Know Your History
Posted
on
on Tuesday, January 25, 2011
by Rob
Recently Nick Halkias from Nike SB invited me over to his office/museum to check it out and shoot some photos.
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By Stalker Steve
Recently Nick Halkias from Nike SB invited me over to his office/museum to check it out and shoot some photos. Walking in, it's the most insane thing ever. The living room is packed to the ceiling with some incredibly rare skateboard memorabilia and other interesting collectibles, like a Malcolm X action figure and a Shriner's fez. "I just find all the random stuff at flea markets and thrift stores," Nick explained.
The office is pretty locked down and private, with mainly skate art royalty like Sean Cliver, Todd Bratrud, and a couple others being the only people to visit it. So it was especially awesome to be able to scope it out. I was blown away by all the history, and that was only the living room. He showed me a bedroom after that was stuffed with even more insane items from the history of skateboarding, framed works from famous skate artists, and almost every pair of famous Dunks from the start of SB to now. It was every skate nerd's fantasy.
Thanks again, Nick.
This was Nick's shelf of random action figures and other weird stuff. The Mad Magazine guy, luau girls, a hookah, and Biz Markie holding it down in the back.
Nick has lots of art from Neil Blender. Some of it is from the Heritage Art Show at Tampa Pro a few years ago, but some of it he acquired on his own.
This was one of the first copies of Big Brother magazine. The mag came inside the cereal box. If you want to read some of the classic stuff from Big Brother, buy Dave Carnie's book
Boob in the Shop here.
Amongst all the skate stuff, Nick pulled out a bunch of 7" records of one of my favorite bands ever, The Smiths.
Sean Sheffey was one of the gnarliest street skaters out for years. Look up his part in Mouse and check out the raw power.
Skater Profile:
Sean Sheffey
Nick kept saying "I need to find some Tampa stuff to show you." He worked at the Park in the 90's. When Clements fired him he kept the keys and lied to Ryan saying "I got pissed and threw them into the ocean."
This is an original print of what was supposed to be the first Blind ad. Transworld refused to run it because Gonz is playing with a rifle.
Skater Profile:
Mark Gonzales
Gonz took a Sharpie to these priest Schmoo figures a few years ago and auctioned them off. Looks like Nick came up on some of them.
For some of the more famous graphics, Nick owns the original drawings.
With all the more modern skateboards, of course he owns the old school rollerskate-boards.
The original drawing of one of the best graphics ever: Charles Manson with the Peanuts posse.
Jim Thiebaud has had some of the most iconic graphics in skateboarding.
Skater Profile:
Jim Thiebaud
Mike Daher was an OG pro skater from Clearwater. YouTube him. This was one of his decks shouting out the Bay.
An old Gino Ianucci board repping the Wu-Tang.
Since Nick is in the same town as Scientology headquarters, he's especially hyped on this board. As dumb as I think Scientology is, I think the other organized religions are as well.
Skater Profile:
Randy Colvin
Far East was a really cool board company run through SPoT years ago that I'd really like to see come back if everyone wasn't way too busy already. This is a photo of a board before Joel Meinholz got on, and after.
Mike Hill is one of the guys behind Alien Workshop and Habitat. He made this for an art show years ago and donated it to Nick's museum.
Nick has lots of photo nerd stuff I was so hyped on, like this original Natas Kaupas print OG photographer MoFo sent him.
This is modern day Nick holding a photo of back-in-the-day-Clem with Schaefer's girlfriend at the time. Look how far the Park's come since then. We have a lot more than 50 boards on the wall now.
