Skateboarding Articles

Which came first... checkered Vans Slip Ons or Jeff Spicoli? Did the shoes make the man or did that goofy stoner make the Vans Slip Ons all the rage? Either way those shoes are as infamous as the flick itself, "Fast Times at Ridgemont High".

Starting life as the classic black & white checker board pattern, they now come in a variety of colors and patterns from new checkered colors to camouflage. You can even create your own custom pair on the Vans web site. They'll always be my shoe of choice whether I'm skating, lurking at a mall or attending a wedding. Their appeal is everlasting and universal. No one can complain because you're wearing checkered Vans! No one!

I was flipping through a sk8 catalog and I usually gloss over the shoes because I'm never likely to spend $80 on a pair of shoes. Out of the corner of my eye I saw a new version and the name, Ridgemont. What's this? A new Vans Slip On? Nope.

Actually, it's an Emerica shoe. WTF? Yeah, that's what I thought too. Emerica is a cool company and has attracted great pros and put out some awesome videos. So, why do a copy-cat of the Vans Slip On?

I'm probably not being entirely fair, because the Ridgemont isn't available in an exact checker board pattern, but the style is very similar and the name just irks me. Everyone (most everyone) knows that Spicoli wore Vans, so why use the name "Ridgemont" which is an obvious tie-in to the Fast Times movie?

All the reviews I've seen of Emerica's Spicoli knock-off have been positive. Competition is a good thing - even though I'm sworn to Vans canvas slip on shoes. I just wanted to bitch and moan about the name of the shoe - which really doesn't effect anything about the shoe... except my desire to purchase it. OK, I'm done ranting.

I lied. The other thing that irritated me was the price of the Ridgemont (in the catalog I had) was $3 less that the Vans. Most online stores have both brands at the same price.

Which came first... checkered Vans Slip Ons or Jeff Spicoli? Did the shoes make the man or did that goofy fucking stoner make the Vans Slip Ons all the rage? Either way those shoes are as infamous as the flick itself, "Fast Times at Ridgemont High".

Starting life as the classic black & white checker board pattern, they now come in a variety of colors and patterns from new checkered colors to camouflage. You can even create your own custom pair on the Vans web site. They'll always be my shoe of choice whether I'm skating, lurking at a mall or attending a fucking wedding. Their appeal is everlasting and universal. No one can complain because you're wearing checkered Vans! No one!

I was flipping through a sk8 catalog and I usually gloss over the shoes because I'm never likely to spend 80 fucking bucks on a pair of shoes. Out of the corner of my eye I saw a new version and the name, Ridgemont. What's this? A new Vans Slip On? Nope.

Actually, it's an Emerica shoe. What the fuck? Yeah, that's what I thought too. Emerica is a cool company and has attracted great pros and put out some awesome videos. So, why do a copy-cat of the fucking Vans Slip On?

I'm probably not being entirely fair, because the Ridgemont isn't available in an exact checker board pattern, but the style is very similar and the name just fucking irks me. Everyone (most everyone) knows that Spicoli wore Vans, so why use the name "Ridgemont" which is an obvious tie-in to the Fast Times movie?

All the reviews I've seen of Emerica's Spicoli knock-off have been positive. Competition is a good thing - even though I'm sworn to Vans canvas slip on shoes. I just wanted to fucking bitch and moan about the name of the shoe - which really doesn't effect anything about the shoe... except my desire to purchase it. OK, I'm done ranting.

I lied. The other thing that irritated me was the price of the Ridgemont (in the catalog I had) was $3 less that the fucking Vans. Most online stores have both brands at the same price.