Mid-Eastern Skateboard Series
The
MESS wasn't about contests. Contests were a way to get ourselves recognized,
push each other, and get free stuff. The MESS was a way for us to take
skateboarding in our own direction.
Explaining how small groups of skaters across Indiana, Ohio, West Virginia,
and Tennessee found each other and organized a backyard ramp series is a bit
like chaos theory, but there are certain events that helped trigger the formation
of a loose network in the region I have dubbed the Mideast (a bit of southeast
thrown together with some midwest). Our Mideast was a region of cooperation,
along with a dose of healthy competition. Our terror was played out on backyard
ramps and local street skating spots. The leaders were ourselves.
One of the primary catalysts for the network was the publication of Skate
Fate back in the summer of 1981 by Garry Davis, who lived in Cincinnati
at the time. Once Garry's zine filtered its way to skaters' mailboxes, other
zines began churning out of photocopiers by the dozens.
Rolling Papers, Squid Meat, Very Sketchy, Skate Attack, The Monthly Shredder,
Altered Skates, Stuff, Street Issue, RIP—these zines were our equivalent
of the world wide web. The word “computer” was not even part of
our vocabularies. We were, however, well versed in sessions, surfing, and
crashing.
After meeting each other through the poorly photocopied pages of zines, we
began the more difficult task of travelling to each other's ramps. A few informal
sessions precluded the more formal contests that popped up throughout 1982.
New
connections were made throughout the network: the Indy crew venturing over
to the Ridge Invitational in Huntington, WV; the Squid Team, Roskopp, and
Jimenez making the trek to Joe's contest in July '82; and, finally, almost
all of the MESS organizers (except Joe) congregating at Rob's for the second
Cherry Lane ramp contest in October. Talk of a series was brought up several
times. The network was almost complete.
A network, of course, is strong because it does not rely on any primary node
for its existence. In 1982, Garry Davis and Rob Roskopp moved to the promised
land (California), and, after 1983, Marty Jimenez and Bryan Ridgeway headed
west also. But the network flourished and expanded. The Downeys came in during
'83 to host MESS #2 and helped build upon that success by hosting another
contest in 1984.
1984
brought many new faces to the MESS, and, fortunately, new ramps to host contests.
Robert Taylor from Johnson City, TN, took on the task of hosting MESS #2 (which
brought out the west coast); Mike Kays from Kentucky took on the responsibility
of #3 and found a suitable trailer park for the venue; and Joe Polevy from
Greenville, SC, wrapped it up with #5.
Almost all of the zines that formed the network in '82 and '83 were no longer
being published in '84. A fresh crop of new zines took their places. The old
network was spreading into new territory, expanding upon the solid base built by a handful of dedicated skaters.
