Skateboard Bid'niss IASC Summit and Hall of Fame Awards Article at Skatepark of Tampa

Skateboard Bid'niss IASC Summit and Hall of Fame Awards

Posted on Friday, May 10, 2013 by Rob

By Rob Meronek

I've spent the last two days at this conference about all the bid'niss stuff that goes on behind the scenes in the sketchy skateboard industry. I can't believe how lucky I am to be around all this stuff as an aging skateboarder. I'm nerding out and fanning out left and right.
Don
The Board of Directors at IASC is behind the scenes at all your favorite companies. Don Brown is kicking it off.
If you end up working in skateboarding, which is the next best thing to being a pro skateboarder, you'll be in this crowd one day.
Our new homie Glenn Walker here runs Skateboarding Australia doing some am contests there down under. We'll be lining up what he's doing with what we're doing to get more ripping Australians on the path to Tampa Am.
Paul
Paul Schmitt saved the Damn Am from going away in the first year Brian and I started it back in 2001. Betsy Gordon is the reason I have a photo in the Smithsonian. Thank you both so much.
Bobby Hundreds spoke today about his roots in skateboarding and the company he created, The Hundreds. This dude had the most real talk of the session.
Rob
The blurry guy stealing our snacks is Rob Brink.
Fred is helping all your favorite pros get their digital act together.
Brian
We'll be at Steve Van Doren's skateboard shindig this weekend. Thanks for having us at the Vans Pool Party, Steve.
This is Steve Douglas and Jeff Kendall. Steve was pro for Schmitt Stix. I remember riding some of his boards and them being the first ones I saw with a larger nose. When I was super new to skating and lived in upstate New York, I saw Jeff Kendall at a demo do the first frontside ollie revert I've ever seen. I was blown away. That's how it worked before the internet.
There was plenty of talk of numbers and balance sheets, sort of like two straight days of Nerdsday Thursday. This is Jeff Harbaugh telling us how you need to strengthen your business. Option number one there on the screen I could not agree with more.
Pause for a foot fetish. After hanging out with Joey Brezinski yesterday, he hooked HiDefJoe and I up with a pair of Pumas. They actually still come with fat laces. I'm feeling nostalgic about my breakdance days before skateboarding when this shoe and the Jordan 1's were all that mattered.
Brian
Florida skate park camps, Brian Schaefer of SPoT and Marty Ramos of Kona.
Cross Patrick Melcher with an abacus and you get Mike Lewis, Editor-in-Chief of TransWorld Business. His numbers he presented about participation in skateboarding have pretty closely matched what I've found on Nerdsday Thursday.
Of course you got Animal Chin serving up the sauce here. That's where I find the fun for sure.
It's time for the Hall of Fame thing now where the 50+ skateboarders are getting loose. The attire is fascinating.
Apparently these ladies where ripping skateboarders in their heydey. OG ratchets.
Dave
Dave Hackett is who you aim to be when you're older.
An amazing California mall grab. I just now noticed the ZRoller trucks. Kids, there has always been super silly crap in skateboarding, not just the wackness you see today. Back in the 80's, someone made trucks that had a rolling hangar so you could "grind" easier. Ridiculous.
Todd Huber from Skatelab has the largest collection of old skateboards you'll ever see.
Old collector meets new collector. Nick Halkias has quite a stockpile of skateboard pack ratness, too.
This is Woody Woodward who's in the video Joe and I made for the night. He stuck out enough in the crowd that we became fascinated with him. Then we found out he was getting an award in the ceremony. Woody could not represent what a 70 year old skateboarder is any better. He makes me look forward to being 70.
Casey
I can picture Casey Wayne being Woody's long lost great grandson.
Woody's dangler had what appears to be scorpion tail and other artifacts of crazy witchcraft. So badass.
Jeremy
HiDefJoe had to fan out on Jeremy Wray. Me, too.
A sample of the wacky bumper stickers here.
This history of boards and photos here had all the geezers with their phones out.
Dave
Dave Hackett was the host for the night. Apparently those two stage models also rip at skateboarding. I think we need a demo.
Wow, what a shirt/cause. I guess maybe they're trying to get the Taliban to mellow out with longboards or something? This belongs on the That Looks Like a Dick Instagram.
Rodney
I fan out so much on Rodney Mullen that he recognizes me now.
Darren
The Vertical Vampire and Alex Perelson where an entertaining peanut gallery. Alex blew me away when he asked about being on the cover of Frontside Grind Magazine. The Editor needs to make time to publish more issues.
Christian
Christian Hosoi closed it out with a great speech given like a motivational coach. Thanks IASC for having us and teaching us a thing or two about skateboard history.

A Rodney Mullen Chat and Getting Cool-Guyed by a 70 Year Old

I ripped some raw footage out of HiDefJoe's camera and put together a few minutes from the show: Rodney Mullen, Woody Woodward, and Dave Duncan at the IASC Hall of Fame Awards 2013.

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