ASR is always chock-full of back-slapping, heartfelt-man-hugging, beer-swilling, crummy-band-playing skate and surf gatherings, and more often than not I find myself doing more of a cursory lap at these events before gleefully fleeing the soul-sucking convention center for much-needed fresh air.
That being said, I fully admit that last week’s 35th Anniversary party for famed Santa Cruz Skateboards was especially notable for its turnout, energy, and its impressive roster of legendary pro skaters and artists. Okay, so maybe it was even cooler cuz so many people from every possible walk of the skate industry politely lined up to buy gobs of prints and books and decks, then lined up again, waiting for up to 2 hours to shyly proffer up their memoribilia to these greats – these mavericks – who were gathered there (Thank you, NHS!).
Some of the people gracing the autograph tables that day:
Jim and Jimbo Phillips
Natas Kaupas
Jason Jessee
Steve Alba
Duane Peters
Rob Roskopp
Jeff Kendall
Bod Boyle
Eric Dressen
Richard Novak
I should have taken more pictures.
Rich Novak and Jim Phillips, Sr.
Unfortunate things that happened:
1. I got there late. My bad.
2. They ran out of the Santa Cruz 5-ply reissue deck that would have looked fantastic on my wall, especially if it was covered with lovely, personalized autographs.
3. The autograph line, which appeared to be moving relatively merrily along when I got into it clutching my favorite Jason Jessee Neptune print and 2 Jim Phillips art compilation books, seemed to forget lines are meant to go somewhere, and little progress was made for an hour and a half. Sigh.
4. And by the time it was my turn to fan out, the panel was not quite as robustly filled out as it was earlier on in the evening. As in, I did not get Jason Jessee to sign that print, argh. (Although Jim Phillips, one of the nicest guys ever, and the creator of that graphic, did me right.)
BUT, I do have a killer flick of Natas and Bod, where Bod may or may not be shamelessly throwing a righteous shaka directly at me, which I may or may not have captured with digital precision on my trusty elph. . . although out of great respect and affection for Bod and his immediate, hilarious chagrin am I inserting a more standard-issue pic here.
(Reenactment of shaka throw-down)
Surf’s up, Bod.
