The Nash Executioner was a total K-mart piece of crap by the standards of the skate scene, but I didn't know that. All I knew was that it was the first wide wooden skateboard with all kinds of plastic bumpers and doodads that I had ever seen (a few kids in my neighborhood had them) and it was totally rad to my eyes.
Well, it only took me 28 years, but I finally got my Nash Executioner!
Ah, eBay. How I love you. This lovely specimen is pretty much how I remember the one I saw for the first time. I'm pretty sure it was a yellow deck, but it may have had neon green accessories. Whatever, I snapped this up as soon as I saw it online, and it's as glorious as I remember.
The top is pretty shredded, but that's no biggie. I took it for a spin around the neighborhood and the tape still grips. It is a bit weird riding a deck that's not concave (as they all are now) and the trucks are hella loose on this thing (making for a couple of scary turns), but overall I couldn't be more jazzed.
It's funny how much I wanted one of these when I was 12, only to later learn that they were considered junk to all those serious skaters with their Caballero and Lance Mountain decks.
I wonder if it had anything to do with the giant, pink bubble tail guard on the back?
My god, that looks silly! But in 1985, I thought that was awesome. I would eventually add a black bubble tail guard to my Valterra, along with a set of black Powell-Peralta Rib Bones. However, that didn;t hide the fact that it was a $19.99 deck from K-mart.
Check out the bitchin' rear truck guard, for defending against scrapes while doing ollies up curbs...
I make fun a bit, but the truth is, this deck gets my inner 12-year-old jumping up and down and throwing air punches.
I'm gonna tighten up the trucks and take her up tot he nearby skatepark and ride this baby like I don't care who's laughing.
Then I might ride it up to the nearest tattoo shop and get that dragon graphic done on my chest. It's a dragon! Standing on a pile of skulls!
So rad.
