Hollywood socialite/fartsy photographer/babe magnet, Alex Olson, recently took a trip north of the border. Oh yeah, did I mention he's a pro skater with on of the steeziest styles in the game. Well yeah, he took his skateboard, his temper, his piss taking skills and his camera up to Canada and met up with the Canadian Quiksilver crew to get some ripping, photo taking, piss taking and at least one good tantrum on.

As far as lineage goes Alex comes from skate royalty, his father being skate legend, Steve Olson, and up in Canada they still have some monarchy complete with a royal family and everything. And like the polite people they are up in the gentle giant to our north, they welcome foriegn dignitaries with open arms.

Alex O of Angeles was given free reign to skate wherever he pleased, free of harassment by the police. It's like when they let all the prime ministers and other international government folks double park in New York City.

Right: Alex at the movies. Photo: Tom Morin

Anyway check out the video courtesy of Quiksilver and SBCskateboard.com:



Quiksilver in Toronto, September 2010 from Rob Harris on Vimeo.

Heath Kirchart doesn't want me or anyone else writing about him. Period. That said, I still have to, which is probably the reason he is retiring. Skateboarding has changed so much from when he started. He was one of those masters of the video section. Give him a year or so, have Greg Hunt or another filmer link up with him when he's feeling it, and presto you'll have a legendary part that's a work of art.

I think a perfect story to sum Heath's personality is the year the Alien Workshop video, Mind Field, came out. The video and his section in particular were mind blowing. Alien Workshop cleaned up at the Transworld Skateboarding Awards. Everyone knew Heath was going to win Street Skateboarder of the Year, and he was dreading the fact that he was going to have to go up on stage, accept his award, and have to speak in front of a packed room full of drunken derelicts, who were there to party more so than honor skateboarding. So he didn't. He had one of his buddies that looked a little like him go up and except the award as Heath Kirchart. Done and done.

Heath comes from the pre-internet pro skateboarding days. An era when the only footage of pros was what you saw in the videos. The good ol' days. Before You Tube, Vimeo and whatever else ruined it. They were the days when you had time to get the clips you wanted perfect, it wasn't as rushed as it is now. Nowadays, guys go out and film and have the day's footage on the internet that night. So a bunch of kids, and grown-ass-man fans can talk sh-t in the comments.

Not to mention all the corporations that are trying to squeeze every penny that they can out of skateboarding. Heath is simply over it. He is a working man's pro, the Bruce Springsteen of skateboarding. He is going out on top, not one of those guys that is simply surviving on what they've done...milking their marketed names and pro skating careers for as long as possible. He could survive on the money his image makes for years, but he doesn't want that. Heath Kirchart has always let his skateboarding do the talking. And as he has gotten older his skateboarding has stopped doing the talking he wants his name to be associated with. So he has said, "I retire."

To remember the career of skateboarding's all-time handrail master Emerica has set up a tribute site to the man, the myth, the legend; complete with all 16 of his professional sections. Check it out by clicking here.

All photos by Ed Templeton you can check out more of his work by clicking here.

Skateboarding mega-star, Ryan Sheckler, gave back to his community this past Saturday when he invited nearly fifty autistic children to his private skate training facility in Orange County, CA.

It was all for TACA's Ante Up For Autism weekend, and the demo was a collaboration between the Sheckler Foundation and A.Skate.

As reported by Brittany Levine in the OC Register:

About 50 autistic children were treated to skateboarding lessons Saturday at pro skater Ryan Sheckler's private indoor skate park in San Clemente during a clinic presented by the A.skate Foundation.

Crys Worley, a 28-year-old mother of two, founded nonprofit A.skate a few years ago after getting her 7-year-old to try skateboarding. Her fiancé owns a skateboard shop, and the first time they took her son Sasha to a skate park, they noticed he seemed more relaxed.

Peter Karvonen of Birmingham, Ala., a volunteer for A.skate, gets a hug from Haley Brozek, 6, of Huntington Beach during A.skate's skateboarding clinic, held with the help of the Sheckler Foundation and Upper Class Label. The clinic was held at pro skateboarder Ryan Sheckler's private skate facility in San Clemente.

A.skate operates on the idea that the repetitive motions of skateboarding help calm symptoms of autism. The organization's events are free for the participants and their families and are supported by fundraisers.

People with autism, which is caused by brain abnormalities, often experience distress when routines change. They feel they must perform repeated movements and usually have communication problems. Children often prefer to play by themselves.

Click here for full story.


Right: Peter Karvonen of Birmingham, Ala., a volunteer for A.skate, gets a hug from Haley Brozek, 6, of Huntington Beach. Photo: David Bro via the OC Register.

For the past few months Paul Rodriguez and Plan B had been filming for a video section. They've had to deal with the schedule of one of the busiest skateboarders in the game: Street League contest, Nike tours, Dew Tour contests, Mountain Dew art projects, Maloof Money Cups, etc.

In between all that P-Rod and filmer/editor, Nigel Alexander, were able to put together a banger of a part featuring what the LA raised skateboarder does best; skates the street. No judges, portable bank ramps, instant scoring, hip-hop hype men, or anything like that. Just Paul and what he grew up doing and still loves to do more than anything...Skate The Streets.

"Me, Myself & I" is available on iTunes for a minor charge (to make sure the creative minds behind it can pay their rent this month, just cough up a couple bucks). Below is a trailer, so check out the tease then cruise over to Steve Jobs' music store buy a copy.

Zero is a skate brand that has always had that Misfits feel. They've used a few Misfits songs in their videos, have had a few Misfits-esque graphics and even entitled one of their videos Misled Youth. And if there's one holiday that encompasses the image of the Misfits it's Halloween, just read the lyrics to their song Halloween:


Bonfires burning bright
Pumpkin faces in the night
I remember halloween

Dead cats hanging from poles
Little dead are out in groves
I remember halloween

Brown leafed vertigo
Where skeletal life is known
I remember halloween

This day anything goes
Burning bodies hanging from poles
I remember halloween

Halloween, halloween, halloween, halloween

Candy apples and razor blades
Little dead are soon in graves
I remember halloween

Halloween, halloween, halloween, halloween
Halloween, halloween, halloween, halloween

Well, to coincide with the holiday of ghouls, ghosts, vampires and that guy from the Hangover Zero went on a little Halloween tour. They even stopped by my favorite New York City skate shop KCDC for a little mini-ramp session.

Click here to check it out.