Super respect for Matt trying this. If you have ever stood atop one of these banks or in the run between them, you understand that clearing this gap is a man-sized effort. What freaks me out a bit it what happens if you make it? I’ve lost it rolling into the bowl with a ton of speed. I can only imagine…
Big Thanks to Unscene Productions for the video. Wish we could have been there to skate, surf, eat crabs and popcorn!
They grow 'em tough at Landsdowne. A fine example of a Landsdowne Local.
The legend is that the night before the grand opening, the locals set fire to the pro shop and ramp. What was left was pure skateboarding. No rules, although attempts to control the park had been made over and over, and no authority made Landsdowne the best case scenario. The park was always filled with drama. We witnessed animal sacrifices, full-scale rumbles, domestic violence, hardcore drug abuse and bat-shit antics on vehicles not meant to roll through the park. Funny to think that the skaters were the innocent ones for the most part when it came to superfluous damage. A quick look through youtube videos of Landsdowne reveals a changed scene. they patched the asphalt, made rules and the kids are going too slow. Bring back the big wheels. Bring back the aggression. Bring back the bloody departures. Change is inevitable, but not always good.
Brad Jezek avoiding the horrible asphalt by method hip air
Hesh air.
Ricky B applying necessary force to the parking block at high speed.
local.
Robbie Gangemi was always one of my favorite Boston skaters.He ripped but was pretty casual about the whole thing. He loves to skate. And that seems to be his whole motivation. Plus he is funny as shit.
On the serious tip, Robbie is an industry innovator. With a patent pending for recycled skate decks, the material and method, his company Pop Master Innovations is on the cusp of creating an eco-conscious wood manufacturing outlet with “Recycled Wood Fiber Veneer Substrate”.
check it out: popmasterinnovations.com
Robbie rode for Placid Planet/Liquid Spaceship. And he was always down for a session.
Robbie was the first guy I knew personally that was really going for street tricks on ramp. He tried this backside kickflip 100 times and couldn't get it. I told him I can't run a photo if he doesn't land it. At which point he got a serious look and just began crushing them.
The low angle makes the kickflip look huge. Considering that was shot in 1990 or so, it is actually pretty sick. Check out the guy in the background. The look on his face matches his shirt.
High to low frontside ollie at ZT's
The low angle makes the kickflip look huge. Considering that was shot in 1990 or so, it is actually pretty sick. Check out the guy in the background. The look on his face matches his shirt.
Tonight, the skate park owner’s dog, Coco, was at the park. It brought back memories of my main man Yoda. Here are a few choice shots from sessions past.
Yoda watches Pete Thompson (I think) ollie the hip at Middle School in Hampstead, NC
Stoners get stoned at aptly named Pot Springs Ditch. Yoda wasn't down with it, so he bailed.
Placid Planet Team guy and Transworld cover boy Adam Ayer sliding tail as Yoda hangs out
Robbie Gangemi uses a handicap ramp to lauch above the lens flare. If you look close, you can see Yoda chillin in the back.
Inside the Liquid Spaceship Surfshop in Boston, Yoda gets busy on a board while I assemble another
Yoda watches Pat Noonan slide in Copley Square
Does this mean if your are regular foot it is okay? Photo by Howard
Here are some of the color slides that I found on the last trip to storage. It has been fun to look through these sheets and see some of my old friends and the old haunts. Makes me wish I had shot more color. But hind sight is 20/20.
Dave Clark. Arbutus Ditch. Fun place to skate. Dave had his own thing happening.
The artist formerly known as Iward. He excelled at spots that were unskateble.
William Howard lived close to Riverside Park. He used to freak people out by going 1000 mph and doing huge airs out of the bowl onto the sidewalk.
The crew that localized the Sperm Bowl was called Team Clit. They pretty much hung out in the small corner of the snake run. Here's me doing a boneless over the tight little hip into the bowl.
Iward saw this photo and asked me to do this. He took the photo.
Somewhere in all of my stored possessions are slides from this session. Colony Aprtments in Towson, with ring leader Paul Wisniewski over the light.
I experimented with a pole cam at Chesapeake. Some results were pretty cool. I hope the good ones surface at some point. Paul Wisniewski.
Paul Wisniewski's backside air again. The helmets inthe foreground are distracting, but the 80's colors are nice.
A young buck, Bucky Lasek at Fisherman's. The coping is in the lower right, but buried in the slide mount.
Bobby Bassett? ollie to tail at Lutherville. A short lived park.
Jeff Stamper goofing off at Lutherville's mini. The park wasn't that good, but it served the Baltimore crew well. I think Barranco shot these photos.