This contest footage is amazing and apparently newly released from the BBC. Look at Buster Halterman and Darren Menditto (1:20 run!)killing it. I think this is some real important footage…Examine the year 1991! Let’s face facts vert skating at this point was in the decline that late 80′s wave that saw people like Groholski all over the mags is over. A lot of folks headed off for college since there was no real industry to earn a living from. Forgetting about that just look at the skating, you can see the trick modernisation that would come in the next year or two creeping in and the influences of people like Groholski and their emphasis on less crowd pleasing lip tricks creeping in (Bod Boyle frontside ollie to grind over the channel for instance, tough trick little point recognition I suppose, Look at Hawks run’s) Not a lot of kick turning on the invisible vert as Groholski would put it. Great stuff here it would not be soon after that a handful of skaters would start adding some mind blowing tricks to all this and the modernisation would be complete. It is great to see Team Steam’s contribution to this transition, re-vert skating, lip tricks galore…and shades of whats to come. You can write about this footage all day I guess…
Enjoy watching all this, I know I did.
PS : Dave Leroux! and look at Miller just travelling on the ramp…crazy.
You can see the results at the end of the last video…and check out the princely sums they were killing their bodies to obtain. Well done gentlemen, well done!
Thanks to Pete Furnee and his eagle eye!
444: MOOSE, TAG & BAUM: New decks for 2009
October 17, 2009
I dig the new Dharma deck design for this Darren Menditto.
New updated Flying pig motif for Tag…and
I made the entire post one big clicky so you can see all of the efforts at the folks over at Never Again and Death March. I believe these boards are limited so get em while you can.
Darren Menditto Ocean City MD 1988
Photo Bill Devlin
Hey Jason-
I stumbled across your great House of Steam blog yesterday, and probably spent a good hour just looking at a bunch of stuff (I think i initially googled Ken Salerno..an old friend of a friend…turned up some hits for your site). Definitely great to see someone in NJ made an effort to document and publish via the web the skate scene here. Some of the stuff brought back some fond memories. I was part of crew of SJ inbreds who tried to venture out and skate different ramps, etc. on the East Coast, and was always stoked when we’d get to cross paths w/ the likes of Tom G., Murph, Chuck Treece, or get to see and skate w/ some of the truly rippin’ guys from ‘up north’. Funny for example, how i know i skated the barn ramp at least once, but barely can remember being there. I do remember skating Great Adventure w/ Groholski when he invited us to skate w/ him between his ‘performances’ there (remember that? think they called it a ‘skateboard stunt show’ or some sh*t). Anyway, everyone was always cool to us, which we all appreciated.
Anyway, i came across a shot i took of Darren M. (pretty sure it’s him) I took during a few trips we got to take down to OC Maryland, probably like 88′. I just remember that ramp being slick as snot, yet all those guys ripped it without any fear. I thought i scan it and send to you for your archives/sake of posterity, since if i didn’t, it’d would sit in a box probably for another 20 years. Feel free to use or post, no need to credit photo either.
Bill Devlin Blue Ramp, NJ
I also attached a shot of me at what we always called ‘Jeff Jones’ ramp’, aka the Blue Ramp. All i know is we just showed up there one day, and whoever answered the door was kind enough to let us skate w/ no problems. That ramp still there? Back in those days finding a good skateable ramp in Jersey was like a quest for the Holy Grail sometimes.
Great site, and checked out some of your artwork, awesome stuff.
Bill D
Thanks Bill!! Great stuff. I think I will try and get together more of these emails and get them out on Fridays…keep em pouring in! (with pics!)
352: Team Steam 1987 Photo Annual
January 17, 2009
Team Steam 1987 Photo Annual created by Ben Cornish
Music Raging Lamos
Photos by:
Ben Cornish
Jason Oliva
Video by Jason Oliva
Try out:
