When not stacking characters for his next interview, Anthony Pappalardo has taken some time out to skate. For those not inclined to root through a 20-page Slap messageboard topic and various instagram postings here’s what seems to be the recent gist:
As a reminder:
Tags: Alien Workshop, Anthony Pappalardo, Bus to Beezlebub, checkers, Chocolate, getting it how u live, strategy drift, time out of mind, work, yellow
boil the ocean 
June 3, 2013 at 12:17 am |
I’ve been on a few skatesites recently where Converse has been brought up, and a few kids are just losing their shit in regards to the Cons/Pappalardo situation. I read that 48Blocks interview and my take on the whole thing is that he needs to take responsibilty for his actions, or inaction.
He got shit from the boss(es) because he wasn’t getting enough coverage, which he admitted to. And from then on, that lack of coverage led to their relationship deteriorating to … non-existence? And how many tricks in Pretty Sweet? And Chocolate ultimately stops issuing his pro models. So, his lack of productivity leads to his sponsors cutting him. I don’t discount the fact that maybe Converse treated him poorly, but if he felt they treated him so poorly, do not sign contracts re-upping with them.
And I really take offense to him saying that not getting paid to skate kept him from going out and filming/getting photos. There’s a world full of skaters who aren’t getting paid, yet they still go out and skate.
June 3, 2013 at 12:13 pm |
My sentiments exactly (whoever posted on June 3, 2013 at 12:17 am)
June 3, 2013 at 12:36 pm |
I used to be a one of those naïve, stubborn Pops fans. Then I heard Cons originally set his salary at $120k a year (cite: Cons rep). Then I heard he didn’t even have a board set up when KA flew out WITH a filmer (because the filmer Ty Evans sent him, thousands of dollars later, wasn’t good enough for him and they didn’t get along… fine, kind of). Then I seen the Uniqlo ad like everyone else. Then I heard he’s been picking up shop decks from BLADES. And of course, the stories of him ducking his head and playing the whole elusive skateboarder in public is just ridiculous. You’re Pappalardo, not Tony Hawk. Maybe it’s hearsay, but it’s like what they said about Bowie in the 70s… were half it true it’d still be mind boggling. Pops… get your shit together. That text message on 48Blocks was excruciating and these half-assed Instagram selfies are not winning you any believers, or, “re-believers.”
June 3, 2013 at 1:57 pm |
Whether or not the dude is skating, if Converse isn’t paying him, they don’t have the right to put his name on a shoe. They are trying to have it both ways- stop paying the guy, and keep using his name to sell the shoe. If he really isn’t worth it, they shouldn’t put his name on the shoe. If they do put his name on the shoe, they need to pay the man.
June 4, 2013 at 5:37 pm |
Agreed. It is theft otherwise.
Didn’t janoski get swindled with nike makling his pro model a team shoe?
June 5, 2013 at 11:18 am |
They’re not using his name to sell shoes. They’re trying to get rid of all the shoes they had already made with his name on them. It’s all old back stocker, they’re not making more shoes with his name.
June 4, 2013 at 5:39 pm |
Also the 3 older pics at the bottom are all 100% more exciting than the new shit.
I had never seen the backside flip picture before.
June 4, 2013 at 6:07 pm |
Shoes were already made and in the warehouse. Shoes are being liquidated. They are not using his name to sell shoes. They are trying to get rid of thousands of dollars of dead inventory.
June 4, 2013 at 7:50 pm |
Tons of dudes rip without a sponsor, filmer, shoe contract and have full time jobs. Look at puleo.
Pops expected a free pass and it was revoked. Only he can get it back to where he was but its gonna be a hell of alot harder when dudes be killing it and don’t feel entitled like he does.
June 4, 2013 at 10:42 pm |
I would say this is nothing like Klein and Kirchart’s bittersweet signage symphony. FUCK THIS DUDE!!! How can anybody still care about pappalardo?!?!?!?!?!?!
June 5, 2013 at 4:36 pm |
Honestly, I back the dude, and have always been a fan of his skating. If a comeback is what he wants he can make it happen. Skateboarding has always had its personalities and Pappalardo is just one of many, so it confuses me that everyone-and-their-brother have ‘turned’ on him so quickly. Either they were never his biggest fans to begin with, or they’ve found it’s much easier to be crush dreams than to champion them. I don’t give him a full pass by any means and the Converse situation is just a reminder that the grass isn’t always greener on the other side.
More and more it seems like perhaps he wanted to get out of skateboarding, but didn’t have the conviction (?) to up and walk away… and Converse kinda sped that process along before he did. Professional skateboarding is a pretty cush gig in the long run and to walk away from that isn’t easy.
And it seems like there are double-or-triple standards as to who gets a pass for not skating while still collecting checks, when others don’t so much. The dude’s skating is undeniable and if he makes another go of it, I’m there.
Also, let’s quit with the ‘where’s his Pretty Sweet footage?’, because it’s glaringly obvious that even if he had insane footage, Ty wasn’t interested in getting it in there. With all the B-Roll coming out of the Crailtap camp and elsewhere, it’s obvious where the priorities were.
June 7, 2013 at 10:01 am |
Some of you seem to really go out of your way to defend a huge corporation like Converse. What do you get out of it, I mean besides a paycheck?
June 7, 2013 at 11:19 am |
It’s not about backing “a corporation like Converse.” It’s about having some respect for skateboarding. The majority of us don’t ride a skateboards as a means to get paid. We do it because we love it and it rewards us in other ways (a new trick, an overall good time, good friends). So when a dude who’s job it is is to do it, to put out footage, doesn’t do just that then bitches and moans about being mistreated, that’s insulting. This isn’t about the “you’re either with Pops or Cons,” this is about a dude who’s been acting like a whining spoiled brat. HE SIGNED WITH THEM. And people love to cry out about “his name is still on their shoes!” Newsflash… it’s this thing called BACKSTOCK. They didn’t sell… and there’s still tons left.
June 9, 2013 at 11:36 pm |
As a “real” skateboarder who will never be paid to skateboard, I = hate the perspective shared by guys like Anon the Don. If professional skateboarders don’t produce footage because they don’t feel like it, they’re lazy, they feel uninspired, they’re drunk, they’re depressed, they’re strung out, they don’t like Ty Evans, whatever: so what. They don’t owe you or us shit. It’d be dope to see more footage, but it’s honestly something we should be grateful for in the first place. If all we ever knew of the world of skateboarding was the board itself, it really just would be the hula hoop. Not falling-over-backwards grateful, but inspiration is hard to put a price tag on. When the well dries up or temporarily stops, deal with it. They’re not paid to skate 40 hours a week; they’re paid to provide inspiration which sells products. If their sponsors decide get too frustrated or decide that their name is no longer economically productive, they let them know. But this whiny “I work two jobs and then I PAY to skate” thing is fucking ridiculous. No one wants to see you skate. Know your place, you babies.
June 10, 2013 at 7:59 pm |
Your comment is kind of incoherent but let’s go. Professional skateboarders who “don’t produce footage because they don’t feel like it,” often are lazy or strung out or whatever. They’re also not doing their jobs. I understand they owe us nothing; so what are they owed when they produce nothing, in return?
June 10, 2013 at 7:06 pm |
Grateful? Go fuck yourself.
June 10, 2013 at 7:08 pm |
On top of that, he should be grateful to US because we buy his product so someone wants to pay his sorry ass in the first place. No fan support no cheddar. Fan support comes from putting out footage and not letting your fanbase down.
June 12, 2013 at 2:16 pm |
I’ll never understand Marcus’ argument that we should be grateful Pops is an unproductive baby. Some kids grow up and realize that the choice to skateboard for a living isn’t some fantasy island. Granted, it’s probably the greatest job ever, with the whole “if you love what you do you’ll never work a day in your life,” but they seem to forget that there are responsibilities. It’s not some vacation. If a company who’s in it to make some profit, whether they be corporate or core, decides to give someone free product or even pay, they do so as a deal. You give us footage and general coverage, let people know you skate our boards or wear our clothes etc, we continue to help you out financially or with product. It’s not, “hey, you’re a ‘tastemaker’ and an inspiration… we can really market your lifestyle off the board…” that’s actually a terrible problem in skateboarding. That’s some tip Berra milks hard. I know it isn’t just the board, but ironically these days it sometimes seems we look at everything but, and the clowns get a free pass. At the end of the day it IS the board, this IS SKATEBOARDING… watch KA or Busenitz… these dudes are a shining example of the process… give us good stuff and we sell your shoe and pay you and keep you on the team. Neither of those dudes rely on some marketing image of themselves so much as rely on their SKATING. And they seem to do just fine.
June 18, 2013 at 1:38 pm |
he has a hot cock
June 25, 2013 at 3:01 am |
I personally would suck Tony Poppalardo’s cauque ANY time, any day of the week, any minute, any second, whenever, wherever, fucking ANYTIME dude – (i call him tony because I’m in his inner circle of trust and thats what we, his actual homies, call him) – you could say I’m a fan. Also, while I’m probably letting phat industry secret loose with this one but whatever, I gotta let you guys know: Tony Poppalardo is completely hetero. He had a short bisexual (in the early 2000s) period where he was into cut-n-jacked black skaters for a minute (such as myself lol), but that shit ended real quick (we’re still good friends though).
On the real though: Tony get your skate shit together, what the fuck..
April 26, 2015 at 3:08 am |
free keylogger 2015
Sort Of Like Klein & Kircharts Bittersweet Signage Symphony, Except With Some Vehicles | boil the ocean