The 5 W's - Who?

Drake Jones

2007-07-20T08:15:00.001-07:00

Exlusive and elusive.

Drake Jones was one of the finer things to appear during the the 90's. After a brief stint at real Skateboards and much critical acclaim, Drake disappeared and recently resurfaced over at Black Box Distribution of all places...

Mike Carroll

2007-07-09T14:19:00.001-07:00

If ever there was an Al Pacino-esque Godfather of street skating, it would have to be Mike Carroll.

Ever since his early days, Mike stamped his authority on each and every spot he skated. Nonchalance and grit are two traits that earned MC all the respect in the school yard and notable Skater of the Year back in 1994.

Kids kickflip and twist their way to stardom, but the real magic happens when Mikey threads a line together. And any good street skater knows that lines define those who will stand the test of time*

*Sorry to sound gay...

Ryan Sheckler

2007-06-29T04:15:00.001-07:00

Hate him or Love him, the Shexxx skateboarding's coverboy for the new millenium.

Ryan shot into the limelight thanks to his skills as a little squirt. In a sugar-coated weird way, the half-pint size kid grabbed the attention of the masses. In a cleverly orchestrated collaboration with World (a long shot from it's initial concept World industries), Shexxx hit the mainstream and started his road to glory by collecting trophys and medals at all the major Extreme events.

Sheckler is a money machine, so ego and advice from family members and fellow professionals now see Shexxx living a comfortable life that generates more hate and envy among the core element of skateboarding.

In any case, Shexxx definitely has the skills to pay the bills, and is laughing all the way to the bank.

Kale Sandridge

2007-05-26T03:11:00.000-07:00

Kale Sandridge is unique. I sometimes I think we should be thankful...

Never before have I seen a skater attack unskateable transitions with such fervour. Born and raised in Hawaii, Kale is a nomad pool rider that has represented the island's OG skate company, Natural Koncept, since day one.

Somewhere out there you can find footage of Kale killing it against an already mature and world famous Christian Hosoi. No major sponsors, no Hi-Def paparazzi peanut gallery, just Kale Vs. Christ in a gnarly 10 foot pool.

Ricky Oyola

2007-03-26T08:35:00.000-07:00

If there is one person that embodies skating in the city, it's Ricky Oyola.

During a period when skateboarding was seeing most of it's limits pushed in the sun bmeached schoolyards of Southern California, Ricky Oyola and few of his pals cracked heads when they put Philadelphia on the map. Philly boasted a haven for street skating with Love Park, but Ricky isn't happy skating one spot. No.

Ricky led the grimy inner city youth by literally charging the streets of the city of Brotherly Love. Racing through midtown traffic and assaulting poles and access ramps at mach 10.

Single-handedly, Ricky Oyola pushes the envelope when it comes to actually skating in the street. It's no surprise to find Ricky operating a skate company out of his hometown called Traffic Skateboards, hitching cars, bombing hills and running red lights.

Josh Kasper

2007-03-11T11:27:00.000-07:00

Josh Kasper dreamt of rolling into a demo on a Harley Davidson, parking the hog atop a pyramid, launching a benihana over it whilst beaming a kid in the crowd and dedicating his move to the youth.

A dream like that is pretty unique, and it takes a certain kind of skater to think such a scenario up. Skateboarding couldn't help but notice Josh because his antics had skaters rubber necking all around the globe. To get noticed, Josh played it simple by making a name for himself as the kid who ollies the biggest shit. 20 stairs, 15 foot drops, famous gaps... Josh flew it all.

It was only a couple of years after his heroic arrival on the scene that things went pear shaped and his real bag of tricks and dubious past was revealed. To put it bluntly, Josh had about three tricks in total- The 360 flip, the benihana and the heelflip, and he used to rollerblade.

That later truth sent Josh's career spiralling downwards and the loyal support from his adament fans, the Kasperholics, took a beating.

Josh has since left the limelight, but still enjoys the odd roll around. He doesn't seem the least bit fazed about his shady ascent to fame and even openly admits to having enjoyed being a rollerblader. Big Brother magazine celebrated skateboarding's disgraced daredevil by posting him on the cover of their Worst Issue Ever!

Lavar McBride

2007-02-20T01:20:00.000-08:00

Lavar McBride has the skills to pay the bills.

Prepped as the first of a new wave of kids killing everything in their path, Lavar rode onto the scene and skated gaps, ledges, banks... The whole Nine switch and regular with mad style. Making a debut under the Stereo banner all those years ago, it wasn't long before the academy of cool that was World Industries and it's affiliate companies scooped up the prodigal youngster and turned him pro at the tender age of 14 for Blind.

For the next few years, Lavar maintained legendary status keeping a good two steps ahead of the game, but as always with the brightest stars, things started to burn out and Lavar lost track a bit. Lavar has been out of the game for a while now, but his legacy remains.

Shit was tight!

The Muska

2007-02-13T13:09:00.000-08:00

Chad Muska is a legend.

I remember reading an old article in TWS about an SMA tour to Las Vegas, and the guy who wrote couldn't believe this kid they met, a local named Chad. Chad killed it at each and every spot the pros went to the extent that he managed to get a few photos in the mag and his first major sponsor.

Fast forward a bit and sure enough the Muska resurfaces and creates a tidal wave of approval from sponsors and fans alike. For a couple of years, The Muska was selling more boards than anyone else, touring the world, claiming last parts in the top-selling videos and coverage in every magazine. It was the golden years for the young buck from nowhereville.

In true rock 'n' roll fashion, Chad lost the plot a bit and fell off the map so to speak. Boom boxes, getting chased down the street by German fans, dating Paris Hilton, producing an album- Muskabeatz- with some of Hip-Hop's greatest rappers over one week in a hotel suite, skating in Burberry gear... The only person ever to come close to that sort of notoriety was Christian Hosoi, but every generation has their rock star and we've got Chad. It's good to see Chad has regained focus on the one thing that started the wild ride- skateboarding.

Gabriel Rodriguez

2007-02-06T05:08:00.000-08:00

Ahhh... Gabriel Rodriguez- where art thou?

If somebody pushed the envelope on the maxim "Quality over quantity", I think Gabriel takes the crown. Despite bursting onto the the scene in Powell Peralta's Ban This, in what can best be described as a second serving of the fantastic Rubber boys, Gabriel failed to follow through with anything more than 30 seconds of footage. Picked to ride for 101, Steve Rocco's most exclusive sub-company, nothing divulged from such a prime position. Maybe Gabriel missed the bus to each session..? After the demise of 101, Gabriel became a founding member of Girl's brotha from a different mother- Chocolate Skateboards, and thankfully, just in time for retirement, managed to pull out all the stops and muster up a couple of minutes of suave skateboarding for the curtains part of Las Nueves Vidas de Paco.

If anything, Gabriel will be remembered for his perfect fakie 5-0's and my favourite graphics of all time (Artwork- Andy Jenkins, Art director- Natas Kaupas).

Youssef

2007-02-02T13:56:00.000-08:00

Youssef is a true skateboarder.

This is a Youssef messing around with the kids at their local park in Brussels. When Youssef isn't getting his skate on somewhere in or out of town, he's teaching the next generation about it. Youssef is down for skateboarding 100% but he doesn't need a sponsor or a company tattoo to remind him.

Youssef is the amateur team of Project Rad. But he doesn't know it.

John Cardiel

2007-02-01T09:14:00.000-08:00

John Cardiel is an inspiration to us all.

My first time I saw John he was saluting the devil beneath a Slayer poster. The intensity in his eyes was only a spark of the fire that his skateboarding blazed.

John suffered a severe back injury that SHOULD have left him in a wheelchair. One year later, John was back on his board.

Watch John here.