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Matt Jones
Normandy Beach, New Jersey

This month, we have a Sponsor Me video coming in from the East Coast. Matt Jones is a true skateboarder. Getting filmed with a low-quality camera with a dirty lens doesn’t bother him, he still skates hard, regardless. Matt has some really good footage in this video. His 360 flip and nollie flip down the nine-stair in Broooklyn were sick! There are a few things about Matt’s video that could have been different, though. The first thing is that Matt doesn’t show a very large variety of skate spots. There are tons of spots around the area where he lives, but most of his footage was from two different spots. This tends to make a video monotonous. You want to keep the viewer excited, and showing different scenery and spots is a good way to do that. The other thing about Matt’s video is that there are two lines that are the same. If you have two lines with the same tricks, pick the better one and just use that. Matt seems like the kind of guy who really loves skateboarding. This kid has a lot of heart. I think he just needs to be in the game a bit longer and develop his skating a little more before pursuing getting sponsored. Take those rail tricks to bigger rails and film some lines. If you are good enough to get sponsored, it will happen. Thanks, Matt, for the time and effort you spent sending your video into Emerica! You just earned yourself a brand spankin’ new pair of kicks. —Jeff Henderson

Industrial Ride Shop is hosting an Emerica autograph signing this Friday, May 13 at their Scottsdale, Arizona location. Emerica pros Andrew Reynolds, Heath Kirchart, Kevin “Spanky” Long, Bryan Herman, Leo Romero and am Braydon Szafranski will be there hanging out and signing autographs from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. Better see all you desert rats there!

Industrial Ride Shop

Scottsdale Fashion Square

7014-2112 E. Camelback RD

Scottsdale, AZ 85251

(480) 425-1220

You Ruin My Life

Photographs by Ed and Deanna Templeton

Opening Reception

Friday, May 20, 2005

AntiSocial Skateshop

Vancouver, BC, Canada

(Photos will be hanging up for at least a few weeks after the opening.)

Note: This contest is being held by Active Ride Shop and IFILM, not Emerica.

Active Ride Shop and IFILM are excited to launch the very first Emerican Idol, an online competition to find the best amateur skateboarder! Amateur skaters from across the U.S. will submit their films, which will be posted on IFILM, and fans and pro skaters will vote each week for their favorites.

One winner will be named the Emerican Idol and will receive a Grand Prize, which will include product from Emerica, Baker and Krew. The winner may also be invited to select key events in Southern California to meet and hang with top pro skaters and a chance to enter the Am Contest.

Winning entries will be celebrated and featured on IFILM as examples of some of the top up and coming amateur skaters to watch for. Your first step to a career in professional skateboarding just got easier.

The search for America’s top amateur skateboarder began on May 1, 2005 and ends on August 1, 2005. Top entries will be posted on IFILM and the winners will be announced on September 1, 2005. Enter here.

All you Canadian Kids better get ready for the Emerica team: Andrew Reynolds, Heath Kirchart, Erik Ellington, Kevin Long, Bryan Herman and Leo Romero, as they infest your hoods with some demos and signings during the Emerica S0’Wester Tour 2005. The dates are listed below this flyer. Better see you there!

Friday, June 3 Skaters SW (Signing), Calgary, Alberta, 3:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.

Friday, June 3 Mission Kensington (Signing), Calgary, Alberta, 5:30 p.m. - 6:30 p.m.

Saturday, June 4, Source Skatepark, Calgary, Alberta, 3:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.

Sunday, June 5 Red Deer Skatepark, Red Deer, Alberta, 3:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.

Tuesday, June 7 Millwood Skatepark, Edmonton, Alberta, 4:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.

Thursday, June 9 Cassleman-Lush Skatepark, Ft. McMurray, Alberta, 4:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.

Title: John Doe Zine
Publisher: John Doe
Issue Numbers: November 2004 and January 2005
Page Size: 5.5" x 8.5"
Page Count: November 2004: 52, January 2005: 36
Printing method: Black and white photocopy.
Price: Email the publisher.
Email: johndoezine at hotmail.com (Use the @ symbol with no spaces around it instead of the word "at".)
Web Site: John Doe Zine

Straight outta the boondocks (also known as Cheyenne, Wyoming), we have two recent issues of John Doe Zine. The November 2004 issue is chock full of dozens of photos from all skates of (board) life: Contests, demos and street / park missions galore, not to mention "hotties" in skimpy duds…or no duds at all. This issue is also packed with many provocative travel stories and random articles with titles like Triple Crown Finals, Casper Contest, For Fun Zine’s Brazilian Quest, Washington DC, World War II Memorial, Gettysburg, Horses, Mt. Vernon, Beach Vermin, LA Traffic, Muscle Beach, Medieval Times, Hooray for Hollywood, the La Brea Tar Pits, Rodeo Drive, Surfing, Wedding Day With Junkie Monkey, Don’t Surprise This Store, Cheyenne Hooters Opens, Lesbian Pirates, My Husband Won’t Get Mad, The Pepsi Challenge, Skate Spots, etc.

The January 2005 issue of John Doe contains another huge assortment of photos and more random, eyebrow-raising articles like Pissin’ On Chimo’s, Jam’s World Tour 2004, ESPN X Games King of the Rail, Ask John, Halloween, The Dwarves, Frosty the Meatball, Jim’s Party Pics, Dressed to Kill, Bad Santa, Knife Dick, Downtown Burns to the Ground, New Year’s Eve, Del the Funky Homosapien, Fornicating Reindeer, Peter Pecker, SOTY Party 2004, Statue of Liberty, Skate Spots, etc.

I think John Doe Zine is Kool and the Gang, and both issues come complete with a brochure urging the reader to donate to help get a local skatepark built. Right on! Good luck, boys. P.S. JDZ gets bonus points for originality, as both issues are held together by rubber bands, not staples. Too bad the rubber bands will dry out in a few years, then break apart and set the pages of JDZ aloft, only to end up scattered all over hell’s half acre. Imagine some hapless person coming across the photo of the fornicating reindeer Christmas decoration purely by chance. Ten times the random!

You asked Emerica pro Leo Romero the questions, and he has responded! We just posted in the More section the seventh in a series of emericaskate.com Member’s Only interviews.

After poring over the hundreds of questions you Kids asked him, we narrowed them down to (a still sizable) 50, and rang Leo up for some answers. Thanks to all who participated. Stay tuned, cuz future Member’s Only interviews are in the works. Enjoy!