Jake Phelps: "...and don't forget Jordan Richter!"
(crowd snickers)
Jake Phelps: "Don't laugh. How many of you can do 5ft nollie shuffles on vert?"
(crowd immediately shuts up)
----
Not that I'm on some "Save Jordan" crusade (or that I don't tend to skip his Video Days part like everybody else does) but one thing that does drive me nuts is when people act like Jordan's stint on Blind was some kind of mistake. Like the team and/or Rocco was afraid of hurting his feelings so they just let him stick around for damn near 2 years after Danny left.
Come on! This was the early 90s, constant team switches were the norm. Nobody stayed on the same team longer than 6 months back then... but they must've kept him around for a reason. Hell, they even turned him pro. Dude was an amazing skateboarder!
And later, yes, quite the colorful and entertaining headcase.
Anyone else remember hearing that story about him watching Video Days with a crew at Carroll's house (I think) back in the day and they'd forgotten that they had edited his part out. Ouch.
And seeing that ad up top makes me really miss the old droors.
20 comments:
Glad to see he's getting some love on here.
The story I heard was that Gonz and Jordan and others were watching Gonz's copy of the video and right as Guy's part was ending, Jordan said "I wish I didn't have a part" or something along those lines... and than Gonz's part started.
Harsh.
It is funny the complete bullshit here-say people spread around with no hesitation.
1up Chops!!!
Jordan's part in the Blind video was amazing. Those that didn't see that:
1. can't drop in vert
2. probably can't skate street worth a shit either and just like to talk about skateboarding and what their favorite pros are wearing.
I enjoyed Jordan's part mostly cuz of the music (Black Flag's "My War"). Funny story; I had an English teacher in high school who asked us to do a spoken word performance of a song and I chose "My War." People thought I was crazy. What about the dude who chose to do "Heroin" by the Velvet Underground.
Yea back before it was cool to skateboard and/or like good music. I know some of y'all Chrome Ball Incident readers remember getting teased/fighting/beaten up in high school. I don't miss that shit.
In agreement with K, I don't miss any of the bullshit from back in the day either, though the crotchety old man skater side of me sort of wishes that kids today had a little bit more of a battle than they do. Whatever.
I never had the immediate experience with Richter through Video Days, I'm a bit too young, but I can say that I beat him in SKATE in a local contest in like, '03. He was in town through the old Greg Whitt/Goodtimes connect, fully bearded out and sorta nuts, but super low-key and nice.
I think the reason Jordan's part gets the vert button treatment is because of the music. It doesn't fit with the rest of the video. On paper, Black Flag in a skateboard video should be a winner, but it doesn't pan out that way.
I had a similar mn/goodtimes session with him and mcnatt in the late 90's though at the parking ramp acrossed from the gov center. ACID.
I'd think that if you couldn't drop in on vert you'd be willing to give his part more props! But I guess your typical "can't drop in on vert" crowd is maybe a little too quick to throw stones...
Seriously though, if I could skate vert like that I'd be a happy man. Nothing like a dose of relativity.
so... what's he up to now?
he always seemed like a pretty legit dude to me. i was paying the least amount of attention to skateboarding during his heyday, so he's kind of under my radar.
i liked that era of guys who could handle biz on vert and in the street. colin mckay, chris senn, etc.
No one that can actually skate vert would talk shit about Jordan's part. The point of the "drop in" statement is to underline the trend in skateboarding where skateboarders, that can't skate, talking shit about things they themselves can't do. That is a concept that has always confused me.
Timely post...
The other day I was thinking about this Richter board I had, and could not fucking remember what the company was. Goodtimes. I always liked this era of new deal too.
To echo what a lot of you dude's said, I don't think fondly of getting shit for skating but I wish it still a little less "upriver" than it is now.
rudy was known to rear-end a gal, and sanch was at least horny and virile, but jordan was known for immortalized 'keeping his door locked'. even guy was kind of romantically damaged.
'my war' was the height of black flag's confrontation -- playing slow, growing hair, and upsetting the one-dimensional hardcore jocks/half of their original fanbase. i wouldn't guess that the metaphor was consciously intended, but it stands as a great tribute towards the inclusion jordan's part.
re: royce's 2nd comment -- get a clue, piggy
oh, and that i really love that low key gonz model that he has on the tws cover
Jordan was one of the most underated vert and street skaters out there. He was so technical on vert and street and was a good friend to me. Every video part Jordan was in he ripped...
back in those days at the skateshop, every vert part got fast forwarded. not just this dude's.
Didn't he do loads of LSD at one point??? Regardless, he was sick...
I was at Daytona Beach's Stonedge (I think that's how you spell it) skatepark in like 1989 or 90, at the NSA Amateur championship or some shit like that, and witnessed first hand Richter at his prime. Blew me away. He was like the same age as me (like 15 or 16) and he fucking killed it. He dropped in from the extension sitting on his ass. That was like 12 foot or so high. Say what you will, that dude was a shredder.
kind of looked up to Jordan back in the day--the only Jewish dude to ever ride for Rocco.
His part in "whatever" is cool, I guess.
Can we get Andy Howell back?
I'm not gonna lie... I don't think I've ever seen a video part of his other than Video Days. And if I did, I don't remember very well.
Used to always hear stories about him. He was up in Toronto for a while back in the early 90's and I was told he was doing nose wheelie nollie heel out... way back then. That really surprised me as he was primarily known as a vert dude. Dud was basically an ATV. He randomly showed up at a demo/contest thing and he was charging every obstacle.
I've never dropped in on vert and I'll never talk shit on vert skaters' skills. I did make fun of how flamboyant some of them dressed back in the day and I did fastforward through lots of vert video parts. Full power trip comes to mind... just skipping to the sporadic Lotti and Hensley footage.
How to use a condom is a classic graphic.
I realize I'm late to the game here, Jordan came through Kitchener-Waterloo on a goodtimes tour back in the late 90's if I remember correctly, and just destroyed shit. There was an article in Slap with a photo of him skating the old town square banks, which are now impossible to skate. I forget if it was a wallie or just a frontside air, but he was wearing these huge headphones in the photo, and for the few days he was in town he never took them off. It's definitely a worthwhile photo if you can get ahold of it.
Great site, long time reader.
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