My new friend Noah, who I met at StupidFest this year, sent me this video clip of me doing that same end-over to frontside fakie 360 at Zombie Baby ditch. Always fun to have stuff like this just materialize. I like this view – it shows the ditch really well.
Category: skateboarding
A New Board
I’ve had this Cockfight Skateboards deck for a few months. With the death of Frank Gardner I for some reason found myself compelled to set it up. Thanks, Frank. Seriously. I will seek to honor you with every ride on this beast.
Setup – can’t remember what they call this shape. Indy 169s, 1 thin riser, 54mm 95a OJ Nomads.
This will be a damned good board.
A Friend Has Left Us
Found out yesterday that longtime Texas skateboarder, crafter of custom Texican skateboards, and wonderful son Frank Gardner has died.
Frank is one of the many people I knew online but have not met in-person. We chatted a lot, especially when our moms were both going through dementia. Of all Frank’s accomplishments – the skating, the creativity, etc. – I will alway remember him as a son who loved his mother and was devoted to her. Frank did the really heavy lifting during those days. That kind of situation is no easy ride, and Frank handled it with love and grace. That alone made me very happy to call him friend.
After Frank’s mom died he began a new lifestyle. During the horrible Texas summer’s he’d pack up the Texicamper van and head to the cooler Pacific Northwest, where he loved skating the many excellent skateparks up there. Then he’d return home and create fantastic skateboard decks for people. He pressed his own laminate, shaped the boards, and finished them. His decks were sought-after. Fine and solid craftsmanship was inherent and obvious when you touched one. Bullet-proof.
It saddens me that our paths will not cross in the future, in some awesome and perfect drainage ditch with all our friends sessioning alongside us.
My next ride will be in memory of Frank.
A few pics
So here are a few pics … Thanks to Jeff Minx for the skateboarding shots.
Riley with his current favorite stick…
Me, landing a shove-it rock ‘n’ roll…
Me, spinning an end-over to fakie 360.
Me, spinning an end-over to fakie 360, from a slightly less flattering angle…
Thoughts on all-around boards
Years after I bought it, this 8.8″ wide 15″ wheelbase Cockfight pops still gets the job done. Obviously I have not used it constantly for the last seven years, but I always come back to it. The Ace 55 trucks fit it perfectly. It always feels super stable and while it’s a fairly large board it feels light when you pick it up and when you ride it. I put these 54mm 92a OJ wheels on it today.
This is a pretty good all-around board. It feels right in ditches and at skateparks, I can ride it for parking-lot-style freestyle. If I’m feeling particularly energetic I can do kickflips and 360 shove-its on it. The long wheelbase gives it a real nice flow. It has some inertia. I’m tall enough it frankly looks pretty good when doing footwork.
There is just something nice about being able to grab ONE BOARD when doing skating and feeling like I can do a little bit of everything on it, and feel nice and solid when going a little faster or when at a skatepark.
At great risk to myself of unintentionally joining the Cult of Andy Anderson, I have ordered some 54mm 93a Nano Cubics to try on this board with the slightly narrower Indy 159s.
