Friday 27 January 2012

ACTION NOW MAGAZINE TV SHOW 1981


My good friend Tim Stamp had a VHS copy of this that we hammered when we skated in '83-'84.
ACTION NOW magazine rose out of the ashes of SKATEBOARDER magazine when the skateboard boom took a dump in 1980.
It was a last ditch attempt to stay afloat and the mag opened its doors to other action sports: BMX, roller skating, surfing, skimboarding etc. Unfortunately, this ploy didn't work out...it totally alienated the hardcore few that still skated, the lowpoint for me being a photo of someone on a horse down at the beach.
On a plus point, the mag did have a reasonable music content and it was quick to champion the LA punk scene. Lots of Circle Jerks, Black Flag etc as well as features on the big UK punk bands at the time.
The mag didn't last long and around this time a new, truly independent skateboard magazine was launched called THRASHER that drove the final nail in the 'Action Now' coffin.
The Action Now TV show was a self financed 30 minute showcase produced at one of skateboardings all time low points. By todays standards it looks nothing special but the skate footage blew me away. It was the only way to see moving images of the new 'bionic' skating that was starting to come through. particular stand outs are Neil Blender and Steve Alba....totally inspired by this, me and a few friends built STIFFNECKS RAMP.
I wish the rest of the show was on Youtube. Its been over 25 years since I saw it but I recall some good footage of Jeff Watson on his BMX in the Upland fullpipe and some early Bob Haro ramp riding.
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  1. Unknown5 July 2015 at 18:56

    Wow, I'd forgotten about this! My friend had a copy of this in the UK about the same time (1983/84) followed by other skating videos (sadly unknown) and we used to watch it before and after skating. It's about thirty years since I've seen it but I would love to see it again in full too, especially Roger Hickey's downhill skateboarding, if only for the line "he only gets about three stops per pair of shoes"!
    If anyone does have a copy then please upload it - yes, it was embarassingly bad in parts but it's still part of our history. There's a very brief section of Jeff Watson in the full pipe here -
    https://youtu.be/599IaZsZAIk?list=PL8B5613CAD276FE29

    and Bob Haro's freestyle section - https://youtu.be/J-otwqNrsJs ("I can take it any - it's portable". No kidding, Bob - that's because it's a bike!)

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