slappy sunday with alyasha owerka-moore

Long story short… I was asked to put this together over 18 months ago. I kinda missed the boat and I'm a crappy writer, but here goes.

(I'm sure if you follow Chrome Ball you've seen a lot of these photos before, but hey... that's why Eric gets paid the big bucks. )

It's a strange time with the internet and all... lines of "homage" and reappropration are being blurred. In some ways, this is great. But in other ways, this is one of the worst cases of devolution ever. There's nothing worse than watching some cocky kid approaching a curb super slow and barely getting his axle on it with the words "curb life" on his fresh gap cut. The proverbial "Anti-Slap". I see groups of kids saying they "skate curbs" as if there is some sort of lame hipster 80's throwback irony to it.

In actuality, skating curbs has been one of the building blocks of skateboarding as long as I can remember and has an interesting subculture unto itself inside of skateboarding.

Having grown up in Brooklyn in the 1980's, we skated curbs a lot... as there were no skateparks, a handful of makeshift ramps and, of course, the Brooklyn Bridge Banks.(Side Note: Not all curbs in NY are metal capped. Many are granite.)

Up until the early- to mid-90's, there was lots of coverage of cats skating curbs. Check-Outs, full-page spreads, articles and heavy amounts of curb skating being featured in most skate vids.

To me, the CURB is one of those definitive building blocks. (No Pun Intended.)

I'd like to give a huge shout out to Mikey Hottman, Mikey Ratt and Glenn Wagner for starting Slappy Sunday over 3 years ago. Since then, it's spread all over the world. It was not started as some sort of ironic tribute to some obscure trick of the 80's, but to get friends who grew up skateboarding back on their boards and skating together again.

Why Sunday? Because most of us had Sunday free. DUH!

Thanks Boss! http://mikeyhottman.blogspot.com

http://vimeo.com/36681403
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ookv0Vu4A9M
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HsG3JjNQx9g

Maps to the skaters homes... ORB with a step-by-step/trick tip on the "Curb Grind", 1984.

Blender - No Comply Action.  Civil Disobedience.

This photo RIPS!

Aaron Murray… 1986 Ruling!  

Mic-E letting y'all know what time it is.

I really wish there were more photos of Julien skating curbs.

One of the kings of style, Scott Oster. Probably hauling balls, too.

Slurricane….  Had this flick on my wall forever.

Danny Sargent. You see those hands!!!? Styyyyyle!

Barker Barrett.

Rob Hostetter.

New York's own Bruno Musso

Jawhn Dettman. Maybe one of my top 10 favorite curb photos.

Yes… I know there should be way more Tom Knox photos in here.

This photo exemplifies "Frontside Slappy" to me.
Fast as fuuuuuuuuuuuuuu…

Andy Jenkins.

The Godfather. I guess there is a debate about who made up the slappy: Lance Mountain or Lucero… 

Either way, thank you BOTH!

Also thank you GSD - Garry Scott Davis. Dude doesn't get a fraction of the credit and respect he deserves.

Mario Rubalcaba… Words cannot explain how much this cat rips.

Winsor… Finger point…

Riky… Another in the top 10 curb photos file.

Matt Barker Hurricane and Phil E.

Rick Ibaseta. Feeble... but up to the task.  (That's a pun, sun.)

Mike Archemedes.

Wiley Singer… Tower Records Curbs NYC. 

The Grand Order of Curb Crushers... "Keepers of the Curb"

If you ain't in it, you ain't in it.

Big thanks to Alyasha for doing all of this!