Chinese Delam-O-Rama

Story Provided By: Jim Gray

So here is how the story goes. The story is fact, not fiction.

A local skater is friends with a local pro who happens to ride for the Primary Corporate Globalization Comglomerate proudly producing their boards in supposedly the highest quality, highest technology plant known to man kind. In one fell swoop, they built a better factory in China than all the factories in America combined!!!? They even have their employees live at the plant to assure that the quality of their life is great and the quality of their boards are unmatched. I know I can’t and don’t want to match quality like this!

The story continues as the local pro gives the local skater a board, because he gets them for free and sharing the quality with other skaters is just as important a part of being a pro as sharing the factory with the employees as a place to live is for the company. The local skater happily puts the board together in 15 minutes. The board lasts for 20 minutes before delaminating all the way down the side rail, then across the nose and all the way around the nose. It’s a really good one that even changes from one ply to the other as it makes it’s way around the nose.

Then, after closer inspection, I see where it is also beginning to delaminate near the tail as well. The local skater, not so impressed as he was when first hearing about this new amazing China technology, and friends with employees at Abc, brings us the board to check out. We here at ABC, so willing to share the love, pass along the story to friends and foes worldwide.

Our advice to our corporate competitors. You can cut corners on labor, and you might get away with it, but you can’t cut corners on glue!!!

I hope you enjoyed this little story, and I hope it added a smile to your day, like it did to mine. And for anyone who doesn’t believe the story, this deck is sitting in my office and you can come by and take a look at it anytime. I sure hope there are 10,000 more just like it!

Jim Gray
Abc Board Supply
1977 Placentia Ave
Costa Mesa, CA 92627
www.abcboards.com
www.skateparkcoalition.org
(949)722-1800 Phone
(949)722-9236 Fax

Glendale Skatepark Grand Opening
Written By: Louie Baur - Skateboarding Magazine

Today I headed up with Mike Hirsch from So Cal Skateparks to check out opening day of the Glendale Skatepark. I had two goals to accomplish today, one was to check out the work of my friends Mike McIntyre, Colby Carter and Eric Lee of Site Design Group and the second was to meet with Wil from Billy’s Boardshop.

Anyhow Mike made it to my house just before 9am and the weather was terrible! Rain, Rain and more Rain!
We cruised up 5 freeway and around Dodger Stadium it was downpouring so the chance of a session was out the window. Oh well we figured we could snap a few pics of the park and call it a day. After a few traffic accidents and every moron in the world out rain driving we arrived at the Glendale Skatepark just after 10am.

The place was soaked, the umbrellas where out and it was blown out. Etnies was also having a contest today and that to got cancelled I later found out. Well we got in the park and got some pics, saw some friends like Salman Agah and Dave Metty and then Mike McIntyre walks up.

I got my cameo pics with him and we walked through the park checking out what was built and why. Apparantly the park was to be alot smaller but late one night Mike and Eric Lee started reworking the park and making some parts a little steeper and then they resubmitted it to the city. It got approved and I am glad it did because this park is the shit!

GLENDALE SKATEPARK GO GALLERY
Click on thumbnails to view bigger photo and description.

The skatepark is long on vert and short on street. It looks like Site Design Group’s build team have finally brought to SoCal a very much welcomed Oregon style skatepark.The skatepark is relatively small at 15,000 sq ft but packs a mean punch. Be thankful that the city of Glendale knew what they were doing when they put their skatepark went out to bid and hired the Site Design Group to design and build their new skateboard park. Here are the details provided by Ben Schroeder.
RIGHT HAND KIDNEY:
10′ DEEPEND 8′Transition 2′Vert
6′ SHALLOWEND 6′Transition TO Vert
POOL COPING, TILE & DEATHBOX
SNAKERUN STARTBASIN:
BANK IN W/ 20′ LONGHANDRAIL
SHALLOW BASIN W/ 32′WIDE 6′TALL WALL W/ REAL COPING & 4′ WIDE CHANNEL & 8′WIDE
8′TALL EXTENSION 7′TRANSITION SNAKERUN: 5′DEEP 7′Transition
W/ OVER VERT POCKET 9′TALL
SNAKERUN ENDBASIN VERT WALL:
40′ WIDE 9′TALL 8′Transition 1′Vert REAL COPING
W/ 8′ WIDE LOVESEAT 6′TALL NO COPING
BIG BOWL:
6′ SQUARE SHALLOW 7′Transition STEAL PIPE
9′ SQUARE BOWL 8′Transition 1′Vert STEAL PIPE
11′ OVERVERT BOWL 9′Transition 2′PASSED Vert w/ REAL COPING

We got carried away in talking about how bitchen the park was and then we noticed something, it stopped raining and the park staff had the blowers out and the place was starting to dry up so we decided to wait and see if we were going to get lucky and have a chance to roll around this beauty. Sure enough about a half hour later it dried up and they started letting people in. Of course I shoved my way up to the front of the gate shouting Press Photographer coming through and was one of the first ones in the park. This place is great, a little street course on one end of the park, pool coping on every bowl and wall imaginable, a great snake run with an over vert pocket a big bowl with a 11′ Oververt Bowl and a good Right Hand Kidney which by the way has a deathbox with the SITE logo in it which I thought was a nice touch.

After skating for an hour or so I figured it was time to get out the camera and start getting some but I was lacking on subject matter and just about that time in walks Brian Patch and Dave Duncan. Damn it was on now! I would have the pleasure of seeing how this park can be skated properly. I got some good pics of Patch doing Liens, and backsides over the hip in the clover and then he started chucking Front Lips off the huge loveseat at the end of the snake run.Straight up that guy killed it. Dave Duncan started rolling around and for a 41 year old dude with a fake hip he was slashing everything in sight. Mad Dog also showed up and in typical asshole Mad Dog fashion and he proceeded to drop in and snake everybody. He was also killing it and landed a nice tailslide in the bowl at the end of the snake run as a smiths and 50-50’s on the pool coping in the big bowl. Well thats it another good park build by Site Design Group in California and hopefully alot more on the way!!
Louie

INTERVIEW WITH WREX COOK

By Mike Hirsch

Sometime early in January this year I stopped by the Etnies Skatepark on my lunch hour and I was watching this guy that I have never before seen skating shredding the Skull Bowl and was blown away. At the time I was putting together the skaters for the demo for the the Palm Springs Skatepark Grand Opening event so I approached him to see if he would be interested in being apart of the demo and without hesitation he was down with the doing the demo.

That was the first time I met Wrex Cook and since then I have sessioned with him numerous times and without a doubt he is 100% skateboarder and is an all around cool guy. Wrex can skate anything put before him and is a truly gifted all around skateboarder. He has been around the skateboarding scene for over 20 years and since he has been living here in Southern California for the past several months he has been turning the heads of many a skateboarder when he shows up for a session.

I sat down with Wrex recently for an interview. So here it is. Enjoy!

MH We’re here with Wrex Cook from Conspiracy Skateboards.

WREX What’s up?

MH How old are you these days?

WREX Going on 34 this year.

View Photo Gallery MH Where are you from?

WREX I’m From Tempi, Arizona originally, but I have been living in Colorado for the past 10 years, all over pretty much.

MH You ever go to that wave machine in Tempi?

WREX Yeah, Big Surf, Oh yeah. We use to sneak in there all the time, it was a blast.

MH So where did the name Wrex come from, is that your real name, Wrex?

WREX No my real name is Brian Cook. It came from the guys from the old Tempi Tribe, Gavin Troy and a bunch of those guys. They called me that because I use to just try things and I would just wreck but till I would do it. I would just keep going and going and going. Also, I had no style you know when you start out you’re all goofy looking so they called me Wrex from Tex, and that’s pretty much stuck with me ever since.

MH Wrex from Tex?

WREX Yeah because I always bailed and I had no style, cause that was back in the day with big (belt) buckles, big hats and such.

MH What year was this?

WREX Umm, 81-82. Just after, somewhere around where Tex the book came out and the movie Tex came out. Yeah it was right around that era.

MH So when did you first start skateboarding?

WREX I would probably have to say about 81. That’s when I was really into it. I use to ride a Logan Earth Ski around just cruisin’ to school and back. I never really got too far into it until my later years but…yeah it’s been a long time over 20 years .

View Photo Gallery MH You started up when I dropped of skateboarding. I dropped out around 81.

WREX Yeah exactly. See I always just looked at the skateboard magazines and I would see you and your brother or Salba or somebody and be like, Yeah! Back then I never had the opportunity to ride the stuff you guys were riding.

MH You were in Tempi at the time?

WREX Yeah, and the skatepark there was already gone by the time I was getting into it you know.

MH What skatepark was that?

WREX I can’t remember the name. Supposedly the parking lot there still dips where the bowl use to be.

MH Was that the only skatepark they had back then?

WREX That I know of. I’m sure they had a couple more somewhere around there but who knows.

MH What was the first contest that you entered and how old were you?

WREX Shoot I was probably about 13, O-Boys Productions put it on, local guy doing some contest series through his skateboard shop T.N.T. Dave Boytson was his name…and he got everyone organized and getting into it and I remember it being real fun so it was a blast. And it was cool because he hooked up with N.S.A. and Castle every now and then so you got to see other pros and stuff skating.

MH They would come through town?

WREX Yeah, the Z-Boys would come out all the time. Jimmy Acosta and a bunch of those guys always coming out.

MH Half pipe contest?

WREX No. Mostly street, they would have a quarter pipe or two, bank setup, wall rides stuff like that. Lots of launch ramps were getting pushed up against walls and such. Always had a curb.

MH Do you still compete?

WREX Actually, yeah.

MH So where did you compete last summer?

WREX Umm, last one was the Dream Parks out in Denver, which was really good. It was awesome lots of people came out, Salba, Chet Childress, it was a big contest.

View Photo Gallery

MH Was that the footage that was in the “More Concrete”?

WREX Yeah exactly. I also think that there is a little bit in the Dream Park-Airwalk documentary on Fox Sports or something. Yeah that was the last one that I did. I’m hoping this summer there will be some more out here in California.

MH Are you going to enter the Basic Bowl competition that is taking place in April?

WREX Yeah, yeah I missed the last one there.

MH Have you skated the Basic Bowl yet?

WREX No not yet. It’s better that way.

MH Why is it better that way?

WREX Cause that was there’s no expectations or anything. I just show up and it always looks great you know. Most people will ride and be like there’s a kink here or there. So normally I just show up and I won’t know anything about it so I’ll just go ahead and ride it. It’s better that way, it’s fresh.

MH That’s cool. So what does skateboarding mean to you these days is it your lifestyle or what is it?

WREX Yeah it’s pretty much. You can’t really be a skateboarder without saying its part of your lifestyle you know I mean it’s like it’s a love/hate relationship. Yeah I couldn’t see any other life style personally for me I mean this is my way of expressing myself and a way to get things out and I love it. It’s always been keeping me going. It’s kind of hard not to have skateboarding in your life not as a lifestyle.

MH Do you have any goals as a skateboarder?

WREX Skate for fun. I mean that’s the main thing. Once you start worrying about it this and that that’s when it becomes not fun anymore. I’ve already gone through that and I just have fun now, just come out, if people say they are going to show up and have a good time I’ll come up and have a good time with them.

MH Do you do any street skating or just vert and pools?

WREX I try to do it…well where I grew up it was kind of like there would be a pool for a little bit so you’d learn to ride the pool and then you know people would move into the house so then somebody would build a ramp but then the ordinance would say you have to take it down so you’d skate the ramp for a little while and then you would end up getting sucked back on the street. So where I grew up you’d end up riding everything so I try to stick with that same pattern so that is why I can pretty much adjust to where ever I go.

View Photo Gallery
MH So you still go out and hit the street spots?

WREX Oh yeah, still do maybe not as hard as I use to you know but I’m known to hit an occasional rail here and there. I just go out have fun. Cruise down the road hit anything.

MH So you said you lived in Colorado for about 10 years. How do the skateparks in Colorado compare to the skateparks in Southern California?

WREX Umm, well they’re just different. Everything’s different, like all the parks here. I think these parks are great the only thing is between em’ is most of them in Colorado are a little deeper. There are defiantly no regulations in Colorado and they are paid for through lottery money. So its public money and you do not have to pay to skate every time that you skate them. No supervision or cash to fork out unless you want to go indoors to the Vans Skatepark. But other than that it’s great. Just go out have fun it’s at your own risk, nice and mellow.

MH Are there pad rules?

WREX At some skateparks they’re enforced but for the most part it’s just at your own risk. It’s up to you to wear them if you want to.

MH What about the Oregon skateparks? Have you been to any of those?

WREX I have been to a few of the Oregon Skateparks. They are amazing. Some are a little slick, some are a blast but who am I to pick and choose when they build something so great for us.

MH Which one do you think is the best?

WREX Newberg is my favorite one I still haven’t been to Orcas or any of those new parks or any of the new Airspeed parks. I still like Burnside because it’s gnarly.

MH Have you ridden Washington Street yet?

WREX Yeah I have skated there once and it was just like narrow path way you could ride through because there was still a lot of trash in the way. I haven’t been able to ride the whole thing yet but hopefully I will be able to skate it soon.

View Photo Gallery MH How did you hookup with Conspiracy and how long have you been riding for them?

WREX I met Lindsey Kuhn through Concrete Challenge. I was riding for Alva at the time and things were just going real slow and these guys were at every event and doing a really good thing. I was just stoked to see them all the time and then they asked me to ride for them and I was like “Sure I’d love to man!” You guys are motivated, I’m motivated and they’re not worried about having to perform, go do this thing or that, just skate for fun and I really like that a lot. I met them about 3 years ago and it’s been going good ever since.

MH So you rode for Alva ?

WREX I’ve rode for Alva on and off. I rode for them for about 6 years in the 90’s.

MH I was checking out the Conspiracy site and there seemed to be a link between Colorado and Texas within the company?

WREX It all started with Dana Buck (Buckethead) and Lindsey Kuhn use to own a shop down in Texas and they also did Zorlac Boards with Newt and those guys. Then when Zorlac broke up and all you could find was small wheels and little boards and you couldn’t find decent sized vert boards and wheels they decided to start a new company. That is where the name Conspiracy came from because it was pretty much a conspiracy you couldn’t buy good wood and get good products and that is where they got the base of it from. It started in Texas, Austin I think and then one of the guys moved to Denver and they were branching between Colorado and Texas in those days.

MH Who else do you ride for?

WREX Umm, Smith Eye Wear, Ipath shoes, Billabong, Rocket Bearings, Tracker Trucks, and I think that’s it I hope I didn’t leave anyone out, get them upset, sorry.

View Photo Gallery MH Who have your influences been, who are your favorite skaters?

WREX Brian Brannon, Steve Alba, you know I hear a lot of weird things about Steve this and that but he is one of the nicest guys, definitely influenced me as a kid in my early days of skating. He took me to pools not knowing too much about me so I was really into him and his style is amazing. Shogo Kubo was one of my mentors back in the day. He could get up anywhere, he’d get upside down and still be able to get out of it. There are a lot of guys, most of the guys I’ve rode with. Anyone that has fun with skateboarding always gets me stoked.

MH So who do you skate with these days?

WREX Anybody who wants to skate. I am down to go skate with anyone. I skate a lot with Billy Green, Jessie Parker. Yeah, if you want to go skate give me a call let’s go.

MH So what trick are you known for?

WREX It use to be Texas plants but I’m not too sure. Most people say backside disasters or inverts but they are like a warm up trick for me.

MH So if you had a choice of what to skate for the rest of your life which would you choose, a killer pool, killer vert ramp, or killer snake run?

WREX It couldn’t be the snake run into the pool?

MH Nope, no just one.

WREX It would probably end up actually being the pool, it’s never the same run no matter how many times I hit that pool wall there’s always a weird kink spot that makes it different. Never the same run.

MH So have you traveled a lot in you skateboarding career?

WREX Yeah I try to. I haven’t traveled over seas or anything I pretty much just do low budget style stay in the country and yeah I try to travel as much as I can.

MH So what setup do you ride. Your Conspiracy deck?

WREX Yeah. I ride Tracker Trucks , Rocket Bearings, Conspiracy Wheels, the green alien shots, they seem to be a perfect all around park wheel and I ride my board which is 8.25 wide, has a 15″ wheel base, and is 33″s long.

Conspiracy Skateboards MH Your graphic. What was the inspiration for your graphic?

WREX Well the graphic was my design. The graphic was mainly aimed at the American Companies that have moved to China and are making cheap boards over there and putting American Board Manufacturers out of work. It’s a picture of Uncle Sam rolling up his sleeves getting ready to duke it out. When I finally got it done he guys back at the office told me it looked too much like me that they ended up changing the colors and giving him red hair. That was pretty much the basis of those graphic.

MH I just saw the new Conspiracy video “More Concrete” its great lots of great footage. What was some of the highlights for you filming the sessions?

WREX Most of the footage was taken over a long period of time getting together for sessions, some contest footage, and some just going on trips saying we’re going to go skate this weekend and winging it. Take off for two days and just skate and film and whatever. Just have fun there’s so much most of it’s just a road trip. Just a bunch of guys going out having a few beers and having fun skateboarding.

MH Speaking of beers. The contest in Colorado…

WREX Oh boy.

MH There was a guy who rolled out of the pool and grabbe a beer out of some guys hand and rolled into the bowl.

WREX Oh yeah, yeah that was Science, Dave Maxwell.

MH Was that planned?

WREX No!. Dave Maxwell is a mad man that’s why they call him Science. He’s funny. P.B.R. sponsored that one so a lot of stuff went on. Yeah Pabst Blue Ribbon actually sponsored that with Airwalk. So…you can imagine how nuts it got.

MH So you’re an artist and it seems that Conspiracy is 50% Art 50% Skateboarding. Do you design any of the other graphics for the company?

WREX On and off stickers and t-shirts you know whatever seems cool or needs to come out at the time. Lindsey does most of the artwork. But it’s just pretty much if you are on the team or you’re a friend and you have an idea draw it up and bring it to us and we’ll check it out. There are no guidelines we don’t have an art director or sales person because everyone on the team is co-op to do everything.

MH So who’s your favorite artist?

WREX There are so many great ones and there’s new ones coming out. Shoot I don’t know. Everybody’s so different I like some of the old stuff, Brian Stacy does some pretty wild stuff. I like Robert Williams style pop hot rod type of artwork. I can’t really say I have an exact favorite.

MH What do you listen to, what’s your music?

WREX Everything pretty much it ranges from death metal to a little bit of country. I like everything.

MH What’s next for you, what are your plans for this coming summer?

WREX I’m definitely going to travel. Just right now sticking in out here in Southern California as long as I can and milk it you know. But I’d definitely like to get back to Colorado for some of this summer and hit some of the cool places there like Jacksonville that you can’t skate during the winter months. No doubt I am going to be touring. Having fun is my main goal.

MH Thanks for sharing your world with us.

Wrex No problem, anytime.

RELATED CONTENT: Wrex Cook Interview and Video Footage