R.I.P- Dead Skaters part 2/2
The list of gone rippers continues from part 1. Those guys stepped off the board forever.
R.I.P shredders
8. Joe Lopez born ??.??.????; died March ??, 2002
Boom, "Circle A" in your fucking face. To be sponsored by this company back in the 80`s made a statement. Little hint for the not knowers: What kind of simbol do you get, when you draw an "A" and then you circle it. Yes it is the Anarchy symbol.
I reckon everybody got the message as we got it right away. So check out this punkish stalefish.
Joe Lopez then rode for "Schmitt Stix" where he had one of the most memorable graphics from the late 80`s. The "BBQ".
For the BBQ you need a good sauce so here we go.....
After that the 80`s vanished and the street skating 90`s started. We couldn`t have cared less, cause we were busy learning all the new shit, being invented on a daily base. The 90`s became history aswell, internet started to kick in and then I found this post from 2002 on the TWS site. I started to remember and felt sad.....
TWS Info:
80s pro killed in auto accident.
In the early 80s, when
skateboarding was just beginning to climb back into the public eye, the
sport survived thanks to a handful of quality vert ramps and sporadic
backyard pools. Street skating was emerging as a style in its own right,
the focus was on vert, and the few remaining skateparks were on their
way out. So skaters who wanted to have a regular place to ride were
forced to build their own.In the San Francisco East Bay community of San Leandro, Joe Lopes became well known for his family’s amazing twenty-foot-wide vert ramp (large at the time), his ballsy skate style, and infectiously fun personality. Joe was a character, loved having friends over for rampside barbeques, and even hosted the first backyard pro jam-format contest–Joe’s Ramp Jam–in 1983.
As skateboarding grew through the 80s, Joe found himself on the infamous Schmitt Stix team with a signature board and a sponsor that sent him to skate other amazing ramps all over the world. He also rode for Venture Trucks, Speed Wheels, Op, and Rector.
Even though skateboarding itself outgrew Joe’s rampyard (it literally covered every square inch between the fence and his garage, and the crawlspace under the deck was filled with a mini ramp), he built the sport a venue at a critical time in our history, and contributed his own brilliant hue to skateboarding’s colorful collective personality.
In March Joe was killed in an auto accident, leaving a wife and five children. He didn’t have life insurance, and Joe’s friends and many former sponsors have stepped up to help build a trust fund for Joe’s kids. Companies and individuals are encouraged to help a family who supported skateboarding when our sport needed it most, and donations in any amount are appreciated and are tax-deductible.
Donations can be sent to Central Sierra Bank and directed to the following account:
Rick Lopes FBO Joe Lopes
Account Number: 07-111487-21
Mailing Instructions:
Central Sierra Bank
3505 Spangler Lane, Suite 300
Copperopolis, California 95228
ATTN: Joe Lopes Fund Wiring Instructions:
RT Number 12-11387-41
Central Sierra Bank
373 West Charles Street
San Andreas, California 95249
9. Harold Hunter born April 2nd, 1974; died February 17th, 2006
New York City, 90`s, real hip hop, Brooklyn banks, Zoo York being legit as fuck. Those were the days, when Harold Hunter was in his prime. If you haven`t lived in NYC in the late 80`s early 90`s you never heard of him until the Underworld Element video "Skypager dropped in 1992. That was some serious shit. NYC rough night skating. This city really never sleeps.
Another video part that was really deep down underground. After Underworld, Harold moved on to New York based ZOO York and that was`nt the fashion thing it would be years later. Zoo York represented New York City urban skating to it`s fullest. Kind of a logical step after Underworld got transformed into the company with less taste for a graffiti wall.
Brooklyn banks and and NYC skating was the shit back then, which is mostly covered in pics and less video. There was a Brooklyn Banks contest in 1993, where Harold won best trick with a sw bs 180 kickflip over the wall (before the city built the fence). Some footage of this event made it to 411 s 1st issue. You`ll get a good grib what NYC was back then. Hard skating, tagging, smashing rats and bums. That was fucking real.
Zoo York released
their vid "Mix Tape" in the mid 90`s and it contained a very solid
Harold part. This time he was even skating in day light, but you got the
whole "Skypager" package: Hip Hop, ghetto blasters, pagers, strictly
New York street skating and even Method Man gives the flowing rhymes for
the skating.
New York was the shit by the mid 90`s and Harold was one of the leading figures to portray this unique scene. He even made it into a movie by more or less being himself. you guys out there with a bit of skate trivia knowledge know what I mean, any other- go a check the mighty web.
Harold Hunter was by any means one of the persons who put New York skating on the map and that is his contribution and kind of legacy he left behind after he died from an overdose cocaine
10. Shane Cross born August 22nd, 1986; died March 7th, 2007
This one here is a double hard one. First off is that he died with age 19. Reason of death was a motorcycle ride he had with a drunk team mate. Well, the driver lost control, they crashed and Shane was dead, while his team mate was left crippled for a period of time and in jail. Not a happy ending for two human beings.
Well, Shane was highly skilled on the board which you`ll propably`ve seen already, but now we have to go to the second hard strike and it is his only ever video part from mighty "Flip". To be honest- I quote the words of Dan Watson from Youwillsoon:
"This kid was really really good at skateboarding. It's a damn shame that
he had to die in such a senseless manner. Also a damn shame is that
they took what will basically be his only section ever and ruin it by
putting a bunch of lame animation over it like sloths riding his
shoulders in lines, and flowers shooting out of his boards as he grinds
rails and shit. Seriously who the fuck could possibly think that ruining
this kid's footage was a good idea? This actually shocked me."
But decide for yourself, here is Shane`s only ever video part:
Ahh yeah and he got a posthumous cover aswell- WTF you sloths at the real mags. Have ya seen the shit he made down the El Toro handrail?! Well, heavy slept on again- like Keenan!!!!
11. Ben Pappas born May 13th, 1978; died March 11th, 2007
Ben Pappas from Australia came to the states and got on New Deal. His less then 1 minute part was rad as fuck. Word has been: Who is this unknown kid destroying it? WTF he can do no handed kickflips on vert? Have a look for yourself and remeber this was 1994 and skateboarding, espacially vert was dead.
If you say, that this wasn`t a good part, then you have`nt been rolling on four wheels back in those days. Sick skills, but the whole story is a bit complicated.
I`ll pass the word to Vert Is Dead:
"Tas and younger brother Ben burst on the vert scene from Australia in
the mid 1990s. They certainly made things more interesting by doing the
technical tricks larger and more consistently. In a way they were a
throwback to 1980s vertical characters, like Lee Ralph. Tas rode for Mad
Circle and Ben was on the New Deal. They both would ride for Platinum
to close out the decade.
Unfortunately, Ben's story does not have a happy ending. He had developed a serious problem with cocaine and was arrested for smuggling the drug at Melbourne Airport in Australia. He was found dead in the water off Victoria Pier in Melbourne in March of 2007. At the time of his death, he was a suspect in the murder of his girlfriend. Police were treating his death as suspicious and not necessarily as a suicide. There were similarities in how Ben and his girlfriend's bodies were found. I haven't found any updates on the case."
Unfortunately, Ben's story does not have a happy ending. He had developed a serious problem with cocaine and was arrested for smuggling the drug at Melbourne Airport in Australia. He was found dead in the water off Victoria Pier in Melbourne in March of 2007. At the time of his death, he was a suspect in the murder of his girlfriend. Police were treating his death as suspicious and not necessarily as a suicide. There were similarities in how Ben and his girlfriend's bodies were found. I haven't found any updates on the case."
Really hardcore!!!!!!
12. Ray Underhill born October 18th, 1962; died August 1st, 2006
If you haven`t been around during the heyday of the allmighty Bones Brigade then I`ll try to explain it to you.
Take the "Nike SB" team multiply it with the "Street Leaque" winners, plus the hype for the "Baker" squad, plus anticipation for video parts like "Pretty Sweet", minus corporate money and you`ll have the feel for the OG "Powell and Peralta" Bones Brigade.
Ray Underhill was one of them and he was pro with an own model. You could not score any higher back in those late 80`s.
Unfortunatly he turned pro in late 1989 and that was exactly the time when skating took it`s down swing and the focus turned towards street skating. Boardsales were pretty much rock bottom for the vert guys, cause everyone who still skated was about to get a street associated deck. After he left (or got cut from the team) he was the Gullwing trucks TM and then worked at Eastern Skate supplies. He died from a brain tumor.
13. Van Wastell born April 22nd, 1984; died September 5th, 2008
BOOM, look at this 5-O grind - this is tough as fuck. Van Wastell was without any doubt talented and gifted on his board. He just turned pro for "Krooked", and was on tour. Next news was that he fell to death from a hotel window in Berlin, Germany.
Our good mate Chops from Chrome Ball Incident had a Van Wastell special, with guest posts from his brother and friends. Please check the links for the Van Wastells story.
Why he fell to death keeps on to me mysterious. I tried to get some info from our Berlin
connection, but nothing could be figured out. Just fucking rumors I don`t want to spread.
So let Van rip in peace.
14. Jaya Bonderov born ??.??.????; died June 26th, 2012
Jaya hits your face from 1994 "Thrasher" cover, doing a fs noseblunt slide in SF. The cover is good, but his picture in "Slap" is still epic!!!!
Killer pic!!!! Jaya rode for Santa Cruz skateboards as the follpwing images prove.
After leaving SCS he teamed up with "Adrenalin". I had the pleasure to see him go full blast at the 1997 World Cup in Münster Germany. He ripped the street course to pieces, including trasfers from the vert ramp to the mega steep bank everytime. Consistant shredding with no mercy. Here is some video footage:
"Adrenalin" seemed to be the right named team for this NorCal shredder.
He died in a car accident.
That was it with the Ripped Rippers. Part 1 and 2 sum up a grand total of 14 names and the majority of those who had to step off the board forever, was due to the fucking traffic. So be careful before you drive to the next session. Forget about the warning stickers, that skating can cause death. Yes it probaply can, but the chance is nothing compared to the risks of driving a car. They should put warning stickers on those four wheeled.
Have a good one and enjoy life and skating.
Thanks to:
The Chrome Ball Incident
Skately.com
for their permission to rip their archives
