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Chapter One: My First Pro Boards — Good Times, Beer City, P.U.P.I.L.

1992 Our buddy and the young prince of Winona, Minnesota, Greg Witt had a vert ramp in his family’s vending-machine warehouse and at 18 had bigger dreams than most people twice his age — a brand called Good Times, short for Good Times Intelligence Agency. Sounds like a joke until you see the roster: Reese Forbes, Peter Hewitt, Adam McNatt, Dave Leroux. Heavy hitters for a backyard company. Greg gave me my first pro board that year. I had a passport, flights booked to Europe once our US tour wrapped. That was the dream, finally taking off.

I never made it. The tour got cut short — went away on vacation, came home on probation. That Europe trip, summer of ‘92, never happened.

Back in Milwaukee, I kept skating like nothing had changed. Mike from Beer City asked if I wanted to go pro. I told him no, I was good. Then he mentioned Scott Smiley was doing it too — my homie from West Seattle. I said fine, but you’re taking me to meet him and skate Burnside and the Big Bowl — first trip to those spots, soon after they were built. 93, maybe 94. Real DIY history, early.

Around the same time I was broke, riding a Vespa around Milwaukee doing odd jobs for my uncle to get by. One day my uncle said, “Al, you’re getting older. What are you going to do with your life?” Then, before I could answer: “I will support you.” Nobody had ever asked me that and followed it with those words. That hit different. A few nights later, crashing on Sam’s girlfriend’s floor, I woke up with something clicking into place. Started writing in a notebook. A week later, I had P.U.P.I.L. — People Uplifting People In Life. 1995.

Sam and Skills were already in California, living at a screen printing shop, and made my first P.U.P.I.L. boards. Same year, Darren was rebuilding Creature after Russ Pope and the crew left to start Scarecrow. I quit being a pro at Beer City — stepped down to amateur — just to earn a Creature spot right. Supported by NHS, same as Santa Cruz & the 80,s dudes we looked up to.

Chapter Two — Creature, hiatus, Illenium, and the job that taught me to want it.

#Skateboarding #SkateCulture #First #1992
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Larbor Day Weekend
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@imhot_sauce with the Mega gap ollie (perhaps with a @billyteskaaa tribute??) during the @larbvomit #milwaukeemayem @nationaldiy final day. Skull trophy well earned! (Fill in pull from @pete____d ) #dirtydeeds
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ACTION’S ALWAYS 
@pete____d
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Aug | 2026 

#KEEPITMOVINING
This month was for real. 
 
@skatejawn - Cover
@hoppsskateboarding  Ad
@venturetrucks  Ad
@_sexhippies  Ad

Photos in 
@thrashermag 
@closerskateboarding 
@skatejawn 
@vagueskatemag
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@pete____d , two wheel madness. Make it make sense!

@savetheturf
@acetrucks 
@officialalvaskates 
@skeletonkeymfg 

@phase2skateshop

@fujifilmx_us
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Master P 
@pete____d
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You probably know Pete D for his amazing photography spanning many decades. He's bottled up countless iconic skateboarding moments into beautiful still photos over the years. More recently he captured the Skeleton Key crew during their residency in Milwaukee last year.

But he's also a ripper in his own right. He should be... he's been skating the storied Clover bowl on and off for almost 40 years. (It was buried for 15 years but legend has it the pool was just taking a rest)

It was an honor and a blast to shoot these.

@pete____d
@savetheturf
@skeletonkeymfg 
@nikesb

@fujifilmx_us 
@tamronamericas
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