Underground Scene and The Rise To Popularity
In the early 1980s skateboarding was destitute, viewed as an embarrassing fad by non-participants. The Canadian contest circuit dried up and Harris often drove over 24 hours to California just to remain involved in competitions.
In 1982 Harris competed in the freestyle competition in Del Mar, California as a sponsored amateur. There weren't enough amateur contestants so he skated against the pros and finished in third place. Stacy Peralta, Harris' idol stopped him in the parking lot and asked him to ride for the Bones Brigade, Powell Peralta's skate team. The Brigade quickly became the most dominant team in skateboarding and Harris found himself teammates with Tony Hawk, Lance Mountain, and Rodney Mullen among others.
Harris enjoyed his greatest success as a professional during this period. Skateboarding was also becoming popular again and by 1984 a legitimate subculture had begun. In 1985, Harris placed first in Venice, CA and second at Del Mar. During the preliminary round of the Del Mar competition Harris actually scored higher than Rodney Mullen, one of only two skaters to exceed Mullen's score during a contest. ("Of course, Rodney killed me in the finals," Harris said with a laugh later.) His consistently high contest results ranked him second in the world during this year.
In 1986 Powell•Peralta issued Harris’ first professional skateboard model. The deck’s design featured iconic Canadian graphics: a skeletal Mountie, in front of a backdrop of maple leaves, holding a beaver by the tail. It is still considered a classic today, and original pressings are quite collectible.
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—Germaine Greer (b. 1939)
“Last scene of all,
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