WORKING CLASS ZERO

Quantity Day - 2009

Head Board Shop hooks it up once again. I’m not just saying that because I live upstairs. From HBS: a little back story... Quantity day originated in Columbus, Ohio by the guys at 70-71.com in 2006 and was quite possibly the funnest time i ever had skateboarding. I want to bring everyone around the Pittsburgh area together for a day of nothing but fun and skateboarding Fun and skateboarding it was. The original plan was to get the Bar 11 party bus but the axles fell off (I made that up) so HBS had to spring for a school bus rental. Awww shit. Friday night was indoor soccer than a Polish Hill Strangler (plug!) show at Excuses. Epic as always and you gotta wonder how drinking $1 domestics you can still wind up with a $45 bar tab. Carb loading for Quantity Day is the reason I’m sticking with. Honan came out to the show snapped some pics and wisely drank only a pint or two while I crushed beers, shots and broke some hearts in anticipation of what was to come. We woke up early for a Saturday and downed some doughey goodness from the pretzel shop before heading downstairs with cameras, skates, push broom, and dust pan. My beard and creaking joints immediately set me off from the crowd of youth amassed in HBS. Honan and I looked like chaperones on some sort of fucked-up field trip. The beard acted as some sort of smoke blue light special as the groms bum rushed me, asking for nicotine to feed an as yet acquired addiction. I couldn’t say no, the bus was late, and I rolled into CoGos with a madman smoke order – Reds, Newports, Kools, and Marlboro menthols. Only way it could have been shadier is if all the kids were anxiously waiting outside. The rain was sprinkling the bus was late and the anticipation high. My hangover kept repeating in my ear it was too early to be awake but I knew as soon as my feet hit concrete and the blood started pumping my hangover would be but a memory to be revisited Sunday morning. The bus finally arrived and the kids piled aboard 2, 3 to a seat. I haven’t been on a school bus in over a decade but that’s cool cuz the kids knew the routine. Headed out to Boyce Park and a few drops hit the window but as we drove East the pavement looked drier and the energy got higher.

The looks on the faces of the few turning turns at the skatepark was priceless as a mob of kids descended a full on school bus, boards in tow, and straight bumrushed the park. The legs got loose and the masses stuck to the back and forth of the stairs, hubba, and street ledges, leaving the bowls and bumps for the old farts and tranny dogs. Within 30 minutes every pore had opened pouring alcohol and my hangover was replaced with a heady rush of adrenaline and a cotton mouth cry for more water. The kids were ripping stairs and hubba Down the stairs: tre-flip, inward heel, F/S 180s, the list goes on.

Little ripper slings a tre flip Photo: G. Gorton		Co boardslides to fakie on the wave. next to the wave pool.


Tim Robbins kickflipping Photo: G. Gorton		Pop Shuv Tailgrab Photo: G. Gorton

Hubba: F/S lip, Nose grind, 5-0s, and I think a smith was thrown in there too. The ledge off the hubba bump was had by a F/S board, biggie off by the little red headed kid. The airhorn was blown and the kids were herded back into the bus for the first whiff of what would become an increasingly fetid odor of feet, pits and farts.
Kyle and Jeremy from HBS
A glance around and a quick calculation confirmed I was the elder statesman on the bus, and Honan close second. Gap between down to Kyle, Jeremy, and Travis, Co, Grant, and a few other heads. As oldest on the bus I alternately felt like a wise old sage and an old fart with creaky knees and an endless supply of stories beginning with ‘I remember when…’ The second stop was Penn Hills Skate Park, a pre-fab wonderpark done surprisingly well. As we pulled up, the air horn on the local VFW sounded, a piercing air raid siren, 120 decibels of chaos as we descended en masse on an unsuspecting skatepark. If ever a movie is to be made about HBS, the Pittsburgh skate scene, or my fucked up life, a scene must include 50 skate rats running, skating, barging a park located cross a court, through a field, over a fence, while an air raid siren screams. It was epic. The street kept the street kids happy, while a mini with a spine provided a few turns for yours and some others. The park is fun, with a variety of moveable objects, standard street fair like hips, banks, pyramid, rails, etc. The kids ripped it again crushing the stairs, pyramid, and micro-mini ledge. I got broke arrogantly trying to first try ollie the pyramid with an 8 foot deck in my mind and a 4 foot deck realization mid-air. Tim something won the trick shit that stop with a B/S 360 flip over the pyramid hip caught and stomped clean with no landing pivot slop. Saw some tailslides down the hubba, nose grinds, air tranfers hipped into the mini, and general rippage.

Tim Russell B/S 360 flips the pyramid hip.		Co F/S lipslides the moveable box o' fun Photo: G. Gorton
Kyle blasts F/S into the mini through some wrought iron.

Hand boost over the spine Photo: G. Gorton

The air horn blew and we boarded the bus, stomachs rumbling for the South Park BBQ, yinzer paradise. The rain started falling on our approach and things weren’t looking good as I recalled a South Park slick crete washout after only a few sprinkles. The skate trivia started; prizes given out for the correct answers. Q: What is Andy’s (HBS) last name? A: Fetsko Q: How long has HBS been open for? A: 16 years Q: What was World Industries known as before? A: SMA Q: What is the history behind the name of the skateboard company ‘Blind?’ A: It was Mark Gonzales’ rebuttal to riding for Vision. The bus pulled in, and the rain started falling before all the wheels hit the ground but fortunately Vitamin Water had hooked up a tent and provided Vitimus Drinks and a bit of shelter. The BBQ hooked up and the burgers started cooking as a few brave souls braved the slicked up surface. The spills were fantastic. Honan and I hung back and shot the shit with some of the other old heads. The rain stopped and the squeegees squeegeed for a momentary respite; things dried in the skatepark heat trap I turned a few turns and then the rain returned.
Queing for the 'Q		Vitamin Water!
Stefan Janoski (or the author?) Rain Face.		Honan. Rain Face.
It fucking downpoured and the HBS guys wanted to stick it out but the kids decided otherwise and piled on the stinky bus for the next destination. The decision of the masses was of course premature as the rain once again stopped, the squeegees squegeed, and the sessions re-started. A gnarly flat gap was chosen for an impropmtu contest; first to snap it gets a ‘graphed Kalis Workshop deck. Five or six kids started launching over it, a huge flat gap over the bowl which spelled ankle smash if you came up short. After a few gnarly slams and an almost 180 by the kids, Kyle from HBS stepped up and snapped it at breakneck speed. Next time I need shoot it faster than 1/60th cuz all I snapped were blurs.
In today's recession, one must always be mindful of being 'credit carded' Kyle!
Kyle with the mach-10 make. Second to last try as the sprinkles started.
The rain shut us down again, again, McKinley and it’s pre-fabbed metal wonder-shit was Stevie Nixed for a straight shot to Imperial; we all piled in the now-concentrated locker room smelling foot rot bus for the long anxious trip to try and beat the rain. Skate Trivia continued: Q: Who F/S flipped the Reason Gap? (Hint: SOTY) A: Brian Anderson Q: Who beat Tony Hawk in a contest while tripping on acid? (hint: he committed suicide) A: Jeff Phillips Q: Who has a hot older sister or younger mom? (I thought of asking but bit my tongue. I had already achieved a level of dirtbaggery for the day most can only dream about) The rain lessened, then stopped. We pulled into dry Imperial to see the same look of shock, amazement, and dejection on the few that had the park to themselves. Imperial is the gem of the Pittsburgh area free ‘crete parks, with a pre-fab street course and mini I won’t mention, a pool, a mini-snake run, and an awesome snake run starting around 3 feet, increasing to, fuck, 12 feet? With hips, love seats, eggs, corners, hips, roll-ins, vert walls, and all the goodness you could ask for. Highlights included Jesse Thomas manualling the entire outside perimeter of the fucking park; Jeremy getting the oververt; and a bunch of pre-fab trickery.


Jeremy deep end 50-50 Photo: G. Gorton		Jeremy carves over-vert

		Kyle F/S air hip shit Photo: G. Gorton
Imperial Lurking

Jeremy feebles Photo: G. Gorton		Old man into the snake run Photo: G. Gorton I fucked with the levels. I know, I'm a dick.
Lowlight – a bunch of kids ran a train through the big snakerun half the time we were there. Sure, it looked like fun for the 15 odd kids cruising through the bottom of the bowls to the bottom of the run, running back to the top, then repeating, but how bout the 15 kids standing at the top wanting to drop and catch some grinds? Next year, I propose we hand out a skatepark etiquette book. 1.) Have fun. 2.) Don’t snake. If you’re at a park alone, the park is yours. If you’re at a park with 50 other people, share. We all learned how to share in Kindergarten so get with the fucking program. 3.) If you bail, get out of the way. Sure, bladders, scooters, and some bikers will bail 18/19 tricks on a mini ramp run, but guess what? We skate. 4.) If you’re standing in the way, get out of the way. a. This is slightly ambiguous at parks like Imperial – there are a million lines there, so you might think you are ‘out of the way,’ but if you look over your shoulder, you’ll see a dozen dudes waiting patiently to roll through the spot you are standing. b. If you’re walking in a bowl, it better be to the nearest wall to get out. 5.) Have fun. Raffle tickets were sold, the sky threatened, the air horn blew, and we were on our way. The bus funk was fantastic. Back to HBS and the weary piled out the bus and into the shop for awards and prizes. Four decks were handed out to the rippers from each park. The raffle prizes were sick with hats, decks, stickers, and other assorted gear. The kids walked out into the exclamation point thunderstorm bruised, battered and happy with fistfuls of merch and the great vibe we often search for and rarely find. Special thanks to Vitamin Water for hooking up the beverages, and extra special thanks to Head Board Shop for hooking everything up.
Mini-Ripper who tre-flipped the stairs won a deck! Stoked!		Ripper who F/S board-slide biggie won a deck! Stoked!
Tim russell, B/S 360 flipped the pyramid hip for a deck! Stoked!		Product Toss!!!
More pics here Note: I realized a missed a few names, a few tricks, and a ton of flicks. If you want to send me your name, accounts of your ripping, killer video, or flicks, please send them to: Story By: Ben K Photos By: Ben K except where noted.