Drake Jones

Exlusive and elusive.

Drake Jones was one of the finer things to appear during the the 90's. After a brief stint at real Skateboards and much critical acclaim, Drake disappeared and recently resurfaced over at Black Box Distribution of all places...

Mike Carroll

If ever there was an Al Pacino-esque Godfather of street skating, it would have to be Mike Carroll.

Ever since his early days, Mike stamped his authority on each and every spot he skated. Nonchalance and grit are two traits that earned MC all the respect in the school yard and notable Skater of the Year back in 1994.

Kids kickflip and twist their way to stardom, but the real magic happens when Mikey threads a line together. And any good street skater knows that lines define those who will stand the test of time*

*Sorry to sound gay...

Ryan Sheckler

Hate him or Love him, the Shexxx skateboarding's coverboy for the new millenium.

Ryan shot into the limelight thanks to his skills as a little squirt. In a sugar-coated weird way, the half-pint size kid grabbed the attention of the masses. In a cleverly orchestrated collaboration with World (a long shot from it's initial concept World industries), Shexxx hit the mainstream and started his road to glory by collecting trophys and medals at all the major Extreme events.

Sheckler is a money machine, so ego and advice from family members and fellow professionals now see Shexxx living a comfortable life that generates more hate and envy among the core element of skateboarding.

In any case, Shexxx definitely has the skills to pay the bills, and is laughing all the way to the bank.

Kale Sandridge

Kale Sandridge is unique. I sometimes I think we should be thankful...

Never before have I seen a skater attack unskateable transitions with such fervour. Born and raised in Hawaii, Kale is a nomad pool rider that has represented the island's OG skate company, Natural Koncept, since day one.

Somewhere out there you can find footage of Kale killing it against an already mature and world famous Christian Hosoi. No major sponsors, no Hi-Def paparazzi peanut gallery, just Kale Vs. Christ in a gnarly 10 foot pool.

Ricky Oyola

If there is one person that embodies skating in the city, it's Ricky Oyola.

During a period when skateboarding was seeing most of it's limits pushed in the sun bmeached schoolyards of Southern California, Ricky Oyola and few of his pals cracked heads when they put Philadelphia on the map. Philly boasted a haven for street skating with Love Park, but Ricky isn't happy skating one spot. No.

Ricky led the grimy inner city youth by literally charging the streets of the city of Brotherly Love. Racing through midtown traffic and assaulting poles and access ramps at mach 10.

Single-handedly, Ricky Oyola pushes the envelope when it comes to actually skating in the street. It's no surprise to find Ricky operating a skate company out of his hometown called Traffic Skateboards, hitching cars, bombing hills and running red lights.

Josh Kasper

Josh Kasper dreamt of rolling into a demo on a Harley Davidson, parking the hog atop a pyramid, launching a benihana over it whilst beaming a kid in the crowd and dedicating his move to the youth.

A dream like that is pretty unique, and it takes a certain kind of skater to think such a scenario up. Skateboarding couldn't help but notice Josh because his antics had skaters rubber necking all around the globe. To get noticed, Josh played it simple by making a name for himself as the kid who ollies the biggest shit. 20 stairs, 15 foot drops, famous gaps... Josh flew it all.

It was only a couple of years after his heroic arrival on the scene that things went pear shaped and his real bag of tricks and dubious past was revealed. To put it bluntly, Josh had about three tricks in total- The 360 flip, the benihana and the heelflip, and he used to rollerblade.

That later truth sent Josh's career spiralling downwards and the loyal support from his adament fans, the Kasperholics, took a beating.

Josh has since left the limelight, but still enjoys the odd roll around. He doesn't seem the least bit fazed about his shady ascent to fame and even openly admits to having enjoyed being a rollerblader. Big Brother magazine celebrated skateboarding's disgraced daredevil by posting him on the cover of their Worst Issue Ever!

Lavar McBride

Lavar McBride has the skills to pay the bills.

Prepped as the first of a new wave of kids killing everything in their path, Lavar rode onto the scene and skated gaps, ledges, banks... The whole Nine switch and regular with mad style. Making a debut under the Stereo banner all those years ago, it wasn't long before the academy of cool that was World Industries and it's affiliate companies scooped up the prodigal youngster and turned him pro at the tender age of 14 for Blind.

For the next few years, Lavar maintained legendary status keeping a good two steps ahead of the game, but as always with the brightest stars, things started to burn out and Lavar lost track a bit. Lavar has been out of the game for a while now, but his legacy remains.

Shit was tight!