american zero

facetown-treatboyz presents: thrill of it all


this one is in response to brian's post with two of my favorite jams as well, welcome to hell and photosynthesis, respectively. this one is definitely a major trip down memory lane. i bought the tape 13 years ago at the now defunct skateshop, Unreal, which was one of the best shops around when i still lived in jersey. this was most definitely the shop for all us f-town skaters. when this place opened up it was a total godsend, we seriously had a haggard-ass ski/snowboard shop that had the most pathetic skateboard section ever. that's right Pelican, i'm talking about you! mail-order catalogs were our only hope, for serious...anyway, i'm getting a little off track here. i think i'll dedicate the next few blogs to the good skateshops, past & present.


back to our classic jam/jem of a video. this was zero's first video and while it doesn't showcase the most amazing skating, for it's time we knew these guys on the team were fucking serious. it does showcase matt mumford's foray into all things "caveman", adrian lopez's kickflip into anything style-before it was really popular too, erik ellington as a young ragamuffin that liked to toss himself down some serious shit, and of course jamie thomas-still non-jesus at the time.


i was kind of shocked when i re-watched this video, i remember it being short but it's literally just under the twenty minute mark! there are short, quick sections for each person but there's impressive tricks in each one. most notably is the "leap of faith" that thomas tries at the end of the video. to this day it's still a fucking insane drop. i remember cutting out the sequence from my transworld magazine and posting that shit up on my wall the minute i saw it. what kid doesn't imagine being able to pull this shit off? it was and still is a completely ridiculous ollie/backside grab over a handrail down like 2 stories. aaron harrison has some steep ollies in this one as well. the slams off the trailer are enough to make you never want to try an ollie like that ever..


be on the lookout for the bum named "lynne." he's a dead ringer for "dog" the bounty hunter. who knows, maybe it was that fool!

"i astro-project.."

t.hawk

we're ringing in the new year with an oldie but a goodie. c.slater vs. asian mafia, what can be better than that?  this one goes out to my boys b.dunworth, b.solomos and b.maloney.

"hello, bolsa video?"

"nice threads, kelly."

and who can forget, officer lucero.

"i was in scarface, motherfucker..."

ps- retitled "a brothers justice, for t.v."

a storm's brewin

here's an example of an unclassy classic video part. i'd have to say my relationship with the shorty's/osiris team back in the day was nothing short of love/hate. you had to love that these guys had some serious skill but let's face it...everyone on the team was pretty much a poseur thug, peter smolik being one of the worst offenders.  i have to give it up to the guy though, his shit was always tight and he seemed like he knew how to have a good time.  

around the time this video came out it was fashionable to skate with some of the most butt-ugly shoes ever produced.  what shoe companies were the worst?  well, you guessed it, osiris was probably on the top of the list.  globe also had some ridiculously bad designs as well.

ouch...

huh?

let's not crucify these guys for having a haggard style...i can say that i owned a few pair of globe's myself (however, they were pretty fashionable and were nowhere near the D3 steez.)  so put on your favorite pair of track pants/mesh shorts and sit back and enjoy the flip-in/flip-out craze that was 1997.  


ps- be on the lookout for smolik's insane kickflip over the fence.
pss- be on the lookout for one of the worst rap songs ever...


(malone's added his 2 cents on this one.  let us not forget the terribleness that was converse cashing in on skateboarding and making some god-awful shoes.)

knights in white satin...

i know it's from another transworld video but this is just another classic. heath front/back lips everything in sight, does a tailslide down your parents banister and basically wrecks any ledge in his path.  i especially enjoi the 5-0 through the kink and the monster 50-50 on the chest high ledge.  oh, and who can forget the song? fuckin moody blues...(sidenote: this was the first karaoke song i ever sang.)

missing from this section is the insane lipslide heath attempts on a retardedly steep and tall rail.  it's in the credits of this vid and he goes for it until he eventually breaks his board.  you even get to see him punching himself in the head for giving up on it last-second.  

found it! peep 1:10, that's where the show begins.

oh christmas...

here's another classic jam from almost 10 years ago. marc johnson is one of my all-time favorite skaters. his style is so fluid and relaxed, it's just fun to watch him sesh. look out for the switch 360 flip down a little double-set, the varial-heelflip to backside nosegrind and every manual combo he throws downs.


ps- does the a-team still exist? i couldn't help but notice the shirt...

slashin for life

Hopewell Sesh from Moral Fibers on Vimeo.
thanks for the video, bri. look for my half-ass 50-50 on a 6 inch tall box. (i also enjoyed the die hard 2 clips.) big ups to the heavy hitters aka malones, j.battiato and william solomos.

y2k son!

mr. maloney posted up some amazing footage of andy reynolds and it inspired me to put up a clip from one of my favorite videos, transworld's anthology. a classic vid with even more classic footage in it, not to mention some classic lines from dyrdek.  it also features a classic skater, tom penny, who in my mind has the most amazing switch frontside flip ever.  (can i say classic some more?)


"just a switch ollie was sketchy.."
"we skated the chain numerous times before.."

mr. brian dunworth knows what i'm talking about here, we've quoted those lines so many times it's goin outta style.


ps- look for the cigarette in penny's hand when he does the switch kickflip over the chain.