Frankie , in 1990 me and my friends skated some stairs with you after you did a demo at a park in St. Louis Mo. You went so hard , your famous mute grabs were so neat lookin in real life. Thank you for takin the time to skate bro ;)
@Frankie Hill, hey budd... i just want to thank you.. my older bro's and i would throw your vids in the vcr and you'd get us all pumped up... i remember watching you in the early days. i was 11. i want to say march 1990 or a lill after... the snow just broke up here in western mass, and me being the lill bro. would say hey jon throw in the "Hill Tape." we'd leave the house after and skate down the street. id be doing my big air One foots up a 4" soaped curb.. lol.. i havent skated since the late 90's, but know you helped provide/inspire a lot of great street seshes. you are a huge name from my young dayz and my brothers and i still will kick the "Hill" name back and forth once in a while.. thank you and i hope life is treating you right... western mass late 80's and early 90's youth loves FRANKie Hill o/...
@@gregnubody3871 Yes, mentioned more in skateboarding history. The big thing today is huge gaps and rails. Frankie was the ORIGINAL big gap and rail skater. People need to recognize that more.
I wish Frankie would get the respect he deserves you such an influential skater in my day and had such a huge effect on skating as a whole. I loved his attitude. I loved his energy. The dude was just so rad Frankie if you’re reading this brother got nothing but love for you. I hope the industry takes better care of guys like you in the future . I hate hearing that one of my heroes is suffering or not where they should be
Really nice to see something about Frankie! I recently saw Nate Sherwood's doc about him, which was also great. I started skating in 1990, and Propaganda was the first video I ever watched. That being said, Frankie Hill's Propaganda part was the first pro segment I've ever seen. The dirt gap at the end of his part blew my mind. I'm surprised I didn't wear clear through the tape, given how many times I rewound, and re-watched that part! Besides holding a special place in my skateboarding heart because his was the first video part I'd ever seen, he's always been an influence on me to go bigger, faster, skate harder, etc. He made me realize that things that may seem impossible, probably are quite possible, and it allowed me to push myself harder and further than I probably would have if I never saw him skate. I feel like he made a bigger impact on skating than he's given credit for, so it's nice to see him getting some recognition all these years later. I can also relate to him on a very personal level now, after hearing about his personal struggles with injury. I also blew out my knee, in 1998, and after multiple operations, realized I would never be the same, and had to give up skating because at that point, I was in early adulthood, and couldn't risk injury putting me out of work. Well, I was miserable without skating. I started drinking heavily, picked up a drug habit, and basically wanted to die too. It wasn't until I got clean in the summer of 2016, that I realized I NEED TO SKATE TO BE HAPPY. So, after thinking about skating around the clock for almost a year straight, I picked up a new complete this past April, and am so happy to be back. In 1998, before my injury, I was tre flipping 7 stairs, skating mostly big gaps, stairs, and ramps, anything big and fast. Now I'm happy just to be able to bomb a hill, or go to the local park and cruise around and mostly just do ollies and grinds! It's nothing compared to what I used to be able to do, but it's EVERYTHING to me just to be back and be doing it at all. I can honestly say I've found inner peace again, on 4 wheels and a piece of plywood. Thanks for the inspiration, Frankie. Keep ripping!
Frankie is still skating. He's in multiple raffle groups on my Facebook. He's putting out new and reissue decks. He's a cool dude. Not a big head like most old pros.
That propaganda gap ender blew our minds back then, it was just so insane. Thanks for this video Aron, Frankie Hill is a name skateboarding should never forget ✊️
I started skating in 1990. Ban This and Propaganda were the only videos in our local video rental/Store. I rode a Natas but my friend idolized Frankie Hill and he had great reasons why. Frankie was clearing huge gaps and for the era he was super Gnarly.
Yes, Frankie Hill's name needs to be name dropped as often as the Gonz and Natas names are dropped, this is true. The Gonz and Natas were street pioneers and style kings but Frankie was the first dude to ever go really big. I am glad the Frankie Hill documentary was made, he deserved a doc with some special tribute and the respect. The best part of the doc is Part 8, when Guy talks about him and how his crew already thought of him as a legend back then. Guy always gives it to you straight. During 90-92 many guys like Klein, Knox, Hensley, Brian Lotti, Wyndman, Ocean Howell, etc... made some amazing classic parts but at the same time many of those parts were very curb and flat ground oriented and they just were not going that big. Frankie's parts had you not only amazed but you they had you on the edge of your seat. It's like he took the fast pushing no fear attitude of Vallely and combined that with his own madness/genius to make what you saw on screen. The other great thing about seeing the younger guys like Frankie, Guy, Hensley, Lotti, etc.. on screen during 1988-1992, was that younger riders could easily more identity with them rather than the older street dudes like Ron Allen, Thiebaud etc... In other words, if you were under 15 during that time, it was nice to see some smaller guys on screen ripping it up, showcasing new possibilities, and destroying everything. Anybody who skated back then has respect for Hill. Krooked even gave him a guest board back in 2010. I hope Powell continues to reissues his boards. I would like to see his Van Gogh Ear board reissued. That is the one he used in the Tropical Fish video, it had a classic shape that I liked. And of course, the "Clint Eastwood deck" was a great cool top seller back then. And I hope they also continue to put out the bulldog deck, but hopefully some other assorted stains.
Nice video, I still remember when I was a kid, the flabbergasted reaction of everybody watching his part in my local skateshop in Dublin when it was released, especially the ender. Check the rare fakie bigspin mute grab at 8:36
thank you for bringing up frankie hill. dude got no respect because he went harder than many could understand. dude would handrail or ollie like anything. his sloppy landings only made him cooler ino because i dont remember anyone going that hard especially at the time lol
Frankie Hill is the definition in skating of what The Stooges Raw Power album is to music. and whats hella cool is that he's managed to keep skating as good as he feels all these years later! Frankie man, you deserve a TWS Legend Award!
Great work. Very thorough. I remember the Nate Sherwood documentary on Frankie and it was also done very well and worth the watch. I'm a kook for being so small minded. I unfairly had all the Powell guys including Frankie Hill on the pay-no-mind list. Disdain for Powell and loving the more punk Santa Cruz guys and unique individuals like Jeff Phillips earlier on. Thank you and Nate both for setting me straight.
Good video. Thanks for this. He's one of my favorite skaters. And actually, there were some clips of some rad tricks in this video that I hadn't seen before. I knew he was good, but, after seeing some of the tech tricks he was doing, I think he was even better than I thought he was.
Yes Frankie Hill... I remember immediately when i saw Public Domain, i searched and found these blue baggy pants (which were not common to wear at all in 1988/89) and started to skate with them on :)
Always loved Frankie. I remember in the mid 90s wondering what the hell happened to him. Friends told me he had his leg amputated. I suspected that was bullshit. As I think back (I'm 37 now), his part in Propaganda is the single most memorable skate video part I've ever seen. He no doubt sits among the very top skate influences of mine.
That's the first time I've seen a skater wearing a watch. Not too often to see a skater wearing a watch while they skate especially not at his local skating back in the day or even now.... OG Young legend in the making who didn't even know you become a legend.....
Great video. Frankie Hill was such a legend and it’s nice to know why he basically vanished in ‘92. If he hadn’t been injury plagued and hung in there, he would’ve waited out the super tech phase and fit really nicely into the late 90’s push to go big and go rail crazy again. We had a gap in Aurora, CO on the side of a Target parking lot that was pretty big and everyone always brought up Frankie Hill. They used to say putting hands down when landing a trick was a “Frankie Hill make.” He really pulled off a sketchy style.
These were my favorite times in skateboarding. Interestingly enough I think we were all going through similar things in life. The risks kept getting riskier, the gaps bigger, the railings more gnarly, the tricks more difficult. It was like getting my life ripped out from under me when I realized I couldn’t keep up, got more scared, injuries freaked me out, and even in my own neck of the woods - my skateboarding would become irrelevant to this industry. Thus my most sincere & deepest sympathies go out to these guys like franky. So much contributed, so much given, so much loved, all to be forgotten. Until now w/ your vids. So good job. On another note, least Franky had a sponsor/video parts.
Great video, and what a trip back through memory lane. Frankie’s Ollie in the Propaganda video was the thing everyone was talking about back then (that, and the little kid that ate the worm and then threw up). Nobody I knew talked about whether he put his hand down in the landing. All we said was ‘no way’ as he rode up to some sort of seemingly impossible situation, flying into the air, and riding away moments later totally unscathed. It was like he had some sort of Wile E. Coyote contraption under his board lifting him up. “How does he do that - I can’t even jump that high!” And I still remember his quote when asked ‘what’s your favorite trick? “Anything that adds more water to my hip…” I’m 43 now and I actually haven’t skated since 1994, but watching this is getting me psyched to start again. I hope I’m not too old, and I never even skated a popsicle deck, but I checked out an Eric Dressen 9.5 model (7.2 nose, 6.6 tail, 14.5 wheelbase) that looks really cool. And they still make slime balls and Indy trucks so I have what I need. The one tragic thing about Frankie though - it’s too bad his step dad worked in prosthetic teeth instead of prosthetic knees! :D That would have been perfect. Legend all the way.
Nas and Gonz had the perfect balance between style and innovation for street. Being an older skater, I still really love this type of approach to skating. To me that's the real essence of skating--beautiful self expression combined with skills. Frankie Hill did, however play a huge role for doing bigger handrails and bigger gaps. He made it possible for all the young guys now to not even hesitate to attempt the craziest looking handrail tricks ever. It's cool that you bring up his name as well as many other names from way back that young guys now might not know. Good video as always, Rad Rat!
I was flowed by Cranking wax as teenager but never knew Frankie Hill was involved with them, though I do remember some other B list pro endorsements. The owner gave me so much wax I still use it sometimes.
I started skating in 98 and Propaganda was my first skate movie. I wasn't mentally ready for Frankie Hill part ending. It was mind blowing. I remember rewinding it and pausing it trying to process the size of that gap.
If there was a sketch free edit of Frankie Hill, it would be about 45 seconds... ...of the most incredible street skating in history. Pity his company couldn't cover his health care bill; he should've taken the Blind gig with Gonz; a little pushing from Mullen and Ternasky would've upped his game in time for the imminent drought. He could have easily held his own in Rocco's $10,000 a month club. Look at his 2003 comeback for a hint of what could have been.
I remember watching Frankie Hill's Celebrity Tropical Fish part and thinking that he was every bit as good as anyone on the Plan B team. You can't describe him as a super clean smooth skater but he was huge and aggressive and way ahead of his time.
ryan CTF came out nearly a year before Questionable, but I know what you mean. What blows my mind to this day is what Pat Brennan (rip) did in that video. For 1991 he was like a space alien.
This is probably the best video you've made, if not one of the best videos on the history of street skating I've ever seen. Excellent job! Only question I have is why wasn't Frankie Hill more popular than he was? I've been skating since 97 and I've heard of him before and because of this video, I've seen SOME footy of him that I didn't know was him before. But I didn't know all this stuff about him. He really was groundbreaking for his time so I don't understand why he wasn't as big as other people at the time like Mike Carroll and others.
Additionally, during 91-93 when things started to get tech, you can see from the clips of Frankie at the Powell skate zone (specifically the Hot Batch footage) and on the street, that he was trying to take tech style and make it big. Instead of doing that low energy/low tech stuff that was popular at the time, he tried to combine tech with going big. That combination made his parts during 91-93 much more entertaining and awe inspiring to watch than many of the generic low energy/super-low-tech parts of others. The last flip he does at the end of his part in Hot Batch almost made me quit skating, it just seemed so impossible! He obviously mastered both going big and doing tech. And if you watch any of his footage/clips from the last few years, he is still making some amazing parts. The one he did for Revolver Skateboards back in 2003, was so sick. Simply put the dude is just a skate legend forever.
I got to skate with him a couple times in the 80's. He was always super cool to those who weren't at his skill level. He definitely invented "big". It was crazy to see that happen. Next level sh!t for sure. La Colina jr high jump!
Frankie Hill's much- deserved recognition reminds me of some other less -known TOTAL rippers who imo deserve recognition, i.e. Blaze Blouin, Doug Smith, Ken McGuire to name a few ( all 4 who had their own unique soulful way of skating, and influenced me and most my friends the most, in comparison to guys who were always in the ads and on the covers ). Thank you!
Just like Frankie Hill, I like to throw down a big fat Ollie one foot too.... Seriously though I never understood why he’s overlooked when it comes to discussions of the great. That mute grab over that giant gap is insane, and he did it twice! Jumping down 12 stairs in the late 80s. Frankie is a legend.
Cool guy, really appreciate his content. I would say, that he defenetly left a steady impression, even after all those years. (one of the quickest late shuvs I have ever seen in my life)
Nothing would stoke me more than a Frankie Hill part. He was the first to just got balls out gnarly huge. His landings were sketch because it was all new stuff, he was a little guy but it was so gnarly. I love Hill, he's rad!
Great video! Thanks. I agree with your assessment of Hill's significance on subsequent skaters. Btw, Newton's remark goes back to the 12th century. In 1159, John of Salisbury wrote in his Metalogicon: "Bernard of Chartres used to compare us to dwarfs perched on the shoulders of giants. He pointed out that we see more and farther than our predecessors, not because we have keener vision or greater height, but because we are lifted up and borne aloft on their gantic stature." The same relation is also (literally) displayed in certain church windows in which NT evangelists stand on the shoulders of OT prophets. The metaphor is usually interpreted as an expression of modesty or humility. Well, anyway, I just thought it was interesting that you referred to Newton and thought of this historical metaphor, and I couldn't help but add this footnote, as it were. tl;dr: Thanks for all the effort and hours of research you put into these videos!
no one should quit unless they cant walk....if your career is over..you gotta keep skating...( I never had a career in it ) but I quit from like 99-2012 pretty much.( cuz I didn't make it or try hard enough and gave up ) .i wish I didn't..but im glad just to play around again...even in my own limits...hopefully for many more years...I love it now as much as I did when I started in the 80s
Nice wrap up, good to see people understand what happened. But... Damn, not a single Diabolical mention. Skated for us, had a pro board, and a couple web parts, he's also riding Diabolical in a bunch of that footage.
Mimicking Frankie Hill in 1989 trying to ollie bigger and bigger stairsets is what led to me destroying my ankle and ending my teenage skating. At the age of 42 I can Ollie higher than I ever could as a kid, but never go near anything higher than 3 feet tall.
@Rad Rat Video 3:25 you are correct sir. Doing flips on those decks back then was no joke. I quit skating in 92. Last trick I learned was the 360 flip thanks to Jason Lee making them look so cool. I landed the 360 flip twice. That was on an H-street Matt Hensley stained window model. By far best deck I ever owned. I grew up poor so I couldn’t afford new decks all the time. I skated them til the tails wore down. Last deck I bought was an Santa Cruz ever slick. Making boards with a slicker surface for boardslides was this new type of technology the industry was doing. Sadly after a week my everslick deck cracked in half after I did an Ollie mute grab off a launch ramp I had. I was so upset and and felt discouraged since all my other decks lasted me for at least 4-6 months. I decide to just quit. One of the worst decisions I’ve ever made. I’ve always wanted to go return to skateboarding..but life certainly has a sick sense of humor. In 2001 I finished vocational technical school, got married, had my first child, and got a good paying job as an air conditioning and heating technician. In 06 I blew my back out. In 07 had a major back surgery. Til this day a simple slip and fail could paralyze me. About a month ago I seen a kid skating infront my house. I went talk to him and asked him if he could do any tricks. He said no. I told him I use to skate from 85 to 92 and I asked him if I could see his board. I put the board on the ground and as it took me about 15 seconds to keep my balance I placed my feet in the kick flip position and landed my first kick flip on the first try in 30 years. I’ve been thinking about getting back into it...not to do any technical tricks or Ollie big gaps but just to hear the sound of the wheels passing over sidewalk cracks and to feel the wind blowing against my face. I’ll always have a love for skateboarding. An old quote from an old Tom Knox magazine interview goes like this: Once a skater, always a skater. That quote has always stuck with me. Thanks for the video. Frankie Hill along with Ray Barbee were my favorite from the Powell team.
Loving the Retro Rippers series and all of the other content you make. Any chance you might do one on Wade Speyer? He really dominated coverage-wise in the 90s and nowadays barely seems to get mentioned. Seems like he's a truck driver now but does he still rip?
Frankie Hill and Julien Stranger maybe the two most influential skaters who don't get any respect anymore today. But also a lot of young people don't know who Natas is, he was the most important and influential street skater ever, he showed everybody how ollies really worked and what was possible. Gonz has managed to steal all his hype over the years.
Frankie doesn't get mentioned or talked about enough as far as I'm concerned. I can honestly say that growing up in the 80's I idolized him and his skating ability. He was the biggest reason I tried as hard as I did to get good at skating.
Great episode. I was around 11-12 when Frankie Hill's part were coming out in the Powell videos, and there was no one else doing anything close to what he was even attempting. I remember him getting a lot of shit for all the hand drags and sloppy landings, but everyone was still amazed at how he was pushing the boundaries of how big someone could go on a skateboard. I always thought it was stupid for someone to hate on a guy kickflipping a 9 stair with a sloppy landing when none of us could even muster the courage to ollie something similar. I think Frankie Hill, Gonz, Natas (and of course freestyle skaters) and even lesser celebrated guys like Tommy Guerrero and Ron Allen all contributed uniquely to what street skating is today. I don't think it's fair to compare them to each other, just like saying Picasso's art is better than Warhol's art, which is better than Chuck Close who is better than Edward Hopper, etc, etc. I think Gonz and Natas are the most celebrated because they had a ton of style on their boards. Frankie was more of a stuntman, but it's undeniable that he paved the way for guys like Jamie Thomas, Jaws and a whole subgenre of go-big street skating.
I like the squat landings. and touching the ground on landings especially when it's spontaneous. I don't know why but it just looks cool to me. I like the Ollie to grabs as well.
12:45 "People just went crazy figuring out where it came from and made it up." In March of 1999, Frankie did an interview with Thrasher where he mentioned suing over the leg injury he sustained while skating at a university and the impression it gave readers, myself included, was very much that he sued the school. This pissed everyone off and Frankie subsequently received hate mail in the letters column of Thrasher because other skaters looked at it like Frankie is the reason we get kicked out of spots. I.e., people who own property are afraid skateboarders will injure themselves and then sue the owner of the skatespot, as if it is their fault somebody got hurt. So that is where the hate comes from. It would be interesting to go back and read that interview now to see what he actually said.
Alright, I just looked it up on Chrome Ball Incident and he doesn't say anything about suing the school. His exact words were: "My mom, in the meantime, found a lawyer and told him what had happened to my knee. The lawyer took my case, and three years later I was awarded a brand new knee and thirty thousand dollars. I also got two years of college paid for, where I learned to be a laboratory technician." It's a shame he didn't specify who the lawyer was actually suing! The fact that he mentions getting two years of free college made it sound like a settlement with the university where he was hurt, UCSB, although he did later mention getting his degree from Santa Barbara City College.
@Billy Hill Not as bad as the kid who broke into T Hawks property when he was away on tour, broke his arm skating the ramp then proceeded to sue Tony for thousands.
Thanks for the very accurate segment!!, its a honor to be mentioned with the greats!! Thank u Rad Rat 💎💎
Frankie, we even idealised you all the way in a small town in South Africa during the late 80's when we skated man!
Frankie , in 1990 me and my friends skated some stairs with you after you did a demo at a park in St. Louis Mo. You went so hard , your famous mute grabs were so neat lookin in real life. Thank you for takin the time to skate bro ;)
Dude, you were an inspiration. Big fucking gaps way before people were charging that hard. You tested your knees like a warrior.
Frankie you are the Man for going so Big b n the day! you had us at Awe
@Frankie Hill, hey budd... i just want to thank you.. my older bro's and i would throw your vids in the vcr and you'd get us all pumped up... i remember watching you in the early days. i was 11. i want to say march 1990 or a lill after... the snow just broke up here in western mass, and me being the lill bro. would say hey jon throw in the "Hill Tape." we'd leave the house after and skate down the street. id be doing my big air One foots up a 4" soaped curb.. lol.. i havent skated since the late 90's, but know you helped provide/inspire a lot of great street seshes. you are a huge name from my young dayz and my brothers and i still will kick the "Hill" name back and forth once in a while.. thank you and i hope life is treating you right... western mass late 80's and early 90's youth loves FRANKie Hill o/...
Frankie just posted this on his IG. You got his respect.
Skratchtube what is his insta?
@frankiehill1
ThTs dope
Finally talking about Frankie Hill! He deserves to be brought up more in the world of skateboarding.
No, he's fine where he's at: being a dental hygienist while skateboarding on his time.
I think he means mentioned, not pushed to perform.
@@gregnubody3871 Yes, mentioned more in skateboarding history. The big thing today is huge gaps and rails. Frankie was the ORIGINAL big gap and rail skater. People need to recognize that more.
I wish Frankie would get the respect he deserves you such an influential skater in my day and had such a huge effect on skating as a whole. I loved his attitude. I loved his energy. The dude was just so rad Frankie if you’re reading this brother got nothing but love for you.
I hope the industry takes better care of guys like you in the future .
I hate hearing that one of my heroes is suffering or not where they should be
Frankie was a huge influence on me and my friends back in the day. He should def be way more popular!
Frankie STARTED what would become Jamie Thomas, Muska and all OF THE Zero team. He is the originator of going BIG!
Steve Perry Exactly. He established going big a subgenre of street skating.
pat duffy was first gnarly one inspired by FH
@@yeaitsmemikec.2018 pat is a terminator
Frankie is a cool dude. We should all mention him more.
Great vid. Nice work. 🤙🏼
Really nice to see something about Frankie! I recently saw Nate Sherwood's doc about him, which was also great. I started skating in 1990, and Propaganda was the first video I ever watched. That being said, Frankie Hill's Propaganda part was the first pro segment I've ever seen. The dirt gap at the end of his part blew my mind. I'm surprised I didn't wear clear through the tape, given how many times I rewound, and re-watched that part! Besides holding a special place in my skateboarding heart because his was the first video part I'd ever seen, he's always been an influence on me to go bigger, faster, skate harder, etc. He made me realize that things that may seem impossible, probably are quite possible, and it allowed me to push myself harder and further than I probably would have if I never saw him skate. I feel like he made a bigger impact on skating than he's given credit for, so it's nice to see him getting some recognition all these years later.
I can also relate to him on a very personal level now, after hearing about his personal struggles with injury. I also blew out my knee, in 1998, and after multiple operations, realized I would never be the same, and had to give up skating because at that point, I was in early adulthood, and couldn't risk injury putting me out of work. Well, I was miserable without skating. I started drinking heavily, picked up a drug habit, and basically wanted to die too. It wasn't until I got clean in the summer of 2016, that I realized I NEED TO SKATE TO BE HAPPY. So, after thinking about skating around the clock for almost a year straight, I picked up a new complete this past April, and am so happy to be back. In 1998, before my injury, I was tre flipping 7 stairs, skating mostly big gaps, stairs, and ramps, anything big and fast. Now I'm happy just to be able to bomb a hill, or go to the local park and cruise around and mostly just do ollies and grinds! It's nothing compared to what I used to be able to do, but it's EVERYTHING to me just to be back and be doing it at all. I can honestly say I've found inner peace again, on 4 wheels and a piece of plywood.
Thanks for the inspiration, Frankie. Keep ripping!
Rad Rat is the only channel i'll like the videos before even watching!
Frankie Hill was so rad! I remember thinking he could Ollie down anything!
Kyle Davis this sounds so gnarly
Him and Natas were so much more influential than anybody else back then. Somehow Gonz has managed to steal all the hype.
This is such a great channel, especially vids like this.
No its not, nobody touches gonzo or natas, FACTS.
Frankie is still skating. He's in multiple raffle groups on my Facebook. He's putting out new and reissue decks. He's a cool dude. Not a big head like most old pros.
That propaganda gap ender blew our minds back then, it was just so insane.
Thanks for this video Aron, Frankie Hill is a name skateboarding should never forget ✊️
The Bulldog deck was the first one I bought myself as a kid.
Great topic as frankies choice of terrrain is the same as today looking back he was already in the direction we are in now in 1984
I started skating in 1990. Ban This and Propaganda were the only videos in our local video rental/Store. I rode a Natas but my friend idolized Frankie Hill and he had great reasons why. Frankie was clearing huge gaps and for the era he was super Gnarly.
Yes, Frankie Hill's name needs to be name dropped as often as the Gonz and Natas names are dropped, this is true. The Gonz and Natas were street pioneers and style kings but Frankie was the first dude to ever go really big. I am glad the Frankie Hill documentary was made, he deserved a doc with some special tribute and the respect. The best part of the doc is Part 8, when Guy talks about him and how his crew already thought of him as a legend back then. Guy always gives it to you straight.
During 90-92 many guys like Klein, Knox, Hensley, Brian Lotti, Wyndman, Ocean Howell, etc... made some amazing classic parts but at the same time many of those parts were very curb and flat ground oriented and they just were not going that big. Frankie's parts had you not only amazed but you they had you on the edge of your seat. It's like he took the fast pushing no fear attitude of Vallely and combined that with his own madness/genius to make what you saw on screen.
The other great thing about seeing the younger guys like Frankie, Guy, Hensley, Lotti, etc.. on screen during 1988-1992, was that younger riders could easily more identity with them rather than the older street dudes like Ron Allen, Thiebaud etc... In other words, if you were under 15 during that time, it was nice to see some smaller guys on screen ripping it up, showcasing new possibilities, and destroying everything.
Anybody who skated back then has respect for Hill. Krooked even gave him a guest board back in 2010.
I hope Powell continues to reissues his boards. I would like to see his Van Gogh Ear board reissued. That is the one he used in the Tropical Fish video, it had a classic shape that I liked. And of course, the "Clint Eastwood deck" was a great cool top seller back then. And I hope they also continue to put out the bulldog deck, but hopefully some other assorted stains.
One of my favorites growing up. People definitely sleep on this guy. Good looking out, man.
Nice video, I still remember when I was a kid, the flabbergasted reaction of everybody watching his part in my local skateshop in Dublin when it was released, especially the ender. Check the rare fakie bigspin mute grab at 8:36
thanks for the video, this guy definitely deserves the respect. always my favorite back in the day!
Awesome vid of my favorite skater growing up! Thanks so much
thanks for the coverage, you did a nice job. Also nice comic on the wall!
thank you for bringing up frankie hill. dude got no respect because he went harder than many could understand. dude would handrail or ollie like anything. his sloppy landings only made him cooler ino because i dont remember anyone going that hard especially at the time lol
Frankie Hill is the definition in skating of what The Stooges Raw Power album is to music. and whats hella cool is that he's managed to keep skating as good as he feels all these years later! Frankie man, you deserve a TWS Legend Award!
Great work. Very thorough. I remember the Nate Sherwood documentary on Frankie and it was also done very well and worth the watch. I'm a kook for being so small minded. I unfairly had all the Powell guys including Frankie Hill on the pay-no-mind list. Disdain for Powell and loving the more punk Santa Cruz guys and unique individuals like Jeff Phillips earlier on. Thank you and Nate both for setting me straight.
If it wasnt for this I wouldve never known about Frankie Hill. So crazy the Nines just put out an interview 2 days ago! Thanks man!
Frankie Hill never got the recognition he deserved! Loved his stuff on the powell peralta videos at the time , hi Frankie from Dublin Ireland
Nicely done man. Excellent treatment of one of the underappreciated greats. Many thumbs up.
Good video. Thanks for this. He's one of my favorite skaters. And actually, there were some clips of some rad tricks in this video that I hadn't seen before. I knew he was good, but, after seeing some of the tech tricks he was doing, I think he was even better than I thought he was.
Yes Frankie Hill... I remember immediately when i saw Public Domain, i searched and found these blue baggy pants (which were not common to wear at all in 1988/89) and started to skate with them on :)
Always loved Frankie. I remember in the mid 90s wondering what the hell happened to him. Friends told me he had his leg amputated. I suspected that was bullshit. As I think back (I'm 37 now), his part in Propaganda is the single most memorable skate video part I've ever seen. He no doubt sits among the very top skate influences of mine.
Awesome video, one of your best I think. A well made video with a great story, good job man.
That's the first time I've seen a skater wearing a watch. Not too often to see a skater wearing a watch while they skate especially not at his local skating back in the day or even now.... OG Young legend in the making who didn't even know you become a legend.....
I liked the way you present information
Thanks for the career synopsis - well done. huge Hill fan here.
Great video. Frankie Hill was such a legend and it’s nice to know why he basically vanished in ‘92. If he hadn’t been injury plagued and hung in there, he would’ve waited out the super tech phase and fit really nicely into the late 90’s push to go big and go rail crazy again.
We had a gap in Aurora, CO on the side of a Target parking lot that was pretty big and everyone always brought up Frankie Hill. They used to say putting hands down when landing a trick was a “Frankie Hill make.” He really pulled off a sketchy style.
so ahead of his time... and so underrated... my very first skateboard heroe
Speaking from having two ACL reconstruction surgeries myself on the same knee, I have lots of respect to Frankie Hill, what a warrior!
These were my favorite times in skateboarding. Interestingly enough I think we were all going through similar things in life. The risks kept getting riskier, the gaps bigger, the railings more gnarly, the tricks more difficult. It was like getting my life ripped out from under me when I realized I couldn’t keep up, got more scared, injuries freaked me out, and even in my own neck of the woods - my skateboarding would become irrelevant to this industry. Thus my most sincere & deepest sympathies go out to these guys like franky. So much contributed, so much given, so much loved, all to be forgotten. Until now w/ your vids. So good job. On another note, least Franky had a sponsor/video parts.
360 flip @ 12:45 is way before its time, absolute proof of what a legend this man is
Just doing a re watch of this one RR, Great work man!
A really good comple/concise video, find this stuff fascinating, keep it up!!! would you do one on Danny Wainwright?
ruffdisco84 1 dw was sick. High as fucks oldies but a lot more, Curtis mccann was rad too
yeah he had world highest ollie in guiness book of records till 2015/16 i think.
Mimi K Curtis McCann's part in Celebraty Tropical Fish was insane! Definitely the best mini ramp skating up to that point.
Great video, and what a trip back through memory lane. Frankie’s Ollie in the Propaganda video was the thing everyone was talking about back then (that, and the little kid that ate the worm and then threw up). Nobody I knew talked about whether he put his hand down in the landing. All we said was ‘no way’ as he rode up to some sort of seemingly impossible situation, flying into the air, and riding away moments later totally unscathed. It was like he had some sort of Wile E. Coyote contraption under his board lifting him up. “How does he do that - I can’t even jump that high!”
And I still remember his quote when asked ‘what’s your favorite trick? “Anything that adds more water to my hip…” I’m 43 now and I actually haven’t skated since 1994, but watching this is getting me psyched to start again. I hope I’m not too old, and I never even skated a popsicle deck, but I checked out an Eric Dressen 9.5 model (7.2 nose, 6.6 tail, 14.5 wheelbase) that looks really cool. And they still make slime balls and Indy trucks so I have what I need. The one tragic thing about Frankie though - it’s too bad his step dad worked in prosthetic teeth instead of prosthetic knees! :D That would have been perfect. Legend all the way.
Nas and Gonz had the perfect balance between style and innovation for street. Being an older skater, I still really love this type of approach to skating. To me that's the real essence of skating--beautiful self expression combined with skills.
Frankie Hill did, however play a huge role for doing bigger handrails and bigger gaps. He made it possible for all the young guys now to not even hesitate to attempt the craziest looking handrail tricks ever. It's cool that you bring up his name as well as many other names from way back that young guys now might not know. Good video as always, Rad Rat!
Absolute legend, he inspired me to go big back in the day! One of my favorites for sure
I was flowed by Cranking wax as teenager but never knew Frankie Hill was involved with them, though I do remember some other B list pro endorsements. The owner gave me so much wax I still use it sometimes.
Frankie hills part on ban this was freaking awesome. He was a great skater that got injured too soon.
Thanks for taking the time to give respect to a lot of the legends that are more than deserving but got looked over for whatever reasons.
I started skating in 98 and Propaganda was my first skate movie. I wasn't mentally ready for Frankie Hill part ending. It was mind blowing. I remember rewinding it and pausing it trying to process the size of that gap.
If there was a sketch free edit of Frankie Hill, it would be about 45 seconds...
...of the most incredible street skating in history. Pity his company couldn't cover his health care bill; he should've taken the Blind gig with Gonz; a little pushing from Mullen and Ternasky would've upped his game in time for the imminent drought. He could have easily held his own in Rocco's $10,000 a month club. Look at his 2003 comeback for a hint of what could have been.
Thanks for the great video:)
This was excellent. Thank you for making it.
I remember watching Frankie Hill's Celebrity Tropical Fish part and thinking that he was every bit as good as anyone on the Plan B team. You can't describe him as a super clean smooth skater but he was huge and aggressive and way ahead of his time.
ryan CTF came out nearly a year before Questionable, but I know what you mean. What blows my mind to this day is what Pat Brennan (rip) did in that video. For 1991 he was like a space alien.
You made it!! Great job Aaron!
Amazing video dude, keep it up.
This is probably the best video you've made, if not one of the best videos on the history of street skating I've ever seen. Excellent job! Only question I have is why wasn't Frankie Hill more popular than he was? I've been skating since 97 and I've heard of him before and because of this video, I've seen SOME footy of him that I didn't know was him before. But I didn't know all this stuff about him. He really was groundbreaking for his time so I don't understand why he wasn't as big as other people at the time like Mike Carroll and others.
Great Video Dude 🛹🙌🏽🛹
Additionally, during 91-93 when things started to get tech, you can see from the clips of Frankie at the Powell skate zone (specifically the Hot Batch footage) and on the street, that he was trying to take tech style and make it big. Instead of doing that low energy/low tech stuff that was popular at the time, he tried to combine tech with going big. That combination made his parts during 91-93 much more entertaining and awe inspiring to watch than many of the generic low energy/super-low-tech parts of others. The last flip he does at the end of his part in Hot Batch almost made me quit skating, it just seemed so impossible! He obviously mastered both going big and doing tech.
And if you watch any of his footage/clips from the last few years, he is still making some amazing parts. The one he did for Revolver Skateboards back in 2003, was so sick.
Simply put the dude is just a skate legend forever.
I got to skate with him a couple times in the 80's. He was always super cool to those who weren't at his skill level. He definitely invented "big". It was crazy to see that happen. Next level sh!t for sure. La Colina jr high jump!
Frankie Hill's much- deserved recognition reminds me of some other less -known TOTAL rippers who imo deserve recognition, i.e. Blaze Blouin, Doug Smith, Ken McGuire to name a few ( all 4 who had their own unique soulful way of skating, and influenced me and most my friends the most, in comparison to guys who were always in the ads and on the covers ).
Thank you!
Frankie Hill is a legend, he was my favorite skater. Me and my friends used to watch Propaganda every day.
Such an iconic dude. In 2007-08, I used to watch his video part (and Tony Hawk's part) in Ban This, to stoke me out before I went skating!
I love your channel and videos!!! You should do videos about history of skateboards
When I was a teenager he was my favourite skater. I was obsessed with his Ban This part. It was really inspiring.
Just like Frankie Hill, I like to throw down a big fat Ollie one foot too....
Seriously though I never understood why he’s overlooked when it comes to discussions of the great. That mute grab over that giant gap is insane, and he did it twice! Jumping down 12 stairs in the late 80s. Frankie is a legend.
This brings me back. That gap was so insane to see the first time.
Holy cow, I've never heard of this guy. Such an amazing story!
Cool guy, really appreciate his content. I would say, that he defenetly left a steady impression, even after all those years. (one of the quickest late shuvs I have ever seen in my life)
Nothing would stoke me more than a Frankie Hill part. He was the first to just got balls out gnarly huge. His landings were sketch because it was all new stuff, he was a little guy but it was so gnarly. I love Hill, he's rad!
Frankie being on The Nine Club brought me here. Great video.
Frankie Hill is the king!
I had Frankie’s bulldog board when I was a teenager and it was awesome. Would love to get another one and build it up the same way.
This is fantastic!!!
"Franktastic!"
Great video! Thanks.
I agree with your assessment of Hill's significance on subsequent skaters.
Btw, Newton's remark goes back to the 12th century. In 1159, John of Salisbury wrote in his Metalogicon: "Bernard of Chartres used to compare us to dwarfs perched on the shoulders of giants. He pointed out that we see more and farther than our predecessors, not because we have keener vision or greater height, but because we are lifted up and borne aloft on their gantic stature." The same relation is also (literally) displayed in certain church windows in which NT evangelists stand on the shoulders of OT prophets.
The metaphor is usually interpreted as an expression of modesty or humility.
Well, anyway, I just thought it was interesting that you referred to Newton and thought of this historical metaphor, and I couldn't help but add this footnote, as it were.
tl;dr: Thanks for all the effort and hours of research you put into these videos!
"Newton's remark goes back to the 12th century."
Damn I didn't know he lived that long! :p
my word the gaps that guy was pulling off way back then are unreal, I'm more of a freestyle and tech fan but that dude was crazy
What Frankie Hill was skating looks as what many skaters are doing 30 years later!
I never thought he was underrated at all..he was always ripping and everyone I skated with pretty much thought he was awesome.
Great job rad rat this episode was awesome
no one should quit unless they cant walk....if your career is over..you gotta keep skating...( I never had a career in it ) but I quit from like 99-2012 pretty much.( cuz I didn't make it or try hard enough and gave up ) .i wish I didn't..but im glad just to play around again...even in my own limits...hopefully for many more years...I love it now as much as I did when I started in the 80s
Watch the Frankie Hill documentary is in its full length on Vimeo.
Nice wrap up, good to see people understand what happened. But... Damn, not a single Diabolical mention. Skated for us, had a pro board, and a couple web parts, he's also riding Diabolical in a bunch of that footage.
This man got me skating, part was rad back in the day.
Frankie Hill was so gnarly and he wasn't underrated at all back then..
Criminally underrated channel
This was awesome an the first video I've watched on your channel... so gnarly
I remember seeing him doing that Ollie over the bump to bar. . and for the next decade we scouted out ones that we could do. . lol
Mimicking Frankie Hill in 1989 trying to ollie bigger and bigger stairsets is what led to me destroying my ankle and ending my teenage skating. At the age of 42 I can Ollie higher than I ever could as a kid, but never go near anything higher than 3 feet tall.
@Rad Rat Video 3:25 you are correct sir. Doing flips on those decks back then was no joke. I quit skating in 92. Last trick I learned was the 360 flip thanks to Jason Lee making them look so cool. I landed the 360 flip twice. That was on an H-street Matt Hensley stained window model. By far best deck I ever owned.
I grew up poor so I couldn’t afford new decks all the time. I skated them til the tails wore down.
Last deck I bought was an Santa Cruz ever slick. Making boards with a slicker surface for boardslides was this new type of technology the industry was doing.
Sadly after a week my everslick deck cracked in half after I did an Ollie mute grab off a launch ramp I had. I was so upset and and felt discouraged since all my other decks lasted me for at least 4-6 months. I decide to just quit. One of the worst decisions I’ve ever made.
I’ve always wanted to go return to skateboarding..but life certainly has a sick sense of humor.
In 2001 I finished vocational technical school, got married, had my first child, and got a good paying job as an air conditioning and heating technician.
In 06 I blew my back out. In 07 had a major back surgery. Til this day a simple slip and fail could paralyze me.
About a month ago I seen a kid skating infront my house. I went talk to him and asked him if he could do any tricks. He said no. I told him I use to skate from 85 to 92 and I asked him if I could see his board. I put the board on the ground and as it took me about 15 seconds to keep my balance I placed my feet in the kick flip position and landed my first kick flip on the first try in 30 years.
I’ve been thinking about getting back into it...not to do any technical tricks or Ollie big gaps but just to hear the sound of the wheels passing over sidewalk cracks and to feel the wind blowing against my face.
I’ll always have a love for skateboarding. An old quote from an old Tom Knox magazine interview goes like this: Once a skater, always a skater.
That quote has always stuck with me.
Thanks for the video. Frankie Hill along with Ray Barbee were my favorite from the Powell team.
Frankie hill shared this video on Facebook 👍
That boardslide of Franckie is, as far as I remember, one of the first skateboard pic I saw that blowns my mind ! This picture is legend !
Loving the Retro Rippers series and all of the other content you make. Any chance you might do one on Wade Speyer? He really dominated coverage-wise in the 90s and nowadays barely seems to get mentioned. Seems like he's a truck driver now but does he still rip?
I agree. Speyer was more influential than say, Cardiel, but people don't realize it.
Frankie Hill and Julien Stranger maybe the two most influential skaters who don't get any respect anymore today. But also a lot of young people don't know who Natas is, he was the most important and influential street skater ever, he showed everybody how ollies really worked and what was possible. Gonz has managed to steal all his hype over the years.
I remember being blown away by that dos pueblos gap back in the day.😲 Frankie is a legend.
My wife named our first boy Frankie cause she liked the name, I was very stoked!!!
Frankie doesn't get mentioned or talked about enough as far as I'm concerned. I can honestly say that growing up in the 80's I idolized him and his skating ability. He was the biggest reason I tried as hard as I did to get good at skating.
Great episode. I was around 11-12 when Frankie Hill's part were coming out in the Powell videos, and there was no one else doing anything close to what he was even attempting. I remember him getting a lot of shit for all the hand drags and sloppy landings, but everyone was still amazed at how he was pushing the boundaries of how big someone could go on a skateboard. I always thought it was stupid for someone to hate on a guy kickflipping a 9 stair with a sloppy landing when none of us could even muster the courage to ollie something similar.
I think Frankie Hill, Gonz, Natas (and of course freestyle skaters) and even lesser celebrated guys like Tommy Guerrero and Ron Allen all contributed uniquely to what street skating is today. I don't think it's fair to compare them to each other, just like saying Picasso's art is better than Warhol's art, which is better than Chuck Close who is better than Edward Hopper, etc, etc. I think Gonz and Natas are the most celebrated because they had a ton of style on their boards. Frankie was more of a stuntman, but it's undeniable that he paved the way for guys like Jamie Thomas, Jaws and a whole subgenre of go-big street skating.
I like the squat landings. and touching the ground on landings especially when it's spontaneous. I don't know why but it just looks cool to me. I like the Ollie to grabs as well.
12:45 "People just went crazy figuring out where it came from and made it up."
In March of 1999, Frankie did an interview with Thrasher where he mentioned suing over the leg injury he sustained while skating at a university and the impression it gave readers, myself included, was very much that he sued the school. This pissed everyone off and Frankie subsequently received hate mail in the letters column of Thrasher because other skaters looked at it like Frankie is the reason we get kicked out of spots. I.e., people who own property are afraid skateboarders will injure themselves and then sue the owner of the skatespot, as if it is their fault somebody got hurt. So that is where the hate comes from. It would be interesting to go back and read that interview now to see what he actually said.
Alright, I just looked it up on Chrome Ball Incident and he doesn't say anything about suing the school. His exact words were:
"My mom, in the meantime, found a lawyer and told him what had happened to my knee. The lawyer took my case, and three years later I was awarded a brand new knee and thirty thousand dollars. I also got two years of college paid for, where I learned to be a laboratory technician."
It's a shame he didn't specify who the lawyer was actually suing! The fact that he mentions getting two years of free college made it sound like a settlement with the university where he was hurt, UCSB, although he did later mention getting his degree from Santa Barbara City College.
It was probably his skate company at the time.
Yeah, sorry to say but the human memory is pretty shitty--- case in point
GaeasBlessing There's a Frankie Hill documentary on TH-cam where he discusses it in a little more depth.
@Billy Hill Not as bad as the kid who broke into T Hawks property when he was away on tour, broke his arm skating the ramp then proceeded to sue Tony for thousands.
Changed skateboarding 100% ty frankie!!!