardcore of hardcore skaters can't help but "ooooh" and "aaah" over this little bugger. I know, because they keep asking me if they can check it out. So I figured that if it's "core" enough for Indianapolis' hardcore elite, then it's probably "core" enough for everybody else, too:





If you've read my Evansville article, then you probably remember that I got this little toy at Killer's Second Anniversary party. It's cool, because it's got the same exact graphic that Killer Skatepark puts on their shop decks, right on the fingerboard. This is actually something that's available to most shops (and companies) through No Comply. If I were a skateboard company (or shop), I'd definitely be all over this shit. Because it would absolutely be the coolest promotional item ever, bar none.





Unlike most Tech Decks, this doesn't use the standard "griptape". Instead, it's covered in a thin foam that resembles (and feels like) neoprene. Which is the stuff that surfing wetsuits are made out of, if I'm not mistaken. This stuff is fairly soft, but it grips sort of like sticky rubber on your fingertips. It works, and it works great. And it's far easier on the fingers than griptape is.





No-Comply's attention to quality and detail is nothing short of amazing. This is, quite literally, a perfectly scaled-down miniature skateboard... waaaaay over-and-above the typical Tech Deck. Examples include: The laminated, 5-ply maple veneer deck that's actually pressed in a miniature little press (go figure that one out), and the lathed wheels that actually have teeny tiny little bearings in them. No, I am not shitting you one bit! There really are bearings in there! It's insane, I know. But it's also really, really impressive on some nerdy, geeky level. The bonus, of course, is that the wheels roll really, really good.

The wheels are even available in a number of styles and sizes. "Awww, man... are you serious...?!" Yup, I sure am. This Killer deck came with what they called "1993-Style Bearing-Cover Wheels"... and they do look just like the real thing. Of course, if finger-speed is your need, then you might wanna go 1995 or later with your rolling stock.





Compared to a "regular" Tech Deck, the No-Comply is a little bit wider, and a smidge longer. The nose and tail kicks are noticably mellower, while the center concave is quite a bit deeper. All in all, it looks a lot more like a "real skateboard" than the Tech Deck does. If it weren't for the neoprene-griptape-dead-giveaway, you'd probably be pretty hard pressed to discern it from the real thing in the photos.





Another comparison view, better illustrating the width of the respective boards.





I knew damn good and well that nobody was gonna believe me when I told them that the wheels had real bearings in them, so I requested (and recieved) an extra set of wheels from Todd Cuzzort, the guy that makes these little skateboards. The pen gives a sense of scale. These bearings are tiny...!

These little skateboards, and the components that they're built out of... they're all totally handmade. I almost forgot to mention that part, thanks for reminding me. Except for the trucks, which look like the "big" ones that came on Tech Deck's "old-school" series from a few years back. But besides that, the making of the decks and the wheels, and assembling them into a complete board... that's all done one little skateboard at a time.

If you're interested in seeing more of these, check out No-Comply's website at www.nocomplyfingerboards.com. Which brings me to my only two complaints. The first being that the website doesn't even do these things any sort of justice at all. It really doesn't surprise me much, considering that these things were nothing short of an absolute bitch to photograph... but still, it might be a good investment to get better photos up on the site.

Secondly: The pricing strctures on the website are all over the place, and confusing as hell. Here's what I know: I absolutely insisted on paying full price for mine at Killer, and that "full price" was fifteen bucks... sixteen and change, after tax. And because I demanded that I not get any sort of discount, I'm assuming that I actually paid full price for it. Which is pretty damned reasonable, given all of the miniature detail involved, and the fact that it'll probably last next to forever.

And it's so fucking cool. That pretty much justifies the price, all by itself.

The Better Letter Contest!

Because this is our first month back after a six-month hiatus, we didn't get any mail this month to pass along. Drag! And because getting good mail is still a bit of a challenge, we've decided to run the Better Letter Contest on a recurring basis. In hopes that we'll actually get better letters on a recurring basis...






So, how does it work? Oh, pretty easily, really. Just send a letter to everythingsk8bd@aol.com, and we'll pick the best letter of the month (maybe even yours), and send them (you) a pile of free swag. See...? It's not too taxing.

Letters will be judged on length, grammar, spelling, punctuation, entertainment and educational value... and of course, humour. As you can see, the bar has been set pretty high. Much higher than the standards we impose on our own editors, obviously.

So get creative, and get crackin' on your letter today. We'll make you glad you did.*





*Contest open to domestic US residents that can write English only. Because we're dumb, and we can only read English. And overseas shipping and handling is a stupendous wallet-raper. All prizes are as much a surprise to us as they'll be to you, so don't complain if your prize sucks ass. If we look like we know what we're doing, then maybe you should look harder next time. If you're a company that would like to sponsor this contest, please do, 'cuz we're perpetually broke around here. That doesn't mean we don't have the money to spare. We just can't find it, that's all.

Spotlight On The Skateshop Month:

If I had the chance to edit my own biography, I'd probably sum most of my skateboarding career up in two simple sentences: "That f'n jerk (that's me) was sometimes celebrated... and, oftentimes villified... for his harsh and unapologetic insights on the emerging issues of the day. Most frequently, for discussing the everyday trials and tribulations of- and reiterating his staunch and steadfast support for- the independent skateboard shop." I like those two. Because they're fair, balanced, kinda funny... and, best of all, they also honestly illustrate my personal strengths and weaknesses. Which ultimately make me exactly who and what I am.





This is Blacklist Skateshop in Lawrenceburg, Indiana. A great little shop that's run by great people. It's still there... for now. But how much longer is this species of skateboard retailer gonna stick around, given the challenges they're facing these days...?



So, the inevitable question becomes: Why am I so steadfast in my pro-indy-skateshop stance? The answer is actually quite simple: I cannot for the life of me, imagine a skateboarding world without them. Mostly because, we've never had a world without them before. Think about it: Never in all of skateboarding's history have we faced the grim prospect of the wholesale decimation of the independent retailer paradigm. Suddenly, though, this has become an industry-wide hot-button issue. Because we're watching the reality of indy skate shops going out of business unfolding all around us.





Adrenaline Zone in Louisville, Kentucky... gone...





The Board Room in Columbus, Indiana... gone...





Boards, Inc. in Richmond, an indoor skateshop and skatepark... gone...





Just Ride/Solution in Muncie, Indiana... this one's been opened up, and locked down, a few times now...





Str8 Up Skate Shop in Indianapolis, Indiana... gone...





... come to think of it, my travel binder is filled with skateshops and skateparks that "used to be there", but aren't anymore. Does anyone in this industry ever wonder what happens to the scenes and communities that used to revolve around these places...? Do they even care...?



Of course, there are plenty of pundits and experts who claim that everything is gonna be just fine. That there will be a nation of corporately-owned big-box skate retailers that will easily (and enthusiastically) fill the void left by the natural, darwinistic rooting-out of this weaker, independent species of skateshop. And that'll actually be better for us all, long-term. However, the correct answer is still that we just don't know for sure what in the world's gonna happen, until it actually happens. There may even be some unintended consequences in all of this that we won't like, and that might just do our pastime some sort of irrepairable harm. But we still won't know what those will be, until they actually transpire. The very best that we can hope for is that, by simple process of elimination, we can sort of guesstimate what might be possible, and plausible.





One thing is certain: Fewer shops will definitely mean fewer of these "event flyers" arriving in my e-mail inbox. That means "less excitement for skateboarding, globally", as IASC might put it. But if they're so quick to take action on "the blank [deck] issue" (which they also said would mean "less excitement for skateboarding, globally")... then why aren't they so quick to lend a helping hand to our struggling independent skateshops, hmm...? My guess is that they had a very clear, vested financial interest in "the blank issue", while "the skateshop issue" doesn't really hit their bottom lines all that much. After all, there's always all those Zumiezes to pick up the slack, right...?

Is that proof-positive that the collective IASC members are a bunch of fucking hypocrites...?





I'd like to see Zumiez pay for a barbecue- at their own expense- at a skatepark that doesn't even exist yet, like Matt at B2 Bikes & Boards in Seymour, Indiana does every year...





... or put together a skateboard session at a totally out-of-the-way skatepark like TOC used to do from time to time in Marshall, Illinois.



Being sort of a simple-minded guy, my concerns... of course... tend to range in the realm of the immediate, and the practical. Take this one, for example: Without independent skate shops, who's gonna pay for all those tours and demos that we, as skaters, like to attend from time to time...? "The Industry" does tend to forget that the independent retailer network makes for a mighty handy road-trip itinerary, while they also subsidize many of our industry's promotional tours. Skate shops do, after all, pay cold, hard cash to have those demos come to town, year in and year out. Then, if and when we get the "demo" question sorted out, we also have the questions of: Who's going to sponsor all those local, hometown skateboard teams...? And, who's gonna throw all of those local contests...? And fight for all of those new skateparks...? And arrange all of those "Go Skateboarding Day" events...? Thinking about it, you might realize that it could take a small army of Zumiezes to do all of the grass-roots promotion that one indy skateshop does, day in and day out. Not promoting themselves, mind you... but rather, promoting skateboarding. And unfortunately for the independents, a small army of Zumiezes (and too many other competitors) are exactly what we're facing, today.





Duane Peters (legendary pro skater) and Tim Ray (pretty excited local skater) at Ollie's Skatepark and Skateshop in Florence, Kentucky.



There's an even more important dynamic at work here, though. If we lost the independent retailers, we might also lose one of those critical intangibles that simply makes skateboarding what it is. Sort of like Independent Trucks, Thrasher Magazine, Duane Peters, or Steve Olson... these are entities who's ultimate value could never be calibrated, substantiated, or justified by the dollars-and-cents concerns of some corporate balance sheet somewhere. These are things that you, as a skater, might not support, like, or even approve of. But as skaters, we also intrinsically understand that skateboarding would still sort of suck without them. It's these things that keep skateboarding "real", when everything else around us is going straight to the toilet. These five pillars make up what I might call "Skateboarding's Unholy Pentagram", so to speak. Which probably isn't the most "politically correct" anology to use. But still, it's kinda true nevertheless.





What skateboarding giveth, skateboarding can also taketh away. Your continued support of skateboarding, then, is critical. What "used to be a skatepark": Tuhey Park, Muncie, Indiana.

It's getting sort of sickening, how many photos I have of all these "used-to-be-theres", isn't it...?.


My natural enthusiasm for the cause is tempered in many of my writings by the realization that, too often, the independent skateshops actually become agents of their own demises. There is a point in the debate where some honest and brutal observation is required, to get a complete and evenhanded perspective of the problem at hand. This was rammed home to me a few years ago when, while doing a random survey of a few hundred skateboard shops across the midwest, I came to the startling revelation that out of those 300+ shops... less than a dozen of them knew how to answer the damned telephone correctly. This, my friends and enemies, is an extremely startling factoid. And this told me, honestly and brutally, that it was high time for the skateshops to wake the hell up, and start learning how to build better, more customer-focused businesses. Put another way: To start helping themselves.




I also have quite a file folder of "shops that aren't entirely with it" (to put it mildly). Crazy, but true story: I stopped in at Rotten Robbie's Cycles in Crawfordsville, Indiana to see where the Crawfordsville Skatepark is. I was totally fucking with them, of course: I already knew damn good and well where it was. But, I do like to "mystery shop" our independent skateshops once in a while. Just to make sure they're up to snuff. Well, the guy behind the counter had no clue where in the hell the skatepark was. And this is the center of their whole skateboarding scene, for pete's sakes...! Attention all skateshops: This is mandatory knowledge we're talking about here. You need to know this shit when I show up at your door...!

I normally don't like to call out skateshops in this manner... but jeezus, when are we going to start demanding more out of our shops? And when in the hell are they gonna start delivering...?



However, that's balanced by the need for us- the community of manufacturers, brands, and the media- to wake ourselves up, and realize the indy skateshops' true importance in the far bigger picture. They also need our help to make the hardgoods-centric, independent skateboard shop a sustainable paradigm for the future. What kind of help do they need, exactly? At this juncture, I'd say any help that we can spare would be a damn good start. A few years back, I began to champion ideas like MAP/MSRP pricing structures that would, at the very least, give the independents a level playing field, and maybe even a fighting chance to make a nickel or two once in a great while for all of their investment, hard work, and dedication. Sometimes, this process compels me to ask "The Industry" difficult questions. Like, how exactly does so much "premium product" find its way into so many mass merchants, rogue e-tailers, or into every eBay and Amazon storefront owned by some clueless jackass somewhere...? It's a perpetual mystery to me how "The Industry" can claim such hopelessness over controlling their own distribution channels, but they do. And they'll constantly wring their hands and bemoan the problem, while they do virtually nothing at all to fix it. It's not just disingenuous. It's sheer hypocricy, at its very worst.





Jody Weigle, Toast teamrider, at a demo at James Dillon Skatepark in Noblesville, Indiana.





Omar Owens, backside 50-50 on the tombstone at another TOC event. This time, it's a contest at Voorhees Park in Terre Haute, Indiana.



Admittedly, here at Everything Skateboarding, we can only do very small things to advance this cause. Of course, shopping at independently-owned skateboard shops is the best place to start, and Mike Hirsch (at SoCal Skateshop) gets more of my dough than anyone I know. We also do our very best to encourage our readers to shop independently as well by giving Hirsch free ads every month, by spotlighting the very best independents that the midwest has to offer, and by promoting their homegrown events to an even wider audience. I also spend countless hours on the road, attending and covering those local events myself... while I also make the time to personally visit shop owners in their own shops, and to educate myself on the other small things that my staff and I can do, to do our part and spread the word. Of course, no matter what I- or, we- do, it'll probably never be enough. My big hope is that, between my magazine and our readership, it will all add up eventually to making a bigger difference, somewhere.





Our Public Service Announcements are so straightforward and simple, they're just shy of a sledgehammer being knocked upside your head. That's just how we roll, y'all.





Which would you rather support...? This (Mike Hirsh's fully awesome SoCal Skateshop)...? Or, some fucking lame-ass Zumiez somewhere...? Choose wisely, kids! Because the future of skateboarding depends on you, using your head...





... while here at Everything Skateboarding, we've already made our choice. We ain't stewpid.



And if everybody pitches in and does their part, I think it will.



Bud Stratford
Editor, Everything Skateboarding Magazine
www.everythingskateboardingmagazine.blogspot.com