Part Two:  Photo Tour

The January 2007 ASR offered the typical sights and sounds –rows of incredible surfboards, gnarly skatekids, wackiness at the Volcom booth, bikini models on elevated runways, bins of iced energy drinks, massive shoe displays, an Oakley booth the size of some sunglass stores, competing stereo systems, etc…-- and we you’re just gonna have to imagine most of that, if you care to.  It also included displays of some sweet longboards, some old favorites returned, various wacky ideas and skaters roaming the halls.

When it’s all over, we have more photos than we know what to do with, many of which have already been dumped unceremoniously into our latest ASR Photo Gallery.  There’s enough there to get the look and feel of the show but, since there’s always a question or two about stuff, and we do occasionally find unused shots in the dusty corners of the data chips for the cameras, we’ve got some set out for you here.   So, dive in:  following is a random selection of captioned photos from the January, 2007 ASR.

This guy makes boards out of plastic that’s slippery enough to make any floor surface your canvas to paint style and gyration upon.  Kick flip, pump, spin, whatever.  He had enough stoke for the two of us, but it didn’t rub off.

Take a cooler and stuff a 500 watt motor and some running gear into it.  Wait, put a 39cc gas motor, baby!!  These things will support 300+ lbs of rider, along with 24 bottles of Stone Pale Ale, and will roll along at 15mph.   We want one, or two.

Jim Bell’s ramp was the scene of great skating all weekend.  This is what it looked like 10 minutes after ASR opened, and might be the only time it was empty like this.

Almost forgot…see that area to the right, the one without a line of people.  Ah, the only way to fly.  They treat us like suspected criminals, but we get in fast.

“Grind for Life” is a skater-based charity that raises money to support people (skater or not) that run a little short on expenses and emotional support when faced with cancer and all that can mean.  The items below were on display, and later auctioned on eBay to raise funds for the cause.

Dave Hackett’s art board

Olson’s furry board.

Okay, that’s a G&S Blacktip.   Right behind it…something we haven’t mentioned due to a little incident with beer and a datachip, but that’s a Fibreflex 44Pin with concave.   Yep.  Contact Debbie at Fibreflex for info on that one.

That’s Dennis Martinez, with his Flying Aces reissue, wondering, “does that kook know his reflection will be in the board?”  

Honey Skateboards had this “slalom cruiser” proto board in the booth.  The deck is slightly cambered, nicely concaved and beautiful.  As a garage-bomber, it was a popular ride at the ‘Fish ASR Session, exactly as is with Seismic Hot Spots and Randals.   Nice ride!

This 44” kicktailed board looks sweet, and rides sweeter.  This is another Honey longboard that owner Mike Mahoney brought out to the ASR Session, and it was skated heavily by many.    

‘nuff said?    It’s a line of clothes…hats, shirts, etc.

Vans, reaching out to the biker crowd.   Slip ons are what the in-crowd at the Rock Store are wearing this year.

This might be the gnarliest of the grip tape jobs we’ve seen from MechGrip.  4 colors of tape, perfectly cut and totally bonded—no separation at the seams.  Cool stuff.

This is the Monster Fish, an obscene version of Skate Design’s Stinger mini boards.  Like the Stinger, it’s got concave and a great feel underfoot.  

These are “Toes on the Nose” boards, featuring the unmarked Randal knock-offs from China that the “Urban Blues” are made from.   The parent company for the boards is Roller Derby.

There’s another view of the Bike Board.

“Plan B” longboards?  Well, they don’t say Plan B, but that’s who’s makin’ em.

These you gotta check out:  mini-skateboards that attach to shoes with a cleat.  Then, you skate ‘em.  Get to class, click them off and toss the mini boards in your bag.   The biggest deal?  Those perfectly-polished mini trucks work, and work really well!  The bushings are soft and the trucks are awesome. 

A rotten picture of a beautiful oak and purpleheart board at the Soul Ryde booth.  Laser etched art on a nice deck.

Spunky!

Uber-old Hobie, nailed to the wall.  Clay wheels, stamped trucks, all NOS…

Hey, there’s a photo of the concaved Fibreflex Pin!  Hey, what exactly were you focusing on?

It’s 9am and they’re already ripped to the gills on taurine and vitamin B12. 

Two versions of the Bennetts’ speed truck protos.  The one on the left is an older version, on a newer, 60-degree baseplate.  The other two are newer versions, and all of them sport the new, urethane bushings.  More of these photos in the gallery, if you’re interested.

Oh, okay: here’s another view of the darn things.  They’ll be on the market by summer. 

One of the Riviera completes, with the Paris Trucks on them.

Sire, out of Huntington Beach…

Hamboards, out of Huntington Beach…

That’s it.  See you in the forums or on the street!