Mid-Eastern Skateboard Series
Joe Bowers
Hometown: Santa Fe, NM; moved to Oak Ridge, TN, 1967 (Now: Dayton, OH)
Still skating? Yes, I still can.
Moved CA: 1985, worked for Tracker and Skate Rags. 1992, moved to Ohio to work for the Alien Workshop.
Occupation: International Sales Manager, DNA Distribution
Favorite MESS memory: Any details that I can remember are good (even the embellished ones). However, the contest at Middletown at the Downeys was fun because I skated really well, as well as almost the entire skate population of Tennessee being there to keep things interesting. Brian Beauchene won the 2A division, followed by Lyle Donoho and Doug Walker, which only added to the good feelings going around. The contest at Mishawaka (1985, Eastern Blowout series) was memorable because it was an interesting ramp during the hottest part of summer and I decided to skate in jeans and sweatshirt. I got last.
Some of the antics involved in getting to and from an event were always an integral part of the adventure. The best was on the way to an Ohio event with Brian, Jay Cabler, and Doug, with myself at the wheel of the Õ74 Vega. We had stopped at a gas station in Kentucky for fuel and body relief, and a Van full of handicapped individuals had also. Prosthetic devices appearing as mangled legs from underneath a closed stall was enough to send a few co-travelers over the edge.
Influence of MESS: The MESS was a springboard for a lot of people, myself included, to get jobs in the skate industry in California. However, coming from the scene we had in Tennessee and going to where everything was happening (?) was a little disheartening. Sure, it was good to be around people only seen in the magazines, and skate the spots, but that could never reach the same level of fun I had skating with the Tennessee and midwest locals. The influence I felt was just that — the friendship from that time could never be replicated; same as the skating that was going down.
Other comments: Skateboarding is something IÕm involved with every day, and itÕs been that way since I was seventeen (and I have had a skateboard since I was six). The best time was 1982-1985. No doubt this was a time in skateboarding when it didnÕt matter what your gear or scene was about as long as you were skating.
