Skateboard Art

After completing my custom painted deck, I have been noticing a lot of other amazing paint jobs on long and short boards alike. This post is dedicated to some impressive skateboard art. If you have pics of some rad boards, send them my way.

The Central Park Race 2009

My first longboard race in CP, and it was a doozie. Not sure of the official attendance, but i felt it was a little over a hundred riders. I went at it hard, and was exhausted by the home stretch from 72nd street on down. That monstrosity of a hill at 110th ate up my legs like they were fried chicken. The finish line was pretty disorganized, and after the top ten riders finished, no one bothered to keep the times or places of the rest of us. Based on a rough estimate of the boards there, i think i got about 30ish, which isnt too shabby in my book. For the record, since there is none, I claim 33rd place- making me the 33rd fastest and most dangerous man in New York City. Kaspar smashed the previous record, and won the 6.2 mile race in 22 minutes on an Earthwing Supercharger. Check out Earthwing’s site for more pics and a great video of some sick sliding. Here are a few great photos taken by Lesli Ford (visit her anytime at the Edge Bar onFirst Ave and Third for the longboarder special, which i just decided to invent and may or may not not really exist)

Painting My Longboard

As my quest to customize the shit out of my longboard continues, I finally finish painting my longboard deck. I had an idea about some sort of a Rat King character, and decided to go to town with some spray paint and acrylics….I was happy with the way it turned out, but needed to protect the vulnerable underside of the board….Because i laid the paint on so thick, a simple spray enamel or lacquer wouldn’t be enough. I decided to use a resin to coat the underside of my board, which worked great, except i had to do two coats and didnt really anticipate how heavy it would make my board. But fuck it, it looks crisp and professional and is different than any stock graphic I’ve ever seen, so I can’t complain. Next time I may just stick to spray paint, stencils, paint pens and some lighter lacquer.Here is how it all went down…

the dude in the green trench coat was inspired by a chalk drawing I had done a few months ago, and my homeboy Van Gogh

I got some help resonating the board from longboard pro and arts and crafts expert, my mom. Resin is serious stuff, and the only thing we were missing was a blowtorch to pop some of the bubbles in the first coat.

To check out more of my paintings and drawing, click here. And if you or anyone you know is interested in a mural, painting, or custom longboard grip tape or graphic, shoot me an email anytime.

Slide Jam Pre-game

Despite being bruised and battered from the Central Park race, I cruised down the block to Ft. Tryon for the Slidejam….I arrived and found some dudes that told me they had been shut down before they had begun, and got a few shots of some slides on the perilous trails of the Cloisters. I went for a skate around the park and found out the contest had been moved to Fort George Hill aka Snake Hill, met up with a few more heads and caravaned over. By the time we made it to the next location, the session was over. Snake Hill is perilous and highly trafficed, and apparently there jad been only a few people there. Most people headed back to the Cloisters for some more skating, but I headed home for kung-fu movies and some serious napping. Here are a few pics of the longboard slide session pre-game in the woods….for some great pics with a camera that doesn’t also double as a phone, check out the official pics at Freshpaved.

New Skatepark Being Built in Washington Heights

Forced by a crumbling economy to get creative to make a buck, I recently began printing counterfeit four dollar bills- nothing queer about that. When the authorities raided my apartment, I was fortunately out for a skate, and consequently have been forced to flee Brooklyn and head for the hills. I am currently back in Wash Heights and loving it- so many great hills to ride up here. While on a skate the other day, I was cruising  through Highbridge Park, where i came across several closed off paths with signs explicitly warning me to keep out.  Its a good thing I can’t read, and i walked into the restricted area. I came across a large construction site under the 181st St. and Amsterdam Ave on ramps to the FDR and Cross Bronx. I walked to the bottom of the hill, and followed along the FDR until I came to some Parks Dept. vehicles. A dude whistled me over to him, noticing my longboard, and told me the project they were working on was a skate park scheduled to be done by the end of the summer. I am naturally skeptical of city designed parks, but because of the location, realized it mihgt be really fucking good. Highbridge Park features Manhattan’s only mountain biking trails, complete with dirt jumps, bowls and half pipes. If you ride a bike, strap on a helmet and check this place out, its pretty ridiculous.

This skate park has been in the works for nearly a decade, but the location is great, and they finally got to digging. Check out this 2006 Power Point Presentation to see what it may look like…..

And despite the rain pouring down right now, tomorrow is scheduled to be excellent weather for the 2009 Central Park Longboard Race…I aim to get 23rd place, so don’t bother to try and stop me. See you at Columbus Circle @11:30, and I will defintely represnet the Heights at SlideFest on Sunday at Ft. Tryon….