It is with great honor to announce the newest team members:

Shawn Wixted


Shawn ripping Ridge

Words by: Shawn Wixted

I started skating when i was 12, kind of funny though because I guess skateboarding has always been in my life somehow..Growing up I would sit down on this old banana board I had and cruz down this hill in back of my house, usually losing control and crashing into trash cans..dam speed swivel haha! I remember one day I was at home just flipping through the channels, I was probably like 6 or 7 at the time but anyway I saw a skateboarding contest on TV, It caught my attention so i sat down and watched it, when the show went on a commercial break I ran too my room and dug out this old skateboard i had buried in my closet, then I ran back out to the living room and sat it in front of the TV..The show came back on after the break and I hopped on the board and tried to do some tricks like I seen on TV, it wasn't as simple as it looked, and I think I almost ripped my big toe off on the grip tape in the process..Well problems have solutions though right? so i ran into the kitchen grabbed some duct tape and hopped back on the board and duct taped my feet to it. When I stood up, caught my balance, bent down and jumped as high as I could...I guess its safe to say, from that point forward I knew what I wanted to do with my life...I'm 23 now and skateboarding is still the main focus of my life, to be honest with you I couldn't be happier...Every time I step on my board it takes me back to that day in front of my TV set...So when Chris asked me if I would like to ride for the shop, it didn't really take much thought...To be able to ride for a shop that in such little time has already done so much for skateboarding in Baltimore, sounds like a place id like to represent..I love what the shop is doing and where their going..Good people doing good things and I'm stoked to be apart of it....Thanks for believing...

-stay up



Dream until your dreams come true.......

-Wixted

Dan Corrigan


Dan on the set of Dank2
photo by: David Stuck

Words By: Dan Corrigan

so chris just asked me to write a blog about what i been up to as of late to put on the vu site to help introduce me onto the team. im pretty sure most people from maryland already knew i was on cus i been rockin vu shirts or you heard from someone at the local skateboard watering hole(ridge). id like to start off by saying that im so siked to be on the team. i been lookin up to dudes like gary and steve batton since i started skating. they were my hometown heroes I think chris an gary are down for the right reasons and got some rad gear in the shop so get your stuff at vu!

so yea since i got on vu i been pretty darn busy with skatin. i got on the team with a phone call on the way home from new york. within the next 2 days i was filmin in dc then had a few days to pack for a trip to arizona with my girlfriend/skate buddy/filmer/personal cook, frae. we went out their to hang with some of my family and to skate some ditches. we ended up skating the most fun spot ever called the super ditch[its the spot alex olson does that fakie bigger flip thing over that hip into the really long bank in fully flaired] the day before we left to head home i got a call from some dew tour people tellin me i got wild card invite to the salt lake city dew.

i had about 4 days in between az and dew tour so i hit up the reid menzer skatepark grand opening. it was a good time. a bunch of the other vu heads were their killin it. danny gallger aka team mate....i don't know why i don't call him danny, won the best line contest. so after my short stay home i headed out to salt lake and happened to be on the same plane as rodney jones. him and me ended up gettin a room together. the guy at the front counter of the hotel use to skate and had heard of rodney so he was siked and told us he would drive up to the park whenever we needed. the dew tour course was pretty fun but for the most part i just hung out with the other skaters and found out that adam dyet has the most sponsors ever. the dude has a suit sponsor how gnarly is that! i ended up getting 12 place and only top 9 made finals so i took the free money and the free mountain dew and headed back east.

when i got back me and boblits went to the philly am contest. they always are a good time. their just laid back and i get to see some old friends. ryan got 7th and i got 2nd but i think me and ryan really got first cus we had the most fun right? other then that i just been skating the reid menzer park a ton and hanging with the dank crew and my other friends

haha and as i am writing this i just got a call from dew tour saying that i got chosen for a wild card again wow that's funny. well yea if you read all this then awesome if you did not read this that's still awesome.

Josh Schlappich


Josh at the Brooklyn Banks
photo by:David Stuck

Words By:Dan Corrigan

josh is a ripper

josh has big spin fs blunt bigspin out and switch fs 360 heels on the daily

josh kickflip fs boards hand rails for fun[no camera, no photo, no problem]

josh has a six pack

josh has better looking flip tricks then you

josh does not know that josh is the shit.

you probably dont know josh is the shit yet

josh is my fav [not counting me cus i love me im the greatest ever holy crap im hot]

josh tried explaining some of his flat bar tricks to rondey mullen and his head exploded

all chuck norris jokes should be changed to josh slappy jokes...examples

josh slappy is suing Myspace for taking the name of what he calls everything around you
josh slappy can kill two stones with one bird.
Outer space exists because it's afraid to be on the same planet with josh slappy

josh can full cab back footed flip,foward flip, and all the other late flips but he dont do them cus he thinks
their silly

josh told me he wanted to learn how to skate mini ramp. i saw him later that day doin fs 50 stall kickflip to fakie in mini....what a dick

that kid you hear about that learns them hard tricks in 4 trys then takes it down the local stair set the next day...
yea thats josh.

josh slappy picks up dan corrigan some times to go skate cus josh is as good of a kid as he is a skater.

WELCOME TO THE TEAM HOMIES!