3-27-97
Yo,
A little note from the Alva underground posse. We have been busy with production on our new line for 1997. 10 different shapes, three mold-sizes, double kick concave at any length. the shit is lookin' good!!
There is a real good Roman pool (9ft. deep, lots of vert) that is a go, right near our wherehouse in San Marcos [California]. Temecula SK8park (1/2 hour drive) is also goin off!!
Surfing in the A.M., work, then the P.M. SK8 sessions. A little raggin' in between.
Some things just don't change that easily. We are true skool and focused.
Peace, Tony Alva
p.s. We ain't up on the net yet, but a web page will be coming. In the mean time phone or fax us for more info on the boards. PH/FX (619) 591-3989 or snail mail at:
ALVA SKATEBOARDS
1404 DESCANSO AVE.,SUITE "L"
SAN MARCOS, CALIFORNIA
U.S.A. 92069
see you later
Email: inouye@pdx.oneworld.com
I'm currently working as a Program Coordinator for the local Community Education program. My four college degrees placed me into teaching for a while, but I got burned out on rebellious kids and decided to share ideas within adult education. I teach computer classes and do consulting on the side. My weekends are spent working as a ski instructor at Bogus Basin. Life is great, and time is spent with good friends.
Sure do miss my friends in southern California, but the conditions there became unbearable. The visible pollution was only the tip of the iceberg. Social conditions became violent. Los Angeles is not a healthy place to exist. While touring the Western National Parks, I drove through Boise, Idaho and was amazed at how friendly the town was. Ended up moving here two years later. Never thought I'd ever give up the ocean and surfing, but the water became so polluted that ear infections became an everyday threat.
Boise hosts a local skatepark with a huge freestyle area and a decent metal halfpipe. I've been able to spin 124 360's at our park even though the surface is rough. My personal best remains at 163. Local news puts me on once in a while as a human interest story. Can you imagine that some people find it interesting that a 47-year old still skateboards? Isn't that common nowadays?
Skateboarding has many good memories for me. The best part of any path we travel in life is the friends we meet along the way.
Time to jump in the Hot Tub before the temp drops too low. We're expecting a 12 degree temp tonight. That qualifies Hot Tubbing as an Extreme Sport. I've only had my feet frozen to the deck once. I don't stand still on the deck after getting out anymore. Just one of the many differences between California and Idaho.
Russ Howell
Email: russhowell@juno.com
Here's what I'm up to: 6' 230 lbs feeling overweight, overworked, underpaid and full of kid stuff(family responsibilities) along with being a full time webhead (database design, web config and system config) strolling along in Johnny's garden having fun in the leaves.
Been skating downhill on my "Hickey 40" sporting Seismic Trucks and getting vert with my old G&S wide ramp board. Surfing sometimes twice a month and religiously attempting to understand why Christ died and we are carrying his torch. (See the Urantia Book Society page.)
I have 6 kids and a sweet wife who loves to please me as I do her. My parents are still singing in the choir at Catholic church and one of my 6 bro's is hitting the charts in the contemporary jazz community. (See Patrick Yandall's page.)
My greatest material goal today is to get the kids out of the house with square heads on their shoulders and then going on world travel with my babe.My spiritual aspirations include finding the center of the governing domains of body and soul by spreading an intelligent social love that even Karl Marx would appreciate today. And finally, financial goals are to find a company that rewards talent and effort in proportion to productivity.
The skating community needs a good shot in the arm to bring back the joy it experienced back in the 70's. I believe the new products on the market will eventually bring back the sport that we all used to get a health kick out of. Cruising will always be a fascination of the youth. Speed with carving turns is a unique sensation that only a true downhill skater will appreciate.
Email: chris@yandall.com
Hey there ... Well, I don't lowride anymore. Been into Harley's for about 10+ years now. Got all the memoribillia from my era. All the "Skateboarder" mags, "Action Now" mags, all the early "Thrasher" mags. Speaking of "Thrasher". Kevin Thatcher came to a show up in Frisco awhile back that my band played at. We were on tour with "Alcohol Funnycar" and the "Dirt Fishermen" at the time.
Played drums in a band for probably about 12+ years. My most recent band that I was in was called, "Well Strung To Hang." Kind of a punk pop band, before there was all these type of bands doing that.
Been married for about 1 1/2 years. My wife's name is "Alethia", and we have a son named "Shey".
I have 2 longboards. One is a "Santa Monica Airlines", and the other one is a "Pine Design" ripoff. Maybe the person who is licensing "G&S" now will see this. They made a longboard with a huge Pineapple on the bottom. Hmmm ... "G&S" ... Pineapple on the bottom ... Duhhhh !!! And the person who is licensing "G&S" is a former team member of mine. I'd like to hear from others also. saladino@pacbell.net
Pineapple ...
Hey remember Lonnie's 8 wheeler I used to ride that thing! I've been thinking about making one to play around on.I used to hang out at Oxnard's concrete wave a lot and used to skate at skatercross before Oxnard's park was built. I've been skating for 25 years now and I still get out there on the ramps or go skate the local pools and go skate at Temecula's park and show all the kid's some old school tricks.
Actually it's my job and I love doing it I'm a youth pastor and in our church parking lot we built a 10 foot halfpipe,a bunch of 1/4 pipes, rails and all kinds of other stuff. my son Josh 11 Jonathan 2 and daughter Juliane 5 get out there and skate with me too.I never thought that God would use my skating to reach out and touch a generation that is really hurting, we average about a 150 kids a week who come out and skate.We have plans to build a full concrete skatepark on our church grounds. Which will be alot like the design's of the skateparks in the 70s when they where built good.With a pool, a concrete halfpipe, snakerun and a big resevior. All we are waiting for is a designer who knows how to do all the legal stuff for the city's ok. We have a basic layout, but we need some to donate their time.
Tony Alva lives in the same town and I knew that at least he was still skating I hope to get him on board with the skatepark, but he's always traveling in and out of town. Everything else in the skatepark has already been donated concrete, labor ect...hopefully we can start building soon.I was happy to see Tom Inouye on your list of celeb's I'm going to E-mail him being an old Sims pro team bro. I broke my wrist at the skatepark he used to hang out at (upland's pipeline skatepark) and I also had a cool photo that was put on the cover of wild world of skateboarding vol.6 June 1978 flying out of the pipe, it also featured the Sims team inside.
Old school rules! Sims powered Tom Fain
how you doing? I used to skate the old black knights in grade school, around '72, '73. I lived in oxnard at the time, so surfing was the first choice, but when it was flat, out came the skates. I skated hills in camarillo, wasting the clay wheels, until my gramps got me a bahne with chicago trucks and cadillacs. I was the first one at the beach with urethane wheels. What a difference. I found out that my uncle was teaching a kid named Greg Weaver math down in Escondido, so we went down there, and the rest of my life was changed. We skated pools, banks, resevoirs, anything that felt like surfing. I hung out with the dogtown crew, my mom and Jay Adams mom went to school together, and just skated everywhere.Ventura had a park in '74, but it sucked. Davey Miller and I met there. Desiree von Essen used to take me to the char bowl in s.b. Gordie Lindemann was doing g-turns and one footed 360's, Lonnie had the 8 wheeler...
Oxnard got a park, and Jack Waterman beat all the pro's. I skated all through the 80's, cruising with Strople, Wally, and Peralta. Punk hit the scene and new kids started to fuck shit up. Salba, Bulky Olsen, Duane Peters, and Alan Gelfand were the shit. alva, orton, everyone ripped. I was always there. Not as good as them, but still going for it. I learned laybacks from jay smith at marina and still do them today. I'm 36 and still looking over fences for pools, checking ditches, and trying out the indoor parks. skating is a damn good life. I could go on all day about the old day's, but I'll shut up now, go outside, and grind a curb. This is a great page, keep it up. thanks for letting me brag about who I know, but hey, i can't help who my friends are.
skate forever, Brandon Cruz