StrangeLove
historical stitches
Sean Cliver
I'm a sappy man of many mental sentimentalities when it comes to skateboarding, but Ray Barbee will forever be at the forefront of all my warm, fuzzy, maple-laced memories from throughout the years. Ray's big-time video debut moment came in 1988 via Powell-Peralta's fourth video release, Public Domain, whereupon he instantly became one of my favorite skaters [2]. His effortless style and flat ground flair completely altered the way I approached—I mean, heck, who am I kidding… wished I could approach street skating. He just made everything look FUN.
a strangelove side effect
Sean Cliver
When Side Effect first emerged from the Minnesota scene, I think I saw somewhere where she sells seashells by the seashore. Sorry, couldn't help but lose myself there, because it felt really weird to type "saw somewhere" followed by "where," so I somehow had to shake my grammatical unease. Anyway, back to the point, someone surmised, albeit incorrectly, that I actually had something to do with Side Effect, like it was a part of StrangeLove or something. Maybe because we share many of the same riders? A logical conclusion, no doubt, especially in this incestuous world of skateboarding, but a wrong one nonetheless. It is in fact a company of our brother's from a different mother, Rob Sissi, who also happens to assist in managing the StrangeLove roster of riders, hence the cross-contamination.
USA #1
Sean Cliver
Any long term skateboarder in the lifer sense will surely remember a classic T-shirt that came out in 1990 boldly stating "USA #1." The design accompanied the Blind Jason Lee "American Icons" pro model, drawn by Marc McKee, which was heralded as an instant classic and has since become an elusive Holy Grail for many skate collectors to this day. You have to understand, satire wasn't really a part of the skate graphics repertoire back then, but the "American Icons" blew the door wide open for a flood of illustrated social commentary to come out of skateboarding in the decades to follow—and thank god.
summer lovin' with timothy johnson and max murphy
Sean Cliver
I'll keep this brief and to the point. No, seriously, in the modern day ADD spirit of brevity and 142-character attention spans, I'm only here to present (proudly!) a Midwestern metropolitan mix, featuring Timothy Johnson and Max Murphy, with a special thanks going out to Uprise Skateshop and filmer/editor Blake Matthews. Enjoy!
the no show me the money debacle
Sean Cliver
Father, forgive me, for I have fucked up. Not only that, I'm feeling a little... I don't know... I guess "unhinged" is the popular buzzword du jour, so what better state of 50-scattered mind to bare my selfish soul and talk about something that's been weighing on my mind of late (and apparently my partner Nick's, too, as he's quick to remind me about this one particular product call I made whenever I suggest making a "Heart Skull" trucker hat). To do so, however, we must first take one of my prerequisite trips into the past to better explain the situation of the present, because just like Morrissey I too tend to go about things the wrong way.