The Silverfish ASR Tour, Part 1

The Action Sports Retailers trade show is a glitzy, flashy, sexy, exciting time – the stuff of legend and the object of lusting eyes outside the green door blocking the riff-raff and general public from viewing the Shangri-la within the hallowed halls of the San Diego Convention Center.  That’s one side of it.  Others might tell you that ASR is a withering claw, grasping and gripping at the fleshy assets of manufacturers and retailers alike, as “The Big Show” seeks to remain relevant to an industry in flux.   If you’ve been reading our reports from ASR over the past few years, you probably know that we find what may seem to be diametrically opposed viewpoints to be sides of the same coin.   Once again, we’ve sent our crew behind the curtain to check it all out and report back to you.  This is the first part of what we’ve come up with.

The September edition of ASR is generally the largest gathering of manufacturers and retailers of skate, surf and related fashions on the West Coast.  As we write this, ASR’s biggest “competition” (trade shows are, after all, a business in themselves) is taking place in Florida.   That one’s called “Surf EXPO” and it’s been growing in size over the past few years.  ASR, to the contrary, has been contracting along with the mainstream skateboard market’s apparent turn for the worse.  In San Diego, many smiles were strained and virtually every mainstream skateboard company displayed a renewed focus on fashion, image and soft goods…  On the other end of the skateboard spectrum, we found more longboard-related manufacturers than ever, and that’s not even including the desperate measures taken by well over half of the “popsicle stick” companies to nail a longboard or two on the wall of their booths, even if their staff had no idea what it was.  To get you acquainted with the scene, we’ll spend the rest of this report with much less obtuse commentary and a simple photo tour.

This was our view upon entering ASR.  You might note that they’re blurry, and this is because the surge of adrenalin, testosterone and blood leaving the photographer’s skull for the trip down south gave him the shakes.  Well, that or his shutter speed was whack.  Either way, it just wouldn’t be fun if we didn’t observe that partial nudity is fairly common on Friday morning, but that rapid-fire shutter noise from cameras is generally offensive, so we just don’t do it.  This ASR had more “mini-runway” setup in the various booths of the Bikini Zone than ever.  They even had a private fashion show area, curtained off from the main floor.  A lot of bikinis.

These may be a more useful perspective:  shot from the new Press Room overlook, you can see a small portion of the 37 aisles for this ASR, and that’s not including the large skate ramp, music stage and freestyle areas.  

From the overview, it was down onto the floor.  As is typical, there were a number of “alternative skate” products on the floor, ranging from the latest update to the dual-castered foot-skates to funky Wave boards, a few different “extreme scooters”, plastic surf, skate and snowboard simulators for use on your living room carpet and etc…

Some are downright funny.  This is surfboard wax that’s molded to look like dog poop.  We scored one, along with one of the many shirts you see on the back wall.  After word got around the floor about an incident the night before ASR started, those shirts started popping up all over the floor with a particular decal stuck in the blank spot.  We heard that Big Corporate wasn’t happy.  Here’s the best thing about the wax:  every time we showed it to someone –every time—they laughed, then lifted it to their nose and sniffed it! 

Not all the big mainstream skate companies were on the floor, but the Syndrome outfit was there in Plan B format, along with several others.

Most had displays of nicely-lit skate trucks with cutting edge paintjobs on them.  Innovation comes in flavors.

Sometimes, it’s the little guys that lead.  These are the Herron skate truck.  They’re thermoplastic, come in 5 and 6” hanger widths, and weigh virtually nothing.  They’re so light, it’s just weird.  Aimed at guys needing light weight for extra air in the pool or pop on the flip, they’re reportedly able to stand up to a fair amount of grinding, too. 

Surfboards, of course, are everywhere.  This side of the show is actually growing and seems more vibrant than it was before Clark Foam imploded in a fit of hubris and greed.  If you’re a surfer, find yourself a surf-site that covers ASR and you will have more eye-candy than you can shake a dog poop-shaped bar of wax at.

It’s important to keep your energy levels up during an event like this, and it’s just plain polite to say hi to the staff.  This nice fella did his part.

“Uh, yeah, those are our longboards.  They’re perfect for skating to the liquor store and stuff.  Like for, uh, beer runs and stuff”.    Yeah.  Inspired, brohan.  Very inspired.

We’re pretty sure Jesus wore Teva.  Maybe even Keens.  Anyway, nice shoes for Big C.

It was time to get some business done, and there were the boys from Flowlab and their “Bomb Factory” project for “trucked” boards.  They’ve got a few new looks on the Flowboards, and are super-stoked over the reception people have had to the Mt. Dew video shot in the LA-area recently with their boards and a whole host of Silverfish skaters.  If you haven’t seen “The Dew Report”, jump into the Vids forum later and you’ll find a link in there for it.

Everyone’s got a mini these days, and theirs look pretty cool. 

Next, we hit Gordon and Smith/Fibreflex.  Noteworthy point:  the license that had been sold to others for the G&S name on wooden boards (as opposed to family crown jewel, Fibreflex, which has never been sold) finally expired earlier this year.  G&S wood boards are now, once again, being made by Gordon and Smith, under the guidance of Debbie Gordon and our man there on the right, Dave the Animal Anderson.

G&S wasted no time in producing some top-quality reissues.  Sized, shaped and screened to exactitude, these are so close to the originals that Dave decided to kept things real clear by indicating the newer vintage with a screened tag on each board.

So, now you know whether to hoard it or skate the hell out of it.

Doug Saladino’s got one, too and it’s beautiful.  He was around on Saturday, chillin' for pic and signing a few boards, still most chill, least arrogant, totally normal dude you’d ever meet. 

Oh, you noticed those wheels, didja?  Yeah, they’re not actually that new but the latest batch is really good, according to Dave.

Everybody’s got a mini, right?  Well, Fibreflex'es mini is the Skip Frye Perpetual Motion, and Skip came out of skateboard retirement to design this micro-pumping board.  He’s been skating the famous MB Boardwalk for miles without putting a foot down and we’re gonna try to get him together with Chris Yandall for a showdown.

The G&S wooden longboards are back, too.  Here are a few, and the new Blacktip is looking good, also.   If you’ve read the reviews of the famous 9-ply Fibreflex 45Kicktail on the ‘Fish, you know why were eager to check out the current 7-ply offering.  They’re more flexible and notably lighter. 

There’s the 7-ply version of the 45Kick.  It’s perfect for lighter skaters that enjoy some pop and flex in a long deck.  If you’re after one of the now uber-limited 9-plies…well, you’re gonna have to get on a list by calling Deb and then wait.  That’s the straight news.

Yeah, you know you wanted to see the other retro decks.  Here they are, and yes:  Dennis Martinez’ Flying Aces is skinned with black BoTuff.  Get one now or forever hold your peace.

ASR was full of popsicle stick vendors with a token longboard like the beer run boards above.  Crimson is another story, altogether.  They’ve got no shortage of street and pool cred, and they’re behind Riviera Longboards and the Paris Truck.  These guys put longboards front and center in their booth and were proud to show off boards that work. 

Riviera’s line feature Paris trucks, gnarly alternative graphics and a brand of stoke that’s reaching skaters put off by the “surf style” used and loved by many others.

Crimson decks on the wall.

Our favorite popsicle of the show.  That’s just funny.

See, they’ve got their longboards over by the flip-flop sandals.  These dudes have it all figured out.

The crew at NHS was actually pretty busy all weekend.  This was one of the few shots we got without a crowd in the way.  

Shut Skates had all kinds of cool stuff and one of the swankest vibes of the show.  Within a darkened, velvet tent, boards like this were displayed under museum lights.

Shut makes real longboards with some character.  These aren’t for beer runs, buddy, they’re for urban thrashing. 

This was one importer’s idea of a “super speed wheel for the longboarders”.  It felt like it might be 92a or so.  Faaaast.

This was another importer’s idea of a hot bikini chick to entice customers.  Wait a freakin’ second!  We know that dude!

Some people can seem so plastic…

…while others are happy.  These babes were handing out iced energy drinks and the frenzy for taurine got so intense you’d think the sponges were more interested in the juice than the delivery.  We took a minute to appreciate things.

 I’m tellin’ you, people light up when you smile at them…

 …instead of treating them like a mannequin.

 Okay, so it can be distracting. Sure, yeah, okay we admit it.

This guy had some wood he wanted to show off, but this is a family channel, after all. 

Yeah, it’s the Pool Kings crew, doing intensive research for their upcoming ad campaign.  Work, work, work… these guys were diligent.  Mike Early, Chris Yandall and Jeff Tatum.

Let’s get back to business here: the FlexDex line is looking good, with high-end boards decked out in Abec 11 urethane.

The black Pro-40 remains a bullet-proof ripper and, as you may know, we do mean “bullet proof”. 

FlexDex also has a line of “art boards” on their lexan decks.  Limited edition, and partially screened on both sides, the graphics are literally 3-dimensional and spectacular to look at.

As you can see, they’re well-built, too.  Abec 11 wheels, Randals and the best sales rep in the show.

Someone’s handing out water-print tattoos and stickers!   Hurry, hurry!

It’s time to talk trucks.  You saw the thermoplastic trucks, above, and we’re hoping that Herron comes out with the extended width trucks the inventor discussed with us.  In the meantime, there were a plethora of new trucks to see, or not see, at ASR.  The “one set” of prototype Tracker FastTracks were roaming the floor, but not for photo-purposes.  Also, on the Randal-killer front, the new GullWing Chargers were on some boards.   Those were somewhat underwhelming, to say the least, and we’ll say the least.  Randal Fuller himself has an updated design to de-fang the various killers out there, but it wasn’t available for photos.

The Bennetts were on the floor, with the much-anticipated Viper speed/carving trucks, still in the prototype form you’ve seen on the ‘Fish since we revealed them in January.  They’re actually somewhat refined as a result of testing and review by various denizens of our little online community, and are about to undergo a physical update to the proto-hangers we’ve all been using as “mules” for various bushing and kingpin setups.  The skaters at our Silverfish Outlaw rode the Vipers with some new bushings on Friday night.

We have to tell you, this was the newest of the new when we shot this photo, and it’s one reason the Viper project is on the slow-burner:  the 6” Vector truck was a special request from one Michael Bream.  Prototypes were modded out of the 5.0 hangers with longer axles and some spacers, but this is one of a few hand-cast, final castings of the “real” 6.0 Vector and none of them had been mounted or skated as of Friday.  That changed Friday night and many skaters got a chance to rip Banana Bay with these on a GS32.  Based on the feedback the Bennetts received, we predict these will come to market very, very quickly.  This wide Vector is more stable than a 4.3 or 5.0, and yet still turns deep on the high-rebound Bennett urethane bushings.

On the subject of trucks, that’s the hands of the maker on those new Paris 180’s you see there.   “Parisrising” in the ‘Fish forums, Joey has nothing but stoke for the ‘Fishheads that have been providing input, review, critiques and feedback on their trucks.  He wants you to know, “the 6-hole base plates are coming, I swear!”  Heh, heh!!  Toldja in January, Joey…  Oh, say, do you notice the unique finish on that 180?  Yep it’s an OEM masterpiece for Never Summer.

Never Summer, you say?  Indeed:  the upstart longboard company with miles of snowboard cred and technical expertise were at their first ASR.   Full of stoke, eager to meet retailers and fellow manufacturers alike, these guys have new product, too. 

New decks.  Full P-Tex rails, all the way around the board and don’t even be asking for this board yet: it’s not coming off the production line until November. 

Neither is this one.  However, we think you should begin sending an email asking about these decks, once an hour, exactly on November 1^st.  Ho ho!  In the meantime, wait a week or so, and ask in the forums.  Malakai Kingston will have the story on these decks for you.

Here’s another look at those Paris 180’s that, as of now, come on all Never Summer decks that use a 180… narrower boards use Paris 150’s.  Now, this swankadelic print on the hangers is coming to boards near you in November, but the NS 72mm wheel is out in the new colors, right now.  That’s the same as the black-cored, trans-red wheels you’ve seen before, but in orange…

…and green and blue.

On the subject of wheels, the Skubs Bros. have branched out beyond the OEM-level Krypto wheels and now insert their blingin’ spinners into performance wheels, too.  They’ve got new designs and a careful eye to details.

Kahuna boards were at the show, ready to show off some fun ideas, some updated and upgraded boards and one heck of a quiver.

That’s Kahuna Steve himself, with the Big Stick.  It’s basically a longboard oar: inspired by the standup paddling done in the ocean by longboarders, it enables skaters to paddle along for long distances.  Just like in the water, you swap sides to paddle left, then right, then left…and it’s both fast and fun on the flats.

Kahuna’s got a lot of beautiful new boards, most with volcanic sand grip and all now featuring Randal trucks instead of the Exkates used up to now. 

It’s hard to walk by an LBL pin, and when a smiling blonde has it…well, we stopped.  The “Bahgaa” is a sling for when you’ve got to tote the board instead of skating it.  Based on the snow- and surf-board slings they also make, this one has a grippy and tear resistant interior that grabs onto boards securely, even though they’re just hanging there.  Larry’s board was in there securely when we tested it.

Did we mention the new Bennett Alligator wheels?  Well, here they are:  “solid green” in 78a, red in 81a and yellow in 84a.  They come in both the 62mm and 71mm sizes and the original, bottle-green wheels are still available, too.   We skated the green and red 71’s on Friday night and predict good things for the Bennetts’ wheel program.

Mike Mahoney is always looking to push the performance envelope on his Honey Longboards.  Don’t be fooled by all the fine woodwork:  these decks are about as technically advanced inside as wood ply boards can be and now come mounted on Paris trucks and your selection of wheels.  Here, Brian Bennett and Mike give us a grin while discussing the 71mm Alligators you see there on the AMP series Honey.

That’s enough for now.  In our next report, we’ll tell you about the epic Silverfish Outlaw session at Banana Bay, the frivolity and excitement at GFH Boards,  Landyachtz, the reborn Exkate companies and show you some cool stuff from around the show, including something new from the boys at Ladera Longboards, the second coming of Comet, San Diego Speed’s latest, Triple8’s badass new slide glove system and a wheel you were never, ever supposed to see.

In the meantime, do us all a favor:  Go Skate!