Netbook view

Here is the view of Luchaskate Magazine on a netbook. Embrace technology!

Fickle Ad

Memphis Skate Rock

Barrier Kult interview

Check out luchaskate on your netbook, notebook, or tablet here

Issue 5 online

Here it is, folks. Issue 5 is online for your reading pleasure.  If you'd like to buy a download or paper copy (and help us fund stickers, t-shirts etc...) go to the luchaskate.com website.

Luchaskate is always accepting submissions to the magazine and website. Email me at luchamag@yahoo.com to get in touch with me. We are adding product reviews to the ever-growing website. Get in touch with me! So stoked that this is blowing up as big as it is!!!

Please feel free to share the link for this 'zine on your own blogs, facebook pages, and websites. It is super easy to get the embed code or just put the link into facebook. You can read it directly from facebook! Oh, and stop by the luchaskate facebook and click like!

Home is Where the Heart Is Part 2

The last time I was in Russellville, Arkansas (which I consider my hometown), it left me wanting more. The awkwardly fun skate park there was still a puzzle to me. I wasn't sure how to navigate the odd half snake run. I wasn't sure what to make of the weird bank to tight transitions in the next area. I wasn't sure why there was a two foot to vert bowled end in the shallow. I didn't get it, but I wanted to master it.

Plus, there was a ditch from my youth that I so wanted to skate. There was a new ditch that looked even more fun than the old ditch. The curbs at the nearby London elementary school had been painted red. I was very interested in hitting some spots in Russellville. So, one month from my last visit, I went back.

This strangely placed loveseat is so fun to carve around

Here you can see the bank to transitions. Very awkward to get used to, but fun once you do.

This little bowl end pocket is only about 2 feet tall. Frontside carving it has eluded me, but backside is fun and easy.

I didn't get to skate the elementary school because of people and cars. Well, shit.
 
The ditches? Water in both. The skate park? I got that down on my second day this visit. I started finally putting some runs together. I still don't like how the "bowl" area dies and become dirt halfway through, but the rest of the park became flowable to me. Skate the roll in to the kicker which transfers you across to a bank then up a bank, wallie over, then either backside carve the super tight micro mini or ollie up the strange bank to step then up the other side. Ollie to 50/50 on the short ledge then down a bank to go up the bank to trannie and over the oddly placed loveseat (which turned out to be my favorite thing), then up the other bank to trannie, feeble that and call it a run. Good times.

However, the KOOK METER went off the charts this visit. I got to the park my first day to find 3 kids, late teens I'd guess, shooting off fireworks in the skatepark. Okay. This is something I could see myself doing at that age. No biggie. However, in my 1 1/2 there that day, they skated for all of 5 minutes and left their fireworks remnants lying around the park. At one point, I hit some and stopped short in the middle of a carve through the bowl. This is lame, and it is what keeps more parks from being built in towns like Russellville. I know, punk rock disrespect the authority.  But, when people in your community step up for you and work to give you a park, don't disrespect that.

The second day at the park I met up with a kid named Grant that I had met on my last visit to Russellville, and I thought I was out of the kookville blues.

Nope, I was wrong. Same kid from the day before shows up, skateboard in hand, but doesn't skate. Nope, this time he spent about 10 minutes working with a permanent marker on some graffiti. Then, finished with his little art project, he picked up his board and walked away again. Dude wins the kook award for sure.

In other news:

Two Luchaskate drop offs made. 1 to Enjoy.

Haney with his copy. Enjoy drop off.

 2 to some good folks at Kanis (which means I got to skate Kanis).

Kanis Park. I love you. I'm freakin' serious.

Only skate for about 30 minutes, but it was a great 30 minutes.

 I'm super stoked to share Luchaskate in my home state.  I've put a lot of thought on how to grow Luchaskate and I truly believe the scene in Arkansas is the first direction for expansion. I'm always met with good vibes from the folks in my home skate.

New Issue is Available!

I just dropped off mags to Hunter at Midtown Skateshop. Go buy something from Hunter and get a copy of the magazine with your purchase!

Not in Memphis? Hunter out of copies? You can buy copies and downloads from the website. I'm so stoked that people are buying this already! We've sold more copies than I had hoped already! Thanks for your support.

Don't forget the web exclusives on luchaskate.com as well. There is an article from Moscow, more pics from Skate Rock, and Jack Carlson is our Featured Skater for this issue!

Spreading Stoke!!!

Special Thanks:

Hunter at Midtown Skateshop
Lew at Fickle Skateboards

Without those two this magazine would not have gone to print!

Where the Heart is

Most of my trips back home to Russellville, Arkansas (where I attended high school, college, and briefly went to grad school) are with my son. We go to visit my parents out in the country. Sometimes we don't even make it in to town at all. He wants to be out in the open with the horses and his "Meme" and "PaPa."

This weekend I made the trip solo, and got the chance to skate and visit all my old favorite spots. Some are gone now, but I managed to find a possible new spot along the way. Other than with my son and a list of friends whom I care for very much, this is where my heart remains. It is here with my family, my town, my old skate spots...

This ditch wasn't there 10 years ago. Looks so fun!

This used to be a bank spot that went from a low of two feet up to 10 feet tall. Gritty yet fast. R.I.P.

My favorite ditch! Looks like it hasn't been hit in a looooong time.

Somebody needs some wax.

The Lot. This was the old meet up to skate spot. It still looks the same (just without the stuff to skate).

Lot 2

Another of the new ditch. I want to skate this!

Russellville Skate Park. Small but so fun!!!

This little bowl has so many possibilities! I can't wait to hit it again!

My ankle doesn't let me do stairs anymore.

Overview.

I'm planning a trip back to Russellville next month. We used to think there was nothing good to skate there. Now, I can't wait to hit it again.

new issue is started/jolly roger

First off, I've started the layout on luchaskate issue 5.  It will be available at Midtown Skateshop in Memphis in mid June. It will also be available for purchase from magcloud/luchaskate.com as a download or full glossy print.  AND you'll be able to read it on issuu (which will be embedded on the website).

So...

print (free while supplies last) at Midtown Skateshop.
print (around 5 bucks) available online at magcloud
download (like a dollar) available online at magcloud
read online without downloading (but embeddable) free online from issuu

That is a lot of different options, and I'm stoked to have them all especially Midtown Skateshop! Thanks again, Hunter!

Now, I'm also stoked to get these from Chad today:

So, anybody wanna sew that rad patch on the back of my patch/cammo/cold weather jacket? Come on, I know you want to.

Anyway, I'm stoked to learn more about these guys.

Duane Peters, Skate Rock, Me

As I mentioned in a post earlier this week, Thrasher Magazine's Skate Rock Tour came through Memphis on Wednesday, and I loved it.  To see that many top notch pros at a local spot was awesome. Heck, to see that many people at a local spot was awesome.  The skating was great, and the envelope was pushed to new levels (see video).

It seems that as they moved south toward Jackson (their next official stop) they picked up an impromptu music gig at a place in Oxford. From what I understand, things didn't go so smoothly in Oxford. In fact, there was quite a bit of online noise about the gig. Negative things have been said about both the skate/music crew coming through town, and about the Mississippi natives.

I'm not going to join up with either side on this.  I just have something I'd like to point out:

The skater in the video below is Duane Peters. His nickname is the Master of Disaster. He has fronted tons of punk bands including "The Exploding Fuck Dolls" and "U.S. Bombs." It is rumored that he is the person who first came up with the term Thrasher that was adopted both in name and theme by the magazine.

Part of me would love to see skateboarding be a squeaky clean activity that I could go out on weekends and do with my son. And, in fact, it can be just that. I think of a good friend of mine who has brought so much positive media to the local scene by being himself: a father, a skater, a caring citizen. However, we can't ignore the history of skating. Skateboarding was and is a sport for the misfit that doesn't fit in with the team mentality. It is an individual sport that smears the line between sport and art. It has reveled in a rebel image since the first young skaters were banned from riding the first skateboards. It continued through the punk rock heyday when the name Thrasher was born. It was the refuge of the small town weirdo kids in the 80's.

And finally, the rest of the world caught on that skating is amazing.

But we're still the misfits.

I'm not condoning behavior. I'm just pointing out history, and let's just say the name "Bad Shit" might just be a clue that this ain't gonna be Rodney Mullen doing a freestyle demo in short shorts and knee pads.

Holy $#!+: Skate Rock in Memphis

What a day!

I got up about 8 a.m. and headed down to Al Town where Thrasher's Skate Rock Tour was passing through today. I knew the event wouldn't start for many hours, but I haven't been around Al Town much for the last few pours of 'crete and I felt guilty.  So, I grabbed some trash bags and picked up trash while Chad did his thing to get the spot ready (and then Jenks came by to weed eat).

Then, an hour or so later, we were met up with by the guys from K.M.A. a skate rock band from Cookville, TN (also the founder of skatezine.com). What a great bunch of guys!

K.M.A.

 We skated around Al Town for a bit, then headed over to Tobey for a session before taking in a little Mexican food.

I took off for a while, and went to my kiddos parent/teacher conference.

When I got back to Al Town, all of the pros were there, and the skating was getting sick!

Chad with Frank Gerwer, a statue Chad made and a copy of Common Criminals

 Photo totally stolen from facebook.

 It isn't often a kid from small town Arkansas via Nebraska gets to session with a large group of some of the most outstanding pros. It was amazing. I kept pushing myself to skate more until finally, my body said, "No."  I started feeling weak around 4 p.m. I went to Midtown Market, got a banana and some more water. It helped enough to allow me to skate a bit more, but by the time I had to leave to pick up my son at 5:00, I was sunburned, weak, hungry and exhausted.

Today was one of the most amazing skateboard days of my life. Thanks, Thrasher Magazine!  And thank you to everyone past or present, that has worked on the D.I.Y. spot Al Town. Without the efforts of everyone, this day would not have happened. You can see some earlier pics of Al Town in the very first issue of Luchaskate.

The kiddo didn't want to come back. He had the choice of what he wanted to do because he had such a good report at parent/teacher conference, and he chose Chuck E. Cheese. So, we headed off to play games and eat pizza. Man, what an amazing day of skating. Look for a full photo report in the next issue. Lindsey was there with her camera, and she always gets some amazing shots.

D.I.Y. The book

I remember hearing online that this guy was in town to shoot some pictures.  I had just learned about Al Town and, although I was free that afternoon, I knew it would be wrong of me to go and act like Al Town was something of mine.  I still don't feel like Al Town is mine.  I haven't done enough to warrant any credit.  Given a few bucks, painted a bit, moved some rubble...but there are way too many other people who have done the work.

Okay, all that said:  this book looks pretty awesome.



Speaking of books.  I'm ready to read what stokes you for the Common Criminals Book.  Your essay just might make it into the book!  Approx 1,000 to 4,000 words on a day, a situation, a trick, a person, a session...whatever stokes you on skating!  Write it up and email it to me:  luchamag@yahoo.com

skull skates on urban rush

Ok. Watch this.  Then write an essay for the book, Common Criminals.
 Email it to me:  luchamag@yahoo.com

been a while

Here is the deal. I haven't been blogging because I've been too busy skating and working on Common Criminals the book (anthology) we have coming out just around the corner.

Write for the damn thing.

Hit up West Point, MS last weekend.

This is an old picture of me at West Point.  I've grown my beard back (thank God), and I've retired the worn out Outlaw El Bandito deck.  I'm now rocking the fickle punk point 8.5  Believe it or not...I googled West Point MS skatepark and this was the first image that popped up.  Stoked.

This week I've been really into curb/street skating. No comply tricks and slappys and kickflips etc etc etc...

fickle punk point

 

This morning started off on the wrong foot.  Yep.  That is my rear view mirror taped up.  

There is a pot hole in the middle of our street.  The city has put what looks like a plastic saw horse over it, making my street divided and, because of this, very narrow.  It is doable, until of course, somebody parks a car just in front of it.  So, the street is now too narrow in that spot.  So, as I left for the skatepark, I had to drive on the wrong side of the street to get around the car and divider.

What happens next?  Just as I make the decision to drive on the wrong side of the street, a car pulls onto the street from the opposite direction...I panic a bit and try to deep as close to the divider as possible (which would have been fine had my rear view mirror not suck out further than the body of my car).

 So, I went and rode this new fickle punk point (with Mariachi graphics) at the park until my hands hurt from the cold.  Stress relief thy name is fickle.  Notice the stocking cap on the nose of the board.

Hand prints on the top of the deck signify the hand made love that went into the deck.

sans cap.

cap where it belongs

stoke.  8.5 inch punk point. fickle skateboards.

Wet outside. Injured again. Read. Write.

Well, this winter officially hates my body. After falling on my butt and bruising my tailbone a month ago, I hung up on the coping yesterday and jacked my knee up. So, I'm almost glad it is rainy today...it takes away the temptation to skate on an injury.

So...I'm gonna chill and read the new Sharkbait 'Zine.

Get that shiz.

If you're similarly injured or held back by the rain you can always kick back with a new book by little 'ol moi.  My new book is now available on Amazon in both paperback and kindle.  Other than one poem called "Skateboarder," it isn't a skate related book, but hey, sometimes you have to venture out a little bit from your comfort zone. Choosing an Afterlife.

The poems I thought were the best over the last five years.

I'm happy to say that there are actually people buying it!  Stoked! So, what am I doing writing poetry, anyway?  Most people that know me don't know that I went to college on a creative writing scholarship.  Later, after my freshman year, I got a performance scholarship in theatre and declared that as my major, but I kept writing.  I quit writing after I became a chef, and other than writing some articles and recipes for Memphis Health and Fitness, I didn't write for years.  Until 2008 that is...well, here is the book that I made from those poems from 2008 until now.

Don't forget the other book project next year!  Write your skate essay! Get on it while the weather is bad!

Hernando Skates Fundraiser

Hernando Skates hosted an art auction Saturday night.  It was a fun evening with some good artwork by skaters and non-skaters alike.  Below are some of my favorite pieces.  I ended up buying a painting of a truck by Wrex Cook, and I was stoked to find out that the wood used as a canvas was from a ramp.  Perfect.  The fund raiser pocketed over 1,500.00 toward the Hernando Skate Park project.  I was very happy to be a part of the event both as an artist and art buyer.

Paintings by W. Cook

I donated one of my Rothko inspired big pieces

Middle painting by Jon Willingham

Glad it sold, but is it okay to admit I don't get this? Bean plant over the ocean?

Lemmy.  Forever cool.

Light switch cover?! Rad.

A little something from Ron Marion with frame by Shove-It designs

Lino block print by Charles Andy Jimmy Walker

One of Lindsey Rowland's contributions

Outlaw El Bandito Pt. 2

From the Grand Opening of the West Point, MS skatepark.

My funny faces are even funnier without the beard!  Loving this deck, y'all.

D.I.Y. Skate Co.

Chris J. of Rufus Skates is making me a new deck.  I get a text asking what size I want.  I gave him my specs (width, wheelbase etc...).  I sent him my specs and he replied, "we can do whatever you want."

I ask you this:  How many skateboard companies tell you that when you email them what you'd like in a deck?  Yeah, not too many.  That is one of the things so awesome about companies like Rufus and Fickle. Look for a review and in depth report on the process of getting a board from Rufus Skates.

What else is great about D.I.Y. Companies?  You're helping someone that is a skater continue to provide the best quality product possible.  I've been riding an Outlaw Skateboards El Bandito deck for well over a month.  I have knocked it into curbs and ledges.  It has flown out of a bowl while I bailed.  I have thrown everything I can at this board and it is still holding strong. You help a skater continue, and you get quality product.

Lucha inspired graphic on the El Bandito

Last, but not least, these guys are doing cool things.  What Luck Skateboards has the re-kruzer project.  Check it out. They are donating a board to a kid for every cruiser you buy.  How rad is that!?

What Luck Ad from the last Luchaskate.

Read Issue 2 Here

Here it is folks:

Issue 2 of Luchaskate Magazine.  Read it.  Download it.  Print it.  Embed it on your blog or website.  Email it. Share it and like it on facebook.  Spread the stoke!

Open publication - publishing - More d.i.y.

One correction in this issue: Dustin Dattilio rides for Shipwreck Skates NOT Shipyard Skates. Sorry, bro!

Outlaw El Bandito

I stopped by my house on the way to pick up the kiddo from his mom's place yesterday and found a box with this in it sitting on my porch.

Outlaw Skateboards El Bandito

Outlaw Skateboards was the first company to show support for a fledgling Luchaskate Magazine.  The first issue wasn't even out yet (it was just my blog) when Outlaws said they were down for the cause.  Now?  Now they've come out with their new deck, El Bandito.  The sizes vary from just over 8 through 8.8 and the larger sizes have a 15 inch wheelbase.

You can check them out at http://outlaw-skateboards.com/, but be forewarned (yeah, I been listening to Pentagram again tonight) the site will be down for maintenance until October 10th while Mike goes to Europe and prepares to come back and take wage war with corporate skateboarding.

Until then?  You're gonna see a lot of Lucha and El Bandito.

New Stickers

The new stickers came in yesterday.  I'm stoked on how they turned out.  Nice work by the What Luck Garage in Indiana.  Sticker sales will go toward getting this same design put on a t-shirt.  You can buy single stickers or buy more and save.

Quantities

1 sticker $1.00 USD 5 stickers $3.00 USD 10 stickers $5.00 USD

Dog Tacos: Stoked again

Hitting the local park for a daytime session is usually two things:  1.  Hotter than hell.  2.  Inspirational

One is self explanatory.  This IS Memphis, after all.  The second is also probably, to some degree, self explanatory, but I need to expand on it a little further.

You meet the raddest people during a daytime sesh.  Travelers coming to check out your park.  I met Lew from Fickle this way, and, now, I've met Terry McChesney, lifer skateboarder and author of the book, Dog Tacos.  I saw his Dog Taco shirt, and said, "I've heard of Dog Tacos.  Do you know Alberto?"  By God, we have a friend in common.  Conversation happens.  Stoked!  I got a copy of it from him, and I plan on sitting down to read it tonight.  Look for a review in the next issue of Luchaskate.  Brian Brannon of JFA wrote one of the blurbs so you know this gotta be rad.

Terry with his novel

Thanks for the stuff!

How many books have t-shirts?  Rad.