Zaturdays: Sean Cliver, Legend

I use the term legend as an inside joke between Sean and I, even though we’ve never technically met. It stems from a recent announcement from your good friends over here at SPoT touting the release of the new Nike x SPoT x Gasparilla x Cliver Dunk. In the press release we referred to Cliver as a legend, to which Cliver reportedly [demurely] replied… “But I’m not a legend.” Maybe if we’re talking about in the history of humankind, then he might not quite be a legend, but come on, within our wild and wonderful world of the shred sled? He totally is. Here are some details for you sneaker heads:

• Original/ custom artwork from Sean Cliver on the shoe, insole of shoe, shoebox, t-shirt, and board.
• Limited release with signed elements from Cliver.

Honestly, the box is the best shoe box ever. It’s like a treasure chest, which is fitting, since the shoe is like modern man’s version of solid gold. I’m assuming sneaker heads will wonder why this shoe is being referred to as the “Gasparilla” Dunk, and if it’s perhaps in honor of an extra effervescent version of sarsaparilla. But no, according to the press release, the shoe is named after Jose Gaspar, an 18th century pirate known as “the last of the Buccaneers.” Somehow after the raping and pillaging he’d done all up and down the coast of Florida, people looked back on his exploits favorably enough to create the Gasparilla Pirate Festival in his honor, which 200+ years later is still a thing here. Think of it like Tampa Am with no skating and way more hot-shorts. But getting back to this whole legend thing. Just so you know we’re not bestowing the accolade on some hack, here are a few of the things that land Cliver squarely in the Will Smith category: - He put out the definitive coffee table book about skateboard graphics, Disposable, A History of Skateboard Art, which considering how much I love coffee I should own but I don’t. Another reason I should probably have a copy is because a Paul Zitzer Birdhouse board graphic was somehow accidentally included in the book. It wasn’t a Cliver graphic as far as I know, and it was in fact the worst graphic to ever curse the bottom of a skateboard, but maybe that’ll be the subject of another Zaturdays. "Zitzer man, I’ve seen that thing you do for the SPoT site, why does everything have to be about you anyway?" Yeah I’m not too sure. - He was the editor of Big Brother Magazine! - He had something to do with Jackass…producer maybe? - He did some of the most recognizable skateboard graphics of all time, like Ray Barbee’s first ever Powell graphic, and gobs of boards for World Industries and friends in their heyday. - He did everything he’s done as a direct result of winning a Powell art contest that was advertised in Thrasher or TWS and that I couldn’t find on the Internet anywhere. - He’s originally from Wisconsin, which is where I came from too originally, so it’s like, the birthplace of Zaturdays. Full circle bros. -Paul Zitzer