Luchaskate 6 Presale

Okay, folks. It is get the mag printed time again. This issue has an interview with the legend, David Hackett, SharkBait Brad Hayes, my first word, and Memphis skate photography by Alexander S. It is gonna be great!

So, here is the deal. You buy a print for $3.00 and you get a magazine plus stickers and the first few of you will randomly get an extra 'zine or some random strangeness. Shipping (conus) is $1.00

Subscriptions are still going to happen, but it will probably be around X-Mas time so you can give 'em as gifts or something.

The Parking Block Diaries

Please allow me to introduce you to Kyle DuVall. He is a skater and writer (like myself) who has started a blog called The Parking Block Diaries.  You may recognize his name (now spelled correctly) from the current issue of Luchaskate (#5 to continue my overuse of parentheses).

Check out his work by clicking here.

Bon Voyage!

It is time to say farewell to three people who have meant a lot to me over the last couple of years. Wrex, Kim and Mike are heading to ColoRADo for a new life in beautiful weather, surrounded by skateparks. Luchaskate wishes them all the best.

Thank you for your contributions to Memphis, Luchaskate, and my life.

Growing the .com

I've been working on the "static" site luchaskate.com every single day lately. Sometimes no real change is visible on it, but the work is being done. One of the primary goals is to get the "Branded" section up and running. When going to print from all digital, I realized that I had to take some things out of the magazine. The first thing to go was the lengthy essay. One essay could easily take up 8 pages of 'zine sized paper. The second thing that had to go was the "Get Branded" section. It was our product review section, primarily composed of products that I got flowed or I took the plunge and bought.

The Branded link on the blog is the continuation of that Get Branded section from the 'zine. I've posted a couple of older reviews from back issues, and I'm working on new reviews. I want to make luchaskate.com as all inclusive as possible of skateboarding, so you'll see that section continue to grow as the year progresses. I reviews some Spitfire wheels tonight btw.

If you haven't yet, dont forget to go to our home page and read the new issue also!

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.

Web Exclusives Password

Here it is folks, the web exclusives password. With this code you'll be able to read Moscow's essay, see Jack Carlson's cell phone footage, and see more of the pictures from skate rock. Next issue, we hope to have more exclusives (or more pages in the magazine).

Neckface stuff

The password is found on the Contents page of each new issue (and this post).
Go to luchaskate.com and hit the exclusives tab at the top of the page.
It will prompt for a password.
Type in "Lucha5" (do not use the quotes).
You are now logged in for this visit. You'll have to log in again next time you want to see them.

And now for something completely different.

What a weekend?!

Friday night we were all worried about rain, but the morning turned out great for the Push It event. Great job Kim! Unfortunately, the rain came in a couple hours in to the event and we were all forced to scatter.

Lew and the rest of the Fickle crew from Cincinnati, Ohio along with the En Joy folks didn't make it before the rain, but they did make it.  After a quick lunch we met up with the Fickle guys and En Joy at Midtown Skate Shop.

 

It was a great opportunity as Lew got to meet skate enthusiest and Lucero band member, Brian Venable. Lew, as only Lew can, told Brian about Fickle Skateboards.

When the rain stopped, the squeegee and towels came out, and then the skating started again.

And the rest of the weekend was ON FIRE!  The Fickle guys were killing it. Wrex was killing it. I nearly killed myself (just kidding, mom. Total safety first, all weekend).

Early Sunday morning. Pre-session.

Sunday brought more rippage with an appearance of Jungle out who gave us a sideways acoustic jam.

And some proper skateboarding (in a mask).

Who is that masked man!?

Posting this picture...

...because I like it.

Don't forget:  Barrier Kult Interview in the upcoming issue #5.

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.

Another Project complete

The book, Common Criminals, is being printed as I type this. Another big project completed. The book is filled with skate stories. How various skaters got started, meeting pros, first pool sessions, skating with legends and on an and on...

You can get your copy here: Common Criminals or you can get a digital copy on Amazon for just 2.99.

The cover of the new book!

The writers included are Jeff Haynes (of Jeff's Skate Page fame), Kim Cook (of the gayocean blog), Lindsey Rowland (often featured in the pages of luchaskate), myself, Kent Senatore (our lone pro skater story) etcetera etcetera.

I wrote half of this book and then included stories from other lifer skaters to round out the perspectives. They all did a wonderful job. I'm proud of how this book turned out. I can't thank them enough for their energy and time.  Pick up a copy and get stoked not only on skating, but on the people who skate as well.

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...

Have you written your story yet?

Good stuff

Somehow, it seems odd to me that I have a  friend that rips as hard as Wrex Cook. If I lived on the west coast it wouldn't seem odd, but I'm in good 'ol Memphis TN.   He gave me a copy of this video as a holiday gift, and my son made me rewind it five times.  It includes Tom Knox, Lance Mountain, Salba, Wrex...the list goes on.  Sickness.  Absolute pool skating sickness.

Speaking of sick...I'm feeling sick today.  Head cold.  I blame it on parasites.  Not really...but a couple of the guys working on Parasite, the D.I.Y. in New Orleans were in town, crashed at my place and left a trail of sneezing at this sticker in their wake.  Good times skating with stoked skaters.

Parasite sticker on my cruiser

Last, but not least, here is something I posted on the luchaskate facebook (join us...there is a link at the top of this page):

I just finished reading another skater's story. I'm stoked on reading all of your stories. Why do you love skateboarding? What is the defining skateboard moment? Is it standing in the shallow end of a pool? Is it watching a skater who's style and dedication sparks a stoke within you? Is it a session with your friends? Describe it. Spread the stoke you feel with all other skaters in the world. Common Criminals is going to be about 150 pages in length. Get your submissions in as soon as you can. Email a word doc to luchamag@yahoo.com. I have some "this is how I started skating" stories. They're rad, but be careful about sending any more of those. A few of those is enough. Yours should be more about the thrill of a moment or a defining moment after you first learned to ride so we give a huge variety of stories to the reader. Thank you to everyone! This project is going to be amazing! And yes, I may end up doing a volume 2 if the need arises.

Get your submissions in while it is cold outside!

Oh, one more thing:  A Luchaskate video is happening.  More details to come in the next issue of the mag.  Book first, video second.

Your story?

I was going to publish an old school style photocopied 'zine at the end of the year, but after thinking long and hard about it, I just don't want to do that. With over 4,000 people being exposed to the digital 'zine (issue 2 alone) that can be downloaded and printed by anyone who might want it, it seems counterproductive.

But, I do want to do another project.

I was going to write a book about skateboarding...well, in fact, I started a book a year or so ago. But that isn't exactly what I wanted to do either. I wanted more people to be involved. So, here is what I need:

Essays. The skateboard story that you need to tell. No fiction. 1st person personal essays only. This is the skate story that exemplifies the feeling you get from our sport/activity/culture.

Length: Between 1,000 and 4,000 words.
18 or older to enter.
Deadline: March 1st.
Publication date: TBD (likely in May but could be before)
Payment: Contributor copy to authors with an essay included in the book.

Legal stuff: We get all publication rights to this essay. This will be created via a p.o.d. (print on demand publisher) and available via ebook. It will not "go out of print" as it will be printed when copies are ordered. If we don't publish your essay, rights return to you. You will be informed via email whether we will use your essay. Some essays not used in the book will be published in luchaskate magazine in part or whole. You will be informed if any part of your essay will be used in luchaskate ahead of publication time. You will not get any money for your essay. This is a chance to be a part of something very cool. Skateboarders telling the world why they love skateboarding. Do it for the love of the art of skating.

More details to come.

email submissions (in ms word format) to luchamag@yahoo.com

Tips: Keep it timeless. Don't rail on the current state of skateboarding or praise the now. In ten years the now will be the past, and your piece will seem dated.

Only the best will make it to print, so write, rewrite and rewrite and rewrite again.

On the Injured List/New Issue Almost Ready

Well, I fell on my ass last week, and still can't skate.  I tried this morning, but as soon as I tried to pump transition it brought me to my knees.  Oh well, I guess I'll spend the day getting the next issue a little bit closer to publication.  It will be out next week, and it is looking good.

Here is a little something from my favorite skate movie.  Yep, showing my age:

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.