Zaturdays: Slam or Land - A Tribute

I hate to admit it, but I've always been a bailer. This first became painfully apparent after I met and started skating with Mike Frazier, who is the poler opposite of a bailer. I can't think of a fitting word for it, but expressions like 'all in,' 'do or die,' and 'going for it' do a pretty good job of summing up the way he skated. Still skates, actually. Learned it in five minutes. No trip to the hospital for this one. Frazier, ss fs salad grind. Photo: Tadashi To give you an idea of how gnarly Frazier got on the board, he once did a padless half cab blunt 360 out on a kinked metal vert ramp for $40. If you bet him on a trick you would either lose or he'd go to the hospital. Even for a dollar, but it was usually for a 2 liter of Coke. He's literally had 13 knee surgeries on just one of his knees. Wait, 14? The other one has had less but still a bunch. He'll tell you that a knee surgery to him is "like getting an oil change, good for another 3000 miles." One time he knocked himself unconscious twice in one day. He's had to have his shoulders reconstructed, he dislocated an ankle, broken his back. Starting to get the idea? OG SPoT vert ramp. Mike takes the deadly fingerflip lien to tail and doubles down on the danger with the switch version. Me on the other hand have never had a surgery. My only back problem is poor posture. And while I've been knocked out a few times it was usually due to accidentally stepping back on my board and zinging out while trying to bail. I rarely slammed because by the time I was ready to land a new trick I'd tried and aborted the mission so many times that I pretty much knew how to do it and just had to ride away from it. Mike on the other hand would go for tricks like second try. One to show, one to go as they say. You talkin' to me? My approach could have been a lot better. It was time wasting, frustrating, and just plain weak really. All I can say in its defense is that it kept me from getting too injured. Mike's approach on the other hand had him learning tricks in two minutes, three, four, five tricks a day, but then again it was common for him to slam his brains out and be out for six weeks. Well, three weeks actually because he definitely was not one to follow doctors orders. But he had it right. He never had to wonder if he would have learned a trick if he'd have only manned up, and It's part of why he's a legend today. Mike got gnarly with flip grabs too. Legend status Thrasher cover. There was an article in either TWS or Thrasher, waaaaaay back, about the moment of truth when you know you can make a trick and it's time you try to land it next try or take the slam. They also suggested that at some point you should start removing one article of padding for each bail. Like a padded strip tease. I guess that might not work as well anymore since nobody even has pads on in the first place. But it's good advice. Take the risk, man up, put it down, whatever you call it, at least you won't be left wondering. The Mike Frazier graphic by Sean Cliver. Nuff said. - Paul Zitzer