by The Editors on March 23, 2009
For the latest in our series The Tony Hawk of we present Javas McMillion of Fergus, Ontario, Canada. He is the Tony Hawk of Fingerboarding, according to a story in The Record.
Fingerboarding is precisely what it sounds like — skateboarding with your fingers — and Javas is Ontario’s fingerboarding equivalent of Tony Hawk. Call him Tiny Hawk. . . “You can do anything you could do on a real skateboard except it’s, like, miniature,” explains Javas, a Fergus kid who’s “almost 13” and something of a local fingerboarding guru.
Indeed. And it might even be cooler than pizza flipping.
[Link: The Record]
by The Editors on March 23, 2009
Lewis Smith, 45, of Orange City, Florida got so mad at the kids who were skateboarding on some ramps near his house that he burned them down, according to a story on WFTV.com.
The sheriff’s office says the man put the neighborhood near Orange City in danger and forced the county to divert firefighters already battling huge brush fires. The man admit he set the skateboard ramps on fire in the middle of this dirt road on 17th Street (see map), near Orange City, because he was fed up with kids playing on them so close to his home. . . Lewis Smith, 45, was booked into the Volusia County jail, but released Monday morning. He’s charged with criminal mischief, but Volusia County sheriff’s investigators said the minor damage he caused could’ve been far worse.
And we thought the Tampa Pro was the hottest skate event going on in Florida last weekend.
[Link: WFTV.com and Orlando Sentinel]
by The Editors on March 22, 2009
Everyone watched it live and in HD on Fuel TV, but we’re still putting it up just for history sake. Greg Lutzka (click here for profile) wins it. If you missed the finals, or just want to watch it for a second (or third time) it’s already up on Fuel TV. This is how we like to watch skate contests. . . seriously.
Javier Nunez pulls off the Tampa Pro best trick with a nollie half cab heellflip to switch 5-0.
Follow the jump for the full results.
[Link: Skate Park of Tampa]
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by The Editors on March 20, 2009
by The Editors on March 18, 2009
Hitwise, a web metrics company that tracks the web use of 25 million Internet users world-wide, has answered a question many have been asking lately: which skateboarding website has the most traffic? (Click the graphic to see it full sized)
Since Vans entire website shouldn’t technically be listed as a skateboarding site when they are in so many markets (music for instance), we’ll pull them off the top of the list and that leaves us with The Berrics. Based on Hitwise metrics it appears that the Berrics got 9.12 percent of all skateboarding traffic on the Internet for the week ending March 7, 2009. Yes, it was the Battle at the Berrics finals week, but they are so far ahead that we’re not so sure that matters all that much.
Where did the skateboard media sites end up? Well, Transworld Skateboarding finished just ahead of Concrete Disciples Skateboarding by .19 percent with 2.88 percent at number 9 (8 not counting Vans. 7 not counting DC Shoes for the same reasons as Vans). No one else was even in the top 10.
For the rankings of the rest of the skateboard media sites we had to go to Comscore. The list below is the number of unique visitors to each site for the month of January 2009. Please note that this list is not the top eight skateboarding sites, but simply the unique visitor numbers for the media sites we requested.
- Theberrics.com – 83,000
- Skateboarding.transworld.net – 65,000
- Skateboardcity.com – 42,000
- Skateboard.com – 29,000
- Thrashermagazine.com – 29,000
- Skateboardermag.com – 21,000
The numbers obviously don’t line up that well with the percentages listed by Hitwise, nor with the numbers these media outlets are promoting to advertisers. But that doesn’t mean everyone is lying.
Because of the relatively small size of traffic relating to skateboarding on the web, it is difficult for all of the metrics providers to perfectly nail traffic numbers, but for comparison sake, we believe the numbers are at least representative of the sites’ rankings.
Where does Slapmagazine.com line up in all this? They are not listed by Comscore and we only had access to the top 10 places on the Hitwise skateboarding list.
It appears that according to Hitwise and Comscore metrics TheBerrics.com is officially kicking ass even if there is no real way to figure out exactly how much of a beating the established skate media is getting.
by The Editors on March 17, 2009
by The Editors on March 17, 2009
If someone mentioned Laguna Beach, California and nuclear pickle in the same sentence a skateboard would be the last thing we’d think off. But that’s the name lifelong skateboarder Eric Kirkland chose for his new tool-free longboard.
The Nuclear Pickle, which may be marketed as the Long Woody by the time it hits shelves, enables three-way wheel adjustment via a control knob which eliminates discomfort and injuries caused by carrying an external tool, deeper carving, and improved board control via axles that rotate further for a better turning radius. . . . Kirkland plans to sell his product in big-box sporting good stores including Dicks Sporting Goods, Sport Chalet, and Costco Online, where it will retail for less than $200.
Kirkland appears to be going for some kind of world record in cock references: Get your tool-less, Nuclear Pickle, Long Woody with control knob, at Dick’s.
[Link: Coastline Pilot]
by The Editors on March 17, 2009
An unnamed man was arrested at Ball State University today on suspicion of resisting law enforcement and disorderly conduct when he decided not to “stop skateboarding” when a police officer asked him to.
Police said the man, whose name they would not release at the arrest scene, was skateboarding on campus near the Scramble Light when an officer warned him to stop. The man ignored the officer, who then chased him to the top of the steps outside the northwest entrance to the Music Instruction Building, police said.
And for this, the guy was thrown in jail. We continue to be amazed that police officers don’t have better things to do. Then again, if you had the choice between arresting a skinny kid on a skateboard or a 250 pound armed drug dealer who would you go after?
[Link: BSU Daily News]
by The Editors on March 17, 2009
Will Greg Lutzka repeat as the winner of the Tampa Pro? Do you care? If you do, this is a reminder to tune into FUEL.TV from 9 AM to 3 PM PST on Sunday March 22, 2009 for total live webcast coverage in full high def.
[Link: Fuel TV]
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by The Editors on March 17, 2009
There has been nothing but bad news for newspapers lately and that’s why graphic designer Geoff McFetridge says he wanted to do one himself. It’s called The California Solitary Times.
With other newspapers going out of business, we thought it might be good for us to come out with our own 4 pager called The California Solitary Times. . . You’ll be able to pick them up at our fine selection of retailers as well as other locations worldwide shortly.
To read the entire paper (featuring a cover shot by Tobin Yelland) click here.
[Link: Solitary Arts via Club Mumble]
For the latest in our series The Tony Hawk of we present Javas McMillion of Fergus, Ontario, Canada. He is the Tony Hawk of Fingerboarding, according to a story in The Record.
