Decorative Grip Tape
This movie still, from the 1986 fiasco Thrashin' depicts the film's hero, Corey, in a moment of agony. But what might be of interest to Fakie Scholars is his deck; apparently an example of the now-legendary Hosoi Hammerhead design.
Notice the stylin' griptape? These days, most riders opt for the conservative full-black griptape job, with perhaps some painted-on grafitti as the adornment of choice.
In the 80's, the decade of neon and acid-wash, things were different. Corey's spiderweb design depicted above is pretty neat, but might even have been considered tame by 80's standards. The larger deck sizes, and myriad deck styles of this decade made skateboards a canvas upon which one could express the carnal pagan chaos of one's soul in grip tape icons, lovingly cut out and arranged atop one's deck.
And the colours! Red, green, neon pink, yellow--did I say neon pink?--blue, purple, and neon pink! It was like a rainbow had fallen from the sky and the fragments were gliding down the street atop our skateboards.
I call for a return to righteous and flamboyant griptape adornment! Skaters should pay the extra two bucks for coloured tape, and go the extra distance to make the top of their decks truly unique. We could even start a little griptape art gallery here at Fakiegrind. It would be totally radical, man.
5 comments:
And so it begins again...the Dance of Doom between Fakiegrind and the Spam-bots. At least somebody is reading...
i remember neon pink dude! my first board was plexiglass and about 6" wide in the middle and about 2" in the read with no flip. the rear wheels were wider than the front with real ball bearings, not sealed bearings! the "deck" was bright (i don't think it was noen)green without tape! man i am archaic!
who really cares about rod stewart? so much for the free word verifier from blognot!
What is the name for the school before oldschool? It will soon be time to unleash the Fakiegrind Oldschool Timeline, so as to determine true oldness.
Non-sealed bearings? Now that's ooooold!
One time, on my "bannana board" I hatched a plan to hold the rear bumper of a friends car to see how fast I could go.
Speed-wobbles at 45km/h are no fun. I let go but was still wobbling badly. I thought, "I'm not going that fast. Better to run in out rather than ride till I fall."
I stepped off my board and into a sliding body slam for maybe 15 feet before my tuck became a roll.
Biggest scabs I ever had in my entire life, all thanks to a little fiberglass deck, hard plastic wheels and loose bearings.
Ouch! Banana boards and bumper surfing do not a good mix make.
To all younger Fakiegrind readers out there, please remember that Em is a trained stuntman.
Do not--I reapeat DO NOT, try to replicate his stunts without an emegency response team at your disposal.
Post a Comment