11.17.2009

chrome ball incident #382: ripped knees








pocket pussy, switchstance masturbation... and skateboarding.

that hard-hitting big brother journalism we came to expect with the skinny on chocolate funnyman/turf kingpin, mike york.

big up to robbys 2 and 3 and my man bif.

14 comments:

Henry said...

I always liked York. He had good video parts- solid tricks, clean style. When a Girl video came out- I think it was Mouse- I knew people who were disappointed in some parts. Like, Sheffey's part, and I think Jovantae did like, three tricks. No one could say anything but good things about York. My one occasion of seeing him in person was when Barker Barrett did a frontside ollie to pivot on a quarterpipe... and York was really excited and cheering him on.

Anonymous said...

I think York-a-tron is sick. always liked his parts,
in some interview he said, something along the lines of i'm more punk than most dudes who wear the punk garb, I don't have to dress like it, i'm listening to minor threat with a basketball jersey on. that's punk.
well, whatever he said, it was really genuine. not a phony.

ciaran said...

There were a few posts on Slap a year or so back with regard to Bob Kronbauer ending his association with Turf. BK had a press release style announcement saying, amicably, that it was time to move on, no hard feelings. Mike York, if I remember right, shot himself in the foot saying that it was York who had all the ideas, not some computer-button pushing monkey, etc. and that anybody could be a designer/art director. Haven't heard from Turf since. Terrible name for a skate company I thought. Seemed a strange outcome as York always had a reputation for being a cool guy & seemed so when I saw him in SF in 97.

shinebox said...

I just saw York this past Saturday at Transworld at the Eric Stricker event. He was skating, and he was RIPPING! Turf is still around, and he had some team dudes with him. Good for Mike. He had a kid recently as well.

K said...

1. For a while York always had ill parts in Girl/Chocolate videos. Las Nueve Vidas De Paco, Mouse, Chocolate Tour - all of them had ILL mike york parts.

2. Anyone ever notice that Mike York always skated to great songs?

3. HARD HITTING QUESTION FOR ALL Y'ALL IN CHROME BALL LAND:
Do you think that there was an unusually high price to pay for joining the Girl/Chocolate family? I had the flu last week and got around 2 watching the Guy Mariano Epicly Later'd. Seems like the Girl/Chocolate story is filled with tragedies. For a while it seemed as though they could do no wrong. But then shit just started going bad, and then it got worse. Keenan passed away, cats got locked up (Shamil, Sheffey), heads were getting into trouble with drink and drugs (Iannuci, Paulo Diaz, Gabriel Rodriguez, Mariano); some just drifted away and did their own thing (Jovantae, Tony) Fergueson, Ben Sanchez). I could go on all day. It just seems a bit much, that's all.

E.Ricks said...

one of the first dudes i ever saw doing 3 flips and catching them with his front foot...

dedleg said...

Moreso than Mike York I think I miss Big Brother! Man that magazine was the shit.

Anonymous said...

Nobody can hate on YOrk - a tron, NOBODY!

he always seemed like a great guy, and always having fun while skating, and always with the best style.

Is mouse part is CLASSIC imo.

Keith said...

yeah... that Bob K incident is pretty lame.

I'm not sure if its an SF/EMB thing but some of those dudes... when they are pushing fast, especially switch... they've got a crazy rabid pitbull push. Mike York and Henry in particular right off the top of my head.

The Notorious B.I.F. said...

Chops,
Did York get kicked off Chocolate, or did he leave to start Turf? It sucks that York doesn't get the exposure he once did. Skateboarding is so Click oriented these days. Hesh skaters don't skate with Fresh skaters ; it seems like everyone stays in their own group. Mike York on the other hand. . . He didn't care if you were into Ghostface or G.W.A.R., he just wanted to have fun and skate. Skateboarding needs more guys like Mike York!

Bif

Thanks for the shout out, it meant a lot to me.
Also thanks for not giving a hard time about my name because I know in Internet Land Bif has a different meaning (BiF = Bisexual Female), but in my case it's just a nickname I got when I was a little boy.

chops said...

thanks guys

K, great question. my two cents: anytime you get an eclectic group of creative individuals together in a relatively short-term endeavor that is highly competitive, the fall-out is always gonna be pretty epic. Also take into account that these skaters are at such a young age when they're thrown together into this high-pressure situation... its no wonder that so many pros are fucked up. Skating your entire life to be pro for a few years then being quickly disposed of has gotta be a mindfuck. I often hear about various subjects of chrome ball posts still wrestling with demons from their glory days (I'm sure E.Ricks could probably name us a dozen right off the bat).

I think girl gets put under the microscope so often because its such an elite group and they really push that "family" vibe that you always question the strays, but you can see this same thing with every company in any time period. Also, with Carroll and Rickk having such long epic careers, its easy to forget that they are definitely exceptions to the rule and most pros are phased out in a very small fraction of that timeframe.

sorry so long-winded. i was thinking about this at work after I saw your comment.

Bif, I don't know what exactly went on but in the words of my man Jaycee: "it wasn't an amicable split".

And I would never have even thought about your name meaning that, haha.

David Wagner said...

That top picture is incredible. Love it.

Anonymous said...

Holy shit that bs 180 nosegrind at the Pier is AMAZING!! So much style.

I love York plain and simple and have got mad respect for him, he keeps the fun in skateboarding and is real as hell. Hes a good influence. I owe him a lot for that.

He loves his fans and like people have said on here doesnt care about labels and trying to fit into a group/fashion.

Hell yeah he skates to good tracks, im damn sure there arent many people that have skated to Funkadelic and it went so perfectly.

Paco,Mouse,Choco tour were all classics but I really like his Yeah Right part, he really killed the mannys and ledge tricks in that, I think that definitely influenced a lot of skaters growing up in that time even if they dont admit it or even realise it.

These photos are some of the best ive seen of York, thanks! I wanna try and get hold of a York Turf board, I liked the video.

Anonymous said...

www.turfglobal.com
que the nore song, "new york groove"