chrome ball incident #37: publicity

there's only so many photos and so many video parts out there of gino, all of which are golden but at the same time, they tend to get recycled alot. the same thing goes for guy. corey duffel probably gets more coverage in a two-month span than both these legends have in their 15+ year careers. For this one, I went with these two early gems, plus an Atiba portrait from a '98 Axion Tour.

In the canon that is Iannucci, the two ads above are important as they represent when Gino went from a relatively-unknown am on black label with one or two ads behind him to virtually an overnight sensation. Along with Snuff later that year, this coverage would effectively help lay down the foundation for what would eventually become a legendary skate career. Both these ads appeared in the same magazine (Thrasher, Aug 93) and featured a "who the hell is this" throwing down two "holy shit!"s at some of the most notorious spots in the game.

The backside heel, "perfect" as Keenan would call it, came around at a time when only a handful of tricks had been done down the Gonz and nothing this elaborate (looking at some old mags, I didn't realize Josh Swindell did a f/s pop-shove down it... ya know... before he killed somebody). The bottom one shows Gino throwing a switch kickie down the six at Hubba Hideout, which is a little strange as you normally don't think of the two together (like Lance Mountain ollieing the 7 at Embarcadero in Animal Chin or Jesus Christ flying a helicopter... its just kinda weird).

just like i can never choose between 101 and girl, i can also never choose between guy and gino, an eternal clash of the titans that's been raging on inside my mind for well over a decade. but as triumpant as fully flared was for guy, this clip from Dec. 2006 represents just about the opposite for gino. I've always respected Gino's candor in addition to his amazing skating ability and looking at these early ads definitely puts this clip in an even more uncomfortable light. Guy and Gino have always been my favorites because they're kinda like that sleeping giant out in the forest: you have no idea what they're doing, but you know they're out there somewhere and any day, they can just appear and straight fuck up everybody. As the years go by, their personal struggles coming to light have served to make them more human, making you only root for them harder to succeed. It is clear that both remain very careful about what coverage of them is put out there as their legacies remain well-guarded and intact, which i believe to be as much for their fans as it is for themselves.

Currently, Ty Evans and the crew are in the midst of filming a new Chocolate video, lets hope that our man can find his way... and if you believe in karma, gino getting the curtains with a slow-mo intro to some Band of Horses could almost make up for all the goofy "skate" reality shows you have to tolerate as your annoying relatives try to convince what actually "real" skateboarding is.



David said...

Great post. It is interesting and a bit sad to think about the juxtaposition of where Guy and Gino are in their lives.
I wonder if he got his shop reopened?
Anyway, Gino..if you happen to read this, just know that there are countless skaters out their truly pulling for you.

Watson said...

Oh god no let's keep Band Of Horses as far away from Gino as possible.

I'm really hoping the Chocolate video will be a return to form of the old Girl/Chocolate formula of really good music and not tons of slow motion and bullshit.

chops said...

thanks fellas.

I never heard anything of Poets officially reopening but I know it was supposed to there for a while.

yeah, the Band of Horses was a stretch... was kinda talkin out my ass on that one. But I gotta say that I love some Ty Evans and appreciate all he does... but he could stand to use a little less slo-mo. I can't remember there being any on Goldfish at all, was there?

One thing that I always find curious and I wonder if this is the teams deciding this or what... but in the 15 years of Girl/Chocolate, how come Girl always seems to get the more classic-style skate video where Chocolate is always acting or its a tour video or something a little different... even this new Chocolate joint, I've heard them talk about making it "real quick and putting it out"... there's always some angle, never "just" a skate video it seems.

And one last thing, and this is just for all skate videos in general (not just girl/choc)... but how come the credits now in videos are like 30 minutes long? Its crazy! I do enjoy the loose feel of them and all that... but damn!

Watson said...

I appreciate that Ty Evans is obviously a great motivator, like he gets shit done, and I appreciate what he DID for videos back in the late 90s, but that shit is so corny now. Like I can hardly even watch Fully Flared. I'm surprised that with the huge resurgence lately of 90s nostalgia on all these blogs, and people re-releasing old shoes and board graphics, etc, that everyone isn't wanting to make their videos like Penal Code 100A. No instead we have this over-produced HD camera on a dolly system stuff. I don't like it.

In any case, I think maybe the reason for the Chocolate videos like that is because Girl has all the big hitters who produce, and Chocolate has all the other dudes. They're all sick, but I mean with the exception of maybe the newer guys like Eldridge (who I hate) and Devine, and well, I guess MJ pumps out the coverage. But I mean, Poppalardo, Gino, Chris Roberts, Chico, these guys aren't really known for putting together huge revolutionary sections. More so just like any footage you see of them you feel privilaged, you know? (Chris Roberts aside.)

chops said...

Fuck I had this huge long comment and I deleted it cause I'm screwing around with this profile pic thing... let me try to recap real quick..

ah! found a rough version of it on Word, thanks OCD-spellchecking tendencies!

Ty definitely comes from the Stacey Peralta school of skate video production, and I've noticed a definite shift since his rise to prominence (but the sports changed alot since then too...) but see, i'm in a weird spot with this cause I do video shit for a living so on the one hand I like seeing him push skate videos forward with all this new shit but on the other hand, you can't fuck with some no-budget Rubbish Heap steez. I don't know... i go both ways (no homo)

He's definitely going nuts on Fully Flared though... but I think alot of that may have had to do with such lofty expectations of the final product. I gotta say though, he did better with the pressure than Spielberg did with Indy 4.

He can definitely ease back on the slow-mo and the portrait/chilling shots between tricks a little... plus I'm not always the biggest fan of his soundtrack selections.

I think things are getting so blown out just because 1) there's so much $ in the sport right now and 2) there's so many kids skating with vids on Youtube, companies do have to shell out some cash for some production to differentiate... unless being "raw" is part of your brand identity (see baker/deathwish).

nice job, watson. i think we've done this kinda thing earlier concerning a "dope pose" convo on another blog somewhere. keep it coming.

Keith said...

Great Gino post. Black Label and Gino just don't fit LOL

That rehab thing with Gino makes me sad. One of my favourite skaters of all time hitting pretty close to rock bottom.

I linked your blog in a post at mine


Hope that's okay.

Keep the great posts coming.

chops said...

it never really made since to me either, although black label was a little different back then... i can't imagine dill on there either.

thanks for the write-up on your site and the compliments, man. nice to hear... sometimes after i write something, i'm afraid of this site becoming the corn ball incident, so i'm glad you like it.

Keith said...


Not corny at all. As long as you don't start getting a chub because of Menace and Axion.