Vegetarianism in skateboarding (1978 to 2015)

Updated 8 September 2024

The years from 2016 onwards can be found here.

1978

Peggy Oki, original member of the Z-Boys (Dogtown), later (around 2001) became vegan [1, 58, 100]; photo by Glen E. Friedman, who later also became vegan [12, 73].

1982

This is a photo of pre-vegetarian Mike Vallely doing a street plant in 1982, wearing Vans. The photo was published in Thrasher (January 1991).

Claus Grabke (probably not vegetarian yet?) on the cover of the first issue of Monster Skateboard magazine (then: Münster Monster magazine; Germany, 1982). This magazine was originally started by Claus Grabke [92].

It is my understanding (based on what I think I remember reading) that Henry Garfield of Washington, D.C., singer of the punk band State of Alert (aka SOA), for a brief period of time, was a vegetarian. I think, this was when he was still living in Washington, D.C., and was still called Garfield, and that he stopped being vegetarian either still back in D.C. or after moving to California to join Black Flag - around that time (or exactly at that moment) he changed his last name from "Garfield" to "Rollins".

Henry Rollins of Black Flag (Thrasher, April 1982)

Henry Rollins of Black Flag in an Independent ad (Thrasher, April 1982)

Greg Ginn, the mastermind (and some might say dictator) behind Black Flag - Black Flag de facto has always been Greg Ginn's band - has been vegetarian since 1971 (when he was 17; he was born in 1954) [82]. So, it seems highly likely that in this photo he was vegetarian. Henry Rollins was (I'm totally guessing) probably not vegetarian anymore at this point. Henry was a skateboarder (see above) I don't think Greg Ginn ever skated. The photo below is from an interview with Black Flag (i.e., Greg Ginn and Henry Rollins). Vegetarianism is not mentioned in the interview.

Greg Ginn and Henry Rollins of Black Flag (Thrasher, September 1982)

1984

A photo of a not yet vegan (and probably not yet vegetarian) Glen E. Friedman skating in California in Thrasher (January 1984)

1985

Independent, Claus Grabke (not a vegetarian yet?)

Claus Grabke skating in Czechoslovakia towards the end of 1985 (Thrasher, winter 1988 issue)

1986

Independent, Claus Grabke (not a vegetarian yet?), skating in Brno, Czechoslovakia [92], on the cover of Thrasher (January 1986, photo: Shane Rouse; and a Claus Grabke interview inside the issue).

Claus Grabke (Thrasher, January 1986)

Claus Grabke skating in Carlsbad, California (centre; Thrasher, January 1986)

Claus Grabke skating the Blood Bowl ("somewhere in the Oakland hills"; Thrasher, October-November 1986)

Claus Grabke (Step by step section; Thrasher, October-November 1986)

Claus Grabke skating at a demo in Knoxville, Tennessee (Thrasher, October-November 1986)

Claus Grabke in a Madrid ad ("the power will rise again"; "PRO TEAM 86"; Thrasher, October-November 1986)

Beastie Boys: Adam Yauch used to skate. Mike D and Adam Yauch (MCA) were also vegetarians. But not back in the 1980s. (Mike D was vegan for a few years in the late 90s. MCA seems to have tried a vegan organic diet shortly before his death from cancer in 2012.) Vision board with a Beastie Boys graphic (Def Jam collaboration; "Licensed To Ill" era - the album came out in 1986). This board seems to be from 1986 or 1987.

There is a note about this in the "Trash" section of Thrasher (June 1987), suggesting that Glen E. Friedman was involved in connecting the Beastie Boys with Brad Dorfman (Vision):

A brief mention of a Beastie Boys "skate model" was also in the Trash section of Thrasher one month earlier (May 1987).

For your convenience: Glen E. Friedman seems to have been vegan since around 1986 (see text below).

It seems that Glen E. Friedman became vegan in 1986. In his Run-DMC & Beastie Boys book "Together Forever", from 2019, Glen describes how he met up with the Beastie Boys in Los Angeles on their tour as support for Madonna - the LA concert dates were in April 1985 - and they went to "Fat Burger" (fast food restaurant). Adam Horovitz (Adrock) describes this event in the "Beastie Boys Book" (from 2018) and writes that Glen was already vegan then: "We’d never been to L.A. before, and somehow we hooked up with a friend of a friend, Glen E. Friedman. Glen kind of grew up in L.A. and decided to be our tour guide. Glen is vegan, but for whatever reason, he took us to Fat Burger our first night in town. I got a fried egg on my burger. Glen kept referring to eggs as liquid flesh. We made fun of him, he made fun of us, he cried from laughter, and we became friends for years. I think punk rock tipped the scale over veganism for Glen because the next night he took us to a grimy outdoor hot-dog place called Oki Dog. It was some kind of L.A. punk rock landmark [...]." [59]

But Glen, in the Together Forever book corrects Adrock, writing: "I also brought them [Beastie Boys] to Fat Burger and Tommy's Chili burger for their first time, contrary to how they remember it and wrote in their own book. I was still a year-and-a-half from becoming vegan, so back then I was all in!" [60]

In an interview with Herbivore magazine (2003), they write that Glen E. Friedman "has remained a vegan for over 15 years now" [73] So, 2003 minus 15 would be 1988. But "over 15 years" would be "since at least 1988", which at least does not contradict 1986 (see above).

Dave Bergthold, founder of Blockhead, was/is vegetarian - but probably not back then (?) [22] (Blockhead ad, Thrasher, July 1986)


This photo is from Thrasher (February 1992) and shows a pre-vegetarian Mike Vallely street planting at Mount Trashmore (Virginia Beach, Virginia) in 1986.

Mike Vallely apparently had his first photo in Thrasher magazine in 1986, with a caption that read "street scoundrel from New Jersey", Mike Vallely recounted in 2022 [88]. And he is correct. His first appearance on (!) Thrasher was the cover of the August 1986 issue. His first appearance in (as in inside) Thrasher was in the September 1986 issue with the caption "Hot shoe, glue-footed street scoundrel from New Jersey, Mike Vallely."

Mike Vallely cover (Thrasher, August 1986)

Mike Vallely in Thrasher (September 1986)

Powell ad with both Mike Vallely (bottom) and Jim Thiebaud (top left; Thrasher, September 1986; the same ad was in Thrasher, October-November 1986)

Jim Thiebaud skating a demo in Marin County, California (Thrasher, August 1986)

Jim Thiebaud skating in San Francisco (Thrasher, October-November 1986)

Ad for "The Age of Quarrel" album by the Cro-Mags (Thrasher, August 1986)

Cro-Mags, probably already vegetarian? (at least Harley Flanagan and John Joseph?; Thrasher, September 1986)

1987

The legendary Jim Thiebaud on the cover of Thrasher (January 1987), skating the streets (and parking lots) of San Francisoco (photo: Moto). Jim Thiebaud is a vegetarian or at least seems to have been vegetarian at some point (see 1992).

Thunder ad (Thrasher, January 1987). Jim Thiebaud was a top pro skater in the 1980s and is the co-founder of Real. Was he already vegetarian in the 1980s?

Jim Thiebaud (Thrasher, February 1987)

Here is another photo of Jim Thiebaud skating in (circa) 1987 (in Oakland, I think). this photo is from Thrasher (February 1992).

Jim Thiebaud (with Tommy Guerrero), Powell Peralta ad (Thrasher, June 1987). The rib bones refer to plastic rails.

Jim Thiebaud (Thrasher, July 1987)

Jim Thiebaud (Thrasher, July 1987)

Jim Thiebaud (Thrasher, July 1987)

I think these two are also Jim Thiebaud and Tommy Guerrero (with Steve Cabellero), Powell Peralta ad (Thrasher, September 1987)

Jim Thiebaud and Tommy Guerrero, Powell Peralta ad (Thrasher, September 1987)

Jim Thiebaud (Thrasher, September 1987)

Mike Vallely, Venture ad (Thrasher, April 1987)

Mike Vallely, Powell Peralta ad (Thrasher, July 1987)

Mike Vallely (Thrasher, July 1987)

Mike Vallely (Thrasher, August 1987)

Mike Vallely, Powell Peralta ad (Thrasher, September 1987)

A strange note about Steve Rocco and Mike Vallely (probably made up by Rocco) in the Trash section of Thrasher (September 1987)

Natas Kaupas (who I think has never been rumoured to have been vegetarian) and Mike Vallely in 1987 (according to Mike Vallely) [88] - that means Mike Vallely was not a vegetarian yet.

The same photo also appeared in the Somethin' Else section in Thrasher (April 1988), with the caption "Natas on my mind".

Mike Vallely and Jim Thiebaud (with Per Welinder, Tommy Guerrero, and Steve Saiz), Powell Peralta ad ("Street brigade"; Thrasher, November 1987)

Mike Vallely: probably not a vegetarian yet in this photo, which seems to be from around 1987 (I'm guessing; it was printed in Thrasher, January 2000)

At the beginning of Stereo's video "Tincan Folklore" (1996) you can see old footage of Mike Vallely (he is not disclosed as a skater on the video)and Chris Pastras skating. I'm guessing, this footage is from arbout 1987, roughly.

Still from "Tincan Folklore": Mike Vallely (circa 1987)

David Bergthold, Blockhead ad (Thrasher, February 1987)

David Bergthold (and others) in a Blockhead ad (Thrasher, May 1987)

Santa Cruz ads, Claus Grabke (Thrasher, February 1987): "German Euro-skater joins Santa Cruz Skateboards"

Santa Cruz ads, Claus Grabke (not a vegetarian yet?)

Claus Grabke, Santa Cruz and OJII ad (Thrasher, May 1987 and also June 1987)

Claus Grabke deck (Santa Cruz) in the Product Patrol section of Thrasher (June 1987)

Santa Cruz ad including Claus Grabke (bottom right; Thrasher, June 1987)

Claus Grabke, Santa Cruz ad ("Light'n Up"; Thrasher, August 1987)

Claus Grabke in a Santa Cruz ad ("German Team") in Thrasher (September 1987 - the same ad was in the Thrasher January 1988 issue)

It doesn't say whose refrigerator this is - but my bet is on this being Claus Grabke's fridge (cues: the Titus, Monster, and Death Zone stickers; Thrasher, September 1987).

Claus Grabke mentioned (but without photo) in an ad (Thrasher, November 1987) for the Santa Cruz video "Wheels of Fire" (1987)

Rob Roskopp, Gotcha ad (Thrasher, June 1987) - not sure what that was about. Gotcha (clothing) ads were common in Thrasher back then (one in every issue).

Schmitt Stix ad for a Joe Lopes board (see 1988) - "Quality is Our Recipe" (Thrasher, December 1987)

Although surely (?) not used or created with any intention of stimulating pro-vegetarian thinking, this drawing (by Sean Wyett) depicts a "cannibalistic meat shop butcher" (Thrasher, August 1987).

An article (by Mike Gitter) about the Cro-Mags, who were probably already vegetarian at the time - at least John Joseph, Harley Flanagan, and Doug Holland (Thrasher, Arpril 1987) ... John Joseph caterwauling "his lyrics to an audience that seems to know every word". The article also mentions the "Krishna faith to which John, Harley and Doug [the second guitarist] are devoted". This Krishna faith includes the usual reincarnation, "ancient wisdom", and kali yuga (the age of quarrel) beliefs, including blistering homophobia.

In the June 1987 issue of Thrasher, there's this photo of Kevin Seconds (Kevin Marvelli, the singer of the widely respected hardcore 7 Seconds), who appears to have been vegetarian since the 1980s [99]. If he was already vegetarian in 1987 (when most punks weren't), I don't know.

Kevin Seconds (in the front)

1988

Dave Bergthold (rumoured to have been/be a vegetarian), Blockhead ad (Thrasher, February 1988)

In the Mike Vallely episode of the Nine Club (episode 138) Mike recounts how his first pro board graphic was an African elephant because he had seen a TV programme about African elephants being killed for their tusks (ivory) or because of human-animal conflicts. Mike explains that it was this TV programme that first created a "sensitivity" in him for animals. Mike received this graphic on paper at around Christmas 1987 - it was drawn by legendary skateboard graphic artist "VCJ" (Vernon Courtlandt Johnson).

Mike Vallely, Powell Peralta, elephant graphic

Mike Vallely, Powell Peralta (Powell Corp.), original elephant T-shirt from 1988 

Powell Peralta (Powell Corp), Mike Vallely, elephant sticker, 1988

Mike Vallely skating inside a velodrome (Thrasher, January 1988)

Mike Vallely, Venture ad (Thrasher, January 1988)

Mike Vallely, Life's A Beach ad (Thrasher, March 1988)

Mike Vallely, Trash section in Thrasher (April 1988)

Mike Vallely (with Bill Danforth) in a Life's A Beach ad ("Real men with real jobs!"; Thrasher, April 1988)

Mike Vallely (wearing Nike shoes), Powell Peralta ad (Thrasher, May 1988) 

Powell Peralta ad with Mike Vallely wearing Airwalk shoes (Thrasher, September 1988)

Mike Vallely on a skate demo tour in Italy with Tommy Guerrero in September 1988 (Thrasher, May 1989; the three following photos)

Mike Vallely (both photos at the top)

Mike Vallely in Italy in September 1988

Mike Vallely in Viareggio, Italy, in September 1988

Tracker (Tracker Trucks) ad with Mike Vallely (Thrasher, December 1988)

Mike Vallely, Tracker ad, from around 1988 or 1989

Mike Vallely photos ... I'm guessing these must be from around 1988 or 1989. Note the Venture shirt in the handplant photo and the Tracker ads above. Probably Venture was first. But in 1991 there a Mike V Venture ad again.

Mike Vallely, Life's a Beach ad, from around 1988 (note the Bad Boy Club logo)

Claus Grabke (middle; not a vegetarian yet?) on the cover of Transworld magazine (February 1988), with Shane (las name?; top) and Nicky Guerrero (bottom)

Claus Grabke (skating in Madrid, Spain) on the cover of RAD (Read And Destroy) magazine (from England; May 1988)

Santa Cruz ad in Thrasher (May 1988) saying: "1988 - There will be over 200 models of Skate decks to choose from [...]". In the second row, you can see two Claus Grabke models.

Claus Grabke skating the "Blood Bowl" in Oakland, California (Thrasher, July 1988)

Claus Grabke (large black and white photo) at the Münster contest (Münster Monster Mastership, 8 to 10 July 1988) in Germany (Thrasher, November 1988)

Claus Grabke (skating in Prague, Czechoslovakia [92]) on the cover of Monster Skateboard magazine (from Germany; 1988; I'm not sure which issue)

Jim Thiebaud (with Tommy Guerrero), Powell Peralta ad (Thrasher, February 1988)

Jim Thiebaud ("Step by step"; Thrasher, March 1988)

Jim Thiebaud, Powell Peralta ad (Thrasher, October 1988)

Jim Thiebaud, Thunder ad (Thrasher, December 1988)

Schmitt Stix, Joe Lopes BBQ sticker (see 1987 for the ad) 

... and original board (Thrasher, May 1988)

... and reissue board (year?)

 

Converse "Chucks" (Chuck Taylor Classic All Stars) ad (Thrasher, April 1988, same ad in March 1988) ... The ad mentions (the upper to be) "khaki, black, red, navy, and olive canvas" but the ad also mentions "black leather eyelets".

From the "Skarfing material" section in Thrasher, (Thrasher, August 1988), a regular segment of the magazine at the time that featured intentionally "disgusting recipes". In this issue, the author brings his dead pet chicken to a butcher. Then follow the chicken recipes - with one (vegan) salad "recipe" called "carnivorous guilt salad".

Porcell (John Porcelly, almost certainly already vegetarian by then), Youth of Today concert (Thrasher, October 1988)

1989

The infamous World Industries Mike Vallely barnyard graphic. Mike Vallely was vegetarian then, outspokenly, later vegan, then quit veganism, then vegetarianism (see 1994) [2] Interesting why people stop being vegetarian, [4]

"Please, don't eat my friends" was the graphic on top of the board.

 

"The Barnyard was my coming out as a vegetarian, in a sense, so the bottom graphic was going to be this funky folk-art piece of animals grazing and the top graphic was going to be a quote in simple bold black Helvetica, 'Please don't eat my friends', I left this idea with Rocco, but while I was on tour he got together with Marc McKee and tweaked things. When I returned they had the entire graphic completed. I hated it. To me it was stupid and childish. Rocco, however, felt strongly about it. He talked about George Orwell's book Animal Farm and how this graphic was a play on that with the animals rebelling and fighting back.

He made a good case, and I began to warm up to the design. It definitely looked different than anything I'd ever seen before, and I slowly came around, but I had two demands. One was that the top graphic be a continuation of the bottom scene with the quote worked into it, and the second was what I determined to be a vulgar and pointless image of a horse mounting another horse - the horse that was getting mounted is still on the board, you can see her smiling face peeking out from behind the barn. I wouldn't approve the graphic otherwise. This was easily the best-selling model I've had. Back then I was pulling consistent ten- to thirteen-thousand-dollar checks each month for almost a year, thanks to that board. To this day I have people come up to me and credit the Barnyard for introducing them to the ideologies behind vegetarianism." Mike Vallely [25]

This is a comment by Marc McKee (from Chromeball Incident, 2022) regarding the Barnyard graphic: "We [Steve Rocco and Marc McKee] didn’t even discuss pay. We just talked about this Mike Vallely board, which was the first graphic he needed me to do. The Barnyard. Steve told me about Mike’s idea and how he wanted me to reshape it. How to make it a little less serious and more fun. Because Mike wanted this straight vegetarian statement, meanwhile Rocco’s telling me about how he wants a slaughterhouse in the background and everything... that’s how all that stuff got back there.

I go back home to start working on it. And even in the beginning, I’ve never been one to do preliminary sketches to show people. I just did it. 

Two weeks later, I head down to World to show them what I came up with. I just remember Rodney [Mullen] laughing uncontrollably when he first saw the graphic... and I didn’t know Rodney very well back then. I thought he was going to have a seizure or something. 

It was inspired by the George Orwell novel, Animal Farm. That’s the storyline I went with, where the anonymous farmer gets killed by the animals. 

[Chromeball Incident:] There’s so many little details going on in that thing, even down to the ducks. 

[Marc McKee:] A lot of the little details came from Steve [Rocco]. But going back to those early cartoon influences, DuckTales was always one of my favorite after-school shows growing up. And it’s on a farm, so ducks make sense in that setting. I was also listening to a lot of rap music at that time, too… let’s give one of these ducks a gold chain and a radio. Okay, that works.  

[Chromball Incident:] Was Mike [Vallely] pissed when he saw it? 

[Marc McKee:] He was living in Edison, New Jersey back then, so he really wasn’t around. But from what I heard, he didn’t like it too much at the time. But a few years ago, we did do a 30-year anniversary version of the barnyard together, so he must be okay with it now. It did sell extremely well. [...]" [63]

Mike Vallely also mentions (in 2019 [64]) that the barnyard graphic was Mark McKee's very first graphic he did in the skateboard industry.

Mike Vallely "barnyard" stickers by World Industries
[L missing]

World Industries ad for the "barnyard" board featuring Mike Vallely, Chris Pastras (Dune), and Jason Lee

The Hollywood movie "Gleaming the Cube" featured several famous pro skaters, including (not in a main role - I did not spot him in the movie), Mike Vallely. The movie was released in January 1989, when Mike Vallely was already vegetarian, but it was filmed mostly in 1987, before he became vegetarian.

From the credits section of "Gleaming the Cube"

Mike Vallely on the cover of Poweredge magazine (May 1989)

Mike Vallely interview in Poweredge by Christian Kline ... Even though they were both vegetarians - nothing about vegetarianism in this interview. (Christian Kline ran Poweredge magazine [91].)

Powell Peralta ad with Mike Vallely, Lance Mountain and Steve Caballero (from Thrasher, April 1989)

Santa Monica Airlines (SMA) ad with Jim Thiebaud (Thrasher, April 1989). I don't know when Jim Thiebaud became vegetarian.

Jim Thiebaud ("Too fast to die"; Thrasher, May 1989)

Thunder ad with Jim Thiebaud (with Natas Kaupas and Micke Reyes; Thrasher, July 1989)

Another Santa Monica Airlines ad with Jim Thiebaud (Thrasher, September 1989)

Jim Thiebaud in Thrasher (September 1989)

Jim Thiebaud in a Santa Monica Airlines ad ("Remember the big picture"; Martin Luther King Jr.; Thrasher, December 1989)

This Thunder poster of Jim Thiebaud might also be from 1989 (I'm guessing):

You can see some raw footage of Jim Thiebaud skating in San Franciso in 1989 (filmed by Tony Roberts) here.

Sean Sheffey, Venture ad ("V-Force"; Thrasher, September 1989; photo: Bill Thomas) ... Sheffey possibly was a vegetarian at this point in time (see 1991 below).

Sean Sheffey in a half-page Spitfire ad (Thrasher, December 1989)

On this photo from around 1989 (?) Sean Sheffey is wearing leather Vision shoes.

This photo of Sean Sheffey also seems to be from around  1989. It was printed in Thrasher, January 2000, and also (more cropped) in Thrasher (January 1990).

Ed Templeton "Check out" in Transworld (?), written by Mike Vallely (from around 1989; it says Ed Templeton is an amateur, indicating that this is from before 1990 when he became really famous.)

Mike Vallely and Ed Templeton, screenshot from the Mike Vallely part (last part) in the 1989 World Industries video "Rubbish Heap"

Mike Vallely (among others) in an ad for the Powell Peralta video "Public Domain" (Thrasher, January 1989)

An already vegetarian (but not yet vegan) Mike Vallely in a World Industries ad (Thrasher, July 1989)

An ad for the Mike Vallely video "Sponsored" by Etnies. This ad and the video came out in the year 2000 but the photo seems to be from around 1989 (I'm guessing). The photo shows a vegetarian (not yet vegan) Mike Vallely wearing canvas Converse "Chuck Taylor All Star" shoes ("chucks"). Converse "chucks" were popular among skaters at the time (you can see them in many skateboard ad in 1989), so not necessarily a sign of consciously choosing not to wear leather. 

 

Claus Grabke, Santa Cruz, one of the many "clock" graphics. Claus Grabke seems to already have been a vegetarian in 1989 (see Santa Cruz ad below).

Claus Grabke (already vegetarian?) ad for Santa Cruz (Thrasher, February 1989)

Claus Grabke (already vegetarian?) skating at (and winning) a contest in Prague, Czechoslovakia (Thrasher, March 1989)

Claus Grabke in a Santa Cruz Speed Wheels ad (with Chuck Dinkins and Steve Schneer; Thrasher, March 1989)

Claus Grabke listed in an ad for the the Santa Cruz video "Streets on Fire" (Thrasher, June 1989).

Claus Grabke, Santa Cruz ad that says "vegetarian" (on the first page, i.e., the other side of the cover, Thrasher, August 1989) ... This might (!) be the first mention of the word "vegetarian" in Thrasher (or any skate magazine). 

Claus Grabke on the cover of Skateboard! magazine (from England; issue 10, 1989)

Just to highlight Claus Grabke's place in the pantheon: Santa Cruz was one of the biggest skateboard companies back then. Out of the twelve boards shown here, two are Claus Grabke models (Jason Jessee x 2, Jeff Kendall x 2, Steve Alba aka Salba, Hugh "Bod" Boyle, Claus Grabke x 2, Corey O'Brien, Rob Roskopp x 2, team board). Claus Grabke was one of very few pros from outside of the United States (or outside of California even) - although Bod Boyle is from England. Santa Cruz ad Thrasher, December 1989)

Claus Grabke skating the Berlin Wall in 1989 (the year the wall came down) on the contents pages of Thrasher (March 1990; photo: Peer Hoinke)

Claus Grabke in Transworld magazine (I don't know which issue), 1989

Dave Bergthold, Blockhead ad (Thrasher, March 1989)

Mario Rubalcaba (and Mark Hostetter) skating "a ditch near the Mexican border" (Thrasher, August 1989)

A board graphic called "Street Cat" by a board company called Bad Okole. The comment by the reviewer in Thrasher is: "[...] As a pet owner I find the roadkill graphics a bit much, but hey, if it catches your eye, it works. [...]" (Thrasher, November 1989)

While vegetarianism is not mentioned here ... a skater named David Barnes (in Seattle, Washington), his anti-car activism and his support for Earth First! (EF!) are mentioned (Thrasher, November 1989) ... Side Note: I am told, EF! never promoted vegetarianism, but many (?) "members" were vegetarians and vegans. Their position was more of a classic environmentalist position (species protection, etc.) and the EF! founders apparently all ate meat.

Full-page ad for the Crog Mags album "Best Wishes" which includes the anti-slaughterhouse song "Death camps" (Thrasher, June 1989).

This is Daryl Taberski, the singer of Snapcase, who is a vegan, although I'm not sure he was already vegan in 1989 (could be but probably not). The band Snapcase also only started in 1990 (I think). He could also do street plants!

1990

PETA writing about Mike Vallely (photo stolen from Vegan Skate Blog)

From a 2012 interview in Jenkem Magazine we can deduce that Ed Templeton has been a vegetarian since the age of 18, i.e., he stopped eating meat at some point between summer 1990 and summer 1991 [39].

Transworld, April 1990, Ed Templeton cover (Ed skating near in Huntington Beach; photo: "O" [91])

Schmitt Stix ad, Ed Templeton

New Deal, Ed Templeton, pre-vegan shoes (this ad was in Thrasher, August 1990, for example)

Another New Deal Ed Templeton ad

New Deal put out two skate videos in 1990: "Promo '90" (which I assume came first) and "Useless Wooden Toys". Both include footage of Ed Templeton, and the "Promo '90" video may be the first skate video that Ed Templeton was in.

From an Italian skate mag called "SKATE". Ed Templeton won the "Münster Monster Mastership" contest (street) in Germany in 1990 (with Eric Dressen on second and Danny Way on third place).

The original cover of SKATE magazine (number 14):

At the same contest in Münster, Ed Templeton on the cover of Skate Action (Sk8 Action, October 1990) magazine (England)

Ed Templeton (one-foot to boardslide), wearing Airwalk shoes, in Münster, Germany (Thrasher, December 1990)

This photo must also be from 1990 (photo: the photographer called "O", i.e., Otis Barthoulameu).

This photo must also be from 1990: Ed Templeton riding a board that says "FUGAZI" (see a slightly different angle below)

From Transworld (June 1991) - these photos must be from 1990:

Same photo:

Ed Templeton (Thrasher, May 1990)

Ed Templeton (Thrasher, August 1990)

Ed Templeton in a Thunder ad in Thrasher (December 1990 issue)

Ed Templeton stickers, New Deal, ~1990

Ed Templeton interview in Thrasher (November 1990; nothing about vegetarianism in the interview)

Mike Vallely, Santa Cruz Speed Wheels ad (this ad was in Thrasher, July 1990, for example)

Mike Vallely, around 1989 or 1990 ... Note the World Industries "barnyard" deck and Tracker stickers in the pool photo. Note the Converse canvas chucks in the boardslide photo.

Jim Thiebaud skating "a quake-altered wheelchair access ramp" (Thrasher, February 1990)

Jim Thiebaud, skating in San Francisco, on the cover of Transworld (June 1990; photo: Luke Ogden)

Jim Thiebaud, SMA (Santa Monica Airlines) ad (Thrasher, June 1990)

Jim Thiebaud, Thunder ad (Thrasher, November 1990)

Jim Thiebaud in an FTC ad (Thrasher, December 1990; the same ad was also in Thrasher, October 1990)

Jim Thiebaud in a Real ad (with Tommy Guerrero; Thrasher, December 1990)

World Industries ad (from Thrasher, November 1990)

("Bald vegetarians" alluding to Mike Vallely)

World Industries Mike Vallely (even though it does not explicitly state his name) elephant sticker 

(I'm guessing this sticker must be from 1989 or 1990.)

(A vegetarian?) Sean Sheffey, Venture ad (from Thrasher, November 1990)

Mario Rubalcaba, Alva ad (Thrasher, April 1990)

I'm pretty sure this is Mario Rubalcaba on the cover of Poweredge magazine (August 1990) - or is it Jef Hartsel?

Page in Thrasher with (a possibly vegetarian) Mario Rubalcaba (wearing Vans) and a (possibly vegetarian) Sean Sheffey (wearing Vision shoes; Thrasher, November 1990)

Detail from an Alva ad, Mario Rubalcaba deck (Thrasher, December 1990)

Claus Grabke (already vegetarian it seems), OJ (wheels) ad (Thrasher, June 1990)

Claus Grabke on the cover of Monster Skateboard magazine (Germany; August 1990; issue 50)

Charlie Thomas (left; with Robert Pearce; photo: Scott Starr; Thrasher, August 1990)

Andrew Morrison, Schmitt Stix ad (Thrasher, January 1990)

Andrew Morrison, New Deal, "hand bird graphic" (not the official name - I'm just calling it that) stickers ... Andrew Morrison seems to have been vegetarian around this time (see 1991).

Andrew Morrison "hand bird graphic" deck by New Deal (Thrasher, October 1990)

Brian Lotti might already have been vegetarian at this point:

Brian Lotti (with the striped T-shirt) in a Planet Earth ad (Thrasher, July 1990)

Brian Lotti, Billabong ad (photo: Sherman; Thrasher, October 1990)

Brian Lotti in a Planet Earth ad, wearing (leather) Airwalk shoes: "brian lotti living in the animal kingdom on planet earth" (Thrasher, October 1990)

Matt Hensley, A-1 Meats (A1 Meats) ad (from Transworld, August 1990) 

I've been told that A-1 Meats were one of the companies owned by Larry Balmar - these companies included Tracker (trucks) and House of Kasai.

A-1 Meats, Matt Hensley, "mefrostbite" wheels (from Transworld, September 1990)

A-1 Meats, Chuck Dinkins, "ollie" wheels ad (must be from 1990) 

One can see Laban Pheidias skating in the Blockhead video "Adventures in Cheese" (at ~16:18 min), which I think is from 1990. It is rumoured that Laban is a lifelong vegetarian and has never eaten meat (including fish). Rather it's a bit more than a rumour. Laban has said so himself, at least that he was "born and raised vegetarian" [42]. 

Laban Pheidas in a Tracker ad (with Duane Pitre; Thrasher, December 1990)

Sergei Trudnowski (in 2018) recounts that he met Sean Sheffey at a demo (I'm assuming Sean was doing the demo) at "Magic" skate park (I'm assuming, in Jacksonwald, Pennsylvania; near Philadelphia) in 1990 (or 1991) [45]. It seems that Sergei learned ollie late shove-its from Sean.

Ian MacKaye (who was already vegan by then), Fugazi concert (photo: Ken Salerno; Thrasher, February 1990)

A photo of the band Bold in Thrasher (February 1990). I'm not an expert in Bold, but if I had to bet, I would bet that at least several of the five members of Bold at the time (this photo likely is from 1989) were vegetarians (e.g., Tom Capone [at the time! (74)] and Drew Thomas). (Please tell me, if you know.)

1991

World Industries, Jason Lee (the non-vegetarian Ed Templeton - no offence to either of them). In 2019 (see here) Prime produced an Ed Templeton "Veggie burger" version of this board graphic. The ad for it states that Ed Templeton has been a vegan since 1991. 

In a 2019 interview Ed Templeton states that it was Mike Vallely who got him into vegetarianism and veganism: "He’s the one who actually got me into veganism. He’d ask me out to dinner and offer to pay if I ate vegetarian. I’d be like, “Oh my God! What am I going to eat? But if it’s your treat, I guess I’ll eat some broccoli or something.” (laughs)" [37]

Jason Lee "Burger King" graphic embroidery and sticker 

     

Jason Lee "Burger King" graphic board (World Industries)

World Industries' Jason Lee burger board and the "cease and desist" letter by Burger King

Marc McKee (who did both the Jason Lee burger and the Vallely barnyard graphics): 

"I originally made the Jason Lee Burger King board for Mike V, and that did not go over well. I guess it goes without saying that Mike would not be down with having that kind of graphic, even though the intention was for it to be ironic since it was well known that he was a vegan. In hindsight I think he was right to turn down the graphic since it’s clearly a salute to cow-eating…. Then, when the ad came out with Jason eating a Whopper in front of Burger King—with a shaved head like Mike had at the time—that definitely came across as a vibe. Not cool." [8]

"The Burger graphic came out after I had quit World Industries. Rocco may have tried to persuade me to use this graphic before I quite - I do vaguely remember that being discussed - but I flat-out denied him. I really could have cared less about it except for the ad that Rocco ran advertising the board. It featured Jason Less with his head shaved, wearing a buttoned-up flannel - as I did at the time - holding a burger. Being the hardcore vegetarian I was, I definitely took this personal. So when I saw Jason next I confronted him about it. He played ignorant, and in some ways perhaps he was but I still gave him a tongue-lashing for being a pawn in Rocco's petty attacks. Jason apologized, and I let him off the hook. I didn't really have nor did I want to have a problem with Jason, but I was definitely hurt by the fact he participated in this obvious attack." Mike Vallely [25]    

World Industries, Jason Lee

World Industries "out with the old, in with the new" ad, 

from around the same time as the Jason Lee burger graphic

World Industries Jason Lee burger graphic 

(at skateboard exhibition I visited in Vancouver, Canada, in 2004)

Also see Blind's answer with the vegetarian Laban Pheidias (vegan burger ad) below (1993).

For your convenience: How long has Laban Pheidias been vegetarian and vegan?

From birth (born: ~1973): vegetarian (I'm assuming this means lacto-ovo-vegetarian, not mean pescetarian.) [3, 42]

From age 16 (i.e., ~1989) to present (as of 2023): vegan [3, 42] (Laban had a vegan pro shoe in 1998. But I'm not sure if he wore leather at some point, e.g., the Epik shoes, see below)

But there's more: 

World Industries - Mike Vallely & an unfinished drawing for a Jason Lee graphic

 

Another World Industries ad from 1991: World Industries were known for intentionally doing overly provocative, fucked up shit. In this ad, in pseudo-colonialist, racist storytelling, they describe how they found Chris Pastras (aka Dune) as a naked, "negroid" child, taught him how to wear clothes, how to skate etc., how they turned him pro, kept him like a slave: "[...] As a reward for Dune's obedience we decided to give him a professional model skateboard deck. But since Dune had not yet grasped the concept of moneywe decided not to burden his simple mind with any of the profits. Instead these proceeeds were used to establish a wild game preserve, where other children could be hunted down and captured for their own benefit. [...]" ... And after Dune gets injured and the doctor tells them that Dune "would not be able to skate anymore", they have him euthanized: "Upon saying good night I paused to reflect on what an incredible life this child has had. He was indeed fortunate that we were here to look after him. Later that night we had Dune put to sleep. [...]" Even though World Industries' (Steve Rocco's) main (or sole) intention was to provoke, the way the text is written, it describes not just how colonialist racists used to see and treat other humans but also (towards the end of the text) how they still see and treat other (nonhuman) animals.

A-1 Meats What did it all mean? Laban Pheidias ad

I don't think Bo Ikeda was a vegetarian. (He was in Vision's Alphabet Soup video by the way...)

Two A-1 Meats "cult follower" ads with Kris Markovich (from around 1991) ... I think, Kris Markovich was/is a vegetarian (not sure if at this time though).

A-1 Meats, Jason Dill "cult" ad (from around 1991)

A-1 Meats Young Riders (Ben Chibee, Anthony Ogolsby, Mike Carrol, Jason Dill, J.D. Gibson)

A-1 Meats, "classic controversy" ad (from around 1991)

Zero Two - The All Vegetarian Skate Shoe - Thank You For Not Killing Me.

Zero Two ad from Thrasher (July 1991) - I don't know who the skater in this ad is. The same ad was also in the November 1991 and the December 1991 issues of Thrasher. ("The immortal skate shoe!")

 

Zero Two ad (Thrasher, September 1991 and October 1991) - "Ollie Death Guard"

Sean Sheffey appears to have been vegetarian (and possibly vegan) around this time ... 

The skateboard company Life had a pro-vegetarian ad featuring Sean Sheffey

"P.S. I value my friends please don't eat them" (1991) [see below]

 

In an interview with Mackenzie Eisenhour for Transworld (2012), Sean Sheffey mentioned being vegan for a while:

"What about the Life ad with the backside lipslide on that high rail? [the ad below]
Yeah. The “Don’t Eat My Friends” ad.
[...]
Was it weird when the pressure flip stuff started coming in too? It seemed like all that stuff was a different style than what you had been skating.
I actually liked the whole method of it. It was what my teammates were doing so I enjoyed it. At the same time I was a little removed from it too because I was married and had a kid so young. I wasn’t always with the guys. Up to that time too I had been vegan, so I never wore leather shoes and all that.
There was the Zero Two Shoes and all that right?
Exactly. But it was only a matter of time until I got influenced by the team and started wearing Vans Half Cabs and Adidas. Just changing shoes made it a lot easier to learn a lot of the technical stuff." [31]

For your convenience: when was Sean Sheffey vegetarian/vegan?

Around 1989/1990: possibly (?) vegetarian

Around 1991: It seems that Sheffey was vegan or something of the kind (?) for a short period of time (?) around 1991.

1991/1992 to ~1994 (?): vegetarian [43] (but not vegan) ... or only flexitarian [94]

From ~1994: ?

The Life "Don't eat my friends" Sean Sheffey ad (Thrasher, August 1991): "[...] P.S. I value my friends [.] Please don't eat them ..." (Life was a company by Ron Allen and Mike Ternasky under the H-Street umbrella. Life started with Ron Allen, Jesse Neuhaus, John Reeves, and Kien "The Donger" Lieu as pros [101].)

In this Speedwheels ad (which I had on my wall for years; Thrasher, August 1991) ... Sean Sheffey he's wearing canvas Converse All Stars. Sean Sheffey was vegan at the time (it seems). Note that, Mike Vallely who's also in this ad, probably was also vegan at the time.

Life ad (from Thrasher, January 1991, and Thrasher May 1991), Sean Sheffey "by all means necessary"

Life, Sean Sheffey sticker ("by all means necessary")

Photo of Sean Sheffey wearing Vision (leather) shoes (Thrasher, March 1991) - the photo must be from 1990.

Sean Sheffey in Germany (at the Münster contest, Münster Monster Mastership,, 1991; still from the contest video). In his run (starting at ~11:10 min) he's wearing what look like Zero Two shoes [87].

A possibly vegan (?) Sean Sheffey, Venture ad (from Thrasher, August 1991)

I'm pretty sure this is Sean Sheffey on the cover of RAD magazine (from England; September 1991).

Sean Sheffey, 1991 - Sean Sheffey seems to have been vegan (or similar) around 1991.

In the February 2018 Jason Dill episode of "The Nine Club with Chris Roberts" (episode 83) Jason Dill says "I had the Sean in front of me that listened to REM and was a vegan" referring to the time when Sean Sheffey was already riding for Plan B. This must have been 1991. 

You can see the 1991 (probably vegetarian or even vegan) Sean Sheffey (17 years old) in Life's "A soldier's story" video. ("A soldier's story" filmed made by Daniel Harold Sturt [101].) 

Still from the Life video "A solider's story"

Sean Sheffey's silhouette is actually on the cover of the video:

A then quite possibly vegan Sean Sheffey doing a massive ollie late shove-it (Thrasher, December 1991) 

Mike Vallely (Thrasher, January 1991) who was already vegetarian at the time. He might already have been vegan at this point.

Mike Vallely (Thrasher, February 1991)

Mike Vallely, Venture ad (from Thrasher, February 1991)

Mike Vallely New Deal mammoth sticker, 1991

A (probably) vegan Mike Vallely wearing canvas Converse shoes in a New Deal ad (Thrasher, September 1991; "mike vallely doesn't skate anymore")

A then probably vegan Mike Vallely, "Firing line" in Thrasher (November 1991): 

"[...] Mags read other than Thrasher?

[Mike Vallely:] Vegetarian Times

[...]"

Ed Templeton (Thrasher, January 1991) wearing Airwalk shoes, I think (photo: Scott Starr)

Ed Templeton (skating at the Huntigton Beach pier) on the cover of Thrasher (February 1991, although the cover says "February 1990" - this is a misprint; photo: Scott Starr). The photo must be from 1990.

Ed Templeton (skating in Huntington Beach [91]) on the cover of RAD magazine (April 1991). The photo is probably from 1990.

New Deal, Ed Templeton deck

Ed Templeton, impossible noseblunt slide to fakie, in Transworld (I think), 1991 (You can also see Ed Templeton impossible noseblunt in the 1991 New Deal video "1281" - at around 38:09 min.) 

Ed Templeton (Thrasher, March 1991). The shoes are still Airwalk.

Ed Templeton (Thrasher, March 1991). The shoes might be Zero Two.

Ed Templeton wearing what look like heavily shoe gooed Zero Two shoes - at the Monster Mastership contest in Münster, Germany, which took place on 18 to 21 July 1991 (Thrasher, November 1991; photo by Bryce Kanights) ... Ed got on 4th place (street), after Tony Hawk (1st), Alan Peterson (2nd), and Jason Rogers (3rd)

Ed Templeton with a New Deal hat; still from the contest video: "Hello, my name is Ed Templeton, and I'm in Germany." (at ~10:42 min) [87] In the contest video (his run starts at ~14:56 min), Ed's shoes also look like Zero Two [87].

 

Ed Templeton still wearing Airwalks, Thunder ad (Thrasher, October 1991)

New Deal, Ed Templeton deck, 1991 (drawing by Ed Templeton)

This deck was also featured in Thrasher (September 1991)

Ed Templeton, New Deal hoodie (with "New Deal" in Iron Maiden lettering as a back print; 1991)

New Deal, Ed Templeton, sticker

Thunder ad that lists (among others) pro riders Ed Templeton, Mario Rubalcaba, Jim Thiebaud, and Andrew Morrison (from Thrasher, December 1991)

Around 1991, or maybe more towards 1992 or 1993 (?), Ethan Fowler seems to have had "a stint of veganism" as he recounted in the 2013 Ethan Fowler episode of Epicly Later'd (by Patrick O'Dell)[97]. From the interview:

Patrick O'Dell: "[...] I interviewed Ed [Templeton] the other day and I asked him about you, and speaking of [Henry] Rollins, he said when he first met you your were like really into Rollins ..."

Ethan Fowler: "Yeah."

Patrick O'Dell: "... vegetarian."

Ethan Fowler: "Yeah [nods] ... and a stint of veganism as well."

Patrick O'Dell: "Really?"

Ethan Fowler: "Indeed, yeah. It's kind of weird for a 14-year-old kid ... I think. I don't know." [97]

Ed Templeton says that Ethan was 15 or 16 when Ed (TV) first sponsored him. Ethan confirms this, saying that he was 15, and demanded to be pro straight away which Ed granted to him [97], i.e., Ethan Fowler was 15 when he started to ride for TV. Ethan seems to have been born in October 1977 [?] - that would suggest some point between October 1992 and October 1993. However, TV turned into Television in 1992, I think. So, that suggests 1992. This in turn suggests that Ethan Fowler was vegetarian in 1992. I do not know when exactly he was vegetarian (before and after 1992) and when he was vegan (Ethan says "14-year-old" - that would suggest around late 1991 to 1992).

For your convenience: When was Ethan Fowler vegetarian?

Vegan: ~1991/1992 - apparently only for a very short time

Vegetarian: around 1992 (and maybe some time before and after) [97]

Ethan Fowler (Epicly Later'd, 2013)

 

An early ad of Karl Watson who probably wasn't vegetarian yet at the time and who apparently rode for Think (Thrasher, July 1991)

Another Think ad ("Safe as milk"; Thrasher, October 1991)

Mario Rubalcaba deck on Alva (Thrasher, February 1991). This board came out in late 1990.

Mario Rubalcaba (Thrasher, April 1991)

Mario Rubalcaba, New School ad ... The same ad was in Thrasher (July 1991) ...

... and Thrasher (October 1991). I'm not sure if he was already a vegetarian at the time.

Andrew Morrison, a pro skater from Auckland, New Zealand, who rode for New Deal during the "Useless Wooden Toys" (1990) and "1281" (1991) era, had a "cow burger" deck graphic that I had never come across. Note the crying cow.  

His "sex" board graphic was quite widely known at the time. At least that's what I think, the "sex graphic" likely being a much more popular board and T-shirt graphic than the pro-vegetarian burger graphic.

Rumours are that Andrew Morrison later started eating fish, i.e. turned pescatarian from vegetarian.

New Deal, Andrew Morrison board graphic

 

New Deal, Andrew Morrison shirt, around 1991

front of the T-shirt

back of the T-Shirt (Andrew Morrison, New Deal)

In the 1991 New Deal video "1281" one can see Ron Knigge and Rene Matthyssen wearing the Andrew Morrison "cow burger" shirt.

Ron Knigge (skating at EMB), stills from "1281"

Rene Matthyssen, stills from "1281"

New Deal, Andrew Morrison "sex graphic"

New Deal ad, Andrew Morrison "sex graphic" (Thrasher, January 1991)

New Deal, Andrew Morrison ("hand bird" [this graphic is from 1990], "sex", "cow burger" graphics)

Andrew Morrison, New Deal, "sex graphic"

Andrew Morrison ad for Thunder trucks (Thrasher, August 1991)

Andrew Morrison at Le Grand Bornand contest in France, summer 1991 (Thrasher, November 1991; photo: Bryce Kanights)

Gordon & Smith, Kris Markovich sticker ... I think, Kris Markovich was/is a vegetarian (probably not back in 1991 though?).

Also check out Brian Lotti's part in Planet Earth's "Now 'n' Later" video in which he's wearing a "The Smiths" T-shirt (with the "Meat is Murder" album cover). Brian Lotti was a vegetarian at the time [70].

Brian Lotti, Planet Earth's "Now 'n' Later" video

Brian Lotti (Thrasher, February 1991)

Brian Lotti (Thrasher, February 1991)

Brian Lotti in a Planet Earth ad (with Barker Barrett; Thrasher, March 1991)

Brian Lotti (Thrasher; May 1991)

Jim Thiebaud, Real ad (Thrasher, March 1991)

Jim Thiebaud skating his infamous "Hanging Klansman" board (graphic by Natas Kaupas) on the cover of RAD magazine (July 1991; from the UK)

Real ad of Jim Thiebaud skating the "Hanging Klansman" board (must be from 1991)

Real ad (Thrasher, December 1991) with Jim Thiebaud dressed as a rabbit/bunny with carrots

(also in the ad: Salman Agah, Tommy Guerrero, and Rob "Sluggo" Boyce; "Our slip is showing".)

The corresponding Real deck, Jim Thiebaud pro model (I'm guessing this board is from 1991.)

And this Real Jim Thiebaud bunny sticker must be from the same time (?).

Sergei Trudnowski (in 2018) recounts how, as a 17-year-old in 1991 (already vegetarian), he went San Francisco by taking a Greyhound bus with a 15-year old friend (named Greg) and that he went skating at EMB where he got messed with - but not robbed - by James Kelch and Wingding [45]. This topic would merit its own investigation: "vegetarians at EMB". 

Some skate videos (1991):

The 1991 A-1 Meats promo video "Cult Follower"included (among others) Laban Pheidias (vegetarian, probably vegan) and Kris Markovich (probably not vegetarian at the time?).

Laban Pheidias and Kris Markovich are also both in the A-1 Meats video "Dancing in the Dirt" which is also from 1991.

Laban Pheidias is also in the 1991 Blockhead video "Recycled Rubbish".

Laban Pheidias is also in the 1991 Tracker video "Stacked" (his part starts at ~4:39 min) as well as the 1991 Tracker video "The Brotherhood".

I'm not sure if Chuck Treece was ever vegetarian. He certainly was in bands (Underdog and Pressure) with all kinds of vegetarians. Chucke Treece solo recording ad (Thrasher, August 1991)

Article (by Mark Madeo) about Fugazi in Thrasher (December 1991). Ian MacKaye was already vegan then, but Fugazi notoriously never talked about vegetarianism. Their generation of punks (and maybe most of the following) appear to not see vegetarianism and veganism as political. The text (unsurprisingly) does not mention vegetarianism.

1992

A then ~15-year-old and vegetarian Geoff Rowley on the cover of UK skate mag Skateboard! ("new year 1992" issue, so the photo is probably from 1991).

Real ad with Tommy Guerrero riding Jim Thiebaud's "bunny" deck (Thrasher, February 1992).

A (possibly) still vegetarian Sean Sheffey in a Plan B ad (Thrasher, January 1992)

Sean Sheffey (Thrasher, February 1992) ... If I had to guess, I would guess these shoes are leather.

Sean Sheffey in a Plan B ad (Thrasher, February 1992)

Sean Sheffey (possibly still vegetarian at the time) in a Zero Two (vegetarian shoes) ad (from Thrasher, January 1992, and Thrasher, February 1992) ... The Zero Two "cow logo" says "Thank you for not killing me".

Sean Sheffey (sitting, third from left) in a Plan B ad (Thrasher, September 1992)

Sean Sheffey (Big Brother, issue 5, 1992)

k

Sean Sheffey in a Vans ad (with Willy Santos and Lance Conklin) back when Vans were made in the USA (Thrasher, December 1992)

A probably still vegetarian (?) Sean Sheffey in Japan (Thrasher, December 1992)

Plan B, Sean Sheffey (1992, anti-vivisection monkey graphic)

It seems that this board was reissued (limited to 100 decks made, two different shapes) in 2009.

Sean Sheffey, Plan B, 1992

Sean Sheffey, Plan B, 1992

Sean Sheffey, Thrasher cover, August 1992 ... I can't clearly see what shoes he is wearing. Might be Vans canvas shoes. Sean Sheffey was possibly vegetarian at this time. You can see the 1992 Sean Sheffey in the 1992 Plan B video "Questionable".

Still from Plan B "Questionable": Sean Sheffey

From the Sean Sheffey interview in Big Brother, issue 2:

"You’re a vegetarian right?
I don’t like meat. I think, it’s too heavy for me, it weighs me down I feel. I haven’t eaten a piece of red meat in two years now, so… I like pastas, salads but salads are kinda nasty sometimes especially at restaurants some of them aren’t too good. Soups, good black bean soup, good bread, I like rice.” [94]

Sean Sheffey (sandwiched between Rick Howard and Christian Hosoi; Big Brother, issue 3, 1992)

Sean Sheffey around 1992 wearing Adidas "shell toes" (i.e., "Superstar", probably leather; Droors ad [?])

Powell & Peralta, Pat Brennen Meat Slick

Zero Two ad on the back cover of Thrasher (May 1992), with Ed Templeton and Mike Vallely

Zero Two ad, Thrasher back cover, September 1992 (my photo of my old mag) ... "there are no SOULS... in our SOLES." I clearly remember this ad on the back of Thrasher, a skater walking away, wearing Airwalk NTS (Not The Same), leaving behind bloody footprints, with the slogan "Zero Two - There are no souls in our soles." I was not yet vegetarian then - and funny enough I did have a pair of green NTS. I'm not sure if I even understood the ad back then.

Zero Two ad, Thrasher back cover, September 1992 (from the Thrasher website). This ad was also on the back cover of the October 1992 issue of Thrasher. 

Zero Two ad (Thrasher, November 1992 and December 1992): "If you're not wearing Zero-Two shoes... you're wearing part of her. Zero Two: NO animal oils in the soles. NO bone glue. NO leather."

Brian Lotti was a vegetarian at the time and had board graphic on Blind called "caring consumer" (see below). This was his first board on Blind (after leaving Planet Earth) [66]. From the Strangelove website (2023): "The Blind Brian Lotti 'Caring Consumer' deck [...]" which apparently came with an "[...] ironic (and apparently hated by Brian) lucky rabbit's foot keyring [...]" [61]. Presumably, the rabbit foot was plastic, not a real one. The top graphic says: "This product required no use of animal testing and does not contain any animal-derived ingredients".

Brian Lotti says that "[...] [Steve] Rocco snuck a lucky rabbit's foot into [the] shrink wrap [around the board], so it's kind of like [...].That was his kind of like punk rock move, I guess, for that board [...]. That was maybe my fucked up graphic 'cause it was ostensibly an animal-free board, but then you look on the other side and there's a dyed rabbit's foot. So that was, that was like it's a joke on me, you know." [66]. Brian Lotti: "The 'caring consumer' graphic] was his [Marc McKee's] idea. Yeah, he came up with the idea, we talked about it, and then he did it, and that was such a fun board. That was my first Blind board." [67]

It seems that Brian Lotti was already vegetarian back when he was riding for H-Street (he was put on H-Street by Ron Allen) and when Planet Earth started and he joined Planet Earth. Brian Lotti says (in 2019): "[...] H-Street started selling more boards and then ... soon after, like 'Alright, we wanna start a new company [...]. We're gonna start a new company with Chris Miller.' They were like, [..], they were like 'Brian, you're vegetarian, you're into like the Earth and shit. Why, maybe you should meet Chris Miller." [70]

From the Bobshirt interview (unknown year):

[Bobshirt:] "Were you vegetarian back then?"

[Brian Lotti:] "Yeah, yeah, I would think I was, I was definitely vegetarian. I think I was vegan for a couple of years." [i.e., around 1992 ... note that, apart from his short stint with Zero Two he always seems to have worn leather shoes, including in the "caring consumer" ad (see below)]

[Bobshirt:] I guess that would've been a pre-requisite to get on a vegan shoe brand..."

[Brian Lotti:] "It might have been. It's funny 'cause I think that Ed and Mike left. They went to meet with the owner of Zero Two, and they went to his house, and they're hanging out, and Mike was like 'Hey, do you mind if I ... I'm hungry, can I get a snack or something? And he went and opened up his fridge, and there was like a bunch of like sliced lunchmeat in there, like ham and roast beef. They were just like 'What? What the fuck? We can't do shoes with a guy that's got like deli meat in his fridge'." [68]

From the Chromeball Incident blog (2010):

"chrome ball sits down with the caring consumer for conversation. [...]

[...]

[Eric Swisher, Chromeball Incident:] Wild Things, Hunt Humans, Caring Consumer, Blind Rider, Light Cycles, Mondrian steez… you’ve definitely had some classic graphics. Which one of yours sticks out as a personal favorite?
[Brian Lotti:] Dang! The caring consumer by [Sean] Cliver is definitely one of my favorite graphics, but I really like the TRON tank that [Chris] Miller separated. He’s a great graphic artist.
But Cliver’s Caring Consumer board… that was poetry." [62] 

I do remember once seeing an anti-hunting graphic on a Brian Lotti deck. So, this comment (above) about a "Hunt Humans" graphic seems to confirm this. Unfortunately; I don't have a picture of it at the moment.

There was a kind of non-vegetarian version of the "caring consumer" board graphic out as a Brian Lotti guest board on Almost in ~2016. Rumour has it that Brian Lotti went back to eating meat in the late 1990s.

Side note: Brian Lotti says he skated with Kris Markovich a lot during the summer of 1992 [65].

Brian Lotti "Caring Consumer" deck on Blind, graphic by Sean Cliver

Brian Lotti "Caring Consumer" Blind ad (note the suede Adidas)

Brian Lotti holding the magazine ad (the mag is Big Brother issue 2, with Daniel Castillo's face, photo by Spike Jonze, on the cover)

[67]

Brian Lotti (Big Brother, issue 3, 1992)

Short interview with Brian Lotti that contains nothing about vegetarianism (Thrasher, May1992) ... In the photo he seems to be wearing leather Airwalk shoes.

Brian Lotti (wearing suede Airwalk shoes) Independent ad (Thrasher, June 1992)

At around the same time ... Brian Lotti on the cover of Transworld (October 1992 issue), doing a backside 180 fakie nosegrind

Brian Lotti, Zero Two ad (on the back cover of Thrasher, March 1992, and the back cover of Thrasher, April 1992) ... Brian Lotti's comment (in 2019): "[...] [Zero Two shoes] was like the leather-less shoe company. Ed Templeton and [Mike] Vallely skated, skted them for a little bit. But they were really strange 'cause they were like velcro. Your griptape would stick to the shoe. So, you go to ollie, and your board would like stick to the shoe. It was like, they were really, really hard to skate in. They were a little suspect." [68]

cali4niaSKATExpress ad for Zero Two shoes (Thrasher, April 1992 and May 1992)

The Zero Two shoes had a velcro upper (!), even though it may look a bit like suede in the pictures. If you look closely, you can see that the Zero Two shoe had a cheap synthetic leather lining like the one Vans uses still today. The "ollie guard" that one could stick to the outside of the Zero Two shoe was made from the smooth side of velcro. Before Zero Two ended, the owner is reported to have been working on a shoe with a Kevlar upper shoe.

From the book "Made for Skate"

Zero Two mocking the "cut your shoes" trend (back cover of Thrasher, July 1992)

Zero Two ad with Mike Vallely and Ed Templeton (back cover of Thrasher, June 1992)

Ed Templeton (wearing Zero Two shoes; contents page of Thrasher, June 1992)

Zero Two "freedom of choice" ad (back cover of Thrasher, August 1992)

A Transworld poster of Ed Templeton (from the Transworld Poster Book 1992). He's wearing a TV hat and (vegan) Zero Two shoes.

Ed Templeton, around 1992 (probably wearing Zero Two shoes)

Ed Templeton, around 1992 (probably wearing Zero Two shoes)

Ed Templeton, around 1992

Ed Templeton, around 1992 (probably wearing Zero Two shoes)

Salvage ad (Thrasher, August 1992)

Salvage ad (Thrasher, September 1992; "SANITIZED")

Salvage ad (Thrasher, October 1992; "Why pay more?")

Salvage ad ("Do this! Wear Big House Clothes!", Big House Edition"; Thrasher, November 1992, and December 1992)

Maybe already vegetarian: Mario Rubalcaba, HPL (?) ad (Thrasher, June 1992) ... I don't know what HPL was but the address in this ad (1140 Calle Cordillera ...) is the same as in the Mario Rubalcaba New School ads from July and October 1991 (see above) and from June 1993 (see below).

Laban Pheidias, Blockhead ad 

Blindfolded rabbit, carrot & trap graphic (World Industries)

Ed Templeton and Mike Vallely had a company called TV (Templeton/Vallely), which was later briefly called Television. I still regret not buying the Ed Templeton "man eats cow" board (below). When I saw that board in a shop, maybe my subconscious mind already knew I would become vegan (ha). The top graphic says “Eat me I’m probably delicious.” [7]

TV, (I think all three may be) Ed Templeton decks

Ed Templeton in Big Brother, issue 3 (1992)

Ed Templeton, around 1992 (TV "man eats cow" deck; the shoes seem to be Zero Two.)

Ed Templeton (TV "man eats cow" deck; the shoes seem to be Converse canvas chucks. Note the "human racist" shirt - see another photo further down.)

Same man, same time (period), same deck

Frontside bluntslide "Step by step" tutorial by Ed Templeton (Thrasher, August 1992)

Ed Templeton on the cover of RAD magazine (October 1992) from England, skating at Southsea skate park (Portsmouth, England), wearing Zero Two shoes. 

Ed Templeton on the cover of Australian skateboard magazine SLAM (skating in  Huntington Beach in 1992 [91])

Guest column by Ed Templeton ("An hour and a half of my Saturday") in Thrasher (November 1992) in which he talks about racism, sexism, and killing animals for fun (fishing)

Ed Templeton skating a contest in Grover Beach, California, probably wearing Zero Two shoes (Thrasher, December 1992)

   

TV, stickers

 

TV stickers (These must be from 1992)

This is an Ed Templeton sticker by TV or Television

TV, Ed Templeton sticker (must be from 1992) [stolen from skateboardstickeraddict]

TV, Mike Vallely ("Dear Rodney" [Mullen]; probably in response to the "out with the old, in with the new" World Industries ad; see 1991)

TV ad, Ed Templeton and Mike Vallely

TV, Jerry Fowler, Ed Templeton, Mike Vallely

Ethan Fowler and Jerry Fowler - they are not brothers - together in a TV ad (must be from 1992) ... Ethan might have been vegetarian at this point.

TV ad, Ed Templeton

TV ad, "Arm Chair Adventure Tour 1992"

Ed Templeton with a T-shirt that says "Human Racist" (photo from a German skateboard magazine) ... I'm assuming the "human racist" means "speciesist" and is meant as a criticism of speciesism (i.e., human race-ism, i.e., the belife that the human race is superior and that all others don't count - this is my guess).

In the 1992 TV "Promo" video (the only skate video that TV ever put out) you can see Mike Vallely wearing what might be the same shirt (different colour; at ~4:22 min, see below). The TV "Promo" video features a vegan Ed Templeton and a vegan Mike Vallely, both apparantly wearing Zero Two shoes, as well as Jahmal Williams and Jerry Fowler [85, 86].

Stills from TV's 1992 "Promo" video:

TV changed its name to Television, in 1992 (it seems).

A comment on TV and Brad Dorfman (Vision) from Big Brother (issue 2, 1992):

A note in Big Brother issue 3 (1992) about TV operated under the Vision umbrella (Brad Dorfman) left Vision and changed their name to Television (Big Brother, issue 3, 1992)

And a comment regarding the transition from TV to Television (1992) and then to Toy Machine (1993) - as well as on Zero Two - by Jerry Fowler (who rode for TV, Television, and Toy Machine):

"They initially started TV with Brad Dorfman, who did Vision before switching over to Television with that guy that did those Zero-Two. Remember those all-vegan shoes that looked like a bunch of griptape and Velcro mashed together? That guy.

But then something else happened… I’m not really sure what because all that stuff was beyond me. All I know is things weren’t working out and starting to get weird. Television ended up going on its own with just Mike [Vallely] doing it out of his house.

It sucked because before all this, I was happy as could be. I couldn’t believe that these dudes wanted me on their team and taking me under their wing. Ed’s getting me on Thunder and Spitfire. I’m getting on Etnies. All of this stuff is just getting thrown at me when, all of a sudden, the guys want to split. Mike wants to continue Television on his own and Ed wants to do Toy Machine. It was this whole weird thing and it was totally up to me to decide. It was so fucked because I had equal amounts of respect for both those dudes and now they’re having a falling out. And that was obvious. I still don’t really know what they were going through but they were parting ways and I was in the unfortunate position of having to choose between them.

Ed wanted to start Toy Machine back under Dorfman, which seemed like a step backward since we’d already tried that route once before… but Mike doing Television out of his house just sounded gnarly. Jahmal ended up staying with Mike for the time being since they had both known each other for so long on the East Coast and that’s where his loyalties were. Ethan and I decided to go with Ed." [98]

Television sticker

Jerry Fowler, Television ad ("Jerry's Ad"; from 1992 or 1993)

Television ad with Ryan Fabry

Television ad with Ryan Fabry (Big Brother, issue 7, 1993)

A probably still vegan (at the time) Mike Vallely (Thrasher, July 1992)

A probably still vegan (at the time) Mike Vallely (Thrasher, October 1992) ... The shoes look like they could be Zero Two.

Big Brother were pioneers of fake news (Big Brother, issue 2, 1992). Mike Vallely

A poem by Mike Vallely (Big Brother, issue 3, 1992)

Mike Valleley, around 1992, wearing a TV hat (probably wearing Zero Two shoes)

Jim Thiebaud "Vegetarian, Writer, Coffee Achiever", interview (by Thomas Campbell), Transworld, September 1992. Thomas Campbell was probably vegetarian too at that time.

Jim Thiebaud in a Real ad (sequence at the bottom) with Shawn Mandoli and Salman Agah (not vegetarians) Thrasher, March 1992)

Jim Thiebaud, Real ad (Thrasher, July 1992)

Jim Thiebaud, Thunder ad (Thrasher, August 1992)

John Montesi (non-vegetarian, I think), New Deal board graphic "farmer". I don't know what the story behind this graphic is.

101, Adam McNatt, hamburger woman

(from around 1992; not the only disturbing 101 Adam McNatt graphic)

A Real ad in Thrasher, October 1992, including Moses Itkonen. I'm not sure when Moses started being vegetarian/vegan or when he stopped. (Winning smiles and breaking hearts)

Thunder trucks ad, Moses Itkonen (Thrasher, November 1992)

Moses Itkonen skating in Vancouver (photo: Bryce Kanights; Thrasher, December 1992)

This seems to be John Cardiel, killing a bird for fun (Big Brother, issue 5, 1992)

Some skate videos (1992):

Laban Pheidias (vegetarian, probably vegan) is in the 1992 Blockhead video "Debbie Does Blockhead" (along with Dave Bergthold, Blockhead owner and possibly already vegetarian at the time).

Laban Pheidias (vegetarian, probably vegan) is in the 1992 Tracker video "Disturbed" (last part).

Laban Pheidias, still from "Disturbed" (Tracker video, 1992)

Short text (by Mark Madoo) about the band Consolidated (not to be confused with the skateboard company Consolidated). The text mentions vivisection and animals but not vegetarianism. Presumably all members of Consolidated were vegetarian or vegan.

1993

World Industries had the infamous Jason Lee with shaved head burger ad (to mock the vegetarian Mike Vallely) in 1991 (see above). This was a not very well-known response by Blind (like World Industries one of Steve Rocco's companies) with Laban Pheidias (vegetarian, probably already vegan, at least dietary vegan, not looking his best in this photo though.) I'm not sure if there also was a Laban Pheidias vegan burger board.

Laban Pheidias (Thrasher, August 1993)

Laban Pheidias ollieing down a school bus, around 1993

Laban Pheidias in an Etnies ad for the (leather) "Rap" shoe, with Sal Barbier and Eric Connor, around 1993

Mario Rubalcaba (vegetarian?) in a New School ad (Thrasher, June 1993)

A-1 Meats ad, note the 43mm wheels are called "meat is murder". Paul Luna ad.

A-1 Meats "meat is murder" cap

(I would guess, it's also from around 1993. There also seem to have been A-1 Meats "meat is murder" shirts.)

A-1 Meats "meat is murder" sticker

("Our wheels contain no animal bi-products [!] A1"; the sticker is about 1 1/2 inches high.)

The first Thrasher video (The Truth Hurts, which came out in October 1993) has a short interview with Salman Agah and they asked him "Are you vegetarian?", and he said "No. N-O. I think it's stupid. Well I guess it's not stupid but..." (That's what Agah said.)

Zero Two ad "CENSORED", "All vegetarian shoe", "Thank you for not killing me" (Thrasher, February 1993)

Zero Two shoes in a Sessions ad: $59.95 (Thrasher, May 1993 ... similar ad in, for example, the December 1992 issue)

Zero Two shoes in a Skully Bros ad: $59.95 (Thrasher, May 1993)

Salvage ad (Thrasher, January 1993) ... Salvage was a clothing company by Zero Two.

Salvage ad with Ed Templeton (I'm guessing) and Mike Vallely, both wearing Zero Two shoes (Thrasher, February 1993)

Ed Templeton, Salvage ad (Thrasher, March 1993)

Salvage ad (Thrasher, April 1993)

Ed Templeton, Thunder ad (Thrasher, April 1993)

Ed Templeton with some of his art (Thrasher, June 1993)

Ed Templeton (with Deanna Templeton; Big Brother issue 7, 1993)

Ed Templeton frontside 180 nosegrinding, wearing what look like Zero Two shoes (Big Brother issue 7, 1993)

Ed Templeton won the Münster (aka Muenster) contest in Germany (1st place street, with Tony Hawk on 2nd and Pat Duffy on 3rd place; Münster Monster Mastership: 6-8 August 1993).

Ed Templeton skating the Münster contest (411 issue number 2)

[104]

Ed Templeton (left )on the winners' podium in Münster, presumably on 8 August 1993, with Kris Markovich (4th place) shaking his hand (411 issue 2) [105]

And a few days later ... Ed Templeton skating (and winning) the contest in Antwerp, Belgium, that took place 13-15 August 1993 (Thrasher, December 1993)

Ed Templeton noseblunt sliding at the Antwerp contest

[106]

Ed Templeton skating in San Francisco, wearing what look like green canvas shoes - Converse? (Thrasher, December 1993) This was at the Back To The City "V" [five] contest (4 to 6 September 1993) [108]

411 issue 2 [108]

A (then probably still) vegan Mike Vallely in a Venture ad (Thrasher, January 1993) ... The photo looks a bit strange (I can hardly recognize his face) but it seems like he's wearing Zero Two shoes.

Mike Vallely (Thrasher, March 1993) ... It looks like he is wearing cut off Zero Two shoes.

Mike Vallely interview in Thrasher (March 1993) ... Nothing about vegetarianism in this interview; but this must have been when he was still vegan, shortly before or shortly after giving up veganism.

Mike Vallely says: "[...] life is confusion and that's where I am."

Below is a Mike Vallely interview from an Italian skateboard magazine (SKATE, No 40, 1993) ... Again, Mike V doesn't say anything about vegetarianism in the interview, but this must be from the same time as the Thrasher interview above, i.e., he was either still vegan or had just stopped being vegan (but was still vegetarian). But the photos are a little older than the interview. The first, second, third, and fifth photo are from the TV era, and he seems to be wearing Zero Two shoes (vegan). The fourth photo (fast plant) is older, and he's wearing (non-vegan) Converse basketball shoes. The sixth picture also seems to be quite a bit older (street plant). The last photo may be slightly older than the TV era photos, and he's wearing canvas Converse "Chucks" (vegan).

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Around 2005 a vegan skateboarder friend of mine from Australia told me that the owner of Zero Two had actually been a meat eater. He had pretended to be a vegan but Ed Templeton and Mike Vallely at some point found meat in his fridge - and that was the end of Zero Two ... that's how the story went if I remember right. This story was now confirmed by in a Chrome Ball Incident interview with Ed Templeton (from 2019) [37] It seems to me that this must have occurred in 1993: 

"[Chrome Ball Incident] What was the story with Zero-Two shoes? Didn’t you guys end up finding meat in the guy’s refrigerator or something?
[Ed Templeton] That’s a weird story, but yes. Zero-Two was ran by this guy named Dean, who was an inventor and businessman. He was always looking for a new marketing opportunity, that was kind of his schtick. He had invented what was essentially a Velcro shoe for kids. It came with a sheet of Velcro artwork where you can stick whatever your mood was for that day onto your shoes. “I’m happy today, I’ll put a happy face or a rainbow on my shoe.” He ends up taking this invention to the Action Sports Tradeshow. Totally clueless about skateboarding, he’s basically there to sell his business venture. Sean Sheffey [my highlighting] comes walking through, who’s vegetarian at the time, and he picks up the shoe, which kinda looks like a Vision Street Wear. “Dude, are these vegetarian?” Dean immediately answers, “Yes, they are”. That’s the kind of person Dean is. He saw the angle immediately. “Are you guys sponsoring? These shoes are cool. They’d probably be good for skating.” So Dean, on the spot, decides that it’s now a skate shoe and that he’s going to start sponsoring skaters. He actually had no stake in vegetarianism, veganism or skateboarding at all. But like I said, he’s quick. Him and Rocco actually got along really well, because he was such a huckster… like the Salvage [my highlighting] brand he did? Buying thrift store clothes and ironing on a Salvage patch so he could resell them at a higher price? What a scam! So Dean decided that a vegetarian skate shoe was going to be his thing. He starts doing ads, which are all super over-the-top with a skinned cow and bloody footprints. And, of course, Mike [Valleley; my highlighting] and I being vegans, we got sucked in. I can’t remember if Mike reached out or what, but we somehow got sponsored by him. We start working so much together that the 2nd iteration of our company, Television [my highlighting], was actually distributed through Dean. 

[Chrome Ball Incident] I didn’t know that.
[Ed Templeton] Yeah, that was the difference. Our company TV [my highlighting] was Brad Dorfman and when we left, we switched it to Television [my highlighting] with Dean. But that’s when things started to get weird on the business side and we broke up. And it’s also around this time that we found out about Dean. I got a call from Mike V [my highlighting] one night. “Dude, I’m up in Santa Barbara at Dean’s house and when I go to look in his fridge, there’s a fucking turkey in there.” Not that I was ever some super dogmatic vegan but Dean had been claiming to be this vegan crusader the whole time. And leading up to that night, Mike and I had both started to notice little things about him that didn’t add up. “Dude, there’s a turkey in there. I asked him about it and he said it was for his employees but I don’t believe him. There’s no employees here. I think it’s his turkey!” He’d totally pulled the wool over our eyes. Because all this stuff, I remember putting it all together with Mike after the fact. He was just some business guy who capitalized on us." [37]

... Another version of the story (or just another story which has been said to come from Ed Templeton) is that (presumably) Mike V and Ed Templeton walked into the Zero Two office one day and caught the owner eating meat (something from the California burger chain "In-N-Out Burger"). 

Ed Templeton and Mike Vallely, Television ad (Thrasher, January 1993)

Ed Templeton and Mike Vallely, Television ad (Thrasher, February 1993)

Steve Berra, Television ad (Thrasher, March 1993) ... Steve Berra was a vegetarian (?) at some point, if I remember right. ... In the October 1992 issue of Thrasher there is a short interview with Steve Berra in which he says "[Food:] Grilled cheese, chips, Gatorade. I don't eat exotic foods."

Jahmal Williams, Television ad (Thrasher, April 1993)

Jerry Fowler, Television ad (Thrasher, May 1993)

The end of Television - apparently Mike Vallely ran Television without Ed Templeton for a short while - and the birth of Toy Machine ... From Big Brother (issue 7, 1993): "Throughout the last couple of months, Mike Vallely and Ed Templeton had been trying to rid themselves of business partner Dean Crystal, and even approached [Steve] Rocco to see if he would distribute their "new" company - an idea which Mike later rejected. The evil element of money still remeined a disruptive factor within the company [it is rumoured to also have involved Mike stealing money from Ed] so Mike and Ed split, with Mike retaining the Television name and running it out of his garage with himself and Jamul Williams [they mean Jamal Williams] as the only pros. Following the dissolution of Television, Ryan Fabry now rides for Birdhouse while Ed is doing a company called Toy Machine under [Brad] Dorfman." [95]

411 Video Magazine issue 2 (September/October 1993): "Ed Templeton has a new company called Toy Machine" [109]

Toy Machine ad (the first?) in Big Brother magazine (issue 10, 1993; "Share a moment... share a toy machine."; with Jerry Fowler, Ryan Fabry, Ed Templeton)

Early Toy Machine ads (probably all from 1993):

Ed Templeton with Ethan Fowler (I think) and John McGrath (sequence; Toy Machine ad)

Ed Templeton ("brainwashed", "kill me with this"; Toy Machine ad)

Ed Templeton (photos by Thomas Campbell who was probably vegetarian at the time; Toy Machine ad)

Ed Templeton (Toy Machine ad)

Ed Templeton with Charlie Coatney, Jahmal Williams, and Joe Nemeth (Toy Machine ad)

Ethan Fowler and Jerry Fowler in one ad - they are not brothers! (Apart from Ethan mentioning he was vegan around 1991 [97], I have no info regarding vegetarianism and the two Fowlers). This (below) was the firstToy Machine ad ever.

Jerry Fowler ("no-handed invert"; Toy Machine ad)

Jerry Fowler ("munch box"; Toy Machine ad)

Steve Olson (already vegetarian?) in a Foundation ad (Big Brother, issue 10, 1993)

Blind ad (with Lavar McBride) in Big Brother for a board graphic called "fur muncher", depicting a squirrel and a foothold trap (double spring trap; Big Brother, issue 10, 1993)

Jamie Thomas (maybe not yet vegetarian) skating in Dothan, Alabama (photo Bryce Kanights; Thrasher, March 1993)

Jamie Thomas, Spitfire ad (Thrasher, July 1993)

It seems that this guy in the Adidas jacket is Jamie Thomas skating in San Francisco (Thrasher, December 1993)

Moses Itkonen (then vegan) skating in Vancouver (photo by Jody Morris; Thrasher, March 1993)

Moses Itkonen, Real ad, back cover of Slap, September 1993, wearing what seem to be all-canvas upper Vans (i.e., no leather)

Moses Itkonen in 411 issue 2 (September/October 1993 issue) - "I skate for Real and Thunder." [107]

Sergei Trudnowski skating in Philadelphia, 411 Video Magazine issue 3 (1993) ... From what I understand, Sergei Trudnowski is a long-time vegetarian and was vegan for a long time vegan and is probably still near-vegan. I don't know when exactly he became vegan, but I'm guessing no later than 1996. Note: Sergei's name has frequently been misspelled (even on his signature boards) and is misspelled here as "Sergi". His nickname is "Serge" so this would be an acceptable "misspelling" maybe.

Still from 411 issue 3: Sergei Trudnowski (already vegetarian in 1993)

For your convenience: Since when has Sergei Trudnowski been vegetarian/vegan?

Year of birth: must be 1974 (He was 17 in 1991 [45])

Since he was 13 years old (i.e., ~1987): vegetarian

Since no later than 1996: vegan (see 1996)

As of 2022: still vegetarian but he seems to eat cheese occasionally (maybe this could be called "flexivegan" - see 2022)

Tim Gavin "puppy torture" (not the official name) sticker by Blind

A pre-vegetarian Matt Rodriguez, Thunder ad (Thrasher, October 1993)

A pre-vegetarian (?) Charlie Thomas (who became vegan in 1999, i.e., six years later) who rode for & at the time on the cover of Transworld doing a transfer ollie at the Blockhead ramp (February 1993; photo: Grant Birttain) ... with Anthony Oglesby (who also rode for &) sitting in the bowl. The photo is probably from late 1992.

Charlie Thomas in an & ad (Thrasher, October 1993; "&" prounounced "and" was the last stage of G&S, i.e., G&S turned into & which turned into or was at least related to the birth of Maple)

Probably still vegetarian at this point: Sean Sheffey on the Thrasher "products" pages (March 1993)

Sean Sheffey in a Plan B ad (Thrasher, October 1993)

Sean Sheffey in an FTC ad (Thrasher, November 1993)

Brian Lotti (still vegetarian?) in Big Brother (issue 7, 1993)

Powell, Mike Vallely, a re-release (reissue) of the legendary World Industries graphic on Powell (who knew?) This apparently came out in late 1993. Mike Vallely is rumoured to have commented "Powell re-issued and updated this old World graphic without permission around X-mas ’93.". Without Mike Vallely''s permission or without World Industries' permission? Or both? (probably) Mike Vallely was probably not vegan anymore at this point but still vegetarian.

Nanda Zipp krooked grinding in 1993 (Transworld [issue?], photo: Thomas Campbell)

Nanda Zipp wearing (leather) Airwalk "Jim" shoes (~1993)

Nanda Zipp skating at a YMCA skate camp (~1993), wearing Vans "old skool" shoes (with leather).

Nanda Zipp around 1993

Nanda Zipp, still from "Girl Trouble" (Blockhead video)

Some skate videos (1993):

• The Blockhead video "Girl Trouble" came out in 1993, and one of the skaters was (the vegetarian) Nanda Zipp (his part starts at ~2:29 min and he's mostly wearing what look like "old school" Vans).
• 411 Video Magazine issue 1 came out in 1993. Among (many) others, it includes footage of Ed Templeton (vegan), Mike Vallely (then still vegetarian, possibly even still vegan at the time), Matt Rodriguez (not yet vegetarian), Sean Sheffey (possibly still vegetarian), Moses Itkonen (then vegan), Geoff Rowley (then vegetarian), and Mike Manzoori (probably not yet vegetarian).
• 411 Video Magazine issue 2 also came out in 1993 and featured, among others, Moses Itkonen (then probably already vegan; Moses had a "Wheels of Fortune" in this issue), Kris Markovich (vegetarian?), Ed Templeton (then already vegan), Chris Lambert (already vegetarian?), Nanda Zipp (vegetarian; Nanda singing), Andrew Morrison (then probably still vegetarian), Jamie Thomas (already vegetarian then?), Karl Watson (already vegetarian then?), and Mike Vallely (then vegetarian and possibly still vegan).
• The 1993 Invisible video "Memoirs of the Invisible Team" includes (among others) Laban Pheidias (vegetarian, probably vegan), Chris Lambert (already vegetarian then?), and Jamie Thomas (already vegetarian then?).

Ed Templeton in 411 issue 1 (It looks like he is wearing Zero Two shoes)

Ed Templeton in 411 issue 1

Ed Templeton in 411 issue 1

Ed Templeton in 411 issue 1

Mike Vallely in 411 issue 1 (It looks like he still might be wearing Zero Two shoes, i.e., he was maybe still vegan when this was filmed.)

Geoff Rowley (skating South Bank) in 411 issue 1

(An already vegan) Ian MacKaye with Fugazi (photo: Jody Morris; in Thrasher's "Notes from the underground" section, June 1993)

1994

Ed Templeton on the cover of 411 Video Magazine issue 4 (January/February 1994). It looks like he's wearing Vans (?).

Toy Machine, Ed Templeton (graphics by Thomas Campbell): Cow: "Kill me[.] I'm good food, kill me and play with my eyeballs." Human: "No, I'm in love with fruit and nuts." Side text: "We'll be back for your baby and various parts of your cow, including the puckered starfish. We need this stuff cuz we[']re genetically fucked up, to[o] evolved, kind of plant[-]like. So anyway, Toy Machine is boss, because Ed is one of us. - O. H. Krill" Thomas Campbell was probably still vegetarian at the time.

Ed Templeton, Thunder ad (Thrasher, March 1994)

 (Thrasher, December 1994) ... Ed got 3rd place (street), after Ethan Fowler (1st) and Wade Speyer (2nd).

Same contest: Ed Templeton skating in Münster, Germany (Big Brother issue 14, 1994)

Ed Templeton (Big Brother issue 14, 1994)

Ed Templeton skating in Ivrine, California, in 1994 (photo: Dave Swift)

From the Mike Vallely interview in Big Brother (issue 14, 1994):

“Are you still vegan? [first question]

No, and I probably never was by some people’s definition. But yes, I eat dairy products and wear leather shoes now. I had a pretty strict diet for about two years that I took very seriously, too seriously. It got to the point where my diet and the standards I set for myself were negatively affecting the way I looked at and interacted with others. After a while I didn’t feel like I was doing it for me anymore, that I was doing it for my friends or to maintain an image. It was very uncomfortable. After our daughter was born my wife started eating dairy products again and bringing them into the house and I was jealous. So I broke to some extent. But I don’t feel bad about it. I feel very secure about myself – more so now then when I was vegan. The hardest part now is dealing with the people who can’t deal with it. I’ve had people come up to me on tour and hassle me because I’m not vegan anymore, and they give me this guilt trip about how I turned them on to it and how it’s changed their lives. And now they see me wearing leather shoes and eating dairy products and they don’t know what to do. Should they continue to subscribe to my every move or get their own lives? The answer is obvious.

Are you still vegetarian then?

I really don’t use those words anymore. I’m not a slogan, I’m me. Mike Vallely doesn’t an [!] never could eat the flesh of another living creature, that’s just part of who I am. I don’t feel I need to make a stink about it. When I first came out and said I was vegetarian it was a radical statement; these days it’s not, and I don’t really care. It’s hard to break your own mold, you know? If you don’t, you don’t grow. My biggest problem in my life was that I’ve always mistaken my politics for my spirituality. Because I got into vegetarianism, I took that on as my religion. And that’s just worldly politics. I know I could never eat meat, at the same time, I pretty much consider dairy products meat, but I’m willing to eat them. So I’m probably one of the biggest walking contradictions there is. I’m a lover and a fighter."

[…]

“A long time ago, Julio de la Cruz was talking some shit to Ed Templeton about, ‘Oh Ed, let’s go eat a turkey dinner.’ Something stupid like that and Ed can not defend himself, so he just let Julio walk all over him. So when I was in the San Francisco contest last September Julio was [there] and I said, ‘Hey Julio, lets go get a turkey dinner, man.’ And he’s like. ‘What? Oh, I heard you were sick, are you all right?’ And I was like, ‘Yeah, I’m all right. Let’s go get a turkey dinner.’ And he was like. ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about.’ So I just said, ‘Yeah, you’re a pussy, dude.’ And Paulo Diaz was sitting right next to him and he was laughing, and I go, ‘What the fuck you laughing at, scarecrow?’ That was it. Then one day, I’m skating in LA, and Paulo was with the whole LA crew hanging out, and he comes up to me and goes. ‘Hey, let’s go get a turkey dinner.’ So I was like, ‘Dude, you better just sit down.’ The he said, ‘Come one!’ So I kicked him in the chest.

Karate kick?

Yeah.” [...] [typos in the original]

Mike Vallely ad for Powell (Thrasher, January 1994) ... This is from the time shortly after he had stopped being vegan, but he was still vegetarian.

Mike Vallely skating in Pulaski Park, Philadelphia (Thrasher, July 1994)

Mike Vallely skating in Vancouver (Thrasher, August 1994)

You can also see a vegetarian (not vegan) Mike Vallely in his video part in the 1994 Powell video "Suburban Diners".

Still photo from "Suburban Diners" (1994).

Mike Vallely, from around 1994 or 1995 (Note the Airwalk T-shirt. At this time he was wearing leather Airwalk shoes - see the Big Brother interview above: "wear leather shoes now").

For your convenience: an approximate timeline of Mike Vallely's vegetarianism:

Before 1988: ate meat

1988 to ~1990: vegetarian (as in lacto-ovo-vegetarian)

~1990/1991 to 1992/1993: vegan

~1993/1994 to at some point in 1999: vegetarian (lacto-ovo & used leather)

1999 to ~2015: ate meat

Since ~2015 to ~2022: vegan or mostly vegan

Since ~2022: eats meat again [as of January 2022]

 A-1 Meats - the logo in this ad says "environmentally alert".

Note the "environmentally alert - friends of animals" below.

A-1 Meats, Bobby Kuhns "contains no animal bi-products [!]" in the stag logo circle

A-1 Meats, John Reeves (aka JTMR, John "The Man" Reeves)

An early picture of Jamie Thomas as a skate pro(Thrasher, January 1994) ... This might have been before he became vegetarian.

Jamie Thomas skating (a weird 70s [?] board) in San Francisco (Thrasher, May 1994)

Jamies Thomas rode for Simple! (i.e., he was wearing leather shoes; Thrasher, July 1994)

Invisible ad with Jamie Thomas on a horse! (from horse rider to vegan to meat eater for Christ)

 There was even a Jamie Thomas "High plains drifter" (probably referring to the Beastie Boys song) shirt by Invisible.

 

Another Invisible ad: Laban Pheidias - the "healthy" alluding to his vegetarianism?

This sticker must be from around this time (no later than 1997): Laban Pheidias, Invisible

Laban Pheidias interview in Transworld (aka TWS, January 1994) 

In Defense of Animals (IDA) ad, TWS, January 1994

The Beastie Boys/Spike Jonze/Girl connection, at around this time Mike D and MCA were already vegetarians (Ill Communication era). The Beastie Boys tour DVD "Awesome: I Fuckin' Shot That!" from 2006 includes a BBQ contest of their tour manager vs. some other guys. Mike D was the vegetarian/vegan referee. The tour manager had also cooked some brown rice and beans for Mike D though. 

More recently (2009) Yauch was diagnosed with cancer (of the parotid gland - in the mouth) and wrote in the e-newsletter "i'm taking tibetan medicine and at the recommendation of the tibetan doctors i've been eating a vegan/organic diet ". [5, 6] There were some rumors in 2011 that Yauch had overcome the cancer, which Yauch quickly called "exaggerated".

UPDATE: Sadly Adam Yauch passed away on 4th May 2012.

Beastie Boys, Ill Communication, Girl, team deck

Maybe already vegetarian: Mario Rubalcaba, ATM (later [?] ATM Click) ad (Thrasher, April 1994)

(Probably still vegetarian:) Sean Sheffey, Girl ad (Thrasher April 1994)

Sean Sheffey interview in Thrasher, May 1994 (interview by Bryce Kanights)

Sean Sheffey was a vegetarian at the time: 

"[Kanights:] Knowing that you're a vegetarian, are you environmentally conscious as well?

[Sheffey:] Yes for myself basically but I don't go out of my way to express my views on someone else. I don't really like to speak upon [!] it, at least not at this point of my life." [43]

A vegetarian (as far as I know) Sean Sheffey in the classic Girl skate video "Golfish". A Rick Howard in "Beastie Boys Sabotage-esque" disguise pursuing him in a car. (Both "Sabotage" and "Goldfish" were directed by Spike Jonze, of course, and both videos came out in 1994).

At the start of "Goldfish"

At the end of the video. It looks a bit like the goldfish here was either fake (which would be commendable) or dead. Does anyone know?

A vegetarian Nanda Zipp in the "ams" section in Thrasher (May 1994): 

"Aren't you a vegetarian?"

[Nanda Zipp:] "Yeah. I don't think that you have to kill an animal to survive."

Nanda Zipp around 1994

Simon Woodstock (who wnever was vegetarian, I think) and Nanda Zipp (with bow and arrow) in a Sonic ad (Simon Woodstock's company), 1994

A then probably (?) still non-vegetarian Matt Rodriguez, "Firing line" in Thrasher (September 1994): "Food: Taco Bell, Frosted Flakes" ... There's also a Matt Rodiguez interview in the May 1994 issue of Thrasher which does not contain anything about vegetarianism.

A then probably (?) still non-vegetarian Matt Rodriguez, Stereo ad (Thrasher, September 1994; ... Side note: the first Stereo ad with Matt Rodriguez In it I've seen is in Thrasher, May 1993)

Sergei Trudnowski spotlight (his name is spelled correctly!) in Thrasher (October 1994) - Sergei was already vegetarian in 1994.


In the Rick McCrank episode (episode 24) of "The Nine Club with Chris Roberts" from November 2016, Rick McCrank mentions that when he went to California, started skating for Plan B, and regularly stayed at Pat Channita's parents' house he was already a vegetarian. This must have been around 1994, 1995, or 1996 [84].

For your convenience: Since when has Rick McCrank been vegetarian?

Around 1994/1995/1996: probably already vegetarian [84]

(probably never vegan - I don't have more precise info)

Moses Itkonen

Moses Itkonen kickflipping in Vancouver (Thrasher, August 1994)

You can also see Moses Itkonen in his part in the Mad Circle video "Let The Horns Blow" (1994).

Wade Speyer hunting ad for Think - unfortunately not the last hunter in skateboarding (Thrasher, October 1994)

A then vegetarian (not vegan) Geoff Rowley (skating in Oceanside, California) on the cover of Transworld (December 1994, special 12 year anniversary issue; photo: Dave Swift). Geoff Rowley is wearing (leather) Etnies shoes.

Steve Olson on the cover of Big Brother (issue 15, which seems to be from 1994; the cover says "number 666"). Not sure if he already was a vegetarian then.

Some skate videos (1994):

• Nanda Zipp has a "Wheels of Fortune" part 411 Video Magazine issue 6 which came out in June/July 1994.
• Nanda Zipp and (then vegan) Moses Itkonen both also have footage in 411 Video Magazine "Best of 411, Volume 1" which also came out in 1994.Another video from 1994 was "The Dreams of Children" by Transworld, which among others, featured skate footage of Laban Pheidias (vegetarian, probably vegan), Steve Berra (vegetarian?), Chris Lambert (already vegetarian?), Ed Templeton (already vegan), Geoff Rowley (then vegetarian), Nanda Zipp (vegetarian), Steve Olson (the one with glasses; vegetarian), Jamie Thomas (then already vegetarian?), Kris Markovich (vegetarian?), and Moses Itkonen (then vegan).
• Another video from 1994 was "Feats" by Thrasher, which, among others, features Matt Field (vegetarian?), Matt Pailes (non-vegetarian?), Nanda Zipp (vegetarian?), Kris Markovich (vegetarian?), Laban Pheidias (vegetarian, probably vegan), Jamie Thomas (then already vegetarian?), and Mike Vallely (then vegetarian but not vegan anymore).
• The 1994 skate video "Eastern Exposure 2" includes footage from (among others) Sergei Trudnowski (vegetarian, probably not yet vegan) and Mike Vallely (still vegetarian but not vegan anymore).
• The 1994 video "Real Life" by Sub Zero also features Sergei Trudnowski (vegetarian, probably not yet vegan) - among others.
• The first part of the Prime segment in "20 Shot Sequence" (1994) is by Chris Lambert (already vegetarian?).

Still from "Real Life": Sergei Trudnowski switch noseblunt slides in the (all switch) opening montage

Picture of Ian MacKaye (who was already vegan) with a board that says "Fugazi" (his band) in the "Trash" section of Thrasher (March 1994). I'm not sure if his gesture of dislike is for the (then) new school board of the big pants small wheels era or for the board that looks like a "Fugazi board". (Fugazi was notorious for not even making Fugazi T-shirts.)

Ad in Thrasher (September 1994) for Glen E. Friedman's (first?) photo book "Fuck You Heroes". Glen E. Friedman was already vegan then. The three photos on the cover are Jay Adams, Ian MacKaye (Minor Threat, not vegetarian yet at the time the photo was taken), Beastie Boys.

Short interview (by Morgan Walker) with Into Another (Thrasher, September 1994). It says: "[...] Three of the four are vegetarians [...]". To my knowledge, at least at some later point, all four were vegetarians. Here, you can see the "VEGAN" tattoo on Richie Birkenhead's arm. 

"Peter: We want everyone to be vegans.

Drew: See what a fascist he is. I want people to be whatever they want.

Ritchie [here spelled with a "t"]: People are already whatever they want, they're all fucked up.

[...]" The interview also mentions that Richie Birkenhead skates or used to skate.

Into Another ad for the "Ignaurus" album (Thrasher, December 1994) ... If you look closely, you can see the "VEGAN" tattoo on his right arm.

1995

Ed Templeton went through a "skating canvas Vans" phase ... (Toy Machine ad) ... and I wasn't the only one to notice (see below)

Ed Templeton about to noseblunt (Thrasher, August 1995)

Ed Templeton about to five-O (Thrasher, October 1995)

Ed Templeton Smith grinding (Thrasher, October 1995)

Ed Templeton back feebling in Münster, Germany (Thrasher, November 1995) ... Ed got 2nd place, with Chris Senn on 1st and Mako Urabe on 3rd place.

Ed Templeton, Spitfire ad (Thrasher, November 1995)

This photo of Ed Templeton noseblunting Los Angeles is from the August 2001 issue of Slap, but the photo is from 1995.

Ed Templeton skating in Escondido, California, in 1995 (photo: Dave Swift)

An Ed Templeton ad for Vans (I'm assuming these were all-canvas upper shoes; Thrasher, December 1995) ... Rumour has it that Ed Templeton was supposed to get a vegan pro shoe on Vans, which never happened. Then Ed went to Sheep shoes.

Ed Templeton, Toy Machine ad (Thrasher, November 1995)

Laban Pheidias around 1995

Laban Pheidias on tour with Armando Barajas and not sure who, around 1995

Laban Pheidias on the contents page of Transworld (May 1995)

Legendary photographer (and vegan) Glen E. Friedman in the February 1995 issue of Thrasher (with - at the time - supermodels Naomi Campbell and Linda Evangelista). It says: "[...] Friedman's vegan program [probably: him talking about it] was so intense, even Ethan Fowler [who seems to briefly have been vegan himself around 1991/1992] and Dune [Chris Pastras] were forced to dine at NYC's Zen Palate [a small "chain" of vegetarian restaurants in New York City - now closed apparently]."

Karl Watson in an FTC ad with Mike Carroll (Thrasher, September 1995)

Karl Watson skating at Pier 7 - he must have become vegan around this time (Thrasher, November 1995)

For your convenience: Matt Rodriguez has been vegetarian (according to mathematics) since 1995 [11]. 

Matt Rodriguez, Deluxe ad (Thrasher, January 1995)

Stereo ad with the vegetarian Matt Rodriguez (Thrasher, December 1995)

Sergei Trudnowski - rumoured to be vegan and surely already vegetarian in 1995 (Sub Zero ad) ... You could almost mistake him for Natas in this photo. Coincidentally, Sergei Trudnowski (in 2018) recounts: "A lot of our street skating [Sergei's and Ricky Oyola's, in Philadelphia] really evolved from Natas." [45]

Sergei Trudnowski (vegetarian), wearing a Sub Zero sweatshirt and what look like Simple shoes (i.e., these were probably leather shoes), skating in Philadelphia

(Thrasher, August 1995)

Sergei Trudnowksi, cira 1995

Sergei Trudnowski had a clothing company with Ricky Oyola called League Clothing. There was a commerical for League in 411 Video Magazine "Best of 411, Volume 2" (at 7:13 min).

Mike Vallely on the back cover of 411 Video Magazine issue 11 (May/June 1995). Tony Hawk is on the front cover, and they were both (Hawk and Vallely) wearing the same Airwalk (leather) shoes. Mike Vallely was a vegetarian at this time (as far as I know) but not vegan anymore.

Mike Vallely, ad for (leather) Airwalk (Thrasher, August 1995)

Again: a then vegetarian Mike Vallely wearing leather Airwalk shoes (CCS ad, Thrasher, October 1995)

Jamie Thomas on the cover of 411 Video Magazine number 12 (July/August 1995). I don't know if Jamie Thomas already was a vegetarian at the time. Toy Machine board, leather éS Sal Barbier shoes.

Jamie Thomas (Thrasher, October 1995)

Big Brother, number 20, with Jamie Thomas on the cover (I'm guessing this is from around 1995)
An already vegetarian (?) or still meat-eating (?) Jamie Thomas, centre spread in Thrasher (January 1995) 

Jamie Thomas skating in Vista, California, in 1995 (photo: Dave Swift)

Jamie Thomas, Toy Machine ad (I'm guessing this must be from around 1995)

Vegetarian Nanda Zipp (Thrasher, August 1995)

Same: vegetarian Nanda Zipp (Thrasher, August 1995)

Nanda Zipp ad from 1995 for the board company Sonic

Nanda Zipp also skated for Physics wheels (see the wheel second from left) - Matt Reason ad from around 1995.

       

Mad Circle ad, Moses Itkonen

Eight-page Moses Itkonen interview, Big Brother



 

Moses Itkonen switch five-Os to fakie (Thrasher, August 1995)

(A then vegan) Moses Itkonen on the cover of  Thrasher, September 1995, doing a switch stance tailslide (not his signature frontside noseslide) in Vancouver (he was skating for Mad Circle at the time) [102]

Moses Itkonen (in the yellow T-shirt), Golden State (wheels) ad (Thrasher, October 1995)

Moses Itkonen, Mad Circle ad (Thrasher, November 1995)

Mad Circle ad, a then vegan (I think) Moses Itkonen, 1995 (from a German skateboard magazine)

Moses Itkonen ad for Independent trucks (Thrasher, December 1995) - you can't see the shoes.

A then vegetarian (not vegan) Geoff Rowley, Flip ad, 1995 (from a German skateboard magazine)

Geoff Rowley sequence (Thrasher, October 1995)

Real ad "Summer's here[.] Hunting season is officially open[.]" (Thrasher, September 1995)

Steve Olson (Thrasher, October 1995). Not sure if he already was a vegetarian then.

Steve Olson (Thrasher, October 1995)

Steve Olson also was on the cover of Transworld in 1995 (December 1995 issue). The photo of Steve Olson 50-50 grinding a handrail (you cannot see his face!) was shot in England by Thomas Campbell [111].

Steve Olson, Transworld cover (December 1995)

Some skate videos (1995):

• Vegetarian Nanda Zipp has a video part in the Sonic (Simon Woodstock's board company) video "One Louder" which came out in 1995.
• Two more videos that came out in 1995 were the Thrasher video "911 Emergency", which (among others) features Mike Vallely (then still vegetarian but not vegan), Matt Field (vegetarian?), Nanda Zipp (vegetarian), Sergei Trudnowski (vegetarian, then maybe already vegan?), and Matt Pailes (non-vegetarian?), and the Thrasher video "Donut Duty", which (among others) features Ed Templeton (already vegan), Mario Rubalcaba (then vegetarian?), Matt Pailes (non-vegetarian?), Rick McCrank (already vegetarian?), Geoff Rowley (then vegetarian), Nanda Zipp (vegetarian), Jamie Thomas (then already vegetarian?), Mike Vallely (then still vegetarian but not vegan).
• The 1995 ATM Click (Mark Gonzales' company) video "Come together" has a short video part by Nanda Zipp.
• The 1995 Etnies video "High 5" includes (among others) Dave Mayhew (not yet vegetarian?), Laban Pheidias (vegetarian, probably vegan), and Jamie Thomas (already vegetarian at the time?).
• The 1995 Invisible video "Vanishing Point" includes (among others) Laban Pheidias (vegetarian, probably vegan).
• The 1995 Sophisto Clothing video "Freedom" includes (among others) Laban Pheidias (vegetarian, probably vegan), Chris Lambert (already vegetarian then?), and Jamie Thomas (already vegetarian then?).
• Laban Pheidias and Ed Templeton are also in 411 issue 5.
• The 1995 Tracker video "Hi-8" includes (among others) Laban Pheidias (vegetarian, probably vegan; his part, last part, starts at ~11:11 min).
• The Deluxe video "Ride On" (1995) includes Jim Thiebaud (still vegetarian?), Matt Field (vegetarian?), and Matt Rodriguez (already vegetarian?).
• Sergei Trudnowski (vegetarian, then maybe already vegan), Ed Templeton (vegan; profile), Mike Vallely (then vegetarian; profile), Moses Itkonen (the vegan; rookies) were in 411 "Best of 411, Volume 2" (1995).

A segment in Thrasher (December 1995) about Earth Crisis (in which veganism is mentioned) and about CIV (the band; whose singer Civ, who used to sing for Gorilla Biscuits, is vegan)

1996

Is this a joke by Foundation? Or was Alyoop an actual company? Note Ed Templeton saying, "I respect them because they're vegans."

CSS, canvas Vans and Dickies (Ed Templeton was sponsored by Vans for a while.)

Sheep, the mystery (solved)

Sheep was a shoe company by Sole Tech (Etnies etc.). Sheep existed from 1996 to 1998. Several times I have read that Sheep only made "vegetarian" (leather-free) shoes, but I'm pretty sure this isn't true ... and this has been confirmed in a 2021 interview with Don Brown (see 2021 [44]): Sheep also made some leather/real suede shoes, at least at the beginning.

The Sheep shoes video "Life of Leisure".

 The video features: Sergei Trudnowski (vegetarian, maybe already vegan), Brian Anderson (then vegetarian), Matt Field (vegetarian?), Frank Hirata (non-vegetarian?), Ed Templeton (already vegan), Rick McCrank (probably already vegetarian), Charlie Wilkins (non-vegetarian?), and Mike Manzoori (vegetarian?). Apparently, a clip from the Sergei Trudnowski part in this video was used in 2017 for the vegan Ryan Lay shoe on Etnies [45].

Don Brown explains: "[...] the name [Sheep] actually came from Pierre [André Senizergues, owner of Sole Tech], when he was talking to a [sales] rep, saying that “We should call it Cheap and Chic!” and sometimes Pierre’s translation [pronunciation?] of things is a bit off… There was that really awkward silence, so I suggested we call it Sheep, because we were just going to be following everything else [non-skate-shoe companies making exact copies of skate shoes] and sell it out. So when it became Sheep it kinda moved forward.

We’d always sold canvas shoes cheap, so we made canvas shoes for Sheep, but Pierre hadn’t calculated that the duty on canvas shoes is actually way more than what the suede was… The idea of having a cheap shoe kinda fell apart when the shoes weren’t going to be cheap anymore!
Rick McCrank had come down, I think he was visiting a distributor or whatever, and we ended up working something out with Rick to have Rick on Sheep. Ed Templeton was one of the first people I called because he was someone I’d known forever, and he was riding for Vans at the time, so I asked if he wanted to ride for Sheep and he was super down for it, so that made sense." [44] (See 2021 for more info on Sheep from that same interview.)

Ed Templeton, Sheep ad, "Pick Sheep", very likely from 1996 

Ed Templeton, Sheep ad, Transworld, June 1996

Vegan shoes? (Frank Hirata)

Vegan or leather? (Mike Manzoori)

Sheep ad with Laban Pheidias - skating in leather-free shoes (?)

The ad says "these shoes are either canvas or suede".

This ad says "Sheep Texel Leather Shoes". I'm not sure what "texel" is.

Already  vegetarian? Steve Olson in a Thunder ad (Thrasher, February 1996)

A vegetarian (probably?) Rick McCrank (Thrasher, February 1996)

Birdhouse, Team deck graphic ("Food")

Big Brother, issue 23, Laban Pheidias on the cover (This is apparently from 1996.)

For your convenience: Claus Grabke has been vegetarian since at least 1989 (see 1989 Santa Cruz ad)

Late 1980s Santa Cruz pro Claus Grabke and his band Thumb (all vegetarians I assume) posed for PETA Germany for a "You should rather go naked than wear fur!" poster.

Ed Templeton, "programming injection", Transworld, June 1996 

Ed Templeton, "programming injection", Transworld, October 1996

Ed Templeton on the cover of Warp magazine (June 1996), skating in Escondido (photo: Dave Swift [91])

WARP magazine, June 1996, Ed Templeton interview

Note: Below the painting it says "Ron Cameron enjoying a frozen vegetarian meal."

Ed Templeton at the X-Games in Providence, Rhode Island (Thrasher, November 1996)

CCS ad including Ed Templeton - next to Jason Adams, Bill Pepper, Frank Hirata, and Simon Woodstock (Thrasher, December 1996)

In 1996, Brian Anderson - he was a vegetarian at the time - front blunted Hubba Hideout in San Francisco, made famous in Toy Machine's "Welcome to Hell". One of the most iconic tricks in the history of skateboarding. In a Brian Anderson interview by Ed Templeton (Big Brother, December 1998), Ed says: "I remember the video where you f/s bluntslid Hubba Hideout. I showed it to Jamie [Thomas], and we were like, "What the hell? This guy looks like he just escaped from prison, and he just f/s bluntslid Hubba Hideout like it was the easiest thing in the world." 

Brian Anderson

Moses Itkonen

 

And that's the complete photo (Thrasher, April 1996): 

Golden State wheel company ad of Moses Itkonen (skating) with Colin McKay (sitting) from Thrasher, April 1996

Moses Itkonen in a Mad Circle ad (Thrasher, July 1996)

Moses Itkonen in the "Trash" section of Thrasher, July 1996 

A vegetarian Matt Rodriguez in a Stereo ad (Thrasher, August 1996)

Matt Rodriguez: still from "Tincan Folklore" (Stereo, 1996)

Matt Rodriguez in the "Trash" section of Thrasher (October 1996)

Matt Rodriguez (first left), Stereo ad (Thrasher, November 1996)

Matt Rodriguez on the contents pages of Thrasher (December 1996)

Menace T-shirt back print. I'm guessing this must be from around 1996. Menace was later renamed as MNC, then All City, then City Stars - I think that was the order.

An "Ams" profile of (vegan) Vern Laird (Thrasher, August 1996). It says: "What do you eat? Aren't you vegan?" to which Vern responds: "You know, what a typical question. Ask Mike V. Oops!" (I think, Vern was already vegan then, while Mike V had stopped being vegan, in around 1993. So, probably Vern is saying: Ask Mike V if he is vegan.)

John "The Man" Reeves (JTMR) interview in Transworld (TWS), June 1996 .. From the interview:

"[TWS:] Do you eat healthy?

[JTMR:] I try to, but I like too much junk food, like fried chicken. I like veggie burgers, but I can't stop [eating] the beef burgers, too. I don't know if it's the drugs they put in them or what, but it's good. I also like Japanese, and pasta." [48]

Mike Vallely, Airwalk ad (wearing leather shoes but still vegetarian)

Again, Mike V (vegetarian but not vegan anymore, again wearing leather Airwalk shoes) in a Standard trucks ad (Thrasher, August 1996)

Sean Sheffey, Thrasher cover, December 1996 ... Sean Sheffey was probably not vegetarian anymore at this point (?). Sean Sheffey also had a leather signature shoe on DVS later (you can see ads for the shoe in Thrasher, February 1998, and Thrasher, December 1998).

Etnies ad, Jamies Thomas (probably wearing leather shoes) - this was just before Emerica started. The name "Emerica" came from "Etnies America" [44].

Jamie Thomas, Shorty's (hardware) ad, Transworld, June 1996

Jamie Thomas in a Toy Machine ad (wearing a Zero hoodie; Thrasher, November 1996)

Magazine "check out" of Sergei Trudnowski ... This must be from 1996, and the text was written by Vernon Laird (which magazine?). Zoo York is included as his board sponsor - so this was before Illuminati started, and it says it was five years after the Blind video ("Video Days", 1991). That means: 1996. The text says: "[...] Sergei is a vegan and straight edge." (Side note: In a 2018 interview, Sergei says: "I didn't drink at the time." [45])

Photo of Sergei Trudnowski (and ?) from around 1996

The Toy Machine video "Welcome to Hell" came out in 1996. Ed Templeton (vegan since ~1991) on the cover and Jamie Thomas (probably vegan at the time on the back cover), and both of them on the top flap.

Flyer for the Welcome To Hell premiere. (Chad Muska is on this flyer, but Chad Muska was kicked off Toy Machine before Welcome to Hell came out and is not in the video.)

Geoff Rowley ad for Flip, wearing an Orion trucks shirt. Geoff Rowley was a vegetarian (not vegan) at the time (the ad is from a German skateboard magazine).

A vegetarian, suede Airwalk-wearing Geoff Rowley - double page Airwalk ad (Thrasher, April 1996)

Flip ad ("Sorry... no ad concept this month") with Geoff Rowley (Thrasher, September 1996)

Geoff Rowley, double-page Airwalk ad ("The Geoff Rowley Show") for a (leather) "S. Park Series" shoe (Thrasher, October 1996)

Karl Watson appears to have been vegan (dietary only?) at the time (Thrasher, November 1996) - Mad Circle ad. I cannot see what the shoes are.

Karl Watson in an FTC ad with Mike York (Thrasher, December 1996)

Nanda Zipp (skating at Burnside in Portland, Oregon) on the cover of Transworld (October 1996; photo: Dave Swift)

Nanda Zipp (Thrasher, November 1996)

Nanda Zipp (Thrasher, November 1996)

Nanda Zipp pro model for Sonic

Some skate videos (1996):

• Nanda Zipp also is featured in the (first) Transworld video "Uno" which came out in 1996.
• Another Transworld video, "4 Wheel Drive" also came out in 1996, and it contains footage from, among others, Nanda Zipp (vegetarian), Kris Markovich (vegetarian?), Steve Berra (vegetarian?), Chris Lambert (already vegetarian?), Geoff Rowley (then vegetarian), Brian Sumner (already vegetarian?), Ed Templeton (already vegan), Jamie Thomas (then probably already, and still, vegetarian), and Laban Pheidias (vegetarian, probably vegan).
• Yet another video from 1996 is the "Airwalk Skateboard Video", by, well, Airwalk, which contains footage, among others from Nanda Zipp, Steve Berra, and Geoff Rowley.
• And another video from 1996 was the Thrasher video "Skate and Destroy" which, among others, featured Danny Garcia (vegetarian?), Sergei Trudnowski (vegetarian, maybe already vegan), Nanda Zipp (vegetarian), Matt Pailes (non-vegetarian?), Forrest Kirby (vegetarian?), and Jamie Thomas (then already vegetarian?).
• Two other videos from 1996 are 411 Video Magazine issue 15 which included Laban Pheidias (vegetarian, probably vegan) and 411 Video Magazine issue 16 which included Laban Pheidias (vegetarian, probably vegan), Kris Markovich (vegetarian?), and Brad Staba (probably vegetarian at the time) - it also includes Eric Pheidas (Laban's brother?).
• The 1996 Invisible video "Caught Clean" includes (among others) Laban Pheidias (vegetarian, probably vegan).
• Matt Rodriguez (vegetarian) is in "Tincan Folklore" (Stereo video, 1996) - see above.
• Steve Olson is in the Union Wheel Co. video "The Game We Play" (1996).

Probably before he was vegetarian: Dave Mayhew, Maple ad (Thrasher, December 1996)

Earth Crisis ad in Thrasher (October 1996)

1997

Karl Watson, who was probably vegan at the time, skating at Pier 7 (Thrasher, January 1997)

Mad Circle ad, including Karl Watson (Thrasher, February 1997)

Thunder ad, Karl Watson (Thrasher, February 1997)

A then (dietary?) vegan Karl Watson riding for Mad Circle (pictured with Scott Johnston and the much later to become vegan Bobby Puleo; Mad Circle ad; Thrasher, June 1997)

Karl Watson, Mad Circle ad (Thrasher, July 1997)

Karl Watson (and Danny Supa) ad for Duffs shoes (Thrasher, October 1997; the same ad is also in Big Brother, October 1997). Karl Watson seems to have been (a dietary?) vegan at the time. Duffs did come out with a vegan shoe in 1998 (see below; side note: both Per Welinder and Steve Rocco were involved in Duffs).

Thrasher three-page interview with vegetarian Nanda Zipp (Thrasher, January 1997; interview and photos by Sean Dolinsky): "[...] [Sean:] What's your religious background? [Nanda:] I was born in a temple that my parents lived in during the Hari [!] Krishna movement in the seventies, and we lived there for about five or six years, so I guess my religion would be Vaisnava and it's basically Worship of Lord Krishna.

[...]

[Sean:] Why did you choose to be a vegetarian and lead such a healthy life? [Nanda:] I was fortunate enough to grow up vegetarian due to the influence of my parents. It's easy for me to see how cruel the whole meat industry is. If you look at it from any kind of humane standpoint, everything that is involved with the process of eating meat is really grotesque. I don't like to wear leather shoes anymore either because it was hypocritical: I believe in not eating meat, but I wear the skin? It's the same thing. It comes from the same animal and you have to kill it to get it. As far as health goes, your body is like a fine automobile. You have to change the oil, you can't put sugar in the engine, you have to make sure to take care of it. You've got to make sure it's in good shape, because your body really does affect the way your mind works. If you keep your body attuned, then your mind can become clearer. [...]"

Lactovegetarian (probably?) and leather-free (maybe?) Nanda Zipp in an ad for a mailorder company (SSBS;  Thrasher, October 1997) - you can't see him or his shoes very well though.

A then (already?) vegan Jamie Thomas (Transworld, February 1997)

 

Note about Mike Vallely and his spoken words performances (Mike V seems to have been a vegetarian then - but not vegan) and about Thomas Campbell's documentary film about Ed Templeton (Transworld, February 1997).

Standard Truck Co ad, Mike Vallely (then a dietary vegetarian, wearing leather Airwalk shoes, I think; Transworld, February 1997; see 1999 - when Mike V started to eat meat again; and see 2015 - when Mike V started to be vegan again, at least a dietary vegan ... or near-vegan)

Mike Vallely, contents pages in Thrasher (October 1997)

Ed Templeton, "programming injection" (Transworld, February 1997) ... This rant includes a small note about chemical companies infiltrating PeTA with spies.

Ed Templeton (Transworld, February 1997)

Ed Templeton at the Tampa pro contest (Thrasher, June 1997)

Matt Rodriguez skating at a skate park in Sacramento, California (Thrasher, April 1997)

Then already vegetarian? Brad Staba (Thrasher, April 1997)

Brad Staba (Thrasher, June 1997)

Brad Staba (with Daniel Haney and Jon West), ad for Foundation's "Duty now for the future" video (Thrasher, June 1997)

The much later (?) to become vegetarian (vegan since 2008, apparently) Dave Mayhew, wearing an Emerica T-shirt, Maple ad (Thrasher, March 1997)

Dave Mayhew, Maple ad (Thrasher, June 1997)

Dave Mayhew (Thrasher, August 1997)

Dave Mayhew (Thrasher, August 1997)

Acme, cow and hamburger graphic

This shoe ("Clocker 3") was interesting. It came with a "100% synthetic - no animal products" tag and it came in different kinds of vegan materials. But Scott Johnston or anyone else on DC, except Moses Itkonen, was never vegetarian, I think. This ad appeared in Thrasher, October 1997.

Tag from a pair of DC "Clocker 3" shoes (the grey cordura colourway)

Sheep. Brian Anderson, still meat-free in 1997, but he started eating meat again during an Anti-Hero Australia tour (? ... in the mid-2000s?) - it might also have been during the "Destroy Australia" tour in 2001.

Already vegetarian back then? Rick McCrank  Vegan Shoes?

Rick McCrank in a Sheep shoes ad (Thrasher, September 1997)

Vegan shoes and blunt slides: Ed Templeton (You know it's true.)

Ed Templeton's vegan signature shoe on Sheep, that was (I think) released just before Sheep closed down. I was not sure if these shoes actually ever saw the light of day, i.e., if they were ever produced and if they were available for sale at skate shops. I don't think they were available in Europe (maybe the UK?). An OG vegan skateboarder from the US has informed me that the Sheep Templeton pro shoes did indeed exist (he bought some at FTC skate shop in San Francisco and had several pairs of these shoes).

Ed's Sheep pro model shoe: another photo of the Ed Templeton signature shoe on Sheep (photo from a the Canadian magazine Concrete Skateboarding - don't know which issue). 

A Sheep Ed Templeton tag - was this the tag that came with the Ed Templeton pro shoe? (see above)

Sheep ads and shoes, from the book "Made for Skate"

Sheep ad, Frank Hirata (Thrasher, July 1997)

Sheep ad, Mike Manzoori (Big Brother, October 1997)

Sheep ad, Matt Field (around 1997)

Jake Rupp (then probably still non-vegetarian?), Nicotine ad (Thrasher, August 1997)

Ed Templeton, CCS mailorder ad (Thrasher, September 1997)

Laban Pheidias had a vegan signature shoe on Reef. (There were NO non-vegan colourways of this shoe. I'm pretty sure.)

Note the ad (below) says "vegan leather" (red section, first bullet point).

Tag from the Reef Laban Pheidias signature shoe

The Adil Dyani signature shoe (the black one below, the white one is the Laban Pheidias) by Reef was also vegan.

 

This Jamie Thomas Toy Machine "free as a bird" ad may also be from 1996, but somehow, I don't think that it was from that early. I'm guessing it's from 1997. Note that he is wearing Etnies and no Zero (which started as a clothing company) hoodie. Maybe the photos are from 1996.

Jamie Thomas' heyday - before the fall  

Emerica ad "I'm gonna skate barefoot until you guys make a canvas shoe."

This shoe was available in real (animal) suede (black or white) or in vegan (navy canvas with rubber ollie pad). The rubber cap and sole looked slightly different than in the ad.

He was vegan then.

In the 2017 "Jamie Thomas | The Nine Club With Chris Roberts - Episode 68" (~02:59:00) Jamie Thomas says that he became vegan the time around filming Welcome To Hell - so that must have been around 1995 or 1996. Jamie Thomas adds that the first batch of the Emerica Jamie Thomas shoes were suede and the second batch were canvas and synthetic. ... But this is not how I remember it. Also note that the add says "also available in suede".

Emerica, Jamie Thomas (1997; this ad appeared, for example, in the Transworld February 1997 issue - but many other issues and magazines around the world surely.)

You have to check out this 2013 Ed Templeton interview with Vegan Skate Blog. Apparently, Jamie Thomas experienced blurry vision (which can be a sign of vitamoin B12 deficiency) and wasn't feeling well physical, and a doctor (medical doctor, presumably) then recommended that he eat meat. Ed Templeton: 

"With Jamie Thomas it was a similar thing [as with Mike Vallely, see below]. He was doing Zero and we didn’t have as much time to talk. I got this call from Jamie, and he said, “I just got this call from my doctor and he said I should eat meat. What should I do?” For him, it was a health thing. He felt like he was having blurred vision and having problems skating. In clutch situations, when he was skating a rail, he said his body would change. He went to a doctor about this problem and his doctor suggested that he should eat meat. So he called me with this dilemma, like, “What would people think? I’ve been so outspoken about this.” I think I helped him because I asked, “What’s more important to you? Your veganism or skateboarding? I think it’s skateboarding. It’s your career. I think it takes precedent here. It’s most important to keep your health to make your skating work. That’s more important. Who can complain about that? It’s your life and I’m not going to be pissed at you.” I’d say, “You know how the meat’s made. You make enough money. You can afford free range beef or whatever.You know all this stuff so you can minimize the impact.” Of course I know he eats at McDonald’s and all that stuff now." [30]

So, Jamie Thomas went back to eating meat (unnecessarily so, I'm sure, because the human body requires nutrients - in this case B12 - not certain types of specific foods.)

In this same interview Ed Templeton mentions that Mike Vallely found veganism too constricting. Ed Templeton: "After a bunch of years went by, I went on a trip to South Africa with Mike V. and I knew he was starting to eat meat. One night, in the hotel, he felt like he wanted to talk to me about it. So he was like, “I’m sick of it. I feel like it’s running my life. I only live once and I don’t want to live by this set of rules.” He found it constricting. He felt like there’s always a different level. Veganism and then raw and then airitarian. [He said], “I don’t know where it ends when you’re trying to live by a strict code so fuck it.” And that was his thing. I didn’t agree with him but I thought it was interesting to discuss it. That’s the fun part of knowing someone for a long time, having these discussions and not turning it into an enemy thing or a fight. And it’s cool if that’s what you want to do. We’re adults." [30]

Then, a similar story with Thomas Campbell. Ed Templeton says: "I think people need to live their lives. I’m not the vegan police. For me, I can’t go back. Let me put this on the table, too. I had this talk with Thomas Campbell, he’s an artist, and he read this book about blood types. He’s been vegetarian since birth and had health problems like being lethargic. He started eating fish and meat and his body instantly changed. I feel like we’re omnivores, humans are. Like dogs, we can eat meat and vegetables and it won’t necessarily affect us. Maybe over the long term it might depending on how bad you eat but I think there is some truth to the whole blood type thing. I think in the human realm some can adapt better than others." [30]

The book Thomas Campbell read is probably "Eat right for your type", which falsely claims that your blood type is connected to what diet you should eat. The book is based on fantasy, not science. Many vegans are blood type O (the "meat eater blood type"), including me. If he has been vegetarian since birth, even if he was never vegan, it is quite possible that he was also deficient in vitamin B12. Ed Templeton saying that he thinks "there is some truth to the blood type thing" is a bit shocking (shocking because Ed Templeton is arguably one of the most intelligent pros out there, and also likely the most famous vegan skateboard pro). 

Stolen from the "Made for Skate" book

Invisible ad, Laban Pheidias

(A then vegan) Moses Itkonen on the cover of Transworld, January 1997 (also on the same cover: Mike Frazier and Adam McNatt), doing some kind of grinding a rail stuff in False Creek, Vancouver [102]

Moses Itkonen on the cover of Concrete Powder (free Canadian magazine), Spring 1997 [102]

Moses Itkonen, Independent ad

Moses Itkonen

Moses Itkonen (who is vegan) during the DC (DC Shoe Co) supertour in Europe

(from Big Brother, October 1997)

The then vegan Moses Itkonen rode for Platinum (Slap, September 1997, and also Thrasher, September 1997).

... and he rode for Platinum with (if you don't mind me saying) violent drug fiend Tas Pappas (but that was later, maybe then Tas Pappas was just "raw and full of passion") and Tas' younger brother Ben Pappas (who strangled his girlfriend to death - "Gator" style before committing suicide; Slap July 1997). Moses is the second from the right (with the wristwatch).

From Thrasher (July 1997):

Kastel ad for Steve Olson's vegan signature shoe (also available in white, also vegan), here skating in University City, San Diego, California.

Another angle! (photos by Dave Swift):

Shorty's, Steve Olson (the younger Steve Olson, with glasses) was/is a vegetarian.

A vegan Sergei Trudnowski in a First Division ad. This ad appeared, for example, in Thrasher (September 1997). His shirt says "SHEEP". Side note: Sergei Trudnowski had signature wheels on First Division.
   
Another Sergei Trudnowski ad for First Division (from around 1997)

This photo of Sergei Trudnowski must be from about the same time.

Sergei Trudnowski, Illuminati ad

Sergei Trudnowski, two more Illuminati ads (both with Ricky Oyola and Matt Reason - the three founding fathers of Philadelphia street skating apparently [45])

Sergei Trudnowski pro board on Illuminati (from around 1997)

Photo of Sergei Trudnowski (from around 1997, very roughly)

Sergei Trudnowski (bottom centre) in an Illuminati ad (from around 1997, roughly; with Tim O'Connor, Ricky Oyola, [Greg?] Harris, and Matt Reason) ... Illuminati was a board company owned by Zoo York. When a card game company who had trademarked the name "Illuminati" threatened to sue Zoo York, Illuminati the skate company ended but was recreated under a new name: Silverstar (see ads below) [45]. While being on Illuminati, Sergei Trudnowski also rode for Sheep shoes (and Etnies after Sheep ended)[45]. First Division was a wheel company [45].

Sergei Trudnowski, Silverstar ad (from 1997; the one on the right is from Slap, July 1997)

Sergei Trudnowski, Silverstar ad (from around 1997)

Sergei Trudnowski, Silverstar ad (from around 1997)

Sergei Trudnowski pro board on Silverstar (from around 1997) ... Side note: Silverstar lasted until at some point between 1997 and 2001 [45].

Toy Machine, Mike Frazier, "fishing line" graphic


Zero, Jamie Thomas graphics

Zero, team decks

A then probably vegan Jamie Thomas on the back cover of "Thrill of it all" (the first Zero video).

Pig Wheels

A then vegetarian Brian Anderson on the cover of Thrasher (December 1997 issue)

Invisible's skate video "Mission Invisible: Days of Plunder" starring a vegetarian Laban Pheidias

Laban Pheidias in an ad for the "Caught Clean" video (Big Brother, October 1997)

Already vegetarian at this point? Scott Bourne, photo by Jaya Bonderov! (Thrasher, March 1997)

Scott Bourne skating the sea wall in Chicago (Thrasher, May 1997)

Scott Bourne, Consolidated ad (Thrasher, October 1997)

Jake Stewart - vegetarian/vegan at the time? Platinum ad (Thrasher, October 1997; the same ad is also in Big Brother, October 1997)

Some skate videos (1997):

• Vegetarian Nanda Zipp has a video part in the Physics (wheel company) video "Dream Reality" which came out in 1997.
• The 1997 Invisible video "Days of Plunder" includes (among others) Laban Pheidias (vegetarian, probably vegan).
• The 1997 Human Skateboards video "Radioactive Throw Up" includes (among others) Laban Pheidias (vegetarian, probably vegan) and Matt Pailes (non-vegetarian?).
• The 1997 Transworld video "Cinematographer" includes (among others) Laban Pheidias (vegetarian, probably vegan), Atiba Jefferson (already vegetarian?), Chris Lambert (already vegetarian?), Geoff Rowley (vegetarian and dietary vegan or near-vegan at the time), Jamie Thomas (probably already vegan at the time), Kenny Anderson (already vegetarian?), Laban Pheidias (vegetarian, probably vegan), Mike Vallely (still vegetarian then but not vegan), Moses Itkonen (vegan at the time), Steve Berra (already vegetarian?), Steve Olson (with glasses; vegetarian), and Dave Mayhew (already vegetarian?).

A short text about Snapcase whose singer Daryl Taberski and drummer Tim Redmond wear (are?) vegan (Thrasher, August 1997) - the text does not mention vegetarianism/veganism (even though everyone in Snapcase was vegetarian, I think).

1998

Ed Templeton's most popular shoe ever (probably). This shoe was literally everywhere you went. Emerica Templeton (all vegan)
  

About Ed Templeton's art ("Trash" section in Thrasher, February 1998)

Ed Templeton interview (by Sean Cliver) in Big Brother magazine (March 1998 issue; see photos below) ...

From the interview: "[Sean Cliver:] How do you feel about the militant/in-your-face vegan faction?

[Ed Templeton] I think it does a lot of bad stuff. I mean, I'm totally into showing people how good it is to eat this way - it's healthy, compassionate, all these things. But there's these hard-liners guys, straight edge/vegan power dudes, and their mode of action is like a skinhead. Like, "If you don't do what we're doing, we're gonna kick your ass." The best influence you can ever have is by example. That's the only way you can do anything. Maybe some kids see me at a skate park, and they see me skating all day long; other people might get tired out, youcbut I'm still going. They may go, "Hey, how come you have all this energy, Ed?" I go, "Oh, I eat healthy and stuff like that," and maybe they get interested in it. I'm not going, "Hey, don't eat meat or you're stupid" because then they'd do the opposite. I don't think being a hard-liner with no bending whatsoever is the way to do it. [...] Influence and by example is the only way you can ever do anything. [...]

[Sean Cliver:] Has anyone ever slipped you a "meat mickey"?

[Ed Templeton:] No one ever did it on purpose. Maybe someone has and I ate it, but I don't think so. That would be pretty dumb 'cause I wouldn't even care. I could eat a steak right now, and it's not gonna affect me at all. I just choose not to. I'm not gonna die, so there's no real advantage in slipping me a "meat mickey" 'cause I wouldn't, like, spin off or somethin'.

[Sean Cliver:] Okay, you're in a plane to Chile, you crash in the Andes, and you don't have your little bag of vegan vittles. Do you starve or start eating teammates?

[Ed Templeton:] What are we, like up above the timberline?

[Sean Cliver:] You're fucked.

[Ed Templeton:] So there's no berries or anything. Well, yeah, I would eat meat. Survival is survival. I'm not gonna just die. You know what, this is the classic "catch the vegan admitting he'll eat meat." People love to get a vegan to say, "Yes, I would eat meat." Like, "He's one of us deep down inside. He's a carnivore!" So yeah, whatever.

[Sean Cliver:] Who would you eat first?

[Ed Templeton:] It would have to be Brian Anderson 'cause he's the biggest. He'd have to take one for the team 'cause he could feed a lot of people. The reason I'm even vegetarian is because we live in a place where you can get right to the corner and get food of any type. You don't have to choose animal products. I just think that with all the options, I'd rather choose those products. I've driven across the country. I've been in Butt-fuck, Texas, and you can still find a place that has nonmeat food. It's easy if you're compassionate. I'm not saying you're an uncompassionate fool if you eat meat. I mean, you have to know about it first. If you read some of the things I've read or see some of the things I've seen, then maybe you would change your mind. Aside from killing things. Aside from killing things unnecessarily, it's just the health of it. I think it's definitely something in this time and age - with all the meat poisoning and diseases floating around in meat products and how the system is so unclean - that everyone should be interested in." [46] If you look at the shoes Ed Templeton is wearing in the skate photos, they look like they might be his Sheep pro model shoe (see 1997).

From the same issue of Big Brother (March 1998): the "subscribe page" with Ed Templeton (Note the "Colonel Sanders and bird" T-shirt graphic)

Ed Templeton in a CCS ad (Thrasher, May 1998)

Toy Machine, Ed Templeton shirt graphic ... I'm not sure what year this is from, but I'm guessing 1997 to 1999.

Tempster tailsliding in a Thunder ad (Thrasher, August 1998)

And the same photo of Ed Templeton in another Thunder ad (Thrasher, November 1998)

Jake Stewart - vegetarian/vegan at the time? (Thrasher, January 1998)

Intentionally vegan? All colourways of the "Clocker 3" shoe by DC might have been vegan (I think so). The shoes came with a plastic DC tag that said "no animal products" and "100% synthetic" (ad from Slap, February 1998)

A then vegan Moses Itkonen (Thrasher, February 1998)

In hindsight, a pretty creepy Platinum ad, including an almost hidden (and then vegan) Moses Itkonen (sitting, doing the Red Dragon hand sign), Ben Pappas (who later committed homicide/murder and then suicide in 2007), Jake Stewart (who might have been vegan at the time; standing, light shirt), Tas Pappas (sitting; Ben's brother), and Jonas Wray (who passed away in 2021; Thrasher, March 1998)

A (then) vegan Moses Itkonen wearing one of the most popular vegan shoes at the time: the DC Syntax (DC ad from Thrasher, April 1998; also in Big Brother, March 1998; "Often imitated but never duplicated"). I didn't know then that Moses Itkonen was vegan. ... All colourways of the original DC Syntax were vegan. It was called "Syntax" because it was all synthetic (i.e., non-leather). This is NOT true for the current (as of 2022) rehash of "DC Shoes" and their current "Syntax" - which is made from animal skin.

Platinum ad with Moses Itkonen (Thrasher, August 1998) wearing what might be the white colourway of the "Syntax" shoe (DC, vegan shoe at the time, see above). 

Platinum ad, including a (then) vegan Moses Itkonen (Thrasher, September 1998). In the photo it looks like Moses might be wearing the white colourway of the "Syntax" shoe (DC, vegan shoe at time, see above). Note that the ad also has a photo of the Platinum am Jake Stewart who was also from Canada (like Moses) and who was also vegan for a while, maybe around this time (?).

Moses Itkonen skating somewhere in White Rock, British Columbia (Thrasher, December 1998)

Geoff Rowley's vegetarian, pre-vegan, pre-ex-vegan era, skating for Airwalk. I thought (then) Geoff Rowley was French.

A vegetarian Geoff Rowley in a CSS ad (Thrasher, January 1998)

Geoff Rowley actually had a pro shoe (made from leather) on Airwalk ... section of an Airwalk ad in Slap (February 1998; also in Thrasher, March 1998) with Rowley's pro shoe. 

 

Geoff Rowley's (leather) pro shoe on Airwalk (ad from Thrasher, February 1998)

Geoff Rowley (wearing Converse canvas chucks), three-page Flip ad (Big Brother, March 1998) Rowley seems to already have been vegan (dietary - see Airwalk ad above) or near vegan at the time.

.. and Geoff Rowley in a Volcom ad, probably still wearing Airwalk shoes (Thrasher, April 1998)

... and Geoff Rowley, possibly wearing his Airwalk pro shoe, detail from a CSS ad (Thrasher, August 1998)

Geoff Rowley, double-page Volcom ad (Thrasher, September 1998)

Geoff Rowley, double-page Volcom ad (Thrasher, October 1998)

Geoff Rowley, double-page Volcom ad (Thrasher, December 1998)

Geoff Rowley skating in Poway, California, in 1998, wearing (leather) Airwalk shoes (photo: Dave Swift)

In an "industry news" section (April 1998) in Transworld, it says: "The Physics wheel company [...]. After a recent trip to India, Physics pro Nanda Zipp has decided to retire from professional skateboarding. He will continue to skate for fun while pursuing schoolwork and different career paths. Zipp was one of the creative forces who helped establish Physics, and he has produced artwork for many board graphics and magazine ads." [83]

Steve Olson's vegan signature shoe on Kastel

Even Duffs came out with a vegan shoe in 1998 (called "Veggie Sub"). They even made a T-shirt promoting the shoe (I don't have a photo at the moment).

Duffs "Veggie Sub" ad (Big Brother, March 1998 issue; it says "all synthetic upper [...] approved by militant vegans"; I'm not sure who the skater is.)

Sheep ad (Thrasher, January 1998)

A sarcastic note in Big Brother (March 1988) about Sheep shoes (and Sole Tech in general) titled "Wholesome News" reads: "Just for the fun of it, pretend you are the president of a big-time skate shoe corporation. At the end of the year, you decide to take a little stroll into the shipping area of your warehouse and happen to discover it clogged with all kinds of unsold product from 1997. What do you do? Do you throw open your back door and hold a blowout sale and run the risk of offending every single skate shop within a 75-mile radius? Of course not, silly! Obviously you remember that Christmas is meant to be a time of giving - or, in other words, you host a charity event! Let's face it, nothing looks better on the tax records than a hefty donation to a worthwile cause. Enter Sole Technology Inc., the proud manufacturers of éS, Emerica and Etnies (their Sheep line has been discontinued for '88). Pierre Andre Senizerques [they mean Pierre André Senizergues], the president and CEO of Sole, expressed it best with his misty-eyed sentiment of, "Since skateboarding derived from the streets, (he) wanted to give back to the streets." No, not to the skateboarders themselves, but to the unfortunate men, women and children who are homeless and/or destitute in the Los Angeles area. So on Christmas eve Pierre, Don Brown and a handful of cobbling elves personally handed out over 10,000 pairs of shoes at the L.A. Mission. Word has it that the Jamie Thomas Emerica model [vegan colourways] and the [vegan] Ed Templeton Sheep model went over extremely well among the vegetarian/Earth-conscious sect of the homeless population." " [93]

Rick McCrank, éS ad for the "Quattro" shoe ("synthetic nubuck/mesh upper"), 100% synthetic upper and a popular vegan skate shoe at the time. I'm not sure if there were non-vegan colourways of the Quattro at the time.

Rick McCrank in a Plan B ad (Thrasher, January 1998)

Rick McCrank skating in Vancouver (Thrasher, March 1998)

Rick McCrank, XYZ (clothing company) ad (Big Brother, March 1998, also in Thrasher, March 1998) ... Rick McCrank was already vegetarian at this time. Note that Ed Templeton in this same issue of Big Brother mentions that XYZ used to have a T-shirt (around this time) with an anti-gay rainbow flag with bullet holes graphic.

A vegetarian Rick McCrank ... rode for Birdhouse and was in "The End" video (!). McCrank is also on the back cover (but a very tiny picture)

Rick McCrank ad for Plan B (September 1998)

Rick McCrank ad for XYZ (Thrasher, September 1998)

Sergei Trudnowski (vegetarian since age 13, vegan around this time) ad for Silverstar

(Slap, February 1998)

Sergei Trudnowski on the cover of Slap (March 1998)

Matt Rodriguez (vegetarian) in an SSBS mailorder ad (Slap, February 1998; also in Thrasher, February 1998)

In 1998, Brian Anderson was Thrasher's "Rookie of the year" apparently (Thrasher, April 1998)

BFF Brad Staba and Brian Anderson (then probably both vegetarian) skating in Panama (Thrasher, May 1998)

Brian Anderson, Independent ad (Thrasher, June 1998)

Geoff Rowley on the cover of Big Brother (June 1998 issue).

This issue (Big Brother, June 1998) also has a Geoff Rowley interview (by Jeff Tremaine and Ed Templeton) which has some interesting info about the start of Geoff's vegan phase:

"[...]

JT [Jeff Tremaine]: Are you vegan?

[Geoff Rowley:] No, not really. I haven't eaten any animal parts for about two or three years; before then I went through phases of eating dairy and whatnot, but I'm not, like, a strict vegan. Look, I've got suede shoes on. The next shoe I have out will be all synthetic, but until then I'm going to be wearing suede, so you could say I'm heading that way, but without the label attachment. I just want to do what feels right to me.

JT: So you'll skin the cow and just leave the meat to rot.

[Geoff Rowley:] It's not really like that. I don't eat animal products not because I don't like the death involved with eating meat. I do it for health reasons, really. I have no problem with somone shooting a cow in the head and eating it. How elese would the masses be happily fed? There's nothing wrong with eating meat, but there's also other routes. You don't have to be like that.

[...]"

Geoff Rowley (then a dietary vegan or near-vegan), CSS ad (Thrasher, June 1998). In this sequence he might still be wearing (suede) Airwalk shoes.

 

Brian Anderson (vegetarian at the time, wearing leather Axion shoes), Big Brother cover (December 1998)

In this issue of Big Brother (December 1998), Ed Templeton interviews Brian Anderson, and Brian says: "I've been a vegetarian since I was 15. I'm 22 now. [...] I was used to seeing it [vegetarianism]. One of my sisters was a vegetarian so I know everything about it. Then I read this book called A Diet for a New America [by John Robbins, a popular book in the 1990s; Jamie Thomas had it too]. It had a lot of raw facts about slaughterhouses an certain situations involving the government and meatI just learned a lot from reading that book, and I decided that I was over it [eating meat] after reading it."

A then vegetarian Brian Anderson (Thrasher, January 1998)

Brian Anderson (Thrasher, July 1998)

Brian Anderson, ad for Axion (non-vegan leather shoe; Thrasher, January 1998; the same ad also is in Thrasher, October 1998)

From the Brian Anderson interview in Big Brother (December 1998)

A then meat-free (vegetarian?) Brad Staba (contents pages in Thrasher, February 1998)

Brad Staba (Thrasher, April 1998)

There is a four-page interview with Brad Staba in the August 1998 issue of Thrasher but vegetarianism or other dietary preferences are not mentioned (see below).

Interview with Brad Staba (Thrasher, August 1998)

Adio ad of the "Leap of faith" spot - see below (left; Thrasher, March 1998)

Adio ad with Jamie Thomas who was vegan at the time and had vegan-only pro model shoes on Adio (with Jeremy Wray and Steve Berra; Steve Berra might also have been vegetarian at the time (or might still be?); Slap, May 1998) ... Jeremy Wray's pro shoes on Adio were alway (accidentally) vegan but Steve Berra's pro shoe(s) were not (see for example, the "Steve Berra V.1" in an ad in Thrasher, May 1999).

A then vegan Jamie Thomas jumping down the Leap of Faith in an Adio ad (with Steve Berra and Jeremy Wray; Thrasher, April 1998). Jamie Thomas had a vegan pro shoe on Adio.

Adio ad for (a then vegan) Jamie Thomas's vegan signature shoe on Adio: the "Jamies Thomas", "Model V.1", "Durable synthetic upper" (Thrasher, December 1998). All colourways were vegan.

Jamie Thomas - who was then vegan (Thrasher, December 1998). The shoes he's wearing look like the second Jamie Thomas signature shoe on Adio (the "Jamie Thomas V.2") which came out a little later (see June 1999).

Mike Vallely, then still vegetarian but not vegan, on the contents page of Slap (February 1998)

Ad for Transit, one of the deck brands Mike Vallely started (Thrasher, February 1998)

Transit ad with Mike Vallely (then still vegetarian, it seems). The ad was a two-page ad, but the pages were not next to each other in the magazine (from Slap, May 1998)
 

A then still vegetarian Mike Vallely at the Tampa pro contest 1998 (Thrasher, June 1998). The caption reads: "[...] The powerful smell of veggie burgers wafting through the park gave Mike Vallely the strength to take this one-footer straight to the tranny." The contest article also includes a list of "What they [the skate pros/teams] ate" (see below). Ed Templeton placed second in this contest (street; after Andrew Reynolds; Mike V wasn't in the top 10).

What they ate: including "Salman Agah[:] Beans and rice [...] Fred Gall[:] Mom's peanut butter and jelly[,] Girl team[:] Veggie burgers and M&M's[,] Danny Gonzalez[:] Gave the black beans and rice a big thumbs up[,] Moses Itkonen [then vegan][:] Brought his own [...] Ed Templeton[:] Warm bottled water[,] Mike Vallely[:] Veggie burger with cheese"

Mike Vallely - this may be the first ad for his first signature shoe (the "Vallely 1" - all colourways were vegan) on Etnies (Thrasher, September 1998)

Mike Vallely towards the end of his first vegetarian phase, before the fall (Thrasher, September 1998)

Mike Vallely, detail of an Etnies team ad (Thrasher, October 1998)

A then still vegetarian Mike Vallely, Black Label ad ("Stand up, stand strong, stand alone"; Thrasher, December 1998)

Ricky Oyola ad for Kastel (from the May 1998 issue of Slap); I don't think Ricky Oyola ever was anything like a vegetarian, but the shoes in this ad are vegan (100% synthetic upper). It says "all synthetic materials". The shoe seems to be called "Ricky Oyola V.2".

Scott Bourne (from Slap, May 1998) ... Scott Bourne seems to have been (or is?) a dietary vegan (?). In this photo he's wearing Vans (quite probably leather; I don't think Vans had vegan shoes that looked like this at the time or ever). Also: this is an ad for a leather Vans shoe. The ad was also in Thrasher (May 1998).

Scott Bourne, Consolidated ad (Thrasher, March 1998)

Scott Bourne, Spitfire ad (Thrasher, March 1998)

Scott Bourne (Thrasher, April 1998)

Scott Bourne, Thunder ad (Slap, August 1998)

Steve Olson's vegan signature model on Kastel (ad in Transworld, December 1998)

Jamie Thomas cover, Transworld cover, October 1998 (issue 150)

(I'm assuming that Jamie Thomas was vegan then.)

There was (unless I'm mistaken) another colourway (apart from blue canvas and the two non-vegan ones: balck and white) of the Emerica Jamie Thomas "I'm gonna skate barefoot until you guys make a canvas shoe" shoe: a brownish colour (and unless I'm mistaken, this too was a canvas shoe, i.e. vegan). Tim O'Connor is here wearing it in an Element ad from 1998 (from a German skateboard magazine).

A then (dietary?) vegan Karl Watson in a Mad Circle ad (Thrasher, March 1998)

Karl Watson was (a dietary?) vegan at the time (Thrasher, September 1998).

A probably (?) vegetarian Brian Sumner kickflipping to BSTS to fakie (Thrasher, December 1998)

Was Dave Mayhew vegetarian in 1998? (Tell me! My guess would be "no".)

Dave Mayhew, Krux ad (Thrasher, March 1998)

Dave Mayhew (Thrasher, October 1998)

Dave Mayhew (Thrasher, October 1998)

Dave Mayhew (Thrasher, December 1998)

This is were Diego Bucchieri got his nickname "The Butcher" from, maybe. Diego Bucchieri had a brief stint as a vegetarian from around 1999 to 2001, maybe. So, this interview seems to be from before he was vegetarian (Thrasher, November 1998).

In 2001, there was a mention in Transworld of Jake Rupp being vegan (see below). in the November 1998 issue of Thrasher there is a Jake Rupp interview (by Mike O'Meally). From the interview: "[...] [Mike O'Meally:] Do you have any other hobbies now besides skateboarding?

[Jake Rupp:] Crayfishing. What you do is you get this net, [...] [he goes on to explain the technique]. [...]

[Mike O'Meally:] Can you eat crayfish?

[Jake Rupp:] Yeah. They're really good. I don't eat 'em anymore, but I used to.

[Mike O'Meally:] So what do you do once you catch them if you don't eat them? Let them go?

[Jake Rupp:] I just check 'em out. Then put 'em back. Check out their body structure. One time we caught a crayfish that was nine inches long in my pond. [...]" (Thrasher, November 1998)

Three-page interview in Thrasher (November 1998) with a then 19-year-old (and vegetarian/vegan?) Jake Rupp

Some skate videos (1998):

• The Thrasher video "Hillbilly Roadkill" (1998) includes Scott Bourne (vegetarian, possibly dietary vegan), Matt Field (vegetarian?), and Matt Rodriguez (vegetarian).
• The Duffs video "Wonder Years" (1998) includes Chris Lambert (already vegetarian?), Karl Watson (apparently, a dietary vegan at the time), and Jake Stewart (vegetarian/vegan at the time?).
• Karl Watson had a part in the Mad Circle video "5ive Flavors" (1998).

Karl Watson in "5ive Flavors" (Mad Cirlce, 1998)

1999

In response to a "Got Milk?" ad with Tony Hawk promoting dairy (see 2000), photographer Glen E. Friedman - who is vegan and and who shot many iconic skate photos (including of Tony Hawk in the 1980s) and many iconic record covers too (including the Beastie Boys' "Check Your Head" cover) - wrote a heartfelt letter to Tony Hawk. The letter and the ensuing exchange between Tony and Glen was mockingly published in Big Brother magazine (surely without Glen's permission), under the headline "Got Militant Vegan Attitude?". Even though Big Brother was a magazine dedicated to being a bit insane and as offensive as possible and shouldn't be taken to serious (maybe), the use of the word "militant" - which is often used in the context of armed militias/guerrillas - is overdoing it a bit in the case of someone trying to make a point in a sort of polite letter ... but calling vegans who talk about veganism "militant" is still frequently done to this day, even by people who do not otherwise attempt to be as "politically incorrect" as possible.   

Glen E. Friedman's letter in Big Brother (January 1999)

Grind King ad  - is this an anti-hunting statement? (skater: Colin Commito; Thrasher, February 1999). In the December 1998 issue of Thrasher there is a similar Grind King ad saying "They have the right to use the streets" (showing members of the Ku Klux Klan) and "He doesn't" (showing a skater, Gary Smith).

Jeremy Wray ad for his accidentally vegan signature shoe on Adio (Thrasher, March 1999)

 ... Jeremy Wray was never vegetarian as far as I know. 

Ed Templeton with the Emerica "Templeton 1" shoe in a CCS ad (Thrasher, January 1999)

Ed Templeton, Thunder ad (Thrasher, April 1999)

Ed Templeton ad for (Dan Drehobl's?) Freedumb Clothing (Thrasher, May 1999)

 

Ed Templeton, "Templeton 1" ad (Emerica)

Ed Templeton, Münster, Germany, July 1999

Ed Templeton with Arto Saari (Thrasher, October 1999)

Arto Saari wearing the "Ed Templeton 1" in an Emerica ad (detail; Big Brother, March 1999)

Ed Templeton, CCS mailorder ad (Thrasher, October 1999) 

Ed Templeton wearing the Emerica "Templeton 1" shoe in a Thunder ad (Thrasher, December 1999)

Ed Templeton on the back cover of the video "The Four Corners Tour" (which came out at the end of 1999, October or later), by Overboard Enterprises. 

Already vegetarian? Dave Mayhew ad for A-Team (Thrasher, June 1999)

Diego Bucchieri supposedly became a vegetarian (briefly) in 1999. However, here in Thrasher's "Firing line" with Diego Bucchieri it says: "Favorite Food: Asado (meat), i.e. brains" (Thrasher, February 1999). So, this was early 1999 (or even late 1998) when they asked him these questions.

Diego Bucchieri, Reef ad (leather shoes; Thrasher, February 1999)

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A then already vegetarian (?) Diego Bucchieri "The Butcher", Think ad (Thrasher, June 1999)

Diego Bucchieri (FS 360 ollie; Thrasher, August 1999)

Diego Bucchieri (Thrasher, September 1999)

Diego Bucchieri at a contest in Germany (Thrasher, October 1999)

Diego Bucchieri, Think ad (Thrasher, November 1999)

Diego Bucchieri, video game ad (Thrasher, November 1999)

Mike Vallely's semi-iconic (or fully iconic?) and accidentally (?) vegan signature shoe came out when Mike just converted back from a leather-wearing lacto-ovo-vegetarian to meat eater.

Etnies ad for the "Vallely 1" (not the official name; Thrasher, January 1999) 

Mike Vallely ad for his (vegan) Etnies pro shoe (Thrasher, February 1999)

A by then possibly already meat eating Mike Vallely in a Black Label ad (Thrasher, May 1999)

In a 2009 interview, Mike Vallely says: "I've been eating meat since 1999. I would say I have a pretty well balanced diet at this point in my life and that although I eat animal products I'm still a very conscientious eater, maybe even more so then when I was a vegetarian. I was a vegetarian since 1988 and a vegan for several years but those dietary choices were more like religious subscriptions than dietary or health decisions. When the hold of the cult of vegetarianism got old for me my diet changed and I think and feel in many ways it's personally for the better. The vegetarian diet never actually agreed with me physically so it was a very hard thing to maintain for nearly 11 years." [2, 4]

Jason Rothmeyer is also said to have reported that Mike Vallely started to eat meat again "while on the last day of a Black Label tour in 1999" [96].

Small comment: If you feel the same way and think a vegan diet doesn't agree with you in terms of health, please know that you do not have to give up veganism. There are several experienced longtime vegan dietitians who can tweak a vegan diet to suit you. VeganHealth.org (by Jack Norris, RD) is probably the most complete source of vegan nutrition info. Animal products do not contain "magical" nutrients - it seems all essential nutrients can be obtained from non-animal sources, luckily. 

And I thought (then) Mike Vallely was still vegan - his very popular shoe on Etnies was vegan.

Etnies, Mike Vallely signature shoe (vegan) while Mike Vallely himself was a "meat eater" again.

 

Etnies, Mike Vallely's vegan signature shoe ("Vallely 1"; Thrasher, August 1999)

Again: Etnies, Mike Vallely signature shoe, the "Vallely 1" (vegan) - this ad is from March 1999 issue of Big Brother, but surely it appeared in many other magazines worldwide. This shoe was very popular and quite popular too among vegans in the hardcore (punk music) scene. 

... (There's also an ad for the Etnies "Vallely 1" in Big Brother, March 1999)

An ad promoting vegetarianism by PCRM (Physicians' Committee for Responsible Medicine) with Ed Templeton and Jamie Thomas - both vegan at the time. There was a note in Transworld about this ad (see 2000).

Jamie Thomas then had several all vegan models on Adio. Adio was Chris Miller's (?) company, but it was owned by the K2 Corporation (the ski and rollerblade company).

Geoff Rowley (then a dietary vegan or near-vegan; Big Brother, March 1999)

Geoff Rowley, "temporary vert skater" (Thrasher, April 1999)

An Airwalk ad (two-page) with Geoff Rowley as late as April 1999! (Thrasher, April 1999)

Geoff Rowley, vegan at the time ... This picture must be from early 1999 (or even from 1998), probably before his first Vans pro model shoe (which was vegan) came out (also in 1999) ... probably somewhere in Europe (maybe Münster or Utrecht)

A then vegan (or near-vegan) Geoff Rowley on the cover of Thrasher, February 1999 

A then vegan Geoff Rowley (Thrasher, August 1999)

Geoff Rowley skating the Hammerhead at University of California, Irvine (Thrasher, August 1999)

Geoff Rowley skating the Hammerhead somewhere (Thrasher, August 1999)

Geoff Rowley in a CCS ad that lists all of his sponsors at the time (Thrasher, August 1999)

Transworld (on Geoff Rowley's first shoe on Vans): 

 “Geoff leads a vegan lifestyle and likes hiking in order to see wild animals in their own environment. As a result, Geoff’s signature shoe, which will be available in Spring 2000, will be comprised of all synthetic materials.“ [20]

Geoff Rowley in Transworld: 

 “My bail was set for 1,400 dollars, and I had real problems contacting anyone. All in all, I was held for about 36 hours with no food (I’m a vegan) or water (the sink had been pissed in). After 24 hours I was given a change of clothes. I had to walk up to the officer completely naked and hand him all my old clothes before I was given new ones. Meanwhile, everyone sat and watched.” [21]

A Transworld article dated 19 July 1999, about the release of Geoff Rowley's first Vans signature pro shoe, states: "Twenty-three year old Geoff Rowley is known worldwide for his technical mastery of street skating. Born in Liverpool, England and currently residing in Huntington Beach, California, Geoff enjoys listening to bands like Fugazi and The Jam. Geoff leads a vegan lifestyle and likes hiking in order to see wild animals in their own environment. As a result, Geoff’s signature shoe, which will be available in Spring 2000, will be comprised of all synthetic materials." [49]

 Geoff Rowley, Flip ad (Thrasher, September 1999)

Geoff Rowley, double-page Volcom ad (Thrasher, September 1999)

Geoff Rowley, Fury ad (Thrasher, September 1999)

Geoff Rowley, six-page interview (Thrasher, September 1999). From the interview: "[...] What kind of tea do you drink? [Geoff:] Earl Grey. I drink lots of tea; I love tea. [...]" (There's nothing about veganism in the interview.)