Girl Skateboards x Mike Carroll x DMing Me

Picked up this Girl Skateboards deck in Toronto a week ago. It was really part of a premade complete, but the deck is the real gem. This makes three Mike Carroll decks in the collection.

Toronto Raptors x Charles Oakley [1998-99]

The 2020-21 NBA Season opened officially started on 22 December 2020, which the league also dubbed NBA Jersey Day. It also happened to be my 33rd birthday. For this special occassion, my older brother and sister-in-law blessed me with a Toronto Raptors Charles Oakley jersey.

This is the home style uniform the Toronto Raptors wore in 1998. Charles Oakley was one of my favourite players growing up and was really stoked when I first saw him in a Toronto Raptors jersey.

Born on 18 December 1963 in Cleveland OH, Charles Oakley played collegiately for Virginia Union between 1981-85. In the 1985 NBA Entry Draft, he was selected 9th overall by the Cleveland Cavs before his draft rights were traded to the Chicago Bulls. In 1988, he was traded to the New York Knicks where he'd spend the next 10 seasons.

In 1998, he was traded to the Toronto Raptors providing veteran leadership for a very young team which included Tracy McGrady [Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame Inductee Class of '17] and Vince Carter [1999 NBA Rookie of the Year]. In 2001, he was traded to Chicago and would have brief stints with the Washington Wizards and Houston Rockets before retiring as a player in 2004.

NBA Career Highlights
1, 282 games played
12, 417 total points [9.7 PPG]
12, 205 total rebounds [9.5 RPG]
3, 217 total assists [2.5 APG]
1986 NBA All-Rookie First Team
1994 NBA All-Defensive First Team
1994 NBA All-Star
1998 NBA All-Defensive Second Team

"If it ain't broke, don't break it." - Charles Oakley

Deathwish Skateboards "Uncrossed"

I know I'm a bit late catching up on this, but thought I'd share since I've been a major fan of Deathwish Skateboards since day one. Unfortunately, many pros from their inception and first video are nowhere to be seen in Uncrossed. But this new crop does not disappoint at all.

F-cking Awesome x America Please & Supreme x Independent Trucks & Spitfire Wheels

Within the past few months, I think I've supported more online classified sellers than I have skate shops. The deals just seem too good to pass up and this is definitely one of them. Recently, I acquired an FA complete skateboard a seller purchased at Supreme. I was sort of bummed to see how the store messed up so much on setting it up. The grip had bubbles and the trucks were not the right width. It was a debacle and had to be dismantled and re-gripped. Overall though, I'm very pleased to have come across this setup and can't wait until next spring to skate this.

The setup included a set of Independent Trucks featuring the classic Supreme box logo. Unfortunately, they were not wide enough for the deck. Still a great keepsake for when I feel like skating a thinner board again.

Of course the wheels need to match if you're going all out Supreme. The board rolled on a set of 51mm Spitfire Classics.

This picture will always hold a special place in my heart. Back in 2011, I met pre-FA pro Anthony Van Engelen at Supreme in Los Angeles. The figure in the background between our heads is Mos Def [who paid straight up cash for his entire purchase].

Thrasher Magazine just released FA pro's Elijah Berle's Closeout the Year video part.

Alien Workshop x Omar Salazar x Aplha Series

I was extremely surprised to find this Alien Workshop Omar Salazar skateboard deck online for a very decent price. Omar Salazar has always been one of the best out there and the few Nike SB pros to receive a pro model. Since their inception in 1989, Alien Workshop has been one of the most revered companies with legendary pros and classic videos.

The Alpha Series was Released in late 2012 just before AWS shut down before reforming again in 2015. I love how the top graphic features every pro's name including Dylan Rieder who sadly passed away in 2016.

Flip Skateboards x Arto Saari [2004]

Recently bought this deck off an online seller who clearly did not know what she had and the price was too good to pass up. Released in [my] glory days of skateboarding in 2004, this Flip Skateboards Arto Saari deck is in amazing condition. Over the years, he has always been one my favourites, and was very lucky to come across a few more things related to him.

This past spring/summer, I took an hour drive out west to pick up a lot of skateboard DVDs. Not sure what the seller's history was, but he had some major gems. One was this Quiksilver promo signed by Arto Saari himself.

Take away the board, take away the signature, nothing will live up to when I met the 2001 Thrasher Skater of the Year on my way to work in Toronto about five years ago.

The video part that started it all; éS Footwear: Menikmati from 2000.